Jets and Browns upset remaining NFL undefeated teams; Plus, Washington and Michael Penix Jr. stand out

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🏈 Football Five

Darren Waller couldn't reel in Tyrod Taylor's pass in the end zone with no time left, and the Bills got a dramatic goal-line stand to beat the Giants, 14-9. And yes, Giants fans, it probably should have been pass interference.
How 'bout them ... Lions?! They topped the Buccaneers, 20-6, and share the NFL's best record at 5-1. The Lions have won four straight by at least 14 points for the first time since 1934.
Are Joe Burrow and the Bengals back? Will Brinson says "yes" in Sorting the Sunday Pile after Cincinnati beat Seattle 17-13.
Moving over to college football, Nick Saban won his 200th game at Alabama as the Crimson Tide topped Arkansas, 24-21.
In his second game since his transfer waiver battle with the NCAA got resolved, Tez Walker had 132 yards receiving and three touchdowns as North Carolina beat Miami, 41-31.

Here are all of the scores and highlights from Week 6 in the NFL and Week 7 in college football.

💪 Good morning to everyone but especially ...

THE NEW YORK JETS, THE CLEVELAND BROWNS AND THEIR BACKUP QUARTERBACKS

Pop some champagne, 1972 Dolphins: There will be no undefeated teams this year.

For the second straight season, the Eagles were the NFL's final undefeated squad. This time, though, that distinction lasted all of 3.5 hours. The Jets rallied late to stun the reigning NFC champions, 20-14, forcing four turnovers in their upset victory.

New York intercepted Jalen Hurts three times, the last of which (by Tony Adams) led to Breece Hall's game-winning 8-yard touchdown run.
Hurts already has seven interceptions this season. He had six all of last year.
It's the Jets' first win over the Eagles ... ever. Philadelphia won all 12 prior meetings.
Cody Benjamin declared the Jets one of this week's big winners.

The Jets were down 14-3 early; the Eagles often bury opponents in situations like that. However, the Jets defense dominated, and Zach Wilson took care of the ball. That's New York's recipe for success, and it worked. As for another backup quarterback upsetting an undefeated team ...

There aren't many people who thought Brock Purdy would win the first 10 starts of his career. There are even fewer who thought his first loss would come to P.J. Walker. Yet here we are with the NFL script writers (😉) continuing to find ways to surprise us. Behind a magnificent defense, the Browns handed the 49ers their first loss of the season, stunning San Francisco, 19-17.

Walker, starting in place of Deshaun Watson (shoulder), threw a pair of interceptions, including one that set up a Jordan Mason touchdown that gave the 49ers a 17-13 lead.
But Walker then led a pair of field goal drives, and San Francisco's Jake Moody missed a potential game-winning 41-yard field goal.
Purdy threw an interception to Martin Emerson Jr. and was sacked three times. Purdy, who had never registered a passer rating below 88.0 as a starter, posted a 55.3.

I don't have enough good adjectives to describe the Browns defense. They're allowing 200.4 yards per game, on pace to be the fewest since the 1970 Vikings -- the infamous Purple People Eaters, who lined up three Pro Football Hall of Famers. The 3.8 yards per play allowed are on pace to be the fewest since 1977. They're on pace for the highest defensive expected points added per game on record (since 2000).

The 49ers entered Sunday as the NFL's unquestioned best team, one riding high after putting up 42 points on the Cowboys. The Browns beat them with a practice-squad QB. It's time to acknowledge Cleveland as a contender and long past time to acknowledge its defense as historically great.

😃 Honorable mentions

This Tyreek Hill touchdown celebration was flipping awesome.
Victor Wembanyma's latest highlights are ridiculous.
Colorado State capped a ridiculous comeback with a Hail Mary.
Indiana got a commitment from five-star 2024 forward Liam McNeeley.
Tom Kim won the Shriners Children's Open. Brooks Koepka won LIV Golf Jeddah.
Caitlin Clark is very good at basketball ... even in a football stadium.
Here are the All-WNBA teams.
The NWSL playoffs are set.
Kyle Larson won the South Point 400.

🤕 And not such a good morning for ...

NFL STARS GOING DOWN WITH INJURIES

Unfortunately for the 49ers, the scoreboard only added insult to injury. San Francisco lost both Christian McCaffrey (oblique) and Deebo Samuel (shoulder) as part of a brutal day for injuries league-wide.

X-rays were negative on Samuel, and both do-it-all stars will undergo more testing today.
Since McCaffrey joined the 49ers, they have averaged 6.3 yards per play when both McCaffrey and Samuel are on the field, 6.4 yards per play when at least one is on the field and 4.2 yards per play when neither are on the field.

That was only the tip of the iceberg.

Justin Fields (dislocated thumb on throwing hand) did not return in the Bears' 19-13 loss to the Vikings.
Jimmy Garoppolo (back) did not return in the Raiders' 21-17 win over the Patriots.
Ryan Tannehill (ankle) was carted off and did not return in the Titans' 24-16 loss to the Ravens.
David Montgomery (ribs) did not return in the Lions' win.
Anthony Richardson (shoulder) did not play and is reportedly strongly considering season-ending surgery.

Long story short, our injury roundup has a lot of names on it. And that's after other big-time stars like Justin Jefferson, De'Von Achane and James Conner went down last week.

😕 Not so honorable mentions

The Patriots keep finding ways to lose. New England's final offensive snap featured Maxx Crosby and Bilal Nichols sacking Mac Jones for a game-sealing safety.
Desmond Ridder finally lost at home, and Jeff Kerr says it's time for Atlanta's QB to be benched.
Colorado blew a 29-point halftime lead to Stanford ... and then got spoofed on "Saturday Night Live."

⚾ Rangers take Game 1 of ALCS behind stellar pitching

The ballyhooed Rangers offense has rightfully earned the headlines this postseason. In Game 1 of the ALCS, Texas showed it can pitch a little, too. Jordan Montgomery delivered 6 1/3 shutout innings to lead Texas to a 2-0 win -- and a 1-0 series lead -- over the Astros.

Montgomery is the only pitcher in Rangers history with multiple scoreless playoff starts of at least 6.0 innings. He's achieved that in the past two weeks.
Evan Carter scored the Rangers' first run and made a couple of strong plays in the outfield.
No play was bigger than this catch at the wall and doubling up of Jose Altuve, whose base-running blunder cost dearly.
Leody Taveras delivered the other run with a solo homer.

The Rangers have won each of their first six playoff games, the longest streak in franchise history. They'll look to make it seven straight today. Here's our preview.

🔥 Washington takes control of Pac-12, Michael Penix Jr. takes control of Heisman Trophy race

The Pac-12 leader and the Heisman Trophy frontrunner both don purple & gold and reside in Seattle. Michael Penix Jr. found Rome Odunze for the game-winning touchdown as Washington beat Oregon in a 36-33 thriller, their final meeting as Pac-12 members.

If Penix does go on to win the Heisman, we may look back at this clutch drive as his signature moment. After another aggressive -- overly aggressive, in Dennis Dodd's opinion -- fourth-down decision by Dan Lanning, Penix drove the Huskies 53 yards in 33 seconds -- a 35-yard dart to Ja'Lynn Polk before the 18-yard touchdown toss to Odunze -- to take the lead. Oregon's Camden Lewis missed a 43-yard field goal that would have forced overtime.

Barrett Sallee gave Washington an "A+" in his weekly grades, Shehan Jeyarajah named Penix one of the weekend's big winners, and Will Backus wonders if the Heisman conversation is over.

It helps that the reigning Heisman winner delivered one of the worst performances of the week: Caleb Williams threw three interceptions in USC's 48-20 loss at Notre Dame. Shehan says the Trojans are "not a real title contender." Harsh ... but true!

Here's more from the weekend:

🗽 WNBA Finals: Liberty pull away in Game 3, extend season

When things got tough late, the Liberty had every answer. The Liberty topped the Aces, 87-73, in Game 3 to keep their season alive.

It was the Liberty's first WNBA Finals win since 1999. The franchise is still seeking its first championship.
Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones combined for 47 points, 20 rebounds and five blocks. The Liberty knocked down 13 3-pointers, their most this postseason.
Jack Maloney explained how the Liberty defense fueled their offense.
Aces star Chelsea Gray left with an apparent lower leg injury and did not return. Her status for Game 4 on Wednesday is unclear.