Why Broncos vs. Jets was just as ugly as expected
If you're a fan of sloppy, disoriented, undisciplined football... boy were you in for a treat
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8 min read
Happy Friday, friend! If you got to bed early last night, you're probably having yourself quite the morning as you scramble to get caught up on everything going on right now. If you didn't go to bed early last night, well... you might be a little tired from the late-night scrolling through your timeline. Either way, I'm glad you're here making some time for me this morning. I appreciate you.
Let's close your week out strong and get ready for another solid sports weekend ahead of us, shall we? This is my first weekend without any hockey duties to tend to in about three months, so I am prepared to behave like a child without a leash. If you see me in your front lawn tomorrow morning, just let me sleep it off. Thanks in advance.
Okay, let's get to what you need to know.
📰 What you need to know
1. Brett Rypien leads Broncos over Jets in first career start 🏈
As most of us expected, last night's Thursday Night Football matchup between the Broncos and Jets was a beautiful, nonsensical disaster. If you're a fan of sloppy, disoriented, undisciplined football... boy were you in for a treat. The wild rollercoaster showdown of two bad 0-3 teams ended in Denver's favor, 37-28, and Brett Rypien got a win in his first career start. It certainly wasn't smooth sailing, though.
- Why the Broncos won: Rypien played well in the first half before things fell apart pretty hard down the stretch. He threw three interceptions in the second half but some timely defensive play from Denver helped mitigate the damage and, ultimately, the Broncos just made less mistakes than the Jets
- Why the Jets lost: Because they're the Jets? Once again, they fell victim to poor execution. Dumb penalties made life harder on them -- including a personal foul penalty that extended what would turn out to be Denver's go-ahead drive in the fourth quarter. Of course, Sam Darnold spraining his shoulder in the first half probably didn't help a ton, even if he was able to return
Now I know what you're thinking: That has to be it for Adam Gase, right? I mean, the Jets are 0-4 and looking like arguably the worst team in football on a weekly basis. However, the Jets reportedly still intend to keep Gase through the end of the season, so don't hold your breath for that breaking news.
That may come as upsetting news for Jets fans who have already seen enough, but here's something to maybe make you feel better: If it's already necessary to clarify that you're not going to fire your coach in Week 4, there's probably a good chance your coach isn't gonna last the whole season regardless of what anyone says.
Another thing to maybe make Jets fans feel better: Trevor Lawrence.
2. Tatis wakes Padres up; Kershaw blanks Brewers ⚾
We're getting more intensity and drama from postseason baseball as the days roll on, and yesterday was another fun one in the Wild Card Series stage. We had four games (Cubs-Marlins was rained out and pushed to today) and three teams successfully punched their ticket to the division series. Let's quickly recap what went down on the diamond:
- Fernando Tatis flips the switch, saves Padres: So, you know how I said four games, three eliminations? The only series in action that didn't reach its conclusion was Padres-Cardinals, and San Diego has Fernando Tatis to thank for that. Tatis homered twice (including a huge three-run bomb) to help the Padres rally to save their season against St. Louis. Wil Myers also went deep twice and Manny Machado added a dinger of his own
- Clayton Kershaw sets personal postseason record: No shocker here but the Dodgers are moving on. They swept the Brewers in the best-of-three and Clayton Kershaw delivered a gem on Thursday night. He tied his postseason career-high with eight innings pitched and set a personal record with 13 strikeouts
- Braves shut out Reds again: Two games, 22 innings, zero runs for the Cincinnati Reds... that's not going to get the job done. The Braves shut out Cincy 1-0 in a 13 inning Game 1 duel, and they wrapped things up with a 5-0 victory in Game 2 on Thursday. It's the first postseason series win for Atlanta since 2001
- A's move on to face Astros: The Athletics rallied to beat the White Sox in Wednesday's do-or-die Game 3 showdown, and that snaps Oakland's MLB record streak of nine consecutive losses in winner-take-all games
I'm a little crushed that my dream of a White Sox-Padres matchup in the World Series is dead, but San Diego is still alive and showcasing that undying flair for the dramatic that I love so much. Fernando Tatis is so electric and such a monster... we need him in the picture as long as possible.
3. Doc Rivers takes over Sixers 🏀
I didn't expect Doc Rivers to be out of work very long, but less than four days? That's one heck of a rebound. It was reported Thursday that Rivers agreed to become the next head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers, who apparently put a full-court press on Rivers after he was fired by the Clippers on Monday.
- Rivers' deal with the Sixers is reportedly for five years and his duties will be limited to coaching without a front office role (Rivers was also senior vice president of basketball operations in Los Angeles)
- He spent the last seven seasons in LA and never made it out of the second round of the playoffs. The Clippers blew a 3-1 series lead against the Nuggets in the second round of this year's playoffs
- The Sixers recently fired Brett Brown, who had been on the bench in Philly since 2013
Rivers to Philly makes a bunch of sense on a number of levels. The Sixers are in win-now mode and Rivers is probably the most respected coach on the market. Bringing him in gives the team a good shot to remain competitive and make a playoff push in the immediate future. He's known as a players' coach and there has been an apparent lack of shared respect in the Sixers' locker room over the years. He's capable of managing the star personalities of Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons.
Then again, there is some irony in the idea that the 76ers -- a team running out of patience because they haven't made it out of the second round of the playoffs since 2001 -- hired Doc Rivers, a guy who was fired thanks to his team running out of patience because they couldn't make it past the second round.
For what it's worth, our Brad Botkin doesn't seem particularly convinced that it's going to work out.
4. Getting you ready for the Preakness Stakes 🏇
You'll be getting your daily gambling advice from my good pal Tom Fornelli a little later today so we won't be doing a full gambling corner this morning, but I figured we should talk a little about the Preakness Stakes before we head into the weekend. We may not have a Triple Crown at stake in this year's third leg, but we do have an intriguing race nonetheless.
Kentucky Derby winner Authentic is the 9-5 favorite in the 11-horse field, followed by Art Collector (5-2), Swiss Skydiver (6-1) and Thousand Words (6-1). SportsLine expert Jody Demling, who has called nine of the past 15 Preakness winners, is fading Authentic and says the Bob Baffert-trained 3-year-old barely hits the board. Instead he's high on an underdog that "has a legitimate shot to win the Preakness." You can check out his complete projected leaderboard right here.
Demling isn't the only one fading Authentic, either, as Hammerin' Hank Goldberg is on that train as well. ("There's a lot more speed in the Preakness than there was in the Derby, and he will be challenged early.")
If you want a full race breakdown, SportsLine's national handicapping champion Jonathon Kinchen has you covered with his analysis as well as his picks -- including his exacta, trifecta and superfectas.
Here's to hoping the ponies treat you nice this weekend! Come back to me a little richer on Monday.
📝 Odds & Ends
- Kyrie Irving doesn't think the Nets have a "head coach," which may come as a surprise to the recently hired Steve Nash
- Landon Donovan pulled his San Diego Loyal off the field in protest after an opposing player allegedly used a gay slur
- Arch Manning -- nephew of Peyton and Eli -- racked up six touchdowns in his 2020 high school season debut
📺 What to watch this weekend
Friday
⚾ Marlins vs. Cubs, 2:08 p.m. | CHI -200 | TV: ABC
⚾ Cardinals vs. Padres, 7:08 p.m. | TV: ESPN
🏀 Heat vs. Lakers, 9 p.m. | LAL -9.5 | TV: ABC
Saturday
🏈 No. 13 Texas A&M vs. No. 2 Alabama, 3:30 p.m. | BAMA -17.5 | TV: CBS
🏈 No. 7 Auburn vs. No. 4 Georgia, 7:30 p.m. | UGA -6.5 | TV: ESPN
Sunday
🏈 Chargers vs. Buccaneers, 1:00 p.m. | TB -7 | TV: CBS
🏈 Patriots vs. Chiefs, 4:25 p.m. | KC -7 | TV: CBS
🏀 Lakers vs. Heat, 7:30 p.m. | TV: ABC
📝 Top scores from last night
Chad Pinder hit a go-ahead, two-run single in the fifth inning to power the A's to victory.
💵 Winning Wagers: OAK -102, Over (8.5)
The Padres became the first team in postseason history with five home runs from the sixth inning onward in a game.
💵 Winning Wagers: SD -162, Over (8.5)
Melvin Gordon sealed the Denver Broncos' first win of the season with a 43-yard touchdown run with 1:48 remaining in the 4th quarter.
💵 Winning Wagers: DEN -110, Over (40)
