Winner winner, chicken cutlet dinner! Tommy DeVito rallies Giants; Dolphins' historic collapse

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🔥 Good morning to everyone but especially ...

TOMMY DEVITO AND THE NEW YORK GIANTS

Winner winner, chicken cutlet dinner!!! The legend of Tommy DeVito grew tenfold Monday night as he rallied the Giants to a thrilling 24-22 win over the Packers.

This game had a bit of everything, but we'll pick it up with about three minutes left:

With his team up 21-16, Saquon Barkley burst into the open and looked to have (nearly) sealed the game. But then he stumbled, regained his footing, fell untouched ... and fumbled.
On the ensuing drive, Jordan Love found Malik Heath for a terrific touchdown. The Giants stopped the two-point conversion attempt.
Then came DeVito time: an eight-play, 57-yard drive -- with 32 yards coming on a throw to Wan'Dale Robinson -- and Randy Bullock nailing the 37-yard game-winning field goal.

This was nothing short of magical. A third-string, undrafted rookie still living with his parents, a backup kicker, a raucous, almost delirious New York crowd ... and a win over a team fighting for a playoff berth.

I have no clue what DeVito's future holds. This might be the football equivalent to Linsanity. But the numbers are pretty awesome.

DeVito is the first Giants quarterback to win three straight starts with a 100+ passer rating and zero interceptions since Fran Tarkenton (!!!) in 1970.
DeVito is just the third undrafted rookie to win three straight starts -- and the first to do so without throwing an interception.

Good for Tommy DeVito, and good for the Giants. Sometimes, even in the bleakest of seasons, there's a lot of fun to be had.

😃 Honorable mentions

The 49ers officially clinched a playoff berth.
The Lakers will raise an In-Season Tournament banner, which they should! Good for them!
The Dodgers and Yankees made a trade so Los Angeles could open space for Shohei Ohtani and Joe Kelly.
Jayden Daniels headlined the AP All-America team.
Drake Maye declared for the NFL Draft.
Here's what we learned from Bronny James' debut.
Arizona men's basketball stayed atop the AP Top 25 and the Coaches Poll.
South Carolina held strong at No. 1 in the women's college basketball AP Top 25.
The USWNT got its Concacaf W Gold Cup draw.

🐬 And not such a good morning for ...

THE MIAMI DOLPHINS

The Dolphins -- who have played as much beautiful football as anyone this year -- were finding a way to win ugly. A pick six by a defensive linemen. Two short-field touchdowns thanks to atrocious Titans fumbles. Up 27-13 with under three minutes left, there was no way they could lose, right?

Right? ... Well-l-l-l-l ...

Will Levis engineered an all-time comeback, leading two touchdown drives in a 51-second span for a 28-27 miracle win. Levis was awesome late, the defense was awesome all night, and Mike Vrabel was awesome by going for (and getting) the two-point conversion to draw within 27-21 after the penultimate touchdown. That allowed Tennessee to win in regulation, an aggressive and, ultimately, winning decision.

But this section is about the Dolphins. Here are the scary numbers:

Teams had won 642 consecutive games when leading by 14+ inside the final five minutes.
The Dolphins are the only team since 2000 to lose such a game in regulation.
Teams are now 2,074-4 when up 14+ in the final 3 minutes in the last 20 seasons.

And here's the scary injury: Tyreek Hill hurt his ankle early on, returned but then played only sporadically. And finally, the scary consequences of the loss: The Dolphins lost the No. 1 seed in the AFC.

A historic loss, a worrisome injury and a top seed gone? Not a good morning, indeed.

😬 Not so honorable mentions

Patrick Mahomes said he regrets his outburst following Sunday's loss, and Andy Reid walked back some of his officiating criticism.
Illinois State issued an apology to Norfolk State after a fan shouted a racist slur during a game.

⚾ The Dodgers' ranking, Shohei Ohtani ... and, oh, that deferral

Shohei Ohtani is (officially) a Dodger. Juan Soto is a Yankee. In all likelihood, that means the two biggest names this offseason have found their new homes, and that means updated MLB Power Rankings.

First things first: Ohtani does not make the Dodgers No. 1. Allow Matt Snyder to explain:

Snyder: "Look at the Dodgers' rotation right now. Walker Buehler (coming off Tommy John surgery) and Bobby Miller are the written-in-pen guys. Ryan Pepiot at age 26 could stick, but he only has 78 1/3 career MLB innings. That still would only get the Dodgers to 60% of their rotation. ... As constructed, the Dodgers do not have the best team in baseball."

Here's Matt's top five:

Braves
Astros
Dodgers
Yankees
Phillies

Matt did mention that he expects the Dodgers to add pitching, and that task just became a lot easier. Remember when Ohtani signed his 10-year, $700 million contract? Well, it turns out he's only getting paid $2 million this season ... and for the other nine seasons. That's right, Ohtani is deferring $680 million of his $700 million so the Dodgers can build around him, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman.

My first reaction was, "How on Earth can they do this?!" Dayn Perry has the answer.

Perry: "Article XVI of the current CBA reads: 'There shall be no limitations on either the amount of deferred compensation or the percentage of total compensation attributable to deferred compensation for which a Uniform Player's Contract may provide.' ... On the union side, maybe they don't like deferrals because the players should probably be receiving interest rates on what are basically loans to their clubs. That said, deferrals make it more possible for players to do things like, oh, sign $700 million contracts and keep raising the salary bar."

It's a win-win for the Dodgers and Ohtani, Dayn and Mike Axisa write.

It also means the Dodgers will go after the next-biggest star on the market: Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the 25-year-old Japanese righty who is likely to command north of $300 million, sources told CBS Sports. He's not the Dodgers' only target, either.

Yamamoto is one of many big names still available, and Mike looked at what's ahead this offseason.

🏀 Great first-quarter grades for five NBA teams

We're about one quarter of the way through the NBA regular season, and while it's still early, we've seen enough games to pass judgment.

So NBA analysts James Herbert, Jack Maloney and Sam Quinn handed out their grades for all 30 teams, and five earned an "A+."

Celtics: "Boston's new starting five is annihilating everybody. It has outscored opponents by 27.5 points per 100 possessions, the best mark of any lineup that has logged at least 70 minutes."
Pacers: "The Pacers and their budding superstar, Tyrese Haliburton, are the best story in the league through the first quarter of the season."
Timberwolves: "Minnesota is on its own tier when it comes to halfcourt defense, having held opponents to 87.6 points per 100 possessions. ... The Wolves have the feel of a team that looked at what went wrong last season and learned all the right lessons."
Thunder: "It's all coming together so nicely. Oklahoma City is one of two teams -- the other being Boston -- that ranks in the top 10 in both offense and defense, and it has done this without rushing the process in any way."
Magic: "It seems like just about every season there's one team that makes the leap before everyone was expecting them to do so, and the Magic are that team for 2023-24."

Every team's grade comes with a key stat, a reason for optimism -- yes, even for you, Wizards -- and a reason for pessimism. James, Jack and Sam did an outstanding job.

⚽ UEFA Champions League Matchday 6 preview

It's crunch time in the UEFA Champions League: Matchday 6 has arrived, and there's a ton at stake today ... none more so than for Manchester United. The Red Devils are bottom of Group A but can advance if they beat Bayern Munich (which has already clinched top of the group) and get help. Can they even do step one, though? Our expert picks are in, and Pardeep Cattry says ...

Cattry: "Manchester United 1, Bayern Munich 3: Scoring is not something United struggle with, but their defense has routinely cost them during this Champions League campaign. Even though Bayern have already locked up top spot, they are likely eager to bounce back from a 5-1 loss to Frankfurt over the weekend and could do so at United's expense."

If the Red Devils are to prove that wrong, Alejandro Garnacho will have to be a big piece. He's one of James Benge's players to watch.

Here's the full slate:

Lens vs. Sevilla, 12:45 p.m.
PSV vs. Arsenal, 12:45 p.m. (preview)
Union Berlin vs. Real Madrid, 3 p.m.
RB Salzburg vs. Benfica, 3 p.m.
Napoli vs. Braga, 3 p.m.
Inter vs. Real Sociedad, 3 p.m. (preview)
Copenhagen vs. Galatasaray, 3 p.m.
Manchester United vs. Bayern Munich, 3 p.m. (preview)

📺 What we're watching Tuesday

⚽ UEFA Champions League, on Paramount+, CBS Sports Network and CBS Sports Golazo Network
🏀 Lakers at Mavericks, 7:30 p.m. on TNT
🏒 Red Wings at Blues, 7:30 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 Warriors at Suns, 10 p.m. on TNT
🏒 Blackhawks at Oilers, 10 p.m. on ESPN