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Another week of football in the books and things are already going wild in both college and the pros. Brent Brookhouse here to take you though all of last night’s action as well as getting you ready for Tuesday and the kickoff for one of the world’s greatest sporting competitions: the UEFA Champions League.
There’s nothing better than another massive competition waiting on the other side of a busy football weekend. And there are fewer competitions more massive as the Champions League. That you can catch all the action on Paramount+ makes it even better.
With all that said, let’s get into all the news you need to know as you get your day going.
🏈 Five things to know Tuesday
- Cause for concern in KC? The Chiefs 0-2 start puts one of the league’s Super Bowl favorites on their back foot. We take a look at where the panic level rests after Sunday’s loss to the Eagles, a defeat that Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes both looked to own by taking heat off of Travis Kelce for a missed catch that became critical turnover.
- MLB playoff push is heating up. The Phillies clinched the NL East with a dramatic win over the Dodgers Monday night, and the Giants are making their case for a wild-card spot. San Francisco is set to promote top prospect Bryce Eldridge, the No. 15 ranked prospect in baseball by CBS Sports who could be a key part in the team’s playoff run.
- Two WNBA teams are on the brink of elimination. Down 1-0 in a best-of-three format is a tough spot to be in, but that’s where the Fever and Storm find themselves Tuesday night’s Game 2s in the first round of the WNBA playoffs. And along with the Mercury and Valkyries, who’ll both play Wednesday, we rank the teams most likely to survive Game 2.
- Tom Brady has had an eventful few days. First, the legendary quarterback signed on to play in a competitive flag football tournament overseas next year, marking Brady’s return to the field. Then on Monday night, the Raiders team owner was with the team’s offensive coaches in the booth one day after broadcasting the Eagles-Chiefs game.
- Did someone say college football rankings? Oh, yeah, we’ve got college football rankings. You can work your way through everything from our ranking of all 136 teams before checking out our Week 4 college football power ratings after another week of wild action.
⚽ Do not miss this: UEFA Champions League kicks off on Tuesday
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One of the biggest sporting events on the planet gets underway on Tuesday, with six matches in the UEFA Champions League. All six of those matches will be available to stream on Paramount+, with two also airing on CBS Sports Network. Matches will continue — also on Paramount+ and CBS Sports Network — on Wednesday and Thursday as the group stage kicks off in the first matches to crown a European champion.
This year’s competition feels wide open, with Barcelona as the betting favorite and Liverpool, Arsenal and PSG close behind. The 15-time winners Real Madrid and 2023 champions Manchester City are nipping at the heels of those four squads. The CBS Sports experts have picked their favorites to win, which team will surprise and more. Go give that a read ahead of the start of the competition.
We also have a vibe check heading into Champions League, which explains how PSG’s injury issues could lead to the powerhouse squad getting off to a slow start. As a reminder, The Golazo Show is your best way to follow a chaotic few days of action.
This is a massive competition, and it’s worth checking out all of CBS Sports’ content before the action gets under way. For example, my fellow Tottenham Hotspur supporters may find some comfort in Chuck Booth’s look at several of the teams ahead of the first day of action.
- Booth: “Thomas Frank has come in and immediately improved Tottenham’s defense. It may be early, but Tottenham sit third in the Premier League with a plus seven goal difference while already having a signature win over Manchester City. Bumps in the road will come, but after finishing 17th last season, it would be an accomplishment for Spurs to rise higher than sixth in the league. Adding Xavi Simons to the squad, they also have a star to build the attack around. Richarlison won’t continue to score as he has to begin the season, but with goals coming from set plays, Frank doesn’t need that to happen for Tottenham to make a surprise push into the last 16.”
🏈 Rash of injuries to NFL starting quarterbacks
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Week 2 of the NFL season only just wrapped up, but many teams will be without their starting quarterbacks heading into next week — if not longer.
The headline injury of the week was Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow‘s turf toe. Burrow went down in the second quarter of Cincinnati’s game with the Jaguars and will be forced to undergo surgery, leading to at least three months on the sidelines. The Bengals are now +3.5 underdogs heading into their Week 3 game with the Vikings. Will the team ride it out with backup quarterback Jake Browning? John Breech identified three trade possibilities for the Bengals should they choose to take a more aggressive approach to Burrow’s absence.
Commanders QB Jayden Daniels is considered week-to-week after suffering a knee sprain against the Packers. Marcus Mariota is the Washington backup if Daniels is unable to go in Week 3 against Raiders.
In other NFL QB injury news, Justin Fields is in concussion protocol, and Jets coach Aaron Glenn said it will be hard for Fields to play in Week 3 if he doesn’t practice soon.
Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy could also be sidelined after suffering an ankle sprain. That injury could open the door for Carson Wentz to write his redemption story.
Add those injuries to the turf toe injury suffered by 49ers QB Brock Purdy in Week 1, and as many as five teams could be depending on backup quarterbacks to keep them in the playoff hunt in the early weeks of the NFL season.
🏈 Bucs stun Texans, Chargers handle Raiders in ‘MNF’ doubleheader
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The Monday Night Football doubleheader got off to a thrilling start as the Buccaneers engineered a last-second touchdown drive to edge out the Texans. The one-point victory elevated Tampa Bay to 2-0 to start while Houston remains winless in the young campaign. Jared Dubin broke down why Baker Mayfield‘s magic was the key to the Bucs big win.
- Dubin: “Baker only averaged 5.7 yards per attempt, but as mentioned, he made his passes count. He led that aforementioned 11-play touchdown drive to end the game. He threw touchdown passes on each of the first two drives. And he had three absolutely massive scrambles, all of which picked up first downs. He converted a third-and-1, a third-and-15 and a third-and-10 with his legs. That’s huge.”
In the nightcap, the Chargers (2-0) held off the Raiders (1-1) in a game that featured three Geno Smith interceptions. Los Angeles’ defense also did their work up front, sacking Smith three times and generally just making life for him miserable. Garrett Podell details how the Chargers came away with their last interception, and ultimately the win.
- Podell: “[Smith] tried to squeeze the football to the end zone once again with under six minutes left to play. However, he made the mistake of trying to whistle the football past four-time Pro Bowl safety Derwin James. James knocked the football away from the outstretched hands of Jakobi Meyers and into the waiting arms of Chargers cornerback Donte Jackson.”
🏆 The best (and not-so-best) of the rest
- In major injury news not related to quarterbacks, Chargers star pass rusher Khalil Mack suffered an injury during Monday Night Football that left him on the sidelines and with his arm in a sling prior to halftime.
- Yordan Alvarez sprained an ankle while he stepped on home plate as the Astros scored a run.
- Ravens star edge rusher Kyle Van Noy could miss multiple games due to injury.
- After Cade Klubnik and Arch Manning failed to meet expectations on Saturday, neither man is among the top three betting favorites to be picked No. 1 in next year’s NFL Draft.
- Gamecocks QB LaNorris Sellers suffered a head injury in South Carolina’s disastrous 24-point loss to Vanderbilt. Sellers’ status for Saturday’s game against Missouri could define South Carolina’s season.
- Jonathan Kuminga remains in a stalemate over his contract with the Warriors.
- Dennis Schröder to the basketball Hall of Fame? The idea is more realistic than you might think after Schröder led Germany to the EuroBasket championship.
- Speaking of unlikely but realistic achievements, Is Georgia Tech‘s Haynes King an actual Heisman contender? Coach Brent Key is making a good case for his quarterback.
- As trade rumors swirl around Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby, the 38-year-old insists he would like to finish his career in Pittsburgh.
- Veronica Burton took home the WNBA’s Most Improved Player award after helping lead the Valkyries to the playoffs.
- Myles Garrett was none too pleased with the Browns‘ “embarrassing” loss to the Ravens on Sunday.
- NBA legend Dan Marino shared the sad news that he has liver disease. The former Dolphins quarterback said that doctors told him the condition is potentially “reversable.”
- After firing Brent Pry, Virginia Tech is looking for a way back to relevance. Could that path include landing Shane Beamer in a Beamer return to his alma mater?
- In the other big college football coaching vacancy, UCLA needs to swing big as they look for their new coach.
- Sunday, Sept. 21, marks the 50th anniversary of The NFL Today and we’re looking back at the 1975 NFL season.
- The Broncos were called for a leverage penalty that cost them a win against the Colts on Sunday. A referee broke down explaining why the game-deciding penalty was called.
- LA Knight gets revenge on Jey Uso to close the show at WWE Raw.
- In a final quick injury roundup, Bears CB Jaylon Johnson is out indefinitely with a groin injury, Rams CB Ahkello Witherspoon was placed on injury with a broken clavacle, Vikings RB Aaron Jones is likely to miss Week 3 due to a hamstring injury, and Cowboys center Cooper Beebe will be sidelined for six to eight weeks with a high-ankle sprain.
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📺 What we’re watching Tuesday
⚽ Arsenal at Athletic, 12:45 p.m. on Paramount+
⚽ Union St.-Gilloise at PSV Eindhoven, 12:45 p.m. on Paramount+ / CBSSN
⚾ Braves at Nationals, 1:05 p.m. on MLB Network
⚽ FK Qarabag at Benfica, 3 p.m. on Paramount+ / CBSSN
⚽ Borussia Dortmund at Juventus, 3 p.m. on Paramount+
⚽ Marseille at Real Madrid, 3 p.m. on Paramount+
⚽ Villarreal at Tottenham, 3 p.m. on Paramount+
⚾ Padres at Mets, 7:10 p.m. on TBS
🏀 Game 2 — Dream at Fever, 7:30 p.m. on ESPN
⚽ completion of Racing Louisville at Seattle Reign, 8 p.m. on Paramount+
🏀 Game 2 — Aces at Storm, 9:30 p.m. on ESPN
⚾ Phillies at Dodgers, 10:10 p.m. on TBS
