Week 2 of the college football season was nothing but thrilling. 

Oregon and Oklahoma faced massive upsets, Texas claimed the No. 1 spot in the rankings and Bob Chesney and UCLA are continuing to prove their offseason hype in the regular season. Notably, Mississippi State’s Kamario Taylor defeated its first Big Ten opponent on the road for the first time since 1980. 

But after two weeks, where do some teams sit in terms of their outlook on the rest of the year?

On “The Joel Klatt Show,” FOX Sports’ Joel Klatt broke down teams that fall into three categories: Time to panic, stay calm and get excited. 

Time To Panic

Oregon Ducks

Klatt’s thoughts: “If not for those two defensive scores, that is a route. A route! The film was alarming for Oregon. On both sides of the ball. I think it’s time to panic. It’s not just the result, now they’re dealing with some injury issues… Injuries are always going to happen, there’s no doubt, but you don’t want them to happen when you’re trying to right the ship.

“I was on a deep dive in both last year’s film from Oregon, and this year against Boise State, and what did I find? Oregon has run-pass tells in their offense, and this is a devastating deal… but the film was also alarming on the defensive side.”

Oklahoma Sooners

Klatt’s thoughts: “Oklahoma doesn’t have an offensive line and they cannot run the football. And in order to move the ball, John Mateer has to be Superman, or they’ve got to create explosive plays. And they couldn’t do either of those things against Michigan last week. Can you really rely on splash explosive plays the entire season? I don’t think you can, it’s ultimately what their Achilles heel was a year ago.”

Washington Huskies

Klatt’s thoughts: “Washington barely snuck out a win against Utah State, 16-14 last week. The offense has not clicked, and that’s where Jed Fish’s experience and expertise lies. And yeah they’re 2-0, but I’m sitting here looking at their schedule and I’m like, ‘Oh I don’t know about this.’ 

“The offense has been hit by a ton of injuries right now. They lost their top two running backs. They lost wide receiver Christian Moss to a leg injury. Starting wide receiver Rashid Williams, he’s week to week… they’re banged up right now.”

Florida State

Klatt’s thoughts: “Does ‘panic’ encapsulate Florida State? I don’t think it does. Fired their athletic director on Monday – by the way that was the same guy who gave Mike Norvell his extension, so handwriting is on the wall there. The athletic department finished the 2025 fiscal year with $437 million of debt. Yikes.

Florida State enters Week 3 on the road at Alabama. (Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images)

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“The debt thing is a big deal, because if you fire Mike Norvell in the middle of the year you’re going to owe him $50 million… it would be roughly $800,000 a month until 2031… I bring all of that up because this roster is limited, reportedly it’s in the bottom half of the ACC as far as funding goes. They’re 3-14 in their last 17 ACC games. And look at their next four games against Power 4 opponents – this is like panic, panic, panic: at Alabama this weekend in Tuscaloosa; Virginia, which is a good team, they’re ranked; Louisville, which is a very good team, almost beat Ole Miss; and at Miami, who we think is one of the best teams in the country.”

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Klatt’s thoughts: “Time to panic. They were 8-0 last year at one point behind Haynes King. Now all of a sudden, they’ve lost six of their last seven. Their only win was a fourth quarter comeback against Boston College. I don’t love that. I don’t love the trajectory that’s going on at Georgia Tech. I just don’t. It’s time to panic there.”

Stay Calm

Colorado Buffaloes

Klatt’s thoughts: “I think it would be easy to get excited based on the way that Colorado ran the ball against Georgia Tech, the way that they threw the ball last week against, granted, FCS Weber State, but this looks different. This looks a lot more real than any of the versions of Colorado. You see their nine-win team with Travis Hunter, Heisman trophy winner and Shedeur Sanders at quarterback – they largely just had elite, upper-level skill position players, and then got by everywhere else. This looks a lot more fundamentally sound.

“They changed their philosophy over the offseason. They went from trying to go after splash recruiting and roster building to production over potential roster building, and it shows. They’re a lot tougher on the line of scrimmage, their defense can actually play up front, they’re committed to the run – they do it with a tight end and a fullback at times, which I really love that physical aspect of the run game.”

Ohio State Buckeyes

Klatt’s thoughts: “Let’s all relax about Ohio State. Would they have liked to win that game? Obviously. Were they in position to win that game? Yes… Let’s just take a bit of a chill pill, can we? I mean this is a team that was dominating Texas in their building for three quarters, basically. 

Are they going to be ok? Yes, they are going to be ok. Mainly, the one they’ve got to get fixed is the fact that their defense was exposed late to volume. That’s what happened… What killed Ohio State was the fact that their defense was on the field for the entire fourth quarter and part of the third. So what’s the fix? Well. you’ve got to figure out the red zone. They’re going to have to find a run game in the red zone, and find ways to execute better in the red zone.”

BYU Cougars

Klatt’s thoughts: “Cautiously optimistic about BYU. I think that they are very good, but what we don’t know is can they level up? We’ve seen this before. I know Bear Bachmeier is a grinder and he’s a good player. I know LJ Martin is a good player. I know you’re going to play solid defense. I know all these things – I know you’re going to beat teams that are at your level or below.

“I don’t know what to make of BYU at that level until they play Notre Dame, until they play a Texas Tech.”

Alabama Crimson Tide

Klatt’s thoughts: “I’m going to stay calm. Let’s let Keelon Russell get good at quarterback. I wanted to get excited about them, and not because of Russell and not even because their defense was dominant against Kentucky… this other element showed up in the second half against Kentucky…they stayed committed to the run game…and they ran for over 150 yards. Now that’s a blueprint, a blueprint that allows you to keep the pressure off of your young quarterback. He’s going to continue to get better. 

Keelon Russell led the Crimson Tide to a 45-17 win over Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

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“I’m cautiously optimistic about Alabama… I think they’ve got real high potential, a high ceiling if they can run it, bring their quarterback along, and allow him to be explosive both in the pass game and in the run game down the stretch. 

USC Trojans

Klatt’s thoughts: “The freshman are really good, I love what they’ve got going out there. At wide receiver, Trent Mosley is a star, Kayden Dixon-Wyatt is very good. Their tight end, Mark Bowman, he’s excellent. Luke Wafle, their defensive end, is one of the better freshmen defensive ends that I’ve seen in a long time – he creates havoc in the backfield. And this is looking like what Lincoln Riley told us about over the course of the offseason.

“But I’m going to be cautious with this one, and the reason is I still want to see it from a defensive perspective against better competition. I still need to see them play well, get after the quarterback and more specifically stop the run in a big matchup-style game.”

Get Excited

UCLA Bruins

Klatt’s thoughts: “I’m excited about UCLA. Now, this doesn’t mean I think they’re going to the playoff. This means that, if I’m a UCLA fan, I am thrilled with how this season has started. You’ve got an experienced quarterback in Nico Iamaleava…Wayne Knight has been tremendous…

(Bob) Chesney knows what he’s doing. He brought that entire staff, he brought all that core of players, this is a team that I think is going to knock somebody off in the Big Ten that we don’t expect them to knock off in the Big Ten. That’s a real team.”

Miami (Fla.) Hurricanes

Klatt’s thoughts: “I am absolutely thrilled and excited about Miami. I think they’re better than they were a year ago. Here’s the thing that I’m going to hang my hat on: Darian Mensah looks like an upgrade at quarterback from Carson Beck. He looks dynamic, and that’s scary because they’re still dominating at the offensive line level.

“They’re still dominating at the defensive line. That’s the DNA of their program, they’ve recruited very well… the one thing that gets me the most excited: Malachi Toney. Malachi Toney is an absolute cheat code. He is phenomenal, you can get him the ball anywhere and he can dominate a game.”

Texas Longhorns

Klatt’s thoughts: “Yeah it was sloppy for Texas, but I’m excited about Texas. If I’m a Longhorn fan today, I am fired up. Why? Because the ceiling has now been lifted off of my program. [Coach Steve] Sarkisian said it himself in the postgame presser: ‘Now we know we can.’ That was the most important comment, from any coach, across America on Saturday.

Arch Manning and Texas are the new No. 1 team in the nation after upsetting Ohio State 24-23. (Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images)

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“What’s more dangerous than a talented team? A talented team that believes. And now Texas believes. It wasn’t pretty. In fact, they’re watching the film thinking to themselves, ‘We should have won that by more.’ … I’m excited about those backs. Woo! Those backs can run, man.” 

Michigan Wolverines

Klatt’s thoughts: “You could tell me, ‘No, no, no, Joel, you need to stay calm.’ I’m not going to stay calm, I’m going to get excited about Michigan. And here’s the reason why: they won Kyle Whittingham’s way. His DNA was all over that field. He won the tug of war.

“New coaches have to go in and win the culture of that locker room. And to win the locker room over, you’ve got to be more steadfast than the locker room. And that’s what that win did for them against Oklahoma. They did it with man coverage – that’s Kyle Whittingham. They did it with great pass rush. That’s Kyle Whittingham. And they did it running the quarterback, being rugged on offense. That’s. Kyle. Whittingham.”

Mississippi State Bulldogs

Kamario Taylor and Mississippi State defeated Minnesota on the road 38-13. (Photo by Justin Ford/Getty Images)

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Klatt’s thoughts: “I am excited about Mississippi State, and I think you should be too. They’re quietly out there. They went up there and hammered Minnesota, and that’s not a bad Minnesota team… That’s a really good win for Jeff Lebby and Mississippi State. I love their quarterback, Kamario Taylor. He’s the new star on the block. This kid can throw it, he’s athletic. He’s big, 6-foot-4, 230 pounds. He’s mobile, he’s got an absolute cannon. This kid executes this system really well. 

“They will beat someone that raises your eyebrows in the SEC this year. I’m excited about Mississippi State this year. I really like them. Defense is playing well. In particular, last week didn’t allow an offensive touchdown against Minnesota.”

MORE CFB

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Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Keenan Allen will face two misdemeanor charges in an alleged drunken driving incident, according to court records.

The six-time Pro Bowler was formally charged Tuesday with operating a vehicle with alcohol concentration equivalent to 0.15 or more and operating a vehicle while intoxicated. He posted $500 cash bond, and his attorneys waived an initial hearing that had been scheduled for Wednesday. An attorney conference is set for Oct. 26.

Colts coach Shane Steichen declined to address the latest twist before Wednesday’s practice, at which Allen is expected to be a participant. Allen has not addressed the incident publicly.

According to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, officers conducted a traffic investigation on Aug. 30 shortly after 1 a.m. after observing a vehicle park in a no-parking zone. Officers “noticed signs of intoxication” when they spoke with Allen. He was arrested after further investigation.

The 34-year-old Allen is in his 14th NFL season, his first with Indy after spending 12 of his previous 13 years with the San Diego-Los Angeles Chargers. He signed with the Colts on Aug. 19, reuniting him with Steichen, who was a Chargers assistant for the first seven years of Allen’s career.

Allen had 81 receptions for 777 yards and four touchdowns in 17 games with the Chargers last season when he broke the franchise’s career receptions record. He finished his Chargers career with 985 catches, 11,307 yards and 63 touchdowns.

In Sunday’s season-opening 41-23 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, Allen led the Colts with six receptions but had only 32 yards. Allen needs two receptions to pass Andre Johnson (1,062) for 12th and 64 yards to pass Charlie Joiner for 30th on the NFL’s career lists. His 70 TD catches are tied for 52nd all-time.

Reporting by the Associated Press.

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The injury bug strikes the San Francisco 49ers yet again. 

San Francisco 49ers rookie wide receiver De’Zhaun Stribling is reportedly expected to miss at least two months after undergoing surgery on his injured left ankle.

Kyle Shanahan said Wednesday that he opted for surgery and added he expected Stribling to miss about 10 weeks.

On Wednesday morning, ESPN reported that 49ers rookie wide receiver De’Zhaun Stribling is expected to miss at least a month after injuring his ankle in Week 1 against the Los Angeles Rams. 

The 49ers then officially placed Stribling on injured reserve, which will meant he would miss at least four games. Stribling’s absence is another blow to a wide receiver unit already missing Ricky Pearsall, who is out for the season with a knee injury.

Stribling, a second-round pick out of Ole Miss, suffered an ankle injury late in the first quarter against the Rams but returned to action. His return was brief, however, as he went down again on the 49ers’ next drive and had to be carted off the field. While there was initial speculation of an Achilles tear, head coach Kyle Shanahan ruled that out after the game. 

Stribling’s impact in his NFL debut was limited, but the 49ers were still able to pull out a win against their divisional opponent. The passing attack didn’t miss a beat, as quarterback Brock Purdy put together a strong performance.

Though Stribling failed to record a catch in the season opener, he had a strong offseason and training camp for the 49ers. With him sidelined, expect an increased workload for veteran receivers Mike Evans, Deebo Samuel and Demarcus Robinson. Against the Rams, the trio combined for 14 catches for 147 yards and three touchdowns. 

The 49ers host the Miami Dolphins in Week 2. How the San Francisco offense maintains its explosiveness will be something to watch.

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The New York Yankees returned right-handed pitcher Clarke Schmidt from his rehabilitation assignment and reinstated him from the injured list on Wednesday, aiming to integrate the 30-year-old into their bullpen for the postseason following his 14-month recovery from elbow surgery.

Schmidt had an internal brace procedure on his ulnar collateral ligament on July 11, 2025, and began minor league rehab on Aug. 29. The 2017 first-round draft pick was used exclusively as a starter since 2023, but with Cam Schlittler, Max Fried, Carlos Rodon and Gerrit Cole in the rotation, Schmidt will transition to relief.

“It’s been a long journey, a lot of work that goes into this. A lot of long days, early mornings,” Schmidt said before the game Wednesday against the Minnesota Twins. “I’ve just been itching to come back.”

The Yankees designated popular multi-position player Oswaldo Cabrera for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for Schmidt. Cabrera missed most of the 2025 season with a severe ankle injury.

“I’m blessed to have a lot of guys on this team that you just admire and respect and love doing the job with on a daily basis,” manager Aaron Boone said. “Oswaldo’s right there at the top of that list.”

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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LOS ANGELES — During a months-long spiral at the plate, Teoscar Hernández tried to maintain his upbeat, convivial persona. 

But for much of the summer, before his September revival, it was difficult for the Dodgers’ fun-loving, seed-tossing veteran presence to look or feel like himself.

“I try to stay positive and bring the same energy that you guys know and see everyday — smiling, making jokes,” Hernández told me. “But at the same time, it’s really hard.”

(Photo by David Jordan/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

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Dodgers manager Dave Roberts noticed his typically jovial outfielder looking a bit more sullen at times, too. It was understandable. 

Hernández, a fixture in the Dodgers’ lineup whose clutch hitting, encouraging nature and penchant for performing on the sport’s biggest stage helped his team win back-to-back World Series titles, had a respectable .785 OPS when he went on the injured list on May 29 with a left hamstring strain.

But the 33-year-old did not look the same when he returned a month later. From June 29 to Aug. 29, his .592 OPS was the ninth-lowest mark among all qualified MLB hitters over that stretch. 

“Some of the joy was sucked out,” Roberts told me, “because it’s hard to be so joyful when you’re not performing. He was still a good teammate, always a good teammate, but I know there were a lot of frustrating moments for him.” 

Hernández’s struggles were compounded by the fact that the Dodgers were also getting little from their other corner outfielder, Kyle Tucker, or the rest of an offense that looked lifeless for much of the summer. 

But now, at a crucial juncture for his team with All-Stars Shohei Ohtani and Andy Pages sidelined, another All-Star in Freddie Freeman battling knee soreness and the playoffs just weeks away, Hernández is taking his frustration out constructively. 

He is annihilating the baseball in September, leaving his summer slump behind and giving the Dodgers reason to believe in the depth of their offense again.

“When he catches fire,” Dodgers infielder Tommy Edman said, “he’s as good as anybody in the game.”

Even among Hernández’s best career stretches, the tear he’s on now stands out. Every part of his offensive profile is enhanced. 

Hernández, who’s prone to swing and miss even when he’s going right, is making better swing decisions. From last month to this month, he has lowered his chase rate from 36.7% to 24.8%, tripled his walk rate from 4.3% to 15.1% and cut his strikeout rate nearly in half from 31.2% to 18.9%. 

And along with a more selective approach, he is punishing every mistake in a way he couldn’t earlier this season. 

Hernández’s hard-hit rate has skyrocketed from 34.5% in July to 47.5% in August to 60% this month. His average exit velocity this September (96.6 mph) is the highest of any month in his career.  

Eight of his 10 hardest-hit balls this season have come in the last two weeks, and his power is being generated by the highest average bat speed he has produced in any month over the last two seasons (74.1 mph). 

It’s a far cry from where Hernández was just a couple of weeks ago, when his year-long struggle against right-handers had the Dodgers considering using a platoon in left field. That no longer appears to be a consideration. 

“Right now,” Roberts said, “it’s just night and day.” 

So how, exactly, did Hernández find his way back? 

“The most important part, he’s healthy,” Dodgers infielder Miguel Rojas told me. “If he’s healthy, we can see the Teo that’s running hard on the bases, stealing bases, going first to third. Obviously the bat is there because it’s his best tool, but seeing the complete player now is really refreshing.” 

Earlier this season, Hernández’s downturn looked familiar. 

A year ago, he had the highest batting average on the team when he went on the IL in May with an adductor strain. He returned two weeks later, then watched his OPS precipitously drop 200 points from May 21 (.927) to July 21 (.727). 

Clearly, the lower-body injury had lingered, throwing off his swing and sapping his power. 

This year, it was happening again, only with his hamstring. The swing that worked for him before the injury was putting too much pressure on his lower half. Upon his return from the IL, he had a .562 OPS overall in July and a team-worst .496 OPS against right-handed pitching in August. 

“I told Dave, ‘If you feel like you have to use somebody else in there, just do it,’” Hernández said.

(Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images) –>

That would not be necessary. At least, not again after Aug. 25. The decision to sit him that day was noteworthy, considering the Dodgers were coming off an off day and facing a Braves team they were battling for a first-round bye. 

In hindsight, it might have served as a wake-up call. 

On Aug. 26, Hernández returned to the lineup in Atlanta with a two-hit day. He then ended the Dodgers’ next series in Detroit with a two-run homer off Framber Valdez, which might have been the turning point. 

“I think that at-bat gave him the extra life that he needed for the last part of the season,” Rojas said. “Obviously, baseball is about confidence, and you find confidence with success, and I thought that’s what he needed. He needed, like, one good swing that he knows he’s back, and then all of a sudden we see the results we get now.”

There’s also a mechanical component to Hernández’s upswing. 

Too often, Hernández felt both rushed and late at the plate as he worked his way back from his hamstring injury. He has since opened his stance in an effort, he says, to slow his body up, prevent his front hip from flying open and give him more time to see the ball. He has also traded his more subtle toe tap for a slightly more exaggerated leg lift and hip twist as a timing mechanism that seems to be producing more power. 

These were moves he used before in his career. Now healthy, he feels his body can withstand the added force once again. 

Sometimes with hitting, the littlest tweaks can yield the biggest results. 

“That’s why it’s hard,” Hernández told me. “One day, you don’t know what you’re doing. The next day, you change barely — sometimes it’s your hands, sometimes it’s your legs, sometimes it’s how low, how tall [in the stance] — and it can click, and you go on a heater.”

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Even compared to heaters of the past, though, this one is unlike most for Hernández. If September ended today, his 1.211 OPS this month would be the highest mark in any month of his career. 

Hernández maintains that his confidence never wavered through the rough patch; that he knew, at some point, things would turn. His teammates shared that belief. 

This was the same guy, after all, who homered in every playoff series last season.

(Photo by Melina Pizano/Getty Images)

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“The clutch gene and everything that he has in him, the reason why we got him and the reason why we’ve been so good with him in the lineup the last couple years, nothing changed this year just because of a bad stretch,” Rojas told me. “To be honest with you, I was never concerned about it … I want nobody in a big at-bat more than Teo.” 

After the big hit last month in Detroit, Hernández returned home, made the swing changes and provided the elusive clutch hit the scuffling Dodgers’ offense had been missing with a walk-off double to salvage a series against the Cardinals. 

That hit helped spark an eight-game winning streak for the Dodgers, who started to look like themselves again. 

Their ebullient left fielder is looking that way, too. 

“I feel really good right now,” Hernández said. “I’ve been working really hard for this, and I’m glad and happy that everything is coming together.” 

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It will be a no-go for Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold.

Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald revealed in a press conference on Wednesday afternoon that Darnold won’t dress for the team’s Week 2 road matchup against the Arizona Cardinals due to the glute injury he sustained in the team’s Week 1 win over the New England Patriots.

Darnold suffered the injury on the Seahawks’ opening possession of the season and was replaced at quarterback by Drew Lock, who will get the starting nod against the Cardinals. Macdonald said Seattle doesn’t “anticipate” placing Darnold on injured reserve.

Darnold reportedly suffered a muscle strain but not a fracture, giving the Seahawks optimism that the starting quarterback’s absence will be short-lived. 

Taking over in the first quarter for Darnold against the Patriots, Lock threw for 187 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions, while posting a 113.3 passer rating and completing 72.7% of his passes (16 of 22) in a 13-10 win for the Seahawks. Behind Lock, who has 28 NFL starts under his belt, is second-year quarterback and former third-round pick Jalen Milroe.

Last season (2025), Darnold totaled 4,048 passing yards, 25 passing touchdowns, 14 interceptions and a 99.1 passer rating, while completing 67.7% of his passes in what was his first year with the Seahawks. He also earned his second consecutive Pro Bowl nod.

And, of course, the 2025 campaign, which saw Seattle have the best record in the NFC at 14-3, concluded with Darnold, Macdonald and the Seahawks winning Super Bowl LX, the second championship triumph in franchise history.

As for Seattle’s Week 2 game against Arizona, which can be viewed on Sunday afternoon at 4:25 p.m. ET on FOX, the Seahawks swept the 2025 season series with their NFC West rival and have won nine consecutive games against the Cardinals.

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Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season brought the drama, and then some. 

Opening night saw a dramatic victory by the Seattle Seahawks in a Super Bowl rematch over the New England Patriots, and there was an unexpected hero. A day later, the San Francisco 49ers put a pause on any Dream Team talk surrounding the Los Angeles Rams with their blowout victory Down Under.

The surprises only continued on Sunday and Monday. The Arizona Cardinals delivered the upset of the weekend, beating the Los Angeles Chargers as 10.5-point underdogs. There were other stunners, too, as this year’s Week 1 tied for the most points scored in a Week 1 in NFL history. 

So, which surprises and shocks were the best and biggest from Week 1? We share our top stunners from the opening week. 

Greg Auman: Best surprise of the opening weekend? As a team, you’d have to say the Cardinals knocking off the Chargers, but as an overall theme, how about backup quarterbacks coming off the bench and leading their team to big wins? First, it was Drew Lock leading the Seattle Seahawks past the New England Patriots on Wednesday night. He’d been 2-8 as a starter over the last five years, and then Carson Wentz stepped up for the Minnesota Vikings after Kyler Murray’s concussion. Wentz hasn’t been a full-time starter since 2021 and was 5-9 as a backup bouncing around the league, but Minnesota’s defense helped a lot, but he came through in a key division win against the Green Bay Packers. 

Packers Left A Lot To Be Desired

Steven Ruiz: I wasn’t high on the Packers coming into the season, and I was still left disappointed by their performance against the Vikings. I’m not willing to go as far as Green Bay fans calling for Matt LaFleur’s job, but this roster needs a reboot. The offensive line, which is crucial in a run-based offense, isn’t viable. It couldn’t open up anything in the run game, and the pocket was untenable for Jordan Love. Christian Watson looked good, and Love battled, but the rest of the offense offered no bright spots. 

Jordan Love completed just 50% of his passes in the Packers’ loss to the Vikings. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

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The defense may have been worse. Without Micah Parsons, the pass rush is non-existent, which makes things harder for a cornerback group that already has enough issues. I believe that LaFleur is a good coach and know that Love is a good quarterback, but the rest of the team may be beyond saving until Parsons gets back. In a competitive NFC North, that may be too late. 

Are Chargers Already in Trouble?

Eric D. Williams: Among the head-scratching results in Week 1 were the Los Angeles Chargers starting the season with a flat performance in a 26-14 loss at home against the Arizona Cardinals.

The Chargers had a rare home game in which they enjoyed home-field advantage due to the lack of Cardinals fans in attendance. Brought in to turn Justin Herbert into an MVP-worthy quarterback, offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel made his debut for the Bolts. Yet the Cardinals, led by journeyman Jacoby Brissett, were the team that dominated offensively.

Los Angeles mustered just 14 points against one of the worst defenses from last season, and it was marred by pre-snap penalties, turnovers and missed assignments that had head coach Jim Harbaugh wondering if he played his starters enough during exhibition play.

The first game for the Jim Harbaugh, Justin Herbert and Mike McDaniel trio ended with just 268 total yards.  (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

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“We made some preseason type of mistakes,” Harbaugh said. “Now in retrospect, I wish we’d played our guys a little bit more in the preseason and given them those reps.”

Added defensive leader Derwin James after the game: “This is the National Football League, man. If you don’t come ready to play, stuff like this happens.”

The road does not get any easier for the Chargers. They face a much-improved Las Vegas Raiders squad in Week 2. Following that, five of the Bolts’ next six opponents are playoff teams: the Buffalo Bills, Seattle Seahawks, Denver Broncos, Los Angeles Rams and Houston Texans — along with the Kansas City Chiefs, who look like they have returned to form with a healthy Patrick Mahomes.

Things could get ugly for the Bolts if they don’t turn things around quickly.

Did We Hype The Chargers Up Too Much?

Ralph Vacchiano: You’d think by now I’d know better than to believe in the Chargers, but I did buy a little into the hype. I thought Mike McDaniel would be the one who finally unlocked the potential of Justin Herbert. And I get that weird things happen on Opening Day. But losing at home to the Arizona Cardinals? Putting up just 268 yards against a defense that was one of the worst in the NFL last year and didn’t do much to improve in the offseason? Nothing shocked me more. 

As much as I believe the Cards have some promising young players, I really believed that with their schedule, the division they play in, and the quarterback issues and other holes, they had a shot to start 0-13. Seriously. And I was suckered into thinking the Chargers were at least a fringe contender. 

I still think Herbert is loaded with talent. I think Jim Harbaugh is a brilliant coach and I think McDaniel is a brilliant offensive mind. But something isn’t working there, obviously. They’d better fix it quickly, or they’re going to have to start thinking about a major overhaul.

And by the way, I don’t know what surprises me more about this — the Chargers losing, or the Cardinals winning. The Chargers being a disappointment is nothing new, really, so the Cardinals playing well might be the thing that shocked me most. 

Ravens More Impressive Than Bears?

Ben Arthur: How about those Ravens? With a new, green offensive coordinator in 30-year-old (!) Declan Doyle, I expected Baltimore to have hiccups offensively. I was stunned to see the Ravens’ offense look like a well-oiled machine in Week 1. Lamar Jackson, after an injury-riddled 2025 season, regained his MVP form. Derrick Henry was unstoppable. Zay Flowers was unguardable. Baltimore had 41 points and 506 yards of offense, the latter of which is its most in a game since Week 7 of the 2024 season. It came against a Colts’ defense that probably won’t be very good, but you can’t ignore an explosion like that. 

It was honestly more impressive to me than the Bears hanging 59 points on the Panthers, because we know what Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams are capable of. As much talent as the Ravens have, they have a first-time play caller and an offensive line that entered the year with questions. They put it together in the opener, and I’m now intrigued. The Bengals aren’t the only team in the AFC North that should be receiving a ton of hype. 

The Skill Position Players Who Shined, And Didn’t

Henry McKenna: It looks like we have most of the surprising team performances covered. So I figure I’ll cover a few of the individual performances that stunned me. And I’m going to focus on a few different ones that I think are not just a mirage — but performances that might set the stage for a season that defies expectations.

First, let’s hit on Jalen Coker, who put up impressive production against both Bears cornerbacks Jaylon Johnson and Tyrique Stevenson. Coker’s dominance was so comprehensive that I found myself wondering if he might end up in a 1A-1B situation with Tetairoa McMillan this year.

In that same game, we saw Bears tight end Colston Loveland finish with zero catches on two targets. After watching Loveland in training camp, I felt he was getting too much hype. But I didn’t expect this! It’s not necessarily that he won’t be a good player. But with the Bears set to emphasize the ground game all year long, their pass-catchers (from Loveland to Rome Odunze to Luther Burden) may have unreliable production.

It feels like folks have highlighted those performances. But there’s a sneaky one that I want to highlight. It’s Zay Flowers, who finished with five catches, 150 yards and a touchdown — after playing just 25 minutes. Had he not left the game with a hamstring injury (an absence which the team later clarified was precautionary), Flowers might be leading the NFL in receiving yards. (He also had a long catch-and-run where he went down on the 1-yard line and nearly scored another TD.) And as my colleague Ben pointed out, the Ravens offense looks outstanding under the leadership of Doyle, the first apple off Ben Johnson’s coaching tree. Last year was a huge step forward for Flowers. But … could he be even better this year? It looks like it.

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Despite helping AC Milan fight back from a two-goal deficit last weekend, Christian Pulisic won’t be on the United States men’s soccer team’s first roster of the 2030 World Cup cycle, multiple sources told me on Wednesday.

After fracturing two bones in his right leg in the Americans’ 2026 FIFA World Cup-ending 4-1 loss to Belgium in the round of 16, Pulisic was an unused substitute in Milan’s first three games of the 2026-27 Serie A season under new manager Ruben Amorim. But he sparked the Rossoneri’s furious second-half response last Saturday against Lazio after coming off the bench in the eventual 2-2 tie, contributing an assist in 31 minutes off the bench. 

Fellow American Yunus Musah was subbed on by Amorim at halftime and is on coach Mauricio Pochettino’s squad, sources said. Musah, 23, started all four games for the U.S. at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar but hasn’t played for his country since March 2025. U.S. Soccer will announce Pochettino’s roster on Thursday for upcoming exhibition games against Chile, Peru, Canada and Mexico.

Sixteen-year-old Cavan Sullivan is also on the USA’s September-October roster, multiple sources confirmed. ESPN was the first to report that the Philadelphia Union phenom will have the chance to become the youngest player in the 113-year history of the USA’s men’s program since Freddy Adu set the record in 2006.

Cavan Sullivan is set to make his USMNT debut. (Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images)

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Sullivan isn’t the only blue-chip teenager Pochettino summoned; sources said that Red Bull New York midfielder Adri Mehmeti, 17, will also receive his first senior team invitation this month.

Pulisic has been a national team mainstay since making his debut a decade ago. He has 90 caps and 33 goals, fifth on the all-time list. He remains the only American to play in and win a UEFA Champions League final. But the Hershey, Pennsylvania product, who turns 28 on Friday, has had a strained relationship with Pochettino since skipping the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup, which the U.S. narrowly lost to rival Mexico. 

Last week, the former Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain boss seemed to again criticize that decision, which Pulisic said he made to be ready for this summer’s World Cup. But Pulisic got hurt in the Americans’s World Cup-opening 4-1 win over Paraguay and failed to score in any of the four games in which he appeared. Still, Pochettino had never previously omitted a healthy Pulisic since taking over as U.S. coach two years ago.

While Pulisic’s absence is a surprise, Sullivan’s inclusion isn’t despite his tender age. With five goals and six assists in his last seven MLS games, the Philly native has been one of the most productive players in the domestic league since it returned from its World Cup break. Though he logged just 224 minutes of first-team playing time with the Union during his first two professional seasons, Sullivan won a starting job this year and has played in 23 games overall, scoring six goals — including two Sunday in San Diego — and adding 11 assists. The Union are unbeaten in 10 games, having posted a 8-0-2 record since July 22.

Two years ago, a then-14-year-old Sullivan broke Adu’s record to become the youngest player in the history of major American professional team sports. But Adu still holds the national team record, having made the first of his 17 career senior international appearances against Canada in 2006 at 16 years and 234 days old. Sullivan can’t top that mark; he turns 17 two days after the U.S. meets Peru in Orlando on Sept. 26. He would still be in exclusive company. Only two players besides Adu have been capped before their 17th birthday in the 113-year-history of the U.S. men’s program: Mark Jonas and Mike Slivinski in 199

Pulisic debuted at 17, the same as his longtime USA teammates Musah and Gio Reyna.

After meeting Peru on Sept. 26 in Orlando, the Stars and Stripes will face Chile in St. Louis on Sept. 29, then close out FIFA’s new extended four-match September/October international window early next month against Concacaf foes Mexico (in Glendale, Arizona) and Canada (St. Paul, Minnesota).

Burning U.S. Soccer questions ahead of window & The Cavan Sullivan hype is real

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Texas quarterback Arch Manning is just another man. He isn’t any better than that.

He showed us a side of who he is — in a brief moment, looking comfortable, being in control. He was surrounded by men who, presumably, want Manning to like them, and many showed us who they are, too: humored by the depiction of violence against women.

Not more than 48 hours after Manning led the Longhorns to the largest comeback win against an Associated Press No. 1-ranked team in 30 years, he sat for standard media availability. And then he joked about an AI video featuring violence against women, laughed at his own remarks and got a room full of men to laugh at it too.

“I’ve seen a few AI edits of stuff, but that’s about it,” Manning said, responding to a question about seeing any Texas-Ohio State clips on social media.  

“I saw an AI edit of Sark’s interview,” he continued, igniting howls from his audience as he laughed alongside them. “Have you all seen that one? That’s a good one. Of him slapping Holly Rowe? That’s hilarious.”

Saturday night after Texas’ comeback win, Rowe, an ESPN sideline reporter, tried to perform her duty and one of the most difficult tasks in the sport: get the immediate postgame interview. Amid pandemonium on the field at Darrell K. Royal Stadium, Rowe managed to duck, dart and dodge through the masses to get next to Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian.

As Rowe began to ask her question, Sarkisian dismissed her — and the national TV audience watching this exchange unfold. Many folks, myself included, were appalled at how Sarkisian chose to represent himself, his program and the University of Texas in that moment. He failed not only to show the proper respect for the title he holds, but also the decency to allow Rowe to do her job.

(Mikala Compton/The Austin American-Statesman via Getty Images)

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But most people probably forgot about that moment by Sunday morning. Preparation for Week 3 of the college football season began for every team as soon as they’d finished their last game. That’s true of Texas, which enters its next game against UTSA as both my No. 1 team and the AP’s.

That game should be the focus for Manning and the Longhorns. But it’s not because Manning chose to mention — and then laugh about — an AI video depicting violence against women. Well, one woman in particular.

At first, I thought the video of Arch Manning — widely considered one of the most polite and aw-shucks players in the country — was AI created, too. Then I realized I was wrong.

He laughed. Some men in the room laughed. 

I didn’t. 

I was appalled. I was ashamed. I was angry. Angry that the natural follow-up question — “What’s so funny about an AI video of his head coach slapping a woman?” — was either not asked or never left that room.

With all due respect — which could be none — where are the male colleagues defending Rowe? Inaction and silence is cowardly at best, dehumanizing and encouraging of violence at worst.

“People who are amused by a woman being harmed and humiliated — real or fake — not only show a severe lack of empathy; they reinforce a culture that endorses cruelty and violence against women,” Tracey Lyall, the CEO of Domestic Violence Intervention Services in Oklahoma, where I live, told me.

Manning is 22 years old — four years past the minimum age to vote and to join the U.S. military. He’s a full adult. He’s also capable of issuing an apology, an explanation and, most importantly, suffering consequences that follow.

There should be consequences.

There should be apologies. 

There should be explanations.

(Screenshot via Arch Manning’s Instagram stories)

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I don’t have faith that any meaningful consequences will find Manning, even after he issued this statement on Instagram Tuesday afternoon:

“In my press conference yesterday, I made an insensitive comment about an AI video. There is nothing funny about it. It’s easy to say I didn’t mean it, but I know my words and actions were hurtful to a lot of people. I do not take that lightly and am deeply sorry for that. I specifically want to apologize to Holly Rowe for what she has personally had to deal with because of my comments. I have a ton of respect for her and appreciate her showing me grace in this moment. I need to do better and will be more thoughtful going forward.”

So he says. So men say. We say a lot. Being accountable for our egregious actions, though? Not so much. And there are no assurances beyond his word that Manning will show the basic respect we require. He’s lost the benefit of the doubt, and he might never earn it back.

Not long after Manning published his apology, Rowe publicly accepted it. “Thank you Arch,” she wrote on social media. “I appreciate our conversation about this — which will remain private. Apology accepted. We move forward with respect and kindness for one another.”

Online, reaction has been mostly met with the kind of toxic joke-making I’ve become all too familiar with. I reposted the now-viral video with a question: “y’all laughed at that?” Most of the responses are predictably despicable and frustrating.

There should be zero tolerance for violence against women. There should be zero tolerance even for the suggestion of violence against women as a joke. 

Domestic violence is a scourge we, mostly men, are uninterested in addressing, even though globally one in three women experiences partner or sexual violence in their lifetime, and more than 316 million women have experienced partner or sexual violence in 2025 alone, according to the World Health Organization. Additionally, several studies over the years reveal a correlation between sports events and domestic violence in North America.

In college sports, the examples of violence against women, whether on an individual or systemic level, are endless — in part because so many instances are not reported. And when jokes like this are so callous and commonplace, you can’t blame victims for their silence.

But make no mistake: Believing it’s OK to make a joke about physically assaulting women is how men learn to believe it’s OK to hurt women. 

The jokes are dehumanizing, belittling. They make it that much more painful for a victim of violence to come forward.

(Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images)

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“The laughs from those in the press conference, and from everyone who shared the video, underscore how much work remains,” Lyall continued. “An apology is nice, but we must actively dismantle this culture that finds violence against women entertaining, and hold ourselves, our sports institutions and our communities to a standard where physical abuse is never tolerated, never minimized and never a joke.”

I am painfully aware much of the public does not agree with me. I am painfully aware of what standing up to a nasty joke might cost. I am also painfully aware of what still might happen if I don’t. 

Standing against violence is the bare minimum for men who want to help make a safe world for women, not because they are women, but because they are human.

You’d never let your friend, your family, your teammate be ridiculed, maligned or harmed. You’d fight back on their behalf. I will too. 

Look, I don’t know Rowe. She doesn’t know me. But we work in a field, on a field, in a job that is as tough as it is fun. Few folks care what we think of Arch Manning laughing about a fake video of his coach assaulting her, and more will make fun of us for caring at all.

But they care about Manning. Just not enough to hold him accountable. 

Manning is an elite quarterback on the best team in college football. He has a chance to be one of the greatest players the sport has ever seen if he can lead Texas to its first national championship in 21 years.

Had he taken that horrible AI edit and used it as an opportunity to condemn violence against women, the good he could’ve done — and perhaps still can do — is an order of magnitude.

On Monday, he was just another man.

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New York Yankees star right fielder Aaron Judge was pulled for a pinch hitter in the sixth inning Wednesday because of tightness in his lower right leg.

Judge, who was on the bench Tuesday for planned rest, struck out in both of his at-bats against Minnesota starter Zebby Matthews before being pulled for Heliot Ramos. Judge had to run to the gap to track down a double in the fifth, his last action in the field, but he didn’t show any sign of discomfort or slowness.

The three-time American League MVP is 4 for 26 with 13 strikeouts and one extra-base hit in seven games since returning last week from a broken rib.

Judge homered in the series opener at Minnesota on Monday, when the Yankees clinched a postseason spot. They entered Wednesday trailing AL East leader Tampa Bay by 3 1/2 games.

Reporting by the Associated Press.

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