Author: Eternity Lab

After three thrilling battles last season, the first matchup between the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers of 2026 was a blowout. 

The Packers were able to get a dominant 31-7 win over the Bears. As this week’s death of Bears icon Mike Ditka loomed over Sunday’s game, Green Bay avoided blowing a late lead as it did in its final two matchups against its division rival last year. Sure, the win doesn’t avenge the Packers’ postseason loss against the Bears, but it helped them move past Chicago in the NFC North standings.

Here are my takeaways from Sunday’s game. 

1.

The Packers receiver had a pair of long touchdowns in Sunday’s win over the Bears. The first was a wide-open grab for a 42-yard touchdown. The second was one of the plays of the day, as Watson made a wild catch in traffic in the end zone on third-and-22 for a 53-yard score. 

Those two grabs now give Watson six touchdown catches in five games. That’s already one short of his career high for an entire season, which he set as a rookie in 2022.

The Packers traded away Dontayvion Wicks and let Romeo Doubs leave in free agency, trusting that Watson and Matthew Golden could lead the way at receiver. They’ve done that, and with Jayden Reed lost to a season-ending neck injury, they’ll have to do it even more.

Watson now has six of Green Bay’s 10 passing touchdowns, helping Jordan Love to another strong start. Last year, Love had nine touchdowns and two interceptions in their first five games. But Sunday was the best game Love’s had this season, completing 25 of 31 passes for 367 yards and two touchdowns. 

2.

It was an emotional home game for the Bears, just two days after the death of beloved coach Mike Ditka, but Chicago couldn’t avoid a disappointing loss to a division rival.

Even with that disappointment, Chicago has done well to go 2-1 in three games without Caleb Williams, but backup quarterbacks can only do so much. Tyson Bagent, good enough to beat the Jets last week, looked like a backup Sunday, going 12 of 21 for 87 yards and two interceptions. He was eventually benched for Case Keenum in the fourth quarter, and Keenum threw an interception himself. 

With the division playing as well as it has from top to bottom, the Bears need Williams back, especially with a road game next weekend at a Falcons team that’s surged in the last two weeks. Winning with backups was a great storyline for two weeks, but if the Bears want to win their division again, they need Williams healthy and playing at his best as soon as possible.

3.

When the Packers gave up 39 points to the Vikings in Week 1 and 35 points to the Falcons two weeks later, the storyline was a defense missing coordinator Jeff Hafley and star edge rusher Micah Parsons.

But Green Bay’s defense has played well in the last two weeks, holding the Bucs to 14 points in a road win and now keeping the Bears in check. Both wins were against backup quarterbacks, but Chicago had won twice with its backups. The Packers had just four takeaways in their first four games, but had four Sunday, including a pair of interceptions by safety Xavier McKinney.

The Packers are 3-2, pulling even with the Bears and two back of the undefeated Vikings, but staying close until Parsons is healthy is a huge accomplishment.

Green Bay’s defense will have its hands full in the next month, with or without Parsons. The Packers’ next three games are against the Cowboys, Lions and Panthers, all in the top 10 in scoring, and then a Patriots team that just scored 45 points and has found itself with Drake Maye playing the way he did last season over the last two weeks. 

 

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The first big name traded during the NFL season: Marvin Harrison Jr.

The Arizona Cardinals have reportedly agreed to send Harrison to the Houston Texans, according to ESPN. Houston is sending second- and sixth-round picks in the 2027 draft in exchange for Harrison and Arizona’s seventh next year.

It was reported on Saturday morning that a deal involving Harrison was close. FOX’s Jay Glazer explained the delay in finalizing it on Sunday morning.

“Here’s what Arizona’s looking for: They put the word out yesterday, they’re hoping that some other team — maybe someone goes down or someone gets really desperate for a wide receiver — and they come up to their asking price of a second-round pick. But [Harrison] wasn’t even at the team meeting last night. His time in Arizona is over.”

After the trade was reported, Glazer shared more details about the deal during FOX’s broadcast of Lions-Cardinals. 

“I think it was actually a good job by the Cardinals,” Glazer said. “There weren’t a bunch of teams trying to blow down their doors for [Harrison]. I know people thought that maybe the Chiefs or Raiders were interested. Neither of those teams were interested. They really worked on this with the Texans yesterday.

“Recently, Marvin Harrison hired an agent. He had no agent before this. You really can’t do a trade if you’re dealing with a player directly. Because he hired an agent, that obviously facilitated it.”

Well, Houston won on Sunday to get to 1-4 and apparently finalized the trade after it beat the Titans. The Texans are three games back of the 4-1 Jaguars in the AFC South. Only one other team has started the season 0-4 and made the playoff: the 1992 San Diego Chargers.

With the Texans, Harrison will be reunited with a former teammate at Ohio State: quarterback C.J. Stroud.

C.J. Stroud (left) speaks with former college teammate Marvin Harrison Jr. after a game at NRG Stadium on December 14, 2025, in Houston, Texas. (Tim Warner/Getty Images)

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The Cardinals selected Harrison with the No. 4 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft after the wide receiver put together a decorated career with the Ohio State Buckeyes. 

A two-time All-American, Harrison led the Big Ten in receiving touchdowns in both 2022 and 2023 (14 scores in both years) and both receiving yards (1,211) and yards per reception (18.1) in 2023, a year that saw him finish fourth in Heisman Trophy voting.

However, Harrison’s stint with the Cardinals did not live up to the hype. After a 2024 rookie campaign that saw Harrison total 62 receptions for 885 yards and eight touchdowns, he logged 41 receptions for 608 yards and four scores in 2025. Harrison played in only 12 games in 2025 due to an illness and a heel injury.

In Arizona’s first four games this season, Harrison had just five receptions for 85 yards and one touchdown.

Marvin Harrison Jr.’s final touchdown catch with the Cardinals came on Oct. 4, 2026, against the New York Giants. (Al Bello/Getty Images)

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Last week, former NFL star wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh told our Eric D. Williams that he thinks Harrison should request a trade from the Cardinals in order to restart his career.

“I believe that’s the best thing for him, is just getting a fresh start somewhere else,” Houshmandzadeh said. “I don’t believe the Cardinals look at him as that generational player that he was when they drafted him. If they did, he would be involved in the offense.”

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Raiders fans have seen the future, at least for one drive.

No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza made his NFL debut during the Las Vegas Raiders’ 45-17 loss to the New England Patriots, taking over for veteran Kirk Cousins with the game out of reach.

Mendoza completed 6 of 8 passes for 47 yards without an interception on his first drive of meaningful NFL action. The drive ended with a turnover on downs after Mendoza scrambled and fell short of the marker on fourth down.

Cousins won the Week 1 starting job out of training camp as Las Vegas opted to bring the former Indiana star along slowly rather than throw him into the fire right away. That plan separated Mendoza from recent top overall quarterback picks, most of whom started from Day 1.

The Raiders started 3-0 with Cousins under center, before consecutive losses to the Kansas City Chiefs and Patriots. 

Mendoza arrived in Las Vegas with the hopes of a storied franchise on his shoulders. He won the Heisman Trophy last season and led Indiana to its first-ever national championship with a win over Miami in the College Football Playoff.

Next, the Raiders host the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, Oct. 18.

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San Francisco 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw was ejected in the second quarter against the Seattle Seahawks after his late hit on Sam Darnold set off a scuffle on the Seattle sideline that saw Greenlaw headbutt a helmet-less player.

Following his ejection, the NFL announced on Tuesday that Greenlaw will serve a one-game suspension. 

Greenlaw’s suspension will be without pay for one game for an act of unsportsmanlike conduct. He violated Rule 12, Section 3, Article 1, which applies to “any act which is contrary to the generally understood principles of sportsmanship.”

With about six minutes left in the first half, Greenlaw chased Darnold toward the sideline on a scramble. He gave the Seahawks quarterback an extra shove as Darnold was already heading out of bounds, and officials threw a flag for the late hit.

The Seattle bench didn’t take kindly to the shove. 

Greenlaw ended up in the middle of the Seahawks’ sideline, and Seattle linebacker Ernest Jones IV got in his face and pushed his facemask. Greenlaw responded by headbutting Jones, who didn’t have his helmet on at the time. 

Officials enforced the penalty on the late hit and ejected Greenlaw.

The headbutt also comes one week after Greenlaw drew scrutiny for his conduct in San Francisco’s Week 4 win over the Denver Broncos.

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The 49ers didn’t like the fact that the Seahawks, their hated rival, won the Super Bowl last season on their home field, Levi’s Stadium.

San Francisco can’t rewrite that history. But Sunday, it took down its division foe on their home turf.

The Niners (5-0) stayed undefeated with their 32-29 win Sunday over the Seahawks (3-2) at Lumen Field. It was a thrilling finish, with San Francisco kicker Eddy Piñeiro hitting the go-ahead, 44-yard field goal with 1:56 left and the 49ers’ defense able to hold firm on Seattle’s final drive.

Star Jaxon Smith-Njigba dropped a deep pass from quarterback Sam Darnold that would’ve set Seattle up in field goal range and fellow receiver Cooper Kupp was inches short of the line to gain on 4th-and-10, which would’ve extended the drive.  

Here are my takeaways: 

1.

As former Seahawk Kenneth Walker III continues to thrive with the Chiefs, Seattle is still looking for dependable, consistent production out of its new-look backfield this season.

It got particularly bad Sunday. Backup running back George Holani had two lost fumbles, including one at the end of the first half with the Seahawks in the shadow of their own end zone. 49ers defensive tackle Gracen Halton punched the ball out and recovered it in the end zone for a touchdown.

Earlier in the period, Holani caught a short pass and potentially had a touchdown before losing grip on the ball and had to just fall on it to settle for a first down. Quarterback Sam Darnold was sacked on the next two plays and Seattle was forced to settle for a field goal.

George Holani contributed to the Seahawks’ rushing-game woes on Sunday against the 49ers. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images) –>

Veteran tailback Emanuel Wilson, who’s been the Seahawks’ RB1 with first-round rookie Jadarian Price on injured reserve, also lost a fumble in the second quarter deep in Seattle territory, leading to a Niners’ touchdown on the next play.

The Seahawks had been hopeful that Price could be their Walker replacement, but he was inconsistent when he was available to start the year. He’ll be out for a couple more weeks on IR anyway. So the onus is on the rest of the running back room to pick up the slack and take pressure off the passing attack. But it was a disaster Sunday.

The positive news for Seattle is that tailback Zach Charbonnet, who had a team-high 12 rushing touchdowns last season, is nearing a return from ACL surgery. 

2.

The hype surrounding the Niners to start this season has revolved around Brock Purdy and, for good reason. The veteran quarterback has been the frontrunner for MVP with his uber-productive and efficient play, leading what was the league’s No. 2 scoring offense through four weeks. But San Francisco’s defense deserves a ton of love as well.

The unit ranked third in points allowed entering this week and put together a dominant performance against what can be an explosive Seahawks’ offense, recording a season-high four takeaways – the team’s most in a game since 2023. Cornerback Renardo Green picked off Sam Darnold twice, while All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner and defensive tackle Gracen Halton forced a fumble apiece.

How good the Niners’ defense has been is all the more impressive given that its defensive line has been ravaged by injuries. Pro Bowl defensive end Nick Bosa has been sidelined since Week 2, while 2025 first-round pick Mykel Williams made his season debut against Seattle. 

3.   Both Teams’ Achilles Heel

Seahawks-Niners matchups are always competitive, but Sunday’s game was defined by sloppiness on both sides. Seattle (four turnovers) and San Francisco (three) combined for seven giveaways, the most in a game this season, according to FOX Sports research. And those seven turnovers came before the fourth quarter started.

The teams combined to score 38 points off turnovers, which is the fourth most since 2000 (when points off turnovers began to be tracked).

For Seattle, the giveaways spoke to the issues that a lack of a run game could mean for the team moving forward. The running backs accounted for three fumbles (two lost), while Darnold’s two interceptions could be a byproduct of an inconsistent rushing attack. Before Sunday’s game, Darnold’s interception rate was already pacing to a career-high 4.3%.

One of San Francisco’s turnovers came from a muffed punt, and special teams could be a concern for the team moving forward. Kicker Eddy Piñeiro, who came into the game tied for a league-worst 66.7% field goal made rate, missed a 52-yard field goal in the third quarter. 

4.

If you thought Evans left his best days in Tampa, think again.

The 13-year veteran had a team-high seven catches for 133 yards and a touchdown. As Purdy’s go-to target, he played like a man possessed on the Niners’ last touchdown drive, catching four passes for 75 yards and adding a two-point conversion that gave San Francisco a 29-26 lead early in the fourth quarter.

A six-time Pro Bowler, Evans is the 49ers’ leading receiver through five weeks.

Mike Evans turned back the clock on Sunday, leading the 49ers offense down the field in the fourth quarter. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images) –>

4 1/2. What’s Next?

The Seahawks have a brutal stretch for the foreseeable future. 

In four days, Seattle will face the Broncos in Denver on Thursday night. The reigning champs won’t play again after that for 10 days, but their next game is against the 4-0 Chiefs (4-0) coming out of their bye in Week 7. After that, the Bears (3-2) await on Monday night in Week 8.

The Niners host the Commanders (1-3-1) next Monday and then travel to Atlanta the following week to face the Falcons (2-2) before their Week 8 bye. 

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A pair of low-payroll teams with similar styles will face off in the AL Championship Series.

It’s small ball vs. “Guards Ball” when the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cleveland Guardians open their best-of-seven series Monday night at Tropicana Field.

Two-time All-Star right-hander Drew Rasmussen takes the mound for Tampa Bay after dominating the New York Yankees in the opener of the AL Division Series.

Lefty Foster Griffin will start for Cleveland, which worked out late Sunday after beating the Chicago White Sox in Game 5 of its ALDS.

The Rays won an AL-best 98 games in the regular season, swept New York in the ALDS and seek the third pennant in the franchise’s 29-season history.

Cleveland won 85 games, fell behind Chicago in the ALDS and became only the 11th team to overcome an 0-2 deficit in a best-of-five playoff series.

“I don’t think it’s really set in yet,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “But we’re here. The guys are excited. We’re prepared. We’re ready to go. We’re playing some really good baseball right now.”

The Rays-Yankees matchup was David vs. Goliath in terms of payroll because New York opened the season with MLB’s third highest at $302.8 million and Tampa Bay ranked 26th at $90.5 million.

But the Rays are facing a team now that spent even less. The Guardians were last in the majors at $75.5 million.

Both teams emphasize contact at the plate, speed on the bases, strong fundamentals, solid pitching and doing whatever it takes to win.

Tampa Bay led the AL with a .258 batting average and had the fewest strikeouts in the majors. The Guardians only hit .239, didn’t have a hitter with more than 18 homers and had the fifth-fewest strikeouts in the league.

The two clubs bolstered their rosters at the trade deadline. Tampa Bay got starter Freddy Peralta, catcher Liam Hicks and reliever Tyler Wells.

Cleveland acquired Griffin, outfielder Jo Adell, and first baseman Nathaniel Lowe.

“I do think there’s more similarities than not,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said Sunday. “I feel Cleveland does mirror us or we mirror them. And I say that with the utmost respect to them, the way they develop pitching, the way they think about the game.”

Starting Matchup

Rasmussen took a no-hit bid into the eighth inning of the ALDS opener, finishing with 10 strikeouts in a 1-0 victory. He was 16-5 with a 2.67 ERA and led the AL with a 0.91 WHIP. Rasmussen has been one of baseball’s best pitchers since an internal brace procedure in July 2023 that forced him to miss more than a year.

“I could really care less where people would rank me,” Rasmussen said. “I’m going to come in every single day, be as prepared as possible and I’m going to go out there and compete to the best of my abilities and do my best to execute and give our team the best chance to win.

Griffin was 3-3 with a 5.19 ERA in nine starts for Cleveland after the trade. The 31-year-old lefty was 12-3 went a 3.06 ERA with the Nationals after spending the previous three seasons with the Yomiuri Giants of Japan’s Central League.

Griffin had seven strikeouts and gave up one run in 2 2/3 innings of relief in Game 3 against the White Sox.

“They got some slug for sure, and also just have some really good just baseball knowledge-type players: get a guy over less than two outs, knowing when to hit the sac fly, put the ball on the ground in certain situations,” Griffin said. “Have some speed, as well. More of a complete team instead of just a 1-through-9, trying to hit you for a home run or slug.”

Run Producers

Junior Caminero batted .276 with 42 homers and 101 RBIs and was 3 for 10 with one double and walked twice vs. the Yankees. Jonathan Aranda hit a career-best 22 homers in the regular season and was 4 for 12 in the ALDS with a homer in the opener.

Yandy Diaz (.293, 22, 85) and Chandler Simpson (.306, 48 steals) are integral parts of the lineup.

Chase DeLauter led the Guardians with a .287 average to go with 16 homers. Steven Kwan hit .282 and Angel Martinez led the team with 18 homers. Martinez wasn’t in the starting lineup in Game 5 vs. Chicago after going 0 for 15 and striking out eight times in the first four games. Jose Ramirez batted .235 in the regular season but homered twice against the White Sox, including a two-run drive in the 2-0 win in Game 5.

ALCS history

The Rays won their previous appearances in seven games, against Boston in 2008 and the Houston in 2020. They lost the World Series both times, to Philadelphia and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Cleveland is 3-3, including a five-game series loss to the Yankees in 2024, and have not won the World Series since in 1948 — the longest drought in the major leagues.

Reporting by the Associated Press.

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Luther Burden III said the Bears wanted to make the Packers quit. Packers linebacker Zaire Franklin kept receipts.

Franklin unloaded on Chicago’s second-year wide receiver after Green Bay’s 31-7 rout of the Bears at Lambeau Field. 

“He quit today,” Franklin told reporters. “He didn’t wanna play no more.”

Franklin didn’t stop there. He also said Burden has never done anything in the league.

Burden finished with four catches for 47 yards and four carries for 2 yards against Green Bay and Franklin fired back at Burden’s comments from earlier in the week.

Burden made his comments after the Bears beat the Jets 23-12. He was asked about head coach Ben Johnson’s well-known dislike of rival Green Bay ahead of the teams’ first meeting of the season, and he leaned all the way in.

“I feel like [Johnson] wants to beat them really bad, like everybody else in the room, every Chicago fan,” Burden said. “We just want to beat them real bad and make them quit.”

Burden also said that what happened between the teams in the past didn’t matter and that the Bears were ready to “come back home with a dub.”

Green Bay delivered a blowout victory instead.

Ben Johnson won the last two meetings and hasn’t hidden his disdain for Green Bay. Matt LaFleur answered with a 31-7 rout at Lambeau Field.(Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

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Chicago came in having won the last two meetings, a 22-16 overtime victory in Week 16 last season and a 31-27 win in the wild-card round in January. It was the first time the Bears had beaten the Packers in back-to-back meetings since 2007.

Johnson’s profane postgame shot at the Packers after that playoff win was not forgotten in Green Bay.

“They do a whole lot of weird stuff since I’ve been here,” Franklin said afterward. “We worry about ourselves, so hopefully they learn to stop dissing us.”

The Packers’ defense forced five turnovers, with three interceptions and two fumble recoveries. Green Bay sacked Tyson Bagent, who was replaced by Case Keenum late in the game, four times. 

Both teams are now 3-2. The Bears will head to Atlanta to face the Falcons while the Packers host the Cowboys next Sunday night.

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The Washington Commanders and New York Giants tied 27-27, but that’s not the biggest storyline from the game.

Quarterback Jayden Daniels drove the Commanders into field-goal range, seconds away from securing a win. But instead of spiking the ball to stop the clock, he snapped it, scrambled to the side, and went down.

This allowed the final seconds of overtime to tick away.

Players, coaches, and fans watching at home were left baffled by the decision. Even Commanders co-owner Magic Johnson voiced his frustration on social media, posting that he was in “total disbelief” over the team’s late-game clock management.

“I’m in total disbelief my Commanders had such poor clock management in today’s overtime game against the Giants,” Johnson wrote. “All we had to do was kick the field goal and we would have won the game.”

When asked about the play after the game, Daniels kept it short and brief with reporters.

“We’ve gotta relay that as an offense,” Daniels said. “It starts with everyone — top down. Ultimately it’s on me.”

Similar to Daniels, Commanders head coach Dan Quinn took full accountability. In fact, Quinn absolved Daniels of any blame for the final play. 

“The sequence of that does not fall on him,” Quinn said. “It’s an out-of-bounds throw or a ‘clock’. That has to come from me.”

Quinn also second-guessed his decision to not go for the field goal sooner.

“We can finish the kick earlier, we don’t need to gain more yards,” Quinn said. “That’s on me.”

With the tie, the Commanders moved to 1-3-1 on the season. Sure, they didn’t lose any distance from the 3-1-1 Giants in the NFC East race. However, that didn’t change the feeling among those in Washington.

“[It] feels like a loss,” Quinn said. 

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The saying “football is a game of inches” exists for a reason.

The 49ers are still undefeated, but San Francisco’s fourth-down stop that decided Sunday’s 32-29 win over the Seattle Seahawks was the biggest play of the game.

After the 49ers kicked a field goal following the two-minute warning to take a 32-29 lead, the Seahawks moved the ball to midfield and faced a fourth-and-10. 

Cooper Kupp looked like he would be stopped well short of the marker, but the veteran wide receiver fought along the sideline and stretched the ball toward the line to gain as he went out of bounds.

Officials ruled Kupp short. 

Because the play came inside two minutes, it was automatically reviewed from the booth, and the call on the field stood. That gave San Francisco the ball, who lined up in victory formation to take a knee and end the game.

On the broadcast, Tom Brady and Kevin Burkhardt were stunned by how close the play was, and Brady asked FOX rules analyst Dean Blandino how officials could possibly mark it.

Blandino explained that because Kupp’s feet were in bounds, the spot is determined by where the ball crosses the sideline, not where Kupp is.

“Take that sideline and a plane of glass going up. Where does it cross?” Blandino said. “This is so close.”

Tom Brady singled out a sideline throw from Sam Darnold to Jaxon Smith-Njigba on Seattle’s final drive, saying it was “going to come back to haunt both those guys tomorrow morning.”(Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

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Blandino said the ball appeared to cross right at the line to gain, the 40-yard line, and noted that the officials had to piece together multiple camera angles without a clean look down the line. 

Blandino predicted the call would stand, pointing to an earlier tight call in the game.

“Remember the call earlier that was really tight on the Deebo [Samuel Sr.] fumble. So if they’re going to be consistent, I would think they’ll stay with this,” Blandino said.

Burkhardt agreed there was no definitive angle, saying the spot looked “like it’s just a total guess,” and Brady added that horizontal camera angles made the play “impossible” to judge.

Once the ruling was confirmed, Burkhardt credited Blandino for getting it right.

“Oh my goodness! Talk about close, so close,” Brady said.

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Charlotte Motor Speedway (Concord, N.C.) — Chase Briscoe indicated Saturday that he had to adjust to the Joe Gibbs Racing attitude that winning races is the expectation.

He came from a Stewart-Haas Racing organization, a place where he felt victories were celebrated more. 

Now Briscoe is feeling the pressure at an organization that has a history of winning races and championships.

Briscoe made it back-to-back victories — the seventh and eighth of his career — as he won Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway, a week after winning at Las Vegas. 

He did both in dramatic fashion. The one on Sunday came as he held off a charging Christopher Bell by just 0.029 seconds, the second-closest finish in Cup history at the track.

Chase Briscoe’s win at Charlotte gave him wins in back-to-back weeks.

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Briscoe has earned six of his eight career wins the last two years since joining JGR.

“When [JGR] signed me [for 2025], I had one career Cup win and there was obviously a ton of question marks about what I guess my potential was. And for [Joe Gibbs] to take a chance on me and to be able to drive this car, it’s just a privilege,” Briscoe said in his post-race news conference. 

Here are my takeaways after the sixth race of the 10-race Chase:

1. Larson Hangs Onto Points Lead

Larson maintained his lead in The Chase standings.

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Kyle Larson saw his points lead increase by nine points, as he entered Charlotte with a 40-point lead over Denny Hamlin and left 49 up on Hamlin. Briscoe, with the win, is fourth in the standings at 65 points back (he entered at 84 points behind). Bell is 51 points behind (he entered 55 points back).

Larson, the two-time and defending Cup champion, won the opening stage, finished fourth in the second stage and wound up sixth in the race. Five of the top-six finishers were the championship leaders: Ryan Blaney (85 points behind) finished third, followed by non-Chase driver Josh Berry, Hamlin and Larson.

The four remaining races in The Chase are Phoenix, Talladega, Martinsville and Homestead.

“Just a good solid day,” Larson said in his USA Sports interview after the race “That’s what we’ve had. I feel like we maximized it.”

2. Hamlin Not Great When Needed

Denny Hamlin didn’t have the day he needed at Charlotte.

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Denny Hamlin thought he had a race-winning car for the first 100 laps, but he failed to earn points in the opening stage after one of his crew members fell over the pit road wall when reaching to grab a tire. That is considered a safety violation.

The conventional wisdom had Hamlin, the regular-season champion, winning at least one race by now in The Chase.

Instead, he has just one top-three finish and two top fives.

Hamlin told me and other reporters that his confidence is “so-so” to win his first Cup title.

“We haven’t lit the world on fire by any means, and we’re still hanging around,” Hamlin said. “It’s all we’ve got right now, and obviously, we’ve got to clean a lot of things up to get the best out of our days.

“But when it really counted with race-winning speed today, we just didn’t have it.”

3. Briscoe A Threat?

Could Chase Briscoe be a legitimate threat in The Chase?

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Not that people thought Briscoe couldn’t drive, but now that he has two wins, could he be a contender in this Chase? His crew chief, James Small, said that the team could “step on their throats” to win the title.

But that doesn’t always seem to be Briscoe’s mentality.

“He may not show it on the outside, but I know deep down he wants to win as bad as us,” Small said in his post-race news conference. “We’ve been on his ass to make sure that he hates finishing second as much as we do.”

Briscoe said he can go out and have a dominate-the-race mentality.

“The only way you’re going to cut into the gap is by winning races,” he said.

4. Wallace OK After Hard Crash

Bubba Wallace is doing fine after his crash at Charlotte.

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Bubba Wallace was OK after a hard crash where Alex Bowman got loose and over-corrected, spinning into Wallace, who then also hit the inside wall.

Wallace joked he still “got nine fingers and nine toes” after the crash, so that he was fine.

“Unfortunately, Alex got loose and we were just a byproduct,” Wallace told me and other reporters after being released from the infield medical center. “No hard feelings.”

4 ½. What’s Next: Phoenix Raceway

Can Kyle get another win at Phoenix next week?

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The series heads to Phoenix, which was the site of the championship the last several years before the finale moved to Homestead. 

But Phoenix plays a pivotal role in The Chase as a 1-mile flat track.

It has not been a good track for Hendrick Motorsports — even though Larson clinched the title there last year.

It has been a great one for Team Penske. Ryan Blaney won there in March as well as in the season finale in November.

For the Toyota teams, it’s been a solid track. It’s the place where Hamlin last year was cruising on his way to the title until a late caution resulted in pit stops and Hamlin’s four-tire stop put him too far back to rally for the title.

“Phoenix is difficult for us here lately, the last three or four races there,” Larson told me and other reporters after the race. “Hopefully, we can hit on something and be a little bit more competitive.

“And then Talladega can go either way. … You can’t get ahead of yourself.”

WHAT YOU SHOULD READ NEXT

The math has spoken. Winning matters in The Chase.

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