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Good morning! What a busy Sunday. Let’s catch up.
While You Were Sleeping: The best series of the playoffs?
Rob Leiter / MLB Photos via Getty Images
For all the hype around Dodgers-Phillies or even Yankees-Blue Jays, the series happening between two teams that feel like modern playoff outcasts — the Tigers and Mariners — has easily been our best watch. Consider:
On aggregate, the 1-1 series is tied 5-5 in runs. Detroit eked out a 3-2 win Saturday in extra innings. Seattle followed that with its own 3-2 win yesterday, thanks largely to Jorge Polanco’s two homers off Tigers ace Tarik Skubal, which is an incredible feat in itself.
These are the playoff nerves we crave. I hope Game 3 tomorrow is just as good. Elsewhere in MLB yesterday:
The red-hot Yankees have been fully iced in Toronto. New York was a trendy World Series pick coming into these playoffs, and its wild-card triumph over the Red Sox only emboldened those picks. After two ALDS games against the Blue Jays: Toronto 23, New York 8.
Yesterday’s smackdown came via a home-run barrage and a stellar performance from 22-year-old starter Trey Yesavage, the fast-rising prospect who was literally unhittable yesterday: He allowed no hits in 5 1/3 innings of work. He belongs here.
Let’s move to the gridiron:
Vibe Check: NFL contenders scrambling for a seat
To properly contextualize yesterday’s NFL action, I’m going to turn into a shameless company man. I don’t care, though, because the theme makes too much objective sense. We’re looking at Sunday through the eyes of The Athletic’s NFL podcasts:
Over on “The Athletic Football Show,” they have a running bit about contenders, which they call “a seat at the table.” In the offseason, hosts Robert Mays, Derrik Klassen and David Helman chose 10 teams they believed could win the Super Bowl, with the caveat that they’d be able to add or delete teams throughout the season.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were not on the initial list, for understandable reasons: They suffered some big injuries, and they were replacing offensive coordinator Liam Coen, who took the Jaguars’ top job. Last week, our hosts let the Bucs pull up a chair, and yesterday, Tampa backed up the choice:
Baker Mayfield is a legitimate MVP candidate after throwing for 379 yards and two touchdowns in the Bucs’ 38-35 win in Seattle. It’s early, but the Bucs have been nails in close games — and they did it without star offensive lineman Tristan Wirfs and the uber-important wideout Mike Evans. Tampa Bay is 4-1, with every game decided by fewer than seven points. Wild.
Other contenders were not so lucky yesterday: The Bills (4-1) lost late last night to the surging Patriots (3-2), and you’ll see Drake Maye discourse everywhere today. He and former Bills star Stefon Diggs were great for New England. The Eagles (4-1) fell victim to Denver’s late comeback (3-2). The Ravens (1-4) might be done, already. The Lions (4-1) and Colts (4-1) were just fine, though.
On the other side, I couldn’t help but think of my cameo on the “Scoop City” podcast last week, in which I asked Dianna Russini and James Palmer which fan base should be most hopeful right now in dark times: Saints, Jets, Dolphins or Titans? We saw divergent paths for all of them yesterday:
Both New Orleans and Tennessee got their first wins of the year. Jaxson Dart crashed a bit against the Saints after winning his debut last weekend, while Tennessee topped Arizona thanks to multiple wild sequences, including this brutal fumble at the goal line from Cardinals running back Emari Demercado:
IT HAPPENED AGAIN 😱
Cardinals have a 72-yd TD taken off the board pic.twitter.com/BMDvEYklhC
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) October 5, 2025
Meanwhile, the Jets (0-5) and Dolphins (1-4) are in the muck. New York was outclassed by Dallas and even had the Skycam playing for the other team. Miami choked away a sure win in Carolina, a loss so bad it feels like the coaching change is coming sooner rather than later. Woof.
I want to close the loop by asking you the same question as above in our latest Pulse Poll: Which fan base should be legitimately hopeful right now, and why?
Vote here. We’ll publish results — and best responses — tomorrow.
That was exhaustive, and we still missed some games. See highlights or read our full takeaways for more.
Let’s move on:
News to Know
Young propels Aces
It is difficult for anyone other than reigning MVP A’ja Wilson to be the headliner for the dynastic Las Vegas Aces, who hold a 2-0 lead in the WNBA Finals after a decisive Game 2 win yesterday over Phoenix. But guard Jackie Young did just that with 32 points, a harsh penalty for a Phoenix team that tried to limit Wilson. It actually backfired twofold: Young was lights out, and Wilson still scored 28 points. Yikes. It’s easy to envision this series being over quickly. Game 3 is Wednesday in Phoenix. See more here.
More news
Mark Sanchez is facing charges for his alleged role in the altercation that left him stabbed and hospitalized. More in our full report.
Texas and Penn State are out of the AP Top 25 completely, while the top five looks quite different than we expected coming into the season. See the rankings.
Canadian center back Moises Bambito suffered a fractured left tibia in a Ligue 1 match yesterday. It’s a brutal blow for Canada’s World Cup outlook.
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What to Watch
📺 MLB: Dodgers at Phillies
6:08 p.m. ET on TBS and HBO Max
Tense times in Philly, where the team was good enough to earn a bye in these playoffs but unlucky enough to draw the sport’s juggernaut for its first series. The Phils are already down 1-0 in this five-game matchup. Better win tonight, or things get dark quickly.
📺 NFL: Chiefs at Jaguars
8:15 p.m. ET on ABC and ESPN
Both teams enter on a high after Kansas City’s blowout win against Baltimore last weekend, paired with Jacksonville’s huge win in San Francisco. They saved one of the week’s best games for last.
📺 MLB: Cubs at Brewers
9:08 p.m. ET on TBS and HBO Max
Milwaukee looked every bit like MLB’s best team in a Game 1 beatdown of the division-rival Cubbies. Chicago’s season likely rests on Shota Imanaga’s left arm.
Get tickets to games like these here.
Pulse Picks
A fascinating baseball story for you this morning: Paranoia is sweeping baseball about a single issue — tipping pitches. Make time for this deep dive.
Is the NHL entering an era of coach stability? From the outside, it tracks. Pierre LeBrun says don’t bet on it.
The NBA season is lurking just two weeks away. Our writers have one burning question for all 32 teams.
Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: The Mark Sanchez news update.
Most-read on the website yesterday: ☝️
(Top photo: Olivia Vanni / Getty Images)