The New England Patriots are hoping to avoid starting the season 0-2 when they visit the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, and Bill Belichick's team could be in line for a piece of unwanted history should they fail to perform against their AFC rivals.
New England suffered a 20-7 loss the Miami Dolphins in Week 1, Mac Jones and the offense struggling to get anything going as the Patriots' quarterback battled back spasms.
Should they lose by double digits again at Acrisure Stadium, it would mark the first time they have started a season with double-digit losses since losing three straight by that margin to begin the 1969 season.
The bad news for New England is that since Mike Tomlin became Steelers head coach in 2007, nine of the 10 games between Pittsburgh and the Patriots have been decided by at least a touchdown, with the average margin of victory being 14.7 points.
The good news? The Patriots have won seven of those matchups.
Yet the Patriots are hardly in an ideal situation to continue their dominance over the Steelers.
Jones has battled illness this week but is set to play in Pittsburgh. Yet, going against a defense that picked off Joe Burrow four times in the Steelers' season-opening win over the Cincinnati Bengals – their 25th overtime victory since the extra period was implemented in 1974, the third-most in the NFL – he picked a particularly bad week to miss practice time.
The Steelers are without star edge rusher T.J. Watt because of the torn pectoral muscle he suffered in Week 1 but avoiding leaving Pittsburgh having done something no Patriots team has done for 53 years promises to be a difficult challenge for Jones and New England.
Canelo Alvarez confirmed he has his sights set on a rematch with Dmitry Bivol after convincingly handling the third fight of his trilogy against Gennadiy Golovkin on Saturday.
Alvarez took a unanimous decision on the scorecards, although two judges had things much closer than it looked to the naked eye, scoring it seven rounds to five for the Mexican, while the third judge had it eight-to-four.
In one of the most highly anticipated trilogies of this generation, the 40-year-old Golovkin had noticeably lost a step compared to the version of himself that arguably won both of the first two fights, although the first was scored as a draw and he lost a controversial majority decision in the second.
Alvarez is still very much in his prime at 32 years old, and he was physically dominant, boasting a clear speed advantage with his hands and his footwork as he seemingly took each of the first eight rounds without much trouble.
From that point on Alvarez took his foot off the pedal, coasting through the championship rounds while avoiding any dangerous exchanges as he was convinced he had already done enough to bank the decision.
Speaking after his win, Alvarez thanked Golovkin for his part in what will go down as some of the richest fights since the end of the Floyd Mayweather era, with the two competitors splitting a guaranteed $65million for Saturday's outing, and that is before adding in their pay-per-view cuts.
"Thank you so much my friend, thank you Golovkin," he said. "We gave the fans three good fights – thank you for everything.
"Thank you all so much for your support. I've gone through some very difficult things in my life, and the only thing you can do is try to continue moving forward.
"I've gone through difficult times recently with my defeat, and I've actually shown that defeats are great, because it enables you to come back and show humility.
"[Golovkin] is a really good fighter – he's a great fighter, and that's why we're here. I'm glad to share the ring with him, and I'm going to keep moving forward to keep my legacy going strong."
His recent defeat against Bivol was the only loss of Alvarez's career other than his defeat against Floyd Mayweather when he was just 23 years old back in 2013.
After starting his championship-level career at super welterweight (154lbs), Alvarez has continued to rise through the weight classes in search of more world titles.
He jumped up to middleweight (160lbs) in 2015 to defeat Miguel Cotto, before going up again to super middleweight (168lbs) – where he remains now – to dethrone Rocky Fielding in 2018.
In 2019 he made the decision to push things even further, challenging Sergey Kovalev for the light heavyweight title (175lbs), where he struggled with the significant size disadvantage, but came from behind to score a knockout win in the 11th round.
Bivol was his second crack at light heavyweight, and it went very similar to his first try, except this time he could not find a fight-changing blow through 12 rounds of impressive action from the bigger, longer, stronger Bivol.
Despite what was a surprisingly convincing loss, Alvarez made it clear he is determined to avenge the defeat, putting emphasis on the legacy he hopes to leave.
"It's very important for my legacy, for me," he said. "For my pride, for my country, for my family, for everything.
"It's very important... I will beat him."
The final fight of the trilogy between Canelo Alvarez and Gennadiy Golovkin failed to live up to the hype as the Mexican star controlled the contest from bell-to-bell for a convincing unanimous decision triumph.
After a draw in their first matchup – which most fight fans feel should have been a win for Golovkin – and another controversial majority decision win for Alvarez in the rematch, this was a decisive end to the rivalry even if the scorecards ended up close.
Two of the three judges scored the bout 115-113 for Alvarez, meaning they had him winning seven rounds to five, although there was a strong argument that Alvarez comfortably won the first eight rounds of the fight before coasting to the finish.
It was a disappointing showing for the 40-year-old Golovkin, who was once one of the most feared power punchers in the sport and arguably the better boxer for the first two fights of the trilogy, but he failed to ever threaten the 32-year-old Alvarez, who was noticeably faster with both his hands and his feet.
The loss moves Golovkin's record to 42-2-1 – with both of his losses and his draw coming against Alvarez – having entered the rivalry at a perfect 37-0.
For Alvarez, he is now 58-2-2, bouncing back from his second career loss in his last fight when he tried to jump up multiple weight classes and collect another world title, ultimately being outpointed by the much larger Dmitry Bivol.
Alvarez made a guaranteed $45million for Saturday's finale to the trilogy, and that will likely climb over $60m once his cut of the pay-per-views are factored in. Golovkin, on the 'B-side' of the draw, will pocket $20m guaranteed plus a smaller share of the pay-per-view buys.
Atlanta Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies will miss at least the rest of the regular season after the two-time All-Star broke his right pinky finger sliding head-first into second base in the fourth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday night.
The two-time Silver Slugger Award winner just returned from the 60-day injured list on Friday after missing 81 games due to a fractured left foot, which he suffered on June 13 against the Washington Nationals.
"I hate it for him because my heart breaks for him," Braves manager Brian Snitker said. "After everything he went through to get back here and then have that happen, God it's horrible for him. He was having so much fun, being the old Oz, playing ball. What he loves to do."
Albies is batting .247 with eight home runs and 35 RBIs in 64 games this season for the defending World Series champion Braves, who beat Philadelphia 4-3 to remain one game behind the first-place New York Mets in the NL East.
Atlanta is a lock to make the playoffs as they own a 10-and-a-half-game lead over the Phillies for the top wild card spot in the NL.
Atlanta Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies will miss at least the rest of the regular season after the two-time All-Star broke his right pinky finger sliding head-first into second base in the fourth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday night.
The two-time Silver Slugger Award winner just returned from the 60-day injured list on Friday after missing 81 games due to a fractured left foot, which he suffered on June 13 against the Washington Nationals.
"I hate it for him because my heart breaks for him," Braves manager Brian Snitker said. "After everything he went through to get back here and then have that happen, God it's horrible for him. He was having so much fun, being the old Oz, playing ball. What he loves to do."
Albies is batting .247 with eight home runs and 35 RBIs in 64 games this season for the defending World Series champion Braves, who beat Philadelphia 4-3 to remain one game behind the first-place New York Mets in the NL East.
Atlanta is a lock to make the playoffs as they own a 10-and-a-half-game lead over the Phillies for the top wild card spot in the NL.
Three home runs in the first inning ended up being not enough for the Houston Astros as they went down 8-5 at home against the Oakland Athletics on Saturday.
After Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez hit three home runs on Friday, he followed it up with another one less than 24 hours later, giving him six from his past six games.
But Alvarez was not one of the Astros to go deep in the first inning, with Aledmys Diaz, Kyle Tucker and Trey Mancini all taking turns hitting balls over the fence to jump out to a 4-1 lead before registering their third out.
From that point on, Athletics starting pitcher Cole Irvin tightened the screws, holding the Astros scoreless through the next six innings to allow his side a chance to fight back.
Oakland showed some power of their own in the middle frames, with Chad Pinder hitting a 348-foot wall-scraper to right field, before Seth Brown was much more convincing with his three-run, 432-foot launch in the fifth inning.
A double in the seventh inning gave Brown his fourth RBI, making it 7-5, with Alvarez's eighth-inning shot proving to be just a consolation.
It was Alvarez's 37th home run of the season, leaving him alone in third place league-wide, although he is still 20 home runs off leader Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees.
Woodruff dominates the Yankees
Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Brandon Woodruff put on a show at home against the New York Yankees, striking out 10 batters in eight innings on the way to a 4-1 win.
Woodruff allowed just one run – a solo home run to Josh Donaldson in the fourth inning – as only six Yankees reached base in the contest, with five hits and one walk.
With the bat, the majority of the damage was done by rising star Willy Adames, who became the second shortstop in the majors to hit 30 home runs this season with his three-run shot in the third inning. The other shortstop to hit 30 homers is Corey Seager, who was recently rewarded with a massive 10-year, $325million contract extension by the Texas Rangers.
Acuna carries the Braves
Ronald Acuna Jr drove in all four of the Atlanta Braves' runs in their 4-3 home win against the Philadelphia Phillies.
After two scoreless innings to begin the contest, Acuna broke the deadlock with a two-run, 427-foot bomb over the right-field wall, and then drove in another two runs with his next at-bat in the fourth inning when he doubled with two runners on base.
Both sides received solid starting pitching performances, with Philly opting to ride their ace Aaron Nola deep into the game, letting him pitch seven full innings, while the Braves pulled Jake Odorizzi after allowing just one run in four-and-two-thirds innings, although he threw only seven fewer pitches than Nola's 99.
Justin Lower shot a three-under 69 in his third round at the Fortinet Championship to earn a one-stroke lead heading into Sunday's final trip around Silverado Resort.
Lower led by two strokes after the opening round, before a Friday 71 allowed both Max Homa and Danny Willett to overtake him. With Homa and Willett both shooting even-par 72s on Saturday, Lower capitalised and re-established his position at the head of the field at 13 under.
Kicking off his second PGA Tour season after collecting two top-10 finishes in his first campaign, Lower's 69 was the best score from the leading quartet, with five birdies and two bogeys.
Homa and Willett will enter Sunday's play trailing by one at 12 under, with South Korea's An Byeong-hun alone in fourth at 11 under.
The tie for fifth at 10 under includes Matt Kuchar, Paul Haley II, Adam Svensson, and one of the two players to shoot the round of the day, Davis Thompson, who posted eight birdies and one bogey for his seven-under 65.
Australian Harrison Endycott was the only other player to shoot 65, and with it he climbed 50 places up to a tie for ninth at nine under.
Joining Endycott in rounding out the top-10 is rising talent Sahith Theegala, while Rickie Fowler is one shot further back at eight under.
It was a day to forget for major champion Hideki Matsuyama, with only one player shooting worse than his three-over 75.
Cameron Smith is three strokes clear of the field heading into the final round at LIV Golf Chicago, following up his opening 66 with a strong four-under 68 to sit at 10 under.
Smith, the reigning Open and Players champion, finished one stroke off the winner at his debut LIV event in Boston, and now has put himself in the box seat for his first win on the controversial tour.
He posted five birdies and one bogey during his second trip around Rich Harvest Farms, with only one player shooting better than his 68 on Saturday.
That player was Peter Uihlein, who climbed up to a tie for second at seven under with his 66, with seven birdies and one bogey.
Uihlein is tied with round-one leader Dustin Johnson, who followed up his blistering 63 with a disappointing two-over 74, and one shot further back in a tie for fourth is Laurie Canter and Charl Schwartzel and six under.
Rounding out the top-10, Crushers GC teammates Bryson DeChambeau and Charles Howell III are tied for sixth at five under along with Lee Westwood, and Smith's Punch GC teammate Matt Jones is part of the group tied for ninth at four under.
Smith and Jones have Punch GC one stroke off the lead in the team standings, trailing only Johnson's 4 Aces GC, who have won the last three events in a row. Johnson is doing most of the heavy lifting as captain, with his teammates Patrick Reed at one under, Talor Gooch at two over and Pat Perez at three over.
After a two-under opening round, Phil Mickelson went two over on Saturday to head into the final round at even par.
South Africa moved level on points with New Zealand at the top of the Rugby Championship standings with a 36-20 bonus-point win over Argentina on Saturday.
An ill-disciplined Argentina recovered from 16 points down at half-time to move within two of their opponents and set up a tense conclusion at Estadio Libertadores de America.
But Damian de Allende and Malcolm Marx crossed over late on to add to South Africa's three first-half tries as they made it 29 wins in their 33 Tests with Argentina.
The Springboks welcome Argentina to Durban next weekend, while New Zealand – who boast a better points difference – host Australia with their fate in their own hands.
South Africa fell behind early on to a Emiliano Boffelli penalty, but they hit back through Damian Willemse's successful kick and the opening try followed 10 minutes later.
An offside Santiago Carreras attempted to stop Jaden Hendrikse from grounding the ball and a penalty try was awarded, with the fly-half also being issued a yellow card.
Boffelli moved Argentina back within four points from the boot, but the ball was popped up to Hendrikse and he burst through under the sticks to give the Boks breathing space.
After Willemse added the extras, the visitors pushed on and had a third try through Marx, who crashed over following a sustained spell of pressure.
Argentina's hopes of recovering were further dented when referee James Doleman sin-binned Gonzalo Bertranou after losing patience for a series of infringements.
South Africa could not entirely put the game out of reach and were themselves down to 14 after Willie Le Roux, having already been warned, strayed offside.
Tomas Cubelli appeared to spill the ball when charging through and attempting to touch down, but it was deemed Kwagga Smith illegally intervened and a penalty try was given.
Smith was also yellow carded for that offence, yet it was the Boks who finished strongest as De Allende and Marx added two more tries to seal what seemed an unlikely bonus point.
Matt Ryan will have to make do without one of the top pass-catchers in the NFL in Week 2 after the Indianapolis Colts ruled Michael Pittman Jr. out for Sunday's game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Pittman, who had previously been listed as questionable, is out with a quadriceps injury.
The Colts will also be without rookie wide receiver Alec Pierce, who is recovering from a concussion.
Pittman emerged as the Colts' clear top receiver last season with 1,082 yards on 88 catches and six touchdowns.
In last weekend's season opener, he totalled nine catches for 121 yards and a score. No other Colt had over 50 receiving yards.
With Pittman out, Indianapolis my lean even more heavily on last year's rushing champion, Jonathan Taylor. Parris Campbell and Nyheim Hines could see extra targets in the passing game.
The Colts racked up 517 yards of total offense in Week 1 but left Houston with a tie against the Texans.
Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina cruised to a straight sets victory over world number 65 Ana Bogdan to secure her place in Sunday's Slovenia Open final.
The Kazakhstan representative broke Bogdan five times while saving all eight break points to seal a 6-1 6-1 triumph and reach a first final since her SW19 victory over Ons Jabeur in July.
In the final, Rybakina will face Katerina Siniakova after she overcame Anna-Lena Friedsam.
Siniakova stormed to the first set, but the second was a much closer affair and the world number 82 watched five match points come and go before she finally clinched a 6-1 7-5 success.
At the Chennai Open, Magda Linette will play Linda Fruhvirtova in Sunday's decider after coming through semi-final encounters in differing fashion.
Third seed Linette raced out to a 3-0 lead in the first set over Katie Swan before the Brit called a medical timeout after just 16 minutes of play, eventually retiring with illness.
Fruhvirtova's semi-final was a much more gruelling affair, as the 17-year-old came from a set down to overcome Nadia Podoroska 5-7 6-2 6-4 and reach her first WTA final.
Francesco Bagnaia produced "one of the best laps" of his career to set a new record and claim pole position for Sunday's Aragon Grand Prix.
The Ducati star is this weekend seeking to become the first rider to win five races in a row since Marc Marquez in 2019 and the first Italian since Valentino Rossi in 2008.
Bagnaia set an all-time lap record at the Gran Premio Animoca Brands de Aragon on Saturday with a time of 1:46.069 – 0.090 seconds faster than team-mate Jack Miller.
The 25-year-old was victorious at Aragon last year, snapping a run of nine wins in a row for Spanish riders, and looks in good shape to extend his superb form on Sunday.
"I'm very happy about the lap time because I think it's one of the best laps I've ever had," he said after qualifying. "Everything was perfect.
"I was just a bit scared in corner two because I was knowing that the best lap time was on the first attempt but on corner two the front tyre was a bit too cold.
"When I entered I was feeling that the front was closing a bit. That was the only worry to think about because everything else was perfect."
Bagnaia has closed the gap on championship leader Fabio Quartararo from 91 points to just 30 with six race weekends to go.
Quartararo has claimed only one podium finish in his past four grands prix and will start Sunday's race in sixth after losing time on the final sector.
Asked what can be done to avoid a similar outcome happening again, the Yamaha rider joked: "There is no legal plan! It's like this, we know.
"We used video analysis in the last corner to see, and we don't lose [time there]. So we know where the four tenths is being lost. If you add that up over 23 laps, it's quite a lot."
Bagnaia's future colleague Enea Bastianini finished third in qualifying to continue his strong run since the mid-season break.
Gresini rider Bastianini has finished on the podium in four races this season, which is double the number managed last season.
Bagnaia pipped Bastianini to victory in a dramatic San Marino GP last time out, but he does intend to engage in any unnecessary battles this time around.
"He's very fast," Bagnaia said of Bastianini. "I think if he has the chance to win tomorrow and if he gets away, I'm not going to go crazy trying to stay with him.
"Of course, it's important to bring back a lot of points, but it's also true that we're coming to a phase of the championship where it's essential to bring back results.
"I already made too many mistakes at the beginning of the year, so we have to understand that and try not to repeat them."
Bastianini is fourth in the overall standings, albeit 73 points behind leader Quartararo, but is happy with his performances in recent races.
"Since the summer break I've been stronger in the qualifying, but the reality is that I don't know why," he said.
"It's better for me and I think my feeling with the bike is fantastic from Silverstone. We have been fast in all the races and this is the most important for me.
"The first row is important for me to do a great race. I have to manage the first part of the race well and at the end there is the possibility that the tyre will be destroyed."
PROVISIONAL GRID
1. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) – 1:46.069
2. Jack Miller (Ducati) +0.090s
3. Enea Bastianini (Gresini) +0.244s
4. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) +0.521s
5. Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) +0.577s
6. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) +0.733s
7. Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) +0.783s
8. Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) +0.842s
9. Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) +0.843s
10. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) +0.855s
Andy Murray said it would be "really special" to get one last chance to share a tennis court with Roger Federer after the Swiss star announced his retirement.
The upcoming Laver Cup in London will be Federer's farewell event after he admitted defeat in his battle to overcome a knee problem.
Even Murray is unsure how much of an active part Federer will be able to play in London next week, but he would love to form a doubles alliance with the 20-time grand slam winner.
For many years, Murray was considered a part of a 'Big Four' in men's tennis alongside Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. They were the quartet who dominated the latter stages of the grand slams and the most prestigious regular tour events.
It latterly became known as a 'Big Three' as Murray fell away due to injury, also proving unable to keep pace with the extraordinary major-winning standards set by Federer, Nadal and Djokovic.
Federer led the head-to-head 14-11 against Murray, with the Scot getting his biggest win over the Swiss in the 2012 Olympic Games final at Wimbledon.
Three-time slam champion Murray said of Federer: "Obviously he was an amazing player. I was lucky to get to compete against him in some of the bigger matches, in the biggest tournaments, on the biggest stages in our sport.
"At the time I probably didn't appreciate it as much but looking back it's pretty amazing. It's incredible what he achieved and also what Rafa and Novak have done as well."
Federer announced his retirement on Thursday, and while Murray said that marked "a sad, sad day for the sport", he was keen to celebrate "an unbelievable career".
There is an irony about Murray wishing Federer well in retirement, given Federer did likewise with Murray in January 2019, when it seemed the former Wimbledon and US Open champion was destined to hang up his racket. A new hip has allowed Murray to unexpectedly continue on tour.
Murray said of Federer: "The longevity he's had and what he did, the way that he played the game, conducted himself, all of those things. All of the players respected him for that.
"I don't know how much he'll be able to play [at the Laver Cup], I haven't spoken to him about that, but maybe I get to share a court with him in doubles or something like that, and that would be really special."
Phil Mickelson is convinced the LIV Golf Invitational Series is "here to stay" and the PGA Tour's dominance has come to an end.
The 52-year-old is one of several high-profile players to move from the PGA Tour to the new controversial Saudi-backed LIV Golf, including Bryson DeChambeau and Open champion Cameron Smith.
The PGA Tour has been rocked by LIV Golf's emergence and since introduced numerous changes to retain players, such as increasing purses and encouraging its biggest names to play together more often. It has also suspended defectors from its tournaments.
But Mickelson believes the PGA Tour will have to come to terms with losing players to LIV Golf, telling reporters: "The PGA Tour, for the last 20 or 30 years have had all the best players in the world.
"That will never be the case again. LIV Golf is here to stay."
The bitter dispute led to some defectors suing their former tour, but Mickelson believes cooperation between the two rival tours would be beneficial for the sport.
"The best solution is for us to come together," added Mickelson after a two-under-par opening round of the ongoing LIV Golf tournament in Chicago.
"I think that the world of professional golf has a need for the old historical 'history of the game' product that the PGA Tour provides. I think that LIV provides a really cool, updated feel that is attracting a lot younger crowds.
"Both are good for the game of golf and the inclusion of LIV Golf in the ecosystem of the golf world is necessary. As soon as that happens, we all start working together. It's going to be a really positive thing for everyone."
The Los Angeles Lakers have added some experience to their roster ahead of the new season in the form of Dennis Schroder.
Schroder returns to L.A. after spending the 2020-21 season with the Lakers, before moving to the Boston Celtics and then the Houston Rockets.
The free agent point guard has signed a one-year deal worth a reported $2.64million.
Schroder – who was born in Germany – made 61 appearances in his first spell with the Lakers, averaging 15.4 points per game, as well as 5.8 assists and 3.5 rebounds.
Lakers' vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka said the player will provide a "mentality of toughness".
"We are extremely pleased to welcome Dennis Schroder back to the Lakers," Pelinka said. "Not only do Dennis and Coach [Darvin] Ham share a player-coach history together, but they also reflect one another's mentality of toughness with an extremely competitive edge.
"Dennis will add both depth and an on-ball defensive presence to our core at the guard position. He is also a proven scorer and playmaker.
"We are really excited for Dennis to get to camp and get back to work in L.A. after his highly successful run with his national team this offseason."
Schroder played a total of 64 games for the Celtics and Rockets last season, averaging 13.5 PPG, 4.6 assists and 3.3 rebounds.
Despite an offseason of considerable change, the New Orleans Saints went into this season with plenty of supporters backing them for a return to prominence in the NFC.
The Saints saw head coach Sean Payton step away from the game and replaced by defensive coordinator Dennis Allen while they also lost key pieces on defense and on the offensive line.
Yet New Orleans had some tipping them not only to win the NFC South, but to go into the playoffs as the number one seed in the conference.
Such predictions did not raise eyebrows because of the quality of the Saints' roster – it remains one of the better all-round groups in the NFC – but because of the number of unknowns surrounding the Saints.
It is a mystery whether Allen will have what it takes to be a successful head coach and whether quarterback Jameis Winston, who saw a promising seven-game stretch ended by injury last year, can finally be a success at the highest level after years of failing to live up to his status as the top pick in the 2015 draft.
The Saints' 27-26 comeback win over the Atlanta Falcons in Week 1 was far from convincing, but it seemingly removed one key unknown from the equation as Michael Thomas enjoyed a superb return from injury.
One game, one in which the Saints needed a huge fourth-quarter comeback to avoid an upset, is not enough to definitively answer questions about coach or quarterback, though.
A much larger sample size will be needed to make an assessment of Allen, but Winston faces a litmus test of his credentials as the answer for the Saints when he goes against the team that drafted him, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, in Week 2.
The Saints have won their last seven regular-season games against the Buccaneers, matching the longest winning streak by either team in this rivalry.
Winston was injured in a home win over the Bucs last year, and his ability to continue that run could provide a significant indication whether he is the man to help the Saints wrest the NFC South from Tom Brady's Buccaneers and put New Orleans on the path to one of the top seeds in the conference.
Accurate and aggressive
Winston displayed why the Saints were willing to keep the faith in him in the comeback against Atlanta, illustrating his upside as a downfield passer with six completions of 20 yards or more, which as of Friday were the fourth-most in the NFL.
He also displayed impressive accuracy, delivering a well-thrown, accurate ball on 87.1 per cent of his pass attempts, according to Stats Perform data.
The former Florida State star also averaged 9.65 air yards per attempt, with Ryan Tannehill (90.3 per cent and 9.42 air yards) the sole quarterback to average at least nine air yards and record a superior well-thrown rate than Winston.
Winston having success pushing the ball deep is nothing new. His 154 passing plays of 25 yards or more since he entered the league are the 13th-most in the league in that span. Last season, he averaged 9.14 air yards per attempt.
Yet his performance in Week 1 represented a stark improvement in terms of accuracy over what he produced in 2021. Indeed, Winston's well-thrown rate of 75.7 per cent last season was below the league average of 77.9.
Winston also excelled in delivering the ball accurately under duress, with six of his seven pass attempts when pressured considered to be well-thrown.
Whether he maintains that level of play in the face of the Tampa Bay pass rush will reveal a lot about his chances of steering the Saints to a division title.
Holding on too long?
Winston was sacked four times against the Falcons. While on the surface that may appear an indictment of the Saints' offensive line, the reality is that, for the most part, New Orleans did a very impressive job in pass protection.
The Saints ended Week 1 ranked fourth in Stats Perform's pass protection win rate. Two of their sacks were a result of individual brilliance from Falcons defensive tackle Grady Jarrett, while one was an effort sack from rookie Arnold Ebiketie and another came on a delayed blitz from the second level by Mykal Walker.
The theme across those plays where the Saints quarterback was brought down in the backfield was clear – Winston holding the ball for over three seconds.
On his seven attempts that came under pressure, Winston held the ball from snap to release for an average of 3.15 seconds.
Against a Tampa Bay defense that registered the seventh-most sacks for negative yardage (45) in the NFL last season and had no shortage of success against Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys in Week 1, Winston is unlikely to get away with hanging onto the ball for so long.
Winston's length of time holding the ball is in part connected to his aggressiveness in targeting receivers on deep routes, and he and the Saints will need the offensive line, which lost the services of three-time Pro Bowler Terron Armstead in the offseason, to hold up to facilitate those downfield shots in Week 2.
However, if it does not, Winston will need to efficiently read the field and get the ball out quickly to prevent the Saints' offense from being sunk by a fearsome Tampa Bay defense. Fail to do so, and it may be difficult to take New Orleans seriously as legitimate contenders. Thankfully for Winston, he has weapons who can offer him the safety nets he needs to frustrate opposing pass rushes with the quick game.
Winning weaponry
Having played only seven games across the last two seasons, there were substantial doubts over Thomas' ability to return and perform at the level that saw him set the NFL record for receptions in a season (194) in 2019.
Thomas emphatically answered his doubters with a two-touchdown display, his second score coming on a stunning back shoulder catch that cut the Falcons' lead to two points late in the fourth quarter.
Among wide receivers with at least five targets in Week 1, Thomas was fourth with a big-play rate of 52.9 per cent.
Between Thomas, Jarvis Landry – who went for 114 yards on his Saints debut – and rookie Chris Olave, the first-round pick who caught three passes for 41 yards, the Saints have three receivers who can all create the separation to give Winston easy answers against pressure.
Running back Alvin Kamara had little influence as a pass-catcher in Week 1, but a receiving big-play rate of 21.3 per cent that was fifth among running backs (min. 100 carries) in 2021 is indicative of just how dangerous he can be when he is a featured part of the passing game.
There is no doubt Winston has the offensive talent around him to succeed and he proved what he can do when he harnesses that talent in Week 1, becoming the first Saints player to throw for 200 or more passing yards in the fourth-quarter since 2008 as they won a game after trailing by at least 16 points in the final period for the first time.
He also has the support of defense that last year recorded one of only three shutouts of a Brady team in his 317 regular-season and 47 postseason starts.
Sitting 11th in Efficiency Versus Expected (EVE), which measures yardage gained in expected passing situations against the predicted yardage in those same scenarios, Winston made an encouraging start to what he hopes will be his first full season as the Saints' starter.
But the fact he was required to produce a late comeback against one of the NFL's least-talented teams speaks to an inconsistent offensive performance.
Volatility defined Winston's career in Tampa, but New Orleans will be substantially easier to trust as contenders if he can maintain his level while facing the quarterback who embodies consistency more than any other and help the Saints continue their hoodoo over the Bucs.
The injury-riddled New York Yankees got one of their key pieces back Friday as they activated reliever Aroldis Chapman after missing nearly a month with a leg infection he sustained from a tattoo.
Chapman hasn’t pitched for the Yankees since August 19, but made one-inning appearances for Double-A Somerset on Monday and Wednesday.
''I thought he looked really good in his rehab outing the other day,'' manager Aaron Boone said. ''He's got to earn certain spots in there and try to get it in there. Hopefully he can be successful and throw the ball like he's capable of, because physically it's there.''
Chapman, a seven-time All-Star, is 3-2 with a 4.70 ERA and nine saves in 36 appearances this season. The flame-throwing left-hander lost his role as New York’s closer earlier this season after he missed nearly six weeks with tendinitis in his left Achilles.
The Yankees lost their opening game of a three-game series at Milwaukee on Friday, trimming their lead over the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League East to five-and-a-half games. Eight pitchers were used by the Yankees, and Chapman was not one of them.
Albert Pujols was the star of the show on Friday night as he moved one step closer to becoming the fourth player to ever hit 700 home runs, connecting on number 698 in the St Louis Cardinals' 6-5 win against the Cincinnati Reds.
An RBI ground ball from Jonathan India, a two-run double from Jake Fraley and an RBI single from Aristides Aquino gave the Reds a 4-1 lead heading into the sixth inning, where sparks would fly.
The stars delivered for the Cardinals to rally back from the deficit, with NL MVP favourite Paul Goldschmidt leading off the inning with a double, before fellow NL MVP candidate Nolan Arenado drove him home with a single, bringing Pujols to the plate.
On the very first pitch, Pujols crushed a no-doubt home run sailing well over the left-field wall to tie things up, with his 427-foot shot travelling further than any ball he hit at this year's Home Run Derby, and leaving him with two required to reach 700. Only Barry Bonds (762), Hank Aaron (755) and Babe Ruth (714) have hit more.
Kyle Farmer put the Reds back ahead with his own solo home run in the seventh inning, but later in that inning Goldschmidt and Arenado would combine again, with back-to-back doubles scoring a pair of runs to take a 6-5 lead.
Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley came in to finish the job, and he did it in style, striking out all three batters from only nine pitches for a rare immaculate inning. It was only the third immaculate inning in Cardinals history.
Alvarez hits 1329 feet worth of home runs
Yordan Alvarez was in rare form for the Houston Astros in their 5-0 shut-out win against the Oakland Athletics, hitting home runs in each of his first three at-bats to deliver a win in Justin Verlander's return from injury.
The AL Cy Young Award favourite made his way back from the 15-day injured list to throw five hitless innings, striking out nine batters and only allowing one walk.
Helping him out with the bat, Alvarez hit a 434-foot home run in the first inning, followed by a 431-foot shot in the third inning, and from the first pitch of his third at-bat he did it again, blasting the longest ball of the night with a 464-foot nuke to center-field.
With his three homers, Alvarez is now tied for the third most in the majors with 36, although he remains 21 behind league-leader Aaron Judge (57).
Yankees blow a five-run lead
The New York Yankees led 5-0 in the second inning against the Milwaukee Brewers before going down 7-6 on a walk-off hit from Garrett Mitchell.
After the Yankees jumped out to their big early lead, Willy Adames pegged back four of the runs by himself, with a three-run homer in the second inning and an RBI double in the fourth.
A fielding error in the eighth inning allowed the Brewers to take a 6-5 lead, before Josh Donaldson collected his third RBI of the game with a solo home run to tie things in the last frame.
But Yankees closer Clay Holmes could not force extra innings, giving up two hits and two walks, capped off by Mitchell's game-winning single.
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