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— Steelers 34, Jets 32
Steelers kicked a 60-yard FG with 1:03 left for the win.
Aaron Rodgers was 22-30/244 passing, with four TD’s.
Jets outgained Pittsburgh, 394-271, led 26-17 after three quarters..
Steelers’ last four drives: 20 plays, 115 yards, 17 points.

Jets’ first four drives: 31 plays, 212 yards, 19 points.
Jets rest of game: 33 plays, 162 yards, 13 points.
Jets were 0-2 on two-point conversions.
Justin Fields looked good; he threw for 218 yards, ran for 48 more.

— Bills 41, Ravens 40
Buffalo kicked a 32-yard field goal at the gun for a comeback win.
QB Allen was 33-46/394 passing, with two TD’s.
Buffalo is 20-5-1 ATS in last 26 games with spread of 3 or fewer points.
Bills’ last five drives: 36 plays, 264 yards, 22 points.

Ravens’ first five drives: 34 plays, 277 yards, 27 points.
Baltimore’s last three drives: 8 plays, 17 yards, no points.
Ravens led 34-19 after the third quarter.
Ravens ran ball 29 times for 238 yards, converted 6-11 on 3rd down.

— Bengals 17, Browns 16
Cleveland missed an extra point and a 36-yard field goal.
Cincy was 7-14 on third down, was +2 in turnovers.
Bengals won despite being outgained, 327-141.
Bengals gained only 7 yards the whole 2nd half, the fewest yards any winning team has scored in the 2nd half of a game over the last 25 years. 

Browns’ first four drives: 43 plays, 189 yards, 16 points.
Browns rest of the game: 30 plays, 129 yards, no points.
Last 2+ years, Browns are minus-35 in turnovers.
Last 3+ years, Cleveland is 7-2 ATS in AFC North home games.

— Buccaneers 23, Falcons 20
Mayfield threw a 25-yard TD pass to Egbuka with 0:59 left.
Falcons missed a 44-yard FG that would’ve forced an overtime.
Last 3+ years, Tampa Bay is 10-4 ATS on artificial turf.
Bucs won five of last seven visits to Atlanta.

Falcons outgained Tampa Bay, 358-260.
Atlanta had an 18-play TD drive that covered 91 yards, took 8:46.
Since 2019, Atlanta is 7-12 ATS in NFC South home games.
Last two years, Falcons are 7-17 ATS in games with spread of 3 or fewer points.

— Rams 14, Texans 9
Rams improved to 7-2 in season openers under Sean McVay.
Puka Nukua caught 10 passes for 130 yards.
Last 2+ years, Rams are 7-3-1 ATS vs AFC teams.
Last 2+ years, Rams are 8-4-1 ATS in games with spread of 3 or fewer points.

Rams were 7-13 on third down, Houston 2-9.
Matthew Stafford went over 60,000 career passing yards (#10 all-time)
Texans in first half: 34 plays, 119 yards, 9 points.
Texans rest of the game: 26 plays, 121 yards, no points.

— 49ers 17, Seahawks 13
49ers drove 68 yards, scored game-winning TD with 1:34 left.
San Francisco outgained the Seahawks, 384-230
49ers won/covered last four visits to Seattle.
Last 3+ years, 49ers are 6-2-1 ATS in NFC West road games.

Seahawks led 10-7 after the third quarter.
49ers turned ball over on three of first four 2nd half drives.
Last 3+ years, Seahawks are 8-16-1 ATS at home.
Last 4+ years, Seattle is 4-9 ATS in NFC West home games.

— Packers 27, Lions 13
Green Bay’s first 3 drives: 21 plays, 184 yards, 17 points.
Packers led 17-3 at halftime.
QB Love was 16-22/188 passing, with two TD’s.
Packers won their 13th straight home opener, NFL’s longest streak since 1988. 

Lions in first half: 32 plays, 69 yards, 3 points.
Total yardage in game: 266-246, Green Bay.
Detroit ran ball 22 times for only 46 yards.
Lions didn’t score a TD until a garbage time score with 0:55 left. 

— Commanders 21, Giants 6
Giants scored only 3 points on two trips inside Washington’s 5-yard line.
Last three years, Giants were outscored 89-12 in their Week 1 games.
Last nine years, Giants are 1-8 SU/ATS in Week 1 games.
Washington outgained the Giants, 432-231. 

Commanders ran ball 32 times for 220 yards.
Washington scored twice on first four drives, led 14-3 at halftime.
QB Daniels is 15-6 as an NFL starter.
Deebo Samuel caught 7 passes for 77 yards, also had a 19-yard run.

— Cardinals 20, Saints 13
Arizona’s first five drives: 39 plays, 229 yards, 20 points.
Cardinals led 17-10 at halftime.
Saints were in Arizona red zone on last drive, but couldn’t score.
Under Gannon, Cardinals are 4-3 ATS as a favorite.

QB Rattler is 0-7 as an NFL starter; they need to play rookie QB Shough.
Saints in second half: 48 plays, 171 yards, 3 points.
New Orleans had 13 penalties for 89 yards.
Last 4+ years, Saints are 7-12 ATS as a home underdog.

— Colts 33, Dolphins 8
Colts win a season opener for first time since 2013.
Indy scored on all of their seven drives: 70 plays, 418 yards.
Colts outgained Miami, 418-211, 211-43 in first half.
Under Steichen, Indy is 13-6 ATS in games with spread of 3 or fewer points.

Colts QB Jones was 22-29/272 passing, also ran for 26 yards.
Dolphins’ first five drives: 28 plays, 123 yards, 2 turnovers, no points.
Miami was minus-3 in turnovers; they ran only 46 plays.
Since 2021, Miami is 11-16-1 ATS in games with spread of 3 or fewer points.

— Raiders 20, Patriots 13
Geno Smith was 24-34/362 passing, with a TD.
Since 2019, Las Vegas is 22-16 ATS as a road underdog.
Raiders are 8-3 ATS in last 11 road openers.
Last 2+ years, Raiders are 11-5-1 ATS in games with spread of 3 or fewer points.

New England led 10-7 at halftime.
Patriots lost four of last five season openers.
NE is 8-17-3 ATS last 28 games with spread of 3 or fewer points.
QB Maye is 3-10 as an NFL starter. 

— Jaguars 26, Panthers 10
Liam Coen wins his first game as an NFL head coach.
Jaguars’ first five drives: plays, 129 yards, no points.
Jacksonville ran ball 32 times for 200 yards.
There was a 76-minute lightning delay in the 2nd quarter.

Carolina was 8-15 on third down, but had 3 turnovers on 9 drives.
Panthers are 7-14 ATS last 21 games vs AFC opponents.
Last 4+ years, Panthers are 11-21-1 ATS as a road underdog.
QB Young is 6-23 as an NFL starter.

— Broncos 20, Titans 12
Titans kicked 4 FG’s, but 3 of those drives started in Denver territory.
Tennessee 133 yards of total offense, 131 penalty yards.
Last 2+ years, Tennessee is 4-12 ATS as a road underdog.
Titans’ defense had four takeaways (+2).

Denver outgained the Titans, 317-133.
Broncos ran ball 30 times for 151 yards.
Broncos led only 13-12 after the third quarter.
Denver has covered nine games in a row when favored.

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they do not):
NL: Phillies, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Cubs, Padres, Mets
AL: Blue Jays, Tigers, Astros. Wild Cards: New York, Red Sox, Mariners

— South Florida 18, Florida 16
You pay a team $500,000 to show up and play you, you’re not supposed to lose to that team.

South Florida not only upset the Florida Gators, they banked a half-million bucks.

USF kicked a 20-yard field goal at the gun for the win.
Bulls have started season with upsets over Boise State/Florida.
Florida committed 11 penalties for 103 yards.

— Iowa State 16, Iowa 13
Cyclones kicked a 54-yard field goal with 1:54 left for the win.
Iowa had won the previous six series games played in Ames.
Total yardage was only 238-214, in State’s favor.

— Baylor 48, SMU 45 OT
Baylor QB Robertson was 34-50/440 passing, for 440 yards, 4 TD’s.
SMU led 38-24 with 6:00 left in the game.
Baylor outgained the Mustangs, 601-458.

— NC State 35, Virginia 31
State QB Bailey was 16-23/200 passing, with a TD pass.
Cavaliers led 24-14 at halftime.
Virginia was 13-19 on third down, NC State 1-7

— Michigan State 42, Boston College 40 OT
Spartans’ QB Chiles threw for 231 yards, 4 TD’s.
BC led 21-14 at halftime.
Eagles threw for 390 yards, outgained Michigan State 457-380.

— Upsets of the Day:
South Florida (+17.5) 18, Florida 16
Army (+17.5) 24, Kansas State 21
Missouri State (+8.5) 21, Marshall 20
Jacksonville State (+7.5) 34, Liberty 24
Texas State (+3.5) 43, Tex-San Antonio 36

— Fresno State 36, Oregon State 27
Fresno drove 44 yards, kicked game-winning FG with 0:04 left.
Bulldogs scored on a pick-6 on the last play for the final margin.
Beavers’ QB Murphy was 31-48/371 passing (4 TD’s, 2 INT)

— Oklahoma 24, Michigan 13
Oklahoma outgained the Wolverines, 408-288.
Sooners led 14-0 at halftime.
Michigan QB Underwood completed only 9 of 24 passes, for 142 yards.

— Syracuse 27, UConn 20 OT
UConn led 14-6 at halftime.
UConn tied the game on a 41-yard FG with 0:01 left.
Syracuse QB Angeli was 33-53/417 passing, tin two TD’s.

— Clemson 27, Troy 16
Trojans led 16-3 at halftime on a rainy day in South Carolina.
Clemson was favored by 31 points; they ran ball for 103 yards in 2nd half.
Troy committed 10 penalties for 97 yards.

— UNLV 30, UCLA 23
Rebels outgained UCLA 250-110 in the first half, led 23-3 at half.
Bruins were on UNLV’s 25-yard line in last minute, but threw an INT
Lot of flags: UCLA had 14 penalties for 129 yards, UNLV 13 for 130.

— Famous birthdays, September 7th:
Joe Rudi, 79
Susan Blakely, 76
Bert Jones, 74
Corbin Bernsen, 71
Bill Schroeder, 67

Jason Isringhausen, 53
Kevin Love, 37
Sandy Alcantara, 30
Donovan Mitchell, 29
Heliot Ramos, 26

— Orioles 4, Dodgers 3
Yamamoto had a no-hitter going, led 3-0 with two outs in last inning.
Jackson Holliday homered, then Baltimore scored three more runs for an unlikely win.
Dodgers are 22-32 since the 4th of July.

— Astros 11, Rangers 0
Hunter Brown allowed four hits in 6 shutout IP.
Yordan Alvarez went 3-for-5 with a home run.
Astros lead AL West by 3.5 games over Seattle, 5 games over Texas.

— Cardinals 3, Giants 2
Jordan Walker’s walk-off 2-run double was the game-winner.
Justin Verlander allowed three hits in 6 scoreless IP.
Game ended the Giants’ streak of 18 straight games with a home run.

— Padres 10, Rockies 8
San Diego scored six runs in 2nd inning, cruised to an easy win.
Luis Arraez was 3-6 with two RBI for the Padres.
San Diego moves within a game of the Dodgers in the NL West.

— Diamondbacks 5, Red Sox 1
Brandon Pfaadt pitched six strong innings for Arizona.
Boston trails Toronto by 4.5 games in AL East.
Arizona has won six games in a row against the Red Sox.

— RIP to former player/manager Davey Johnson, who passed away at age 82.

Johnson played 13 years in the majors, had a .744 OPS; he hit 43 home runs for the Braves in 1973. He then managed five teams in the major leagues for 17 years, winning the ’86 World Series with the Mets.

He is an integral part of Mets’ history, on both sides; as an Oriole, he made the last out of the 1969 World Series.

RIP, sir.

— Most popular picks in Circa Casino’s survivor pool:
Broncos 7,173 entries
Cardinals 4,171
Eagles 1,811 (already won)
Jaguars 1,636
Bengals 1,231

— Chargers 27, Chiefs 21
Loss snaps Chiefs’ 11-game win streak in games decided by 8 or fewer points.
Chiefs’ first three drives: 12 plays, 28 yards, three punts.
Last 5+ years, Chiefs are 10-21 ATS vs AFC West rivals.
Over last 23 years, team that lost the Super Bowl is 6-17 ATS in its season opener the next year.

Chargers in first half: 31 plays, 181 yards, 13 points.
Bolts were 7-13 on third down, Chiefs 5-14.
Just 4th win for the Chargers in last 23 games vs Kansas City.
Last seven years, Chargers started season 1-0 six times.

— Louisville 28, James Madison 14
Game was tied 14-all after the third quarter.
Louisville’s winning TD was scored by their defense with 13:05 left.
JMU had 12 penalties for 95 yards, Cardinals 5-49.

— Maryland 20, Northern Illinois 9
Maryland won its 17th consecutive non-conference game.
Malik Washington threw for 254 yards, two TD’s.
NIU ran ball for 180 yards, but averaged only 4.1 yards/pass attempt.

— Three NFL teams have two #1 picks in next year’s draft:

Rams, Cowboys, Browns

— August 30, 1990, the Astros traded 37-year old reliever Larry Andersen to the Red Sox, for a young 1B who was playing AA ball.

Andersen helped the Red Sox win the AL East that season, making 15 relief appearances and posting a 1.23 ERA with 25 strikeouts in 22 IP, but the young player wound up in the freakin’ Hall of Fame.

You may have heard of Jeff Bagwell; he hit 449 home runs, with an OPS of .948, while playing his whole 15-year career for Houston. Pretty good deal for the Astros.

— St Louis 1B Willson Contreras had his six-game suspension reduced to four games; he started serving it Friday night, won’t be back until Tuesday’s game.

— Still strikes me as weird when I see a pitcher with a single-digit uniform number; not sure why, but it does. Jack Flaherty, MacKenzie Gore, Blake Snell come to mind.

— Famous birthdays, September 6th:
Ron Boone, 79
Jane Curtin, 78
Kevin Willis, 63
Rosie Perez, 61

Idris Elba, 53
Eric Zeier, 53
Derrek Lee, 50
Jerry Blevins, 42

Mitch Moreland, 40
Sam Acho, 37
John Wall, 35
Dustin May, 28

— AL Wild Card race:
as of now, the three Wild Cards: New York, Red Sox, Mariners
0.5 games behind- Rangers
1 game behind- Royals
2 games behind- Rays
2.5 games behind- Guardians

— White Sox 7, Tigers 5
Not for nothing, but the White Sox are 5-0 this week.
Colson Montgomery homered, had four RBI.
Detroit still leads AL Central by 8.5 games.

— Mets 5, Reds 4
Cincinnati had bases loaded, no one out in 9th inning, but didn’t score.
Mets now lead the fading Reds by six games in the NL Wild Card race.
Mets are 7-4 in last 11 games, Cincinnati 3-11 in its last 14.

— Orioles 2, Dodgers 1
Samuel Basallo hit a walk-off homer for Baltimore.
Dodgers have lost six of their last seven games.

— Blue Jays 7, New York 1
Kevin Gausman allowed four hits in 8 IP.
Toronto extends its AL East lead to four games.
Blue Jays are 8-3 vs New York this season.

— Giants 8, Cardinals 2
San Francisco has won 11 of its last 12 games.
Rafael Devers has homered four times in his last five games.
Giants trail the Mets by four games for the NL’s last Wild Card spot.

— If the playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Phillies, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Cubs, Mets, Padres
AL: Blue Jays, Tigers, Astros. Wild Cards: New York, Red Sox, Mariners

— Eagles 24, Cowboys 20
There was an hour-long lightning delay in the third quarter.
Eagles’ DL Jalen Carter got ejected before the first play; he spit on Dallas QB Prescott, while standing right next to an official.

There were 7 possessions in first half: 5 TD’s, 2 field goals. Eagles led 21-20 at half.

Eagles in first half: 30 plays, 216 yards, 21 points.
Eagles in second half: 34 plays, 83 yards, 3 points.
Cowboys lost five of their last six visits to Philadelphia.
Last seven years, Eagles are 4-3 SU/1-6 ATS in home openers.

Dallas in first half: 32 plays, 177 yards, 20 points.
Dallas in second half: 26 plays, 136 yards, no points.
Cowboys have covered their last five road openers.
Under is 7-3 in Cowboys’ last ten season openers.

— Buffalo Bills signed K Matt Prater to their practice squad; their regular kicker, Tyler Bass, has been banged-up with a hip injury. This would be Prater’s 20th year in the NFL.

— Bill Belichick has banned New England Patriots’ staff from watching his North Carolina team practice; his disdain towards the Patriots’ organization after his departure from the team two years ago apparently hasn’t lessened any.

Scouts from other teams are limited to watching just three sessions of UNC practice, but three sessions are better than none; not sure how this will help his recruiting going forward.

— Obscure Stat of the Day:
Milwaukee P Jose Quintana faced three batters in an inning Wednesday; all three guys hit a ground ball back to Quintana, the first time that happened in a 1-2-3 inning since 2017.

— New York Mets are going all-in on young starting pitchers; they’re calling up Brandon Sproat to start Sunday’s game in Cincinnati. Sproat is 8-6, 4.24 in 25 AAA starts this season.

— Detroit Lions signed QB CJ Beathard to their practice squad, to be their #3 QB, behind Jared Goff and Kyle Allen. Beathard has started 13 NFL games, for the 49ers/Jaguars.

— 20-year-old Kendall George, the 36th overall pick in the 2023 baseball draft, has stolen 97 bases in 110 games this year- he is hitting .290 with a .406 on-base percentage. George is one of the LA Dodgers’ top minor league prospects.

— Washington Nationals VP of Amateur Scouting Danny Haas has bolted Washington for the Baltimore Orioles.

— Famous birthdays, September 5th:
William Devane, 86
Billy Kilmer, 86
Michael Keaton, 74
Willie Gault, 65

Jeff Brantley, 62
Brad Hopkins, 55
Ryan Spilborghs, 46
Colt McCoy, 39

TJ Warren, 32
Jarren Duran, 29
Steven Kwan, 28
Mac Jones, 27

William Devane is a great actor who grew up here in Albany; his father was Franklin D Roosevelt’s chauffeur when FDR was governor of New York.

— Phillies 2, Brewers 0
Game was scoreless after six innings.
Trea Turner had the go-ahead hit in the 7th.
Jhoan Duran got his 26th save this season.

— Pirates 5, Dodgers 3
Paul Skenes threw six shutout innings.
Dodgers got swept three straight in Pittsburgh.
Pirates are 42-30 at home, 22-47 on the road.

— Rays 4, Guardians 2
Tampa Bay has won seven games in a row.
Ryan Pepiot threw five no-hit IP (90 PT), got the win.
Rays are only two games out of the last AL playoff spot.

— Royals 4, Angels 3
Bobby Witt’s 8th inning home run was a game-winner.
Adam Frazier got his 1,000th career hit.
Royals are only two games out of the last AL playoff spot.

— New York 8, Astros 4
Trent Grisham hit his career-high 30th home run.
New York holds the AL’s #1 Wild Card slot.
Astros still lead AL West by 3.5 games.

— White Sox 11, Twins 8
Minnesota led 7-4 after six innings.
Kyle Teel was 3-4 with three runs scored, four RBI
White Sox sweep the four game series in the Twin Cities. 

— If the playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Phillies, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Cubs, Mets, Padres
AL: Blue Jays, Tigers, Astros. Wild Cards: New York, Red Sox, Mariners

This is our Week 1 NFL article; you can find it every week on the NFL page. As the season goes on and more games are played, the information gets better.

Week 1
Thursday
Cowboys vs Eagles (-7)
Dallas won its last three road openers, covered the last four.
Since 2020, Cowboys are 10-13 ATS as a road underdog.
Last five years, Dallas is 7-8 ATS in NFC East road games.
QB Prescott is 78-51 as an NFL starter. 

This is Brian Schottenheimer’s first game as a head coach.
Under is 6-3 in Cowboys’ last nine season openers. 

Last four years, Eagles are 15-11-1 ATS as a home favorite.
Last four years, Eagles are 7-5 ATS in NFC East home games.
Last four years, Philly is 4-0 SU/3-1 ATS in Week 1 games.
Last six years, Eagles are 3-3 SU/1-5 ATS in home openers.
QB Hurts is 51-23 as an NFL starter, 5-3 in playoff games.
Sirianni is 53-23 as an NFL coach, 5-3 in playoff games.
Over is 5-1 in Philly’s last six season openers.
Over the last 17 years, the Super Bowl champ is 19-6-2 ATS in its Week 1 game the next year.

Eagles beat Dallas twice last year: 34-6/41-7.
Cowboys are 1-4 SU/ATS in last five visits to Philadelphia.
Home teams covered five of last six series games.
Over is 6-2 in last eight series games

Friday
Chargers vs Chiefs  (-2.5) (@ Brazil)
Last six years, Chargers started season 1-0 five times.
Chargers are 4-2 SU/6-0 ATS vs AFC West rivals last year.
Last year, Bolts were 3-2 ATS as an underdog. Last eight years, 

QB Herbert is 41-40 as an NFL starter, 0-2 in playoff games.
Jim Harbaugh is as an NFL head coach.

Last eight years, Chiefs are 7-1 SU/6-2 ATS in Week 1
Kansas City is 13-6-1 ATS in last 20 games with spread of 3 or fewer points.
Last five years, Chiefs are 10-20 ATS vs AFC West rivals.
QB Mahomes is 106-26 as an NFL starter, 17-3 in playoff games.

Andy Reid is 301-163-1 as an NFL head coach
Over the last 22 years, the team that lost the Super Bowl is 6-16 ATS in its season opener the next year.

Chiefs won six in row, 19 of last 22 series games.
KC beat Chargers twice last year, 19-17/17-10.
Under is 4-1 in last five meetings.

Giants @ Commanders (-7.5)
Last eight years, Giants are 1-7 SU/ATS in Week 1 games.
QB Wilson is 130-85-1 as an NFL starter, 23-32 last four years.
Daboll is 19-33-1 as an NFL head coach, 1-1 in playoffs.
Under Daboll, Giants are 12-10 ATS as a road underdog
Under Daboll, Giants are 5-4 ATS on road vs NFC East rivals.

Washington was 12-5 LY, its first winning year since 2016.
QB Daniels is 14-6 as an NFL starter.
Quinn is 60-50 as an NFL coach, 5-3 in playoffs.
Last four years, Commanders are 4-7-1 ATS at home vs NFC East rivals.
Last 20 years, Washington is 1-5-1 ATS as a favorite in Week 1 games.
Last 12 years, Commanders are 4-8 ATS in Week 1 games.

Washington beat Giants twice LY, 21-18/27-22.
Previous five years, Giants were 7-2-1 SU/ATS vs Washington.
Giants are 5-2 SU/6-1 ATS in last seven visits here. 

Cardinals (-4.5) @ Saints
Last three years, Arizona is 0-2 ATS as a road favorite.
Under Gannon, Cardinals are 3-3 ATS as a favorite.
Murray is 36-46-1 as an NFL starter.
Gannon is 12-22 in two years as a head coach.
Cardinals lost last three season openers, giving up 44-20-38 points.
This is first time since 2018 that Arizona is favored in Week 1.

Saints won their last six season openers SU.
Last four years, Saints are 7-11 ATS as a home underdog.
This is Kellen Moore’s first game as a head coach.
This is rookie QB Shough’s first NFL game- he’ll be 26 in a few weeks.

Teams split last six series games.
Over is 7-2 in last nine meetings.

Dolphins @ Colts (-1)
Dolphins won four of last five season openers.
Miami is 7-3 ATS in its last ten road openers.
QB Tagovailoa is 38-25 as an NFL starter.
McDaniel is 28-25 as a head coach, 0-2 in playoffs.
Since 2021, Miami is 11-15-1 ATS in games with spread of 3 or fewer points.
Dolphins are 12-8 ATS in last 20 games on artificial turf.

Since 2014, Colts are 0-10-1 SU in season openers.
Colts have split their last six home openers.
QB Jones 25-45-1 is as an NFL starter, with the Giants.
Steichen is 17-17 SU in two years as a head coach
Under Steichen, Indy is 12-6 ATS in games with spread of 3 or fewer points.

Colts won eight of last ten series games.
Teams split last six meetings played in Indy.

Raiders @ Patriots (-2)
Since 2019, Las Vegas is 21-16 ATS as a road underdog.
Raiders are 7-3 ATS in last ten road openers.
Last 2 years, Raiders are 10-5-1 ATS in games with spread of 3 or fewer points.
QB Geno Smith is 40-44 as an NFL starter.
Carroll is 181-131-1 as an NFL head coach, 11-11 in playoffs.
Carroll was 28-23 coaching New England from 1997-99.

Patriots lost three of last four season openers.
NE is 0-4 SU/0-3-1 ATS last four home openers.
NE is 8-16-3 ATS last 27 games with spread of 3 or fewer points.
QB Maye is 3-9 as an NFL starter.
Vrabel was 56-48 as head coach of the Titans.

Raiders won last two series games, after losing previous six.
Raiders are 0-4 SU/1-3 ATS in last four visits to Foxboro.
Tom Brady is now a part-owner of the Raiders.

Steelers (-2.5) @ Jets
Pittsburgh opens on road for 10th time in last 11 years.
Steelers won/covered four of their last five season openers.
Last four years, Pittsburgh is 4-3 ATS as a road favorite.
QB Rodgers is 164-97-1 as an NFL starter.
He played for the Jets the last two years (6-12).

Tomlin is 191-118-2 as an NFL head coach.
Tomlin won a Super Bowl, but it was in 2008.
Rodgers won a Super Bowl, but it was in 2010.
Steelers are 25-12-1 ATS last 38 games with spread of 3 or fewer points.
Under is 11-1 in their last 12 road openers.

Jets are 9-15 ATS as a home underdog.
Jets are 1-5 SU/ATS in last six season openers.
Under is 7-1 in their last eight home openers.
QB Fields is 14-30 as an NFL starter.
Fields played for the Steelers last year (4-2 in six starts).

This is Aaron Glenn’s first game as a head coach.
Last four years, Jets are minus-28 in turnovers.
Jets are 7-15-1 ATS in last 23 games with spread of 3 or fewer points.

Teams split the last ten series games.
Steelers lost four of last five visits to the Garden State.
Under is 5-2 in last seven meetings. 

Panthers @ Jaguars (-2.5)
Last 4 years, Panthers are 11-20-1 ATS as a road underdog.
Carolina is 1-5 SU/ATS in last six season openers.
Panthers are 7-13 ATS last 20 games vs AFC opponents.
QB Young is 6-22 as an NFL starter,
Canales is 5-12 as a head coach.
Last 3 years, Carolina is 5-5-2 ATS in games with spread of 3 or fewer points.

Last 5 years, Jaguars are 4-10 ATS as a home favorite.
Last 2 years, Jaguars are 6-4 ATS vs NFC opponents.
Jaguars are 6-5-1 ATS in last 12 games with spread of 3 or fewer points.
Since 2012, Jacksonville is 3-10 ATS in its home opener. 

Jaguars’ last four home openers stayed under the total.
QB Lawrence is 23-39 as an NFL starter.
This is Liam Coan’s first game as a head coach.

Carolina won four of six series games.
Three of last four meetings stayed under the total.
These two head coaches were the last two OC’s for the Buccaneers.

Bengals (-5) @ Browns
Since 2021, Bengals are 14-7 ATS as a road favorite.
Since 2021, Bengals are 13-8-1 ATS on natural grass.
Last six years, Cincinnati started 0-1 five times.
QB Burrow is 43-32-1 as an NFL starter.
Taylor is 51-54-1 as a head coach.
Under Taylor, Bengals are 8-9-1 ATS in AFC North road games,
Last three years, Cincinnati is +19 in turnovers. 

Last four years, Browns are 7-6-1 ATS as a home underdog.
Last three years, Cleveland is 7-2 ATS in AFC North home games.
Browns are 3-2 SU in their last five home openers.
QB Flacco is 115-92 as an NFL starter (7-14 since 2020)
Last two years, Browns were -22/-11 in turnovers.
Stefanski is 41-46 as a head coach.
Over is 5-1 in Cleveland’s last six home openers.

Cincinnati won four of last six series games.
Bengals are 1-6 SU/3-3-1 ATS in last seven visits to Cleveland.
Under is 3-1-1 in last five meetings.

Buccaneers (-1.5) @ Falcons
Since 2021, Tampa Bay is 7-11 ATS as a road favorite.
Since 2020, Bucs are 12-10-1 ATS in games with spread of 3 or fewer points.
Since 2021, Bucs are 7-5 ATS in NFC South road games.
Last three years, Tampa Bay is 9-4 ATS on artificial turf.
Bucs won/covered five of last seven road openers. 
Mayfield is 52-56 as an NFL starter, 20-17 with the Bucs.
Bowles is 54-68 as a head coach, 28-27 with Tampa Bay.

Last three years, Falcons are 4-2-1 ATS as a home underdog.
Since 2019, Atlanta is 7-11 ATS in NFC South home games.
Last two years, Falcons are 7-16 ATS in games with spread of 3 or fewer points.
QB Penix was 1-2 as a starter as a rookie last year.
Morris is 29-47 as a head coach.
He was 17-31 as coach of Tampa Bay, from 2009-11.
This is 6th year in a row Falcons are at home in Week 1.
Last five years, Atlanta is 1-4 SU/2-3 ATS in home openers.

Falcons won last three series games, by 3-6-5 points.
Bucs won four of last six visits to Atlanta.
Over is 9-3 in last 12 meetings.

49ers (-1.5) @ Seahawks
Since 2020, 49ers are 16-14-1 ATS as a road favorite.
Last 3 years, 49ers are 5-2-1 ATS in NFC West road games.
Since 2020, 49ers are 10-12 ATS in games with spread of 3 or fewer points.
QB Purdy is 27-15 as an NFL starter.
Shanahan is 78-66 as an NFL head coach
Under is 6-2 in San Francisco’s last eight road openers.

Last three years, Seahawks are 8-15-1 ATS at home.
Last four years, Seattle is 4-8 ATS in NFC West home games.
Since 2021, Seattle is 11-13-2 ATS in games with spread of 3 or fewer points.
Darnold is 35-39 as an NFL starter.
Seahawks are his 4th team the last four years.
MacDonald was 10-7 LY, in his first year as a head coach.

San Francisco won six of last seven series games.
49ers won/covered last three visits to Seattle.
Under is 4-1-1 in last six meetings.

Titans @ Broncos (-7)
Last two years, Tennessee was 4-11 ATS as a road underdog.
Last year, Titans were 2-9 ATS as an underdog.
Titans were minus-16 in turnovers last year.
Last four years, Tennessee is 0-4 SU/1-3 ATS in Week 1.
Rookie QB Ward is making his first NFL start.
Callahan was 3-14 LY, his first year as an NFL head coach

Last year, Denver was 8-0 ATS as a favorite, 6-0 at home.
From 2015-23, Broncos were only 13-26-4 ATS as a home favorite.
QB Nix was 10-8 as a starter in his rookie season.
Payton is 179-114 as an NFL head coach, 18-17 with Denver.
Broncos lost four of last six home openers.
Under is 6-0 in their last six home openers.

Tennessee won three of last four series games.
Last four meetings stayed under the total.

Texans @ Rams (-2.5)
Last 2 years, Texans were 10-7/10-7, 1-1 in playoffs both years.
Last 2 years, Houston was +11/+12 in turnovers.
QB Stroud is 21-15 as an NFL starter. 

Ryans is 22-16 in two years as an NFL head coach.
Under Ryans, Texans are 6-3 ATS as a road underdog.
Under Ryans, Texans are 5-4-1 ATS vs NFC teams.
Under Ryans, Houston is 9-8 ATS in games with spread of 3 or fewer points.

Last two years, Rams went 10-7/11-6 (1-2 in playoffs).
QB Stafford is 39-25 as the Rams’ starter (113-118-1 overall).
McVay is 88-57 as an NFL head coach.
Last four years, Rams are 8-12 ATS as a home favorite.
Last two years, Rams were 6-3-1 ATS vs AFC teams.
Last two years, Rams were 7-4-1 ATS in games with spread of 3 or fewer points.

Rams have won four of five games vs Houston (5-0 ATS)

Lions (-1.5) @ Packers
Last two years, Lions were 27-7 SU/24-10 ATS.
QB Goff is 85-57-1 as an NFL starter, 43-30-1 with Detroit.
Campbell is 46-37-1 as an NFL head coach.
Detroit has two new coordinators this season.
Last two years, Lions were 11-2 ATS as a road favorite.
Last 3 years, Detroit is 8-1 ATS in road games vs NFC North rivals.
Lions are 18-6 ATS in last 24 games with spread of 3 or fewer points.

Green Bay has had winning seasons 5 of last 6 years.
QB Love is as an NFL starter
LaFleur is as an NFL head coach.
Since 2018, Packers are 6-3 ATS as a home underdog.
Last 2 years, Green Bay was 1-5 ATS in home games vs NFC North rivals.
Packers are 12-12-1 ATS in last 25 games with spread of 3 or fewer points.

Detroit won five of last six series games.
Lions won/covered last three visits to Lambeau.
Over is 6-3 in last nine meetings.

Ravens @ Bills (-1.5)
Last 2 years, Ravens were 25-9 SU/22-12 ATS
QB Jackson is 73-29 as an NFL starter
John Harbaugh is 185-115 as an NFL head coach.
Since 2017, Baltimore is 14-5-2 ATS as a road underdog.
Ravens are 20-6 ATS in last 26 games with spread of 3 or fewer points.

Buffalo has had six straight winning years (71-28 SU/55-42-3 ATS)
Last year, Bills were +24 in turnovers (32-8)
QB Allen is 83-40 as an NFL starter.
McDermott is 93-52 as an NFL head coach.
Last five years, Bills are 22-17-1 ATS at home.
Buffalo is 19-5-1 ATS in last 25 games with spread of 3 or fewer points.

Ravens won four of last six series games.
Ravens lost 27-25 here in last year’s playoffs.
Under is 3-1-1 in last five meetings.

Vikings @ Bears (-1)
Vikings were 14-3 last year, dumped QB Darnold anyway.
2nd year QB McCarthy is making his first NFL start; he was hurt last year.
O’Connell is 34-19 as an NFL head coach.
Last two years, Vikings were 11-5-2 ATS on the road.
Under O’Connell, Minnesota is  4-4-1 ATS on road vs NFC North rivals.
Vikings are 14-11-4 ATS in last 29 games with spread of 3 or fewer points.
Under O’Connell, Vikings are 26-9 SU in games decided by 8 or fewer points.

Bears have had four straight losing years; they have a new coach now.
This is Ben Johnson’s first game as an NFL head coach.
QB Williams was 5-12 as a starter in his rookie year LY.
Last two years, Chicago was 10-5-1 ATS at home.
Last five years, Bears were 3-11-1 ATS at home vs NFC North rivals.
Chicago is 6-11-2 ATS in last 19 games with spread of 3 or fewer points.

Vikings won eight of last nine series games.
Minnesota is 5-0 SU/4-0-1 ATS in last five visits to Chicago.
Under is 5-2 in last seven meetings.

— Astros 2, Angels 0
Cristian Javier didn’t allow a hit in 6 IP (85 PT)
Carlos Correa had a game-winning single in 7th inning.
Angels have lost 8 of their last 10 games.

— Pirates 4, Red Sox 2
Paul Skenes threw 6 innings; he is now 9-9, 2.05 this year.
Red Sox led 2-0 after the fifth inning.
Andrew McCutchen knocked in the go-head run in the top of the 6th.

— Tarleton State 30, Army 27 OT
I-AA Tarleton was a 14.5 point underdog.
Army missed 43, 35 yard field goals at end of regulation, in overtime.
Army outgained Tarleton 411-344, but was minus-3 in turnovers.

— Auburn 38, Baylor 24
Auburn ran a kickoff back 98 yards for a TD.
Tigers ran ball for 307 yards (5.9 yards/carry).
QB Arnold, a transfer from Oklahoma, ran ball for 137 yards, scored 2 TD’s.

— Georgia Tech 27, Colorado 20
QB King ran 45 yards for a touchdown with 1:07 left.
Tech lost two fumbles, threw an INT on its first three drives.
Tech outgained Colorado, 463-305.

— Wake Forest 10, Kennesaw State 9
Jake Dickert gets a close win in his first game as Wake Forest’s coach.
Deacons’ only TD came in first quarter; they were an 18-point favorite.
Wake Forest outgained Kennesaw State of C-USA 348-307

— UNLV 38, Sam Houston State 21
Rebels led 24-7 at halftime, improved to 2-0.
QB Colandrea threw for 249 yards, two TD’s.
UNLV ran 56 plays, only 9 of them on third down. 

— Famous birthdays, August 30th:
Dave Chalk, 75
Robert Parish, 72
David Paymer, 71
Michael Michele, 59
Cameron Diaz, 53

Shaun Alexander, 48
Cliff Lee, 47
Adam Wainwright, 44
Mikal Bridges, 29
Drake Maye, 23

— Cardinals 7, Reds 5 (10)
Masyn Winn went 3-for-5, drove in three runs.
Game-winning run scored on a throwing error by Elly De La Cruz.
Reds have lost seven of their last eight games.

— Phillies 2, Braves 1
Eric Bohm’s 8th inning sac fly scored the game-winning run.
Braves had 12 hits, but were 2-12 with runners in scoring position.
Kyle Schwarber scored both runs for the Phillies.

— Mets 19, Marlins 9
Mets led 5-0 before they made an out; it was 12-0 after two innings.
Rookie Jonah Tong allowed four runs in 5 IP in his MLB debut.
Brandon Nimmo homered twice, scored 4 runs, had 4 RBI

— Brewers 7, Blue Jays 2
Freddy Peralta tossed six shutout IP.
Game was scoreless after five innings.
Toronto’s lead in AL East is down to three games.

— New York 10, White Sox 2
New York won its sixth consecutive game.
New York’s payroll: $295,660,655

Chicago lost its fourth game in a row.
White Sox’ payroll: $84,161,459

— Diamondbacks 3, Dodgers 0
Zac Gallen allowed two hits in six shutout IP.
Dodgers still lead San Diego by two games in NL West.

— Guardians 5, Mariners 4
Seattle scored 4 runs in top of 1st, led 4-1 after six innings.
Steven Kwan had a walk-off sacrifice fly in the 9th inning.
Cleveland moves within four games of Seattle for the AL’s last Wild Card slot. 

Trends for major league teams
(thru Monday’s games)

— Arizona (64-68)
Arizona won seven of its last nine home games.
Diamondbacks are 17-24 in one-run games.
Arizona scored in first inning in 14 of last 17 home games.
Arizona is 14-28 in last 42 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Braves (59-72)
Braves are 11-5 in their last 16 games.
Atlanta is 33-33 at home, 26-39 on the road.
Braves are 21-18 vs NL East rivals, 38-54 vs everyone else.
Under is 3-0 in their last three games.

— Cubs (76-55)
Chicago is 8-2 in its last ten games.
Cubs are holding #1 Wild Card slot in NL
Under is 19-3-1 in their last 23 games.
Cubs are 59-37 vs righty starters, 17-18 vs lefties.

— Reds (68-64)
Cincinnati lost four of its last five games.
Reds are 50-44 vs righty starters, 18-20 vs lefties.
Under is 13-5-1 in their last 19 road games.
Reds scored in first inning in 10 of last 19 home games.

— Rockies (37-94)
Colorado lost five of its last six games.
Under is 9-5 in Rockies’ last 14 games.
Rockies are 5-30 vs lefty starters, 32-64 vs righties. 
Colorado hasn’t scored a first inning run in its last 27 road games.

— Dodgers (75-57)
Dodgers are 6-1 in last seven home games.
LA leads San Diego by a game in NL West.
Dodgers are 56-38 vs righty starters, 19-19 vs lefties.
Under is 7-4 in their last 11 home games.

— Marlins (62-69)                                                                      
Marlins are 5-11 in their last 16 games.
Miami is 31-35 at home, 31-34 on the road.
Under is 14-7 in Marlins’ last 21 road games.
Last three weeks, Marlins are 1-5 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Brewers (82-50)
Brewers are 3-5 in their last eight games.
Milwaukee is 44-22 at home, 38-28 on the road.
Over is 13-5-1 in their last nineteen home games. 
Milwaukee leads the Cubs by 5.5 games in the NL Central.

— Mets (70-61)
Mets are 6-3 in their last nine games.
Mets are 42-24 at home, 28-37 on the road.
Over is 10-3-2 in their last 15 games.
Mets leads the Reds by 2.5 games for last NL Wild Card slot.

— Phillies (76-55)
Phillies are 14-7 in their last 21 games.
Phillies are 58-35 vs righty starters, 18-20 vs lefties.
Over is 6-1-1 in their last eight games.
Phillies lead the Mets by six games in NL East.

— Pirates (57-75)
Pirates won five of their last seven games.
Pittsburgh is 39-30 at home, 18-45 on the road.
Under is 10-5-3 in their last 18 games.
Pirates are 17-12 in last 29 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— St Louis (65-67)
St Louis is 4-8 in its last dozen games.
Cardinals are 17-6 in home series openers.
St Louis is 36-30 at home, 29-37 on the road.
Over is 7-1-1 in their last nine games.

— Padres (74-58)
San Diego won 16 of its last 21 home games.
Padres are 43-22 at home, 31-36 on the road.
Padres are 52-38 vs righty starters, 22-20 vs lefties.
San Diego is 24-18 vs NL West rivals, 50-40 vs everyone else.

— Giants (63-68)
Giants are 4-11 in their last 15 games, 2-15 in last 17 at home.
Giants are 50-45 vs righty pitchers, 13-23 vs lefties.
Over is 15-8-2 in their last 25 road games.
SF lost 10 of last 12 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Washington (53-78)
Nationals lost their last three games.
Washington is 11-24 in its last 35 home games.
Over is 7-3-4 in their last 14 games.
Washington is 22-10 last 32 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

Famous birthdays, August 26th:
Brett Cullen, 69
Rick Partridge, 68
Melissa McCarthy, 55
David Price, 40
Elvis Andrus, 37

James Harden, 36
Maikel Franco, 33
Ranger Suarez, 30
Spencer Torkelson, 26
Kyren Williams, 25

— Orioles (60-71)
Baltimore lost four of its last five games.
Over is 5-3 in their last eight games.
Orioles are 31-34 at home, 29-37 on the road.
Orioles are 19-17 vs AL East rivals, 41-54 vs everyone else.

— Red Sox (72-60)
Red Sox are 4-1 in their last five games.
Boston is 1-8 in extra-inning road games.
Over is 13-6 in their last 19 games.
Right now, Red Sox hold the 1st AL Wild Card slot.

— White Sox (48-83)
Chicago won its last three games, scoring 22 runs.
White Sox are 29-37 at home, 19-46 on the road.
Under is 7-4 in their last 11 games.
Chicago is 34-65 vs righty starters, 14-18 vs lefties.

— Cleveland (64-66)
Cleveland lost its last six games, outscored 37-10.
Guardians got shut out in their last three games.
Guardians are 49-43 vs righty starters, 15-23 vs lefties.
Over is 15-6 in their last 21 home games.

— Detroit (78-55)
Detroit is 18-9 in its last 27 games.
Tigers are 26-14 vs its AL Central rivals, lead division by 10.5 games.
Detroit is 18-4 in home series openers.
Over is 7-2 in their last nine games.

— Houston (72-59)
Astros are 13-16 in their last 29 games overall
Astros are 6-13 in their last 19 home games.
Astros lead Seattle by 1.5 games in AL West.
Over is 12-5-1 in their last 18 games.

— Royals (67-65)
Royals lost four of their last five road games.
Kansas City is 52-56 vs righty starters, 15-9 vs lefties.
Over is 4-2 in Royals’ last six games.
Royals scored in first inning in 10 of last 14 home games.

— Angels (62-69)
Angels lost seven of their last 10 games.
Halos are 8.5 games out of last Wild Card slot.
Angels are 51-57 vs righty starters, 11-12 vs lefties.
Angels are 30-17 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Twins (59-72)
Twins lost 11 of their last 15 games.
Minnesota is 33-31 at home, 26-41 on the road.
Over is 7-2 in their last nine games.
Twins haven’t scored in first inning in their last 11 games.

— New York (71-60)
New York is 9-4 in its last 13 games.
Over is 8-1 in their last nine games.
New York is 58-46 vs righty starters, 13-14 vs lefties.
Right now, New York has the #2 Wild Card slot in AL.

— A’s (61-72)
A’s are 28-22 in their last 50 games.
Over is 6-2 in their last eight home games.
A’s are 15-18 in one-run games, 8-4 in extra innings.
Last 10 weeks, A’s are 9-4 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on..

— Seattle (71-61)
Mariners lost six of their last nine games.
Seattle is 25-9 in its last 34 home games.
Over is 6-2 in their last eight games.
Right now, Mariners hold the #3 Wild Card in AL, by four games.

— Tampa Bay (64-67)
Tampa Bay won its last three games, scoring 26 runs.
Rays are 34-33 at home, 30-34 on the road.
Tampa Bay is 6.5 games out of the last Wild Card slot.
Rays are 5-10 in last 15 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Texas (66-67)
Rangers lost 12 of their last 18 games.
Texas is 54-45 vs righty starters, 12-22 vs lefties
Rangers are 40-27 at home, 26-40 on road.
Texas is 5.5 games out of the AL’s last Wild Card slot.

— Toronto (77-55)
Blue Jays are 14-9 in their last 23 games overall.
Blue Jays won 18 of their last 23 home games.
Over is 9-5-1 in their last 15 home games.
Toronto leads Red Sox by five games in AL East.

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Phillies, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Cubs, Padres, Mets
AL: Blue Jays, Tigers, Astros. Wild Cards: Red Sox, New York, Mariners

— Iowa State 24, Kansas State 21
This game, played in Ireland, was 7-7 at halftime.
Iowa State QB Becht passed for 183 yards, 2 TDs and ran for a score.
K-State outgained the Cyclones, 383-313; both teams had two turnovers.

— Hawai’i 23, Stanford 20
Hawai’i K Matsuzawa made a 38-yard FG at the gun for the win.
Matsuzawa is a Japanese kid who taught himself to kick by watching videos on YouTube.
Stanford was 8-17 on third down, Rainbows were 3-10.

— Western Kentucky 41, Sam Houston State 24
Bearkats led 24-20 with 11:58 left in third quarter.
Hilltoppers were 11-19 on third down, Sam Houston 2-14
WKU’s QB McIvor was 33-51/401 passing, with 3 TD’s.

— Kansas 31, Fresno State 7
Jayhawks outgained Fresno, 383-216- they ran ball for 207 yards.
Kansas led 24-7 at halftime and coasted home from there.
EJ Warner (Kurt Warner’s son) was 18-29/179 passing for the Bulldogs.

— UNLV 38, Idaho State 31
Rebels were a 30-point favorite in Dan Mullen’s first game as coach.
Idaho State led 31-24 with 12:00 to play.
Bengals outgained UNLV 555-532, but turned ball over four times.

— Broncos 28, Saints 19
Sean Payton wins in his return to the Superdome.
Denver outgained the Saints 396-236.
New Orleans still hasn’t decided who their starting QB will be.

— Bills 23, Buccaneers 19
#3 QB Buechele threw for 278 yards and one TD.
Tampa Bay averaged 38 yards per kick return in this game.
This was first time in his career that Josh Allen sat out the whole pre-season.

— NFL preseason scores don’t mean so much; cutdown day is Tuesday. Teams will be getting their rosters in order with no games on the schedule next weekend.

— Famous birthdays, August 24th
Anne Archer, 78
Kevin Dunn, 70
Steve Guttenberg, 67
Cal Ripken Jr., 65
Reggie Miller, 60

Marlee Matlin, 60
Tim Salmon, 57
Dave Chapelle, 52
Michael Redd, 46
Mason Miller, 27

— Padres 5, Dodgers 1
Nestor Cortes allowed one hit in six scoreless IP.
Padres won their last five games.
San Diego leads NL West by a game, with 32 games left.

— Astros 9, Orioles 8
Christian Walker homered for the third game in a row.
Astros led 7-5 after the third inning.
Colton Cowser homered, had 3 RBI for the Orioles.

— Mets 9, Braves 2
Mets hit six home runs; McNeil/Vientos homered twice each.
Clay Holmes allowed three hits in 6.1 IP.
Cal Quantrill was Atlanta’s 17th starting pitcher this season.

— Red Sox 12, New York 1
Red Sox have won eight games in a row against New York.
Trevor Story was 3-5, with a homer, 3 RBI
Guys batting 7-9th in Boston’s order were 8-14 with six runs scored.

— Blue Jays 7, Marlins 6 (12)
Toronto led 4-0 in the 7th inning.
George Springer was 3-6, with 2 RBI, 2 runs scored.
Blue Jays lead AL East by five games.

— Giants 7, Brewers 1
Freddy Peralta threw 5 shutout IP, Brewers led 1-0 after five.
Milwaukee’s bullpen gave up three runs in the sixth inning.
Logan Webb pitched six innings, got his 12th win.

— Diamondbacks 10, Reds 1
Arizona led 7-0 in the fourth inning, against Reds’ ace Andrew Abbott.
Geraldo Perdomo leads major league shortstops with 84 RBI.
Cincinnati trails the Mets by games for the last Wild Card slot.

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Phillies, Brewers, Padres. Wild Cards: Cubs, Dodgers, Mets
AL: Blue Jays, Tigers, Astros. Wild Cards: Red Sox, New York, Mariners

Trends for major league teams
(thru Friday’s games)

— Arizona (63-66)
Arizona won six of its last seven home games.
Diamondbacks are 17-24 in one-run games.
Arizona scored in first inning in 12 of last 15 home games.
Arizona is 14-27 in last 41 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Braves (58-70)
Braves are 10-3 in their last 13 games.
Atlanta is 32-32 at home, 26-38 on the road.
Braves are 20-16 vs NL East rivals, 38-54 vs everyone else.
Over is 7-3 in their last ten games.

— Cubs (74-55)
Chicago is 6-2 in its last eight games.
Cubs are seven games behind Milwaukee in NL Central.
Under is 18-2-1 in their last 21 games.
Cubs are 57-37 vs righty starters, 17-18 vs lefties.

— Reds (67-62)
Cincinnati is 15-12 in its last 27 games.
Reds are 49-43 vs righty starters, 18-19 vs lefties.
Under is 11-4-1 in their last 16 road games.
Reds scored in first inning in 10 of last 19 home games.

— Rockies (37-92)
Colorado is 7-4 in its last eleven games.
Over is 8-5 in Rockies’ last 13 road games.
Rockies are 5-30 vs lefty starters, 32-62 vs righties. 
Colorado hasn’t scored a first inning run in its last 25 road games.

— Dodgers (73-56)
Dodgers are 15-17 since All-Star break.
LA/San Diego are tied for first in NL West.
Dodgers are 54-38 vs righty starters, 19-18 vs lefties.
Under is 5-3 in their last eight games.

— Marlins (60-68)                                                                      
Marlins are 5-12 in their last 17  games.
Miami is 29-34 at home, 31-34 on the road.
Under is 14-7 in Marlins’ last 21 road games.
Last three weeks, Marlins are 1-4 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Brewers (81-48)
Brewers are 32-7 in their last 39 games.
Milwaukee is 43-20 at home, 38-28 on the road.
Over is 11-4-1 in their last sixteen home games. 
Milwaukee leads the Cubs by 7 games in the NL Central.

— Mets (68-60)
Mets are 6-16 in their last 22 games, 4-2 in last six.
Mets are 41-24 at home, 27-36 on the road.
Over is 8-2-2 in their last 12 games.
Mets trail Philly by six games in NL East.
Mets leads the Reds by 1.5 games for last NL Wild Card slot.

— Phillies (74-54)
Phillies are 12-6 in their last 18 games.
Phillies are 57-34 vs righty starters, 17-20 vs lefties.
Over is 4-0-1 in their last five games.
Phillies lead the Mets by six games in NL East.

— Pirates (55-74)
Pirates won three of their last four games.
Pittsburgh is 37-30 at home, 18-44 on the road.
Under is 8-4-3 in their last 15 games.
Pirates are 17-11 in last 28 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— St Louis (64-66)
St Louis is 3-7 in its last ten games.
Cardinals are 16-6 in home series openers.
St Louis is 35-30 at home, 29-36 on the road.
Under is 11-4-1 in their last sixteen home games.

— Padres (73-56)
San Diego won 15 of its last 19 home games.
Padres are 42-21 at home, 31-35 on the road.
Padres are 51-36 vs righty starters, 22-20 vs lefties.
San Diego is 23-17 vs NL West rivals, 50-39 vs everyone else.

— Giants (61-68)
Giants are 9-25 in their last 34 games, 2-15 in last 17 at home.
Giants are 48-45 vs righty pitchers, 13-23 vs lefties.
Over is 14-7-2 in their last 23 road games.
SF lost 10 of last 12 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Washington (53-75)
Nationals are 6-3 in their last nine games.
Washington is 11-24 in its last 35 home games.
Over is 5-2-4 in their last 11 games.
Washington is 22-10 last 32 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

Famous birthdays, August 23rd:
Barbara Eden, 94
Richard Sanders, 85
Shelley Long, 76
Mike Boddicker, 68

Julio Franco, 67
Mark Ingram, 60
Mark Bellhorn, 51
Scott Caan, 49

Rex Grossman, 45
Miles Mikolas, 37
Mike Yastrzemski, 35
Tyler Glasnow, 32

— Orioles (59-69)
Baltimore won six of its last nine games.
Over is 4-1 in their last five games.
Orioles are 30-32 at home, 29-37 on the road.
Orioles are 19-16 vs AL East rivals, 40-53 vs everyone else.

— Red Sox (70-59)
Red Sox are 5-7 in their last 12 games.
Boston is 1-8 in extra-inning road games.
Over is 11-5 in their last 16 games.
Right now, Red Sox hold the 1st AL Wild Card slot.

— White Sox (45-83)
Chicago lost 14 of its last 17 games.
White Sox are 26-37 at home, 19-46 on the road.
Over is 3-1 in their last four games.
Chicago is 32-65 vs righty starters, 13-18 vs lefties.

— Cleveland (64-63)
Cleveland is 1-6 in its last seven games.
Guardians are 4 games out of the last Wild Card slot.
Guardians are 49-41 vs righty starters, 15-22 vs lefties.
Over is 14-6 in their last 20 home games.

— Detroit (77-53)
Detroit is 17-7 in its last 24 games.
Tigers are 25-13 vs its AL Central rivals, lead division by 10.5 games.
Detroit is 18-4 in home series openers.
Under is 13-7 in their last 20 road games.

— Houston (71-58)
Astros are 12-15 in their last 27 games overall
Astros are 6-13 in their last 19 home games.
Astros lead Seattle by 2.5 games in AL West.
Over is 11-4-1 in their last 16 games.

— Royals (66-63)
Royals are 10-5 in their last fifteen games.
Kansas City is 51-54 vs righty starters, 15-9 vs lefties.
Over is 11-7 in Royals’ last 18 games.
Royals scored in first inning in 10 of last 14 home games.

— Angels (61-67)
Angels lost 11 of their last 15 road games.
Halos are 7.5 games out of last Wild Card slot.
Angels are 50-55 vs righty starters, 11-12 vs lefties.
Angels are 30-17 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Twins (59-69)
Twins lost 8 of their last 12 games.
Minnesota is 33-31 at home, 26-38 on the road.
Over is 5-1 in their last six games.
Twins haven’t scored in first inning in their last eight games.

— New York (69-59)
New York is 9-5 in its last 14 games.
Over is 5-1 in their last six games.
New York is 56-46 vs righty starters, 13-13 vs lefties.
Right now, New York has the #2 Wild Card slot in AL.

— A’s (59-71)
A’s are 26-21 in their last 47 games.
Under is 6-3 in their last nine road games.
A’s are 14-18 in one-run games, 7-4 in extra innings.
Last 10 weeks, A’s are 8-3 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on..

— Seattle (69-60)
Mariners lost five of their last six games.
Seattle is 23-8 in its last 31 home games.
Over is 5-2 in their last seven games.
Right now, Mariners hold the #3 Wild Card in AL, by three games.

— Tampa Bay (62-67)
Tampa Bay is 15-31 in its last 46 games.
Rays are 33-33 at home, 29-34 on the road.
Tampa Bay is 7 games out of the last Wild Card slot.
Rays are 5-10 in last 15 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Texas (64-66)
Rangers lost 11 of their last 15 games.
Texas is 53-44 vs righty starters, 11-22 vs lefties
Rangers are 38-26 at home, 26-40 on road.
Texas is 5.5 games out of the AL’s last Wild Card slot.

— Toronto (75-54)
Blue Jays are 12-8 in their last 20 games overall.
Blue Jays won 17 of their last 22 home games.
Over is 8-5-1 in their last 14 home games.
Toronto leads Red Sox by five games in AL East.

— SEC football is moving to a nine-game conference schedule next year, which should help get more of its teams into the College Football Playoff.

Under the new format, each team will face every other SEC program at least once every two years and every opponent home and away over four years. Each school will play three of its rivals every year.

— Over/under bet for this season:

Vikings’ QB JJ McCarthy, who was hurt last year and didn’t play, his over/under for passing yards this season is 3,600.5 yards.

Last year, Sam Darnold threw for 4,319 yards for Minnesota in their 14-3 season.

— Jacksonville Jaguars hired Liam Coen as its new head coach; he is seen as an offensive guru and QB Trevor Lawrence needs one of those.

Lawrence’s salary cap hit in 2026 is $39M, in 2027 it is $29M; Jaguars really need him to be the leader they expect him to be.

— Speaking of salary cap hits, Baltimore Ravens’ front office has some accounting to do; in 2026, Lamar Jackson’s cap hit is $74.5M, then in 2027, it will also be $74.5M, a huge amount of $$$. At some point, they need to spread that money out somehow.

— Steelers 19, Panthers 10
Game was tied 10-10 at halftime.
Steelers averaged 7.2 yards per play, Carolina 4.0.
Rookie K Ben Sauls kicked four field goals. 

— GM of the Panthers Dan Morgan was in the TV booth during this game; he was saying how these practices against other teams during the week are really valuable. He said he wished they had them back when he played.

To an extent, it makes the actual exhibition games a little less relevant, but it helps the teams get better with less injury risk for the star players.

— Giants 42, Patriots 10
Giants led 14-10 at halftime.
QB DeVito was 17-20/198 passing, with three TD’s.
Undrafted QB Ben Woolridge played the whole game for New England.

— Famous birthdays, August 22nd:
Carl Yastrzemski, 86
Paul Molitor, 69
Wes Chandler, 69

Ty Burrell, 58
James Corden, 47
Adam Thielen, 35

Randall Cobb, 35
Maxx Crosby, 28
LaMelo Ball, 24

— Cincinnati Reds’ C Tyler Stephenson broke his thumb, is out for the year.

— Nationals 9, Mets 3
Mets led this game 3-0 in fourth inning.
James Wood hit his 26th home run, just his 2nd since the All-Star break.
New York is 5-16 in its last 21 games; they lead the Reds by half a game for the last Wild Card in the National League.

— Brewers 4, Cubs 1
Brice Turang homered, his 8th home run in 18 games.
Brewers’ bullpen got 13 outs, didn’t allow a run.
Cubs went 3-2 in this series, they trail Milwaukee by 7 games in NL Central.

— Red Sox 6, New York 3
Roman Anthony homered, knocked in three runs.
New York made four errors, gave up three unearned runs.
Red Sox are 6-1 against New York this season.

— Astros 7, Orioles 2
Jesus Sanchez went 5-for-5; he entered the game on an 0-for-29 skid.
Christian Walker, Yainer Diaz homered for the Astros.
Dylan Beavers hit his first MLB home run for the Orioles.

— A’s 8, Twins 3
Tyler Soderstrom went 4-for-4, has a 19-game hitting streak.
Minnesota is 2-7 in its last nine games.
A’s are 17-8 in their last 25 games.

— Royals 6, Rangers 4
Vinnie Pasquantino has homered in four straight games.
Royals have won six of their last seven games.
Royals trail Seattle by two games for the AL’s last Wild Card slot.

— Padres 8, Giants 4
Manny Machado drove in three runs for San Diego.
Padres trail the Dodgers by a game in the NL West.
Justin Verlander is 1-10, 4.64 this season. 

— Disturbing report in the news tonight; on May 4, 2024, a shot was fired from outside the Chiefs’ facility in Kansas City, went through the glass of Andy Reid’s office and lodged into a wall about 15 feet from where Reid was sitting shortly after midnight local time.

Reid now has bulletproof glass protecting him in the office.

— New Orleans Saints are only NFL team that hasn’t named its starting QB for Week 1; Spencer Rattler (0-6 as a starter LY) and 25-year old rookie Tyler Shough are the candidates. Kellen Moore is in his first year as a head coach; he’s taking his time with this decision.

— Atlanta Falcons aren’t expected to use QB’s Michael Penix/Kirk Cousins in their preseason finale in Dallas Friday; #3 QB Emory Jones is in concussion protocol, so Atlanta signed Ben DiNucci to play this week’s game, and maybe more.

DiNucci played in three games with the Cowboys in 2020; since then, he played in the XFL in 2023, has been on practice squads for the Falcons, Saints and Buffalo.

— Cincinnati Bengals are spending 39% of their salary cap this year on QB’s/WR’s, more than any other NFL team. 

— Chicago Bears signed backup QB Tyson Bagent for two years, $10M; Agent was 2-2 as a starter for the Bears in 2023— he played college ball at Shepherd College in West Virginia.

— Mets’ OF Juan Soto has 30 home runs, 20 stolen bases this season; before this year, the most bases he ever stole in one season was 12, in 2019/2023.

— Congrats to Jimmy Vaccaro, who has retired after 50 years as a Las Vegas bookmaker; most recently, he was working at South Point in Las Vegas. He turns 80 years old in October.

I met Jimmy Vaccaro at South Point a few years ago; good guy, he was cleaning up papers on the sportsbook floor at South Point. We talked for a few minutes; his sportsbook was a fun place to hang out and watch games. We wish him well.

— Famous birthdays, August 21st:
Willie Lanier, 80
Archie Griffin, 71
Gary Hogeboom, 67
Jim McMahon, 66

Craig Counsell, 55
Jesse Chavez, 42
BJ Upton, 41
JD Martinez, 38

Brandon Drury, 33
Mike Evans, 32
Ryan Pepiot, 28
Corbin Carroll, 25

Today would’ve been the great Wilt Chamberlain’s 89th birthday.

— Tigers 7, Astros 2
Detroit scored six runs in the first inning.
Tigers are 9-2 in their last eleven games.
Astros scored total of two runs in their last four games.

— Braves 1, White Sox 0
Atlanta won 11-10 Tuesday, then won this game in a totally opposite way.
Huston Waldrep struck out seven guys in 7 IP.
Both teams had four hits; the only run scored on an error. 

— Nationals 5, Mets 4
Josh Bell hit his 16th home run for the Nationals.
Brandon Nimmo left the game with a stiff neck.
Washington’s bullpen got the last 11 outs, allowing only two baserunners.

— Angels 2, Reds 1
Luis Rengifo had the game-winning hit in the 8th inning.
Yusei Kikuchi tossed seven IP, allowed only seven baserunners.
Cincinnati remains a game behind the Mets for the NL’s last Wild Card slot.

— Phillies 11, Mariners 2
Trey Turner went 5-for-6, scored three runs.
Kyle Schwarber went 3-for-5, drove in five runs.
Mariners have lost seven of their last eight games.

— New York 6, Tampa Bay 4 (10)
Giancarlo Stanton hit a pinch-hit home run in the 10th inning.
New York hit five home runs, has hit 14 the last two games.
Rays had tied the game with two runs in ninth inning.

— A’s 4, Twins 2 (10)
Shea Langeliers hit a 2-run homer in the 10th inning.
Langeliers has hit 16 of his 28 home runs since the All-Star break.
A’s are 16-8 in their last 24 games overall.

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they do not):
NL: Phillies, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Cubs, Mets, Padres.
AL: Blue Jays, Tigers, Astros. Wild Cards: New York, Mariners, Red Sox

— Over the last 22 years, the team that lost the Super Bowl is 6-16 ATS in its season opener the next year.

Over the last 17 years, the Super Bowl champ is 19-6-2 ATS in its Week 1 game the next year.

— Cleveland Browns named 40-year old Joe Flacco as its starting QB; Flacco started a total of only 20 games the last five years- he was 2-4 as a starter for the Colts last year— he was 4-1 as a starter for the Browns two years ago.

— Flacco/Ryan Fitzpatrick share an NFL record; they’ve both started a game for five different teams. Rams’ backup QB Jimmy Garoppolo has started a game for three teams.

— Texas Longhorns are #1 in the pre-season top 25 college football poll, but they’re an underdog in their season opener (+2.5 @ Ohio State). Longhorns are the only preseason #1 team in the last 45 years that is an underdog in their season opener.

— Defensive coordinators in college football who are making the most money:

$3.1M/year- Jim Knowles, Penn State
$2.7M- DJ Durkin, Auburn
$2.65M- D’Anton Lynn
$2.61M- Pete Golding, Ole Miss

— Alabama named junior QB Ty Simpson its starting QB; he’s been a backup QB the last two years, throwing 25 passes for the Crimson Tide last season. Alabama’s two backups have no college experience, something to keep an eye on.

— Over the last 100 years, the longest winning streak in the major leagues was when the 2017 Cleveland Indians won 22 games in a row. The longest winning streak by a National League team was in 2021, when the Cardinals won 17 in a row.

— Famous birthdays, August 19th:
Jill St John, 85
Gerald McRaney, 78
Anthony Munoz, 67
Gary Gaetti, 67

Michael Harney, 67
Ricky Pierce, 66
Ron Darling, 65
Bobby Hebert, 65

Morten Andersen, 65
Nate Burleson, 44
JJ Hardy, 43
Kirk Cousins, 37

— Bengals 31, Commanders 17
Joe Burrow played into the 2nd quarter, was 9-14/62 passing.
WR Michael Tinsley caught 5 passes for 73 yards, 2 TD’s; he’ll find a job somewhere in the NFL.
Takes guts to play so Burrow so much on August 18th; if he gets hurt, the season is over.

— Brewers 7, Cubs 0
Freddy Peralta allowed one hit in six shutout IP.
Milwaukee has won 15 of its last 16 games.
Brewers lead the Cubs by 8 games in NL Central.

Game 2 of the twinbill was rained out; they’ll play a pair Tuesday.

— Reds 4, Angels 1
Brady Singer allowed one run in 6 IP, got his 11th win.
Gavin Lux hit a 2-run homer in the first inning.
Reds are a game behind the Mets for the last NL Wild Card spot.

— Rockies 4, Dodgers 3
Warming Bernabel had a walk-off single for the Rockies.
Colorado has won six of its last seven games.
Rockies snapped a 10-game losing skid against the Dodgers.

— Tigers 10, Astros 0
Houston has been shut out in 3 of last 4 games, first time since 2005.
Good news is that the Astros got to the World Series in 2005.
Jack Flaherty allowed three hits in 7 shutout IP.

— Phillies 12, Mariners 7
Phillies scored six runs in the second inning, had 21 hits overall.
Bryce Harper hit two home runs, Trea Turner had four hits, five RBI.
Turner hit a home run, the 1,500th hit of his career.

— Orioles 6, Red Sox 3
Trevor Rogers threw 7 IP, is now 6-2, 1.41 this season.
Gunnar Henderson had two RBI, scored three runs.
Red Sox are in a 3-way tie with New York/Seattle for the three AL Wild Card spots.

— Cardinals 8, Marlins 3
Alec Burleson went 3-for-4, including the go-ahead single in 7th inning.
Marlins’ defense was lousy behind Eury Perez in a 3-run fifth inning.
St Louis’ win snaps a five-game losing skid. 

— Reds 3, Brewers 2 (10)
Game was scoreless after six innings.
William Contreras put Milwaukee ahead with a 9th inning HR.
Reds tied it in 9th inning; Austin Hays had the walk-off single.
Loss ends Milwaukee’s 14-game win streak; they trailed in 8 of 14 games.

— Mets 7, Mariners 3
Mark Vientos hit a 3-run HR as the Mets won the Little League classic.
Tough night for George Kirby, who gave up 7 runs in 4.2 IP.
Mariners trail Houston by 1.5 games in the AL West

— AL Wild Card race:
Wild Cards: Red Sox, Mariners, New York
3.5 games behind- Cleveland
4- Kansas City
5.5- Texas
6.5- Tampa Bay
7- LA Angels

— NL Wild Card race:
Wild Cards: Cubs, Padres, Mets
1.5 games behind- Cincinnati
5.5- St Louis
6- San Francisco
6.5- Arizona
7- Marlins

— Marlins 5, Red Sox 3
Jakob Marsee hit a 2-run HR in the 9th for the comeback win.
Red Sox led 3-1 after seven innings.
Boston/Seattle are tied for the AL’s top Wild Card slot.

— Washington Nationals DFA’d 1B Nathaniel Lowe, who hit .216 in 119 games for them, and the Red Sox scooped him up to play 1B in Boston. Lowe has hit at least .262 the last four years, helping Texas win a World Series two years ago.

— Dodgers 5, Padres 4
Dodgers sweep San Diego, lead the NL West by two games.

— Famous birthdays, August 18th:
Robert Redford, 89
Greg Pruitt, 74
Bruce Benedict, 70
Denis Leary, 68

Lafayette Lever, 65
Jim Les, 62
Edward Norton, 56
Christian Slater, 56

Jeremy Shockey, 45
Dan Orlovsky, 42
Austin Hedges, 33
Seiya Suzuki, 31

— Bears 38, Bills 0- Chicago played their starters, Buffalo didn’t, but this was one of the worst NFL games I’ve ever seen, totally uncompetitive. I get that this was Caleb Williams’ first game action under Ben Johnson, but the Bills’ subs made backup QB Tyson Bagent look like the second coming of Dan Marino.

Total yardage: 528-180. I’m guessing the Bills won’t have a preseason game on national TV for a few years.

— Jaguars 17, Saints 17- Third tie game this preseason; they don’t play overtime in exhibition games. Jacksonville led this one 17-3 at halftime.

Spencer Rattler was 18-24/199 passing in the second half; it is unclear who the Saints are going to start at QB, Rattler or 26-year old rookie Tyler Shough.

— Indianapolis Colts haven’t won their season opener since 2013; they tied their Week 1 game in 2022 (as a 7-point favorite) but the last ten years, Colts are 2-8 ATS in Week 1.

— Last two years, Pittsburgh Steelers were 10-7/10-7, but didn’t win a playoff game; you’d think they’d get more out of two seasons where their turnover ratios were +16/+10, which are really good. They’ve upgraded at QB to Aaron Rodgers from Russell Wilson/Justin Fields and they play the Jets, Rodgers’ old team, in Week 1, so this should be interesting.

Steelers haven’t won a playoff game since 2017.

— Steelers’ OC Arthur Smith used to be the head coach in Atlanta; he went 7-10 in all three years with the Falcons. Atlanta lost the Super Bowl in 2016, blowing a 28-3 lead; they went 10-6 the next year, and haven’t had a winning season since then.

Maybe it wasn’t Dan Quinn’s fault after all; Atlanta fired Quinn during the 2020 pandemic year; he wound up as head coach in Washington LY and led the Commanders to a 12-5 season, their first winning season in nine years. Pretty good coach.

— In college football, Tennessee Vols named transfer Joey Aguilar their new starting QB; he had transferred from Appalachian State to UCLA, but when Vols’ QB Nico Iamaleava bolted to the Bruins, Aguilar saw the handwriting on the wall, and took Iamaleava’s spot in Knoxville.

— Kent State went 1-23 SU the last two years, going a dismal 4-16-2 ATS as an underdog; the interim coach this year was an All-American I-AA QB at Fordham and was OC at Kent State last year.

— Western Michigan has had three straight losing seasons, despite having a +16 turnover ratio in those years; last two years, Broncos were 6-1 ATS as a home favorite, but 4-9 as an underdog.

— Mid-American Conference has six new football coaches this fall; UMass is new to the league, and Northern Illinois is on its way out, headed to the Mountain West, for football only.

— Browns 22, Eagles 13
Rookie QB Gabriel was 13-18/143 passing in his NFL debut; he threw a pick-6, which might’ve been the receiver’s fault more than Gabriel’s.

Does it help Gabriel that he played in 64 games for three different schools in his college career?

26 games at Central Florida
24 games at Oklahoma
14 games at Oregon

Lot of college experience, different offenses; it helped Bo Nix last year.

— Giants 31, Jets 12
Russell Wilson had an 80-yard completion in his brief stint in the game.
Rookie Jaxson Dart was 14-16/137 passing; he’s looked good this summer.

— Rams 23, Chargers 22
Stetson Bennett threw an 8-yard TD pass with 0:05 left for the win.
Bennett was 28-40/324 passing, with 3 TD’s. He’s played a lot in Rams’ first two games.
Brennan Presley caught six passes for 102 yards for the Rams.

— 49ers 22, Raiders 19
Jake Moody kicked a 59-yard FG at the gun to give the 49ers the win.
There were six scores in second half of this game, all field goals.
Both starting QB’s played a little bit; Raiders led 13-10 at halftime.

— Dolphins 24, Lions 17
3rd-string QB Quinn Ewers threw two second half TD’s for Miami.
Lions’ backup QB Kyle Allen was 14-17/124 yards and two T’D’s.
Dolphins outgained Detroit, 356-274.

— Buccaneers 17, Steelers 14
Teddy Bridgewater threw two TD passes for Tampa Bay.
Last year, Bridgewater was a high school football coach in Florida.
Neither starting QB played in this game.

— Ravens 31, Cowboys 13
Former Cowboy Cooper Rush threw a TD pass and a pick-6 in this game.
Tyler Loop kicked five FG’s, two of them longer than 50 yards.
John Harbaugh doesn’t often lose exhibition games.

— Famous birthdays, August 17th:
Boog Powell, 84
Robert DeNiro, 82
Sean Penn, 65

Donnie Wahlberg, 56
Christian Laettner, 56
Ernie Conwell, 53

Antwaan Randle El, 46
Dustin Pedroia, 42
Rudy Gay, 39

Victor Caratini, 32
Jesse Winker, 32
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, 27

— Brewers 6, Reds 5 (11)
Milwaukee won its 14th game in a row.
Reds led 2-1 after eight innings.
Andrew Monasterio hit a 3-run homer in the 11th inning.

— Astros 5, Orioles 4 (12)
Jackson Holliday’s 2-run HR tied game 4-4 in 8th inning.
Cade Povich struck out 10 guys in 5 IP as a bulk reliever.
Astros lead Seattle by 1.5 games in AL West.

— Dodgers 6, Padres 0
Blake Snell allowed five hits in his six shutout IP.
Dodgers led 5-0 in 2nd inning against Dylan Cease.
Dodgers now lead San Diego by a game in NL West.

— Rays 2, Giants 1
Justin Verlander threw 7 shutout IP, left with a 1-0 lead.
Diaz/Lowe had RBI singles in 8th inning for the Rays.
Giants have lost 15 of their last 16 home games.

— Nationals 2, Phillies 0
Cade Cavalli threw seven IP, got his first MLB win.
James Wood had a 2-run single in the fifth inning.
Phillies’ lead in NL East is now 5 games over the Mets.

— Mets 3, Mariners 1
Rookie P Nolan McLean got 16 outs and a win in his MLB debut.
Pete Alonso got his 100th RBI of the season.
Mets won for only third time in their last 17 games.

— Red Sox 7, Marlins 5
Trevor Story hit a 3-run HR, Boston led 7-0 in 4th inning.
Red Sox are 41-22 at Fenway Park this season.
Marlins have lost seven of their last eight games. 

Trends for major league teams
(thru Friday’s games)

— Arizona (60-63)
Arizona is 9-4 in its last 13 games.
Diamondbacks are 14-23 in one-run games.
Arizona scored in first inning in 10 of last 11 home games.
Arizona is 11-26 in last 37 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Braves (54-68)
Braves won six of their last seven games.
Atlanta is 30-30 at home, 24-38 on the road.
Braves are 20-15 vs NL East rivals, 34-53 vs everyone else.
Over is 20-10-2 in their last 32 games.

— Cubs (68-53)
Chicago is 9-15 in its last 24 games.
Cubs are nine games behind Milwaukee in the NL Central.
Under is 11-1-1 in their last thirteen games.
Cubs are 52-35 vs righty starters, 16-18 vs lefties.

— Reds (64-59)
Cincinnati is 12-9 in its last 21 games.
Reds are 47-41 vs righty starters, 17-18 vs lefties.
Under is 22-5-2 in their last 29 games.
Reds scored in first inning in 10 of last 17 home games.

— Rockies (33-89)
Colorado won three of its last four games.
Under is 4-1 in Rockies’ last five games.
Rockies are 5-29 vs lefty starters, 28-60 vs righties. 
Colorado hasn’t scored a first inning run in its last 24 road games.

— Dodgers (69-53)
Dodgers are 11-14 since All-Star break.
LA/San Diego are tied for first in NL West.
Dodgers are 51-36 vs righty starters, 18-17 vs lefties.
Over is 5-1 in their last six games.

— Marlins (58-64)                                                                      
Marlins are 3-8 in their last eleven games.
Miami is 28-31 at home, 30-33 on the road.
Under is 13-6 in Marlins’ last 19 road games.
Last two weeks, Marlins are 0-3 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Brewers (77-44)
Brewers have won 13 in a row, are 28-4 in their last 32 games.
Milwaukee is 42-20 at home, 35-24 on the road.
Over is 11-4 in their last fifteen home games. 
Milwaukee leads the Cubs by 9 games in the NL Central.

— Mets (64-58)
Mets have lost 14 of their last 16 games.
Mets are 39-24 at home, 25-34 on the road.
Over is 5-1 in their last six games.
Mets trail Philly by six games in NL East.
Mets leads the Reds by half a game for last NL Wild Card slot.

— Phillies (70-52)
Phillies are 8-4 in their last dozen games.
Phillies are 54-32 vs righty starters, 16-20 vs lefties.
Under is 6-2-2 in their last ten games.
Phillies lead the Mets by six games in NL East.

— Pirates (52-71)
Pirates are 1-5 in their last six games.
Pittsburgh is 34-29 at home, 18-42 on the road.
Under is 9-4-1 in their last 14 home games.
Pirates are 16-9 in last 25 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— St Louis (61-62)
St Louis lost its last three games, scoring 8 runs.
Cardinals are 15-6 in home series openers.
St Louis is 35-28 at home, 26-34 on the road.
Under is 10-3 in their last thirteen home games.

— Padres (69-53)
San Diego won 11 of its last 14 home games.
Padres are 38-20 at home, 31-33 on the road.
Padres are 48-35 vs righty starters, 21-18 vs lefties.
San Diego is 19-14 vs NL West rivals, 50-39 vs everyone else. 

— Giants (59-63)
Giants are 7-20 in their last 27 games, 1-14 in last 15 at home.
Giants are 47-42 vs righty pitchers, 12-21 vs lefties.
Over is 12-5-1 in their last 18 road games.
SF lost 8 of last 10 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Washington (49-73)
Nationals are 5-11 in their last sixteen games.
Washington is 8-22 in its last 30 home games.
Over is 3-1-1 in their last five games.
Washington is 21-9 last 30 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

Famous birthdays, August 16th:
Julie Newmar, 92
James Donaldson, 68
Angela Bassett, 67
Madonna Louise Ciccone, 67 (Madonna)
Timothy Hutton, 65

Steve Carell, 63
Yu Darvish, 39
Tyler Stephenson, 29
Rashad Vaughn, 29
Dominic Canzone, 28

— Orioles (56-66)
Baltimore won its last three games.
Under is 10-2-1 in their last thirteen games.
Orioles are 30-30 at home, 26-36 on the road.
Orioles are 17-16 vs AL East rivals, 39-50 vs everyone else.

— Red Sox (67-56)
Red Sox won eight of its last nine home games.
Boston is 1-8 in extra-inning road games.
Over is 9-3 in their last 12 games.
Right now, Red Sox hold the 2nd AL Wild Card slot.

— White Sox (44-78)
Chicago lost eight of its last ten games.
White Sox are 26-36 at home, 18-42 on the road.
Over is 6-4-1 in their last eleven games.
Chicago is 31-60 vs righty starters, 13-18 vs lefties.

— Cleveland (63-58)
Cleveland is 23-10 in its last 33 games.
Guardians are 1.5 games out of the last Wild Card slot.
Guardians are 48-38 vs righty starters, 15-20 vs lefties.
Over is 12-6 in their last 18 home games.

— Detroit (72-52)
Detroit is 12-6 in its last 18 games.
Tigers are 23-12 vs its AL Central rivals, lead division by 7.5 games.
Detroit is 16-4 in home series openers.
Under is 12-5 in their last 17 road games.

— Houston (68-54)
Astros are 8-12 in their last 20 games overall
Astros are 5-12 in their last 17 home games.
Astros lead Seattle by half a game in AL West.
Over is 10-5 in their last 15 games.

— Royals (61-61)
Royals are 5-3 in their last eight games.
Kansas City is 47-52 vs righty starters, 14-9 vs lefties.
Over is 8-3 in Royals’ last eleven games.
Royals scored in first inning in six of last eight home games.

— Angels (59-63)
Angels lost 10 of their last 13 road games.
Halos are 5six games out of last Wild Card slot.
Angels are 49-51 vs righty starters, 10-12 vs lefties.
Angels are 28-15 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Twins (57-65)
Twins lost four of their last six games.
Minnesota is 32-27 at home, 25-38 on the road.
Under is 5-1 in their last six games.
Twins scored in first inning in six of last eleven games.

— New York (65-57)
New York is 5-3 in its last eight games.
Under is 4-1 in their last five games.
New York is 52-44 vs righty starters, 13-13 vs lefties.
Right now, New York has 1.5-game lead for last Wild Card in AL.

— A’s (55-69)
A’s are 22-19 in their last 41 games.
Under is 9-6 in their last fifteen games.
A’s are 14-17 in one-run games, 6-3 in extra innings.
Last nine weeks, A’s are 7-2 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on..

— Seattle (68-55)
Mariners are 11-3 in their last 14 games overall.
Seattle is 22-8 in its last 30 home games.
Under is 9-2 in their last eleven road games.
Right now, Mariners hold the #1 Wild Card in AL.

— Tampa Bay (60-63)
Tampa Bay is 13-27 in its last 40 games.
Rays are 32-30 at home, 28-33 on the road.
Tampa Bay is 5.5 games out of the last Wild Card slot.
Rays are 4-9 in last 13 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Texas (61-62)
Rangers lost seven of their last eight games.
Texas is 51-41 vs righty starters, 10-21 vs lefties
Rangers are 37-26 at home, 24-36 on road.
Texas is 4. .5 games out of the AL’s last Wild Card slot.

— Toronto (72-51)
Blue Jays are 7-3 in their last 10 games overall.
Blue Jays won 16 of their last 20 home games.
Under is 7-2 in their last nine games.
Toronto leads Red Sox by five games in AL East.