Blue Jays force Game 7 against Mariners; Bo Nix, Broncos stun Jaxson Dart’s Giants; Miami tumbles in polls

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Hello and happy Monday! It’s Shanna McCarriston back to break down another weekend that had everything, including iconic performances, injury scares, upsets, high drama and fan frustrations.

As for my weekend, I was a bridesmaid at the wedding of one of my best friends from high school. It was a blast getting all dressed up and hitting the dance floor. My fiancé and I have four weddings in four weeks, and tomorrow we will be off to another one! ‘Tis the season. 

But when I’m not going to weddings, I’m watching sports. So get ready to catch a bouquet of highlights from over the weekend! 

🏈 Five things to know Monday

1. The Blue Jays beat the Mariners to force Game 7 of the ALCS. Toronto beat Seattle, 6-2, on Sunday night in Game 6 to even up the ALCS and force tonight’s Game 7. It represents the first seven-game league championship series since both the AL and NL went the distance in 2023. Tonight’s winner faces the Dodgers in the World Series which starts Friday night in either Los Angeles or Toronto.
2. Bo Nix knocks out the Giants. Nix became the first quarterback in NFL history to record two passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns in any quarter of any NFL game during the Broncos’ epic 33-32 come-from-behind win over the Giants. New York took a 19-0 lead into the fourth quarter, but Denver scored 33 points in the period — marking the first time that a team was shut out for three quarters and then scored at least 33 in the fourth.
3. Rashee Rice makes impact in return from suspension as Chiefs win. Rice, who is back on the field for Kansas City after serving a six-game suspension for his role in a 2024 high-speed crash, scored two touchdowns in the Chiefs’ 31-0 rout of the Raiders.
4. Jets are on 0-17 watch. The winless Jets benched Justin Fields in favor of Tyrod Taylor midway through their 13-6 loss to the Panthers. Now, coach Aaron Glenn won’t commit to a starting quarterback going forward. At 0-7, the Jets off to their worst to start in franchise history.
5. Florida fires Billy Napier after a 3-4 start to the season. Wide receivers coach Billy Gonzales becomes the Gators’ interim coach while Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin, former Penn State coach James Franklin and Washington coach Jedd Fisch are viewed as names to watch for the vacancy.

💪 Do not miss this: Here’s what Shohei Ohtani did Friday night — HR, HR, HR, K, K, K, K, K, K, K, K, K, K 

The Dodgers completed their sweep of the Brewers on Friday and, in the process, baseball fans were treated to arguably the greatest individual single-game performance in the history of the sport. Shohei Ohtani hit three home runs and struck out 10 in six shutout innings, becoming the first Major League Baseball player to accomplish that feat. And he did it on the biggest stage as Los Angeles clinched the pennant with a 5-1 victory in Game 4 of the NLCS. Ohtani earned the NLCS MVP for his mesmerizing performance. (And if you were wondering where Ohtani’s night stacks up against history, we ranked MLB’s top 10 single-game outings of all-time.) 

Regardless of the results from Game 7 in the ALCS, Game 1 of the World Series is Friday night as the Dodgers look to become the first repeat MLB champion since the Yankees won titles in 1998, 1999 and 2000.

All seems to be right in La La Land. The Dodgers dispatched the team with the regular season’s best record in the NLCS, outscoring Milwaukee 15-4 in four games. Our Matt Snyder notes that Los Angeles, now 9-1 in the playoffs, has outscored opponents 46-28 in the 10-game span and appears to be in “unbeatable mode.”

🏈 College football delivers big games, AP Poll and overreactions

It seems like there are two constants in college football every week — one, Ohio State cruises, and, two, there’s a shake up among a good chunk of the rest of the top 10. Case in point, Ohio State rolled Wisconsin, 34-0, and four top 10 teams lost, including No. 2 Miami which fell to unranked Louisville and dropped from the top five in Sunday’s Coaches poll.

Multiple teams dropped from the ranks of the unbeatens as Texas Tech lost to Arizona State and Memphis suffered its first defeat, losing to UAB. But, as usually happens, one team’s slide gives way to another team’s rise. Enter Vanderbilt which jumped from No. 17 to No. 10 with its 31-24 victory over LSU, marking the Commodores’ first time in the top 10 of the AP poll since 1947. Elsewhere, Georgia Tech kept its winning streak alive, improving to 7-0 with a win over Duke. It’s their first time in the top 10 since 2014.

Here are the top 10 teams in the AP Top 25 poll:

1. Ohio State 
2. Indiana 
3. Texas A&M
4. Alabama
5. Georgia
6. Oregon
7. Georgia Tech
8. Ole Miss
9. Miami
10. Vanderbilt

And we’ve got some overreactions from Week 8:

• Georgia Tech is winning the ACC. CBS Sports’ Will Backus argues Georgia Tech will enter the postseason 12-0 and predicts that they are headed for their first ACC crown since 2009.
• Alabama’s Ty Simpson will go No. 1 overall in 2026. The Alabama quarterback is “playing like a longtime NFL starter” in his first year leading the Crimson Tide offense. He has five games with at least 250 passing yards and is second in the SEC with 1,931 yards passing.
• Houston’s Willie Fritz is the most underrated coach. Backus calls Fritz “a testament to patience in the process.” Last season, Houston went 4-8 and this season they sit at 6-1 after this week’s win over Arizona.

For a full list of overreactions with explanations and analysis, click here.

🏈 Recapping one wild week of games in the NFL

The 2025 NFL season has been an interesting one, with surprises every week and, with a few exceptions, a wide open field. If the season ended right now, the Chiefs, Bengals, Ravens, Commanders and Vikings would be among those teams out of the playoffs, not something many would’ve predicted when the season began.

Five teams have one win or less, the Jets (0-7), Dolphins (1-6), Saints (1-6), Titans (1-6) and Ravens (1-5).

There’s still a lot of football left to play and a lot of time for things to shake up and quarterback and coaching changes could be coming to more teams across the league.

In addition to Bo Nix’s amazing outing, this weekend saw multiple players getting ready for the history books. Here’s a look at some of the biggest performances of the week:

• Patriots quarterback Drake Maye completed 91.3% of his passes in their win against the Titans, breaking Tom Brady’s franchise record of 88.5%. Besting a record once held by the G.O.A.T. is certainly a big sign that the Pats have found their next star QB.
• Chiefs‘ Patrick Mahomes became the first quarterback since at least 2000 to top 200 yards with three touchdowns passes on the first three possessions of a game in their win over the Raiders.
• Eagles’ Jalen Hurts became the first quarterback this season to have a perfect passer rating of 158.3 by going 19 of 23 for 326 yards and three touchdowns in their win over the Vikings. 

Here’s a look at some grades from Week 7 from CBS Sports’ John Breech. For a full look at grades with explanation and analysis, click here.

• Dolphins: F
• Commanders: D-
• Chargers: C-
• Cardinals: B-
• Eagles: B+
• Browns: A-
• Cowboys: A
• Chiefs: A+

👍👎 The best (and not-so-best) of the rest

• Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford throws five touchdown passes, the most in NFL history in an international game, in 35-7 victory over the Jaguars.
• Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels injures his right hamstring in Washington’s 44-22 loss to the Cowboys. Daniels needs an MRI to determine the severity of the injury.
• Joel Embiid received clearance to return, and the 76ers star scored 14 points during his preseason debut.
• Texas Tech could face a six-figure fine and an in-game penalty from Big 12 if their fans keep up the tortilla tossing tradition.
• Brian Rolapp shakes up up the PGA Tour leadership adding ex-NFL executives in first his hires as CEO.
• USWNT star Trinity Rodman is taking it “day by day” with MCL sprain, according to Washington Spirit coach Adrian Gonzalez.
• Samoa Joe warns that “asinine” selfishness could destroy pro wrestling, saying, “I’ve seen them fall apart to pieces.”
• Cody Rhodes gets disqualified against Drew McIntyre, and a new United States champion is crowned at WWE SmackDown.
• Famed head coach of multiple UFC champions and founder of Roufusport Duke Roufus dies at 55.
• Despite a heartbreaker against Cal, the Tar Heels show signs of life. So, is North Carolina improving under Bill Belichick?
• A look at what it would cost LSU to fire coach Brian Kelly as Tigers fall shy of expectations.
• Clemson wide receiver Bryant Wesco Jr. was hospitalized with “serious” neck injury, says coach Dabo Swinney.
• Rockets‘ Kevin Durant signs a two-year, $90 million contract extension ahead of debut season in Houston.
• Chase Briscoe wins YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, earning his first Championship 4 berth.
• Division III running back at Curry College rushes for 522 yards in historic performance, Montie Quinn tops Samaje Perine’s NCAA record.
• The Vikings circle particular game for quarterback J.J. McCarthy’s return, according to a report.
• Eagles legend Brandon Graham is considering coming out of retirement to help Philadelphia’s struggling pass rush.
• All-Pro wide receiver Demaryius Thomas received posthumous induction into Broncos Ring of Fame during halftime ceremony.
• Jaguars’ two-way rookie Travis Hunter scores his first career NFL touchdown in the team’s London game.
• Darius Garland thinks the Cavaliers would have won an NBA title last season if he was healthy.

📺 What we’re watching on Monday

⚽ Italian Serie A, 2:45 p.m. on Paramount+
🏒 Wild at Rangers, 7 p.m. on NHL Network
🏒 Kraken at Flyers, 7 p.m. on ESPN+
🏈 Buccaneers at Lions, 7 p.m. on ABC/ESPN
⚾ Mariners at Blue Jays, 8:08 p.m. on FOX/FS1
🏈 Texans at Seahawks, 10 p.m. on ESPN
🏒 Hurricanes at Golden Knights, 10 p.m. on ESPN+