Category: Sports

French veteran Gael Monfils has announced he will retire from tennis at the end of the 2026 season.

Monfils, who turned 39 on September 1, has been ranked as high as No 6 in the world with his best Grand Slam results making the semi-finals of the US Open in 2016 and French Open back in 2008.

He has won 13 career titles, most recently at the Auckland Open in January of this year when he became the oldest ATP Tour singles champion at the age of 38 years and four months, breaking a record previously held by Roger Federer.

Writing on Instagram, Monfils – who has thrilled fans with his crowd-pleasing style for two decades – said: “I held a racket in my hands for the first time at two and a half, and began playing professionally at 18.

“Now, after celebrating my 39th birthday just a month ago, I’d like to share that the year ahead will be my last as a professional tennis player

“The opportunity to turn my passion into a profession is a privilege I have cherished during every match and moment of my 21-year career.

“Though this game means the world to me, I am tremendously at peace with my decision to retire at the end of the 2026 season.

“To every person who ever cheered or shouted ‘Allez, Gael!’ in real life or at a TV screen: your energy and love are truly everything to me.”

‘Even losing feels epic when you’re facing a legend’

Monfils continued: “What I do have is the feeling that I have been lucky: insanely, stupidly lucky.

“I’ve had the chance to play during a golden age of tennis, alongside some of the greatest names in the history of our sport: Federer, [Rafael] Nadal, [Novak] Djokovic, [Andy] Murray.

“Even losing feels epic when you’re facing a legend (though I have to admit that the occasional wins were pretty euphoric, too).

“An exciting new generation of players is already here and I hope they’ll enjoy their time on the court as much as I have for the last two decades.

“I’ve been called ‘The Showman’ over the course of my career but I want you to know that it was never just a show put on for the crowd. What you see is joy, pure joy, spilling over.

“My passion and enjoyment on the court are real and their energy electrifies me at each and every match.”

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SAN FRANCISCO — Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr is entering the final season of his current contract, the typical time in a contract cycle when established NBA coaches demand or at least discuss an extension.

But that isn’t Kerr’s current plan, he said on Tuesday afternoon after the team’s first practice of the season. He has no issue letting his contract expire before cementing his future.

“I’m very comfortable going into the season with a year left,” Kerr said. “I’m so aligned with [general manager] Mike [Dunleavy] and [owner] Joe [Lacob]. We talked about this — there’s no reason for discussion or concern. This is kind of a point in our relationship where let’s just see how it is at the end of the year.”

The Warriors’ three star players — Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler III and Draymond Green, who are 37, 35 and 35, respectively — all have two years remaining on their current contracts. That’s an alignment that Curry has called beneficial, allowing them to focus on a two-year window for another title.

There’s been some internal wonder whether Kerr would push to get his contract lined up with his three stars. He is entering his 12th season coaching Curry, Green and the Warriors and, sources said, remains the preferred head coach for both of his longtime stars. They’ve won four titles together.

But Kerr said he is feeling no urgency to get any security beyond this season.

“I love my job,” Kerr said. “I love what I’m doing every day. I can’t wait to get to the building. Hopefully I’m here for another few years. But I think it makes sense for the organization and for me to see where this thing is at the end of the year — where they are and where I am. Hopefully that means we run it back, we keep going with this group, that’d be awesome. But I like the fact we can do it how we want it.”

Kerr entered the 2023-24 regular season on a similar expiring deal, but there were significant negotiations ongoing behind the scenes. Kerr signed a record two-year, $35 million extension in February of that season.

That’s not the plan this time around.

“I don’t anticipate any negotiation during the season,” Kerr said. “Who knows — maybe it all comes up at some point, and they come to me. But I’m not the slightest bit concerned about it. I don’t think about it. I just think it makes perfect sense for all of us [to wait].”

Wrapped within Kerr’s transparent discussion of his expiring contract was a clear acknowledgement that the end of this golden era of Warriors basketball is nearing, and he intends to walk away gracefully.

“However this ends it’s going to be done in a really quality way,” Kerr said. “It’s going to happen the right way. If it’s meant for me to keep going, I’m going to keep going. If it’s meant to be for the team to move on to someone else, there will be nothing but gratitude and appreciation. This makes it easy for everybody. Let’s see where we are at the end of the year.”

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill will not need another surgery after undergoing a major procedure Tuesday to repair his dislocated left knee and multiple torn ligaments, including his ACL, agent Drew Rosenhaus told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Rosenhaus said Hill’s surgery “went very well according to his doctors.”

“It’s about rehab, and he will play next season,” Rosenhaus told Schefter. “The realistic goal is the start of the season.”

Rosenhaus added in an interview with WSVN-TV in Miami that “there is no nerve damage, no blood flow issues, no broken bones, the [knee] cartilage is fine.”

Hill suffered the gruesome season-ending injury during the team’s 27-21 victory Monday night over the New York Jets and was taken to a local hospital for further evaluation.

Only Justin Jefferson has more receiving yards than Hill since he joined the Dolphins in 2022, but Miami will have to find ways to replicate his production as it looks to rebound from a 1-3 start to the season.

Jaylen Waddle caught eight passes for 142 yards and a touchdown in Miami’s lone game without Hill since 2022 — a 30-0 win over the Jets in 2023. Tight end Darren Waller could also have an increased role after catching two touchdown passes in his season debut Monday. Running back De’Von Achane also leads NFL running backs in receiving yards and catches since the start of last season and will continue to be involved in Miami’s passing game.

A source confirmed the team signed wide receiver Cedrick Wilson Jr. off the New Orleans Saints‘ practice squad; Wilson spent the 2022 and 2023 seasons with Miami, recording 432 yards and three touchdowns on 34 catches.

The Dolphins have sustained multiple major injuries to key players over the past four seasons, including quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, linebackers Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb, and cornerback Kader Kohou.

Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said the experience has helped the team master the shock value of losing a star player.

“It’s a challenge that it doesn’t matter how difficult it is, no one [outside the building] really cares,” he said. “You have to find a way to get yourself to continue to get better, like all teams, for you to stay in the win column.”

As offensive futility was once again the undoing of the Cleveland Browns in their 34-10 loss to the Detroit Lions on Sunday, quarterback Joe Flacco‘s struggles continue to be the central focus.

The 40-year-old passer turned the ball over three times, increasing his season total to eight giveaways. Through four games, the Browns have the NFL’s second-lowest-scoring offense (14 points per game). However, coach Kevin Stefanski on Sunday declined to place the blame for the problems on offense solely on Flacco.

And when asked again Monday whether he is sticking with Flacco as the team’s starting quarterback for Sunday’s Week 5 matchup against the Minnesota Vikings (9:30 a.m. ET, NFL Network), Stefanski sidestepped answering in the affirmative but reiterated the issues don’t solely lie with the veteran.

“We have to play better as an offense,” he said. “We have to coach better on offense. It’s not about one person. There are so many things that we need to do better and obviously quarterback included, but this is not about one person.”

Even if the Browns were to make a move to rookie Dillon Gabriel, who has served as the backup through four games, recurring themes including drops and pass protection would need to be improved to help turn around the Browns’ offense.

The Browns dropped three passes against the Lions, two of which preceded a major swing in the loss.

Trailing 20-10 early in the fourth quarter, tight end Harold Fannin Jr. and wide receiver Jerry Jeudy dropped back-to-back passes that would have resulted in deep completions. One play after Jeudy’s drop on third down, Lions wide receiver Kalif Raymond‘s 65-yard punt return touchdown put Cleveland in a three-score deficit.

“I got to make that damn play,” Jeudy said. “That’s a big-time play. I got to catch them s—-. I catch them s—- every day in practice.”

The Browns’ eight drops through four games are second most in the NFL, and like Sunday’s game against the Lions, many have come in critical moments.

In a Week 1 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, Fannin and Jeudy once again dropped consecutive passes. This time, it led to a turnover on downs in Bengals territory with Cleveland trailing by one point. Later, on the penultimate drive, wide receiver Cedric Tillman dropped a pass that was intercepted in the eventual 17-16 defeat.

“[The drops are] not happening in practice,” Stefanski said. “Part of being good in the pass game is having precision. That includes everything and everything you do, and we obviously have to clean that up.”

Along the offensive line, the Browns have risen to 10th in run block win rate, but their pass protection has become a liability. Cleveland has used four different starting offensive line combinations in as many games because of offensive tackle injuries. Left tackle Dawand Jones suffered a season-ending lateral collateral ligament tear and hamstring avulsion against the Green Bay Packers in Week 3. Right tackle Jack Conklin has missed the past three games because of an elbow injury.

Backups KT Leveston and Cornelius Lucas have struggled with extended playing time. Leveston and Lucas rank 57th and 61st, respectively, out of 66 qualifying tackles in pass block win rate. Lucas particularly struggled against Lions pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson. The Browns used their tight ends and running backs to chip Hutchinson, but he was frequently left on an island with the backup lineman. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Hutchinson was matched up with Lucas 17 times, and all were one-on-one matchups. Hutchinson had two sacks (one strip sack) and five pressures when facing Lucas.

The Browns had been scouring the trade market for a veteran tackle and on Monday agreed to terms on a deal for Houston Texans lineman Cam Robinson.

“We own this all together,” Stefanski said. “To have success on any side of the ball, you have to play as one and you have to play together. We had too many things that caused us not to have success.”

Ending a summer-long stalemate, restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga has agreed to a two-year, $48.5 million deal to return to the Golden State Warriors, agent Aaron Turner of Verus Basketball told ESPN.

The deal includes a team option in the second year that is designed for the Warriors — or another team if and when Kuminga is traded during the upcoming season — to rip up and complete a fresh new contract after the 2025-26 campaign, sources said.

Ahead of Wednesday’s qualifying offer deadline, Kuminga chose the two-year deal over a proposal of three years and $75 million so he can maintain a higher level of control over his immediate Warriors future. The Warriors never wavered on their team option frameworks during negotiations. Now, both sides understand the likelihood of exploring trades when Kuminga is eligible to be moved in mid-January. As part of the deal, he is waiving his inherent no-trade clause.

Kuminga missed media day Monday and the first day of Warriors practice on Tuesday as the sides finalized a deal.

Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. and Kuminga’s side have been locked in a stalemate throughout the offseason over the framework of the contract, but Golden State ultimately increased its two-year offer by a total of $8 million between July and September and guaranteed Kuminga approximately $15 million more than his one-year, $8 million qualifying offer would have for this season.

Over the last two months, the Warriors have had a standing offer of two years and $45 million with a team option, and earlier this month offered a three-year, $75 million contract with a team option and a three-year, $54 million fully guaranteed deal. Kuminga and his side wanted a player option throughout the negotiations, or a higher annual salary with a team option, requests that went denied by the Warriors.

Choosing the two-year structure allows Kuminga to create a decision for whichever team he is on next summer, or get to 2027 unrestricted free agency.

The Warriors made a jump to $48.5 million total over two years in the latest and last round of these drawn-out negotiations. Kuminga’s deal becomes the fourth-highest salary on the Warriors’ books next season behind Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green, escalating the team’s luxury tax penalty by $70 million to a total of over $80 million.

By signing Kuminga to a salary of $22.5 million next season, Golden State will still have the flexibility to use their $5.7 million taxpayer mid-level exception and sign two players to the veteran’s minimum. Gary Payton II signed a one-year, veteran’s minimum contract with the Warriors on Monday and Al Horford, De’Anthony Melton and rookie Will Richard have agreed to deals, too.

However, the Warriors won’t have the room to sign a 15th player to start the season because they are now just $2.03 million below the second apron, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks. They will be able to sign a 15th player — potentially free agent Seth Curry — beginning Nov. 15.

The Phoenix Suns and Sacramento Kings were the strongest suitors for Kuminga in trade talks, with the largest sign-and-trade offer coming via the Suns as a four-year, nearly $90 million deal with a player option, sources said. The Warriors never showed interest in either team’s trade proposal, however, declining concepts of Royce O’Neale and second-round picks from the Suns and Malik Monk and a protected first-round pick from the Kings.

Kuminga was largely out of the rotation in the Warriors’ first-round series against the Houston Rockets, playing just 50 minutes total across seven games, including four that he sat out due to coach’s decision. He averaged six points on 30.4% shooting against Houston. However, Kuminga shined in the Warriors’ Western Conference semifinals series against the Minnesota Timberwolves with Curry sidelined. He averaged 20.8 points on 54.3% shooting against the Timberwolves, including three straight games scoring over 20 points to end the series.

Kuminga has led the Warriors in paint points per game in each of the last two seasons as he averaged 10 points in the paint in 2023-24 and 8.5 last season per ESPN Research — a major boost for a team that was fifth-worst in paint points last season. Among players from the 2021 draft class, Kuminga ranks fifth in points per 36 minutes (min. 150 games).

Kuminga is also one of eight players with 3,000 points and 1,000 rebounds from the 2021 draft class, and he is one of five players to score 3,000 points before turning 23 in Warriors history.

Kuminga has shown an ability to raise his performance when the Warriors are missing a key cog, increasing his scoring average from 14.1 points per game in games Curry played to 19.6 points per game in 10 games without Curry, which was second on the team in this situation behind only 20 points per night from Butler, who played just 3 games without Curry). Kuminga also increased his shooting percentage from 44.5% with Curry to 48.2% without him.

Kuminga becomes the third restricted free agent to find a resolution in September, after Cam Thomas signed a one-year, $6 million qualifying offer to return to the Brooklyn Nets and Josh Giddey reached a four-year, $100 million deal to stay with the Chicago Bulls. Philadelphia’s Quentin Grimes remains the final outstanding restricted free agent.

Entering free agency this summer, only a few teams had salary cap space, which created a freeze for the restricted market. The Nets have operated as the only team with real salary cap space for the majority of the offseason.

Ryan Searle claimed his second Players Championship title of 2025 after beating Mario Vandenbogaerde 8-6 in a closely contested final at Leicester’s Mattioli Arena on Tuesday.

The 37-year-old came from 6-5 behind to seal the win and mark the seventh ranking title of his career ahead of next week’s World Grand Prix, live on Sky Sports from Monday October 6.

It was a disappointing day for Luke Humphries and Josh Rock, who both exited in round one, while top seed Stephen Bunting crashed out at the last 16 stage following a 6-0 defeat at the hands of Jermaine Wattimena.

Searle got his afternoon off to a strong start, beating European Champion Ritchie Edhouse 6-4 in round one, before sealing a routine 6-2 victory over Dutchman Jamai van Den Herik.

The Somerset star put in another impressive performance in round three as he edged past 2023 World Matchplay champion Nathan Aspinall in a last-leg decider.

Searle then secured two more narrow victories against Karel Sedlaceck and Darren Beveridge to set up a tie with Kevin Doets in the final four.

It was there that Searle produced a great comeback to book his spot in the final, winning four legs in a row to seal a 7-4 win over the Dutchman.

In Tuesday’s showpiece, Vandenbogaerde struck first, before the pair traded blows in the early stages.

After 11 legs, it was the Belgian who led 6-5 before Searle produced another late comeback, winning each of the last three legs to triumph 8-6 win and pocket the £15,000 top prize.

“It was difficult,” admitted Searle, a former Players Championship Finals runner-up.

“I have been in really good positions all day and missed a few chances, let people in and made harder work of games than I should have.

“I missed a chance to break in the first leg. I was trying to hold on and I am just happy to get over the line now, really.”

Having prevailed at Players Championship Four earlier this year, Tuesday’s win marked a second title of 2025 for Searle – a feat he hadn’t achieved previously in his career.

“It feels a bit weird to be honest,” Searle continued. “There have been plenty of times where I have won an event early on in the season and I get to the quarter-finals, I am playing well and I am already preparing what I am going to say, but I end up losing.

“It is cool to finally break that duck and win more than one. The draw opened up for me a bit today, which happens sometimes and it’s normally Chris Dobey’s little trick!”

Searle’s win prevented a first title for Vandenbogaerde, who had to settle for second place after producing one of the shock results of the day when he knocked out 2022/23 World Champion Michael Smith in round one.

The 52-year-old followed that result up with wins over Daryl Gurney and Nick Kenny before edging past Ross Smith with a 6-5 victory in the last 16 to set up a quarter-final meeting with Wattimena.

Once again, the Belgian earned a hard-fought victory as he squeezed through to the semi-finals with a 6-5 win, surviving four match darts to overturn a 5-3 deficit.

The world number 69 then sealed his place in a first-ever PDC ranking final with two ton-plus finishes in his 7-3 victory over Northern Irishman Brendan Dolan.

In the quarter-finals, Dutchman Doets progressed with a 6-4 victory over world number six Jonny Clayton to set up his semi-final clash with Searle.

Clayton had been in brilliant form throughout the day, progressing through with wins over Mensur Suljovic, Christian Kist, Krzysztof Ratajski and Wessel Nijman – averaging almost 111 against the latter.

There were also a hat-trick of nine-darters landed on a memorable day of action at the Mattioli Arena, with Germany’s rising star Niko Springer achieving perfection in his opening round demolition of Dimitri Van den Bergh.

Swiss star Stefan Bellmont then produced the perfect leg in his round two defeat against Nijman, before Adam Hunt landed a nine-darter to wrap up an impressive win over Bradley Brooks.

The Players Championship action continues in Leicester with a double-header on Wednesday and Thursday.

Players Championship 28 results

Last 16

Jermaine Wattimena 6-0 Stephen Bunting

Mario Vandenbogaerde 6-5 Ross Smith

Michele Turetta 6-3 Richard Veenstra

Brendan Dolan 6-5 Cameron Menzies

Kevin Doets 6-2 Callan Rydz

Jonny Clayton 6-3 Wessel Nijman

Ryan Searle 6-5 Karel Sedlacek

Darren Beveridge 6-3 Gian van Veen

Quarter-Finals

Mario Vandenbogaerde 6-5 Jermaine Wattimena

Brendan Dolan 6-2 Michele Turetta

Kevin Doets 6-4 Jonny Clayton

Ryan Searle 6-4 Darren Beveridge

Semi-Finals

Mario Vandenbogaerde 7-3 Brendan Dolan

Ryan Searle 7-4 Kevin Doets

Final

Ryan Searle 8-6 Mario Vandenbogaerde

What event is next on Sky Sports?

The 2025 BoyleSports World Grand Prix will take place at the Mattioli Arena, Leicester, from October 6-12, as 32 of the world’s top stars compete in one of the sport’s most prestigious tournaments.

Michael van Gerwen and Luke Humphries are set to be joined by world champion Luke Littler in headlining this year’s field.

Mike De Decker sensationally stormed to his first Premier Event title at last year’s event.

Sky Sports will once again be the home of the World Cup of Darts, World Matchplay, World Grand Prix, Grand Slam of Darts and more! Stream darts and more top sport with NOW

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — It might be just a bit too early in the season for snow — per Accuweather, the forecast for Buffalo on Sunday has a high of 76 degrees and a low of 58 — but football fans can expect to see plenty of white on Sunday night.

The Buffalo Bills are encouraging fans to wear all white to create a white out for the team’s “Sunday Night Football” game against the New England Patriots (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC). The look will match the team’s “Rivalries” uniforms that will premiere for the Week 5 AFC East matchup.

The team will be handing out white rally towels as fans enter. White out décor and elements will also be added around the stadium, including white padding around the goal posts.

❄️ WHITE OUT ALERT ❄️#BillsMafia | More info: https://t.co/YBgz7FXIc9 pic.twitter.com/jH3btn3DAT

— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) September 30, 2025

The white jersey brings to mind Western New York’s snowy and icy weather and will be worn with white pants. There is a crystalized logo on the sleeve, in addition to “Bills Mafia” stitched inside the back neck of the jersey.

A streak will be on the line when the Patriots (2-2) come to Buffalo, as the Bills (4-0) have won 14 consecutive regular-season home games, one game behind the longest streak in franchise history (Week 1, 1990 to Week 14, 1991).

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. — After yet another U.S. loss to the Europeans in the 45th Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black this past week, it’s time to examine what went wrong and what needs to happen next.

The Americans’ spirited rally in Sunday singles covered up the warts of a 15-13 loss, their 11th defeat in the past 15 matches.

With much of the European team expected to return at the next Ryder Cup at Adare Manor in Ireland in 2027, including Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood, Jon Rahm and others, the Americans will undoubtedly face another uphill climb — this time on foreign soil.

Luke Donald, who became only the second European captain to win back-to-back Ryder Cups, didn’t say whether he plans to be back a third straight time.

“I think he turned this European Team into a really unstoppable force, especially the first two days, and you know, in my eyes, I think he’s the best European Ryder Cup captain ever,” U.S. team captain Keegan Bradley said. “I was really excited to go up against him, but I knew it was going to be tough to beat him. He put his team in the best position to win, and to do that at these two places is a remarkable feat.”

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Who could be the next captain?

Mark Schlabach: I don’t know it’s as much a question about who is going to be the next captain, as what the PGA of America and the rest of American professional golf are going to do to support him. Clearly, Bradley made mistakes as a rookie Ryder Cup captain; he admitted as much in his post-loss news conference, especially when it came to setting up Bethpage Black.

Donald had a much better organization behind him, from statistics guru and vice captain Edoardo Molinari to past captains Thomas Bjørn and Paul McGinley, who remain very much committed to making sure the Europeans continue to dominate.

Tiger Woods is the favorite to captain the U.S. team at Adare Manor in Ireland in 2027, which will be the 100th anniversary of the Ryder Cup. Woods is friends with Adare Manor owner J.P. McManus. It remains to be seen whether the 15-time major champion wants the job, but if he does even the GOAT should be required to make a two-year commitment to the position.

The U.S. team doesn’t need a repeat of what happened the last time, when the PGA of America waited for months for Woods to make up his mind. When Woods decided he was too busy, the Americans chose Bradley, who hadn’t even been a Ryder Cup vice captain and, incredibly, wasn’t aware he was under consideration until 2023 captain Zach Johnson called and offered him the position.

If Woods opts out, Brandt Snedeker (U.S. captain in the 2026 Presidents Cup), Webb Simpson and Justin Leonard might be in line next. Fred Couples, a five-time Ryder Cupper, has never been captain. He’s popular among golfers like Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth and others and cares very much about the event.

Hopefully, the Americans have enough pride to take a long, hard look at what has gone wrong for much of the past three decades. It might be time for another Ryder Cup Task Force because the Europeans aren’t only beating them on raucous weekends every two years — they’re crushing them 365 days a year.

Paolo Uggetti: There was a moment during the U.S. news conference on Sunday when Bradley was asked if there was a time during the week where he thought Donald had “out-captained” him. Bradley had just started his answer when Thomas piped in from the other side of the dais.

“We needed to make more putts. That’s what Keegan needed,” Thomas said sarcastically, coming to Bradley’s defense. “He needed us to make more putts. That’s what he needed to do.”

As the team answered questions and looked outside the player interview area to the Europeans, who were celebrating, there was a clear sense that this loss stung. It’s why I wonder if, with one captaincy under his belt, there is some benefit in letting Bradley try again. For as much as some of his decisions were questionable (he said the course setup strategy he opted for was wrong), I do think the players both respected and felt connected to him because they saw him as a peer. The fact that Thomas and others throughout the presser were quick to his defense gave us a glimpse into that.

“I had extreme confidence in what this team could do, and that’s due to our captain,” Scottie Scheffler said. “I think they did an amazing job. Keegan did an amazing job.”

Even though this entire team is far from guaranteed to make the roster again (aside from stalwarts like Scheffler or Xander Schauffele), I think they would be galvanized by trying to avenge this loss with a road victory of their own, especially with Bradley back at the helm.

Practically, it may not be the best option. The sour taste of losing a home Ryder Cup may be too much for the PGA of America leadership to stomach. Bradley, currently 39 and the 14th-ranked player in the world, is far from done with his own playing career and is likely to try to qualify to play in this event at Adare Manor. Maybe this was his one shot as a captain, but if there’s something this European team has highlighted is that continuity is increasingly important in this event. Perhaps the Americans could use some of that too.

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What can the U.S. learn from Europe?

Uggetti: Everything and nothing. Clearly what the Europeans do to create a sense of purpose, camaraderie and unity is effective, but it is also inimitable. Put aside Donald, who is clearly one of the most effective captains they have ever had, and put aside the continuity they have right now. They also just have a way to draw inspiration from the players who came before them while also channeling a desire to win for each other in a way that this group of Americans don’t or haven’t quite figured out how to yet.

From a tangible sense, there’s a lot to take in terms of how Donald & Co. focus on so many details that add up over time and even over the course of the week and how meticulous their overall plan is. But from an intangible sense, the Americans have to find their own source of inspiration beyond the simple desire to win.

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What does Scheffler need to do to turn around his Ryder Cup play?

Uggetti: Keep playing them.

The four-time major winner said in Napa that he learned from the loss in 2023 in that he felt like he needed to prepare better this time around, which meant not allowing a long break between competitions. Yet I wonder if this loss and the way that it happened (with Scheffler going 0-4 in team matches) will spur Scheffler to prepare in a different way in the lead-up to Adare Manor.

I think there’s certainly something to be said for players like Scheffler and Woods dominating individual competition while struggling in team events. Foursomes (alternate-shot), fourballs (best ball) and match play almost require a different kind of muscle to be flexed. And while Scheffler was still one of the best players on the U.S. team when you look at his statistics, it’s a reminder that this event often goes beyond the numbers and requires something more than distance control.

“I think it’s hard to put into words how much it hurts to lose all four matches,” Scheffler said Sunday after beating Rory McIlroy in singles to score his first point of the week. “To have the trust of my captains and teammates to go out there and play all four matches and lose all four, it’s really hard to put into words how much that stings and hurts.”

Scheffler called this week one of the “lowest moments” of his career. That in itself is a reminder: This is only his third Ryder Cup and he is not yet 30.

Schlabach: In the past three Ryder Cups, Scheffler’s partners in foursomes and fourball matches have been Bryson DeChambeau, Sam Burns, Brooks Koepka, Russell Henley and J.J. Spaun. None of them has worked.

Scheffler is 0-4-0 in foursomes and 1-2-2 in fourball matches. Not good.

Woods (13-21-3) and Mickelson (18-22-7) weren’t great in the Ryder Cup, either. But it’s too early to say Scheffler won’t figure it out because he’s the best golfer in the world and cares too much.

It’s difficult to predict who the best American golfers might be in two years, but the Americans might want to take a long look at copying the Europeans’ strategy. McIlroy played with Fleetwood. Rahm partnered with Tyrrell Hatton. The Europeans sent out arguably their four best golfers together, nearly guaranteeing themselves two points in the sessions in which they did.

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What can we expect from the next two Ryder Cup venues?

Uggetti: Adare Manor looks to be about as American of a setup as you can find in Ireland. This is not a links course — it’s a parkland-style resort course with water hazards and rough. The Americans won’t have the advantage of getting to set up the course (an advantage they squandered at Bethpage) and all you have to do is look at how Rome went to know that the Europeans will extract every edge they can from the golf course as they try to go for a vaunted three-peat. Two years is a long time, but it’s very hard to envision a scenario where the United States are favored in any way going into 2027.

Schlabach: Regardless of who captains the U.S. team in two years, I don’t like the Americans’ chances at Adare Manor. The Americans haven’t won on European soil since a 15-13 victory at The Belfry in England in 1993, losing the past seven matches away from home.

The U.S. team probably has a much better chance to get it done at the 2029 Ryder Cup at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota. That’s where the Americans ended a three-match losing streak to the Europeans with a 17-11 victory in 2016.

Ironically, that win came after the PGA of America formed a Ryder Cup Task Force to examine what was going wrong in a stretch where the Europeans had won in eight of 10 matches. Woods was a member of that task force, along with Davis Love III, Raymond Floyd, Rickie Fowler, Phil Mickelson and others. Like I said earlier, I think it’s time to go back to the well.

Hopefully, golf fans at Hazeltine will treat the visitors with some “Minnesota nice.” What happened at Bethpage Black simply can’t happen again. Turning the Ryder Cup into a drunken fraternity party was an embarrassment. I get that there’s supposed to be a home-course advantage at the Ryder Cup, but that doesn’t mean it has to be the WM Phoenix Open on steroids. And don’t argue that the PGA of America can’t control rowdy fans because Augusta National Golf Club does it every year. Try screaming obscenities at a golfer during the Masters and see what happens.

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Which U.S. players cemented their spot as part of the future?

Schlabach: I don’t think the U.S. needs to panic and blow up its roster, but there are only a handful of golfers who seem guaranteed to have a place on the 2027 team, as long as they’re healthy and playing well.

Scheffler, Schauffele, Thomas and DeChambeau are the core of the team. If Collin Morikawa finds his form again, and Patrick Cantlay continues to play well, it would be difficult for the U.S. captain to ignore their Ryder Cup experience. Cameron Young went 3-1-0 at Bethpage Black and was arguably the team MVP, so it seems he’ll be around for a while.

After that, it’s going to be wide open, based on who wins the majors and signature events the next two seasons. Can Spieth become one of the world’s best again after coming back from wrist surgery? Will J.J. Spaun and Ben Griffin keep winning on tour? Can young golfers like Sahith Theegala, Akshay Bhatia, Maverick McNealy, Luke Clanton and others take the next step in their careers?

Max Homa was the best American golfer in a 16.5-11.5 loss in Italy in 2023, but he lost his swing and confidence. Former U.S. Open winner Wyndham Clark also fell off. Former Open Championship winner Brian Harman is a match-play stalwart and might be a better fit for Adare Manor.

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What ‘young blood’ could be in line for a spot in 2027?

Uggetti: I think everything is on the table as far as the roster goes. The only people I see as absolute locks to make the 2027 team are Scheffler, Schauffele, Young and DeChambeau. That leaves eight spots up for grabs which should make a handful of young up-and-coming players intriguing options.

The two names that come to mind right away are Jackson Koivun and Clanton. Koivun is the top amateur in the world and even though he has yet to turn pro, he already has his PGA Tour card locked up and has three top-10 finishes on Tour in just seven starts, with all three of them coming in his past three events. Clanton turned pro this year and has four top-10 finishes going back to last season. This year, he did not have a standout finish, but he has shown enough flashes of potential that he could also be an intriguing option.

Whether each of them makes it or not, Young’s success at Bethpage this past week is a reminder that experience should not always be the lead factor in either a captain’s pick or a player’s role on a given team.

PGMOL chief Howard Webb says it was “good use of VAR” to overturn Arsenal’s ‘penalty’ at Newcastle and explains Nick Pope’s challenge on Viktor Gyokeres was “quite different” to the foul committed by Chelsea’s Robert Sanchez that saw him sent off a week prior.

Magpies goalkeeper Pope eventually avoided conceding a penalty after he came out to challenge Gunners forward Gyokeres in the first half of Arsenal’s 2-1 win at St James’ Park. Running towards the ball in the Newcastle area, Pope rushed out to challenge Gyokeres, appearing to bring him down in the process.

Referee Jarred Gillett initially gave a penalty for the challenge; however, VAR Darren England recommended an on-field review. After around three minutes, Gillett then announced the decision had been overturned.

Bukayo Saka and Mikel Arteta were critical of the decision after the game. The pair questioned how it was deemed ‘clear and obvious’ to overturn the decision.

WHAT THE OFFICIALS SAID:

REF: On-field decision is a penalty. Nick Pope, a trip by Nick Pope.

VAR: OK, checking the on-field decision of penalty.

VAR: Got a better angle?

Replay Operator: Yeah, I’ve got a better angle from behind here.

VAR: Does he get a touch on the ball, the goalkeeper? I think he gets a touch on the ball. Nick Pope gets a touch on the ball here.

Assistant VAR: Yes, he does, yeah.

VAR: Does he? One more time. He actually gets a touch on the ball, doesn’t he?

AVAR: Yeah, there’s a secondary touch.

VAR: Give me another angle, please. Just make sure that Pope touches the ball, please.

Replay Operator: I’ve got an SSM (Super Slow Motion), but it’s from the other side.

VAR: He does touch the ball, doesn’t he? Touches the ball first, then there’s contact afterwards. Therefore, that’s not a penalty kick. He touches the ball there.

Replay Operator: This is the best angle.

AVAR: Have you got the behind view?

Replay Operator: Yeah, this is the best angle I’ve got.

VAR: He does, doesn’t he? He touches. OK, let’s just check the APP (Attacking Possession Phase) as it goes over as well.

AVAR: It’s definitely played by a defender. But check it anyway.

VAR: Jarred, I’m going to recommend an on-field review for possible no penalty. Let me know when you’ve got the monitor. I am going to check APP as well. Nick Pope gets a touch on the ball.

Replay Operator: I’ll go slowly so you can check the APP.

VAR: Yeah, yeah. It’s his defender, a clear defender, isn’t it? It’s always clear defender, that’s fine. The APP has been checked, the APP is clear as well. I’m going to show you the tight angle first with the ball being touched by Nick Pope. Any contact that happens thereafter, after the contact has been made.

VAR: Nick Pope gets a touch with his right foot, I’ll give you another angle on the touch.

REF: Show me a better angle to see that he touches the ball.

VAR: I will do, I’ll show you a better angle.

Replay Operator: Do you want the SSM from the other side?

VAR: Yeah, yeah, yeah, super slow. Super slow, coming in now. Gets a touch on the ball there. And then just plants his foot in a normal action.

REF: The attacker plays the ball first. I don’t know if the goalkeeper actually plays the ball.

VAR: The attacker plays the ball. Yeah, the attacker plays the ball, and the goalkeeper plays the ball then with his right foot, there.

REF: Just play it at full speed, please.

VAR: Any contact there, any contact after that is normal contact, because the goalkeeper just plays his foot.

REF: Can you play it at full speed?

VAR: Playing at normal speed for you.

REF: So I’m seeing the goalkeeper get a toe to the ball first, prior to making contact.

VAR: Agree.

REF: So after a view, the goalkeeper plays the ball, there’s no foul. Final decision, we drop ball.

VAR: Confirmed.

HOWARD WEBB’S VERDICT:

“At full speed, it looks a penalty, doesn’t it? And you can absolutely understand why the referee gave it from what he saw on the field.

“He gave it for a tripping action by Nick Pope. The VAR checks the penalty. Obviously, it’s a reviewable situation, penalties, goals, etc.

“So he checks the penalty, makes sure that the decision is not clearly wrong. When he does that, he clearly sees that Gyokeres gets to the ball, pokes it a little bit forward, but then, importantly, Nick Pope also gets a very clear touch on the ball as he steps forward with that right foot and deviates the direction that the ball is going.

“And that hadn’t been appreciated on the field by the referee. Pope then plants his foot on the ground. He doesn’t drive it forward into Gyokeres.

“There’s a gap, clearly a gap, between the two players after Pope has played the ball, and then the two players come together quite normally. The action by Pope is normal. It’s not reckless. It’s just a kick out towards the ball. The ball deviates.

“No contact on the player until the ball has been played away, and then the contact happens fairly normally. So, not a foul, and therefore a good use of the VAR to intervene to show the referee what really happened.

“The deviation’s quite clear. You’ll see that touch by Gyokeres, and you’ll see Pope’s right leg come in. It touches the ball, it moves the ball away in a different direction to the direction it was previously going in.

“When he then puts his foot on the ground, having made contact with the ball, there’s a separation between him and Gyokeres. There’s no contact at that point. The contact only happens after Pope has played the ball.

“So, it’s a good challenge by Pope. It’s not a foul, and there was an important part around this in that the referee didn’t recognise that touch by Pope in real time.

“Hence the reason that when the VAR saw it, he deemed it to be a clear and obvious error because that touch by Pope hadn’t been seen, and therefore the referee could go to the screen to look at that really important aspect and make a judgement for himself, and the judgement was: I’ve seen the touch, therefore it’s not a foul, and I’m going to start with the drop ball.

“The referee hadn’t recognised that touch, that was important, the VAR saw it and deemed it was a clear error. I agree with the VAR’s intervention, so the referee can go to the screen, look at the full sequence, see that touch, see that there was a normal playing action by Pope and the penalty was rightly cancelled.”

Why was it different to Sanchez’s challenge on Mbeumo?

A similar scenario happened during Manchester United’s 2-1 win over Chelsea. Early on in the game, an onrushing Sanchez hacked down Bryan Mbeumo just outside the area and was subsequently sent off for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity.

Webb’s verdict:

“I know people have compared the two situations. I think they’re really quite different, and we’ll talk about why.

“I think the only similarity is that there is a touch on the ball from the goalkeeper in both situations, but the way that touch happens is quite different.

“Now, in this situation, Sanchez was sent off for denying Mbeumo an obvious goalscoring opportunity. He committed a foul, which prevented Mbeumo from continuing through to try to score.

“When you see the way that Sanchez comes out to try to play that ball, whereas we saw Pope play the ball low, his foot went straight to ground, and then there was a normal coming together.

“In this situation, he leads with a raised leg and stud showing, which goes into the leg of Mbeumo. It’s at least a reckless action. Some people have talked about it, maybe even being more serious foul play, endangering the safety of the opponent.

“I think it’s reckless, at least. It has to be penalised. There is that small touch on the ball, but that doesn’t negate the fact you have to penalise this sort of action.

“And that touch, by the way, is quite different to the Pope one in that the ball doesn’t really deviate, it just continues.

“It touches the top of the boot of Sanchez, and then continues in the same line with Mbeumo about to run onto it. In Pope’s situation, we saw quite a deviation of that ball.

“So, for all of those reasons, this is absolutely something we have to penalise, primarily, though, because of the nature of the way that Sanchez went in, stood exposed on to the leg of Mbeumo.

“It has to be a foul. And then, of course, we know that the conditions are there for an obvious goalscoring opportunity.

“Mbeumo running on to that ball, the defenders are not there to cover. It’s obviously a goalscoring opportunity. And therefore, the red card comes out for that reason.”

WATCH: Webb’s verdict on Cash’s handball

After Week 4 of the 2025 NFL season, the Bills and Eagles are the only undefeated teams left in the league. On the other end, the Titans, Saints and Jets are all 0-4 after the “Monday Night Football” doubleheader.

How do all of these teams fit in our Power Rankings? We stacked all 32 teams heading into Week 5, which will include byes for four teams (Bears, Falcons, Packers and Steelers). In addition to our rankings, we asked our NFL Nation reporters to take a closer look at every offense. From red zone efficiency to third-down conversions, we named the biggest issue on offense for every roster.

Let’s get right into it with our No. 1-ranked team. Our power panel of more than 80 writers, editors and TV personalities evaluated how NFL teams stack up against one another, ranking them from 1 to 32.

See previous rankings: Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4

Jump to a team:
ARI | ATL | BAL | BUF | CAR | CHI | CIN
CLE | DAL | DEN | DET | GB | HOU | IND
JAX | KC | LAC | LAR | LV | MIA | MIN
NE | NO | NYG | NYJ | PHI | PIT | SF
SEA | TB | TEN | WSH

Week 4 result: Beat the Buccaneers 31-25
Week 4 ranking: 1

Biggest issue on offense: Passing inconsistency

The Eagles have been prone to wild swings through four games. They had minus-1 passing yards in the first half against the Rams in Week 3, then erupted in the second half to mount a comeback win. Quarterback Jalen Hurts went 15-of-18 with two touchdowns in the first half against the Bucs, then went 0-for-8 in the second half as Philadelphia nearly blew a substantial lead. The fact that there’s significant room for improvement is a scary thing for the league, given this team exited a very difficult portion of its schedule with a perfect record. — Tim McManus

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Week 4 result: Beat the Saints 31-19
Week 4 ranking: 2

Biggest issue on offense: Consistency in middle quarters

This is nitpicky, but consistency has been Buffalo’s biggest issue. Even though it has scored a touchdown on every opening possession this season, the offense has been noticeably worse in the middle of games. In the first and fourth quarters, the Bills have averaged 10.9 points and 112.3 yards. In the second and third quarters, those numbers drop to 5.8 and 89.8, respectively. There are other areas to grow, but led by quarterback Josh Allen and running back James Cook, the team has been strongest when opening and closing games. — Alaina Getzenberg

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Week 4 result: Beat the Browns 34-10
Week 4 ranking: 3

Biggest issue on offense: Getting WR Jameson Williams more involved

Williams has proved to be Detroit’s top deep threat, but the connection with Lions quarterback Jared Goff wasn’t there against Cleveland. Williams was targeted by Goff eight times but caught only two passes. In Week 3 against Baltimore, he was targeted just three times for two catches. Although Williams doesn’t need a lot of receptions to be effective, Goff would like to see their connection improve. “I’ve got no reservations with him at all,” Goff said Sunday. “He’s as good as they get in our league. He can score from anywhere, and going to keep believing in him no matter what.” — Eric Woodyard

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Week 4 result: Beat the Colts 27-20
Week 4 ranking: 8

Biggest issue on offense: Third-down conversions

The Rams are 19-for-47 (40.4%) on third down this season, which ranks 14th in the NFL. Most of that success came in the first two weeks against the Texans and Titans, who are a combined 1-7. But Los Angeles struggled on third down against the Eagles (3-for-10) and the Colts (4-for-12). Last week, wide receiver Davante Adams said the offense “didn’t execute” well enough on those plays, and Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur said, “There were a few things that were a tick off, and that’s what happens.” — Sarah Barshop

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Week 4 result: Lost to the Giants 21-18
Week 4 ranking: 4

Biggest issue on offense: Pass protection

Sunday was a continuation of the norm for these Chargers, who have struggled to protect Justin Herbert all season. The Giants recorded a pass rush win rate of 68% against the Chargers, which was New York’s highest single-game mark since the metric was introduced in 2017. Herbert has been hit 47 times this season, which ranks second in the NFL. It’s difficult to see this line improving anytime soon since left tackle Joe Alt left Sunday’s game heavily limping in a walking boot. — Kris Rhim

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Week 4 result: Lost to the Eagles 31-25
Week 4 ranking: 6

Biggest issue on offense: Third-down passing

Although the Bucs have enjoyed a third-down rushing percentage of 60% (seventh best in the league), quarterback Baker Mayfield and his receivers are connecting on only 28.2% of third-down passes. Last season, that figure was 45.9%. A reason for the drop could be injuries, as Tampa Bay started the season without wide receivers Chris Godwin Jr. and Jalen McMillan. The Bucs then lost wide receiver Mike Evans for a few weeks to a strained left hamstring. Godwin returned against the Eagles, so the third-down passing should improve as he gets more comfortable next to rookie Emeka Egbuka. Plus, Evans and McMillan are expected to return this season. — Jenna Laine

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Week 4 result: Beat the Ravens 37-20
Week 4 ranking: 9

Biggest issue on offense: Running back production

After the return of speedy receiver Xavier Worthy — and the upcoming return of No. 1 receiver Rashee Rice in Week 7 — the last major issue for the Chiefs is their rushing attack. Kansas City is able to get some production on the ground, but none of it is coming from the running backs. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes still leads the team in rushing with 130 yards, and the Chiefs’ longest designed run this season (35 yards) was from Worthy on an end around. The Chiefs could consider adding another running back before the league’s trade deadline. — Nate Taylor

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Week 4 result: Tied the Cowboys 40-40
Week 4 ranking: 5

Biggest issue on offense: Penalties

It’s especially problematic on the offensive line, although it could be partially due to all the moving parts, with injuries to left guard Aaron Banks (groin) and right tackle Zach Tom (oblique). Their fill-ins, Jordan Morgan for Banks and Darian Kinnard for Tom, combined for three penalties against the Cowboys. Each player was called for a hold, and Kinnard was also called for a false start. Morgan has three penalties in four games. The Packers lead the league with 10 false start penalties, and only three teams have more offensive holding calls than the Packers’ nine this season. — Rob Demovsky

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Week 4 result: Beat the Cardinals 23-20
Week 4 ranking: 14

Biggest issue on offense: Too many whiffs in the run game

After putting up 155 yards in Week 4, the Seahawks are middle of the pack in rushing yards per game. They have shown they can be explosive, as Seattle’s seven rushes of at least 15 yards are tied for fourth most in the league. The problem is that too many run plays don’t achieve anything. The Seahawks have a league-high 33 attempts that either lost yardage or gained zero yards, an issue that has plagued running backs Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet equally. “It’s really everybody,” coach Mike Macdonald said. “It’s how we design it, how we coach it, how we’re blocking it, how we’re running it. It’s a lot of things.” — Brady Henderson

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Week 4 result: Lost to the Rams 27-20
Week 4 ranking: 12

Biggest issue on offense: Red zone shortcomings

The Colts rank fourth in scoring with 29.0 points per game. But that comes in spite of their continued failure to convert red zone trips into touchdowns. Remarkably, Indianapolis ranks 25th in red zone touchdown conversion rate, reaching the end zone on only 47.4% of such drives. The Colts are one of just two teams among the top five scoring teams to rank outside of the top 10 in red zone touchdowns. The Colts are overcoming this issue for now, but it’s likely to catch up to them. — Stephen Holder

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Week 4 result: Beat the Vikings 24-21
Week 4 ranking: 17

Biggest issue on offense: Consistency in the run game

The Steelers rank 31st with 80 rushing yards per game, but they took a step forward with 131 against the Vikings, including 99 from Kenneth Gainwell. The next step is improving that part of the offense with Jaylen Warren, who missed the Vikings win with a knee injury and is averaging just 3.1 yards per carry. The Steelers need better interior blocking to help spring Warren, but they found some success Sunday by adding extra blockers in offensive lineman Spencer Anderson and tight end Darnell Washington. That could be the key to future success. — Brooke Pryor

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Week 4 result: Lost to the Jaguars 26-21
Week 4 ranking: 11

Biggest issue on offense: Red zone, goal-to-go efficiency

The 49ers have scored six touchdowns on 14 red zone trips this season — a 42.9% conversion rate that is tied for fifth worst in the NFL. What’s more concerning is they’ve scored only three touchdowns in eight goal-to-go situations, a 37.5% conversion rate that is fourth worst. The Niners have been without some of their top red zone targets, including tight end George Kittle (hamstring) and receivers Brandon Aiyuk (knee) and Jauan Jennings, but settling for field goals contributed to Sunday’s loss. San Francisco hopes getting those key players back will help, but for now, the inability to finish drives in the end zone is creating a much narrower margin for error. — Nick Wagoner

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Week 4 result: Beat the Bengals 28-3
Week 4 ranking: 15

Biggest issue on offense: They shun the run

The Broncos are tied for fourth in yards per carry (5.1) and fifth in percentage of runs over 10 yards (15.0%) this season. Yet, they entered Week 3 tied for 21st in rushing attempts per game and 30th in rushing first downs. Look, nobody is calling for anything close to a 50-50 run-pass split, but the Broncos are choosing not to do what they do best this season. Running the ball more could take some of the pass rush pressure off Bo Nix and help the Broncos sustain more drives. It worked well Monday against Cincinnati, as the Broncos ran the ball 38 times for 186 yards, but will that usage carry over? — Jeff Legwold

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Week 4 result: Beat the 49ers 26-21
Week 4 ranking: 18

Biggest issue on offense: Penalties

The Jaguars lead the NFL in called (30) and accepted (23) offensive penalties. That includes 10 holding penalties, second most in the league behind Tampa Bay (12), and seven false starts. That’s keeping Liam Coen’s offense from getting into rhythm and plays a large part in the Jaguars converting only 35.2% of their third downs (25th in the league). — Mike DiRocco

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Week 4 result: Lost to the Chiefs 37-20
Week 4 ranking: 7

Biggest issue on offense: QB Lamar Jackson‘s health

The two-time NFL MVP left Sunday’s loss midway through the third quarter with a hamstring injury and did not return. Coach John Harbaugh declined to say whether Jackson would play in Week 5 against the Texans, which creates more concern for a Ravens team that has started 1-3. Baltimore has struggled mightily without Jackson in the past. The Ravens are 4-10, including the playoffs, over the past six seasons when Jackson hasn’t started. If Jackson is sidelined, Cooper Rush would get his first start for Baltimore. — Jamison Hensley

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Week 4 result: Lost to the Falcons 34-27
Week 4 ranking: 10

Biggest issue on offense: Injuries

Washington scored 48 points combined the past two games despite missing a number of starters due to injuries — including quarterback Jayden Daniels. Against Atlanta, the Commanders were without five players who were expected to be starters entering the season. Only running back Austin Ekeler is lost for the season (torn Achilles), and Daniels could return this week. Other players’ statuses remain uncertain, including that of receiver Terry McLaurin. With a defense that gives up too many big plays, Washington needs an explosive offense to win. That means getting healthier. — John Keim

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Week 4 result: Lost to the Steelers 24-21
Week 4 ranking: 13

Biggest issue on offense: Negative plays in passing game

The Vikings have lost yards on 20 plays in their passing game, tied for most in the NFL. Their sack rate of 13.2% also leads the league, but it’s both a quarterback and offensive line issue. During the first two weeks of the season, quarterback J.J. McCarthy held the ball longer before throwing (3.15 seconds) than all but one qualified quarterback. Backup Carson Wentz has thrown quicker, but on his nine sacks, he has held the ball for an average of 4.79 seconds. The offense hasn’t been good enough to compensate, and the Vikings have managed to convert only 2 of 23 third downs when they needed 7 or more yards. — Kevin Seifert

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Week 4 result: Lost to the Seahawks 23-20
Week 4 ranking: 16

Biggest issue on offense: First-half struggles

After a strong start to the season against weak opponents (Panthers and Saints), the Cardinals were not able to get anything going offensively in the first half of their past two games, which led to back-to-back NFC West losses in a span of five days. Arizona averaged just 3.0 points per game in the first half the past two weeks, while averaging just 3.5 yards per rush and 3.2 yards per play. The Cardinals also had a minus-14 point differential and were outgained by 107 yards in that span. — Josh Weinfuss

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Week 4 result: Beat the Commanders 34-27
Week 4 ranking: 19

Biggest issue on offense: Wide receiver production

Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. had not thrown a touchdown pass to a wide receiver or a tight end coming into Week 4. Running back Bijan Robinson leads the team with 270 receiving yards. Wide receiver Drake London broke out Sunday, with eight catches for 110 yards and a touchdown, and tight end Kyle Pitts Sr. had five catches for 70 yards and a touchdown. But Penix will need more from his wideouts: The top three Falcons wide receivers have a negative receiving EPA this season. Help is needed, since receiver Darnell Mooney left Sunday’s game with a hamstring injury. — Marc Raimondi

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Week 4 result: Beat the Raiders 25-24
Week 4 ranking: 23

Biggest issue on offense: Scoring off turnovers

The Bears squandered opportunities in back-to-back wins against the Cowboys and Raiders because the offense has struggled to capitalize on gifted possessions. Back-to-back drives in the fourth quarter against Dallas ended in punts after Chicago’s defense came away with consecutive interceptions. Against the Raiders, the Bears managed only 13 points off four turnovers (three INTs, one forced fumble). A combination of pre-snap penalties, a poor rushing attack and execution issues in the red zone (1-of-4 in Las Vegas) need to be addressed during the Week 5 bye. — Courtney Cronin

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Week 4 result: Beat the Panthers 42-13
Week 4 ranking: 25

Biggest issue on offense: RB ball security

The Patriots took a significant step to correct it in Week 4, turning to a more even snap distribution between Rhamondre Stevenson, TreVeyon Henderson and Antonio Gibson. This came after a Week 3 loss to Pittsburgh in which Stevenson lost two fumbles and Gibson coughed up one. The team had a new blaster at practice after that game, which is a gauntlet players run through as they experience high-intensity contact from a series of blocking pads. There were no RB fumbles against Carolina. — Mike Reiss

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Week 4 result: Beat the Titans 26-0
Week 4 ranking: 21

Biggest issue on offense: Third-down efficiency

The Texans have converted 29.2% of third-down opportunities, which ranks 30th. One of the biggest reasons for the low rate is the 24 third-and-7 or longer situations that C.J. Stroud has faced, which is eighth most per NFL Next Gen Stats. Third-and-longs are hard to consistently overcome, as Stroud has only five first downs in those scenarios. That’s part of why Houston is averaging 16 points per game. Even against the Titans, the Texans went 6-of-15 on third down. — DJ Bien-Aime

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Week 4 result: Tied the Packers 40-40
Week 4 ranking: 24

Biggest issue on offense: Third-down efficiency

It’s difficult to quibble about an offense that has scored 40 points twice, run the ball efficiently and has quarterback Dak Prescott playing at a high level. The Cowboys have even performed well without wide receiver CeeDee Lamb (left high ankle sprain), center Cooper Beebe (right ankle and foot injury) and right guard Tyler Booker (high ankle sprain). But with a defense that is struggling, the offense needs to be better on third down. Through four games, the Cowboys have converted just 42.5% of their third-down tries (20 of 47). They have to do a better job of keeping their defense off the field. — Todd Archer

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Week 4 result: Lost to the Broncos 28-3
Week 4 ranking: 20

Biggest issue on offense: Big plays on the ground

Realistically, the whole run game has been an unmitigated disaster. The Bengals rank at or near the bottom of the league in several key rushing categories, including yards per rush (32nd at 2.6). The real issue is the lack of big plays on the ground. Cincinnati has just two rushes of 10 or more yards through the first four weeks of the season, the fewest of any team — the Ravens have 19 so far. Cincinnati needs to punish teams on the ground when opponents play deep zones to limit the Bengals’ explosive passing attack. — Ben Baby

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Week 4 result: Lost to the Bears 25-24
Week 4 ranking: 22

Biggest issue on offense: Geno Smith‘s interceptions

Smith has thrown three interceptions in a game twice this season, including this past Sunday. The Raiders finally got the ground game going with rookie running back Ashton Jeanty, but Smith’s turnovers cost them in the end. He has totaled seven picks already this season after finishing with 10 (tied for sixth most in the league) in all of 2024 with the Seahawks. “We lost our chances to score when the offense was out there, more so than what [the Bears] did with it when they took it away from us,” coach Pete Carroll said. — Ryan McFadden

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Week 4 result: Lost to the Lions 34-10
Week 4 ranking: 26

Biggest issue on offense: Turnovers

The Browns’ eight giveaways are tied for the most in the NFL. Quarterback Joe Flacco has been at the center of each turnover, with six interceptions and two lost fumbles. While each one hasn’t entirely been his fault, the giveaways are putting even more strain on the defense and making things tougher for a team that already has little margin for error. “We all share in those things,” coach Kevin Stefanski said. “We all own it, and we all have to be better.” — Daniel Oyefusi

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Week 4 result: Beat the Chargers 21-18
Week 4 ranking: 30

Biggest issue on offense: Red zone offense

Nobody has been worse in the red zone this season than the Giants, in part because their offensive line can’t get any push at the line of scrimmage. It’s an extension of last season, when the Giants were also ranked 32nd in the league at 43.2%. Amazingly, it’s only gotten worse. The Giants have converted just 26.7% of their opportunities in the red zone into touchdowns this season. “A work in progress,” coach Brian Daboll said recently. The hope is that new starting quarterback Jaxson Dart and his legs can help. — Jordan Raanan

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Week 4 result: Lost the Patriots 42-13
Week 4 ranking: 27

Biggest issue on offense: Chemistry between QB Bryce Young and WR Tetairoa McMillan

Young and McMillan were a dynamic duo with fantastic chemistry throughout camp. That continued through the first two games, as they connected 11 times on 19 targets for 168 yards. But they’ve teamed up for only seven catches on 16 targets for 110 yards since, missing several big-play opportunities. McMillan has a team-high 25% target share, but he has caught only 50% of his targets. That has put more pressure on a banged-up receiving corps that hasn’t delivered. — David Newton

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Week 4 result: Beat the Jets 27-21
Week 4 ranking: 29

Biggest issue on offense: Keeping the ball

The Dolphins ranked third-last in average time of possession this season, and there are several factors behind that struggle. They’ve averaged only 98.0 rushing yards per game (sixth-worst) and turned the ball over five times through four weeks. Their issues sustaining drives feel like an anomaly, considering they are second in third-down percentage (48.9%) and are tied for eighth with 4.8 yards per rush. More commitment to the run game and fewer turnover-worthy plays should right the ship. Miami held the ball for 30:48 in Monday’s win over the Jets. — Marcel Louis-Jacques

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Week 4 result: Lost to the Dolphins 27-21
Week 4 ranking: 28

Biggest issue on offense: Third-down conversions

Before Monday night’s game, the Jets were tied with the Titans for the worst third-down conversion rate in the league — 27.8%. It got a little better Monday, as they were successful on 4 of 9 third-down opportunities. Third-and-long (7 yards or more) feels like a mile to the Jets, who entered the game 1-for-16 before going 3-for-5 Monday. But in general, they’re simply not built to play that type of game. Quarterback Justin Fields‘ inconsistency as a passer, coupled with a lack of playmakers on the perimeter, really restricts the offense. Wide receiver Garrett Wilson is still the Jets’ only true difference-maker on the outside. — Rich Cimini

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Week 4 result: Lost to the Bills 31-19
Week 4 ranking: 32

Biggest issue on offense: Pre-snap penalties

The Saints might have turned around the penalty situation with only four against the Bills, but coming into Week 4, they were in a tie as the most penalized team in the league. Thirteen of their penalties have come before the snap, such as false starts, illegal shifts and illegal motions. That’s been a concerning trend for a team that can’t afford to make mistakes on either side of the ball. — Katherine Terrell

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Week 4 result: Lost to the Texans 26-0
Week 4 ranking: 31

Biggest issue on offense: Red zone offense

The Titans have struggled mightily to score points, leading to their first 0-4 start since 2009. They’re averaging 1.8 red zone visits per game, which ranks 31st in the NFL. They failed to reach the red zone at all against the Texans. And the rare occasions when the Titans reached the red zone in the first three weeks weren’t fruitful, either. Their 48.6% red zone touchdown conversion rate is sixth worst in the league. — Turron Davenport

LAS VEGAS — The Phoenix Mercury are waiting. Will the Las Vegas Aces or Indiana Fever join them in the WNBA Finals?

Half of the championship series is set after the No. 4 seed Mercury eliminated the No. 1 seed Minnesota Lynx on Sunday. The Aces host the Fever on Tuesday (9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2) in a decisive Game 5 of a semifinal series.

The No. 2 seed Aces — who won WNBA championships in 2022 and 2023 — seek their third Finals appearance in the past four seasons. The No. 6 seed Fever look to go back to the Finals for the first time since 2015. Las Vegas has MVP A’ja Wilson and the home-court advantage in the winner-take-all, but Indiana already has pulled one series upset by defeating the No. 3 seed Atlanta Dream 2-1 in the first round.

Caitlin Clark, last season’s Rookie of the Year, has not played since mid-July because of a groin injury. The Fever have relied on All-Stars Kelsey Mitchell and Aliyah Boston to carry the team, which has been injury ravaged at the guard position.

The WNBA Finals — in an expanded best-of-seven format for the first time — will begin Friday (8 p.m. ET, ESPN) with the highest remaining seed hosting the first two games. Can the Fever pull off another upset to get there? Or will the Aces prevail to set up an all-desert matchup against Phoenix?

ESPN experts Kendra Andrews, Charlie Creme, Kevin Pelton, Alexa Philippou and Michael Voepel break down what to expect Tuesday.

The Fever have momentum; the Aces have home-court advantage. What is a bigger factor in Game 5?

Creme: Neither has carried much weight in this series — both teams are 1-1 at home — but I lean on home court being the biggest factor in a winner-take-all game. The Las Vegas crowd will be loud and engaged, and while the Aces are not invincible at home (Indiana won Game 1), they went 17-5 at Michelob Ultra Arena in the regular season. The atmosphere should provide some extra energy, which seemed to disrupt Indiana in Game 2. The caveat: In the first round, the Fever won their deciding game on the road over Atlanta, which went 16-6 at home in the regular season, just 11 days ago.

Andrews: For Game 5, experience will be the biggest game-changing factor. The Aces are a proven championship team. That, paired with them playing on their home court, makes them the favorite to make it out of this series.

Pelton: This is the ninth time in WNBA history that a team has won Game 4 at home to force a deciding Game 5. In those situations, the home team is 5-3 in Game 5, a little worse than the overall mark for all home Game 5s (9-5, .643). So I’d say the edge goes to Las Vegas, but it’s close enough that anything could happen.

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The Fever have blown away expectations and predictions so far. Why might they add to the postseason upsets and advance?

Creme: Kelsey Mitchell. The Indiana guard has proved to be at least the second-most unguardable player in the series. Indiana has found a formula that has worked twice, and it’s largely built on Mitchell and the Aces’ lack of answers for her quickness, speed and shooting range.

As historically good as Wilson is, Aliyah Boston has proved to be a worthy adversary, neutralizing Wilson or, as in Game 4, being able to score right along with the four-time MVP. Las Vegas will make adjustments just as it did to slow Mitchell in Game 2 after her 34-point explosion in the opener. But Mitchell threw a solid counterpunch Sunday with 25 more points. If she gets the upper hand one more time, the Fever could find themselves in the Finals.

Voepel: The Aces have shown vulnerability at home in these playoffs. In addition to losing Game 1 of the semifinals, they were an Erica Wheeler jump shot away from potentially being upset in the first round by the Seattle Storm.

The Aces are the home team, but the Fever are playing with “house” money. They are the underdog that wasn’t expected to get this far. There is more pressure on the Aces as the favorites, and we will see how they handle that.

Philippou: The Fever have thrived this year when they feel as if their backs are against the wall, especially in the postseason, where they are 3-0 in elimination games (the most by any team in a single postseason since the 2022 Connecticut Sun).

To Voepel’s point, the Aces are facing way more pressure trying to advance to their third Finals in four years and cementing their status as a WNBA dynasty. Indiana needs to play free but also with aggression and urgency from the jump, to pull off another upset. The Fever must not only hold stout defensively but also get contributions on the other end from more players beyond Mitchell. Boston is a logical pick as another top scorer, but look for Odyssey Sims to be their X factor as she was in their Game 1 and 4 victories.

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Las Vegas was so dominant at the end of the regular season but has been dominated at times by Indiana. What changed?

Andrews: The amount of energy and effort it takes to go on a 17-game win streak can make it hard to sustain. The same could be said for what happened with Minnesota. The Lynx were so good for such a long period of time, but they ran out of steam (not to mention the unfortunate injury to Napheesa Collier and suspension of coach Cheryl Reeve).

The point is: It’s hard to play so perfectly for such long stretches. The fact Las Vegas did and fought its way from playoff bubble to the No. 2 seed is incredibly impressive. But now, some of the Aces’ energy is faltering, and it has cost Las Vegas at times against this pesky Indiana team.

Voepel: The Fever have had players step forward in a big way in their two victories this series, so a lot of the credit for how the Aces have looked goes to Indiana. Mitchell in Game 1 and Boston in Game 4 were the stars who stood out, but Sims was also big in both of those victories with a combined 35 points on 59% shooting from the field. The Fever have made the Aces’ defense work hard in Indiana’s two victories.

Philippou: Game 1 felt like a fluke, perhaps in part due to all the excitement from Wilson’s MVP announcement earlier that day. At the time, Wilson chalked it up to something simple: “We didn’t come to work.” Aces coach Becky Hammon has stressed that her team cannot get too high emotionally after wins, and while she seemed frustrated about the free throw disparity in Indiana’s favor in Game 4, she also acknowledged that her team lacked energy defensively.

It’s not a coincidence that Las Vegas is 0-3 this postseason when it gives up over 80 points and is 4-0 when the opponent doesn’t reach that threshold. The Aces’ defensive improvement was a big factor fueling their win streak. No doubt Hammon will be looking for Las Vegas to win the series with defense Tuesday, with containing Mitchell the top priority.

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Which Aces player not named A’ja Wilson must step up for Las Vegas to win?

Voepel: Guard Jewell Loyd took a different role with the Aces this season than she had for a decade in Seattle. That especially became the case when she moved to a reserve role off the bench. And Loyd told ESPN earlier this month that she takes pride in being thought of as more than a scorer. She wants to be seen as someone who sets good screens, helps set up her teammates and plays good defense.

Those things all matter a lot. But the Aces might need her scoring in Game 5. Going back to Game 3 of the Aces’ first-round series with Seattle, Loyd is averaging 4.6 points over her past five games while shooting 30.4%. She scored in double digits only once in that stretch, with 10 points in the Aces’ Game 2 victory over Indiana. Loyd can still stretch the defense when she is hitting from the perimeter, and it could be a big help Tuesday.

Pelton: NaLyssa Smith wasn’t bad in Game 4, scoring eight points on 4-of-5 shooting, but she has been the biggest bellwether for Las Vegas in the playoffs. When Smith scores in double figures, including Games 2 and 3 in this series, the Aces are 3-0. Las Vegas is 1-3 in the four games in which Smith has been held to single digits.

Philippou: Jackie Young has been a two-way force in the playoffs and might sneakily be the most important player for the Aces’ success this series. Aside from her, Dana Evans has had some really strong moments in which her ability to get downhill has swung momentum in Vegas’ favor. A big night from her would bode well for the two-time champs.

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How will Game 5 and the WNBA Finals be officiated?

Pelton: The Fever attempted 23 more free throws than the Aces in Game 4; the advantage was the largest for any WNBA team in the playoffs so far, which naturally caught the attention of the Aces. Wilson spent part of her postgame availability highlighting that three Las Vegas starters had five fouls, and reserve Megan Gustafson was called for four in 15 minutes.

Inevitably, the situation will be more favorable for the Aces in Game 5. Although there is some carryover from game to game in terms of free throw differential, which might reflect teams’ strengths and weaknesses, it tends to move about 50% toward even from one game to the next. Sometimes that is attributed to complaints by players and coaches when it’s probably nothing more than regression to the mean.

Still, after the WNBA followed Cheryl Reeve’s suspension for Game 4 of the other semifinals matchup by fining both coaches in this series for their comments critical of referees in support of Reeve, the officiating will again be under the microscope Tuesday.

Voepel: The officials might feel they are under an unfair microscope now as this has become the biggest topic of the playoffs. But that toothpaste is out of the tube. And I agree with Kevin: The pendulum during a series tends to swing back and forth, which should benefit the Aces.

Scotland head coach Steve Clarke has recalled goalkeeper Craig Gordon to his squad for October’s World Cup qualifiers.

The 42-year-old – who last featured for Scotland in the Nations League play-off defeat to Greece – replaces his Hearts team-mate Zander Clark.

Both players have struggled for minutes this season. Gordon has recently recovered from a neck injury, meaning he is yet to play for the Scottish Premiership leaders, while Clark has not featured since August.

Clarke’s other goalkeeping options have also struggled for action at club level. Angus Gunn – who kept back-to-back clean sheets in Scotland’s opening two games – has not featured for Nottingham Forest this season. Meanwhile, Rangers’ Liam Kelly has only played in one League Cup fixture.

Elsewhere, Celtic duo Kieran Tierney and Anthony Ralston are included in Clarke’s squad again – despite both dropping out ahead of the opening matches against Denmark and Belarus.

However, fellow defenders Dominic Hyam and Max Johnston do not feature in a smaller 23-player squad for the games against Greece and Belarus at Hampden Park.

Scotland squad in full:

Goalkeepers: Craig Gordon (Hearts), Angus Gunn (Nottingham Forest), Liam Kelly (Rangers).

Defenders: Grant Hanley (Hibernian), Jack Hendry (Al Etiffaq), Aaron Hickey (Brentford), Scott McKenna (Dinamo Zagreb), Anthony Ralston (Celtic), Andy Robertson (Liverpool), John Souttar (Rangers), Kieran Tierney (Celtic).

Midfielders: Ryan Christie (Bournemouth), Lewis Ferguson (Bologna), Ben Gannon Doak (Bournemouth), Billy Gilmour (Napoli), John McGinn (Aston Villa), Kenny McLean (Norwich), Scott McTominay (Napoli), Lennon Miller (Udinese).

Forwards: Che Adams (Torino), Kieron Bowie (Hibernian), Lyndon Dykes (Birmingham), George Hirst (Ipswich).

How the campaign started

Scotland picked up four points from their opening two qualifiers ahead of this Hampden Park double-header, as Clarke bids to guide the men’s side to their first World Cup since 1998.

The campaign started with a draw away to top-seeds Denmark, followed by a 2-0 win away to Belarus – results that leave Scotland level on points with the Danes at the top of Group C.

It is certainly a sprint to the 2026 World Cup – with this squad being named just 22 days after Scotland’s last match. The game against Greece is just nine days away, with the Belarus game at Hampden Park three days later and the final group fixtures in mid-November.

Scotland’s World Cup qualifiers

• Greece (H) – October 9
• Belarus (H) – October 12
• Greece (A) – November 15
• Denmark (H) – November 18

The first full month of the 2025 college football season is officially in the books, and some of the nation’s biggest early-season surprises were once again on display across a thrilling Week 5 slate.

At Ole Miss, Ferris State transfer Trinidad Chambliss eclipsed 300 passing yards for a third consecutive start to help the Rebels slay LSU. After dismantling Illinois in Week 4, Indiana and Georgia Tech, which gained a win in overtime over Wake Forest, escaped trap games to their respective surprise places in the College Football Playoff race. Fellow CFP contenders Missouri, Tennessee, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt continued their scorching starts and others — LSU, Florida State, TCU and USC among them — stumbled.

The weekend’s pair of highly anticipated prime-time matchups delivered too. Despite a leaky run defense, Alabama notched its latest win over Georgia on the road Saturday night. Meanwhile Oregon sealed perhaps the biggest win of any program this season in an overtime victory at Penn State behind the play of first-year starter Dante Moore, “the best quarterback in college football,” according to Ducks coach Dan Lanning.

Here’s our take on this week’s Top 25 with insight from ESPN’s college football experts on the biggest surprises across the sport so far this fall. — Eli Lederman

Previous ranking: 1

Is this year’s Ohio State defense even better than last year’s? Through four games, the Buckeyes have been absolutely dominant defensively, including in Saturday’s 24-6 victory at Washington. Ohio State has given up just 22 points total this year, for a ridiculous average of only 5.5 points per game. Last year, with a senior-laden unit, the Buckeyes boasted the No. 1 ranked defense statistically on the way to winning the national championship. Yet with eight new starters — and new coordinator Matt Patricia — this Ohio State defense, so far, is matching, if not exceeding, the play of last year’s unit. New starters, notably linebacker Arvell Reese, have emerged to flank star returners Sonny Styles and Caleb Downs. The Buckeyes are shutting down the run, getting pressure on the quarterback and blanketing receivers downfield. Even after losing so many key players to the NFL, this defense is already looking championship-caliber again. — Jake Trotter

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Previous ranking: 3

Ducks coach Dan Lanning proudly said Saturday night that he has the best quarterback in college football. It’s hard to blame him for thinking that way after watching Dante Moore play with unbelievable poise in front of more than 110,000 in Oregon’s thrilling 30-24 double-overtime victory at then No. 3 Penn State. The former No. 2 recruit only has 10 starts under his belt between his time at UCLA and Oregon, but he had all the right answers in high-pressure moments against an excellent Nittany Lion defense, leading two overtime touchdown drives and going 5-for-7 on fourth downs. Performances like these show he’s ready to be a serious contender in the Heisman Trophy race, and they generate a lot of belief that this Ducks team has the goods to chase a national championship. — Max Olson

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Previous ranking: 2

It is hard to call Rueben Bain Jr. a surprise considering he was the ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2023. But his play opposite Akheem Mesidor has been a revelation for the undefeated Hurricanes. Bain and Mesidor have become one of the top pass-rushing duos in the country, and their play has had a direct impact on each game the Hurricanes have played this year. Both have 19 pressures, and their pass rush win rate ranks them both in the top six nationally. Miami also ranks No. 13 in the nation in rush defense. First-year coordinator Corey Hetherman has completely revamped a weakness into a strength — one Miami will continue to rely on as the season progresses. — Andrea Adelson

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Previous ranking: 11

Nothing can derail your season faster than a quarterback injury, but since Austin Simmons got hurt for Ole Miss, Ferris State transfer Trinidad Chambliss has stepped in and delivered three consecutive 300-yard passing games and three wins. He has thrown for 974 yards and four touchdowns in his starts while rushing for 245 yards and two more scores, and the Rebels have not only survived Simmons’ injury, but thrived. In Saturday’s 24-19 win over LSU, Chambliss completed passes to nine different receivers and finished with 314 passing yards and 71 rushing yards. Ole Miss nearly doubled the Tigers’ total yardage (480-254) but needed a late fourth-down conversion to ice the win and remain unbeaten. Chambliss threw a strike to Dae’Quan Wright, and that was that. — Bill Connelly

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Previous ranking: 9

Mike Elko challenged Aggies to get over the program’s past disappointments during their bye week after beating Notre Dame, telling fans to “Stop being scared and get excited about what this program is doing.” A&M looked different on Saturday in a rugged 16-10 win over Auburn in which the Aggies committed 13 penalties and didn’t throw a touchdown pass. But it didn’t matter: The A&M defense held Auburn to 1 yard in the fourth quarter, 176 total for the game, 0-for-13 on third down, sacked Jackson Arnold five times and put up 243 rushing yards (on 5.6 yards per carry) against the SEC’s top run defense. Elko and the Aggies aren’t worried about lofty expectations and they’ll start October with scrappy Mississippi State, one of those teams that has tripped A&M up in recent years, going 6-5 against it since 2014. — Dave Wilson

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Previous ranking: 8

The Sooners, on a bye in Week 5, have been one of college football’s early-season surprises. From an offensive question mark with its coach (Brent Venables) on the hot seat in August, Oklahoma closes September as a bona fide playoff contender. But it would have been difficult to imagine that the Sooners would be here at this stage of the fall with hardly any on-field contribution from running back Jaydn Ott. The spring portal transfer from Cal was expected to bring an extra dimension to the program’s offense alongside transfer quarterback John Mateer. Instead, hampered by injury, an inability to break into the backfield rotation or both, Ott has been effectively dormant, with only nine carries for 17 yards through four games. Perhaps Ott will benefit from the week off and return to a familiar form over the next two months. Oklahoma’s 101st-ranked run game could certainly use the jolt, especially with rushing leader Mateer sidelined for at least a few weeks. — Lederman

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Previous ranking: 10

The early surprise might be Indiana returning to the CFP race after a historic 2024 season, although coach Curt Cignetti and his players expected to be back here. IU got through a potential letdown game at Iowa, overcoming mistakes and several difficult moments to strike last with Fernando Mendoza‘s 49-yard touchdown pass to Elijah Sarratt with 1:28 to play. Mendoza and Sarratt aren’t necessarily surprises, and much of Indiana’s offensive production so far has come from familiar sources. The defense has seen some breakout performances, including safety Louis Moore, who returned to Indiana, won his eligibility lawsuit this week and then recorded his team-leading third interception as the Hoosiers turned away Iowa midway through the fourth quarter. Moore, who leads IU with 30 tackles, junior linebacker Isaiah Jones and senior defensive lineman Kellan Wyatt, a transfer from Maryland have headlined a defense that has allowed only 48 points through the first five games. — Adam Rittenberg

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Previous ranking: 5

With a veteran quarterback in Drew Allar and one of the best running back duos in the country in Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen returning, Penn State was supposed to boast a potent offensive attack. Instead, the Nittany Lions have lagged offensively, most glaringly in the 30-24 double-overtime loss to Oregon. Allar and the offense finally came alive in the fourth quarter, rallying from a 17-3 deficit to send the game into overtime. But for much of the night, the offense was dreadful. Penn State’s 69 total yards in the first half were the fewest at home since James Franklin became coach in 2014. Penn State’s 3 first-half points were its least at home since 2016. And Allar’s 45 passing yards in the first half were the lowest total of his career. Allar now ranks 85th nationally in QBR (48.4) and the Nittany Lions rank just 52nd with 180 rushing yards per game. With so much experience, coordinator Andy Kotelnicki’s offense was supposed to be among college football’s best. Instead, it has been an underwhelming disappointment. — Trotter

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Previous ranking: 12

The Red Raiders had a bye week coming off a 34-10 win over then No. 16 Utah, their fourth straight by at least 24 points. They are outscoring opponents by an average of 52-to-11 per game. Now at their highest ranking since 2013, the Red Raiders will meet 4-0 Houston for the first time as conference foes since the Southwest Conference broke up. Quarterback Behren Morton, who was injured in the Utah game and replaced by Will Hammond, is expected to return. But the Red Raiders were comforted by the performance of the sophomore backup, as Hammond went 13-of-16 for 169 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. — Wilson

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Previous ranking: 16

The Crimson Tide beat Georgia 24-21 to end the Bulldogs’ 33-game home winning streak, but they continued an alarming trend to start the season: Their run defense continues to struggle against elite competition. In their two Top 25 games so far this season, Alabama has allowed over 200 yards to both Florida State and Georgia for a combined 457 yards on the ground. Not having Tim Keenan III certainly had an impact on that in Week 1, and coach Kalen DeBoer said his presence helped Saturday against the Bulldogs. But the fact is Alabama has not been as good in this area as usual, and it is a spot where it will have to get better to compete for a championship. — Adelson

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Previous ranking: 6

Perhaps the biggest surprise is the secondary has not played up to the Kirby Smart standard. Against Tennessee, that group gave up one big play after another, and the same happened Saturday in a 24-21 loss to Alabama — particularly in the first half. Ty Simpson found open receivers all night and made clutch third-down conversions. Nine of Alabama’s 13 third-down conversions came on passes. Georgia coach Kirby Smart lamented the poor performance on third-down defense after the game. While Georgia was better in the second half, Alabama raced to a big enough halftime lead to hold on and win. — Adelson

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Previous ranking: 13

The Longhorns, who had a bye this week before heading to Florida to enter SEC play, are a bit of a mystery. Arch Manning ranks 76th nationally in passing with 888 yards, and the offense is still looking to find a groove. Maybe Sept. 20’s 55-0 romp over Sam Houston exorcised some of those struggles and the Longhorn offense has found some confidence. But while they figure that out, the defense is allowing just 7.8 points per game (second-best nationally) and 212 yards per game (4th) and will give them a shot in every game. Steve Sarkisian, who says Manning’s legs (he has five rushing TDs this year) might play a bigger part in the offense down the stretch, has prided himself on a balanced offense the past two seasons. With four new offensive linemen, that has taken time to sort out this year. What will these Horns look like next week? Stay tuned. — Wilson

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Previous ranking: 14

After catching 29 passes for 333 yards in his first year with Tennessee, Chris Brazzell II has already topped that mark, catching 31 balls for 531 yards and seven touchdowns in the first five games of 2025. Brazzell taking a nice step forward wasn’t necessarily surprising, but he has enjoyed a total star turn. He had six catches for 105 yards and a touchdown against Mississippi State, and his fourth-down reception with five minutes left set up a late tying touchdown. The Vols eventually prevailed in overtime, 41-34. Brazzell’s heroics — and those of quarterback Joey Aguilar, of course — have been a necessity because the Tennessee defense has not clicked thus far in 2025. The Vols allowed 16.1 points per game in 2024, but after Saturday they’re allowing 29.0 points per game in 2025. That’s also quite a surprise. — Connelly

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Previous ranking: 7

You would think after enduring the 2024 season, FSU wouldn’t care much about the outside noise, but QB Tommy Castellanos admitted after a double-overtime loss at Virginia that the Noles probably read a few too many headlines proclaiming how good they were. The result was a brutal first quarter in which FSU fell behind 14-0 and, ultimately, a stunning loss to the Hoos. Castellanos’ advice to his teammates after? “Eat it and move on.” For as much criticism as he received after a brutal 2024 at Boston College, Castellanos has blossomed into an elite leader for FSU, and the Week 5 loss certainly couldn’t be put on his shoulders. He delivered a dagger to Randy Pittman Jr. to send the game to OT, and he put a pass on the money to Duce Robinson in the end zone that the star receiver bobbled before stepping out of bounds. Castellanos and Mike Norvell both insist they won’t allow Florida State to go into a tailspin after the loss — and unlike last year, there’s reason to believe them. — David Hale

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Previous ranking: 15

How’s this for surprising: Against Arizona on Saturday, Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht finished with minus-10 rushing yards on nine carries, didn’t throw a touchdown pass and threw an interception, but it was still his best performance of the season. That’s because he still ran for three scores, completed 14 of 20 passes for 243 yards (QBR 94.6) and led the Cyclones to their most comprehensive win of the season (adjusting for opponent difficulty). This was the type of game ISU fans had been waiting for all season. — Kyle Bonagura

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Previous ranking: 17

Maybe we didn’t expect the Tigers to be averaging 292 rushing yards per game, but this was certainly conceivable after Missouri — which rolled over UMass to improve to 5-0 Saturday night — added hard-running transfers Beau Pribula and Ahmad Hardy. Less foreseeable? An overwhelming Tigers front seven that began Week 5 ranked 12th nationally in run defense (73.3 yards per game) and 14th in pressure rate (34.7%). Key returners, like defensive end Zion Young and Chris McClellan, and transfers Damon Wilson II (Georgia) and Josiah Trotter (West Virginia) are a big part of the leap for a unit that finished in the bottom half of the SEC in rushing yards and sacks a year ago. A proper dive into league play with matchups against Alabama, Auburn, Vanderbilt and Texas A&M up ahead will offer a full gauge of just how much of a difference-maker Missouri’s defensive front can be this fall. — Lederman

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Previous ranking: 4

The biggest surprise of the early season for LSU might simply be that the passing game hasn’t been nearly as good as it was supposed to be. After finishing 10th in Total QBR last year, Garrett Nussmeier entered Saturday’s game against Ole Miss ranked 33rd, and he struggled mightily in Oxford. He finished the afternoon 21-for-34 for 197 yards, a touchdown, an interception and a sack, and the Tigers gained just 254 yards thanks in part to prolonged run game troubles. Nussmeier struggled with accuracy, and LSU went just 2-for-11 on third downs, but thanks to a couple late bursts — two field goals and a touchdown on its final three drives — the Tigers were able to hang in there. But a late fourth down conversion allowed Ole Miss to run out the clock and prevent Nussmeier from getting one last chance at a heroic comeback. — Connelly

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Previous ranking: 20

Quarterback Diego Pavia is the show at Vanderbilt, and arguably the most valuable player in all of college football after accounting for six touchdowns (five passing, one rushing) in Saturday’s 55-35 win over Utah State. But he’s not the only reason why the Commodores are 5-0 for the first time since 2008 and for just the second time in the past 80 seasons. Vanderbilt scored 50 points in consecutive games for the first time since 1915, getting nice boosts from wide receivers Junior Sherrill (6 receptions, 91 yards, 3 touchdowns — all in the first half) and Tre Richardson (six receptions, 74 yards), and running back Jamezell Lassiter, who had a 48-yard run and 63 yards on only four carries. Led by Pavia, Vanderbilt is playing with tremendous confidence, especially on offense, and now enters a season-defining stretch against Alabama (road), LSU (home), Missouri (home) and Texas (road). — Rittenberg

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Previous ranking: 18

The rep for the Yellow Jackets under Brent Key has been pretty simple — they win games they have no business winning and they lose games against teams they’re far more talented than. So, what happened in Week 5 when undefeated Tech traveled to Wake Forest? Of course it tried its darnedest to blow it. The Jackets fell behind 20-3 but rallied back and, thanks to a blown call by the ACC officials, escaped Wake Forest in double overtime. Is it a performance to be proud of? Certainly not. But in years past, Georgia Tech loses those games, so it’s still progress. Saturday’s win was sparked, in part, by another strong day from receiver Isiah Canion, who has blossomed this season with 15 catches and a team-high 237 yards, 70 of which came against the Deacons. — Hale

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Previous ranking: 19

The Wolverines’ first bye week hit at an ideal time with Sherrone Moore returning from his two-game suspension and a five-game stretch of Big Ten battles ahead. One pleasant surprise early on has been Alabama transfer Justice Haynes performing at an All-America level with four consecutive 100-yard performances to start the year. The Wolverines have a clear identity on offense around rising freshman QB Bryce Underwood with a top-10 rushing offense in yards per game and yards per rush after finishing outside the top 70 nationally in both categories in 2024. — Olson

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Previous ranking: 23

Yes, the defense has been iffy so far. But who needs defense when your offense is putting up 56 points and 643 yards? And it’s not as if Irish fans weren’t excited about their new QB, CJ Carr, but there were obvious question marks about him entering the season. How would a guy with no prior experience handle the spotlight that comes with being QB1 in South Bend? The answer has been emphatic. Carr threw for 354 yards and four touchdowns in the win over Arkansas on Saturday, and his 88.4 Total QBR ranks fifth among Power 4 passers so far. After an 0-2 start, things are looking brighter for the Irish now, and Carr is a big reason for optimism that this season is still salvageable. — Hale

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Previous ranking: NR

When BYU found itself down 14-0 to Colorado on Saturday, it was asking a lot for a true freshman quarterback to guide the Cougars back. But that’s what Bear Bachmeier did as BYU came back to win 24-21. After a relatively easy schedule to start the season, the difficulty level is about to get turned up. BYU has Utah, Iowa State, Texas Tech and TCU all on the back half of the schedule. To this point, the offense has been good enough to win, but it will need to improve significantly for the Cougars to make a serious run at the Big 12 title game. — Bonagura

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Previous ranking: 24

The Illini knew what they had in senior quarterback Luke Altmyer, who threw two touchdown passes, rushed for one and even caught one in Saturday’s crucial 34-32 home win over USC. But Illinois wanted to surround Altmyer with greater explosiveness at wide receiver and running back. Offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr. sought a better downfield game, and he got it in the USC win as Kaden Feagin and Collin Dixon both had receptions of 60 yards or longer, and Altmyer averaged 15.8 yards per completion in the win. Sophomore running back Ca’Lil Valentine averaged 7.4 rushing yards on eight carries. Wide receiver Hank Beatty already had established himself as a big-play threat, entering Saturday averaging 14.4 yards per catch, but Dixon and others give Illinois an element it lacked during a 10-win season in 2024. — Rittenberg

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Previous ranking: NR

Coach Ryan Silverfield brandished a reputation for high-flying offenses across his first six seasons at Memphis. But seldom, if ever, have his teams run the football like the Tigers are in 2025, highlighted by Memphis’ 291-yard, five-touchdown rushing performance in a 55-26 conference-opening win over Florida Atlantic Saturday night. Fifth-year running back Greg Desrosiers Jr. led the charge in Week 5, tearing off a 90-yard score in a career-high 19-carry, 204-yard breakout showing. Former Colorado and Nevada quarterback Brendon Lewis (six rushing scores in 2025) has injected energy into the unbeaten Tigers’ running game, too. Memphis has eclipsed 200 rushing yards in each of its five games this campaign — the Tigers’ fifth 200-yard ground effort came in Week 10 last year — and Memphis’ 41 attempts per game thus far would easily mark the highest run rate in any of Silverfield’s seven seasons in charge. Could this fresh, ground-based attack be the element that helps lift Silverfield and the Tigers into the playoff later this year? — Lederman

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Previous ranking: NR

The Cardinals pulled off quite a surprise on Saturday, rallying back from a 17-0 deficit on the road to beat Pitt 34-27. Miller Moss threw for 339 yards and three TDs and got plenty of help from a defense that nabbed five takeaways, got nine third-down stops and pitched a second-half shutout. Considering Pitt hadn’t blown a 17-point lead in a conference game since 2009, that’s quite a feat. The Cardinals are 4-0 for the second time in three years under coach Jeff Brohm and have a big opportunity, with Virginia and Miami up next, to prove they’re a contender in the ACC title race. — Olson

The fourth Sunday of the NFL season featured quite a bit of action and high-scoring performances, starting with a morning game in Dublin, Ireland, and finishing in Dallas with a game that ended in a tie. Overall, six players scored 30 PPR points, including Los Angeles Rams WR Puka Nacua and Las Vegas Raiders rookie RB Ashton Jeanty. Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes turned back time to throw four TD passes.

However, the big story in Week 4 was, once again, an injury. New York Giants star WR Malik Nabers tore the ACL in his right knee in his team’s stunning win over the Los Angeles Chargers. QB Jaxson Dart played well. RB Cam Skattebo played well. Fantasy managers lost Nabers — in many cases their first-round pick — for the rest of the 2025 season.

Each Monday, before the current NFL week ends, we will identify players available in at least 50% of ESPN standard leagues worthy of your attention, from standard formats to deeper options. The NFL is a weekly league, and player valuation and roles seldom remain stagnant. It does not matter how you acquire players for your fantasy rosters, just that you get them.

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Quarterback

Jaxson Dart, New York Giants (rostered in 21.1% of ESPN leagues): What a Sunday of mixed emotions for the Giants. Dart’s first start went well enough statistically, as he scored 19.84 PPR points — mainly thanks to his 54 rushing yards and touchdown. However, he attempted only 20 passes and was under heavy pressure. Dart’s running ability might make him look statistically like New England Patriots sophomore Drake Maye, which is potentially special in fantasy. Dart should be a QB2 this season even with a limited group of receivers to throw to now that Nabers is out. No QB1 options are on bye this week, but fantasy managers should add Dart anyway for a Week 5 road game against the New Orleans Saints … and beyond.

Sam Darnold, Seattle Seahawks (9.4%): Darnold scored 16.08 PPR points to open Week 4, a tough Thursday win on the road against the Arizona Cardinals. He continues to play efficient football. He has been mistake-free in three of four games and has completed 70% of his passes. Darnold faces an overmatched Tampa Bay Buccaneers secondary in Week 5.

Deep-league options/streamers/random thoughts

• Minnesota Vikings fill-in Carson Wentz (6.2%) wasn’t supposed to throw 46 times for 350 yards against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday morning in Ireland, but the Vikings trailed and the game script altered. Wentz figures to start again Week 5 (in London) against a tough Cleveland Browns defense. We don’t expect Wentz to throw 46 times in this one (he threw only 20 times in a Week 3 victory), but one never knows. Sophomore J.J. McCarthy (ankle) might or might not reclaim the starting role when the team returns from its bye in Week 7 against the Philadelphia Eagles.

• Perhaps none of the current Browns quarterbacks would have fared well Sunday against the Detroit Lions, but veteran Joe Flacco certainly has not been the answer. Under constant pressure, Flacco scored 1.26 PPR points. Not 10.26 points, but 1.26! Averaging 6.5 PPR points per game is not getting things done for the Browns or fantasy managers. Flacco seems likely to start Week 5 in London against the Vikings, but Oregon product Dillon Gabriel (0.4%) lurks for stashing in superflex formats after that.

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Running back

Woody Marks, Houston Texans (33.2%): Marks, a fourth-round pick from USC, didn’t see many chances over the first three weeks, earning just 12 rushing attempts, and he turned them into only 44 yards. He also caught two passes. On Sunday, against the woeful Tennessee Titans, the Texans split the work between the rookie and wily veteran Nick Chubb more evenly. Marks turned his 21 touches into 119 yards and two touchdowns, including his receiving work. That’s 27.9 PPR points. Chubb scored 8.2. Advantage, Marks.

The Texans really should rely on Marks moving forward, starting in Week 5 against the Baltimore Ravens, though this might remain a timeshare, and nobody seems to know when or if Joe Mixon (foot) will play again. Marks becomes a viable RB2 option even against the Ravens.

Kenneth Gainwell, Pittsburgh Steelers (35.6%): Starter Jaylen Warren (knee) was a surprise inactive Sunday morning, and many fantasy managers were simply not prepared to remove him from lineups. Others added Gainwell and were rewarded with 31.4 PPR points, the No. 3 RB performance from Week 4 (entering Monday).

Gainwell might be worth adding this week even though the Steelers are on a bye in Week 5, because we shouldn’t presume that Warren will be fully healed for Week 6 against the Browns or beyond. This knee problem might linger. Gainwell rarely started over four seasons with the Eagles, and perhaps he lacks the size to handle a regular role, but what he achieved Sunday was quite impressive.

Deep-league options/streamers/random thoughts

• The Seahawks employed a frustrating running back timeshare over the first two weeks between presumed starter Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet (69.1%). Charbonnet missed Week 3 due to a foot injury, and many managers moved on. That was a mistake. Charbonnet outscored Walker in Week 4 (12.4 PPR points to 12), and it remains likely both running backs will continue to see ample touches. With several top options on bye in Week 5 (Bijan Robinson, Josh Jacobs), both Seattle backs are playable.

• Alvin Kamara investors need not worry just yet, but New Orleans Saints backup Kendre Miller (5.6%) turned his 11 rushing attempts into 65 yards and a touchdown Sunday for 12.5 PPR points. Kamara, thanks to a mere four receptions for 2 yards, scored 11.2 PPR points. The Saints simply (and oddly) are not utilizing Kamara properly in the passing game, and if Miller can create a modest timeshare for rushing attempts, this might get interesting. Also, Kamara is 30, so perhaps the rebuilding Saints want to see what Miller, 23 and in his third season, can do.

• Ravens backup Justice Hill (12.4%) scored 28.7 PPR points in the team’s blowout loss to the Chiefs. That might make him a popular fantasy add this week, but it isn’t remotely sustainable with Derrick Henry healthy. Hill had eight touches, two of which he turned into touchdowns, including a garbage-time, 71-yard jaunt in the closing minutes. Hill entered play with five carries and minus-7 rushing yards through three games.

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Wide receiver

Wan’Dale Robinson (54.3%) and Darius Slayton (3.6%), New York Giants: Well, someone needs to catch the football now that Nabers is done, and these fellows combined for six receptions on nine targets Sunday. Robinson is far more rostered, coming off a season in which he caught 93 passes, though he turned them into a mere 699 yards and three touchdowns. He averaged 5.0 yards per target with Daniel Jones, Drew Lock, Tommy DeVito and Tim Boyle throwing the football last season. Dart is better, and Robinson, speedy out of the slot and not much of a downfield threat, should be productive. Slayton gets downfield better, but he doesn’t figure to see major volume. Regardless, there is a void in this offense. Robinson and Slayton must see opportunity.

Deep-league options/streamers/random thoughts

• Indianapolis Colts speedster Adonai Mitchell (1.3%) scored 10.6 PPR points in the team’s loss to the Rams, but it should have been much more. Mitchell would have scored a fancy 76-yard touchdown from QB Daniel Jones but … he fumbled right before crossing the goal line, seemingly in preparation for celebrating. Still, Mitchell has skills, and neither Josh Downs (48.5%) nor Alec Pierce (1.4%) have done much statistically. If the Colts forgive Mitchell for his mind-boggling mistake, perhaps a relevant, deep-league option lurks, though I’d still choose Downs.

• Fantasy managers made Texans rookie Jayden Higgins (30.2%) one of the most-dropped wide receivers when he caught only four passes over the first three games. He caught only one pass Sunday, but it was a 24-yard touchdown. It is possible Higgins, a second-round pick from Iowa State, emerges at some point as a weekly volume threat, but he isn’t there yet. Even Christian Kirk (31.6%), with 10.5 PPR points in his two games, is a better option in the short term.

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Tight end

Dallas Goedert, Philadelphia Eagles (67.8%): Goedert is rostered in more than 50% of leagues, but he was started in a mere 15.2% of them in Week 4. He tallied a position-leading 19.7 PPR points, and he has had three touchdowns over the past two weeks. Goedert has been a relative disappointment in recent seasons for both production and health reasons, but he seems to have a safe role in what has become a wildly inconsistent Philadelphia offense.

Brenton Strange, Jacksonville Jaguars (22.7%): A repeat name from prior weeks, Strange has six receptions on seven targets over consecutive weeks, which might not seem like much, but it’s pretty good in this offense. Strange leads the Jaguars with 19 receptions and 192 receiving yards.

Deep-league options/streamers/random thoughts

• Jake Tonges (2.5%) boasts a pair of double-digit PPR outings in the first month of the season, as he takes advantage of the George Kittle (hamstring) absence, though Kittle might return in Week 6. Still, with Kittle out, Tonges remains worth a look in deep leagues for Week 5 against the Rams.

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Bye weeks: Keep these players rostered

• Bye weeks begin in Week 5, with the Atlanta Falcons, Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers and Steelers off. Some managers with Bears WR DJ Moore (93.1%) might wish to move on as sophomore Rome Odunze has clearly become the team’s top receiving option for QB Caleb Williams. Moore averages only five targets per game, and he has reached double-digit PPR points in only one game. Still, keep him rostered. The Bears play the Washington Commanders, Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals in October, defenses against which the Bears should thrive.

• Exalted Packers rookie Matthew Golden (81.6%) hasn’t scored a touchdown yet, but he did reach double-digit PPR points in his past two games. It is premature to let Golden hit your league’s waiver wire. Part with injured Packers WR Jayden Reed (52.4%) instead.

• Fantasy managers might not have room to keep relevant TE Kyle Pitts Sr. (65.3%) and tandem RB Tyler Allgeier (35.5%) rostered, but they really must try to do so. Pitts scored 18 PPR points Sunday, and he looks like a borderline TE1 option (finally). Allgeier is one of the most reliable reserve running backs, and he gets more volume than most backups. Try to keep both of these fellows on your team.

• The Steelers and Packers D/ST units rank among the five most rostered in ESPN leagues, but because I typically do not advocate rostering more than one D/ST at a time, there isn’t a need to keep either of these units around. Despite the addition of Micah Parsons, the Packers D/ST (84.5%) has scored only 21 PPR points, tied for 17th in the league.

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Defense

Arizona Cardinals (24.6%): The Cardinals D/ST has reached double-digit fantasy points in just one game (Week 2 against the Carolina Panthers) and did so mainly because of an early fumble recovery for a touchdown. The Cardinals host Tennessee on Sunday, and the Titans didn’t score in Week 4.

Jacksonville Jaguars (7%): It seems dangerous to rely on the Jaguars for a Week 5 home game with the Chiefs, after seeing what Kansas City did to the Ravens on Sunday. Then again, the Jaguars D/ST has scored double-digit PPR points in three of four games. That is impressive.

New York Giants (7.2%): The Giants have a lot of other stuff going on, obviously, but the defense played admirably against Justin Herbert and the Chargers. In Week 5, the Giants hit the road against the Saints. The Saints are not an offensive juggernaut. Then again, one could make the case to add the Saints D/ST (0.6%) against the Giants, too! Go with the Giants first.