The Pulse Newsletter 📣 | this is Athleticss daily sports newspaper. Register here To receive The Pulse directly in your inbox.
good morning! Drop a forward pass today. Coming up:
Excessive responses: write these down
It felt pretty good on a football-filled Sunday. And while we have many more Sundays ahead of us, I think the best and most logical way to evaluate our Week 1 results is to set them in stone and pretend the season ends today.
I like to overreact.
NFC East Champions: Giants
The G-Men defeated the visiting Cowboys 28-20 last night. New York was in control down to the wire, which was a little unexpected considering the praise Dallas has received this season and the uncertainty of what’s going on with the Giants. For now, both are wrong. Give them the division.
2026 NFL MVP: Carson Wentz
The Vikings’ backup quarterback was legitimately fine in Minnesota’s 39-22 win over the Packers yesterday, after starter Kyler Murray went down early in the game with a concussion. The Vikes scored 22 points in just 2:42 of the game, which was a waste.
Wentz threw for three touchdowns, two to Justin Jefferson. I’ll start the 2017-18 narrative about Wentz’s lost MVP finally coming home. More about the game here.
Going 0-16: Rams
The super team has had a strange and bad time in Australia and yesterday got the news that post-season award Myles Garrett will be headed to the injured reserve with a knee injury requiring surgery. Garrett will miss at least four games. Gulp.
Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
Throwing for 6,000 yards: Caleb Williams
The Bears quarterback threw for two touchdowns (269 yards) and ran for two more, but I want to fast forward and focus on how many points Chicago scored (59) and how this historic franchise has never had a 4,000-yard passer. The team’s 107-year-old single-season passing yards leader … Williams, last season, with 3,942. To recap: There have been 239 passing seasons of 4,000 yards or more in NFL history. How is this possible?
If Williams stays healthy and Chicago coach Ben Johnson continues to coach him like this, I feel confident that Williams will cross that mark. Read more about his day here.
Super Bowl Champions: Bengals
Cincy has been immune to serious title contention for the past few years. Yesterday, against a stout Tampa Bay offense, the Bengals were really, really good. Cincinnati’s 33-27 victory included Joe Burrow’s pick six. I actually feel good about this call..
- Respected: The Baltimore Ravens exploded for 41 points yesterday under a new coach. Youza.
Down: The Browns
If we had a promotion-relegation system, I don’t think sportsbooks would even offer odds on it. The Browns looked that bad yesterday, and it’s time to question how long Deshawn Watson will last as a quarterback. Look away.
Misses the playoffs by one game: The Saints
Pardon the local intel here, but New Orleans fans are still reeling from the interference call they missed in the 2018 NFC title game. I’ve moved on, mostly, but I can’t say the same for those around me.
That made Sunday’s 31-30 overtime loss to the Lions a pretty knife-edge. The following play was initially called a sack, fumble and touchdown for the Saints, then changed because the Lions’ quarterback, Jared Goff, started the throwing motion, causing the pass to go ahead…
.@MikePereira He breaks down why the Saints touchdown was flipped.
📺: Fox pic.twitter.com/vY2N7CIBBG
— Fox Sports: NFL (@NFLONFOX) September 13, 2026
I would like your objective opinion on it though. This was it.
- The right call, however, is strange.
- Malarkey
Let us know in the comments. We will run the results tomorrow. Three more events from exciting week 1:
- NFL teams are on pace for their highest scoring week since the 1970 merger. But who is the truth?
- JJ Watt made his debut as CBS’ No. 1 analyst yesterday. It was a mixed bag, but Tony Romo was a stranger It doesn’t even get a mention..
- There were also many games that we didn’t go over. Mike Silver has a full column about what we learned in Week 1. Worth reading.
Now enough football. Let’s continue:
News to know
Matthew Stockman / Getty Images
Zverev passed Shelton
Alexander Zverev is the 2026 US Open men’s singles champion after defeating American Ben Shelton in a mostly clinical four-match series. For Zverev, it’s a crowning achievement in just over a year since the world No.2 did it. He established himself Among the men’s elite, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz both missed time. It was his second Grand Slam title of the season, and he was so deep that he didn’t realize he had a strong championship point for 20 seconds afterward.
For Shelton, it’s good exposure for a talented player who represents America’s best hope for the first men’s Grand Slam win in more than 20 years. In addition, American women’s soccer star Trinity Rodman, Shelton’s girlfriend, was also a surprise presence at the game. Hours after playing in an NWSL game.
More news:
- Team USA He won the fifth consecutive time FIBA Women’s World Cup with Victory over France Yesterday. The WNBA repeats Thursday.
- Last night’s news: Clippers owner Steve Ballmer He apologized for the salary cap scandal and vowed not to fight any fines. Read the full reviews.
- Texas It is number 1 in the new College Football AP Pick. Here are the full 25.
- Interesting facts from Kansas City: Red Sox pitcher Peyton Toole; After a two-hour delay, he fired a clean innings in the top of the first yesterday. More here.
- Tigers Peter Justin Verlander He made his last start at Comerica Park before the cross. Emotional.
- I want to congratulate you. Blue Jays slugger Vladimir Guerrero To finally hit a home run this season in Toronto. I still can’t believe that.
- Oops: References entered Manchester City The win over Manchester United yesterday was misapplied. Ours When evaluated Erling Haaland’s game-winning goal. See how it is.
- A Colorado man By A Half-Ironman race. See our full report.
- A Cooling tower Available at Yankee Stadium Tested positive Legionella bacteria. More details here.
See instructions
📺 EPL: Newcastle at Leeds
3pm ET in the US
These two are stuck in Premier League standings With five points after three matches. I’m excited to see Leeds here as the club have been newly promoted this season and have shown a glimmer of hope that they will stay.
📺 MLB: Braves at Cubs
7:40 pm ET on MLB Network
Even though Chicago is out of the NL Central race, this game is still very important. Atlanta could use some breathing room in the NL East (five games against the Phillies), while the Cubs should avoid slipping back out of the wild-card race. Nerves.
📺 NFL: Broncos at Chiefs
8:15 pm ET on ABC/ESPN
We end week 1 with a doozy. How is Patrick Mahomes coming off of last year’s Achilles tendon tear? What about the injury-riddled Knicks that cost Denver the Super Bowl last year? This sets up many narratives around the AFC West, the NFL’s best division.
The crew at “Athletics LIVE” is hosting another hour of this game. Check here.
Heart rate choices
Michael Chisholm/Getty Images
No NHL team is under more pressure this season. Toronto Maple Leafs. We have a sit-down interview with the men tasked with improving the franchise. Worth reading today..
I really, really like the visual representation of the emotions in it US Open. Take a gander.
You may have seen it. Texas Senator Ted Cruz Get an airtime “College Game Day.” this weekend. Here’s what he was really saying.
Chris Vannini is back with him Athletics 138 This week, exactly standard Texas Number 1 See the full list.
of Astros This year they were well averaged. They still control their own gaming destiny..
of NBA board meeting It starts today. These meetings are usually pretty formal, but This is far from it.
The most loaded in the newspaper yesterday.Our story on Elena Rybakina’s Amazing climb To the top of women’s tennis.
Most read on the website yesterdayZverev-Shelton US Open Live blog.