Cowboys take one from Steelers; Vanderbilt stuns Alabama; both National League Division Series tied.

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Prescott connected with Tolbert for a four-yard score on fourth down as Dallas overcame Pittsburgh 20-17. Aaron Rodgers made a crucial throw and catch, giving an offense which had previously struggled, hope. Rodgers threw three interceptions — including an impressive pick six to Andrew Van Ginkel — as well as incurring an ankle injury during a 23-17 loss against Minnesota Vikings. Minnesota is perfect, thanks to an outstanding defense that continues to perform admirably; Cody Benjamin singled out Brian Flores as one of his own big winners this week. Meanwhile, Washington beat Cleveland 34-13. Jayden Daniels once more shone bright for Washington (hint: I wrote on it!). I also covered how Jayden Daniels helped Washington earn its fourth consecutive win (Hint: it involved Jayden Daniels again!). Kevin Stefanski continues to stick by Deshaun Watson despite him not performing exceptionally, which I find surprising; this has the look of Bryce Young-esque situation where no matter your investment in players you require a competent quarterback who can lead your offense successfully. John Breech gave Cleveland an “F” grade this week; The Texans came away victorious over Buffalo 23-20 on Ka’imi Fairbairn’s late field goal for victory, 23-20. Sean McDermott faltered late game strategies once more; there were multiple defensive touchdowns of 100+ yards from both defenses; one even made history and we even witnessed an astonishing pick six! A special shoutout is extended to all defenses but especially to…
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Philadelphia Phillies VS San Diego Padres The Mets experienced another miraculous comeback, only this time they couldn’t keep it going. Nick Castellanos made history on Saturday by smashing an underthrown Tylor Megill breaking ball to score Trea Turner and help lift Philadelphia over New York in Game 2, 7-6, to even their National League Division Series series. Philadelphia responded quickly when down 3-0 in the sixth, scoring back-to-back home runs by Bryce Harper and Castellanos to even out their opponent, before Brandon Nimmo made New York lead 4-3 by connecting on an inside pitch from Brandon Crawford for an impressive solo homer that gave New York 4-3 lead and began an unpredictable series of swings and misses that was sure to come and go in this one-sided contest. But this battle of attrition wasn’t over just yet: another comeback would follow this time from both teams as their teams battled back and forth between themselves until Brandon Nimmo took out another solo shot from Philadelphia by knocking in home runs off Bryce Harper/Cartonos but New York responded quickly when Brandon Nimmo hit one solo homer gave New York 4-3 lead and New York took control after four more swings from Brandon Nimmo gave New York 4-3 lead in sixth to give New York an outright lead which would become pivotal comebacks only get underway: the seesaw affair would only become increasingly intense as more twists emerged… Bryson Stott tripled home Harper and Castellanos from Edwin Diaz’s relief pitch, before eventually scoring himself. Philadelphia defeated New York, 6-4. But their fight wasn’t done: Mark Vientos hit a game-tying two-run homer for New York to tie things in the ninth inning; Castellanos made another comeback appearance late in the ninth after earlier receiving some loud jeers from Philly fans; both hits ultimately helped push New York back within one game of Philadelphia and defeat. Philadelphia saw their first postseason walk-off since 2009 on Wednesday night in Philadelphia. Meanwhile on the West Coast, San Diego outshone Los Angeles 10-2 as Yu Darvish silenced their bats to give San Diego an emphatic victory and even up the series there as well. “Tonight marks our franchise’s biggest playoff victory ever and was powered by six homers from Fernando Tatis Jr, including two in this postseason record haul! While this performance featured great offense, its pitching and defense also performed exceptionally. Darvish only needed 82 pitches to go seven innings while Jurickson Profar’s over the wall play robbing Mookie Betts of an early home run was instrumental as well – imagine what could have happened had that homer not been blocked! Who knows what would have come of it all otherwise!?
Also worth noting is how heated some moments were in this one – here’s an obvious reminder no one should need but apparently some do: stop throwing stuff at players – it is absolutely ridiculous! Today brings ALDS Game 2s; in Game 1, the Yankees beat Royals 6-5 after an exhilarating 6th-inning comeback by Mike Axisa while the Guardians easily handled Tigers 7-0; Mike wrote extensively on why this might be Aaron Judge and company’s best chance for glory yet! Honorable mentions go out as follows.
One team entered as the No. 1-ranked side, led by Heisman Trophy-favorite quarterback Cam Newton; another entered with an all-time mark against top five teams of 0-60 all time (featuring an undrafted fifth year quarterback who did not receive Division-I offers from high schools before going onto play two seasons at junior college and two more at New Mexico State).
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Vanderbilt defied expectations with an unprecedented 40-35 win against No. 24 North Dakota State on Nov. 19, led by folk hero-turned-legend quarterback Diego Pavia and shocking the nation as an NCAA tournament team with their success. Pavia kept Crimson Tide defenders guessing with 252 yards passing and two touchdowns while running 56 yards for 56 total. Sedrick Alexander added two scores rushing. Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea deserves much credit as Vanderbilt made this matchup happen, writes John Talty. Vandy had long been considered an SEC punching bag; their stadium, still under construction at the time, provided an amusing and charming backdrop for such an unexpected victory. Fans removed goalposts during a previous matchup and tossed them into Cumberland River after John likened their situation as trying “to compete in boxing ring with an arm tied behind its back against heavyweights of sport. But times change… and results did as well on one magical October night”.
Alabama was not supposed to lose, yet here it was, facing an unranked team while at No. 1. Alabama is an impressive 63-4 all-time when playing when ranked as No. 1, facing non-ranked competition, yet produced no sacks nor turnovers for an SEC game since 2015 as Jalen Milroe struggled and made some crucial turnovers, especially without defense creating big plays like before. Here is more on Alabama: Not so Honorable Mentions.

Getty Images The Baltimore Ravens defeated the Bengals in an exciting overtime contest
Mishandled snaps. Miracles. Miscues. Mind blowing moments. Madness ensued at Ravens-Bengals but the game ended all too often for Cincinnati: with Baltimore coming back and ultimately taking advantage of overtime for an exciting 41-38 overtime victory. As we resume play with Cincinnati up 38-35 with three minutes remaining in regulation: Marlon Humphries made an important play when he blocked Joe Burrow’s pass to force a turnover and force overtime: Justin Tucker hit his 56-yard field goal which forced extra time before Baltimore won the coin toss and drove deep into Bengals territory before Lamar Jackson mishandled a snap, giving up possession. Cincinnati played it safe, calling only conservative plays; punter Ryan Rehkow mishandled Evan McPherson’s 53-yard field goal attempt; it went wide instead. Derrick Henry ran 51 yards on one play before Tucker made a 24-yard field goal to seal it for Baltimore and win it! Jackson seemed “twitched off” over his mistakes but, at least they prevailed: Baltimore emerged victorious!
Burrow should have been extremely disappointed after throwing for 392 yards and five touchdown passes despite falling to Cincinnati on Sunday in an overtime defeat, writes Will Brinson, while Jeff Kerr suggests playoff chances may seem out of reach given their current performance record of 1-4-1.
Tennessee, Missouri and Michigan all experience upset losses over the course of this weekend; No. 8 Miami remains victorious by winning its thriller
Remember when I said things would ramp up in October? Well, they sure did – five of the nation’s 12 teams fell this weekend alone, led by Alabama (we already discussed them); these include Arkansas taking down No. 1, LSU upsetting No. 5, Arizona beating No. 6, Mississippi State taking out No. 10, Nebraska upsetting No. 10, Mississippi beating Alabama by six, LSU knocking off Alabama for second spot and Florida upsetting No. 2. Malachi Singleton ran in for the game-winning touchdown and Tennessee defense made a late stand, hopefully helping Sam Pittman turn things around. No. 25 Texas A&M defeated No. 9 Missouri 41-10 as Le’Veon Moss ran wild while Missouri’s attack was negated. No one knows for certain if pregame shenanigans played any part, but Missouri remains at 10/10 on David Cobb’s panic meter following this loss to Missouri. Additionally, Washington defeated No. 10 Michigan 27-17 as their quarterback situation remains unstable while Minnesota shocked No. 18 Iowa with their shocking win of 43-40 on Friday evening. Max Brosmer scored the game-winner against No. 11 USC with an unbelievable QB late sneak touchdown to earn them victory by 24-17. No. 8 Miami required an unlikely comeback against Cal, overturning an 18-point, third quarter deficit despite Cameron Salerno detailing how it happened. Two highly ranked Ohio State schools avoided upset: #3 crushed Iowa 35-7 while #5 beat Auburn 35-13!
Here is what has come of all this chaos:
Liberty Advance to WNBA Finals; Sun Force Game 5 against Lynx Getty Images
The reign of the Phoenix Aces may be over; now that Game 4 between them and the Liberty has concluded, the Liberty have advanced to the WNBA Finals for a fourth year running by defeating them 76-62 in Game 4. Like their first game against North Carolina State last season, Sabrina Ionescu and Breanna Stewart took control of this series finale, as Ionescu scored 22 points with five 3-pointers en route to 22 total points while Stewart, seeking redemption after last season’s defeat, put up 19 points along with 14 rebounds, five assists, five steals, three blocks, plus 5 assists from Ionescu and 3 blocks for herself and five from Breanna Stewart. Las Vegas heads into its offseason uncertain of who its Finals opponent will be after New York Sun forced a winner-take-all Game 5 against Lynx with a 92-82 win on April 11. Tyasha Harris recorded her second 20 point playoff performance while Alyssa Thomas and DeWanna Bonner each netted 18 points during that win over Minnesota Lynx.
What we are watching today: American League Division Series Game Two between Tigers and Guardians (4:08 p.m. on TBS/truTV); ALDS Game Two between Royals and Yankees (7:38 pm.on TBS/truTV); Saints at Chiefs (8:15 p.m.on ESPN).

While driving across country in search of adventure. I’ve always cherished moments like these when on an unexpected outing or visit to my mum’s.