Kyler Murray Knocked Out of His Vikings Debut with a Concussion, but Minnesota Crushes the Packers 39-22 Anyway
The season opener in Minnesota was a rollercoaster: new quarterback Kyler Murray took a hard, late hit in the first quarter and was ruled out with a concussion, but the Vikings beat the Packers 39-22 regardless. ESPN ...
Quick Hits
- The Vikings won big but lost their new quarterback. Kyler Murray, making his Minnesota debut, left with a concussion after a late hit in the first quarter — but the Vikings rolled past Green Bay 39-22. ESPN reports Murray is in good spirits afterward.
- NFL Week 1 was chaos. The Bears' wild win over Carolina ended on a final score that had literally never happened in NFL history; the Bills outlasted the Texans 36-31; and Cleveland's Deshaun Watson had a brutal opener.
- Clippers owner Steve Ballmer says he'll accept the NBA's punishment of the team rather than fight it in court — and admits he has "regrets."
- Rough weekend to be a Premier League referee. Manchester United received an apology after a video-review (VAR) error cost them the Manchester derby against City, and Arsenal are demanding answers of their own.
- College football's headliner: No. 1 Ohio State visited No. 4 Texas on Saturday night in Austin — a rare top-five matchup this early in the season.
Minnesota Teams
The season opener in Minnesota was a rollercoaster: new quarterback Kyler Murray took a hard, late hit in the first quarter and was ruled out with a concussion, but the Vikings beat the Packers 39-22 regardless. ESPN reported after the game that Murray was in good spirits, which is the best news Vikings fans could hope for. As for Green Bay, the late-game collapse problem from last season apparently didn't go anywhere — ESPN notes the Packers blew another big lead in this one. Nothing new on the Twins, Wolves, Wild, Lynx, United, or Gophers fronts in today's feed.
NFL
Week 1 is (almost) in the books, and the weirdest moment belongs to Chicago: the Bears' wild win over Carolina ended with a "scorigami" — a final score that had never once happened in NFL history. Second-year star Caleb Williams accounted for four touchdowns as the Bears lit up the scoreboard.
In Houston, Josh Allen and the Bills edged the Texans 36-31 in a game CBS called a possible preview of January's AFC championship — notable because Allen had historically struggled on the road against Houston. In Cleveland, it was ugly: CBS called Deshaun Watson "disastrous" in the Browns' offense and wrote that he may already be running out of time.
Looking ahead: Baltimore earned the best mark (an A-) in CBS's Week 1 report card; early Week 2 lines have Buffalo opening its shiny new stadium as a favorite against Detroit; and Kansas City hosts Denver tonight to close out the week on Monday Night Football.
NBA
The league's one big story: LA Clippers owner Steve Ballmer told ESPN the team will comply with the NBA's punishments and won't pursue legal action, saying he has "regrets" about the whole situation.
MLB
With the playoffs just around the corner, ESPN polled executives and insiders on which team is the true team to beat in October — and there's no consensus. The debate splits along familiar lines: Brewers or Dodgers? Yankees or Rays? If you want to sound informed at brunch this weekend, that's the argument to reference.
College Sports
The weekend's marquee game was a top-five showdown in Austin, with No. 1 Ohio State visiting No. 4 Texas on Saturday night — the kind of early-season collision oddsmakers spent all week circling (one CBS expert on a 26-13 hot streak even published his picks). Also on the Week 2 slate: Iowa State and Iowa renewed their in-state rivalry.
Other Sports
Soccer: Refereeing dominated the Premier League conversation. Manchester United got an apology after officials admitted a crucial VAR error cost them in the Manchester derby — which Manchester City won, making them 4-0-0 to start the season, a start matched only by reigning champions Arsenal (who, for their part, want an explanation for how set pieces were officiated in their match against Sunderland). Per CBS's power rankings, it's meanwhile "doom and gloom" at Tottenham.
Women's basketball: Team USA is taking on France in the World Cup final in Berlin, chasing a fifth straight gold medal. The tension: France nearly pulled off the upset against the Americans at the Paris Olympics.
Tennis: The U.S. Open men's final comes down to Alexander Zverev versus Ben Shelton — a big-hitting matchup that had tennis handicappers busy all weekend.