This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Have feedback? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey! Now, here’s Mike Sykes.
Those “Your team lost? TUH. Couldn’t be me,” tweets are officially dead. After the Eagles’ and 49ers’ Sunday losses, there are officially no undefeated teams left in the NFL.
I don’t know about y’all, but it felt kind of early to me. Adam Schefter made a joke about the 1972 Dolphins popping champagne because their undefeated season streak still lives on.
As cringy as he is, Schefter was kind of spot-on. I mean, already, y’all? It’s only Week 6 and everybody has a loss. Nobody really expects a team to go undefeated, but sheesh. At least tease us with a good time. We couldn’t even get that from the NFL’s best this year.
But that kind of makes sense, honestly. Because, well, who is the NFL’s best this year?
It’s still early, of course. And both the Eagles and 49ers are dealing with quite a few injuries right now. But it just doesn’t feel like there’s a team in the league right now that’s head and shoulders above the rest.
First it was the Cowboys, who opened the season absolutely obliterating teams. Now, they’ve slowed down. Then it was the 49ers, but they’re also down their arguably two best players with Christian McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel suffering injuries. The Eagles moved into that “best team” slot for two seconds before Jalen Hurts threw it right to the Jets’ defense.
Now, I guess, maybe it’s the Dolphins? Tyreek Hill looks awesome and Tua Tagovailoa looks like the MVP front-runner today. But they also lost to the Bills by 28 points earlier this season. We have reason not to trust Miami, too.
There’s not really a team in the league that has completely earned our trust just yet. It just might not happen this season. And, if it doesn’t, that’s totally OK! It’s kind of fun this way.
It feels like I have no clue what’s going to happen week to week in the NFL, and that keeps me — and probably you — glued to the couch on Sunday to figure it all out.
The league is chaotic in a great way right now. I’m totally here for it.
Speaking of the 49ers…
San Francisco’s loss to Cleveland on Sunday was downright shocking. The Browns were down to their third quarterback in P. J. Walker. The 49ers were favorites coming into the game. Instead, they lost 19-17 in the most shocking upset of the season so far, according to our Robert Zeglinski.
At the center of it all is this: The normally sure-handed Brock Purdy looked fallible for once.
“For one, Brock Purdy had one of his worst games as the 49ers’ starting quarterback, completing just 12-of-27 passes for 125 yards while throwing one touchdown and his first interception of the season. The Browns’ defense deserves a ton of credit for rattling Purdy. But there were more than a few throws Purdy left on the field, potentially reigniting the questions about whether he is actually good enough to elevate the 49ers’ stacked offense against equally good defenses.”
It’s hard to blame Purdy for a poor day in bad weather against one of the NFL’s best defenses. It’s not completely his fault — the 49ers defense should’ve feasted on Walker and company.
But, for the first time in a long time, the odds weren’t completely in Purdy’s favor. And he showed a bit of weakness there. Just a little something to watch the rest of the way this season.
REQUIRED READING: Check out Zeglinski’s full NFL awards column
Let’s ban injuries. Please. I’m begging.
I only wanted one thing from the WNBA Finals, man. Just one thing. And that was that both teams make it through whatever happens — healthy. That’s all I asked.
Of course, we couldn’t get that. Thanks a lot, basketball gods.
Chelsea Gray went down with some sort of leg injury in Game 3 of the WNBA Finals. Apparently, it was so bad that she needed crutches to walk after the game.
Just brutal. Absolutely brutal. Not only did the Aces lose the game 87-73, but they may have lost arguably the best point guard in the entire WNBA. That’s a huge loss. All of a sudden, that 2-0 lead that seemed so strong heading into New York feels shaky now, at best.
Vegas can make up for it. Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young are All-Stars. A’ja Wilson is a two-time MVP. They can still win one game. But, man. This is going to be tough.
Flick of the weekend
I knew a lot of people wanted to watch Caitlin Clark play basketball again. But, dog. I didn’t know that 55,646 people were itching to watch Caitlin Clark play basketball again.
Not even in a regular season game. In a scrimmage. AGAINST DEPAUL. People came in droves to Kinnick Stadium in Iowa to watch the Hawkeyes.
That’s so sick. And, yes, that’s a women’s basketball record. That number doubled the attendance record of 29,516 set in the 2002 Final Four.
Between this game and the attendance record of 17,143 at the Liberty game on Sunday, it was a fantastic day for women’s hoops. How’s that for the worst crowd in the W, Michael Wilbon?
READ MORE: Here’s more on the Crossover at Kinnick game.
Quick hits: The worst QBs of the weekend … The best of Week 6 … and more
— Christian D’Andrea has you covered with the worst QB performances of Week 6. Eagles fans, I’m hurting with you. Sigh.
— Christian also has the best everything from Week 6 of NFL action in his column here.
— Speaking of Chelsea Gray’s injury, ESPN handled it in the worst possible way. Our Meghan Hall has more.
— Charles Curtis has you covered on fantasy sleepers for your NBA fantasy leagues this season.
— Week 6 was the best NFL Sunday yet. At least, according to the sportsbooks, anyway. Ben Fawkes has more.
— Here’s Bryan Kalbrosky with a 2024 NBA mock draft for you. Yes, it’s already mock draft season. It’s always mock season for Bryan.
That’s all, folks! Happy Monday. Enjoy your week.
