October 5, 2022 2:32 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – The Kenny Pickett era is officially underway in Pittsburgh. The rookie quarterback will make his first career start when the Steelers visit Buffalo. Pickett was the 20th overall pick in the draft. He made his regular-season debut in the second half of a 24-20 loss to the New York Jets on Sunday. Pickett ran for two touchdowns but also threw three interceptions, including a pick late in the fourth quarter that set up New York’s game-winning drive. Pickett replaces Mitch Trubisky, who was signed in the offseason but benched against the Jets as coach Mike Tomlin looked for a spark.
October 4, 2022 3:49 am
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) – Deebo Samuel turned a short catch into an electric 57-yard touchdown, Talanoa Hufanga returned an interception for a score and the San Francisco 49ers beat the Los Angeles Rams 24-9. Jeff Wilson Jr. also scored on a 32-yard run that gave the Niners their seventh straight regular-season win over their in-state rivals. The Rams won the matchup that meant most in last season’s NFC championship game on the way to a Super Bowl title, but this meeting looked more like their recent regular-season meetings. San Francisco used a relentless defense to slow down coach Sean McVay’s offense and got enough big plays for the win.
October 4, 2022 3:57 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Albert Pujols hit his 703rd home run, breaking a tie with Babe Ruth for second place in career RBIs, but the St. Louis Cardinals lost to Pittsburgh 3-2 when the Pirates drew four consecutive walks in the ninth inning to force home the winning run. The 42-year-old slugger connected off right-hander Mitch Keller, pulling a two-run shot into the left-field stands to snap a scoreless tie in the sixth. It was Pujols’ 35th career home run at PNC Park, his most at any visiting ballpark. The drive gave him 2,216 RBIs, passing Ruth on the all-time list. Hank Aaron holds the record with 2,297.
October 4, 2022 3:51 am
HOUSTON (AP) – Aaron Nola took a perfect game into the seventh inning and Kyle Schwarber homered twice as the Philadelphia Phillies clinched their first playoff berth in 11 years with a 3-0 win over the Houston Astros Monday night. Philadelphia’s postseason drought was the longest active one in the majors after the Seattle Mariners clinched their first playoff berth in 21 years Friday night.
October 4, 2022 3:54 am
CHICAGO (AP) – Tony La Russa stepped down as manager of the Chicago White Sox because of a pair of health issues. The announcement ends a disappointing two-year run in the same spot where the Hall of Famer got his first job as a big league skipper. La Russa is a three-time World Series champion who turns 78 on Tuesday. He left the team on Aug. 30 because of issues with a pacemaker that was implanted in February. La Russa says a different, previously diagnosed health problem led to his departure. La Russa directed Chicago to the AL Central title last year, but the team fell short of expectations this season.
October 3, 2022 3:59 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Breece Hall ran for a 2-yard touchdown with 16 seconds remaining and Zach Wilson and the New York Jets spoiled Kenny Pickett’s debut in Pittsburgh by rallying for a 24-20 victory over the Steelers. The Jets won in Pittsburgh for the second time in franchise history after Wilson took the Jets 65 yards in 10 plays for the winning score. Wilson finished 18 of 36 for 252 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions in his season debut. He also became the first quarterback in Jets history to catch a touchdown. Pickett provided a spark for the Steelers becoming the first quarterback in NFL history to run for a pair of touchdowns in his debut.
October 3, 2022 3:56 am
ST. LOUIS (AP) – Albert Pujols slammed his 702nd career home run and drove in three runs in the Cardinals’ 7-5 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday. Pujols also had a two-run double in the first. He moved into a tie with Babe Ruth for second on the all-time RBI list with 2,214. Hank Aaron leads the way with 2,297. Ben Gamel and Bryan Reynolds homered for Pittsburgh, which has won four of six. The Cardinals won 26 of their final 34 home games. It was the final home regular-season game for Pujols and catcher Yadier Molina, who are both retiring after the season. Molina and pitcher Adam Wainwright started their 328th game together.
October 3, 2022 3:50 am
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) – Patrick Mahomes threw for 249 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Kansas City Chiefs to a 41-31 victory over Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Playing in a packed stadium only four days after Hurricane Ian ravaged portions of Florida, Mahomes had TD throws of 16 yards to Travis Kelce, 1 yard to Clyde Edwards-Helaire and 10 yards to Jody Fortson. Mahomes made NFL history by reaching 20,000 passing yards faster than anyone else. Edwards-Helaire and tight end Noah Gray rushed for TDs for the Chiefs, who won the first meeting between Mahomes and Brady since Tampa Bay’s 31-9 rout of Kansas City in the Super Bowl two seasons ago.
October 3, 2022 3:51 am
This was reset week for Associated Press college football poll voters. A season-high 10 teams that entered the weekend ranked in the AP Top 25 lost. That included five ranked teams losing to unranked opponents. The fallout was more than a quarter of the poll turning over Sunday. The voters tossed out seven teams, five of which had been ranked all season, including Oklahoma, Texas A&M and Baylor. Among the seven new arrivals, six made their season debut. Kansas was the headliner. The Jayhawks had not been ranked in 13 years, the longest drought among Power Five conference teams.
October 2, 2022 3:48 am
Washington & Jefferson scored six rushing touchdowns, Tanner Volpatti and Dillon Rebuck returned interceptions for touchdowns and punt teams set up a pair of scores as the Presidents overwhelmed Allegheny, 66-14 Saturday afternoon. QB Jacob Pugh ran for three touchdowns while Ray Holmes, Colton Jones and Owen Petrisek added rushing scores. Jones threw a 5-yard scoring pass to John Peduzzi. Volpatti’s 44-yard Pick Six gave the Presidents an early 21-0 lead. Two Allegheny possessions later, Rebuck returned an interception 64 yards, the fourth defensive score for W&J this season. W&J also blocked one punt and recovered a punt muff by the Gators early in the second quarter. Wshington & Jefferson, now 2-1 in conference play, limited Allegheny to 65 yards rushing and 215 total yards. The Gators drop to 1-2 in the league.
