NFL Week 1 is done. The college football rankings are all scrambled. And two friends-turned-legends hit milestones in the same summer.
Let’s dive in. ⬇️
1️⃣ Quarterback Question ❓
Yesterday, we asked: Which young QB makes a big jump on Monday Night Football?
🎥 Hit play and decide for yourself! (Jump ahead to the start of the second half at 8:38 in the video.)
Final score: Vikings 27, Bears 24. Another comeback… just like Josh Allen and the Bills on Sunday night.
So how’d the QBs do?
For the Bears, Caleb Williams came out firing: 10 straight completions plus a rushing touchdown. But the Bears’ offense cooled off in the second half as they blew a 17–6 lead.
J.J. McCarthy messed up on that pick-six in the third quarter… but then bounced back. He became the first QB in NFL history to have three TDs in the fourth quarter of his first game.
Talk about a tale of two halves.
And that’s a wrap on Week 1. Before we move on, click here to watch the plays that defined it.
2️⃣ Poll Puzzle 🧩
Let’s go college football!
We’ve already seen giant upsets and scoreboards that looked like video games.
The big picture? It’s still too early to know what’s going to happen.
Just ask the AP Poll voters… trying to rank the top 25 right now is like juggling water balloons. 🎈💦
Check out the picture below. Last week’s rankings on the left, this week’s on the right. Some teams climbed in. Some dropped out. Most shuffled spots.
👀 Here’s your challenge: how many teams stayed totally frozen? Didn’t move at all. 🥶
🕵️ Did you and your grown-up get the same answer?
3️⃣ Hall of Fame Friends 🏆
Yesterday, we read about Los Angeles Rams QB Matthew Stafford. 60,000 career passing yards, just the 10th QB in NFL history to get there.
You might also remember a different milestone from July. Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw. 3,000 strikeouts, just the 20th pitcher ever with that many.
That’s already pretty cool: two great athletes, two giant milestones, in the same summer.
But here’s where it gets really special.
Stafford and Kershaw actually grew up together. They went to the same high school: Highland Park in Dallas. And they even graduated in the same year: 2006!
And back then? They weren’t just classmates… they were teammates. In baseball, Stafford played shortstop and sometimes catcher. Kershaw was the left-handed ace (pitcher).
In football, Kershaw played center on the freshman team and snapped the ball to Stafford.
Now imagine this…
🎤 You and your best friend (or brother, sister, whoever!) both grow up and go pro. Would you want to…
Play the same sport on the same team? 🤝
The same sport, but as rivals? 🆚
Or different sports, like Stafford and Kershaw? ⚾🏈
💬 Tell us what you’d pick and why in the comments!
Great plays. Crazy polls. Best friends. Sports has it all!
See you tomorrow, Smallballers!
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To all, I have a new analytical predictive tool for all major sports including the NFL. Here are my predictions for Week2; let's see how well we do!
Game Time Pick Confidence O/U O/U Conf
Commanders @ Packers Thu 8:15 PM Packers -6.5 68% Under 47.5 58%
Jaguars @ Bengals Sun 1:00 PM Bengals -7.5 71% Over 48.5 55%
Giants @ Cowboys Sun 1:00 PM Cowboys -6.0 66% Under 47.5 59%
Bears @ Lions Sun 1:00 PM Lions -3.5 62% Over 52.5 61%
Rams @ Titans Sun 1:00 PM Rams -3.5 60% Under 43.5 57%
Patriots @ Dolphins Sun 1:00 PM Dolphins -3.0 58% Under 37.5 68%
Bills @ Jets Sun 1:00 PM Bills -2.5 59% Under 40.5 62%
49ers @ Saints Sun 1:00 PM 49ers -3.5 63% Under 44.5 56%
Seahawks @ Steelers Sun 1:00 PM Steelers -1.5 54% Under 42.5 63%
Browns @ Ravens Sun 1:00 PM Ravens -8.5 74% Under 44.5 60%
Broncos @ Colts Sun 4:05 PM Colts -3.0 58% Under 44.5 57%
Panthers @ Cardinals Sun 4:05 PM Cardinals -1.5 53% Under 47.5 55%
Eagles @ Chiefs Sun 4:25 PM Chiefs -2.5 57% Over 51.5 54%
Falcons @ Vikings Sun 8:20 PM Vikings -2.5 56% Under 45.5 58%
Buccaneers @ Texans Mon 7:00 PM Texans -1.5 55% Over 47.5 52%
Chargers @ Raiders Mon 10:00 PM Chargers -3.0 61% Under 42.5 59%
Different sports so I never want them to lose!!