{"id":195194,"date":"2025-10-07T10:31:10","date_gmt":"2025-10-07T10:31:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/195194\/"},"modified":"2025-10-07T10:31:10","modified_gmt":"2025-10-07T10:31:10","slug":"the-jaguars-win-on-a-crazy-scramble-plus-an-nhl-preview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/195194\/","title":{"rendered":"The Jaguars win on a crazy scramble, plus an NHL preview"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Pulse Newsletter \ud83d\udce3 | This is The Athletic\u2019s daily sports newsletter. Sign up here<\/a> to receive The Pulse directly in your inbox.<\/p>\n

Good morning! Don\u2019t let a little stumble keep you out of the end zone today.<\/p>\n

While You Were Sleeping: Dodgers, Jags escape on a great sports night<\/p>\n

I need to remember nights like last night when things get slow. We had three late games, all of them bangers, back-to-back-to-back. Let\u2019s go in chronological order:\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the NLDS, the Phillies lost another narrow game<\/a> to the Dodgers in the early evening as a ninth-inning comeback attempt fell short. Los Angeles heads home with a 2-0 lead in this best-of-five series. Tough.
On \u201cMonday Night Football,\u201d the Jaguars pulled off a stunning comeback win over the visiting Chiefs to cement Jacksonville (4-1) as the NFL\u2019s early vibes winner. Trevor Lawrence led a game-winning touchdown drive in the final minute and change, running in the last score himself after falling down in the pocket. It was a wild game<\/a>. Just watch the highlights:<\/p>\n

Lastly, the Brewers are a wagon. Their 7-3 win<\/a> over the Cubs in Game 2 of the other NLDS matchup was powered solely by three monster home runs. With apologies to Chicago, I think we all want to fast forward to the end of this series.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The looming Brewers-Dodgers matchup would be exquisite. Let\u2019s move on to colder things:<\/p>\n

Beginnings: Puck drop in 3, 2 \u2026\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Illustration: Demetrius Robinson \/ The Athletic; Top photos: Michael Reaves\/Getty Images, Carmen Mandato\/Getty Images, Bob Frid\/Imagn Images<\/p>\n

All the above events are signs of a busy, busy sports calendar. Baseball seasons are on the brink of ending after the sport\u2019s long year. NFL games are important every week. The WNBA Finals are ongoing. And tonight we get a new bombshell: the NHL.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A sixth-month hockey journey begins in just a few hours. I would wax poetic here about the importance of all this, but we had a massive news story yesterday:\u00a0<\/p>\n

Connor McDavid ended any speculation about his immediate future by agreeing to a shocking<\/a> two-year, $25 million extension, ensuring he\u2019ll be in Edmonton for the next three years. It\u2019s not only a massive underpay for the best hockey player on Earth, but also a direct application of pressure on the Oilers front office to win now, thanks to unexpected financial flexibility. We have a full explanation<\/a> about why the 28-year-old took such a deal, too.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s actually a nice segue. The Oilers, losers of two consecutive Stanley Cup Finals, enter the year as a title favorite. The Panthers, back-to-back champs, deserve consideration, too, but there\u2019s room for worry<\/a>. Let\u2019s spend our time talking about everyone else, with the help of some experts.<\/p>\n

Hello, Sean Gentille<\/a>. Pick one team not named Edmonton or Florida to win the Stanley Cup, and tell us why in one sentence.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a simple man who appreciates a roster free of alarm-triggering weaknesses, and the Dallas Stars have legit award contenders at every position.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sounds good to me. Sean McIndoe, you predicted outcomes<\/a> for every team this week. Which one did you agonize over the most?\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Jets, who were left out of the True Contenders division even though they had the best record in the NHL last year. I\u2019ll always root for the Jets, and especially for their fans, who had to suffer through losing a team. I just wish I could shake the feeling that everything went right for this team last year, and they still only won a round.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sean is a lead writer on our excellent Red Light newsletter<\/a>, which you should definitely add to your inbox before the season begins. OK, last question:\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hi, Hailey Salvian<\/a>. Who\u2019s falling off this year?<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll admit I was among the many people in Leafs land acting like losing Mitch Marner could be some kind of addition by subtraction. But after a chat with Jonas Siegel on \u2018The Athletic Hockey Show\u2019 last week, I\u2019m feeling much more pessimistic about Toronto. Now, I see a roster that just lost a 100-point player and didn\u2019t come close to replacing him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaking of the podcast: Hailey, the Seans and a stacked roster of The Athletic\u2019s other hockey writers will be pumping out quality stuff this season on \u201cThe Athletic Hockey Show,\u201d which recently relaunched with a snazzy new look and episodes now streaming on YouTube. Watch here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We have a full list<\/a> of everything you need to know for the season\u2019s start, too. Happy hockey day.<\/p>\n

News to Know\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Brooke Sutton \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

Sanchez charges worsen
Marion County (Ind.) prosecutors added a Level 5 felony battery against former NFL quarterback and current Fox Sports analyst Mark Sanchez yesterday, stemming from an altercation over the weekend that left Sanchez stabbed multiple times. The felony charge carries a possible sentence of one to six years in prison. Read the full update here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

More news<\/p>\n

UEFA approved requests from La Liga and Serie A to play matches abroad, but expressed regret<\/a> while doing so. Hm.
\nWe have updated Heisman Trophy odds, and there\u2019s a new favorite<\/a> \u2026 again.
\nThere was an entire firestorm over North Carolina\u2019s social media channels and the coverage of Patriots QB Drake Maye, or lack thereof. Read the Bill Belichick-fueled tea here<\/a>.
\nWait, another Skycam issue happened this weekend? The Vikings believe a field goal attempt hit a wire in London. See more<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udceb\u00a0Love The Pulse? Check out our other newsletters<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What to Watch<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcfa MLB: Mariners at Tigers
4:08 p.m. ET on FS1
It\u2019s unfair this game is during \u201cnormal\u201d business hours. If you can, find a way to turn on what we\u2019ve called the best series of the playoffs thus far. Another solid pitching matchup (Logan Gilbert vs. Jack Flaherty), too.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcfa NHL: Penguins at Rangers
8 p.m. ET on ESPN
It\u2019s almost tricky picking one game tonight. The puck drops for Blackhawks-Panthers at 5 p.m. ET, but Chicago might be the league\u2019s worst team this year. Pittsburgh isn\u2019t far above that projection, but this is the best time of night for most folks. Our best game belongs to the West Coast, which gets Avalanche-Kings at 10:30 p.m. ET. Happy hockey day.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Get tickets to games like these here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Pulse Picks<\/p>\n

Is Arch Manning college football\u2019s first flop? Will Leitch explained how Manning\u2019s rough start is legitimately unprecedented<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Manning\u2019s Texas fell out of the AP Top 25 poll this week and is way, way down Chris Vannini\u2019s latest Athletic 136 rankings<\/a>, too.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Our collectibles staff rated the coolest sports cards<\/a> of the year. Someone send me a couple hundred grand.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Told you the Drake Maye narratives were coming: Steve Buckley argues that Maye has liberated the Patriots from their past<\/a> with that scintillating win over the Bills on Sunday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jake Ciely returns with Week 6 fantasy football waiver pickups<\/a>. Click.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Have time for a rabbit hole today? Read our story on how Roger Federer started a speed conspiracy theory<\/a> about Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: AP Top 25 rankings<\/a>. Massive shakeup.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Most-read on the website yesterday: The Mark Sanchez update linked above.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Editor\u2019s note: We are running yesterday\u2019s Pulse Poll results tomorrow along with a larger section. Busy day!<\/p>\n

(Top photo: Olivia Vanni \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Pulse Newsletter \ud83d\udce3 | This is The Athletic\u2019s daily sports newsletter. Sign up here to receive The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":195195,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[556],"tags":[64,63,593,575,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-195194","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-nfl","11":"tag-nhl","12":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/195194","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=195194"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/195194\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/195195"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=195194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=195194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=195194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}