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Hello everyone and happy Monday! It's Shanna McCarriston here taking over the newsletter for today. If you're a long-time newsletter reader you may remember some of my newsletters from many years ago, and I'm excited to be back bringing you some of the top headlines.

The most wonderful time of the year is here. Yes, I'm talking about the NFL season. It felt great to be back spending 10 hours on Sunday locked into games across the league. The day ended with what is already being called an all-time classic and an incredible comeback from the defending MVP, but more on that in a bit. 

Through 15 games thus far, Week 1 has not disappointed. We've seen wild finishes, exciting debuts, amazing catches, stunning turnovers and we've still got one more game left. The league already looks as if it's in midseason form and -- considering that I didn't leave my couch yesterday -- it would appear that I am as well.

I'll recap the best moments from the first Sunday of the 2025 NFL season, along with all the other major sports news you need to know, so if you missed anything this weekend, don't worry.

So let's start with:

🏈 Five things to know Monday

  1. Aaron Rodgers got revenge against former team, the Jets, in his Steelers debut. After the 34-32 road win, in which Rodgers had four touchdowns, the quarterback said he was "happy to beat everybody associated with the Jets." He added it was "nice" to remind people in the Jets organization that he can still play.
  2. Speaking of former New York quarterbacks ... Daniel Jones silenced the doubters in a big way in his first game as the Colts starter, defeating the Dolphins, 33-8. The Colts became the first team since at least 2000 (regular season or postseason) to score on every possession. Jones finished with one TD in the air and two on the ground. 
  3. Phillies shortstop Trea Turner suffered a hamstring strain against the Marlins. Manager Rob Thomson admitted that "there's some concern there," while saying how crucial the shortstop is to their team. The severity of the injury is unknown but with the playoffs approaching, missed time could impact their fate.
  4. The Fever clinched a playoff berth, but Caitlin Clark's year is done. A win over Washington put Indiana into the playoffs for a second straight season, and at 23-20 it gave the franchise a record for the most wins in a single season. But Clark's nagging groin injury has the star player out for the rest of the year.
  5. The AP Top 25 poll is out and Ohio State tallied 57 first-place votes. Despite a victory, Clemson (No. 12) fell four spots out of the top 10 after Saturday's relatively narrow 27-16 win over Troy. And Oklahoma's win over Michigan puts the Sooners at No. 13 and the Wolverines at No. 23. Florida fell out of the top 25, while USF is ranked (No. 18) for the first time this season. 

🏈 Do not miss this: Bills complete stunning comeback vs. Ravens

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It was the 2024 MVP against the 2023 MVP in a season-opening primetime game that was one for the books. The defending MVP Josh Allen and the Bills were the one who walked away with a wild 41-40 victory, defeating the Ravens with a walk-off field goal. Plus you can check out the grades from this -- and every other game. This game had it all. Great plays on offense. Great plays on defense. And some insane ones, too, like Lamar Jackson shoving a fan who had just slapped two Ravens players on the helmet. How rare was this game? Ravens-Bills even produced a scorigami.

For much of the game it was Baltimore that was doing much of the running, but you can never count Allen out -- especially not at home.

Down 40-25 with just over four minutes remaining, Buffalo's Keon Coleman dove in the end zone to catch a deflected pass on fourth down to make things interesting. Then with just over three minutes remaining, the Bills forced a Derrick Henry fumble and recovered the ball. The turnover led to a touchdown, and down by 40-38, Buffalo had no choice but to go for two, but failed to convert.

Buffalo's defense did its job to stop Lamar Jackson and give Allen 1:26 (with no timeouts) a chance to get into field goal position and win. The Bills did just that and it all came down to a chip shot field goal.

Let's look at this game by the numbers:

  • Bills QB Josh Allen: 33 of 46, 394 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, 14 carries, 30 rushing yards, two rushing touchdowns
  • Bills WR Keon Coleman: Eight receptions, 112 yards, one touchdown
  • Ravens QB Lamar Jackson: 14 of 19, 209 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, six carries, 70 rushing yards, one rushing touchdown
  • Ravens RB Derrick Henry: 18 carries, 169 yards, two touchdowns, one fumble lost

Henry didn't get the win, but made history in the first half, tying Hall of Famer Jim Brown for sixth on the career rushing touchdowns list. King Henry recorded his 107h career TD on a 30-yard play.

Heading into Sunday night, Allen was 1-3 against Jackson in the regular season and is 2-0 against him in the postseason. This game could have playoff seeding implications months from now, and it could even be an AFC Championship preview. It's way to early to say for sure, but it was an absolute stunner of a game.

🎾 US Open crowns champions Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka

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The US Open wrapped up with Carlos Alcaraz winning the men's singles title and Aryna Sabalenka winning the women's championship.

Alcaraz defeated No. 1 ranked Jannik Sinner 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4. The victory gives Alcaraz his sixth career grand slam and second US Open title. In 15 meetings between the two, Alcaraz now has 10 wins.

The tournament was nearly even more historic for Alcaraz, who nearly became the first man in the Open Era to win the US Open title without dropping a single set. CBS Sports' Brad Crawford broke down the end of the match and how Alcaraz put Sinner away: 

  • Crawford: "Alcaraz saved his best for the third set when he broke Sinner early and later pushed ahead 3-0 on serve for a commanding edge. Down 30-0 during that service game, Alcaraz hit a banana shot winner on an overhead from the baseline that moved past Sinner's outstretched racket in the corner, an incredible shot that lifted the crowd to its feet. At 40-30, Alcaraz won the game on a soft tap at the net after Sinner's attempt on a passing volley from the corner of the court."

On Saturday, Sabalenka became the first woman since Serena Williams in 2013 to win back-to-back US Open titles when she took home the victory over Amanda Anisimova. She won in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6(3).

Sabalenka won a grand slam title every year for the last three years and now has four grand slam titles on her resume. She has a pair of Australian Open wins to go with her two US Open victories. She heads into the 2026 season as the No. 1 ranked player once again.

The US Open's $90 million in prize money is the most in tennis history, and a 20% rise over last year's major. In becoming champions, Alcaraz and Sabalenka earned $5 million, while Sinner and Anisimova left with the runner-up award of $2.5 million.

⚾ Brewers, Phillies remain 1-2 atop MLB Power Rankings

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There are just a few weeks left of the MLB regular season and teams are running out of time to make the postseason push. The Blue Jays, Tigers, Astros, Phillies, Brewers and Dodgers are currently division winners, but all that can change.

Our Matt Snyder says that the defending champion Dodgers haven't been consistently great this year and have lost seven of their last nine games. The Padres are flirting with the top spot in the NL West, but losing nine of their last 13 has hurt their chances of leapfrogging over Los Angeles.

This year is an interesting on in baseball, because as Snyder puts it, "the funniest thing of all is that so few teams in all of baseball have truly separated themselves as great teams all season."

With that in mind, here's a look at CBS Sports' MLB Power Rankings this week, along with how the current top five fared last week.

  1. Brewers (1)
  2. Phillies (2)
  3. Yankees (8)
  4. Blue Jays (5)
  5. Tigers (3)

🏆 The best (and not-so-best) of the rest

📺 What we're watching Monday

⚽ FIFA World Cup Qualifier: Morocco at Zambia, 9 a.m. on ESPN+
⚾ Mets at Phillies, 6:45 p.m. on MLB Network
🏀 Sun at Dream, 7:30 p.m. on WNBA League Pass
🏈 Vikings at Bears, 8:15 p.m. on ESPN
⚾ Cardinals at Mariners, 9:40 p.m. on MLB Network
⚾ Diamondbacks at Giants, 9:45 p.m. on FS1