Falcons, Bears earn wins in wild Monday night games; Mariners, Dodgers take steps closer to World Series

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Happy Tuesday, Brent Brookhouse here to take you through everything you need to know after a chaotic night of "Monday Night Football."

As a lifelong Bills fan since the storied night of "wide right," I'm licking my wounds after the Bills lost a second straight game, this time getting outplayed by an aggressive Falcons team. That said, congrats to fans of the Falcons as Bijan Robinson ran wild for a career night.

Let's move along to everything you need to know as you congregate around the water coolers to talk all things sports on your Tuesday morning.

👊 Five things to know Tuesday

Lions safety Brian Branch has been suspended for one game after Sunday's fight. Branch expressed remorse at the situation, calling his actions "childish." But we also knew that there would be consequences for Branch instigating a brawl and striking Chiefs wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster in the face after Sunday's game. The penalty? A one-game suspension, which will be a loss of more than $76,000.
Nittany Lions greats reacted to James Franklin's firing as Penn State seeks a replacement. As might have been expected, Micah Parsons and other alums lifted up Franklin after his dismissal. On the replacement side, there were several calls for Penn State to target Nebraska coach -- and Penn State alumnus -- Matt Rhule. However, he reaffirmed his commitment to Nebraska.
Padres manager Mike Shildt has stepped down. After two seasons at the helm in San Diego, Shildt's retirement marks the eighth MLB managerial opening. The Phillies are not among those teams looking for a new manager as Rob Thomson is set to return as manager in 2026.
The Titans were the first NFL team to fire their coach. Brian Callahan was let go after a 1-5 start. Commanders OC Kliff Kingsbury and Chiefs OC Matt Nagy are among the coaches who could be called to take over in Tennessee. As for who could be next on the chopping block, let's just say seats might be warm in the AFC East between the Dolphins' Mike McDaniel and the Jets' Aaron Glenn.
Purdue holds the top spot in the preseason AP Top 25 poll. The men's college basketball poll is out, and the Boilermakers are No. 1, ahead of Houston and Florida. We have a full slate of reactions to the poll, including the idea that North Carolina is overrated and Kansas is underrated.

🏈 Falcons, Bears score massive victories on Monday night

Monday's NFL doubleheader saw the underdogs walk away with victories in both games.

First, the Falcons outpaced a banged up Bills squad, 24-14, with Bijan Robinson running wild on Buffalo. Robinson finished the game with 238 scrimmage yards, including an 81-yard touchdown scamper. The loss was the second consecutive prime-time defeat for Buffalo, which now sits at 4-2 and shockingly finds itself second in the AFC East behind the Patriots.

After their second straight loss, the Bills earned a C- in the CBS Sports' Week 6 grades.

The Bears won the late game, taking down the Commanders, 25-24, on a last-second field goal. The Bears brought in Jake Moody to handle kicking duties after Moody was released by the 49ers following two missed field goals in Week 1. Moody stepped up on a windy, rainy night in Washington to hit the 38-yard field goal -- his fourth of the night -- as time expired to advance Chicago to 3-2 and gain a measure of redemption.

⚾ Mariners, Dodgers take steps closer to World Series

The Dodgers were able to win Game 1 of the NLCS, beating the Brewers, 2-1 in Milwaukee. Dodgers starting pitcher Blake Snell was held to just 11 regular season starts, but he was once again dominant in the postseason, striking out 11 over eight innings, the second-longest outing of his career.

Despite the loss, the highlight play of the game was a wild double play turned by the Brewers on a 404-foot fly ball. CBS Sports broke down the rules on why the play is technically an 8-6-2 ground out into a double play.

Things were less dramatic in the ALCS, with the Mariners taking a commanding 2-0 lead over the Blue Jays after a 10-3 win in Toronto. As Mike Axisa wrote, Jorge Polanco's October legend is continuing to grow.

Axisa: "What a few days for Jorge Polanco. On Friday, he walked off the Tigers in Game 5 of the ALDS. On Sunday, he drove in the go-ahead run (and an insurance run) in Seattle's Game 1 win to start the ALCS. Then, on Monday, Polanco gave the Mariners a 6-3 lead with a three-run home run over the high wall in center field. Considering the Mariners have never been to the World Series, this is truly one of the biggest swings in franchise history."

🏈 College football midseason All-Americans list is filled with surprises

The 2025 college football season has been filled with surprises. Expected favorites and Heisman hopefuls have fallen while others have charged to the front of the line. One example is the Texas Longhorns and Arch Manning, with both team and quarterback coming up well short of preseason expectations thus far.

The CBS Sports college football team put together a midseason All-American team, and the list reflects the chaos of the first half of the season. Four teams that dominated preseason rankings and All American lists, Texas, Penn State, Clemson and Georgia, combined for zero mid-season All-American selections, as explained by David Cobb.

Cobb: "Texas, Penn State, Clemson and Georgia were each ranked in the top five to begin the season, and the four powers placed a combined eight players on the CBS Sports Preseason All-American team. However, they combined to produce zero midseason honorees. Their stunning lack of representation comes amid team struggles. Those teams have all failed to meet preseason expectations, and their stars have work to do in order to be considered for All-American status at season's end."

👍👎 The best (and not-so-best) of the rest

The Steelers have things clicking with a 4-1 start to the NFL season. We ranked the top reasons for Pittsburgh's hot start.
John Mateer made a seemingly miraculous recovery from hand surgery, but the Oklahoma quarterback's return won't save the team's season.
Dawn Staley is facing some big preseason questions after news that South Carolina star forward Chloe Kitts will miss her senior season with a torn ACL.
It's already time to look ahead to Week 7 of the NFL season, and some surprising teams are currently listed as favorites.
Star Rams wideout Puka Nacua is expected to miss time after suffering an ankle injury in Los Angeles' Week 6 win against the Ravens.
After Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa called out his teammates and leadership following Miami's slide to 1-5, one former Dolphins wideout called out Tagovailoa in return. Coach Mike McDaniel was also not thrilled with Tagovailoa's comments.
Joe Flacco showed that he could help save the Bengals' season after a surprising mid-season trade, but after a competitive loss to Green Bay, Flacco and Cincinnati only have four days to prepare for a game with the surging Steelers. Meanwhile, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin is confused as to why Cleveland would help out Cincinnati by dealing Flacco.
With UAB on the hunt for a coach after firing Trent Dilfer, four-time NFL Pro Bowl wide receiver Roddy White, who starred for the Blazers from 2001-04, says he wants the job.
Despite a disastrous start to his first season as coach at North Carolina, Bill Belichick said the team has "made a lot of improvement" while shutting down talk of a buyout.
Eagles pass rusher Za'Darius Smith announced that he has retired after 11 seasons in the NFL.
Milwaukee is trying to keep Giannis Antetokounmpo happy as the team signed his brother, Alex, placing all three Antetokounmpo brothers on the Bucks' roster in an NBA first.
We have ranked all 30 NBA coaches into eight tiers ahead of the start of the 2025-26 season.
Jets coach Aaron Glenn said he won't bench quarterback Justin Fields despite Fields taking a "step back" against the Broncos.
Is Nigeria going to miss the 2026 World Cup? Here's how the Super Eagles can manage to make the tournament.
Despite being named a team captain prior to the season, Auburn dismissed senior running back Damari Alston. Coach Hugh Freeze said Alston "failed to meet the expectations and standards of our program."
With the NBA season drawing near, we took a look at five teams that have big decisions to make when it comes to their starting lineups.
Anthony Richardson's freak elastic band mishap has landed the Colts quarterback on injured reserve.
As the situation between the Eagles and A.J. Brown continues to be complicated, the Steelers and Patriots are among the teams that could look to trade for the star wideout.
Auburn's athletic director said it's "not my expectation" to fire Hugh Freeze in a quote that doesn't give extreme confidence in Freeze's future with the Tigers.
As has become the norm on Tuesdays, we have a flurry of college football rankings. That includes our CBS 136 rankings, in which we rank all 136 teams in FBS, as well as our College Football Power Rankings, where Indiana has jumped to No. 1 after their huge win over Oregon.

📺 What we're watching Tuesday

⚽ Men's World Cup qualifier: Gambia at Seychelles, 9 a.m. on ESPN+
⚽ Men's World Cup qualifier: Benin at Nigeria, noon on ESPN+
⚽ Men's World Cup qualifier: Mauritania at Senegal, 3 p.m. on ESPN+
⚽ Men's World Cup qualifier: Sudan at DR Congo, 3 p.m. on ESPN+
🏈 New Mexico State at Liberty, 7 p.m. on CBS Sports Network
🏒 Lightning at Capitals, 7 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 Preseason: Thunder at Bucks, 8 p.m. on Peacock
⚾ NLCS Game 2: Dodgers at Brewers, 8:08 p.m. on TBS
🏒 Wild at Stars, 9 p.m. on ESPN
⚽ Australia at USMNT, 9 p.m. on TNT