The Friday 5: October 4th

Thursday Night Football 🔥

What. A. Game. In an NFC West matchup that mattered, even this early in the season, the now 4-1 Seattle Seahawks hung on to beat the 3-2 Los Angeles Rams, 30-29.
The play of the game, and potentially the catch of the season, was a 13-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Lockett, in which Lockett’s toes juuuuuuust stayed in bounds for the TD. It was amazing.
It looked like the Rams were going to pull out the win when Rams’ QB Jared Goff marched his offense down the field to set up a 44-yard field goal with 15 seconds to go, but Greg Zuerlein missed the kick…And scene.
The battle for the NFC West is going to be a tighter race than previously thought. The 3-0 San Francisco 49ers play Monday night.

There’s No Crying in Baseball

Is there anything better than October baseball? That was a rhetorical question, because the answer is no. With the wild, Wild Card playoff games behind us, the NLDS and ALDS matchups are underway.
The Los Angeles Dodgers took game one of their series, beating the Washington Nationals, 6-0. Walker Buehler pitched a gem of six scoreless innings, eight strikeouts and allowing one run. Buehler’s day ON, amirite?
Over in Atlanta, the St. Louis Cardinals scored six runs in the final two innings to beat the Braves, 7-6.
The ALDS started today with the Houston Astros beating the Tampa Bay Rays, 6-2, to take a 1-0 series lead. The Yankees will play the Twins, while both NLDS games will see game 2 action today. So. Much. Baseball.

Trouble in Minnesota

The 2-2 Minnesota Vikings are dealing with all sorts of drama.
After losing to the Chicago Bears in week four, wide receiver Adam Thielen, whose six receiving yards in the game aren’t exactly Thielen-like, aired his frustrations with the run-heavy offense.
Meanwhile, receiver Stefon Diggs reportedly wants out and he said there’s “truth to the rumors.” He missed practice Wednesday, because he wasn’t feeling well. Survey says – quarterback Kirk Cousins leaves a lot to be desired and Diggs is sick of it. Honestly guys, I’m cracking myself up today. Coach Mike Zimmer won’t confirm if Diggs will play Sunday, but assuming this team does want to win, Diggs will play Sunday.

The Undefeated

The NFL has three undefeated teams left – the New England Patriots, the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers. The 49ers did have the fortune of a bye week in Week 4, so they couldn’t lose. Well played.
The Patriots take on the Washington Redskins, which should be an easy win, but it could also be a trap game. The Niners face the Cleveland Browns on Monday Night Football, while the Chiefs take on the Colts for Sunday Night Football.
All three of these teams should still be undefeated come Tuesday, but on any given Sunday (or Monday), anything can happen.

Welcome Back Hockey and Basketball

Pucks dropped yesterday as the NHL is back for the 2019-2020 season, while the NBA is back in three weeks.
When it comes to sports and pumpkin spice, October is EVERYTHING.