ball

The energy at The Badlands Stadium on Friday night was too much for Mother Earth to handle. She had to put a temporary stop to it.

Both sets of players for San Juan Hills High and San Clemente were fired up by a full crowd of rowdy fans, and it promised to be one of the best high school atmospheres of the season.

But then everybody was forced into the basketball gym after five minutes and seven seconds of play. For 90 minutes a lightning delay threatened to end the affair all together.

Nothing, however, could force these two teams and communities to give up on this night. After the Norte fire tore through 570 acres across south Orange County, destroying many homes in the process, everybody needed this. The matchup — which hadn’t been played since 2021 — meant so much to both the Stallions and Tritons.

“Between the white lines, for 48 minutes, I expect nothing less than war,” San Juan Hills head coach Robert Frith said before kickoff.

It was San Juan Hills (8-1) that ultimately came through with an 16-0 upset victory, which puts it on the brink of the Alpha League title before next week’s big matchup against Mission Viejo.

This was the Stallions’ first win against San Clemente (7-1) since 2015, and likely knocked the Tritons out of contention for the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs. That felt pretty sweet for Arthur Tuverson, who gave a little smack talk to the San Clemente student section after the game, taunting them about the defense’s shutout.

It was the junior defensive back’s 52-yard touchdown interception that sealed the victory. As he ran it down the field, the noise in the stadium reached pre-delay levels.

“I knew they were in desperation mode and needed to pass the ball,” Tuverson said after the win. “I made the play. I was waiting for it.”

Both teams played with backup quarterbacks as Preston Beck for San Clemente and Eiler King for San Juan Hills were out because of injuries.

The Stallions turned to senior Parker Armstrong, who started two years at Scripps Ranch High in San Diego. He finished the night completing 17 for 19 passes for 172 yards, doing enough to manage a low scoring contest and help his team not turn the ball over for the seventh game running.

The Tritons gave freshman Koston James his first taste of varsity action, but it was a tough game to come into as he finished 11-for-16 passing for 60 yards with two interceptions.

San Clemente coach Jaime Ortiz knew that points would be at a premium in this matchup.

“We’re going to have to play good defense and not allow the big play,” Ortiz said pregame.

Frith called it a power of wills. San Clemente let gave up only 20 rushing yards, but San Juan Hills’ two interceptions and swarming defensive line swung the game.

Late in the third quarter, San Clemente attempted a flea flicker and San Juan Hills was on James the second he got the ball back. It was exemplary of the home team’s sustained energy during a long and tiring night.

San Clemente often ran two-way star Jaxson Rex out of the Wildcat formation, letting the Brigham Young commit’s athleticism take center stage. A lot was put on the talented senior’s shoulders to get the offense going. He finished with five catches for 42 yards and 32 rushing yards.

His counterpart, Texas State commit Luke Frith, finished with four catches for 48 yards.

Frith noted pregame that special teams would have a big role to play in the night. He was correct, as San Juan Hills senior kicker Trevor Koko knocked through two field goals in the first half, and then nailed a season-long 44-yarder to put the Stallions up 9-0 in the third quarter. San Clemente missed a field goal when down 3-0.

Penalties also hurt the Tritons as they committed 10 for 105 yards in the team’s first loss of the season after last week’s game against Mission Viejo was cancelled because of the Norte fire.

Before the game, first responders were honored and both coaches made sure to express their gratitude for the swift and effective work of those who protected the communities.

The coaches on both sidelines wore Orange County Fire Authority hats as a token of gratitude.

“[The hats] are a sign that it is sometimes bigger than football, and a lot of programs could take note of that,” Ortiz said.

Jim Nantz is fine.

The 67-year-old sportscaster didn’t actually injure himself demonstrating the so-called “Peanut” punch with CBS broadcast booth partner J.J. Watt — who is 37 and a three-time former NFL defensive player of the year — during the Buffalo Bills-Las Vegas Raiders game on Sunday.

He seems to feel foolish though.

“I learned a lesson,” Nantz said Tuesday on ESPN’s “The Pat McAfee Show.” “You got J.J. Watt cradling the ball like this. What am I — I’m going to like knock it out of his hands? Come on, the thing was vacuum sealed into his chest.”

Named after retired cornerback Charles “Peanut” Tillman, the “Peanut punch” has become an effective method for defensive players to cause fumbles. While showing viewers how offensive players should hold the football to counter the maneuver , Watt encouraged Nantz to “give that a good punch.”

“Really?” Nantz asked.

“Hard as you got, brother,” Watt replied.

So Nantz delivered a solid blow to the ball, which didn’t budge in Watt’s arms.

“I did kind of go aggressively here after this ball because J.J. encouraged me to do so,” Nantz told McAfee while watching a clip of the incident.

Back on the broadcast, Nantz immediately winced and grabbed his hand.

“I did not think you were going to go that hard,” Watt laughed. “That was so much harder than I thought you were going to go.”

Nantz clearly was in discomfort, but he chuckled about it as well.

“My wrist is broken,” he told his booth partner. “Like I’m going to knock it out of your hands.”

“Get Jim some ice,” Watt joked as they were going to commercial.

After halftime, Nantz could be seen in the booth with his hand wrapped. That led some people to believe he had seriously injured himself.

“I heard from people you can’t believe,” Nantz told McAfee. “[Bills quarterback] Josh Allen texted me an hour after the game and said, ‘Did you just break your hand? I hear you broke your hand.’ I heard from a former president of the United States, reached out and wanted to know if my hand was broken.”

McAfee and company speculated that the former president was Barack Obama, but Nantz did not reveal his identity.

After the game, Watt joked on X: “CBS Injury Report Week 7 — Jim Nantz: Questionable (Wrist/Hand).”

The NFL joined in the good-natured fun, posting the clip on Instagram and writing, “the peanut punch isn’t for everybody,” along with a laughing emoji.

While Nantz admitted his hand and wrist “did hurt for a while,” he told McAfee that any reports beyond that were “greatly exaggerated.”

“It did sting, I’m not going to kid you,” Nantz said. “But I gave it my best, and as soon as I did it, I regretted it because I felt like everything had been compressed. And I did think I was going to wake up Monday with this thing about triple the size, but I’m fine. I’m not going to be on the injury report this week. I’m going to be good to go. No broken bones.”

CLEVELAND — Jonathan Aranda’s single led to two runs in the seventh inning when the ball got by right fielder Chase DeLauter, Nick Martinez pitched 5 1/3 innings for his first postseason win and the Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Cleveland Guardians 7-3 Saturday night to even the AL Championship Series at 2-2.

Game 5 of the best-of-seven matchup is Sunday in Cleveland before the series shifts back to St. Petersburg, Fla. on Monday. There is no off day for travel after Friday’s game was postponed by rain.

“It means a lot because we know that we play well at home in front of our fans. We’ve got a huge game, another swing game tomorrow,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said.

Cleveland’s Travis Bazzana hit his first postseason home run but also had a fielding error at second on a tough night for the Guardians’ defense.

The first four hitters in the Rays order — Yandy Díaz, Aranda, Chandler Simpson and Junior Caminero — had six of the Rays’ 11 hits and drove in six runs after they went seven for 41 with three RBIs the first three ALCS games.

Aranda had three hits and drove in two runs after going 0 for 10 in the first three games. Diaz had two hits and two RBIs, including a two-run homer in the ninth off Matt Festa, while Simpson and Caminero each drove in a run.

“A lot of really good at-bats. A lot of hard hits,” Cash said. “But overall, just happy that Junior squared some balls up, Aranda came through in a big way for us and then Yandy there at the end with a two-run, add-on homer.”

Pitching on a 46-degree night, Martinez (1-0) allowed one run and two hits in his second career postseason start and 10th appearance. After DeLauter’s RBI single put Cleveland up 1-0 in the first, Martinez retired 10 straight at one point before walking Bazzana leading off the fifth.

Tampa Bay took a 2-1 lead in the sixth when Caminero lined a double to the left-field wall off Daniel Espino (0-1), then broke open the game in a three-run seventh.

Richie Palacios and Taylor Walls got aboard on base hits and moved into scoring position on a double steal. After Díaz struck out, Aranda lined a single past a diving Bazzana, who was playing near the grass between first and second, and into right field. Palacios scored and when DeLauter allowed the ball under his glove, Walls came around from second. Aranda went to third and scored on Simpson’s sacrifice fly.

“It looked like it may have snaked on him or just skipped by him, took his eye off of it,” Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt said. “A couple unfortunate plays for us tonight that we usually complete and just weren’t able to do it.”

Bazzana homered in the seventh against Ian Seymour and Brayan Rocchio added an RBI single as Cleveland closed to 5-3.

Shawn Armstrong opened and struck out one batter in the first inning before giving way to Foster Griffin.

Cleveland rookie Parker Messick (0-2, 3.09 ERA) will make his fourth start this postseason. He went five innings and was charged with three unearned runs in Tuesday’s 3-1 loss in Game 2. Tampa Bay’s Drew Rasmussen (1-0, 1.29 ERA) gave up two runs over six innings in Game 1 and struck out seven before the Guardians rallied for a 7-3 victory.

Reedy writes for the Associated Press.

The Savannah Bananas embarked on their first so-called world tour five years ago. It included only one stop — in Mobile, Ala.

As the unique brand of baseball entertainment known as Banana Ball expanded into a six-team league, the tours have grown in size and scope but never actually ventured out of the United States.

That will change next year. The 2027 Banana Ball Championship League tour will visit 79 stadiums across 74 cities, including the first-ever international stops. Four teams will travel to Mexico, with the Bananas playing the Texas Tailgaters in Monterrey on Feb. 5 and 6 and the Party Animals taking on the Loco Beach Coconuts in Tijuana on Feb. 12 and 13.

The tour swings to Canada in late summer, with the Bananas playing the Indiananapolis Clowns in Toronto on Aug. 14 and 15 and the Tailgaters facing the Party Animals in Winnipeg on Aug. 26 and 28.

“We got a lot of criticism over the years. ‘It’s not a world tour, you’re playing in one city! It’s not a world tour, you’re playing in seven cities in the southeast!’” Banana Ball creator and owner Jesse Cole said Thursday on ESPN2. “But we saw where we could go, and we’ve always had a vision to create 1 billion fans, one fan at a time. And over the last two or three years, we’ve heard from a lot of different countries all over the world.”

The Savannah Bananas, featuring Banana Ball creator and owner Jesse Cole in his signature yellow suit and derby hat, perform onstage during the 2026 ESPY Awards in New York.

(Mike Coppola / Getty Images)

Cole said he expects the 2027 tour to draw an estimated 4.3 million fans.

“Everything we do is do one experiment and then see where it can go,” he said. “And this crazy experiment of Banana Ball has gone some places we never imagined.”

Another new stop next year will be Dodger Stadium, where the Bananas will play the Firefighters on April 23 and 24. The same teams also will face off at Angel Stadium on July 2 and 3, marking the third consecutive year the Bananas have played at the venue.

The schedule reveal show included a number of announcements, including the debut of a concept called Banana Ball 360 on June 26 at Notre Dame Stadium. Two baseball fields will be set up on opposite ends of the stadium, with the game taking place on each during alternating innings.

“I do believe that fans at that show are going to be able to see things they’ve never seen before, and also every single seat is a great seat,” Cole said. “And that was the idea.”

Also announced were a new Disney-produced film documenting the growth of Banana Ball, which will premiere June 12 at Atlanta’s Truist Park, and the league’s third cruise, “Bananaland at Sea + Puerto Rico,” in January 2028. The cruise will depart from the Port of Miami and will feature a Banana Ball game at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan.

TAMPA, Fla. — José Ramírez’s mental mistake and fielding error cost Cleveland in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series, a day after his bat helped boost the Guardians to an opening win.

He left third base uncovered on Chandler Simpson’s fourth-inning infield chopper, then misplayed Ben Williamson’s grounder for an error that led to three unearned runs as the Tampa Bay Rays evened the best-of-seven series with a 3-1 win Tuesday night.

“It’s a little bit faster here with the surface and I was playing parallel to the base,” Ramírez said through a translator. “The ball bounced right on the edge between the dirt and the turf, and that’s what made it a little more difficult for me. I tried to knock it down.”

“It’s frustrating. I feel bad because I wasn’t able to make that play and after that the runs came in. I feel bad about that,” he added.

A seven-time All-Star who has finished among the top five in MVP voting six times, Ramírez had three hits and scored twice in Cleveland’s 7-3 win in the opener.

Game 2 was 0-0 with Victor Mesa Jr. on first and two out in the fourth when Chandler Simpson beat out a high chopper to shortstop Brayan Rocchio.

Ramírez, shifted toward second base on the left-handed hitter, took a few steps toward Simpson and watched the shortstop throw to first. Seeing third base uncovered, Mesa rounded second and sped to third standing up as Ramírez tried in vain to catch up.

Four pitches later, Williamson hit a two-hopper that struck the edge of where the artificial turf meets the dirt near third. The ball skipped between Ramírez’s legs into left, allowing Mesa to score.

“José kind of got stuck. It looked like he just didn’t move his feet,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “Just kind of looked like he sat back a little bit with his feet set instead of moving his feet. So tough break right there and obviously they capitalized.”

Liam Hicks pulled Parker Messier’s next pitch, a slider, into right-center for a two-run single and a 3-0 lead.

“They’ve done that all year. When they smell blood, they take it and run,” Vogt said. “We had some sloppy plays in the field that we need to clean up.”

Ramírez homered in Games 4 and 5 of the Division Series as Cleveland overcome an 0-2 series deficit, the first Cleveland player to homer in consecutive postseason games since Francisco Lindor in 2018.

The Dodgers never waver in their game plan for the regular season: win enough games to secure a bye in the opening round of the playoffs and, in so doing, afford players all the down time they need during the summer to be in top form come fall. They do not need to hurry anyone off the injured list so they can squeak out another National League West title.

Unfortunately for the Dodgers and their increasingly perilous hope of a three-peat, they did not follow that game plan with Shohei Ohtani. The Dodgers failed Ohtani this summer, and now all that remains is for them to cross their collective fingers and hope for the best.

Hope, as they say, is not a strategy.

The Dodgers should drop Ohtani from the postseason roster.

They won’t. They won’t even take him out of Wednesday’s lineup.

Amid headlines about how the Dodgers might have benched Ohtani for Game 3 of the NL Championship Series, manager Dave Roberts said the thinking was more about coupling Tuesday’s day off with a second consecutive day of rest.

“It was never a benching,” Roberts said.

Roberts drew a parallel between what might have happened with Ohtani and what did happen with Freddie Freeman during the NLCS two years ago, when the Dodgers provided what the manager called a “reset” — a day off for the team, followed by a rest day for Freeman.

“And he ends up winning the MVP in the World Series,” Roberts said.

Freeman had been playing with a bad ankle for three weeks, and even then he had been more productive that October than Ohtani has been in this one. Ohtani has been playing with a bad knee and biceps for three months, and the Dodgers already have tried intermittent rest.

They tried that in September, twice. They touted their bye week before the start of the playoffs. They talked up their three days off before the start of the NLCS.

They went 0 for 4. Enough already.

Roberts said the Dodgers — not just Ohtani, but the coaching staff and the training staff — see progress. True, no doubt. But we’ve heard similarly encouraging words after each of Ohtani’s rest breaks.

“We’re listening to Shohei, and we’re going to support the crap out of him and believe in him,” Roberts said, “and that’s it.”

Ohtani said Tuesday that his symptoms have subsided since the Dodgers put him on the injured list, for the minimum stay. That was a month ago.

Shohei Ohtani is just three for 20 this postseason.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

On Tuesday, he said his approaches can alternate between “focusing on reducing the symptoms and getting rid of the pain and/or just making sure that I’m moving well in the swing.”

There is no evidence so far that this might work, and an uncomfortable and increasing body of evidence that it might not.

Ohtani is batting .150 in the playoffs, with three hits in 20 at-bats. Of the 39 players with at least 20 at-bats this postseason entering play Tuesday, only three have a lower OPS than Ohtani’s .411.

One of them, Dodgers catcher Will Smith, has one hit in 23 at-bats. But he is hitting the ball hard: in the NLCS, one ball hit at 102 mph, another at 101, and every ball hit harder than the one Ohtani hit the hardest.

That exit velocity: 86 mph.

He has not pulled a ball in the series for a hit, or for an out.

Over his major league career, he has homered once every 14 at-bats.

He has not hit a home run since Aug. 18, a span of 107 at-bats. He has driven in one run since then; the Dodgers batted him cleanup in Game 2.

And, since hitting that last home run, Ohtani is batting .036 against fastballs thrown 95 mph or harder. The average fastball in this postseason: 96.2 mph, according to analyst Mike Petriello’s close-up of all the different ways Ohtani’s swing is fouled up.

Breaking balls? Brewers reliever JoJo Romero threw him one low and away in Game 2, and Ohtani lost his bat as he lunged to make contact.

When Ohtani spoke with reporters before the playoffs started, he said he might not know the full extent of his injuries or what he might need to do to rehabilitate them until after the postseason.

“I haven’t been able to get a good grasp of the root cause of all this,” he said then. “I think that process is going to happen during the offseason, when I’m going to have a little bit more time to be able to address it. But as of now, it’s something I’m just going to have to manage.”

The Dodgers did not need Ohtani to win the NL West. They needed to shut him down for an extended period to maximize their chances of winning in October.

They failed to do that. They believed a few days of rest would allow them to nurse Ohtani through the rest of the season.

One big swing in October, and who cares? Ask Kirk Gibson, who hobbled to bat and then hit one of the most dramatic home runs in World Series history.

Here is what the Dodgers ought to keep in mind: That was the only at-bat Gibson took in that 1988 World Series.

So supposedly loaded were the Super Bowl-favorite Rams, they earned four prime-time appearances in their first five games.

And from a purely entertainment standpoint, the Rams were not living up to their billing.

Monday night’s matchup against the Buffalo Bills provided the latest showcase.

The Rams delivered some thrills — but not a victory.

Tyler Bass kicked a 45-yard field goal with 1:55 left in overtime, sending the Rams to a 37-34 loss before 73,882 at SoFi Stadium.

Special teams miscues and penalties once again hampered the Rams in a game that featured three touchdown passes by Matthew Stafford and a career-best 17 catches by Puka Nacua.

Just as they did two years ago, when the Rams outlasted the Bills for a 44-42 victory, the teams put on a show.

But the Rams’ record dropped to 2-3, the fourth time in the last five seasons the Rams are 2-3 or worse after five games.

In 2022, when the Bills blew out the Rams in the opener at SoFi Stadium, the Rams were 2-3 en route to a 5-12 finish, the worst Super Bowl hangover in NFL history.

In 2023, the Rams were 2-3 before rallying to finish 10-7. The Detroit Lions eliminated the Rams in the NFC wild-card round. The next season, the Rams started 1-4, finished 10-7 again and lost to the Philadelphia Eagles in the divisional round.

Monday’s game was a matchup between the two previous NFL most valuable players, Bills quarterback Josh Allen in 2024 and Stafford in 2025. It was the first game between consecutive MVPs who play in separate conferences since 2015 when Peyton Manning went against Aaron Rodgers.

Stafford completed 40 of 54 passes for 383 yards, including two touchdown passes to Davante Adams and another to Nacua, who had 138 receiving yards.

Allen, who accounted for six touchdowns in a 44-42 loss to the Rams two years ago, completed 12 of 19 passes for 210 yards and a touchdown, and he rushed for 121 yards and a touchdown as the Bills improved to 4-1.

This was supposed to be a special season for the Rams.

But it has turned into a special teams nightmare.

Harrison Mevis failed to convert two field-goal attempts, including a winning kick in overtime that was blocked by Buffalo linebacker Greg Rousseau. The Rams also gave up a 70-yard return on the opening kickoff.

Tyler Bass kicks a 45-yard field goal in overtime to seal the Bills’ 37-34 win over the Rams at SoFi Stadium on Monday night.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

The Rams continued their penalty-filled foibles: They were flagged 11 times for 84 yards, many of the pre-snap variety that drives coach Sean McVay crazy.

Special teams miscues and penalties hampered the Rams in the first half, and they trailed 13-7 at halftime.

The Rams took the lead early in the second half when Stafford engineered a 60-yard drive that ended with Blake Corum’s one-yard touchdown run.

But late in the third quarter, the Bills took the lead on Allen’s touchdown pass to receiver Keon Coleman. The Bills missed the extra-point attempt, leaving them with a 19-14 lead.

The Rams immediately answered, Stafford connecting with tight end Tyler Higbee for 28 yards before Corum caught a pass and turned it into a 34-yard gain. That set up Stafford’s two-yard touchdown pass to Nacua early in the fourth quarter, but Stafford was sacked on a two-point conversion attempt, leaving the Rams with a 20-19 lead.

Rams linebacker Nate Landman punches the ball out of Bills running back James Cook III’s arms during the third quarter Monday.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

Allen then directed an 80-yard drive that he capped with a one-yard sneak, and his two-point conversion pass to tight end Dalton Kincaid gave the Bills a 27-20 lead with 11:28 left.

But the Rams tied the score on the next possession off a five-yard touchdown reception by Adams.

Allen, however, got the ball with just over seven minutes left, and had 15- and 21-yard scrambles during a drive that ended with James Cook III scoring on a five-yard run for a 34-27 lead with 1:39 left.

On the ensuing possession, Stafford completed a 14-yard pass to Adams and, one play later, found Nacua for 16 yards and then Adams for 15. A one-handed catch for nine yards by Kyren Williams moved the ball to the one-yard line, and Williams scored on the next play with five seconds left in regulation. Mevis’ extra-point tied the score.

Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford passes during the first half against the Bills on Monday.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

The Bills got the ball first in overtime, and appeared on their way to a field goal or touchdown when Khalil Shakir gained 57 yards on a catch-and-run to the Rams’ 22. Rams safety Kamren Kinchens prevented Shakir from scoring when he just barely managed to trip up the Buffalo receiver.

But on the next play, linebacker Nate Landman punched the ball from Cook’s grasp and Aaron Donald recovered the fumble with 7:54 left.

Stafford drove the Rams to the Bills’ 30, but the Bills blocked Mevis’ attempt, setting the stage for the Bills’ winning drive.

MILWAUKEE — The Dodgers executed their game plan and lost. The Milwaukee Brewers executed their game plan and won.

Back in California, Dodgers fans screamed at their television sets. This is postseason baseball, where the best pitchers take center stage and runs are at a premium.

Why don’t the Dodgers at least try to mimic the Brewers? Would a stolen base or a sacrifice bunt every so often kill the Dodgers?

“I think we should play Dodger baseball,” shortstop Mookie Betts said. “So, whatever Dodger baseball is, that’s what we should do. We should not try and play Milwaukee Brewers baseball.”

And what is Dodger baseball?

“It’s a very complex thing,” Betts said. “We pitch. We play defense. We hit. We’ve got to figure out a way to get some timely hits. If we’ve got to steal a base, we’ll steal a base. But we don’t need to change our identity.”

In the big picture, no need to overreact to the Dodgers’ 2-1 loss in the National League Championship Series opener.

But take a close look at the bottom of the fifth inning, when the Brewers scored the decisive run. With the score tied 1-1, Garrett Mitchell walked to start the inning, and Cooper Pratt sacrificed him to second. Luis Lara singled him home, scoring a runner in scoring position.

Joey Ortiz then grounded into what would have been a double play, had the Brewers not started Lara from first base. That was huge: Ortiz was out at first but, by staying out of the double play, the Brewers forced Dodgers starter Tarik Skubal to throw an additional 15 pitches to secure that third out.

That forced the Dodgers to remove Skubal from the game after he made 26 pitches in the fifth inning, and 81 overall.

“They’re willing to give up an out to get a guy in scoring position to get a hit,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.

The Dodgers have not dropped a sacrifice bunt this postseason. In their World Series championship run last year, they dropped five sacrifice bunts: two by outfielder Andy Pages, who wasn’t hitting; two by light-hitting backup catcher Ben Rortvedt; and one by infielder Miguel Rojas.

This is Dodger baseball: The Dodgers hit 50 more home runs this season than the Brewers, who finished last in the NL in homers.

The Brewers had more than twice as many stolen bases as the Dodgers and more than twice as many sacrifice bunts. The Dodgers’ NLCS roster accounted for six sacrifices this season, including three by infielder-outfielder Tommy Edman.

Brice Turang, who bats second for Milwaukee, homered off Skubal in the fourth inning Sunday and sacrificed in the eighth.

If you want to say the Dodgers should slug away and play for the big inning, fine. If you want to say the Dodgers should be reluctant to bunt in October with players not asked to bunt during the regular season, Edman isn’t buying that.

“It’s definitely tough,” Edman said. “But it’s definitely something that we should all be able to do. If you’re a big leaguer, you should be able to do everything on the field that you’re asked to do. If that’s what the situation of the game calls for, we should be able to do it.”

The Brewers have played five postseason games, scoring 15 runs. They have won four games, three of them by one run. If the Dodgers can take a few big swings, they could get mighty comfortable.

The Dodgers also have played five postseason games, scoring 15 runs. But here’s a defining difference: In each of their five games, the Brewers have two hits with runners in scoring position.

In their five games, the Dodgers have a total of two hits with runners in scoring position.

This is the place where you, gentle reader, remind me that I said the Dodgers executed their game plan. What the heck?

They did, actually: They thought their best chance to win was to run up the pitch count on Milwaukee ace Jacob Misiorowski and get him out of the game early.

Seven of the first nine batters did not swing at the first pitch. More than half the at-bats off Misiorowski took at least four pitches.

They fouled off 20 pitches and got him out of the game after 4⅓ innings, so the Milwaukee bullpen would have to cover more innings than he would.

“We lost, so it didn’t really work,” Betts said. “But we did a good job with some good at-bats and fouled off some pitches and made him work. That’s really all you can do.”

The Brewers have scored five of their 15 runs via the home run, the Dodgers 11 of 15. Do the Dodgers need to mix in some small ball and change their approach at bat?

“I don’t think guys are going up there trying to hit home runs,” Betts said. “Guys are going up there just trying to have good at-bats. Sometimes, you get ‘em. Sometimes you don’t. But we are playing against a really good team. We just have to put it behind us and just come out and play Dodger baseball.”

It’s time for Dodger baseball. Lose Game 2, and the Dodgers will be two defeats from a bitter winter.

Both NFL most valuable players. Both bound for Canton. Both surgically precise with their passes.

Matthew Stafford and Josh Allen are two of the best liars in football.

Peyton Manning sat in the studio and cued the video. Stafford looked off a Philadelphia safety last Sunday to hold him in place. He froze a cornerback with a glance. Then he threw an out-and-up to Puka Nacua, absorbing a big hit as he released the ball.

“That’s a lot of looking off,” Manning said.

Hall of Fame linebacker Luke Kuechly, watching from his own home studio, agreed.

“The quarterback will lie to you,” Kuechly said. “He’s going to look you off. He’s going to pump you. But the one thing that never lies to you is the route.”

Welcome to “The Breakdown,” the ESPN2 show in which Manning and Kuechly provide different perspectives from opposite sides of the ball, discussing strategy, preparation and key storylines heading into marquee NFL matchups.

This show airs on Friday at 12:30 p.m. PDT, and this week’s episode focuses on Monday night’s game between the Rams and Buffalo Bills at SoFi Stadium. The show is in its second season, and Kuechly replaces Bill Belichick, who played the defensive counterpart to Manning in Season 1.

“I’ve had lots of college coaches and pro players and high school coaches that watch this show that love it,” Manning said. “Because they want the details, but also for the casual fan to be able to understand and follow the game and maybe be entertained at the same time. It’s a delicate balance.”

Elements that Manning and Kuechly identified as critical to Monday’s game:

1. Stafford’s eyes. The Rams quarterback will try to move Buffalo defenders with his looks, a flick of his shoulders, a tiny pump fake. Kuechly advises defenders to watch the route.
2. Greg Rousseau. Kuechly identifies Buffalo’s edge rusher as the scariest player on tape, especially with his long arms that almost seem telescopic.
3. Allen’s ability to throw outside the numbers. The Bills quarterback has the arm strength to get the ball to any of his receivers at any time. “I would need a cutoff man to complete some of the throws he makes,” Manning said.
4. Quick snaps. Stafford is a master of catching the defense off guard and before it has set. It’s a look, Manning said, that some teams call “cheetah.” Kuechly said the rule for the defense should be that the play starts when the center touches the ball.
5. The last possession. Manning believes the last team that has the ball will be the team to win, and that the game will be back and forth the whole way.

Manning credits Kobe Bryant as the inspiration for “The Breakdown.” The late Lakers legend created a film-analysis series called “Detail,” which was designed to show the public how a professional basketball player studies game tape. It debuted in 2018 during the NBA playoffs.

Bryant then called Manning.

“He said, ‘Hey, I want you to do ‘Detail’ for football,’” Manning said. “He wanted me to take people behind the ropes in football, so that’s what I did.”

Manning did it alone at first, using only his voice to break down quarterbacks. Eventually, he brought in a defensive specialist for another perspective and they both appeared on camera.

Bryant’s concept of franchising the show across different sports gave Manning the idea to do the same with “Peyton’s Places,” thereby creating spinoffs with his brother, Eli, John McEnroe, Sue Bird and others.

The Dodgers were spiraling.

Their general manager had been fired for racist comments. Their famous manager had loudly lost his touch.

They had not won a full-season championship in more than two decades. They were just a blip on a Los Angeles sports landscape dominated by Showtime.

The Dodgers were plunging into a purgatory of irrelevance from which seemingly nobody could save them.

A sportswriter saved them.

Fred Claire saved them.

The most forgotten hero in Dodger history stepped out of the shadows in 1987 as their instant general manager and created the miraculous monster that came to be in 1988.

Kirk Gibson’s home run? He contrived it. Tommy Lasorda’s Hall of Fame career? He enabled it. The infamous championship Stunt Men? He formed it.

The resuscitation of a Dodger brand during what was quite possibly its darkest moment? It all started with Fred Claire, the longtime Dodger executive who died Monday in his Pasadena home on his 91st birthday.

His quiet presence will forever be missed. His audacious impact should never be forgotten.

Claire was an endlessly kind, disarmingly honest and eternally humble sort whose love for the Dodgers was perhaps best illustrated by the story of his most prized souvenir.

After the Dodgers clinched the 1988 World Series championship in a stunning victory over the heavily favored Oakland A’s, catcher Rick Dempsey approached Claire in the champagne-soaked clubhouse. In Dempsey’s back pocket was the game ball used by Orel Hershiser to strike out Tony Phillips for the game’s final out.

Fred Claire talks with Dodgers coach Joe Amalfitano at a batting cage during spring training.

(Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Dempsey handed the ball to Claire in gratitude for the belief shown by the general manager in signing Dempsey and several other journeymen who helped lead the team to the title.

Claire quietly accepted the ball, took it home, put it on a shelf, but several years later realized it was needed elsewhere. At the time, the National Baseball Hall of Fame only had two final-out balls. Once again believing that the Dodgers were more important than himself, he donated his jewel to Cooperstown. The shelf remained empty.

“I just played one role in all this,” Claire told me several years ago. “In getting through our difficult times, I always believed in ‘We.’”

Referring to the Dodgers’ 1987 season as a difficult time was an understatement.

In April, longtime general manager Al Campanis was fired for making racist remarks about Black Americans on the TV show, “Nightline.”

Peter O’Malley, the Dodgers’ president at the time, made the sudden and strange choice to replace Campanis with Claire, the team’s public relations boss who had spent the first 11 years of his career as a sportswriter.

There was much criticism. There was overwhelming disbelief. But instead of apologizing for the promotion, Claire ran with it. One day after taking the job he cut popular pitcher Jerry Reuss and signed unemployed Mickey Hatcher and set the stunt man tone.

”I wanted some fire, and Mickey was the guy who could give us that,” Claire told me. “I don’t know if there were people who doubted me, but I never doubted myself. I knew I had the job for today, and I was going to make the most out of that day.”

He slowly turned a stuffy and entitled team into a lean and scrappy one, and by the time he made the brilliant move of signing free agent Kirk Gibson in January of 1988, the stage had been set.

Nine months later, it was only fitting that Gibson’s famous walk-off homer against Dennis Eckersley of the A’s in the World Series opener scored Mike Davis, who was also signed by Claire.

And the most valuable position player in that series? None other than the guy Claire signed first.

“Fred Claire was amazing,” Hatcher told me. “For a guy who was suddenly put into the limelight, he asked all the right questions, listened to everyone, and believed in all of us.’’

It was this great belief in collaboration that burned Claire in 1993 when he traded seemingly frail pitcher Pedro Martínez for second baseman Delino DeShields on the advice of his medical staff.

Martínez, of course, became a Hall of Famer while Claire became saddled with the stain of one of the worst trades in Dodger history. The perception surely irked a man who was just following organizational advice, but Claire never backed down from his role in the deal.

“The facts have to be the facts, and those facts are, I traded Pedro,” Claire told me.

Another trade ended his Dodger career, as he was fired by the new Fox ownership in 1998 when he publicly announced he had nothing to do with the horrible trade of Mike Piazza to the Florida Marlins.

That was Fred Claire personified, honest to the end, refusing to sacrifice his integrity, never surrendering his dignity.

Because he was too modest for acclaim and too quiet for headlines, Claire essentially disappeared from the Dodgers orbit for nearly two decades after his firing, instead focusing on teaching, consulting, and co-writing an autobiography entitled, “Fred Claire: My 30 Years in Dodger Blue.”

During this time he also became a touchstone for all Dodger alumni, as many former players contacted him daily for advice or help or just to remember the good old days. He never failed to answer a call, never turned down a request, seemingly every former Dodger knew his number and leaned on his goodness.

He was finally honored at Dodger Stadium in the summer of 2017 in an emotional ceremony that was long overdue. By then, he was heavily involved in the last great fight of his life, a battle against cancer that led him to become an important advocate and fund raiser for City of Hope.

In one of his final visits there last month, Claire didn’t focus on his illness, but rather his room number. He was quite proud that it was 4217, because Jackie Robinson was 42. Claire was with Robinson shortly before his death and constantly stressed the connection between the icon and his franchise.

In our final correspondence, on the day before he died, Claire texted me and several others with seven photos.

There were images of him with wife Sheryl, with Lasorda, with Dave Roberts, with several champagne-stained Dodgers in a celebratory clubhouse.

There was also a picture that did not contain him but spoke volumes about his character. It was a simple photo of a plaque bearing the number 42 and accompanied by a quote.

“A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.”

Jackie Robinson said it.

Fred Claire lived it.

Michael Harris II shouldn’t have been 90 feet away from scoring the go-ahead run in the first place.

But he was, after Teoscar Hernández took a bad route to his line-drive triple. Then, to make matters worse, Dodgers left-hander Kris Bubic lost control of a sweeper. It flew high and outside, off the end of catcher Will Smith’s glove and to the edge of the grass behind home plate.

Harris scored standing up. And the Dodgers handed the lead back to the Atlanta Braves.

The Dodgers had every advantage heading into Game 2 of the National League Division Series against the Braves. In a 3-2 loss to even the series at one win apiece, they gave away every edge they had.

“The advantage for us is we have an opportunity to not let their pitching staff come up for air,” manager Dave Roberts said this week, when asked about how taxed the Braves pitching staff was coming out of their wild-card series. “… We have an opportunity to really expose them if we take the right at-bats and the right approach.”

Braves left-hander Ray Kerr, who excelled out of the Braves bullpen down the stretch as a long reliever, served as the opener Sunday, in the Braves’ second straight bullpen game this series and third overall. And for the second straight day, the Dodgers failed to score against the Braves opener or even run up his pitch count to get him out of the game early.

The Dodgers managed just two hits off Kerr, each to open an inning. Freddie Freeman lined a single into right field to kick off the second inning. And Miguel Rojas sent a double into the left-field corner to begin the third.

The Dodgers stranded both.

The failure to bring in Rojas was especially egregious. Tommy Edman popped up a bunt immediately after. Then Mookie Betts, the Dodgers’ only other baserunner before Kerr handed over the ball with two outs in the third inning, drew a four-pitch walk. Shohei Ohtani came up to the plate with two runners on and popped up a high cutter on a full count. He was the last batter Kerr faced.

So, the Dodgers offense let the Braves come up for air. And Dodgers left-handed starter Blake Snell’s short start forfeited their starting pitching advantage Sunday.

His first inning could have been a bigger blow. With one out, Snell gave up a single to Ronald Acuña Jr. and then walked Matt Olson and Ozzie Albies to load the bases. He escaped with just one run scored, on a grounder up the middle from Mauricio Dubón. Betts made a diving stop but had no chance at throwing out Dubón at first.

Snell then struck out Sean Murphy to end the inning, finishing the at-bat with three straight curveballs for strikes.

The one-run deficit could be erased. But the damage on his pitch count, up to 27 in that first inning, was done.

Snell surrendered just one more hit, but when he issued his fifth walk of the game, with two outs in the fourth inning, his pitch count was already up to 90 pitches. Roberts strode from the dugout to pull him from the game. Snell had lasted just one inning longer than the Braves’ opener.

In the bottom half of the inning, Freeman, who was optimistic that he could shake off his September slump over the bye week, tied up the game with a solo homer. But in the fifth, the Dodgers handed the lead right back to the Braves.

With two outs, in an 0-2 count, Bubic got Harris to chase an outside sweeper moving away from him. Harris leaned over to get his bat out to it and send a line drive into the left field corner.

Hernández took a circuitous route to the ball, trying to cut it off and then having to adjust back when it became clear he was too shallow. He still only missed the ball by inches, and it carromed off the wall, allowing Harris to reach third base, in position to score on a wild pitch.

The Braves expanded their lead in the seventh inning against Dodgers hard-throwing right-hander Edgardo Henriquez, who gave up a single to Olson and an RBI double to Harris.

Then right-hander Roki Sasaki got himself into a bases-loaded situation in the eighth, with Ronald Acuña Jr. at the plate, but got out of it with a double play. Sasaki then retired the side in order in the ninth.

By contrast, the Dodgers offense barely threatened in the late innings. The Braves relievers retired 15 of the last 16 batters they faced to end the game, with Max Muncy’s solo home run in the ninth the only exception.

Rookie Josue De Paula made his psotseason debut as a pinch hitter, with two outs in the ninth. But he popped up in foul territory to end the game.

Next, the series heads to Atlanta, where the Braves will have home-field advantage for two games.

A look at the top 25 high school football teams in the Southland after Week 6:

Rk. School (record) result; Next game; last week’s ranking

1. SANTA MARGARITA (6-0) def. Mater Dei, 14-7; vs. Servite at Saddleback College, Friday; 1

2. ST. JOHN BOSCO (5-1) def. JSerra, 40-14; vs. Orange Lutheran, Friday; 2

3. SIERRA CANYON (6-0) def. Loyola, 41-0; at Gardena Serra, Friday; 3

4. CORONA CENTENNIAL (3-3) def. Vista Murrieta, 65-14; vs. Murrietta Valley, Friday; 4

5. MATER DEI (4-2) lost to Santa Margarita, 14-7; at JSerra, Friday; 5

6. MISSION VIEJO (4-1) def. Huntington Beach Edison, 42-14; at Yorba Linda, Thursday; 6

7. ORANGE LUTHERAN (4-2) def. Servite, 56-21; at St. John Bosco, Friday; 7

8. SAN CLEMENTE (6-0) def. Yorba Linda, 28-0; at Los Alamitos, Friday; 8

9. PALOS VERDES (6-0) def. Long Beach Millikan, 42-7; vs. Inglewood, Friday; 10

10. JSERRA (4-2) lost to St. John Bosco, 40-14; vs. Mater Dei, Friday; 11

11. SERVITE (3-3) lost to Orange Lutheran, 56-21; at Santa Margarita, Friday; 12

12. CORONA DEL MAR (6-0) def. Villa Park, 24-10; vs. Tustin, Friday; 13

13. BISHOP AMAT (5-1) def. Gardena Serra, 27-26; vs. Chaminade, Friday; 14

14. LA SERNA (5-1) def. Warren, 27-3; vs. La Mirada, Friday; 15

15. CREAN LUTHERAN (4-2) def. Tustin, 21-7; vs. Capistrano Valley, Friday; 16

16. CARSON (5-1) def. Gardena, 57-0; at Banning, Friday; 17

17. OXNARD PACIFICA (5-1) def. Oaks Christian, 38-17; at Newbury Park, Friday; 18

18 . CHAMINADE (5-1) lost to Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, 28-21; at Bishop Amat, Friday; 9

19. GARDENA SERRA (3-3) lost to Bishop Amat, 27-26; vs. Sierra Canyon, Friday; 19

20. HUNTINGTON BEACH (6-0) def. El Modena, 24-21; at Dana Hills, Friday; 22

21. SAN JACINTO (6-0) def. Temescal Canyon, 49-0; vs. Tahquitz, Friday; 24

22. ORANGE (6-0) def. El Dorado, 42-14; vs. Segerstrom, Friday; 25

23. SHERMAN OAKS NOTRE DAME (6-0) def. Chaminade 28-21; at Loyola, Friday; NR

24. CAPISTRANO VALLEY (6-0) def. La Habra, 42-20; at Crean Lutheran, Friday; NR

25. YORBA LINDA (4-2) lost to San Clemente, 28-0; vs. Mission Viejo, Thursday; 23

The knives were already out. The boos were already ringing.

At the end of an already brutal week at USC, during which the nation was ready to dance on the graves of the Trojans and their coach, it seemed for much of Saturday that any last shreds of faith in coach Lincoln Riley might melt away in the beating Southern California sun. Not only had the aftermath of their Oregon loss gone as poorly as possible, but now the Trojans were tripping over themselves again, trailing Washington, a middling Big Ten team down to its fourth-string running back, and a chant began to rise above the fray, from the USC student section.

“FIRE LINCOLN!” they roared.

That refrain had only been heard in hushed tones until this past week. But Saturday, before the No. 18 Trojans pulled away with a 25-21 victory, it felt as if their embattled coach stood at the edge of a certain Rubicon, one he may not return from with one wrong step.

That tension still hung thick over the Coliseum until late in the third quarter, when linebacker Elijah Newby came roaring around the edge toward Washington quarterback Demond Williams Jr. He swatted the ball out of his right hand, and defensive tackle Jahkeem Stewart scooped it up. He sprinted 48 yards on a sore foot for a go-ahead score — and joked afterward that he hit 22 mph on his scoring scamper.

Just two minutes earlier, the Trojans had been down 21-10, and it wasn’t hard to envision how their season could continue spiraling from there. One mistake, one missed opportunity, one penalty after another brought them to this point, despite the fact that the Huskies actually struggled to move the ball on USC’s defense throughout.

It looked, for most of Saturday, like that unit took a step forward after the past two weeks, when both Rutgers and Oregon marched on them. Through one half, USC held Washington to just 44 passing yards. Through three quarters, Washington was averaging fewer than six yards per play.

“The bounce back was huge for us,” freshman defensive end Luke Wafle said.

Washington quarterback Demond Williams Jr., left, tries to fend off USC linebacker Elijah Newby during the second quarter Saturday at the Coliseum.

(Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times)

USC’s defense nearly came apart in the fourth quarter, though, at the worst possible time. Washington hadn’t converted a single third down until its final drive, when Williams converted a third-and-11 pass, then hit a fourth-and-two bomb for 43 yards. The Huskies got as close as the USC 12-yard line, before the Trojans finally shut the door.

“We had to dig deep for this one,” Riley said. “Especially as sloppy as we played.”

USC (5-1, 2-1) did try something a little different on defense, with defensive coordinator Gary Patterson calling the game from the press box instead of the sideline. Riley said the decision was akin to “trying to just move the chess pieces to get everyone in the right position.” He also added that Patterson’s former staff at Texas Christian had a lot more familiarity with Patterson’s scheme, and thus he handled things differently with that staff.

But the communication issues of past weeks appeared less of a problem on defense. The real concerns Saturday actually came on offense, where the Trojans uncharacteristically sputtered. Jayden Maiava was 21 of 34 for 245 yards, with a touchdown and an interception.

Still, judging by the box score alone, you’d be hard-pressed to understand how USC could have nearly squandered a game in which they piled up far more yards (360 to 319) and had the ball for far longer (34:58 to 25:02) and dominated on third down.

“We’re gonna fix it,” Stewart said. “No team comes out perfect. It takes time.”

After a disappointing few weeks on the defensive end, USC actually opened the game by forcing Washington (3-2, 0-2) into back-to-back three and outs.

But the Trojans managed a measly three points from those stops. Their first drive, stalled in the red zone. The next one backed up USC to the one-yard line after wideout Terrell Anderson muffed a punt.

Washington took advantage of the field position on its next drive. Faced with a fourth and seven in USC territory, Williams slipped past pressure and scampered to a first down. It was the first sign of life from the Huskies’ offense, which found its way into the end zone four plays later.

Then, USC gave the ball right back. On the run, Maiava launched a pass off his back foot under heavy pressure. It fell well short of its target and was picked off.

USC’s defense held strong, forcing a third three and out in the Huskies’ first four drives. And its offense finally held up its end of the bargain, with Waymond Jordan punching in an eight-yard touchdown.

USC quarterback Jayden Maiava scrambles during the first half against Washington at the Coliseum on Saturday.

(Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times)

Washington continued to struggle moving the ball, but mistakes from USC helped its cause. An illegal formation penalty wiped away a deep Trojan touchdown pass to Kayden Dixon-Wyatt. Then on the ensuing possession, Wafle grabbed Williams’ face mask as he pulled him down for a sack.

USC had more penalty yards (50) than Washington had passing yards (44) in the first half. And those penalties gave the Huskies life at the end of the half, as they drove the length of the field and scored again.

“We felt like we were outplaying them,” Riley said. “We just couldn’t get out of our own way a little bit. That’s probably going to be a defining thing for this team going forward, how much we can do that.”

With a chance to regroup, the Trojans tripped over themselves out of the half too. An unsportsmanlike penalty killed their opening drive. Then, Washington tight end Decker DeGraaf caught a pass and took off down the sideline, running through two feeble-arm tackles on the way to an inexplicable 42-yard touchdown.

After that, the Riley chants rang out from the student section. But the Trojans’ offense mounted a 13-play scoring drive in response. Tanook Hines tore the ball away from a Washington defender in the end zone.

USC coach Lincoln Riley walks back to the sideline after speaking with his players during a timeout in the first half Saturday.

(Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times)

Less than two minutes later, Stewart scooped up the fumble and took off. His 48-yard return completed a 12-point swing for the Trojans.

“To overcome all that and still win shows me some of the guts and toughness and culture in this room right here,” Riley said. “We could’ve folded.”

Still, USC couldn’t put Washington away. Down to their last drive, the Huskies converted a third and 11 and two fourth downs to drive deep into Trojan territory late.

But Kameryn Crawford pulled Williams down for a sack — the Trojans’ fifth of the game — and the defense held. And USC, at the end of a long, brutal week, breathed a sigh of relief.

Calabasas baseball coach Thomas Cassidy might be feeling a little pressure over the next two seasons considering he has one junior pitcher, Jayden Singer, committed to USC, and another junior pitcher, Cash Wiltgen, committed to Stanford.

That’s an impressive duo to build a team around. Now all Cassidy has to do is find fielders to catch the ball and hitters to drive in runs.

In truth, Cassidy is excited about both pitchers. Singer has been a standout since his freshman season at Calabasas. Wiltgen arrived from Sierra Canyon, had to sit out the first part of last season and battled back from an injury. He only pitched one inning but had a good summer.

“I’m happy for those guys,” Cassidy said. “It’s awesome to have those guys. It’s a great position to put themselves in.”

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.

Star receiver Puka Nacua will play against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday in Philadelphia, but star defensive lineman Aaron Donald is out because of a back issue, Rams coach Sean McVay said Friday.

Donald, a three-time defensive player of the year, has not practiced this week following the Rams’ loss to the Denver Broncos on Sunday in Denver. McVay said Donald, 35, was experiencing back soreness.

“He’s as tough as it gets. Just not feeling good enough,” McVay said, adding, “He would do it and he could probably go be productive but part of our job is to protect these tough dudes like him from themselves.”

Donald has played in two games since ending a two-year retirement in late August. He did not make the trip to Australia for the season opener against the San Francisco 49ers, but made three tackles in the Rams’ 28-6 victory over the New York Giants at SoFi Stadium.

Donald had one tackle and one quarterback hit in the 30-26 loss to the Broncos.

“He’s working as hard as he can to get himself feeling as good as possible and we’re hopeful and optimistic that good days are ahead,” McVay said.

Nacua sat out the last two games because of a hip injury that caused hip, groin and abdominal soreness.

McVay said Nacua has been “strong, looks sturdy, looks explosive,” during practice this week.

“I think it will really just be a feel for the overall conditioning,” McVay said, adding that he hopes “the magic of the [game] jersey” will help Nacua have a productive game against the Eagles.

Tight end Terrance Ferguson (ankle) and cornerback Jaylen Watson (shoulder) will not play on Sunday, McVay said. Tight end Colby Parkinson (shoulder, knee) and edge rusher Josaiah Stewart (groin) are questionable.

Rams place Terrance Ferguson on injured reserve

Rams tight end Terrance Ferguson jogs back to the locker room against the Giants on Sept. 21.

(Kyusung Gong / Associated Press)

The Rams opened the season with five tight ends on the roster, which some might have regarded as a surplus.

But the Rams need the depth.

On Friday, the team put Terrance Ferguson on injured reserve because of an ankle injury.

Ferguson, a 2025 second-round draft pick, was injured Sept. 21 against the Giants, but he played through it against the Broncos.

Ferguson has seven catches for 63 yards and a touchdown.

Ferguson must sit out at least the next four games against the Eagles, Buffalo Bills, Arizona Cardinals and Las Vegas Raiders. He is eligible to return for the Nov. 1 game against the Chargers.

The Rams began the season with five tight ends on the roster. Tyler Higbee and Davis Allen are at full strength. Max Klare, a second-round draft pick from Michigan, could get his first action on offense against the Eagles.

Rams release punt returner Xavier Smith

Rams wide receiver Xavier Smith runs the ball against the Kansas City Chiefs during a preseason game in August.

(Charlie Riedel / Associated Press)

What a difference a day makes.

Less than 24 hours after Rams special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone said the team was not going to replace punt returner Xavier Smith, the team released him.

“We just need better production out of that position,” McVay said, adding that some of the “decisions” that Smith made in last Sunday’s loss to the Denver Broncos proved costly.

“We’ve got to make better decisions,” McVay said. “We’ve got to be able to field it.”

Receiver Alex Bachman is expected to be promoted from the practice squad to handle punt returns. McVay said he was “optimistic that I think we’re going to see some good stuff from Alex on Sunday.”

Smith, 29, is a third-year pro who signed with the Rams as an undrafted free agent and worked his way into a role as a kick returner and rotational receiver.

Smith appeared to be on his way to overcoming a major error in last season’s NFC championship game, when he lost a fumble in the 31-27 defeat by the Seattle Seahawks.

But through three games, Ventrone on Thursday described Smith’s performance as “inconsistent.”

“We need to do a better job of tracking the ball, judging the ball, fielding the ball when necessary, not fielding it in other situations,” Ventrone told reporters. “He knows that and hopefully we’ll get the improvements that we need in that area.”

Ventrone was asked if there was any thought about replacing Smith as the punt returner.

“No, we have a lot of trust in ‘X’, I really do,” Ventrone said. “He’s put in a lot of time and effort in training camp and obviously moving into the season. I think that he’ll do the necessary things to be able to sustain at that position for us.”

But on Friday morning, the Rams announced they had waived Smith.

McVay said the Rams “weren’t thinking” about making a change when Ventrone spoke to reporters Thursday.

“As you get a chance to kind of take a step back, evaluate the totality of our group, what’s the best way to try to be able to put together all three phases, did feel like that was in the best interest of the group,” McVay said, adding, “and that decision was made kind of later [Thursday night].”

Philadelphia Eagles coach Nick Sirianni was livid.

Chicago Bears linebacker D’Marco Jackson had just delivered a hard hit on Jalen Hurts as the Eagles star quarterback was running out of bounds. Hurts had to leave the game under the NFL’s concussion protocol.

So Sirianni decided to let Jackson know exactly how he felt about him. ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” cameras showed the sixth-year coach screaming an extremely NSFW word apparently at the opposing player — twice — while Eagles backup quarterback Andy Dalton prepared to enter the game.

Hours later, following the Eagles’ 27-7 loss to the Bears, Sirianni expressed regret for how he behaved.

“I always come away when I have a moment like that with remorse,” Sirianni told reporters during his postgame news conference. “I shouldn’t have let my emotions get the best of me. Those guys are out there trying to make a play. It was close on the sideline, ended up being a penalty. Obviously you never want to see your quarterback get hit like that, but it’s in the heat of the moment. I know nobody’s trying to hurt anybody out there, and I always have remorse when I act that way.”

He added: “The emotion of the game probably got the better of me today and I have to learn from that in that particular moment. I have to be more steady in that situation and be able to — like I say to the guys all the time, be able to move on and go to the next play. I didn’t like how I handled that.”

Trailing 7-0 midway through the second quarter, Hurts was forced to scramble out of the pocket on second down for a short gain to the Bears’ 13-yard line. As he was stepping out of bounds, Hurts was hit hard in the shoulder area by Jackson and knocked backward onto the ground. Jackson was flagged for unnecessary roughness, but the penalty was offset by an offensive holding call on Philadelphia’s Lane Johnson.

After the game, Jackson joked that he received “some feedback” over that hit but said that he thought he was making the appropriate play at the time.

“I’m seeing him, I see the first down right there and in my head I’m trying to stop him from [getting] the first down and reaching the ball out,” Jackson told Marquee Sports Network. “I thought it was a clean hit. In the second of the game, I thought it was clean.”

Hurts was able to jog back to the Eagles huddle but was then called to the sideline for concussion testing. Out on the field, Dalton handed the ball off to star running back Saquon Barkley three times to get the Eagles to the Bears’ 2-yard line. But on third and goal, Dalton’s pass intended for Dontayvion Wicks was intercepted by Chicago’s Dillon Thieneman in the end zone to stop the drive.

In his postgame news conference, Hurts didn’t address the hit by Jackson but did express frustration about not being able to clear the concussion protocol and re-enter the game sooner.

“I wish they could have expedited things,” Hurts said. “I felt fine.”

The Bears — led by third-string quarterback Case Keenum, who started in place of injured starter Caleb Williams and backup Tyson Bagent, who was recovering from a conncussion — then drove the ball down the field for a field goal. Hurts returned to the game on the next drive and led the Eagles to their only touchdown of the game.

Drake Maye was almost the NFL’s MVP last year.

The New England Patriots quarterback finished second in the Associated Press poll of national media members, with 23 first-place votes and 361 total points. Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford edged him out with 24 first-place votes and 366 overall points.

Chances are, Maye won’t be receiving any votes this year — at least not if the first three games are any indication of how the rest of the season will go. Months after helping the Patriots to a surprise Super Bowl appearance, the third-year player and two-time Pro Bowl selection is not playing close to the standard he established last year.

Maye has thrown only one touchdown pass so far this season after tossing 31 a year ago. And he has been intercepted six times already in 2026 after getting picked off only eight times total last season.

The Patriots are 1-2 at the moment, the same record they had after the first three games last season. But Maye showed promise in those games a year ago, throwing for five touchdowns and two interceptions.

During a 35-6 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, Maye was picked off twice and also fumbled two times, losing one. The lost fumble came first, when an untouched Maye lost grip of the ball while reaching back to pass late in the first quarter.

After the game, Maye told reporters that blood from center Jared Wilson’s hand had gotten on the ball and made it slippery. But, he added, “at the same time, I’ve got to hold onto the football.”

Jaguars two-way player Travis Hunter, the 2024 Heisman Trophy winner and second overall draft pick in 2025, got his first NFL interception when he picked off Maye in the end zone late in the second quarter.

Then in the third quarter, on the Patriots’ first play from scrimmage after falling behind 21-3, Maye had a pass intercepted by Jacksonville’s Jarrian Jones. Jones stepped in front of a pass intended for Kyle Williams and returned it to the New England 5-yard line.

The Jaguars scored on the next play to take a 28-3 lead, after which Patriots coach Mike Vrabel could be seen on the sideline with both hands on Maye’s shoulders in an apparent attempt to comfort his quarterback.

“My conversations with each person on that sideline, I have to do my best each and every play, whoever I’m communicating with, to try to get the best out of them,” Vrabel told reporters Monday. “So I’ll have conversations with a lot of people. I’ve got a lot of faith and confidence in everybody that’s here. That’s why they’re here.”

Maye, who completed 14 of 25 passes for 199 yards and was sacked three times, finished with a passer rating of 48.6, the second-lowest of his career.

“It’s disappointing,” Maye told reporters after the game. “I think the ball starts rolling like that, we can’t get out of our own way — can’t get out of my own way, personally. So I gotta look myself in the mirror and take it to the turning point. … I’ve got to start with myself and lead these guys and we’ve got to get back after it.”

After the 2025 season, Maye revealed that he had injured his throwing shoulder during the AFC championship game against the Denver Broncos and received an injection to help with the pain before the Patriots’ 29-13 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl LX. Both he and Vrabel have said they don’t feel there have been any lingering effects from that injury.

On Sunday, Maye told reporters that his confidence hasn’t wavered despite the rough start to the season.

“This is an opportunity to band together and realize that the best football that we play is together,” he said, “and realize that’s going to start with me, protecting the football and protecting this team. Because that’s my job and I’ve been failing to do that.”

Rams coaches and personnel executives call it “the moment of truth,” the split second when a defensive back, usually on the run in full stride next to a receiver, must decide how he is going to play a pass that is already in the air.

Top NFL cornerbacks remain calm. They do not panic.

“It’s those guys that just kind of — their blood pressure never rises,” defensive coordinator Chris Shula said.

Trent McDuffie is one of those guys.

The Rams traded for the All-Pro cornerback in March, sending the Kansas City Chiefs the 29th overall pick and three other draft picks for the four-year veteran. They quickly signed McDuffie to an extension that includes $100 million in guarantees.

Last Monday, McDuffie intercepted a pass in the Rams’ 28-6 victory over the New York Giants, a win that helped erase some of the sting from their embarrassing season-opening defeat by the San Francisco 49ers in Australia.

In McDuffie, a two-time Super Bowl winner, the Rams got even more than expected, coach Sean McVay said.

“He just has an amazing emotional intelligence of how to uplift and lead his teammates and challenge them in a way that’s authentic to his personality,” McVay said. “He loves the opportunity to be able to have some of the hard downs that a lot of corners sometimes don’t want, but this guy wants them.”

McDuffie, 26, is looking to make more plays Sunday night when the Rams play the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High.

With the Chiefs, McDuffie played against the Broncos six times, and he is still looking for his first interception against the former AFC West rival.

But mainly, he aims to help the Rams continue their momentum after giving up only two field goals against the Giants.

“It was one of those attitude games, where we didn’t have the greatest Week 1 performance,” McDuffie said. “So there was a little chip on our shoulder, a little attitude we brought.”

McDuffie began his rise to NFL stardom during a high school career that featured stops at Santa Ana Mater Dei, Anaheim Servite and Bellflower St. John Bosco, before playing in college at Washington.

Rams cornerback Trent McDuffie walks off the field after a win over the New York Giants on Sept. 21.

(Kyusung Gong / Associated Press)

The Chiefs selected him in the first round of the 2022 draft, and he helped them make three Super Bowl appearances, winning two.

McDuffie said he learned a tough but valuable lesson against the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII in Arizona in 2023.

With the ball at the Chiefs’ 45-yard line, the 5-foot-11 McDuffie lined up against 6-1, 225-pound receiver AJ Brown. As they ran downfield, McDuffie saw the ball in the air. But he did not know which way to turn his head. He did not know how he wanted to play the ball.

Brown caught the pass for a touchdown.

“Too much thinking in my head to where I didn’t make the play,” McDuffie said.

McDuffie turned the experience into a positive while developing into one of the NFL’s top players at his position.

“From then on, it was almost like, ‘All right, the ball’s in the air, it’s not so much a panic, it’s like you get an opportunity now,’” McDuffie said. “When you’re a DB in the NFL, there’s only so many times they’re going to throw the ball your way. There’s only so many times you’re in a position to make a play, so just kind of calming myself down.

“When the ball’s in the air, don’t panic — just become the receiver. Get back to the basics. You know how to play football. You know how to catch the ball. Just go make a play.

“And really, it’s the fear of failure that I don’t have anymore. Like if they make a play, they make a play. Let’s just line up and let’s keep attacking.”

The next season, despite not intercepting a pass, McDuffie earned All-Pro recognition. He forced five fumbles and had three sacks.

It did not take long for McDuffie to make an impression on his Rams teammates. During offseason workouts and training camp, he established himself as a leader and was voted a team captain.

His first interception for the Rams was the fourth of his career.

“I was in the right place at the right time to make the play,” said McDuffie, who also broke up three other passes, “but I think overall as a group we really took a step in the right direction, which looking back at the film was the most exciting part for me.”

Rams receiver Davante Adams raved about McDuffie during training camp. This week, he said McDuffie had been the “best-kept secret” in Kansas City.

“I’m just glad to see him making plays on guys that aren’t our receivers now,” Adams said. “Go out there and do his thing, show the world.”

Defensive lineman Aaron Donald did not see McDuffie up close until he came out of retirement to rejoin the Rams last month. McDuffie made an impression in Donald’s first game against the Giants.

“I usually don’t watch the DBs,” Donald said, “but he caught my eye. He’s something special.”

On Sunday, McDuffie won’t be the only elite cornerback on the field. “There’s a ton of great corners in the league,” McDuffie said, but he regards Patrick Surtain II of the Broncos, the 2024 NFL defensive player of the year, as the best.

“It’s always fun just being able to see him in person and work his craft,” McDuffie said.

McDuffie intends to showcase his own against a Broncos team that features quarterback Bo Nix operating coach Sean Payton’s offense.

The Rams are seeking another dominant performance.

“Now that we did it once,” he said, “now we have to prove it again.

“That’s kind of the standard.”

Sitting on the Hart High bench as the final seconds ticked off the clock in a Foothill League game against Saugus on Friday night, Matix Frithsmith, with his blond hair full of sweat, was asked if he was tired.

“I’m good for anything,” he said.

He wasn’t joking.

Turning in an individual performance that caused Saugus coach Jason Bornn to call him a “generational player” for the Santa Clarita Valley, Frithsmith rushed for 211 yards and four touchdowns to rally Hart to a 34-17 victory.

His 90-yard touchdown run immediately after Saugus turned over the ball on downs at the 10-yard line in the fourth quarter clinched the victory. Frithsmith switched from running back to quarterback late in the third quarter because of an injury to Camren Ketner. The play hadn’t been practiced in two weeks. He took the snap out of shotgun formation and just ran left until he reached the end zone. He got a key block from his baseball teammate, Josh Rogozik, and his legs did the rest.

“It was just fun to go out there and do something we haven’t really practiced a lot,” he said. “I told my offensive line we need something big right here and that’s all on them.”

Frithsmith also caught four passes and pulled off perhaps the biggest save of the night thanks to his coolness under pressure. Hart faced a fourth and one in the first half. Then came a bad snap to the quarterback. Frithsmith, at running back, saw the ball on the turf, picked it up and threw it to Rogozik for a 14-yard gain and first down.

“I knew I had to make a play,” he said. “I just threw it up hoping he’d catch it, trying to make something out of nothing.”

On Harts first offensive play at College of the Canyons, Frithsmith lost the ball on a fumble. Everything after that was him refusing to go down without two or three Saugus players pulling him down.

“He’s pretty special,” Bornn said. “He’s one of the best to come out of the Santa Clarita Valley.”

Helping Hart (4-1) was a strategy to deny the ball to Saugus’ best player, receiver Landon Lattimore, who came in with 12 touchdowns. He had returned two kickoffs for touchdowns against Hart coach Jake Goossen over the past two years, so Goossen was determined to not let it happen again. There was a kickoff that went out of bounds and two punts of 11 and three yards, trying to keep the ball away from Lattimore, who was limited to a 29-yard touchdown in the third quarter on a shovel pass to give Saugus its last lead at 17-14.

The first half was all about keeping the ball out of the hands of Frithsmith and Lattimore. Hart held a 14-10 halftime lead by getting the ball more times in the hands of Frithsmith, who rushed for 83 yards and caught three passes for 24 yards. Lattimore had only one reception until late in the half when he turned short passes into gains of 17 and 26 yards.

Saugus opened the third quarter with an effective drive capped by Lattimore’s touchdown. Frithsmith answered with a one-yard touchdown run and 21-17 lead. Hart’s defense came through with its stop at the 10, and Frithsmith broke off his 90-yard scoring run with 7:29 left.

Silas Tucker of Hart makes a great catch for a 40-yard reception against Saugus.

(Craig Weston / For The Times)

By winning, Hart takes over as the league title favorite waiting for its clash with longtime champion Valencia.

The Hart sideline had royalty wandering around. Former Sherman Oaks Notre Dame coach Kevin Rooney and former Hart coach Mike Herrington, both Hall of Famers who had more than 300 coaching victories, were providing support to Goossen, who played for Rooney. Also there was former St. Bonaventure coach Jon Mack.

The dominant rushing attack that earned them four lopsided wins to start the season was more methodical than punishing, but Cleveland High still ground out a 24-18 nonleague victory Friday over host Crenshaw.

The Cavaliers improved to 5-0 with the win, while the Cougars fell to 4-2.

Cleveland, which entered the game averaging 258 yards rushing per game, were held to barely more than 200 on Friday, most of them scored by senior running back Moyosoreoluwa Odebunmi, who rushed for two scores.

The loss spoiled the season debut of Crenshaw’s Ethan Grant. The transfer from Los Angeles High threw two touchdowns in his first game for the Cougars, but a fumble in the end zone erased one potential score, and three consecutive dropped passes on Crenshaw’s final drive of the game prevented a comeback.

Crenshaw dominated early, Caden Baker stripping the ball from Odebunmi near midfield on Cleveland’s first possession and scoring on the 50-yard fumble return. On the Cougars’ next possession, Grant threaded a pass through two Cavalier defenders, finding Kyion Rattler for an apparent 55-yard score. But Rattler fumbled right before crossing the goal line, turning the ball over That’s when Odebunmi reeled off his best run of the night, a 58-yarder down the right sideline, to tie the score 6-6.

After Grant’s 60-yard score to Rattler put the Cougars up 12-6, Cleveland drove 80 yards in 12 plays, keyed by three completions by quarterback Domenik Fuentes and punctuated by Joseph Hurtado’s one-yard touchdown run. After the two-point conversion, Cleveland led 14-12.

Three plays later, Crenshaw took the lead again on a 21-yard strike from Grant to Joshua Jones. But the Cougars failed on their third two-point conversion of the first half, which ended with them leading 18-14.

Neither offense did much in the second half after Cleveland scored on its first play from scrimmage, a 32-yard touchdown by Odebunmi. Crenshaw was limited to two first downs in the second half while Cleveland added a safety by Cobe Green early in the fourth quarter to make the score 24-18.

“First half we shot ourselves in the foot a good number of times” Cleveland coach Mario Guzman said. “Our biggest thing is we want to play disciplined and we were a little undisciplined in that first half. So we challenged ourselves at halftime to get back to our roots, to be disciplined, physical and fast. And we really rose to the occasion in the second.”

The pass looked doomed the moment it left Jayden Maiava’s hands.

It was third-and-long, midway through the second quarter last November in Eugene, Ore. USC was down just a score, and Maiava, the Trojans’ big-armed quarterback, was trying to make something happen. But the receiver he’d locked in on was unavailable and an Oregon edge rusher was charging at him unchecked. So Maiava let one fly down the middle of the field, and the pass sailed into a crowd of Duck defensive backs.

That regrettable interception, one of two for Maiava that day, ended up being one of the turning points in that game — and in a 2025 season that fell one win short of the College Football Playoff. The loss to Oregon last season served as a rude awakening for USC and Maiava, a reminder of how far both still had to go before reaching their potential.

A year later, as the two Big Ten powers meet again on Saturday, Maiava and the No. 12 Trojans (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) find themselves at another critical mile marker. A win over No. 20 Oregon (2-1, 0-0) would put USC firmly in the conversation for the College Football Playoff. A loss would have folks taking serious stock of where the Trojans stand in their fifth season under coach Lincoln Riley. And at the center of it all is a quarterback who so far seems entirely unfazed by that outside pressure.

USC quarterback Jayden Maiava looks down field to pass against San José State on Aug. 29 at the Coliseum.

(Ronaldo Bolanos/Los Angeles Times)

“He’s playing with great confidence,” running back Waymond Jordan said of Maiava. “We’re going to keep seeing him getting better and better and better.”

Ask anyone at USC about Maiava at the moment, and they will invariably say something similar.

“It’s the most confident Jayden I’ve seen in the three years I’ve been around him,” left tackle Elijah Paige said.

Through four games, the numbers certainly suggest he’s on the cusp of a big season. Maiava leads all of college football with 12 touchdown passes and ranks seventh in completion percentage (75.7%). His name is already being floated in early Heisman Trophy conversations.

But Maiava also hasn’t been tested much through four games this season. His protection has been near-perfect, with just a single sack allowed. According to Pro Football Focus, Maiava has been under pressure on a mere 16 dropbacks — or 13% of the time — and, more often than not, that’s because he held the ball too long. Maiava’s average time to throw while under pressure so far this season is nearly four seconds, which, by Big Ten standards, is an eternity.

All of that’s likely to change this week against Oregon. The Ducks are loaded with talent along the defensive line and in the defensive backfield. While they’ve tallied just five sacks through three games, they’ve forced five interceptions, most of any team in the Big Ten. That’s after finishing second in the conference in that category a year ago.

Maiava hasn’t been quite as sharp the last two games after a dynamite start in which he had as many touchdowns (6) as incomplete passes through two weeks. But he knows Oregon will make him pay for any mistakes he makes Saturday, just as it did last season.

“Definitely a lot to learn from that game coming into the next one,” Maiava said. “Definitely turning the ball over, clean that up. Being stingy with the ball, being able to get the ball in playmakers’ hands and just continue to stay on the same page and move as one.”

He’ll almost certainly be without two of his top playmakers against Oregon, with freshman Trent Mosley unlikely to play and sophomore big-play threat Corey Simms already ruled out. Though, so far this season, Maiava has had no problem overcoming the absence of his two top receivers from a year ago, Makai Lemon and Ja’Kobi Lane.

USC still has standout freshmen Kayden Dixon-Wyatt and tight end Mark Bowman to pace the passing attack. The offense has also barely made use of two receivers who were expected to be at the top of the depth chart, Tanook Hines and Terrell Anderson, both of whom should play more of a part Saturday.

USC coach Lincoln Riley talks with quarterback Jayden Maiava on the sideline during a game against San José State on Aug. 29 at the Coliseum.

(Kevin Terrell / Getty Images)

“He’s done a really nice job with all the new faces around him, which is hard to do at this position,” Riley said of Maiava.

That’s a testament to his development since 2024, when Maiava arrived at USC with a howitzer arm but little polish to his game as a passer. He’d never gotten any individual training as a quarterback. His mechanics and footwork were especially raw.

After taking over at the end of that 2024 season, though, Maiava has continued to get progressively better. Now Riley views him as “one of the best quarterbacks in the country.”

“Of all the guys I’ve been fortunate enough to coach, I don’t know that I’ve had any that have improved from Day One to this point as much as Jayden has,” said Riley, who has coached three Heisman-winning quarterbacks. “It’s been fun to see him grow as a player and leader, starting to embrace what it means to be the starting quarterback at USC. I think a guy that’s just going to get better and better in his prime to play his best football.”

USC will need him at his best Saturday if it hopes to knock off Oregon, which has its own star quarterback in need of a big moment. Dante Moore could have been one of the top picks in the NFL draft a year ago, but returned to the Ducks, only for them to suffer a stunning loss to Oklahoma State.

Oklahoma State’s coach later acknowledged that Moore was tipping whether Oregon was running or passing on a given play by his pre-snap stance.

USC quarterback Jayden Maiava looks to throw a pass against Rutgers on Sept. 19 in Piscataway, N.J.

(Adam Hunger/Associated Press)

“That was a game and that was a moment that helped mold us,” Moore has said since. “I learned from that, and I’m glad it happened.”

Moore will have the benefit Saturday of facing a struggling USC secondary. The Trojans have yielded 10 yards per pass attempt this season and now could be without starter Alex Graham, who’s listed as questionable. It has been especially difficult for USC to get off the field on third and fourth down, which Riley said has been a central focus this week.

“As a secondary, we’ve got to be a little bit tighter in those situations,” Riley said. “We’ve got to make those competitive plays. We have a good defensive line. We have a group that can rush the passer. We’ve got to make guys hold onto that ball, make our pass rush work, and make those plays when we get to the point of attack.”

Not to mention the Trojans have got a great quarterback, one that Riley expects to lean on his experience as USC faces its biggest test of the season.

“He’s just mentally in a really, really good place to go do that,” Riley said of Maiava. “He’s the guy I want taking us into this game, for sure.”