#turnovers

#turnovers

We had four non-first-round rookie quarterbacks take snaps this week -- Riley Leonard, Shedeur Sanders, Brady Cook and Tyler Shough. We had three interceptions behind the line of scrimmage -- two in one game between the Bengals and Bills. And we had the most important play in NFL history: a third-and-2 from the Chargers' 21 on which Jalen Hurts threw an interception to Da'Shawn Hand, who fumbled the ball on the return,

Patrick Mahomes completed just 14 of his 33 passes, throwing for 160 yards three interceptions. Yummy. The Chiefs punted or turned the ball over on their first four drives of the game, gaining just 41 yards in the process. Mmmmmm that's nice. And even when they did manage to tie the game at 10 late in the third quarter, they came up empty in the clutch, gaining 19 total yards on their next four drives and turning the ball over four times.

The Orlando Magic fought off the Miami Heat and secured a 106-105 win inside Kia Center Friday evening. Miami had to climb back from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit. They cut it to within three on three separate occasions, but Franz Wagner, who scored a game-high 32 points on 12-of-22 shooting, had a response each time. Bam Adebayo ultimately missed the game-winning jumper as time expired - a play that reeked of miscommunication between him and Norman Powell, who tallied a team-high 28 points.

Doncic, who will miss Thursday's game for personal reasons, leads the league with 35.3 points per game. Reaves, who is setting himself up for a hefty pay day this offseason, is averaging a career-best 28.1 points and 6.6 assists per game. The Lakers are first in field goal percentage (51.3%) and rank eighth in offensive rating, averaging 118.3 points per 100 possessions.

The USC women's basketball team earned a commanding 79-33 win over Saint Mary's at Galen Center on Tuesday night. A small, but enthusiastic crowd cheered for the defense any time the Trojans forced a turnover. USC (6-2) held the Gaels (5-4) to under 30% shooting in the paint and 15% from the three-point line. Sophomore Kennedy Smith added 15 points and five rebounds.

Both the Rams and Patriots are likely going to be at or near the top of their respective conferences, so both of them have their total team success working in their favor. Every statistical edge might be enough to swing the debate one way or another. Stafford will have the edge (in all likelihood) in touchdown passes, TD/INT ratio, and his pedigree. Maye is likely going to beat him out in passer rating, completion percentage, and yards per attempt, even if he is a bit more turnover prone than No. 9 is.

Curry sat out with right ankle soreness. He tweaked the ankle in a game Friday at San Antonio and did it again Tuesday in a game at Orlando, but was able to keep playing in both of those contests. The matchup was the finale of a six-game, nine-day trip for the Warriors, who went 3-3 on. Norman Powell scored 25 points, Bam Adebayo returned to score 20 and the Heat pulled away late to top the extremely short-handed Warriors.

I've seen enough of J.J. McCarthy. On a weekend where draftmates Bo Nix and Drake Maye assumed full command of the AFC, there was the Vikings quarterback playing football as if he had acute lead poisoning. I'm gonna try to describe McCarthy's performance in the space below, but really words don't do it proper injustice. You had to watch. You had to sit there for three miserable hours, beholding a game in which McCarthy gave the home crowd exactly one moment worth cheering for.

Bryce Hopkins finished with 15 points and 13th-ranked St. John's fended off a stiff challenge from William & Mary in the opening half before dominating the final 20 minutes of its 93-60 victory Saturday night in Queens, N.Y. After dropping eight spots in this week's top 25 poll, the Red Storm (2-1) bounced back from last week's disappointing defensive showing in a 103-96 loss to Alabama one week ago and scored 19 straight points to turn a five-point halftime lead into a rout before the midway point of the second half.

Kip Lewis had seven tackles, including two sacks, and No. 11 Oklahoma stunned fourth-ranked Alabama 23-21 on Saturday to send shock waves through the Southeastern Conference. The Sooners (7-2, 4-2 SEC) had three takeaways -- scoring 17 points off those turnovers -- and got a key stop late to end Alabama's winning streaks of eight games overall and 17 at home.

Michael Porter Jr. set the early tone with six assists in the first, the most he has ever recorded in any quarter and tied for a career high. He added 11 points as well, anchoring a Brooklyn offense that shot 12-of-22 from the field and 4-of-8 from 3-point range. The ball was moving, with 11 assists to just one turnover, and the defense brought some bite, forcing the Magic into seven giveaways and creating five extra shot attempts because of it.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Although there weren't expectations for rookie Cam Ward to lead the Tennessee Titans to a Super Bowl in his first season, there was a degree of belief that the No. 1 pick would offer a promising look into the future. There have been flashes, such as Ward's first NFL touchdown pass -- when he threw the ball across his body while scrambling to fellow rookie Elic Ayomanor against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 2.

I think what separates a lot of players from this level to the NBA level is, can you do it consistently? Everyone knows what your identity is. It's the players that can do it every single night, who are the ones that get opportunities. I'm excited for our group. I still think we haven't scratched the surface for how well we can be defensively. But this was another awesome step for us.

They have had the NFL's top-producing offense for weeks. They'd also enjoyed the largest point differential in the league, having been on the right side of several blowouts. But on Sunday in Pittsburgh, the Colts left Acrisure Stadium trying to explain a six-turnover performance in their ugliest game of the season. The lessons from this 27-20 loss to the Steelers will be harder to swallow. But they can also be useful if put to use in the right way.