The Cincinnati Bengals, led by quarterback Joe Flacco, defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 33-31.
Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase had a career-high 16 receptions for 161 yards and a touchdown.
The Steelers’ defense struggled, allowing 33 points and failing to contain Chase.

Mike Tomlin was perplexed as to why the Cleveland Browns traded Joe Flacco to the Cincinnati Bengals. We found out why Thursday night.

With Flacco at quarterback, the Bengals upset the Pittsburgh Steelers 33-31 in primetime.

The Steelers got off to a quick 10-0 lead, but the Bengals scored 20 unanswered points and were able to hold off their division rival.

Flacco targeted star wideout Ja’Marr Chase throughout the game. The Bengals wideout was uncoverable as he finished with a career-high 16 receptions for 161 yards and a touchdown.

Flacco passed for 342 yards and three touchdowns.

USA TODAY Sports breaks down the winners and losers from the AFC North battle:

Winners

Ja’Marr Chase shines

When in doubt, throw the football to Chase.

Chase was the undisputed best player on the field. The Steelers secondary had all kinds of trouble covering the star wideout. The Steelers inexplicably rarely doubled Chase.

Chase had a career-high 16 catches on a career-most 23 targets. He finished with 161 yards and one touchdown. His 23 targets were tied for the third most ever since 1978.

Chase joined Hall of Famers Jerry Rice and Randy Moss as the only three players in NFL history with 6,000-plus receiving yards and 50-plus touchdown receptions in their first five career seasons.

Chase is the best wide receiver in football right now.

Joe Flacco impresses

Flacco was comfortable conducting Cincinnati’s offense despite being traded less than two weeks ago.

Flacco targeted Chase throughout the game, and rightfully so because the Steelers couldn’t contain the wideout.

The 40-year-old QB completed 31-of-47 passes for 342 yards and three touchdowns in the win.

The Bengals scored points on seven of their final eight drives, including the game-winning field goal drive.

Flacco even kept the football on a zone read in the fourth quarter for good measure.

Bengals offensive line

The much-maligned Bengals O-line played perhaps their most complete game.

The Bengals came into the game averaging a league-low 56.7 rushing yards per game. Cincinnati produced 142 rushing yards, in large part because of the offensive line’s performance.

Joe Flacco was only sacked twice.

‘Old’ quarterbacks

Aaron Rodgers, 41, and Joe Flacco, 40, took center stage Thursday night. It marked the fourth matchup all-time between starting quarterback both over the age of 40.

Tom Brady and Drew Brees met twice during the 2020 season and once in the playoffs.

The “old” quarterbacks combined for 591 passing yards and seven touchdowns. Rodgers did toss two picks.

Flacco had the better performance but both quarterbacks played well.

Losers

Steelers defense

Joe Flacco was traded to the Bengals on Oct. 7. Flacco doesn’t even know his way around Cincinnati yet, but he had an easy time carving up the Steelers defense.

Pittsburgh gave up 328 passing yards, 142 rushing yards and 33 points. The Bengals had seven scoring drives. At one point Cincy scored points on six straight possessions.

Jalen Ramsey, Steelers secondary

Ramsey had a difficult time covering Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. He couldn’t stop either of them in man coverage.

Ramsey gave up a touchdown to Chase, and then Higgins had a 28-yard reception on the corner in the fourth quarter that set up a game-winning field goal.

Ramsey wasn’t the only corner who had a difficult night. The entire secondary got torched by Chase. And Higgins did his part with six catches, 96 yards and a touchdown.

Bengals CB Cam Taylor-Britt

Taylor-Britt went from Bengals starting cornerback to being inactive. He was a healthy scratch.

Taylor-Britt’s given up a career-worst 146.7 passer rating when targeted in five games this season.

Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Tyler Dragon on X @TheTylerDragon.

From unconscious to unstoppable, the Toronto Blue Jays have pulled even with the Seattle Mariners in this American League Championship Series thanks to a cast of characters both unlikely and highly anticipated.

A No. 9 hitter suddenly flexing his muscles. A 41-year-old trying to wring the last few pitches out of his skill set before jetting off to the Hall of Fame.

And a resident superstar very much acting the part.

The Blue Jays called upon all of that, most notably a command performance from starting pitcher Max Scherzer, to crush the Seattle Mariners 8-2 in Game 4 Oct. 17 at T-Mobile Park in Seattle.

Notching his first postseason victory since Game 1 of the 2019 World Series, Scherzer wobbled early, steadied himself and then unleashed a classic Mad Max tirade when manager John Schneider dared visit the mound with two outs in the fifth inning.

Schneider, just four years Scherzer’s senior, wisely backed off, Scherzer finished the fifth – and even got two more outs in the sixth.

Hey, 5 ⅔ innings, non-Dodgers edition, is a lengthy outing in this day and age and Scherzer – left off the AL Division Series roster and starting his first game since Sept. 24 – certainly gave Toronto more than anticipated.

So did Andrés Giménez.

For the second consecutive night, he hit a two-run homer in the third inning, in a sense singlehandedly pulling Toronto back from the brink after it came to the Emerald City trailing 2-0 in this best-of-seven.

In Game 3, that meant a game-tying shot. In Game 4, it was a go-ahead two-run homer, maybe a section to the right of his dinger the night before, and it ignited a five-run uprising over two innings for the Blue Jays.

He added a two-run single in the eighth, a four-RBI night.

In between all that, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. ripped a solo homer, his second in as many nights and fifth of the postseason, to push the lead to 6-2 in the seventh.

Seattle, save for the vociferous Canadians who trekked down from British Columbia to root for the Blue Jays, was shell-shocked.  This ALCS is now even.

And the Mariners will need their bats to wake up and right-handers Bryce Miller and Bryan Woo to be on point in Game 5 if they don’t want to go back to Toronto facing a 3-2 deficit.

Then again, the road team has won every game in this series. As Game 4 proved, there’s always more surprises lurking around the corner. 

Here’s how Game 4 unfolded:

Blue Jays blow it open in the eighth

The Mariners and Blue Jays traded runs in the sixth and seventh and Toronto took a 6-2 lead into the top of the eighth. With runners on second and third and one out, Andres Gimenez hit a two-RBI single to extend the advantage to 8-2, giving him four RBIs in Game 4 after his two-run homer earlier.

Max Scherzer becomes ‘Mad Max’ once more

Max Scherzer screamed at his manager. And then he turned his madness against his opponent, putting himself in line for his first postseason win since 2019. 

Scherzer, visited by Blue Jays manager John Schneider with two outs in the fifth inning, vociferously lobbied to stay in the game. Schneider agreed, and then Scherzer struck out Randy Arozarena on a curveball well outside the strike zone to preserve the Blue Jays’ 5-1 lead in ALCS Game 4. 

Scherzer, making his first start since Sept. 24, allowed just a second-inning homer to Josh Naylor and a pair of harmless singles, striking out four. Schneider even let him go out for the sixth, recording two outs before a walk prompted Schneider to lift him, for reals.

Reliever Mason Fluharty allowed that run to score on a Eugenio Suarez RBI single, trimming the lead to 5-2, but the game is on to the seventh, Toronto just nine outs from squaring the series.

At 41, Scherzer perhaps can’t go as deep in games as he used to. But he can still be Mad Max when he needs it. 

Blue Jays take 5-1 lead in fourth inning

The Toronto Blue Jays are getting contributions from all quarters – and drifting toward tying up this ALCS. 

Isiah Kiner-Falefa, given a start at second base, has two hits in his first two at-bats and scored on George Springer’s RBI double as the Blue Jays tacked on two more runs in the fourth to take a 5-1 lead. 

Toronto has sapped the energy from the Mariners and T-Mobile Park, as it chased Luis Castillo, dinged up lefty reliever Gabe Speier and then scored a fifth run when Matt Brash bounced a wild pitch off Cal Raleigh’s shin guard, scoring George Springer. 

Andrés Giménez slugs another HR for Blue Jays

The No. 9 hitter is now public enemy No. 1 in Seattle.

Andrés Giménez, who hit no home runs in his final 76 at-bats of the season, clubbed his second two-run home run in as many nights, as the Blue Jays scored three third-inning runs to take a 3-1 lead over the Mariners in Game 4 of the ALCS.

The home run circumstances were eerily similar.

Game 3, third inning, Mariners leading 2-0: Giménez rips a game-tying two-run home run.

Game 4, third inning, Mariners leading 1-0: Giménez tags a hanging slider from Luis Castillo 364 feet – perhaps a section or two over from his Game 3 shot – for a 2-1 lead.

The homer invigorated the throng of Blue Jays fans in Seattle and stunned Mariners fans worried their club may be staring at a 2-2 ALCS after Game 4.

After one-out singles by Nathan Lukes and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and a walk to Alejandro Kirk, Castillo was lifted after recording just seven outs. Reliever Gabe Speier walked Daulton Varsho to score another run, but escaped the inning without further damage.

Josh Naylor home run puts Mariners in front

An invigorated Seattle Mariners lineup against a rusty Max Scherzer has already yielded an expected result. 

Josh Naylor ripped Scherzer’s second pitch of the second inning over the center field wall to give the Mariners a 1-0 lead in Game 4 of the ALCS.

Scherzer has not started since Sept. 24 and was not on the ALDS roster. The rust showed in the first inning, when he yanked pitches all over the zone and walked a pair, escaping on Jorge Polanco’s double-play grounder. 

Yet Naylor jumped him quickly in the second, and Seattle scored first for the third consecutive game. 

Mariners lineup today: ALCS Game 4

Randy Arozarena (R) LF
Cal Raleigh (S) C
Julio Rodríguez (R) CF
Jorge Polanco (S) DH
Josh Naylor (L) 1B
Eugenio Suárez (R) 3B
Dominic Canzone (L) RF
J.P. Crawford (L) SS
Leo Rivas (S) 2B

Blue Jays lineup for ALCS Game 4

George Springer (R) DH
Nathan Lukes (L) LF
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (R) 1B
Alejandro Kirk (R) C
Daulton Varsho (L) CF
Ernie Clement (R) 3B
Addison Barger (L) RF
Isiah Kiner-Falefa (R) 2B
Andrés Giménez (L) SS

Anthony Santander replaced on Blue Jays roster

Toronto outfielder Anthony Santander’s season is over after being replaced on the ALCS roster by Joey Loperfido due to injury. MLB rules dictate that mid-series roster changes result in the player missing the next round of the playoffs.

Santander, signed to a $92.5 million free agent deal last winter, was limited to 54 regular-season games and had appeared in five of Toronto’s seven postseason games.

Joe Flacco’s most impressive feat may have come via his feet.

The 40-year-old passer took a sip from the Fountain of Youth during the Cincinnati Bengals’ 33-31 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on ‘Thursday Night Football.’ Flacco completed 31 of 47 passes for 342 yards and three touchdowns in the victory.

But it was a scamper that caught the attention of viewers and fans alike: On a read option, Flacco took a snap for 12 yards. On the ‘Thursday Night Football’ postgame show, Flacco detailed the play.

‘So there was a handful of plays today that I was like, ‘What is he saying?’ There were formations that ended in F and I was not getting it,’ Flacco said regarding his confusion with the offense.

‘That one (play), I read off my wristband, it was correct. Ja’Marr (Chase) lined up on the ball, Noah (Fant) lined up off, he (Ja’Marr) was supposed to be off the ball. He was supposed to counter motion and bluff that end. And when he was on the ball and the play clock was running down, I was like, ‘Ah, screw it.’

‘I was just gonna hand it off (to Chase Brown), but he (the defender) came off the edge so damn quick, I was like, ‘all right, I haven’t done this since my, probably, first or second year, but I’ll do it now.”

The result? A 12-yard run that left everyone stunned.

‘It felt good, it felt good, I can’t lie,’ Flacco said.

To that end, the Bengals offense must have felt good. It was a complete offensive effort that resulted in a win and a little bit of history for their passer: Flacco now sits in 15th place all-time in career passing yards, in the same game in which Aaron Rodgers moved up to fifth place.

As far as rushing yards go? Well, let’s just say Flacco has a lot more rushing attempts to go to make a dent in the record book.

In their zeal to create compelling studio television, Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez rankled their former boss.

Brian Cashman, the New York Yankees’ longtime general manager and vice president, fired back at criticism of his regime and the handling of manager Aaron Boone in an appearance on an area radio station.

After the Yankees were eliminated in Game 4 of their American League Division Series by the Toronto Blue Jays, Jeter and A-Rod fired some shots from their Fox Sports postgame show perch.

Rodriguez called these Yankees “one of the worst constructions of a roster I’ve ever seen,” after the club won 94 games, defeated Boston in the AL wild card series and succumbed to the Blue Jays, who also won 94 games and claimed the division title on a tiebreaker.

Jeter, while claiming he had no “inside knowledge,” repeated the well-worn claim that Boone merely parrots front office strategy and that in-game maneuvers are scripted by his superiors.

“I’m pretty sure Aaron’s not the one that’s calling every move that they make throughout the game,” Jeter said on air.

Cashman appeared on WFAN, the Yankees’ flagship station, to push back against the two baseball legends who once patrolled the left side of his infield. He intimated that he called Jeter to discuss the criticism.

“Clearly, they don’t know,” Cashman said. “I know DJ said that, I don’t know what he meant by it, he did say he doesn’t have inside knowledge when he said it, but he did say it, for whatever reason. And I think that’s the bugaboo that people get to throw out there when they got nothing else to throw.”

Cashman bemoaned the notion of “analytics, analytics, analytics” and that “none of that is accurate,” though the perception has existed ever since Boone replaced Joe Girardi – who was fresh off a trip to the 2017 ALCS – as Yankee manager before the 2018 season.

Jeter retired as Yankees shortstop after the 2014 season and went on to take an ownership stake and president position with the Miami Marlins before they parted ways in 2022 after five years. He intimated before his Hall of Fame induction that year that he looked forward to being a more regular presence around Yankee Stadium, even if that didn’t involve an official role.

Rodriguez, who Cashman signed to a $275 million extension when A-Rod opted out of an earlier deal in 2008, was ensnared in performance-enhancing drug scandals for two of his last six seasons as a Yankee. 

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Monday night’s battle between the Bucs and Lions in Motown projects as Week 7’s crown jewel.
The league will stage its final London game of 2025 on Sunday morning.
A team in need of a coach will be hosting its former one.

Week 7 of the 2025 NFL schedule will serve up a good-looking lineup … insomuch as a lot of teams will look a little different.

Thursday night, the Pittsburgh Steelers will visit the Cincinnati Bengals, who will wear their white tiger uniforms − perhaps in a needed bid to change their luck given the Steelers have prevailed in 10 of their past 12 trips to Paycor Stadium.

The Browns, Chargers, Cowboys and Lions will also be wearing alternate uniforms this weekend, while the 49ers will sport the throwbacks made famous during the march to their last Super Bowl crown during the 1994 season.

No novel unis Sunday morning, when the Los Angeles Rams and Jacksonville Jaguars play this season’s final game in London − but don’t worry, the league will invade continental Europe two weeks from now.

Sunday afternoon will feature the first-place New England Patriots traveling to Nashville to visit head coach Mike Vrabel’s former team, the Tennessee Titans, who would probably like to have him back at this point. The Los Angeles Chargers will host the Indianapolis Colts in a meeting of other teams currently residing atop their respective divisions.

The Niners will welcome the Atlanta Falcons, back in prime time again, in a matchup of top-tier RBs Bijan Robinson and Christian McCaffrey on ‘Sunday Night Football.’ Monday will bring a true doubleheader, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Detroit Lions clashing in what could be the game of the week at 7 p.m. ET before the Houston Texans and Seattle Seahawks lock up on the West Coast in a 10 p.m. ET kickoff.

What outcomes should you expect? We can’t speak for you … but USA TODAY Sports’ panel of experts will share their outlooks with these prognostications:

(Odds provided by BetMGM)

NFL Week 7 picks, predictions and odds

Pittsburgh Steelers at Cincinnati Bengals
Los Angeles Rams vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
Las Vegas Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs
Miami Dolphins at Cleveland Browns
New Orleans Saints at Chicago Bears
Philadelphia Eagles at Minnesota Vikings
Carolina Panthers at New York Jets
New England Patriots at Tennessee Titans
Indianapolis Colts at Los Angeles Chargers
New York Giants at Denver Broncos
Green Bay Packers at Arizona Cardinals
Washington Commanders at Dallas Cowboys
Atlanta Falcons at San Francisco 49ers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Detroit Lions
Houston Texans at Seattle Seahawks

Dallas traded their star edge rusher to Green Bay a week before the start of the 2025 NFL season. Now a Packer, Parsons has helped Green Bay’s defense to a top-10 standing in points allowed entering Week 7 of the season.

At 3-1-1, the Packers are at the top of the division two weeks after their bye. But things could be better. Parsons spoke today about how he’s officiated in the NFL as he enters his fifth season in the league.

“Five years of not getting a call, you eventually stop worrying about it,’ he said. ‘I think I just got to keep going… that’s part of the challenges. Like, you just got to keep going. And that’s bothersome. That’s worries them, they know that. Part of being one of the best, it comes with some territory where [there are] parts that you hate and parts that the league lets go.’

Parsons elaborated on what specifically NFL referees are calling one side of the ball versus the other.

‘You can tell how they call the games. They don’t call offsides for offense, but they’ll call it on defense,’ he said. ‘They won’t call offensive pass interference, but they’ll call defensive pass interference immediately. Like, we know what they’re trying to do. They want to load the points up so fans can be happy. They’ll call defensive holding but they won’t call offensive holding.

‘Let’s just wake up. It’s just one of those things that we know with the higher-ups [are] trying to do. The [referee] will say ‘I know that’s a hold’ but what, like, you’re not going to call it? Come on. It’s just one of those things that I’m over and I’m just have to keep going, push through.’

Parsons acknowledged he may be fined for his comments but was willing to speak his mind.

During Green Bay’s Week 6 win over the Cincinnati Bengals, tight end Noah Fant poked Parsons in the face while run blocking late in the second quarter.

“Like, what are we doing here?’ Parsons said. ‘A guy can consistently keep putting his hands in my face. This was blatant. It literally popped a blood vessel in my face. I changed my whole facemask. I have to protect my face. It’s brutal.”

Parsons has drawn three penalties this season: two holding calls and a hands-to-the-face penalty. His mentality going into games hasn’t changed much this year.

“They’re going to call what they’re going to call,” he said. “All we can do is hope we get called a fair game. Like I don’t care what the fans want sometimes. If your team holds, they should get better tackles, better guards… don’t blame it on us.”

The Cincinnati Bengals snapped a four-game losing streak in a 33-31 upset of the Pittsburgh Steelers on ‘Thursday Night Football.’

Bengals star Ja’Marr Chase was chasing history throughout the critical victory, which prevented the Steelers from taking a commanding lead in the AFC North standings.

How good was Chase in the Bengals’ win over the Steelers? Here’s a look at his stats from the game.

Ja’Marr Chase stats today

Flacco attempted 47 passes during the Bengals’ Week 7 win over the Steelers. Chase was targeted on a whopping 23 of those attempts, good for a 48.9% target share and the most targets a player has seenin a single game during the 2025 NFL season to date.

Below is a full look at Chase’s numbers from the contest:

Targets: 23
Receptions: 16
Receiving yards: 161
Receiving TDs: 1
Yards per reception: 10.1

Chase’s 16 catches were the most he has posted across his 69 career NFL starts and set a new franchise record for the Bengals. The previous franchise record also belonged to Chase, occurring when he had 15 catches for 192 yards and three touchdowns against the Arizona Cardinals in 2023.

Most receptions in an NFL game

While Chase owns the Bengals franchise record for most receptions in a game, he couldn’t climb to the top of the NFL’s all-time list. Brandon Marshall still remains perched alone atop that list from his 21-catch game with the Denver Broncos in 2009.

Still, Chase’s 16 catches were good enough to crack the top-10 leaderboard, albeit it in a nine-way tie for ninth place. Below is a look at the players to log at least 16 receptions in an NFL game.

Brandon Marshall, Denver Broncos (2009): 21
Terrell Owens, San Francisco 49ers (2000): 20
Keenan Allen, Los Angeles Chargers (2023): 18
Jason Witten, Dallas Cowboys (2018): 18
Brandon Marshall, Denver Broncos (2008): 18
Tom Fears, Los Angeles Rams (1950): 18
Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh Steelers (2015): 17
Clark Gaines, New York Jets (1980): 17
Ja’Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals (2025): 16
Keenan Allen, Los Angeles Chargers (2020): 16
Michael Thomas, New Orleans Saints (2018): 16
Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh Steelers (2015): 16
Wes Welker, New England Patriots (2011): 16
Troy Brown, New England Patriots (2002): 16
Keenan McCardell, Jacksonville Jaguars (1996): 16
Jerry Rice, San Francisco 49ers (1994): 16
Sonny Randle, St. Louis Cardinals (1962): 16

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Dodgers have no idea what happened to Shohei Ohtani’s bat.

They can’t tell you who will be their closer tomorrow.

Freddie Freeman has been held relatively in check.

Yet the Dodgers are one game away from a return trip to the World Series.

They once again beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 3-1, and can complete the four-game sweep Friday night at Dodger Stadium.

Simply, this National League Championship Seires has been an absolute mismatch.

Tyler Glasnow was the latest Dodgers starter to shut down the Brewers, giving up three hits and one run through 5 ⅔ innings, with four different relievers giving up just one hit the rest of the game.

The Brewers have now scored a grand total of three runs.

They have only nine hits.

They have played 27 innings and trailed in 26 of them.

Certainly, the Brewers aren’t going anywhere with their top bats disappearing in the postseason.

Cleanup hitter Christian Yelich hit a run-scoring double in Game 1 of the 2018 NLCS against these same Dodgers, but hasn’t driven in a run in the 25 postseason games since. He is 2-for-12 since Game 2 of their NLDSagainst the Chicago Cubs, striking out in his last three at-bats Thursday.

Second baseman Brice Turang is 2-for-23 since Game 1 of the NLDS with 11 strikeouts.

The Brewers’ lone bright spot once again was their pitching, in particular, rookie Jacob Misiorowski. He nearly single-handedly kept the Brewers in the game, entering after Aaron Ashby coughed up a run and could retire one batter in the first inning.

He completely suffocated the Dodgers’ offense for five innings, facing 15 batters and retiring 14 of them, with eight strikeouts.

The Miz was so overpowering that only one player, Mookie Betts, even hit the ball out of the infield until the sixth inning. And the only batter who had reached base against Misiorowski was Dodgers center fielder Andy Pages with a two-out infield single.

Yet, along came the sixth inning, along with fatigue. He gave up a one-out single to Will Smith. He walked Freddie Freeman on a full-count fastball that missed, and then then Tommy Edman made him pay by lining a run-scoring single to center, breaking the tie.

It ended Misiorowski’s afternoon and the Dodgers turned it into a 3-1 lead on Brewers reliever Abner Uribe’s throwing error.

If the Brewers didn’t already have enough offensive woes, their best player, Jackson Chourio, left the game in the middle of his at-bat with a right leg injury in the seventh inning, hobbling down the dugout steps into the clubhouse.

Ohtani, who had been missing since the wild-card series with a 2-for-25 slump, at least joined the Dodgers’ party by opening the first inning with a leadoff triple, the first postseason leadoff triple by a Dodger since the Davey Lopes in the 1977 World Series.

It was Ohtani’s first extra-base of the postseason, snapping a season-long seven-game skid, with optimism that he’ll soon be back to being the most dangerous hitter in the game.

The Dodgers and Ohtani went to extremes to snap him from his slump by having him take extra batting practice, on the field Wednesday instead of his routine in the cage. It’s the first time he took batting practice on the field since joining the Dodgers. They even played  his walk-up song, “Feeling Good,’ from Michael Buble over the Dodger Stadium speakers.

“The other way to say it is that, if I hit, we will win,” Ohtani said. “I think he thinks that if I hit, we will win. I’d like to do my best to do that.”

Ohtani denied that pitching in the postseason has contributed to his struggles, but he hit just .222 with four homers and 21 strikeouts on the days he pitched in 2025 and .147 with two homers and 10 stirkeouts the day afterwards.

His slump began in Game 1 of the NLDS when he pitched six innings against the Philadelphia Phillies, going 0-for-4 with four strikeouts at the plate.

“I don’t know if there’s a direct correlation,’ he said. “Physically, I don’t feel like there’s a connection.”

Yet, the numbers have been loud and clear.

“Certainly, there’s frustration,” Roberts said. “He’s obviously a very, very talented player, and we’re counting on him. He’s just a great competitor. He’s very prepared. And there’s still a lot of baseball left.”

The World Series begins in a week.

The Dodgers should be there waiting.

Follow Nightengale on X: @Bnightengale

Here’s how Game 3 unfolded:

Jackson Chourio injury forces Brewers star from Game 4

Taking a swing in the top of the seventh against Blake Treinen, Jackson Chourio appeared to suffer a leg injury and was removed from the game.

Tommy Edman gives Dodgers the lead

Jacob Misiorowski was cruising but gave up a single to Will Smith and then walked Freddie Freeman to bring Tommy Edman to the plate with two on and out out. Edman, last year’s NLCS MVP, singled to center to bring Smith home and gives the Dodgers a 2-1 lead.

Abner Uribe came on to replace Misiorowski and with two outs, made a throwing error trying to check Edman, allowing Freeman to score a crucial insurance run.

Tyler Glasnow comes out in the sixth

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts pulled starter Tyler Glasnow with two outs in the sixth inning after the right-hander walked Andrew Vaughn. Lety Alex Vesia came on and struck out Sal Frelick to end the top of the sixth.

Glasnow finished his day with eight strikeouts and three walks, giving up a run on three hits.

To the sixth: Dodgers 1, Brewers 1

NLCS Game 3 remains tied heading into the sixth inning. Brewers rookie Jacob Misiorowski has tossed 4 ⅔ scoreless innings since coming on in the bottom of the first.

The right-hander has now retired 10 Dodgers in a row, racking up eight strikeouts so far in his relief outing.

Through three: Dodgers 1, Brewers 1

Jacob Misiorowski has struck out five in 2⅔ innings after replacing opener Andy Ashby and the teams are headed to the fourth inning tied 1-1.

Jake Bauers ties it up in the second

Caleb Durbin hit a one-out triple against Tyler Glasnow in the top of the second and then scored on Jake Bauers’ RBI single with the Dodgers infield pulled in, tying the game 1-1.

Bauers is now 4-for-9 with 3 RBIs in the 2025 postseason.

Bauers proceeded to steal second and then reached third on Glasnow’s error trying to pick him off second – but was cut down at the plate on a brilliant play by third baseman Max Muncy on Joey Ortiz’s ground ball.

Mookie Betts RBI double puts Dodgers in front

Shohei Ohtani led off the bottom of the first with a triple into the right-field corner against starter Aaron Ashby and on the next pitch, Mookie Betts laced an RBI double to center field, bringing Ohtani in to score the first run of the game.

Making his seventh appearance in the Brewers’ eight postseason games, Ashby was replaced by Jacob Misiorowski with one out and the rookie struck out Tommy Edman and Teoscar Hernandez to strand two runners.

Tyler Glasnow works out of trouble in the first

Game 3 is underway at Dodger Stadium and Los Angeles starter Tyler Glasnow worked around a two-out walk to William Contreras and Christian Yelich’s infield single to put up a zero in the first inning.

This is Glasnow’s third appearance of the postseason after posting 7⅔ scoreless innings in the NLDS against the Phillies.

Dodgers lineup today: NLCS Game 3

Shohei Ohtani (L) DH
Mookie Betts (R) SS
Will Smith (R) C
Freddie Freeman (L) 1B
Tommy Edman (S) 2B
Teoscar Hernández (R) RF
Max Muncy (L) 3B
Enrique Hernández (R) LF
Andy Pages (R) CF

Brewers lineup today

Jackson Chourio (R) RF
Brice Turang (L) 2B
William Contreras (R) C
Christian Yelich (L) DH
Andrew Vaughn (R) 1B
Sal Frelick (L) CF
Caleb Durbin (R) 3B
Jake Bauers (L) LF
Joey Ortiz (R) SS

Dave Roberts on Shohei Ohtani’s struggles

Shohei Ohtani is just 2-for-25 (.080 average) since the NLDS against the Phillies began, and mixed up his routine the day before Game 3 by taking batting practice on the field at Dodger Stadium, an extraordinarily rare occurence.

‘The postseason is like a street fight and not like a boxing match. And with that, there’s urgency,’ Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. ‘And I think that if this was a regular-season situation and you’re looking at an expanse of small sample – eight, nine games, whatever it might be – he probably wouldn’t be out on the field.

‘So with the urgency, the postseason, then he needs to make an adjustment, wanted to make an adjustment on his own. And that adjustment was getting on the field. So I think that’s a great thing in his understanding and appreciation for playing with urgency.’

Dodgers pitching rotation dominates

Just 24 hours after Blake Snell became the first pitcher since Don Larsen’s perfect game in 1956 to face the minimum number of batters through eight innings in a postseason game, Yoshinobu Yamamoto gave up a home run on his first pitch of the game, and just two hits in his next 110 pitches, striking out seven with one walk. He was so dominant that he permitted just two fly ball outs the entire game, with 15 grounders.

“It’s been incredible,” Dodgers catcher Will Smith said after Game 2. “That’s probably the two best back-to-back games pitched ever that I’ve seen.” — Bob NIghtengale