How will this year’s World Series play out? Using the Dynasty League Baseball online simulation, USA TODAY Sports’ Steve Gardner and DLB designer Mike Cieslinski will pre-play each game to provide some insight into the key matchups and strategy fans can expect to see in the Fall Classic.

Tied 1-1 heading to Dodger Stadium, the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers are both looking for the upper hand after each team recorded a convincing victory in Toronto. That’s the situation in both our Sim Series and the actual World Series.

Once again, we fall victim to the Blue Jays switching up their pitching rotation as they call on veteran Max Scherzer to take the mound in Game 3. Mad Max is coming off a strong performance in Game 4 of the ALCS, when he held the Seattle Mariners to two earned runs in 5 2/3 innings. But in our simulation, Scherzer’s struggles during the regular season (5.19 ERA, 19 home runs allowed in 85 innings) didn’t even get him a spot on the roster, so Shane Bieber (whom the Jays will start in Game 4) gets the call here.

Dodgers vs. Blue Jays Game 3 simulation

For the first time in the 2025 Sim Series, we have a close game that goes down to the wire. Although it didn’t start out that way …

The Dodgers jumped on Jays starter Shane Bieber for four runs in the bottom of the second inning — thanks largely to the bottom of the lineup. Clutch playoff performer Kikė Hernandez ripped a two-out, two-run double to open the scoring. Andy Pages singled him in and Shohei Ohtani clubbed an RBI double to put L.A. in front.

Dodgers starter Tyler Glasnow cruised through the first three innings, but ran into trouble in the fourth when he walked Bo Bichette and gave up a two-run homer to Daulton Varsho.

Varsho got the Jays to within one in the sixth inning with a sac fly that scored Bichette to make it 4-3 Dodgers and set the stage for a frantic finish.

Glasnow turned things over to Roki Sasaki to begin the eighth inning and he breezed through the heart of the Jays order. But in the ninth, Addison Barger drew a one-out walk and Alejandro Kirk was hit by a pitch. After a groundout put runners on second and third, the Jays called on Joey Loperfido to pinch-hit.

Loperfido — a rarely used outfielder the Jays dropped from their ALCS roster in favor of 1B Ty France — grounded a Sasaki splitter through the right side of the infield, plating the tying run and setting up a play at the plate with Kirk barreling home with the go-ahead run.

Teoscar Hernandez’s throw to the plate was late as the Blue Jays took the lead for the first time.

BOX SCORE: Blue Jays 5, Dodgers 4

FULL PLAY-BY-PLAY: Jays come through in a pinch with thrilling Game 3 win

The Toronto bullpen was outstanding in this one. After Bieber departed with two outs in the fourth inning, the combination of Brendon Little, Louis Varland, Mason Fluharty and Tommy Nance tossed 5 1/3 innings of scoreless relief — allowing a total of two baserunners over that span.

Dodgers vs. Blue Jays Game 3 projections, analysis

So what does our simulation tell us about what we can expect when the real Game 3 takes place?

Perhaps the Blue Jays decided to go wtih Scherzer over Bieber as their Game 3 starter because they have a fully rested bullpen following the travel day. As was the case with starting rookie Trey Yesavage in Game 1, the possibility of a disaster outing with Scherzer is significant … so the relievers had better be ready.
Also, keep in mind that the teams will be playing three games in three days, so both teams’ bullpen usage in Game 3 will have an impact on Games 4 and 5. The managers could lean on certain pitchers for two innings right away, but those relievers could have their availablity and/or effectiveness limited over the next two days.
Speaking of the Jays bullpen, their trio of left-handers has helped keep the Dodgers’ lefty sluggers in check so far. Shohei Ohtani is hitting .273, Freddie Freeman is batting .154 with a home run and Max Muncy is hitting .091. (Through two games of the real World Series, that trio is hitting a combined .238 (5-for-21).
Should the real Game 3 come down to a play at the plate in the ninth inning, Dodgers outfielders Teoscar Hernandez, Kikė Hernandez and defensive replacement Alex Call all have average throwing arms. Center fielder Andy Pages is the only one who is above average.
On the Jays’ side, Addison Barger has the strongest outfield arm on either team (a -3 in the Dynasty League Baseball rating system, with -4 being Hall of Fame caliber). However, Barger is rated as a D for his range, which makes him a risky play in close games. Nathan Lukes and Myles Straw have B ranges with slightly above-average arms in the corners. Center fielder Daulton Varsho has superior range (A) in center with an average arm.

LOS ANGELES – We have reached the portion of this World Series where fans may want to avert their eyes.

Oh, not from the surroundings: Palm trees will sway, sunsets will dazzle and the Micheladas will flow in an overstuffed Dodger Stadium as the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers resume an already entertaining World Series knotted at one game apiece.

The aesthetic pleasure, so far, is off the charts, unsurprising when the Dodgers tout three former MVPs atop their lineup and just produced one of the greatest starting pitching performances in World Series history, all pitted against a Blue Jays team that’s never met a nine-run rally it didn’t like.

Yet in Games 3, 4 and 5, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Kevin Gausman will be nowhere to be found. The starting pitchers aligned almost certainly won’t last as deep into the game. And the next three games will be contested without an off day.

Those factors create an inconvenient reality for both clubs: An increasingly narrow circle of trusted relievers will be forced to take the ball, again and again, to perhaps diminishing returns.

Grab a snack. And some Maalox, a necessary possession for every manager when they have to push the buttons and summon relievers into such high-stakes games.

“We limit our three-in-a-rows throughout the regular season,” Blue Jays closer Jeff Hoffman tells USA TODAY Sports. “If you crush yourself with three-in-a-rows throughout the regular season it can play a big part in your fatigue. Our staff does a great job managing our bullpen throughout the year and put us in a place these next three days won’t affect us too much.

“We’ve got a bunch of guys that are going to take the ball no matter what, no matter how they’re feeling.”

And no matter the results.

Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and Shohei Ohtani are making postseason history for the Dodgers with every start. So are their relievers – just not in the fashion manager Dave Roberts would prefer.

Dodgers starters have combined for a stunning 1.84 ERA this postseason. Their relievers? A 6.16 ERA that’s worse than any playoff team that played at least three games.

The loss of lefty reliever Alex Vesia due to a family emergency at the start of the World Series is a very small part of their quandary this week. The Dodgers bullpen has been a wreck almost since the start of the season, as $72 million projected closer Tanner Scott’s significant struggles created a downward slide from the back of the bullpen.

He and veteran right-hander Kirby Yates aren’t on L.A.’s postseason roster. Blake Treinen, a member of the Dodger bullpen since 2020, was leaned on for just one big out, in the Naitonal League Championship Series.

And manager Dave Roberts’ relief trust tree more resembles a hurricane-wracked sapling.

Yamamoto was excellent in throwing complete games. Yet Roberts’ options are so limited,  there was never a doubt he’d get a chance to finish.

Right now, it’s rookie Rōki Sasaki holding down the ninth inning, a role he’s assumed for barely a month. Lefty Anthony Banda and righty Emmet Sheehan are simply by-necessity buttons to push.

Any pressure on Game 3 starter Glasnow, Game 4 starter Ohtani and Snell, once again, in Game 5, to go deep?

“It’s critical,” says Roberts, knowing that sugarcoating it otherwise is simply not realistic. “I think that, unfortunately, we are comprised of a rotation that can log innings. Three (games) in a row is very important to vary reliever looks and get the optimum matchups that you can.

“But, yeah, it starts with the starters going deeper, absolutely.”

Yet that runs right into the grim reaper of Games 3 through 7: Hitters getting multiple looks at both starters and relievers, gaining familiarity, and, eventually, the upper hand.

Heck, the Blue Jays are here only because leadoff hitter George Springer ripped a go-ahead three-run homer off Eduard Bazardo in Game 7, as the Seattle reliever was pitching for the fourth time in the series and facing Springer for the second time in as many nights.

“You have to be able to adapt and show a guy a different look, a different pitch, a different location. So it’s a battle,” says Blue Jays manager John Schneider. “These guys have really good stuff, our guys have really good stuff, we have really good hitters, they have really good hitters.”

But mostly really good hitters and a paucity of truly trustworthy relievers.

That can make it difficult for managers to expand their level of trust when circumstances dictate. The Blue Jays have helped mitigate that by putting starter Chris Bassitt in the bullpen the past two series, forming a solid base with Hoffman and fireballing set-up men Louis Varland and Seranthony Domínguez.

“I’ve said it all along: I trust everyone that’s on the roster, and we’re probably going to need everyone when you’re playing three games in a row,” says Schneider. “So we tried to build it to where there’s multiple guys that can give you multiple innings, but I think that it starts on the mound with the starter

“If you can churn through some innings and — even if it’s just saving one inning here or there for one of your bullpen guys, that’s huge.”

That’s how it might look on paper. But this series is headed toward the halfway point. Expect things to get weird on the back end, perhaps even ugly for some.

Yet until the final out of Game 7, there’s always a chance for a previously untrusted, downtrodden dude to rewrite a narrative. A high-leverage inning from an unlikely arm might even be the difference between hoisting a trophy and a winter of regrets.

“No matter how yesterday or today goes for any given guy, you still gotta leave it in the past,” says Hoffman. “and look toward the next one.”

Which is the more desirable SEC football program: LSU or Florida?

ESPN college football analyst Paul Finebaum argued that will be the question Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin is peppered with most over the next several months as he tries to lead the Rebels to a College Football Playoff berth after Florida’s Billy Napier and LSU’s Brian Kelly were fired.

The coaches were hired days apart in 2021 — and fired a week apart in 2025.

While Kiffin has had remarkable success in Oxford, Mississippi, LSU and Florida are arguably two of the best head coaching positions in college football — let alone the SEC — with both programs looking for a new direction after their respective coach firings.

Finebaum gave his take on which of the two jobs is more desirable for Kiffin on the Monday, Oct. 27, episode of ‘Get Up.’

‘It’s a close call, but in my mind, LSU is a better job,’ Finebaum said. ‘It just had a great infrastructure down there, I say that, I realize they fired their last three or four coaches, but I think Lane Kiffin fits that culture pretty well. He’s familiar with it. He’s also familiar with Florida as we said last week, but I don’t think there’s any question that of the jobs opening, LSU is going to be the one that everybody wants.’

Florida fired Napier on Sunday, Oct. 19, following a 23-21 win over Mississippi State, that improved his record to 22-23 in three-plus seasons with the Gators. LSU fired Kelly on Sunday, Oct. 26, following a 49-25 drubbing to Texas A&M at home. Kelly ended his tenure with the Tigers with a 34-14 record.

The Jets got their long-awaited first win under coach Aaron Glenn, with Justin Fields stepping up amid a barrage of criticism.
The best team in football? Maybe that title belongs to the Colts, though the Chiefs also have a strong claim amid their resurgence.
Between having six teams on bye and National Tight Ends Day taking the spotlight, NFL Week 8 featured plenty of quirks. ]

The 32 things we learned from Week 8 of the 2025 NFL season:

0. Congratulations to the 2017 Cleveland Browns (0-16), 2008 Detroit Lions (0-16) and 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-14), who can all crack open a case of Natural Light and celebrate after the New York Jets became the final team to notch a win this season while exiting a path that was carrying them toward the first 0-17 record in NFL history.

1. The NYJ and rookie head coach Aaron Glenn staged quite a comeback to beat the Cincinnati Bengals 39-38 for win No. 1, overcoming a 15-point deficit entering the fourth quarter while scoring 23 in the final period − in what miraculously turned out to be the best game of an otherwise unremarkable Sunday slate. The Jets’ breakthrough also came on a day when they were without injured stars Garrett Wilson and Sauce Gardner and facing a Cincinnati team that hadn’t played in 10 days after beating the Pittsburgh Steelers.

2. And what a nice dose of redemption for Jets QB Justin Fields, who outdueled veteran (and former Jet) Joe Flacco to get his first win in green and while just days after being shredded by owner Woody Johnson amid the team’s sorry start. Fields took the high road in the aftermath of Johnson’s verbal vomit and remained there while basking in Sunday’s victory.

3. The number of teams (Jets, Eagles, Bills) that rushed for at least 245 yards Sunday – a benchmark no club had hit this season prior to Week 8.

4. For the Bengals, what could be an unforgiveable loss came on a day when the complexion of the AFC North might have begun changing. With a chance to get back to .500 as QB1 Joe Burrow’s return from a toe injury theoretically gets closer, Cincy instead dropped to 3-5. Their next three games are against teams with winning records (Bears, Steelers, Patriots) before they face the Baltimore Ravens in what could be a crucial matchup on Thanksgiving night.

4a. Still the number of quarterbacks to ever beat all 32 of the league’s teams … after Pittsburgh’s Aaron Rodgers failed to defeat his original club, the Green Bay Packers, on Sunday night – a victory that would have allowed him to join a list that includes Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Brett Favre and Peyton Manning.

5. The number of sacks collected by Cleveland Browns DE Myles Garrett, a career high for the 2023 Defensive Player of the Year, in Sunday’s loss to the New England Patriots. Aside from trading Flacco to the Bengals, the Browns don’t figure to have much of an influence on the AFC North moving forward. But shoutout to Garrett, who had the 20th game with at least five individual sacks in league annals while pushing his career total to 112½, surpassing late, great Hall of Famer Reggie White for the most by a player yet to reach his 30th birthday.

5a. As in fifth place, where Ravens RB Derrick Henry is now alone with 112 career TD runs – he scored twice in Sunday’s win over Chicago – breaking his tie with legendary Hall of Famer Walter “Sweetness” Payton, who had 110.

6. It’s rough out here, y’all – “bye-mageddon” giving six teams (Cardinals, Lions, Jaguars, Raiders, Rams, Seahawks) the week off and throwing fantasy football leagues into utter chaos. Hopefully you didn’t stream a defense like the Bengals based on a matchup … like I did, a gambit that provided me negative points.

7. Back to those Ravens − the only team from the AFC North that won in Week 8, incidentally. Despite an additional layer of drama surrounding QB1 Lamar Jackson’s injured hamstring, Baltimore broke back into the win column Sunday – a revived defense and new temporary QB Tyler “Snoop” Huntley ending the Bears’ winning streak at four games. The big question now is whether the Ravens take a chance by playing Jackson, a South Florida native, this Thursday night at Miami or basically give him another two weeks to get healthy.

8. The reigning MVP, Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen, posted the 46th game of his eight-year career in which he both passed and ran at least one TD – an NFL record. Allen established the mark in Charlotte, formerly the home of former league MVP Cam Newton, with whom he’d been tied.

9. Yet Allen was a bit incidental Sunday, when the Bills got right – ending a two-game slide – by putting a 40-9 beatdown on the Bryce Young-less Carolina Panthers, who had won three straight. Buffalo RB James Cook powered the Bills with the first 200-yard rushing game (216) of his career.

10. Cook and his brother Dalvin are the only siblings in league history with 200-yard rushing games.

11. However Allen could be passing league MVP honors and Buffalo could be passing the AFC East throne to Drake Maye and the first-place New England Patriots, respectively. Maye had another big day as the Pats won 32-13, extending his somewhat arbitrary accomplishment by becoming the fifth quarterback in NFL history to post at least seven straight games with at least 200 passing yards and a passer rating of at least 100.0.

12. All the more impressive given Garrett relentlessly bedeviled Maye, who suffered a career-high six sacks overall.

13. The number of consecutive home games, postseason included, in which the Philadelphia Eagles have beaten the New York Giants – the longest active run by one divisional opponent over another.

14. Eagles RB Saquon Barkley hadn’t had a 20-yard run all season before bolting on a 65-yard TD run on Sunday’s second play from scrimmage.

15. Without a 100-yard day all season entering Sunday, Barkley finished with 150 against the Giants despite exiting early with a groin injury he didn’t deem serious. Fortunately for him, the Eagles don’t play again until Week 10.

16. And fortunately for the Eagles, they acquired RB2 Tank Bigsby earlier this season, and he rushed for 104 yards in relief of Barkley – making them the first Philly teammates in 12 years to crack the rushing century mark in the same game.

17. Are the Indianapolis Colts the best team in football? Their league-best 7-1 record suggests as much after they pummeled the Tennessee Titans 38-14 to remain atop the AFC. Indy has scored at least 29 points in all but one game this season and has yet to allow 29. Still, you’d like to see them beat a strong team − and the Colts caught the Chargers at less than full strength and needed a special teams penalty to beat Denver in Week 2.

18. For my money, the Kansas City Chiefs – despite their pedestrian 4-3 record at the moment – are basically back to being whole and back to being the team to beat … assuming they vanquish an undermanned Washington Commanders crew on Monday night.

19. Is Colts RB Jonathan Taylor the best player in football? It might be a more compelling question. He began Sunday with the most rushing yards (697) and touchdowns (11) in the league … before running over Tennessee for 153 yards (on just 12 carries) and three more scores (1 a receiving TD). At this rate, and without an obvious MVP QB to date, Taylor should remain squarely at the center of that discussion.

20. The number of consecutive passes Packers QB Jordan Love completed at one point Sunday night in an epic performance against Rodgers, his mentor in Green Bay. Now 5-1-1, the Pack remain perched in the NFC’s top spot.

21. How could the NFL put the Cardinals on their bye for National Tight Ends Day and schedule Travis Kelce’s Chiefs for a Monday nighter? Malpractice. The Dallas Cowboys apparently didn’t get the memo, either, TE Jake Ferguson, grandson of former Wisconsin coach Barry Alvarez, targeted just once (unsuccessfully) in their decisive 44-24 loss to the Denver Broncos.

22. At least San Francisco 49ers TE George Kittle, who basically invented a “holiday” that falls on the fourth Sunday of October, scored a TD – as did teammate Jake Tonges. Nothing much else went right for the still Brock Purdy-less Niners, who were walloped by the Houston Texans and fell out of a three-way tie for first place in the NFC West with the idle Seahawks and Rams.

23. But the tight end of the day wound up being the Packers’ Tucker Kraft, who racked up seven catches for 143 yards and two TDs − a major component of Love’s memorable performance.

24. If NFL hot seats are somehow contagious, then Raheem Morris is in trouble. His Atlanta Falcons were blown out – and at home – 34-10 by embattled counterpart Mike McDaniel and the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.

25. Atlanta, which signaled it was in go-for-broke mode in the relatively weak NFC South by trading back into the first round for a pair of defenders during last spring’s draft, is now 3-4 after dropping three of its last five, Sunday’s loss to the drowning Fins by far the worst of those setbacks.

26. Morris was largely undone by Miami QB Tua Tagovailoa, who woke up Sunday with a swollen eye … and then naturally threw a season-high four TD passes against an Atlanta pass defense that began Sunday as the league’s stingiest.

27. The Los Angeles Chargers looked awesome while dismantling the Minnesota Vikings 37-10 on Thursday night – meaning totally awesome in their monochromatic all-navy ‘Super Chargers’ alternates, which serve as a nod to Hall of Famers Junior Seau’s and LaDainian Tomlinson’s days with the team. The NFL’s main X account even featured them over the weekend.

28. Prior to this season, the Bolts were 0-6 in their previous navy alternates, which featured dark pants, jerseys and lightning bolts on a white helmet.

29. From a fashion standpoint, the Chargers kicked off a wild weekend, despite the relative lack of participants. The best-looking game on Sunday – and we’re not talking about the quality of the football – was the Broncos-Cowboys matchup, Denver rocking its Orange Crush era throwbacks.

30. The Eagles checked a lot of boxes, their tight end (Dallas Goedert) having a two-touchdown day … while wearing the team’s resplendent (and lucky) Kelly Green throwbacks.

31. As for the Steelers and Packers? Hard pass.

32. It was nice for Jets fans to rejoice in a rare win Sunday. But their loss was far more poignant. Former All-Pro C Nick Mangold was the heartbeat of the team the last time it was relevant, basically during his career − which spanned from 2006 to ’16. I spoke with Nick personally and on the phone a few times back when the NYJ were Super Bowl contenders in 2009 and ’10. Couldn’t have been nicer, more affable or accommodating. The smile was perpetual and, usually, so was the backwards baseball cap. To lose him to kidney disease at age 41, a wife and four kids mourning him, is heartbreaking. RIP.

Aaron Rodgers could only do so much to propel a Steelers team that came apart in the second half of Sunday’s loss to the Packers.
Jordan Love outpaced his predecessor and counterpart, igniting Green Bay with 360 passing yards and three TDs.
Rodgers said he was ‘disappointed’ by the outcome on a night when cheers of ‘Go, Pack, Go!’ rained down from the crowd late in the game.

PITTSBURGH – “Come get me.”

Aaron Rodgers was undoubtedly game for the challenge of trying to hang one on his former team when he teased a particular Green Bay Packers edge rusher while in the midst of the drama on Sunday night at Acrisure Stadium.

Then again, Rodgers should be careful of what he wishes for.

“I told him, ‘I’m getting close,’ ” Packers defensive end Rashan Gary recalled of the in-game banter with Rodgers from the 35-25 smashing of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

“He was saying, ‘I’m still moving good. I’m 41. You’ve got to come and get me, RG.’

“We got back to work, and I think they ran it the next play.”

Gary ultimately got to Rodgers, collecting two sacks, two quarterback hits and two tackles for a loss as the Packers defense forced the iconic quarterback to get off his rhythm in a contest that decisively flipped in the second half.

And that was just one layer of the trouble that left Rodgers and his team battered and frustrated after a second consecutive loss.

It wasn’t so much a prime-time showcase for a revitalized Rodgers to extract a measure of payback against the franchise he spent the first 18 years of his NFL career with.

Instead, it turned out to be the perfect opportunity for Rodgers’ former understudy, Jordan Love, to upstage his NFL mentor.

Love, 26, was simply fabulous – especially in a second half that saw the Packers score on all five of the their possessions, excluding the clock-killing drive at the end. In passing for 360 yards and three TDs with zero interceptions, Love provided another statement about the Packers’ future against the symbolic backdrop of the past.

It helped Green Bay (5-1-1) improve on its NFC-best record mark while the Steelers (4-3) stumbled yet again.

At one point, Love tied a franchise record by completing 20 consecutive passes. He weaved laser strikes into tight windows. He improvised to buy time for big plays. He stood tall in the face of blitzes and other forms of punishment. He was cool and confident.

Love looked, well, a lot like Rodgers in his prime.

“He was on fire,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said. “That’s why I wanted him to keep throwing the football.”

Rodgers couldn’t help but notice what the raucous crowd witnessed in Love, complimenting his patience, efficiency and ability to improvise.

“I thought J-Love played great,” Rodgers said. “He was super-efficient. He didn’t get sacked and moved around really well, made some plays outside the pocket. Thought he played outstanding.”

Someone asked Love if his time serving as Rodgers’ backup had an effect that played out on Sunday. Maybe. Maybe not.

“I’m just trying to play my game,” Love said. “Obviously, being behind Aaron for three years and being able to see him and the high-level play he was capable of going out there and doing, and just being able to put the money on the money at all times was very cool for me to see. But for me, it comes down to just being the best quarterback I can be.”

Which also says something about lessons learned well.

That’s not to suggest that Rodgers played poorly. He completed 24 of 36 passes for 219 yards with two touchdowns and posted a 101.5 passer rating. He didn’t commit a turnover. It’s just that on a night when the Steelers defense collapsed in the second half, when his team settled for too many field goals because it couldn’t finish touchdown drives, when self-inflicted mistakes were damning, Pittsburgh needed Rodgers to be even better.

Then again, that was a tough ask when he was under constant duress. He was sacked three times, including a takedown from Micah Parsons to go with Gary’s two cases, but it could have been much worse. He was nimble enough to avoid sacks for much of the night, which also meant that he was so uncomfortable running for his life.

Which is exactly what Green Bay envisioned.

“Going into the game, that was one of our goals, just trying to make it hard for him to see his reads, make him move around a lot in the pocket because…he’s a Hall of Famer,” Gary said. “You give him time in the pocket to pat the ball, he’s going to give his playmakers opportunities to make plays. You’ve got to find a way, when he does hold onto the ball, to get there. To get him off his spot.”

In the days leading up to Sunday night, Rodgers downplayed the revenge factor and maintained that the matchup would have been more significant had it occurred at Lambeau Field.

Maybe so. Maybe not. It was still weird enough for Rodgers, especially as a significant portion of the crowd supported the Packers – evidenced by the familiar, “Go, Pack, Go!” chant that got louder as the game progressed.

“I heard that chant for 18 years,” Rodgers said. “Packers fans really travel well. First time in a while I’ve used a silent count for a home game. That’s a credit to those Packers fans.”

It must have felt too weird. Like an out-of-body experience that went beyond the edge rushers seeking sacks.

“Disappointed,” Rodgers described of his emotions. “Disappointed that I didn’t play better, that we didn’t play better, especially in the second half.”

In other words, as game as he was, they didn’t have enough game.

Contact Jarrett Bell at jbell@usatoday.com or follow on X: @JarrettBell