Chargers defensive tackle Teair Tart slapped Kelce on the front of his helmet following a two-yard run by Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt with a little over eight minutes remaining in the third quarter.

Referees quickly threw a flag and penalized Tart for unnecessary roughness.

The penalty moved the football to the Chargers’ 11-yard line. Patrick Mahomes reached the end zone on an 11-yard run on the ensuing play to cut Kansas City’s deficit to 13-12. Harrison Butker missed the game-tying an extra point.

Kelce had just one catch for 10 yards at the time of the penalty.

World Series champion Dodgers are stuck in a rut to start September.
Los Angeles has lost four in a row against last place-teams.
$72 million reliever Tanner Scott has struggled mightily in recent months.

Yes, the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers are going through it. And while a title defense that’s been injury-wracked and arrhythmic from the jump has kept them from pulling away from the San Diego Padres, what they’re facing now is particularly grim.

After a 2-1 walk-off loss to the Baltimore Orioles on Sept. 5, the misfiring parts of this roster – a sputtering offense and a closer struggling to the point of despondency – were laid bare once again.

Their fourth consecutive loss by three or fewer runs has created frayed dispositions in the clubhouse.

‘They suck. They suck,’ says closer Tanner Scott of the close losses after he gave up the game-winning homer to Orioles rookie Samuel Basallo with two outs in the bottom of the ninth at Camden Yards. ‘For everyone that threw tonight that was great, for that to happen, just sucks. It sucks.

‘It feels terrible. I have to figure it out. Baseball hates me right now.’

Scott, signed to a $72 million contract to be the Dodgers’ highest-leverage reliever, instead has been a punching bag in the 78-63 Dodgers’ latest cold streak. He’s given up 10 earned runs in his last nine innings pitched, including five home runs, dating to July 6.

But scolding the pitchers during this skid is like blaming the firefighters, not the arsonists; emergency starter Shohei Ohtani did not give up a run and five relievers gave up just one run to the Orioles until Scott yielded the game-winning blast.

No, it’s the Dodger lineup that’s been flaccid in this streak, even as it is decimated.

Catcher Will Smith, probably their best player this year, was injured earlier on the trip, leaving a big hole in the lineup. Third baseman Max Muncy should return next week from an oblique strain, and that’s no small addition: The Dodgers are 54-35 when he’s in the lineup, 24-28 when he’s sidelined.

Yet this is a team of Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts and Ohtani and 2024 hero Teoscar Hernández, right?

Freeman tallied the lone Dodgers run with his 19th home run and as such, figured he’d be questioned postgame. He thought hard, pondered potential answers and still found himself mystified.

‘I’m not going to sit here and give some cliches. We’re just not playing very good,’ says Freeman. ‘Our pitching was great tonight. Offensively, we were not good.

‘There’s no sugarcoating this. We need to figure this out and figure this out quick.’

If momentum is the next day’s starting pitcher, the Dodgers are in good stead with Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Unfortunately, Orioles lefty Trevor Rogers has been on a roll as well, and ready to dig into a Dodgers offense missing apparently indispensable cogs.

‘I’ve said it the last two weeks: Nobody’s going to feel sorry for you. You’ve got to be a pro and make it happen,’ says manager Dave Roberts. ‘This is our team. We’ve got guys coming back but for the next few days, this is what we got.’

Smith likely won’t play the rest of the weekend, and his replacement, top prospect Dalton Rushing, will get a CT scan Sept. 6 to rule out any further damage after fouling a ball off his right leg; X-rays were negative, but he was on crutches after the game.

Not exactly the sight the flailing Dodgers needed to see. Ohtani, too, can see that his mates are pressing.

‘We, individually, are trying to find ways on our own to make sure we’re hitting better than we are and I think a side effect of that is we’re a little too eager and putting a little too much pressure on ourselves,’ says Ohtani through team translator Will Ireton. ‘In a sense, that’s really hurting us more than helping us.

‘I do feel it, in a sense my job is to make hard contact and get on base, finding ways for myself and Mookie to make sure there’s runners on base for Will Smith and Freddie Freeman.’

The Chargers led against the Chiefs in São Paulo, Brazil from start to finish.
The Chargers ended a seven-game losing streak against the Chiefs.
The Chiefs face their Super Bowl 59 opponent, the Eagles in Week 2.

The Los Angeles Chargers’ seven-game losing streak versus the Kansas City Chiefs faded away in Brazil on Friday night. Los Angeles’ upset win in South America is an early season notice for the Chiefs.

The AFC West isn’t going to be a cakewalk for Kansas City this year.

Justin Herbert and the Chargers controlled most of the game against the defending AFC champions and held on for the 27-21 victory. Herbert passed for 313 yards and three touchdowns as the Chargers preserved a lead from start to finish.  

Friday’s AFC West battle was an offensive struggle for the Chiefs, who were outgained by the Chargers, 143 to 33, in the first quarter and went 0-7 on third down in the first half.

“We can learn from this as we move forward,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid told reporters postgame. “We were a little flat in the first half and that cost us.”

Patrick Mahomes tried to will the Chiefs to victory in the second half. He had a circus third-down completion to JuJu Smith-Schuster on third down and made an amazing 49-yard pass to Hollywood Brown on fourth down in the fourth quarter. Kansas City scored on all three of its possessions in the second half, but they were playing catch up the entire evening as the Chargers seemingly padded their lead every time Mahomes and the Chiefs responded.

Kansas City’s defense had an opportunity to give Mahomes the football again, but Herbert made the game’s decisive play with a little over two minutes remaining when he scrambled 19 yards on third-and-14 and made an overemphasize slide in satisfaction.

“It wasn’t good enough. Just in general, they came out with more energy than we did. Their defense and our offense. We didn’t execute,” Mahomes told reporters after the loss. “And obviously, we didn’t play good enough in the first half.”

Herbert is now 3-7 in his career versus Kansas City. It was the Chargers’ first victory against the Chiefs since Sept. 26, 2021. The Chargers’ win also extended Jim Harbaugh’s record to 6-0 in NFL season openers.

Yet for the Chiefs, the loss was a memo that the AFC West division is bound to be more difficult to navigate this season. The Chargers are better as they illustrated Friday night. Sean Payton and the Denver Broncos reloaded, and the Las Vegas Raiders have a new identity with Pete Carroll at the helm.

“It’s a learning moment, especially for the young guys on the team. We’re gonna get everybody’s best and we have to play up to that standard if we want to win football games. I felt like we didn’t play to that standard (Friday), everybody – offense, defense and special teams,” Mahomes said. “But credit to the Chargers. They had a great plan, came in played great football and beat us. Now we have to learn from that knowing that next week is gonna be just as tough.”

The Chiefs will get the benefit of playing at home next week. However, Week 2 will pose a daunting test against the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles, a team Kansas City is still licking its wounds from the Super Bowl 59 rout.

“We got to learn fast,” Mahomes said. “We’re playing the reigning Super Bowl champs next week.”

The qualifying process for the 2026 World Cup involves nearly every sovereign nation on the planet, with every team pursuing one of the 48 berths at next summer’s massive tournament.

While the United States, Mexico, and Canada were all guaranteed places as host nations, the other 45 berths have to be earned the hard way. Qualifying kicked off all the way back on Sept. 7, 2023, with a game between Paraguay and Peru being the first to kick off. From there, each of the six continental confederations work through a sometimes byzantine process to sort out the nations that will take the field at the next men’s World Cup.

Over the last two days, four nations have sealed their places at next summer’s tournament. On Thursday, Uruguay and Colombia both clinched their places with wins in South America, while Paraguay joined them after a scoreless draw against Ecuador (and then declared a national holiday to celebrate). Morocco became the first African nation to qualify, sealing their place with a 5-0 rout of Niger on Friday.

Here’s what to know about who has qualified for the 2026 World Cup, who might join them in the near future, and a breakdown of how many berths each of the world’s regions gets:

Who has qualified for World Cup 2026?

The 2026 World Cup will be the first ever to include 48 nations, a massive jump up from the 32 that competed in Qatar in 2022. The qualifying process varies from confederation to confederation, with 17 nations having clinched their places in next summer’s massive tournament.

Here is a complete list of every country to qualify for the 2026 World Cup as of Friday, Sept. 5:

Host nations: Canada, Mexico, United States
Asia: Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, South Korea, Uzbekistan
Africa: Morocco
Concacaf: None yet
Europe: None yet
Oceania: New Zealand
South America: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay

World Cup qualifying: Who could clinch a 2026 spot next?

World Cup qualifying is going on worldwide, with each confederation’s schedule and process containing variations. However, in the next few days, three countries could claim their places at the 2026 tournament:

Algeria: A win on Monday against Guinea (which will be played in Casablanca, Morocco, as Guinea doesn’t have a stadium that meets CAF standards) combined with Uganda failing to beat Somalia in Kampala would send Algeria to their fifth men’s World Cup.
Egypt: With three games left to play, Egypt leads Group A by five points over Burkina Faso. Those two meet in Ouagadougou on Tuesday, and a win for the visitors would get ‘the Pharoahs’ back into the World Cup after they missed out in 2022.
Tunisia: Tunisia leads Group H by seven points with three games to play, leaving them with several paths to clinch qualifying. A win on Monday at Equatorial Guinea would do the job, as would Namibia failing to defeat São Tomé and Príncipe on Tuesday.

Additionally, there are two high-pressure games in South America, where Venezuela and Bolivia are fighting for the region’s only intercontinental playoff spot. Venezuela holds a one-point lead between the two (as well as a 12-goal edge in the first tiebreaker, goal difference), meaning that a win at home over Colombia will keep their hopes alive.

Bolivia must beat Brazil — something they’ve only done once, back in 2009 — and hope for Venezuela to stumble at the finish line. Otherwise, the ‘Vinotinto’ will begin looking forward to the intercontinental playoff.

World Cup 2026: How many spots for each region?

Here is a complete breakdown of how FIFA sorted out all 48 berths at the 2026 World Cup:

Host nations (3): Canada, Mexico, and the United States all qualified as soon as they were picked to host the tournament.
Asia (8): Six Asian countries have qualified. The Asian Football Confederation’s fourth round (which will settle who claims the final two automatic bids) begins on Wednesday, Oct. 8.
Africa (9): African qualifying sorted 54 countries into nine groups of six (though Eritrea withdrew from Group E before play began). Group winners all qualify, while the best four runners-up will have a pathway to the intercontinental playoff.
Concacaf (3): The region’s third round — featuring three groups of four — began on Thursday, Sept. 4. Group winners qualify directly, while the two best runners-up will enter the intercontinental playoff.
Europe (16): UEFA qualifying features 54 teams broken up into 12 groups. Group winners qualify for the World Cup, while the second-place finishers (along with the top four teams from the UEFA Nations League who didn’t win their qualifying groups) will enter a playoff for Europe’s final four berths that is set for March 2026.
Oceania (1): New Zealand has already claimed Oceania’s only guaranteed berth at the 2026 World Cup.
South America (6): CONMEBOL’s marathon qualifying tournament is down to one final round of games, but all six direct spots have already been clinched. The region’s seventh-place finisher (which will be either Venezuela or Bolivia) will go into the intercontinental playoff.
Intercontinental playoff (2): New Caledonia is the only team locked into a spot in what will be a six-team tournament scheduled for March 2026.

NEW YORK — The final that everyone anticipated has come to fruition. The top two seeds will clash for the title at Flushing Meadows.

Jannik Sinner will face Carlos Alcaraz in the US Open final in defense of his title on Sunday, Sept. 7 after the top-seeded Italian took down Felix Auger-Aliassime, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Friday night.

Auger-Aliassime, a 25-year-old Canadian making his first appearance in the US Open semifinals in four years, was aiming to become the second men’s singles player from his country to reach a Grand Slam final.

With the victory, the 24-year-old Sinner becomes the fourth and youngest man in the Open Era to play in the finals of all four Grand Slam tournaments in one season.

It will be the first time ever two male players have played in three straight Grand Slam finals within one year.

After winning the Australian Open in January over Alexander Zverev, Alcaraz beat Sinner in a five-set thriller at the French Open final. Sinner returned the favor by taking home the Wimbledon title in July, and the Spaniard went on to defeat him for the Cincinnati Open championship, serving as a tune-up for the US Open. Alcaraz and Sinner have won each of the seven Grand Slam championships, and the stakes couldn’t be bigger. Not only is a $5 million check at stake, but the winner of Sunday’s match will become the No. 1-ranked player in the world.

Sinner was surgical in the first set, winning 6-1, using a powerful forehand to force Auger-Aliassime into multiple errors, and capitalizing on opportunities to establish a strong lead.

Those opportunities came in the second set, as it was Sinner who was uncharacteristically sloppy, with only two winners as both men played a chess game to see who could get over on each other’s lightning-fast serve, both sometimes topping out at over 120 mph. Auger-Aliassime took control and won the last three games of the set, sending the crowd at Ashe into thunderous applause.

Sinner called for medical personnel to check on him in between the second and third sets. When he returned from the timeout he went straight to work, winning three straight games after the score was tied at two games each and ending the set when Auger-Aliassime’s backhand went into the net.

Sinner, now on a 27-match hard-court winning streak, struggled at times to put away Auger-Aliassime, who didn’t help his cause with five double faults, but finally wrapped up the three-hour, 21-minute affair when Auger-Aliassime committed the last of his 41 unforced errors, a forehand return that hit the net.

Jannik Sinner vs. Felix Auger-Aliassime semifinal highlights

Order restored as Sinner takes the third set

Two down, one to go for Sinner as he methodically put away Auger-Aliassime in the third set 6-3. Between the second and third sets, Sinner called for medical personnel to check on him, and when he returned from the timeout, he went straight to work, winning three straight games after the score was tied at two games each and ending the set when Auger-Aliassime’s backhand went into the net.

Auger-Aliassime wins second set

Auger-Aliassime roared back into the match by taking the last three games of the second set, winning 6-3. Sinner is not getting his first serve over, and Auger-Aliassime punished him, especially in the eighth game, allowing the momentum that Sinner had from the first set to disappear completely. Sinner lost a set for only the second time all tournament.

Auger-Aliassime shows signs of life

Sinner has made some uncharacteristic errors, and Auger-Aliassime has held serve so far. If he can get the set to at least a tiebreak or break Sinner’s serve, there might be a match. Tied at three games each heading down the stretch in the second set.

Sinner takes first set in easy fashion

Sinner is rolling, winning the first set 6-1, and dominating with his forehand. Auger-Aliassime can’t get out of his own way with 11 unforced errors and is getting a workout chasing Sinner’s return all over the court. Mismatch on all levels so far.

Sinner dominant in early going

Sinner has been absolutely surgical so far, breaking Felix Auger-Aliassime and dominating when it is his turn to serve. Sinner’s lead of 3-0 might be insurmountable if the young Canadian can’t put up much of a fight.

How to watch Jannik Sinner vs. Felix Auger-Aliassime

No. 1 seed Jannik Sinner will face off against No. 25 Felix Auger-Aliassime in a U.S. Open men’s semifinal match.

Date: Friday, Sept. 5
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Location: Arthur Ashe Stadium (Flushing, New York)
TV: ESPN

Watch the US Open on Fubo

How to watch 2025 US Open: Dates, TV, streaming

Dates: Sunday, Aug. 24-Sunday, Sept. 7
Location: USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, New York
TV: ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Deportes
Stream: Fubo

The San Francisco Giants won nine of 10 games entering Saturday and have pulled within four games of the New York Mets in the NL wild-card standings, ahead of the Arizona Diamondbacks and fading Cincinnati Reds.

In the AL wild-card chase, the Seattle Mariners have lost seven of 10 and have two teams – the Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals – within a game for the final playoff spot. Seattle’s struggles also opened the door for the Tampa Bay Rays and Cleveland Guardians.

The 2025 regular season ends on Sunday, Sept. 28.

Here’s a look at the least standings:

Updated through games played Friday, Sept. 5

AL wild card standings

Top three reach playoffs

New York Yankees (78-63): +5 games
Boston Red Sox (78-64): +4.5 games
Seattle Mariners (73-68)
Texas Rangers (73-69): 0.5 games back
Kansas City Royals (72-69): 1 GB
Tampa Bay Rays (71-70): 2 GB
Cleveland Guardians (70-70): 2.5 GB

NL wild card standings

Top three reach playoffs

Chicago Cubs (81-60): +5 games
San Diego Padres (76-65) – hold 3-0 tiebreaker vs. Mets with three to play
New York Mets (76–65)
San Francisco Giants (72-69): 4 GB
Arizona Diamondbacks (71-71): 5.5 GB
Cincinnati Reds (70-71): 6 GB
St. Louis Cardinals (70-72): 6.5 GB

AL East

Toronto Blue Jays (82-59)
New York Yankees (78-63): 4 games back
Boston Red Sox (78-64): 4.5 GB

AL Central

Detroit Tigers (81-61)
Kansas City Royals (72-69): 8.5 GB

AL West

Houston Astros (77-65)
Seattle Mariners (73-68): 3.5 GB
Texas Rangers (73-69): 4 GB

NL East

Philadelphia Phillies (82-59)
New York Mets (76-65): 6 GB

NL Central

Milwaukee Brewers (87-55)
Chicago Cubs (81-60): 5.5 GB

NL West

Los Angeles Dodgers (78-63)
San Diego Padres (76-65): 2 GB

The Kansas City Chiefs are playing Friday night’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers with a depleted wide receiving corps. Rashee Rice is suspended to start the season and rookie Jalen Royals is nursing a knee injury.

After their first series on offense, they are down another wideout.

Second-year receiver Xavier Worthy made contact with tight end Travis Kelce on a third-down pass and had to be helped off the field.

He was later seen heading to the locker room with 10 minutes to go in the first quarter.

Xavier Worthy injury update

Worthy was officially ruled out with a shoulder injury. He was originally listed as questionable to return.

Chiefs coach Andy Reid told media post-game that they will know more about Worthy’s status when they return home from Brazil tomorrow. Once in Kansas City, Worthy will have an MRI on his shoulder and the team will go from there.

Worthy was down on the field shortly before walking off under his own power. Trainers were seen working on his arm after he reached the sideline. He was later seen walking to the locker room with trainers with a towel over his head.

Chiefs WR depth chart

Here’s who is active at wide receiver for the Chiefs tonight against the Chargers besides Worthy:

Hollywood Brown
JuJu Smith-Schuster
Jason Brownlee
Tyquan Thornton
Nikko Remigio

This post will be updated with more information when available.

The Los Angeles Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs are locked in a close battle in their season opener from São Paulo, Brazil. It’s a game of fine margins as the Chiefs pulled within one point of the Chargers in their opening drive of the third quarter.

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes scrambled down the right sideline and dove in for the Chiefs’ first touchdown of the game.

They didn’t pull even on points with the Chargers, though, as kicker Harrison Butker’s extra point didn’t make it through the uprights.

While the kick did sail wide right of the uprights, that comment from Eisen may be a subtle reference to Butker’s political leanings. The Chiefs kicker supported President Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, calling him the ‘most pro-life president.’

‘I’m supporting the president that’s going to be the most pro-life president, and I think Donald Trump is the most pro-life president,’ Butker said on Fox News. ‘That’s a topic that is the most crucial topic for me. I want us to be fighting for the most vulnerable, fighting for the unborn, and that’s what we should prioritize.’

Butker’s controversial commencement speech at Benedictine College in May 2024 drew a response from many commentators, Eisen included.

‘It’s outrageous,’ Eisen said. ‘Of course he has his right to say whatever he wants to say and that might be his belief system but to say that people who are about to receive their diplomas are being lied to diabolically because they are being told that some title awaits them through their hard work isn’t as rewarding as being a mother or being a homemaker… it’s just an outrage.’

Star running back Christian McCaffrey is listed as questionable for the 49ers’ regular season opener on the road against the Seattle Seahawks. He did not participate in San Francisco’s Friday practice with a calf injury.

He was suited up for today’s practice but went through his own training routine apart from the other running backs.

McCaffrey told reporters after practice that he feels good and plans to play Sunday.

‘I feel great about where I’m at,’ McCaffrey said. ‘Just unfortunately, when you have the injury history that I have, sometimes when you don’t practice things get blown out of proportion. Like I said, I feel great.’

McCaffrey said he wanted to be cautious ahead of Week 1.

‘I felt like it was the smart thing to do to not finish the practice because I’ve been there before and I’ve been my own worst enemy in situations like that,’ he said.

McCaffrey missed the first eight games of the 2024 NFL season with calf and Achilles injuries. A year after winning Offensive Player of the Year, McCaffrey failed to score a touchdown in just four games of action.

The 29-year-old running back appeared to have a healthier offseason in 2025 but this is a setback with less than a week until the 49ers’ first game.

San Francisco traded for running back Brian Robinson Jr. two weeks ago from the Washington Commanders for a sixth-round draft pick. His addition looms larger with this news if McCaffrey is out for extended period or has a reduced snap count.

49ers RB depth chart

Robinson Jr. is one of multiple running backs who could shoulder a larger load of the offense if McCaffrey misses time. Here’s how the depth chart at the position looks ahead of the season opener:

Christian McCaffrey
Brian Robinson Jr.
Isaac Guerendo
Jordan James

The team also has Sincere McCormick signed to the practice squad.