Watkins Glen, New York – Chris Buescher lost a playoff berth at Kansas when Kyle Larson clipped him on the final lap to win the closest finish in NASCAR history.

Buescher fought with Tyler Reddick after being denied a shot at the checkered flag following a late collision at Darlington, enraged that another postseason bid had been ruined.

Who knows. If Chris had made it to NASCAR’s postseason, he could have been a dark horse to defeat for the Cup title.

Buescher Tries Not To Think About Missed Shot For NASCAR Playoff Spot After Win At The Glen

Chris had to play spoiler on Sunday at Watkins Glen’s road course.

Buescher’s last lap overtake on road-course ace Shane van Gisbergen in overtime propelled the RFK Racing driver to victory.

Chris led five consecutive non-playoff drivers to victory in a road-course race that played havoc on Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., Brad Keselowski, and a few title candidates.

“We’re going to play spoiler as much as we can in the next seven or eight weeks, as well,” Buescher told me.

Let the playoff field of 16 worry about their Cup championship chances heading into Saturday’s cutoff race at Bristol.

Instead, Chris had to figure out how to get all the champagne out of a large bottle of wine he had brought with him from Victory Lane.

“Looks ridiculous, don’t it?” Buescher cracked.

With title contenders well behind them, Buescher and van Gisbergen battled door-to-door to a dramatic finish on The Glen’s 2.45-mile road course. Van Gisbergen, who won his NASCAR debut at the Chicago street race last season, claimed the lead from the second row on a three-wide move during an overtime restart. Buescher pursued him in the No. 17 Ford, and the two cars collided at the “Bus Stop” – a vital inner loop on the circuit — before Buescher sped past van Gisbergen.

“I knew Chris was going to send it and push me if he could get there,” van Gisbergen explained. “I twisted, became a little loose, and clipped the interior wall. There was a driver error. I’m gutted.

Buescher outperformed the New Zealand driver in NASCAR’s second playoff race of the season. Carson Hocevar placed third, followed by Ross Chastain and Zane Smith.

Yes, it was that type of race.

Buescher, who won three times last season, qualified 24th and won his sixth Cup race.

“If we’re going to be blunt about it, not having to think about points at all on the playoff-side of it, or any cutoffs, opened up more opportunities for us today to go out there and get that win,” Buescher reported.

He also scored his second postseason upset in three seasons. Buescher won the third playoff race at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2022 for RFK Racing, the long-time Jack Roush-owned squad that competed with Keselowski in the ownership group two years previously. It was the first occasion in this iteration of NASCAR’s postseason that a playoff driver failed to win a race in a round.

Buescher Tries Not To Think About Missed Shot For NASCAR Playoff Spot After Win At The Glen

Joey Logano won the playoff opener in Atlanta last weekend and is the only driver who is guaranteed to advance to the next round.

After a few difficult seasons — Buescher went winless from 2017 to 2021 — he has tried not to concentrate on the close calls this season that robbed him of a postseason spot. He only wanted to savor the checkered flag and the rewards that come with it, such as a large bottle of champagne.

“Missing the playoffs hurt,” Buescher admitted. “It stung there. The season we had, with so many close calls and near misses, did not feel good. It’s a nice old-fashioned win. In that way, it’s incredibly meaningful for me and the crew to get this Mustang to victory lane.”

SOURCE | AP

(VOR News) – In the Sunday Night Football game that took place in Houston, Chicago Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams was sacked seven times by the Houston Texans.

The good news is that Williams, a former standout player for the USC Trojans in college, did not suffer any serious injuries. He provided an update on his health following the game.

Caleb Williams was in a position to provide this knowledge.

According to the official transcript, Caleb Williams was said to have said, “I’m a little bruised up,” following the defeat. Several blows have been delivered to my body today. I’m going to finish all of the duties that are expected of me and take ice baths to make sure my body is prepared for tomorrow.

Apart from that, I’ll be practicing on the other days and playing in the next game, of course.

The Bears are currently 1-1 compared to their prior record following their 19-13 loss to the Texans in Week 2 of the NFL season. In a game that was supposed to be a formal “Welcome to the League” match, Williams was hit eleven times by the quarterback for Houston.

Houston defensive end Will Anderson Jr. said this about Caleb Williams:

“It’s always fun getting after any quarterback.” This season, Caleb Williams was the target of 1.5 sacks. Williams was the quarterback in this particular occasion.

All we wanted to do was maintain applying the pressure we had previously set to him for the length of this week.

Williams completed 23 of 37 throws for 174 yards and a completion percentage of 174 yards at the end of the game; two of his attempts were intercepted. Caleb Williams’ future seems bright for the Bears organization, which selected the Heisman Trophy winner with the first overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Williams’ ability has been evident, and the Bears management is optimistic about his future. Caleb Williams has already participated in two starts during his tenure in the National Football League.

Chicago, on the other side, must devise a strategy that will both safeguard Williams and encourage some offensive output. Chicago coach Matt Eberflus responded to the ultimately disappointing offensive performance by saying, “That’s an everybody thing.”

“That’s an everybody thing.” We must excel in three positions: the offensive line, the tight ends, and the running backs. For the passes, timing and rhythm are equally important.

What play design is being used in order to take the ball out of the game? Along with his readings and other related materials. Furthermore, it affects everyone, which is why we must see to it that everything is cleaned up.

Caleb Williams wants to revamp Chicago’s offence as he did at USC.

In addition to breaking the single-season record for total offense at USC (4,919 yards), Williams also set records for passing completions (333), touchdown passes thrown (42), passing yards gained (4,537), passing attempts (500), passing yards gained (500), passing yards gained (500), passing completions (333), passing touchdowns (52), and passing plays (613).

The University of Southern California will formally retire the No. 13 jersey that Caleb Williams wore prior to the conclusion of this season. Right now, his number is on display on the peristyle of the Los Angeles Coliseum, next to the numbers of the eight previous Heisman champions that the stadium has produced.

Although the child is experiencing some growing pains, the 2024 season of the National Football League has just begun.

The subsequent game is scheduled to commence at 12:00 p.m. Pacific Time on Sunday, September 22nd. This matchup will take place in Indianapolis and will feature the Chicago Bears and the Indianapolis Colts. The contest is scheduled to be played in Indianapolis.

For the third time in as many contests this season, the Chicago Bears will face an American Football Conference South team. Two freshman quarterbacks, Caleb Williams and Anthony Richardson of Indianapolis, will be intriguing to observe during the game. These two quarterbacks are quite proficient.

SOURCE: SI

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Minneapolis  Vikings— Sam Darnold’s difficulties in his first five years in the NFL pushed him to backup status in San Francisco last season, as another prospect failed to produce like a premium selection pick.

He has swiftly regained his position in Minnesota.

Darnold tossed for 268 yards and two touchdowns against his former team, including a 97-yard connection to Justin Jefferson in the second quarter, and the Vikings’ energetically attacking defense powered them to a 23-17 victory against the 49ers on Sunday.

Sam Darnold And An Attacking Defense Drive The Undefeated Vikings In A 23-17 Win Over The 49ers

“Sam has made a lot of outstanding decisions. Jefferson stated, “We just have to keep trusting him to make those decisions.”

Among those wise decisions was to join the Vikings, who needed a veteran to stabilize the offense before handing it over to rookie J.J. McCarthy, who suffered a season-ending knee injury last month.

“The amount of work that goes into that position on your quarterback journey when everybody decides that you can not play — we always believed in him,” Kevin O’Connell, his coach, told reporters. “It felt awesome to watch him go do that thing.”

Darnold finished 17 for 26 with one interception for the Vikings (2-0), who had three field goals from rookie Will Reichard and 146 running yards in their most productive ground game in nearly three years (6.1 yards per attempt).

Blake Cashman had 13 tackles, three passes defended, and a sack, while Patrick Jones II had two of Brock Purdy’s six sacks. Purdy threw two interceptions and played from behind the whole game.

“We have the players. We’ve got the plan. “We’ve got what it takes,” said Purdy, who finished 28 for 36 for 319 yards. “It’s dropping back and executing and getting the ball into guys’ hands.”

Despite two red zone turnovers that the 49ers (1-1) converted into touchdowns and a quadriceps injury that knocked Jefferson out of the game in the third quarter, Darnold and the Vikings put on a display in his home debut after backing up Purdy last season for the NFC champs.

But in terms of a statement win by a club projected to finish last in the NFC North or a told-you-so performance by a quarterback on the verge of being discarded by the public, he falls short.

“I don’t get into narratives like that,” Darnold said. “I think the biggest thing for us is just continuing to take it one day at a time.”

Jordan Mason ran 20 times for 100 yards and a touchdown for the 49ers in another solid replacement for All-Pro Christian McCaffrey, who will miss at least two more games due to lower leg problems.

The Vikings may have won easily if it hadn’t been for Fred Warner, the three-time All-Pro linebacker who made his NFL debut for the 49ers in the season opener against Minnesota in 2018.

Warner, who finished with nine tackles and two passes defended, made a diving interception at the San Francisco 10 to end a promising drive with the Vikings up 10-0. The 49ers took advantage of the momentum with a five-play drive that ended with a touchdown toss from Purdy to George Kittle.

Then, in the fourth quarter, with the Vikings leading 20-7, Warner jarred the ball loose from Aaron Jones at the 1-yard line after an 18-yard run.

Kittle recorded seven catches for 76 yards, giving him the third-most receiving yards (6,390) by a tight end in NFL history after 100 games. Rob Gronkowski (7,112) and Travis Kelce (6,762) were the only players with more.

Try again.
San Francisco has dropped eight straight games at Minnesota, including the second straight year following a 22-17 setback on a Monday night in Week 7 last season. The most recent victory here came in 1992.

AP News Image

Sam Darnold And An Attacking Defense Drive The Undefeated Vikings In A 23-17 Win Over The 49ers

Ham it up!

C.J. Ham, the Vikings’ ninth-year fullback and special teams stalwart blocked a punt to set up the team’s first field goal. Theo Jackson picked it up for a 37-yard return to the San Francisco 24.

Injuries: 49ers’ Talanoa Hufanga (knee) missed his second consecutive game. His backup, Odum, was the last line of defense on Jefferson’s touchdown. Coach Kyle Shanahan said “nobody knows” when McCaffrey will return.

Viking: WR Jordan Addison (ankle) was out due to an injury sustained during the game last week. Dallas Turner, a rookie OLB, left with a knee injury that was not judged serious, O’Connell said.

The 49ers will travel to Los Angeles to face the Rams next Sunday. The 49ers had a 10-game regular-season winning streak against their division opponent, except the NFC championship game in 2021-22, which ended with a 21-20 loss to the Rams on January 7, 2024. Darnold made only one start for the 49ers.

The Vikings will host Houston on September 22. They are 5-0 all-time against the Texans.

SOURCE | AP