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Two Monday Night Football games is a bit much, especially when the second doesn’t start until 9 p.m.
And do we really need exclusive windows for Texans-Buccaneers and Chargers-Raiders?
The format was fine last year. Have your MNF doubleheader, but let’s respect a reasonable bedtime. Is that too much to ask?
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Sidelined.
All-Pro cornerback Jaylon Johnson will be sidelined indefinitely after suffering a groin injury in Sunday’s loss to the Lions.
New Injury: Despite missing the entirety of the Bears’ training camp with a groin issue, this is not a reaggravation, according to Ben Johnson.
Ben Johnson said Monday: “We’re still gathering some information on that. It’s a new injury. It’s not related to what he had before. So we’re still trying to gather a little bit more information before we’ll know for sure.”
On his offseason injury, Jaylon Johnson told The Pivot Podcast recently: “I popped my adductor off my pelvic bone. When I immediately did it, I felt it and was like, ‘nah, this ain’t right,’ and I was telling my wife, ‘nah, I think this is kind of bad.”
Ben Johnson on what the defense loses without Jaylon Johnson: “What he showed yesterday in the limited reps that he did get was the ability to close on the football. … I see sticky coverage. I see recoverability. He certainly can anticipate and he knows what's coming a majority of the time. He does a great job with the film study, so he's a good player. He is a Pro Bowl player for a reason, and he's a guy that you want out there on the field for you, particularly when you give up that many passing yards.”
Jared Goff threw for 334 yards and five touchdowns for a 156.0 passer rating against the Bears’ secondary.
Johnson played just 20 snaps before exiting the game. He did not play in Week 1 due to missing all of camp.
Jaylon Johnson told 670 The Score on Monday: “I wouldn’t say there was any rushing involved. I would say there was a sense of urgency to get back, but definitely no rush. I didn’t do anything reckless. I felt comfortable playing. I know if I didn’t feel comfortable, I wouldn’t have played, no matter what anybody was saying.”
Johnson was the defender the Bears could least afford to lose for any stretch, let alone the entire season, which is on the table should he require surgery.
The secondary behind Johnson is already banged up, with Kyler Gordon categorized as week-to-week while nursing a hamstring reaggravation.
Beyond the Bears missing their top two defensive backs, it’s a hodgepodge of fringe spot-starters better suited for reserve roles.
Tyrique Stevenson and Nahshon Wright both struggled in coverage against the Lions’ offense. We saw the Bears utilize several three-safety looks and coverages in Week 1 with Jaquan Brisker, Kevin Byard and Jonathan Owens all sharing the field.
It is a great opportunity for somebody to rise to the occasion and step into Johnson’s shoes.
But the reality is that no scheme and no group of reserves can replace the top-tier play that Johnson brought to this defense. And it’ll only get tougher against the Cowboys’ dangerous receiving duo of CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens this Sunday.
QUALITY: Good news for the Cubs: Pete Crow-Armstrong might be climbing back to his pre-August form. Crow-Armstrong had 50 extra-base hits heading into the All-Star break. Entering Monday night, he’d hit just 17 since.
The Cubs’ centerfielder picked up a double and crushed a homer in Monday’s series-opener in Pittsburgh. It was Crow-Armstrong’s first game with multiple extra-base hits since doubling twice against the Brewers on July 30th.
On the bump, Jameson Taillon tossed his 12th quality start of the season in 21 starts. In 6.0 innings of work, Taillon allowed two hits, walked two and struck out three, lowering his season ERA from 4.15 to 3.93.
Monday night also marked Taillon’s first scoreless outing of the season.
Cubs 4, Pirates 0
Magic Number: 2
ACTIVATED: The Cubs activated RHP Michael Soroka from the 15-day injured list and optioned RHP Ben Brown to Triple-A Iowa in a corresponding move.
Soroka was acquired from the Washington Nationals at the trade deadline, but completed just two innings of work before exiting his first start with a shoulder strain.
He threw two scoreless innings last night in relief of Taillon.
WHERE’S THE OFFENSE? The White Sox’s chance to avoid 100 losses is slipping away. It doesn’t help that the Sox have scored just four runs over the last four games — all losses.
In that same stretch, Colson Montgomery is just 1-for-10 at the plate with two walks and a whopping seven strikeouts. Montgomery’s rookie strikeout rate is up to 30.5% and he hasn’t homered since September 5th.
It’s been a particularly disappointing stretch for the Sox at the plate, especially considering the solid pitching performances they’ve wasted.
Last night, Sean Burke and Mike Vasil combined for seven innings of work, allowing four hits and just one run. Burke also walked four batters.
Orioles 4, White Sox 1
A vicious cycle.
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9:00 PM • Sep 15, 2025
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