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Sports

Some Vikings-Browns fans in London get apology and partial refund "credits"

Details
08 October 2025

Some of the fans who were trying to enter Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday to watch the Vikings-Browns game encountered delays due to the reported malfunction of the OnePass ticketing app.

Via the Associated Press, Ticketmaster (which "powers" the OnePass app) has now apologized and offered partial refund "credits" to those who were affected by the snafu.

Per the report, Ticketmaster posted to certain accounts a 50-percent credit for the face value of the ticket for what the company described as a "ticketing issue." The number of fans who received the credit isn't known, and both Ticketmaster and the NFL declined to disclose to the AP the number of fans who were impacted by the glitch.

“The experience fell short of our standards and the service we aim to deliver on behalf of the NFL,” Ticketmaster said in an email to the affected fans.

Ticketmaster will allow the partial refund to be used for tickets to Sunday's Broncos-Jets game. Otherwise, the amount "will be converted into a Ticketmaster gift card" that can be used "across our site for future events."

In other words, it's not a refund. The fans will only benefit from the gesture by giving more even money to Ticketmaster.

“The operation to safely admit ticket holders was fully coordinated with NFL and Tottenham Hotspur’s stadium operations team," both entities said in identical statements to the AP. “Ticketmaster, the NFL, and Tottenham Hotspur were able to verify ticket holders using a secondary form of verification. The situation was addressed as efficiently as possible and all fans entered the stadium safely."

Regardless, it shouldn't have happened. And things like this didn't happen back when tickets were tickets and not images stored on a phone. But, hey, it's a lot easier for Ticketmaster and similar entities to now facilitate widespread legalized and normalized scalping of ticket (and to wet their beak with each and every transaction) if it's all done electronically only.

For that reason, the refunds should be real dollars returned to the impacted customers. And the refunds should be full, not partial.

Those folks paid for access to the game. All of it, not part of it. If, as it appears, Ticketmaster's technology prevented that, they should receive a full refund in the form of the face value of the ticket.

Read more …

NFL quarter season team grades: Only a few teams look like Super Bowl contenders

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08 October 2025

The list of teams that feel like legitimate Super Bowl contenders is very small, considering we're only about a quarter of the way through the season. 

The Bills are one in the AFC, maybe someone from the AFC West is too, and perhaps you believe in the Colts or Jaguars. The NFC is a little deeper, but everyone has taken on at least one bad loss after only five weeks. Teams like the Eagles, Lions, Packers and Rams are very good, but consistency hasn't been a strong suit. 

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There's still a long way to go this season, with months remaining for Super Bowl contenders to emerge. Let's take a look at each team's grade about a quarter of the way into the season: 

(Jump to a team or division to see their grades)

AFC East:Buffalo Bills | New England Patriots | Miami Dolphins | New York Jets

AFC North:Pittsburgh Steelers | Cleveland Browns | Cincinnati Bengals | Baltimore Ravens

AFC South: Indianapolis Colts | Jacksonville Jaguars | Houston Texans | Tennessee Titans

AFC West: Denver Broncos | Los Angeles Chargers | Kansas City Chiefs | Las Vegas Raiders

NFC East: Philadelphia Eagles | Washington Commanders | Dallas Cowboys | New York Giants

NFC North: Detroit Lions | Green Bay Packers | Chicago Bears | Minnesota Vikings

NFC South: Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Atlanta Falcons | Carolina Panthers | New Orleans Saints

NFC West: San Francisco 49ers | Seattle Seahawks | Los Angeles Rams | Arizona Cardinals

AFC East

Buffalo Bills

There wasn't much question about the grade before Sunday night. The Bills had a great runout in September, with the rest of the AFC dealing with injuries or disappointing play. A home loss to the Patriots is a setback but the Bills are still clearly the favorite to get the AFC's No. 1 seed. They'll need to clean some things up, but every NFL team does after the first five weeks. And this team has Josh Allen. 

Grade: A

New England Patriots

The difference between Week 1 and Week 5 is dramatic. In the opener, the Patriots looked terrible and lost at home to the Raiders. Week 2 wasn't much better, barely beating the Dolphins. But the Patriots have improved and got a signature win at the Bills on Sunday night. It wasn't a perfect start to the season, but Drake Maye looks like the real deal and the Patriots appear to be a playoff contender. 

Grade: B

Miami Dolphins

At least the Dolphins aren't winless. They beat the woebegone Jets. Everything else hasn't looked great, and it's unlikely to get better with Tyreek Hill out for the season and the run defense looking like it can't be fixed. The Dolphins aren't the worst team in the NFL, but it's close and Mike McDaniel is clearly on the hot seat going forward. 

Grade: D

New York Jets

Only one team doesn't have a win. The Jets looked OK in Week 1, barely losing to the Steelers. It has been rough ever since. Most of their games haven't been competitive. They make way too many mistakes for a team that is already at a talent disadvantage. It's way too early to start seriously worrying about Aaron Glenn as a new head coach, but nothing has looked good for the Jets yet. 

Grade: F

AFC North

Pittsburgh Steelers

The Steelers were a mystery coming into the season. And it hasn't been a great start for them in all ways. Aaron Rodgers is surprisingly reluctant to throw it downfield or even far beyond the line of scrimmage. The defense has been worse than anticipated. But they're winning games. The Steelers are 3-1 and given the state of the rest of the AFC North, they could win a division title. That's a pretty cool story in what might be Rodgers' last season. 

Grade: B

Cleveland Browns

Want an idea how the AFC North is doing? A 1-4 team has the second best grade. The Browns' defense has been excellent. They've been competitive in most games and have a really good win over the Packers. The rookie class has been promising, which might be the most important development for them so far this season. Cleveland won't win many games but there are reasons to feel OK about how things are going. 

Grade: C-

Cincinnati Bengals

Even before Joe Burrow's injury, the offense looked bad. They clearly couldn't protect Burrow, their most valuable asset. Then Burrow went on injured reserve and the Bengals turned into one of the NFL's worst teams. Joe Flacco isn't saving this. Burrow's injury was unfortunate, but let's not act like it was just bad luck and it derailed a championship season. The Bengals have been disappointing since the season kicked off, and their organizational failures had a hand in that Burrow injury too. 

Grade: D-

Baltimore Ravens

The Ravens came into the season with Super Bowl dreams and find themselves with a 1-4 record. It will be 1-5 if they don't upset the Rams. Injuries have been unfortunate and voluminous, but the defense was bad before the injury report filled up. The collapse against the Bills in Week 1 set the tone for an extremely disappointing first quarter of the season. There's reason to believe the Ravens can rally when healthy, but the first five weeks were a complete debacle. 

Grade: F

AFC South

Indianapolis Colts

Even if you were optimistic about the Colts, nobody saw this start coming. Daniel Jones looks like a revelation. Jonathan Taylor is an NFL Offensive Player of the Year candidate. The defense has been good. Shane Steichen went from the hot seat to one of the NFL's hottest coaches. Had it not been for some bad mental mistakes at the Rams, the Colts would be 5-0. What an incredible start. 

Grade: A

Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jaguars legitimized their hot start with an impressive comeback win over the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 5. They have a road win at the 49ers too. Losing to the Bengals, led by Jake Browning in the second half, was really bad. There are some things to iron out, most notably consistency in the passing game. But they're 4-1. Liam Coen might be your NFL Coach of the Year by the end of the season. The AFC South race could be fun. 

Grade: A-

Houston Texans

Two weeks ago, this grade might have been an F. The Texans couldn't protect C.J. Stroud, the offense looked broken and they were 0-3. It was a horrible start for the AFC South favorite. Beating the Titans and the beaten-up Ravens isn't proof that everything is better, but it's a start. It's not too late for the Texans to rally, though we'll need to see them play well against tougher competition. 

Grade: C-

Tennessee Titans

A miracle win against the Cardinals at least stops the bleeding. But everything else about the Titans has been pretty bad so far. Coach Brian Callahan has made some inexcusable mistakes, and he has to be on the hot seat. The Titans aren't doing enough around Cam Ward, and Ward hasn't played great yet either. The defense isn't good. The Titans are in contention to get the first pick of the NFL Draft. Again. 

Grade: F+

AFC West

Denver Broncos

The Broncos have two losses, both on the road to good teams, both with no time left on the clock. That has kept them under the radar, though that might change after their win over Philadelphia. The defense has been very good. The offense has been up and down, and whether the Broncos become true Super Bowl contenders depends on whether Bo Nix plays better. A win at Philadelphia is one of the best wins of the entire NFL season, though we can't totally forget the losses against the Chargers or Colts. 

Grade: B

Los Angeles Chargers

The Chargers were the talk of the NFL two weeks ago. Then they lost at the Giants, lost at home to the Commanders and injuries have piled up. The Chargers still can win the AFC West, but it gets a lot harder with Joe Alt, Rashawn Slater, Omarion Hampton, Najee Harris and Khalil Mack dealing with injuries. It's probably not fair to dock the Chargers too much for injuries, but they've lost a lot of momentum. 

Grade: B-

Kansas City Chiefs

Fans might want a Chiefs demise to be a thing, but it's premature. The Chiefs have lost competitive games to the Chargers, Eagles and Jaguars, who are a combined 11-4. It's just that their good luck in close games is regressing. Patrick Mahomes is playing very well. Rashee Rice will help in a couple weeks. If you think the Chiefs are dead because they're 2-3, you'll probably be surprised in a couple months. 

Grade: C

Las Vegas Raiders

The Raiders looked like the type of team that could be feisty this season. They brought in Pete Carroll and Geno Smith to start winning right away. They beat the Patriots in Week 1. And since then it has been putrid. They've lost four in a row. Smith is throwing interceptions at a startling rate. A 40-6 loss to the Colts in Week 5 tells us where the Raiders are at, and it's not in a better place than a year ago. 

Grade: D-

NFC East

Philadelphia Eagles

You'd think a Super Bowl champion sitting at 4-1 wouldn't have a care in the world. But the Eagles are the student in class that studies just enough to pass. They haven't played a complete game yet. The passing offense has been inconsistent at best. Saquon Barkley hasn't gotten going. The defense has been solid but has had some letdowns, like the first half against the Rams and the fourth quarter against the Broncos. There's no reason to freak out — the Eagles started slow last season, they have the most talented roster in the NFL and they're still 4-1 with some good wins — but they aren't living up to their standard yet. 

Grade: B-

Washington Commanders

It hasn't been a great start for the Commanders. But being 3-2 despite Jayden Daniels missing a couple games due to injury isn't that bad either. Winning at the Chargers in Week 5, with an impressive defensive performance, might be a big turning point in their season. There has been some regression since last season but all in all, it's not a terrible start. 

Grade: B-

Dallas Cowboys

If you want to be optimistic about the Cowboys, you can be. Dak Prescott is playing very well, even without CeeDee Lamb. The Cowboys are 2-2-1, and the tie was a solid one against a good Packers team. On the other hand, one of the wins was pretty fortunate against the Giants, and it exposed the defense as one of the worst in the NFL. Can Prescott overcome a poor defense all season? Probably not, but he gives the Cowboys some hope. 

Grade: C+

New York Giants

The Giants probably should have started Jaxson Dart from Week 1 on and just lived with the mistakes. He gives the entire franchise some juice that it has lacked. So do young players like Cam Skattebo and Abdul Carter, though losing Malik Nabers to a knee injury was a crushing blow. It hasn't been good for the Giants, but at least there are some reasons to believe better days are coming. 

Grade: D

NFC North

Detroit Lions

Some of the reactions to the Lions after Week 1 will be fun to look back on by the end of the season. The Lions looked terrible in the opener against the Packers, a lot of people left them for dead, and they've been the best team in football since. They are showing they don't really miss their coordinators, their offensive line is fine and they'll again be one of the top scoring teams in the NFL. They'll still need to deal with the Packers and a rematch late in the season, but a lot of people prematurely jumped off the Lions bandwagon after one bad game. And look around: Every team has had a bad game so far. 

Grade: A

Green Bay Packers

The Packers were valedictorians of the NFL after two games and about 56 minutes of Week 3. Then they absolutely blew a game to the 1-4 Browns and only managed a tie against a defensively challenged Cowboys team. Green Bay looked like the best team in football through two dominant performances. Then they couldn't get a win against two teams that they should have beat. It's still a good team, maybe even a Super Bowl team, but the loss and tie are very disappointing. 

Grade: B-

Chicago Bears

The Bears started slowly, looked a lot better against the Cowboys in Week 3 and then pulled out a win against a hapless Raiders team on a blocked field goal. It wasn't going to be perfect in Ben Johnson's first season, so the slow start isn't that problematic. As long as Caleb Williams continues to improve it'll be a positive season, and he has shown signs of that in the last two games. 

Grade: C

Minnesota Vikings

Everything has been weird for the Vikings. They needed big comebacks against the Bears and Browns to pull out wins. They also had a rough loss against the Steelers when the comeback came up short. J.J. McCarthy's early struggles aren't a sign that he's a bust, but it's a little alarming. Carson Wentz hasn't run away with the job with McCarthy out due to injury, but he has been competent. The Vikings are 3-2 but it could easily be 2-3 or 1-4, which makes it hard to get any real read on them. 

Grade: C

NFC South 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

We can wonder if the Bucs are for real or just extremely lucky early this season, with four wins that came in the final minute of their games. It might not matter. The Buccaneers have banked four wins, three on the road, and will continue to get healthier and better. Baker Mayfield has been really good even with some major injuries around him. The defense still isn't great, and if it improves, the Bucs might be a championship contender. 

Grade: A-

Atlanta Falcons

The Falcons being shut out in a 30-0 loss at Carolina is mind-blowing. The rest of their season has been OK. Michael Penix has been up and down. The defense has improved, though it has allowed at least 23 points in three of four games. The Falcons were supposed to be a contender to the Buccaneers in the NFC South, and might become that. Their outlook would look better if they didn't miss a field goal in the final seconds of their home loss to the Bucs in Week 1. For now they're comfortably middle of the road. 

Grade: C

Carolina Panthers

The Panthers were supposed to be a strong offensive team with a bad defense. The defense hasn't been good, other than one outlier shutout against the Falcons, and the offense has been mostly disappointing too. Bryce Young hasn't taken a step forward after a promising finish to last season. Still, Carolina isn't bad. Or good. They're 2-0 at home and 0-3 on the road, which tells you what you need to know. There's a lot to work on over the rest of the season. 

Grade: C-

New Orleans Saints

The Saints were predicted by many to be the worst team in football. They haven't been great, but they're far from the worst. There has been only one blowout loss, and they did get a win against the Giants. Spencer Rattler has helped keep them in most games. The first quarter of the season could have gone a lot worse. But they're still 1-4, so nobody is planning a parade down Bourbon Street for them. 

Grade: D+

NFC West

San Francisco 49ers

The Ravens and Bengals might argue, but nobody has dealt with more injury adversity than the 49ers so far. And yet, they're 4-1. Can they keep that up without Nick Bosa, who is out for the season? Maybe not. But the 49ers deserve credit for winning most of their games. The win over the Rams in Week 5, with Mac Jones having a career day, was particularly impressive. Kyle Shanahan is doing a phenomenal job. And the schedule is soft enough that when the offense gets healthy this could still be a division champion, even with Bosa out. 

Grade: A

Seattle Seahawks

The Seahawks could be the talk of the NFL. But they blew two winnable home games in the final two minutes, one against the 49ers and the other against the Buccaneers. But the defense looks a lot better and the decision to trade Geno Smith and sign Sam Darnold looks like the right one. Those two losses were unfortunate and could be costly in the playoff and NFC West race, but so far the Seahawks look like a much-improved team in Mike Macdonald's second season. And they did win 10 games last season. 

Grade: B

Los Angeles Rams

The Rams look like a championship contender at times. They also totally blew a game against the Eagles that they dominated for two and a half quarters, then lost at home to a 49ers team that was without a handful of stars including their quarterback. Matthew Stafford looks healthy, which is great. Puka Nacua looks like he might be the best non-quarterback in the NFL this season. The defense has a high ceiling due to a talented front. They just can't keep blowing games that they should be able to finish. 

Grade: B-

Arizona Cardinals

The Cardinals' two wins were against the Saints and home against the Panthers, two games they were expected to win. They lost to a beat-up 49ers team, then had consecutive home losses to the Seahawks and Titans. The latter was very fluky, but you simply can't lose to Tennessee at home. There were hopes for the Cardinals showing improvement this season, but there's been no proof that they are any better. A 2-3 start feels a lot worse than that record would indicate. 

Grade: D

Read more …

Bears coach Ben Johnson downplays team's first game against Commanders since Hail Mary: 'We’re a new team'

Details
08 October 2025

Things ended in disaster the last time the Chicago Bears went on the road to play the Washington Commanders. With Chicago just two seconds away from going 5-2, Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels completed a Hail Mary attempt to stun the Bears.

It was a soul-crushing loss, one that introduced Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson to the rest of the NFL world, and not in a good way. The loss had a long-lasting effect on the team. The Bears lost their next nine games, leading to the firing of Matt Eberflus in the middle of the season.

Given that devastating loss and the reverberating effects it had on the team, there's already a lot of focus on Chicago's trip back to Northwest Stadium in Week 6. While it might be hard to shake what happened last season, new Bears coach Ben Johnson is downplaying the team's return to its worst loss in recent memory.

When asked about last year's game, Johnson stressed that the 2025 Bears are a completely different team, according to NBCSports.com.

“You’d have to talk to those guys about it,” Johnson said. “We’re a new team and we’re just focused on winning this game this week.”

Johnson is among the team's biggest changes. While his tenure has experienced rocky moments thus far — pre-snap penalties and a Week 1 collapse against the Minnesota Vikings were reminiscent of last season — Johnson has also shown flashes of his brilliance. The Bears pulled off an impressive win over the Dallas Cowboys in Week 3 and pulled off an uncharacteristic, tough win over the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 5. While the win over the Raiders wasn't impressive, it was the type of game the team has been known for losing in recent years.

Carrying that momentum into Week 6 would be huge for Chicago. The game against the Commanders not only gives the team a chance to make up for last year's massive error, it also pits Daniels and Caleb Williams against each other again. 

After their rookie seasons, it certainly looked like the Commanders got the best quarterback in the 2024 NFL Draft. Daniels — who the Commanders took No. 2 overall — turned in a Pro Bowl season, picking up 31 total touchdowns and leading the Commanders to the playoffs. Williams — who went No. 1 overall in the draft — looked lost at times during his rookie season, getting sacked a league-leading 68 times while going 5-12 as a stater.

Williams has already shown signs of growth under Johnson. Through four games, Williams has thrown eight touchdowns against two interceptions. Following the team's Week 3 win over the Cowboys, Williams won the NFC Offensive Player of the Week award. It was the first time in his career he took home that honor. 

With the team in a much different spot, the Bears will look for a much different result against the Commanders on Monday night. A loss would sting, though not as much as last year. A win, however, could help the team exorcize some demons, despite Johnson downplaying the contest. 

Read more …

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