Axios Sports

November 14, 2022
π Happy Monday! Welcome back.
Today's word count: 1,601 words (6 minutes).
Let's sports...
1 big thing: π Game of the year
Patrick Peterson celebrates his game-sealing interception. Photo: Isaiah Vazquez/Getty Images
The Vikings beat the Bills on Sunday, 33-30 (OT), in the best NFL game of the year β and one of the wildest games in recent memory, Axios' Jeff Tracy writes.
- After taking a 27-10 lead with 1:51 left in the third quarter, Buffalo had a 97.6% win probability.
- Then, America's favorite TV show delivered a climax for the ages.
ICYMI: Here's a rundown of the final 16:51 of regulation plus overtime...
- Vikings house call: Dalvin Cook's 81-yard TD was the longest rush of his career and the longest by any player this season. BUF 27, MIN 17.
- Allen falters: Stefon Diggs hauled in a superb one-handed grab early in the drive, but Patrick Peterson ended it with a pick in the end zone. BUF 27, MIN 17.
- Vikings cut the deficit: A long drive ended in a rushing TD by fullback C.J. Ham with 4:34 left in regulation. BUF 27, MIN 23 (missed PAT).
- Catch of the year: After the Bills went three-and-out, Justin Jefferson made the catch of the year on 4th-and-18. But it all appeared for naught after Minny failed to score at the goal line. BUF 27, MIN 23.
- Madness: But wait! With 41 seconds left, Josh Allen fumbled the snap from his own one-yard line and the Vikings recovered for the go-ahead score. MIN 30, BUF 27.
- Controversy: Gabe Davis' 20-yard catch helped set up the game-tying FG that sent the game to OT. But it was never reviewed, and the league later said it would have been ruled incomplete. MIN 30, BUF 30 (OT).
- Minny has to settle: Despite having 1st-and-goal at the 2-yard-line, Minnesota had to settle for a FG. MIN 33, BUF 30 (OT).
- Peterson wins it: Allen nearly redeemed himself with his arm and legs, but Peterson picked him off in the end zone again to win it. MIN 33, BUF 30 (OT).
The big picture: Buffalo (6-3) has lost two straight and falls to third place in the AFC East. Minnesota (8-1) has won seven straight and holds a comfortable NFC North lead over second-place Green Bay (4-6).
More from Sunday:
- 195-1: The Packers beat the Cowboys, 31-28 (OT), to snap their five-game losing streak and hand Dallas its first-ever loss after leading by 14+ points through three quarters (now 195-1).
- 4-0 abroad: The Bucs' 21-16 win over the Seahawks in Munich improved Tom Brady's international record to 4-0, with wins in England (2x), Mexico and Germany.
- Saturday wins debut: Jeff Saturday, who tweeted two weeks ago as an ESPN employee that the "Raiders look horrible," beat the Raiders, 25-20, in his debut as the Colts' interim head coach.
Go deeper: Winners and losers (The Ringer)
2. π Joel Embiid's historic night
Photo: Mitchell Leff/Getty Image
Joel Embiid had one of the most dominant individual performances in NBA history on Sunday, leading the 76ers to a 105-98 win over the Jazz.
By the numbers: Embiid scored a career-high 59 points (19/28 FG, 1/5 3PT, 20/24 FT) and added 11 rebounds, 8 assists and 7 blocks in 36 minutes. He's the first player with at least 50-10-5-5 since blocks became official in 1973.
- He scored 26 of Philadelphia's 27 points in the fourth quarter, becoming the first player to outscore both teams by himself in a fourth quarter (26-21) since Tracy McGrady in 2006.
- "I've never seen a more dominating performance, when you combine offense and defense," said Sixers head coach Doc Rivers, who has played or coached in close to 3,000 NBA games.
The backdrop: This came after Embiid scored 42 points in a win over the Hawks on Saturday, making him just the fourth player to score at least 100 points across a back-to-back since the NBA-ABA merger.
Elsewhere ... There were no 50-point games entering Sunday night. Now there are two, with Darius Garland (51 points in the Cavaliers' 129-124 loss to the Timberwolves) joining Embiid.
3. π΅ This glove just sold for $1.53 million

A Babe Ruth baseball glove sold for $1.53 million on Saturday at the 19th annual Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory auction.
Why it matters: That's the most money ever paid for a baseball glove, far surpassing the $387,500 paid for a Lou Gehrig glove in 1999 and the $373,000 paid for a Jackie Robinson glove in 2013.
Flashback: The glove was manufactured by Spalding for Ruth's use circa 1927-1933. Ruth personally donated it to St. Louis Browns third baseman Jimmy Austin, whose family only recently learned of its value.
"The glove had rested in a box for the last 30 years until we learned of its history."β Susan Kolokoff, niece of Jimmy Austin
The big picture: The sports collectibles market continues to boom. Here are six more items that set category records in the past eight months alone, per Altan Insights.
- π F1 car: Michael Schumacher's championship-winning 2003 Ferrari ($14.9 million this weekend)
- βΎοΈ Sports card: 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle ($12.6 million in August)
- π Jersey: Michael Jordan 1998 NBA Finals, Game 1 ($10.1 million in September)
- β½οΈ Soccer jersey: Maradona "Hand of God" jersey ($9.3 million in April)
- β³οΈ Golf clubs: Tiger Woods' "Tiger Slam" irons ($5.2 million in April)
- π Ticket: Inaugural 1934 Masters signed pass ($600,00 in March)
4. β‘οΈ Lightning round
Photo: Jamie Squire/Getty Images
π₯ UFC 281: Alex Pereira stunned Israel Adesanya at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night to claim the UFC middleweight title in just his fourth UFC fight. Recap of all the fights.
π Top five unchanged: 1. Georgia, 2. Ohio State, 3. Michigan, 4. TCU and 5. Tennessee sit atop the AP rankings for the second straight week. Oregon fell from No. 6 to No. 12 after losing to now No. 15 Washington.
βΎοΈ Houston cleans house: Less than a week after winning the World Series, the Astros parted ways with GM James Click after he declined a one-year offer. They also fired assistant GM Scott Powers.
β½οΈ Streak snapped: Ivan Toney's last-gasp winner on Saturday lifted Brentford past Manchester City, 2-1, ending City's 16-match home winning streak.
5. π Women's sports: Coverage yields interest

The growth in women's sports coverage has yielded increased fan interest in recent years, according to a recent survey conducted by National Research Group, Jeff writes.
By the numbers: 30% of American sports fans watch more women's sports now than they did five years ago, per NRG's report.
- 41% attributed their increased viewership to more women's sports being broadcast β a trend that skyrocketed in the past year.
- Just 13% of fans watch less women's sports now than they did five years ago.
State of play: There were nearly twice as many hours of women's sports on national TV through Q3 of this year (141 hours) compared to all of last year (77), including almost eight times more in primetime (15, up from 2).
Yes, but: Despite this progress, interest and investment in women's sports still pales in comparison to men's. Just 20% of fans follow any women's leagues, and broadcasters spend a minuscule 0.2% of their rights budgets on women's sports, per the report.
- "True parity will be a generation spanning project β and is unlikely to be achieved until there's a new cohort of fans who grew up with a deep emotional connection to women's sports," wrote the report's authors.
- "The priority, therefore, needs to be finding ways to keep up and build on this new sense of momentum," they added.
The intrigue: One way to continue that momentum arrived earlier this month with the launch of the Women's Sports Network β the first-ever network to focus exclusively on female athletes.
6. πΊπΈ Photos across America

HARRISON, N.J. β The USWNT beat Germany, 2-1, on Sunday to get revenge from Thursday's loss and snap their first three-game losing streak since 1993.
- β½οΈ Watch: Highlights (YouTube)

SAN DIEGO β No. 2 Gonzaga squeaked past Michigan State, 64-63, in Friday's Armed Forces Classic on the flight deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln. More of this, please!
- π Watch: Highlights (YouTube)

MILWAUKEE β Wisconsin beat Stanford, 60-50, on Friday at American Family Field, home of the Brewers. More of this, too, please!
- π§ Watch: How they built the court (YouTube)
7. π Photos around the world

MUNICH β Tom Brady called Sunday's Bucs-Seahawks game "one of the great football experiences I've ever had," referencing the stadium atmosphere in a country where football has thrived for years.
- π©πͺ Watch: Fans singing "Country Roads" (Twitter)

SAO PAULO β George Russell won his first Formula 1 race and Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton took second at the Brazilian Grand Prix, the penultimate race of the season.
- π Watch: Race recap (YouTube)

DOHA, Qatar β Advertisements cover high-rise buildings ahead of this year's World Cup, which kicks off in six days with host Qatar vs. Ecuador.
- β½οΈ Read: Fans across German stadiums call for Qatar World Cup boycott (Bloomberg)
8. πΊ Watchlist: Birds look to stay perfect
Photo: Cooper Neill/Getty Images
The Eagles host the Commanders tonight (8:15pm ET, ESPN), as the Birds look to become just the 13th team this century to start 9-0.
- Who to watch: Eagles QB Jalen Hurts has the second-best MVP odds behind only Patrick Mahomes.
- Lines: Spread: PHI -11 | O/U: 43.5 | Money: PHI -550, WAS +400 (via Caesars Sportsbook)
More to watch:
- πΒ NBA: Thunder at Celtics (7:30, NBA)
- πΒ NCAAW: No. 11 Indiana at No. 5 Tennessee (6pm, ESPN2); No. 3 Texas at No. 6 UConn (6:30pm, FS1)
- πΎΒ ATP Finals: Day 2 (8am and 3pm, Tennis)
- πΒ NHL: Kings at Flames (8:30pm, ESPN+); Hurricanes at Blackhawks (8:30pm, ESPN+)
9. π Big Ten trivia
Photo: Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Ohio State's C.J. Stroud is the second QB in Big Ten history with 30+ TD passes in multiple seasons.
- Question: Who's the other?
- Hint: He won a national title this century.
Answer at the bottom.
10. πΏ What a weekend: Top 20 plays
Justin Jefferson! Hang it in The Louvre. Photo: Isaiah Vazquez/Getty Images
This weekend featured the NFL catch of the year and a handful of other one-handed grabs that would have been the No. 1 play most other weeks.
Talk tomorrow,
Kendall "DaDaDa, DaDaDa" Baker
Trivia answer: J.T. Barrett (2014 and 2017)
π Have a great day!Β Follow us for more (@kendallbaker and @jeffreytracy). Friends can sign up here. Thanks to Nick Aspinwall for copy edits.
Sign up for Axios Sports

Binge on the stats and stories that drive the sports world





