USMNT begins World Cup quest | Cowboys destroy Vikings in statement win

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Happy Monday morning, and happy U.S. men's national team at the World Cup day for those who celebrate. It's been over 3,000 days since the last one, and I am absolutely ecstatic (and, you know, even more nervous) as the Stars and Stripes take on Wales.

Of course, it's not the only match of the day -- far from it -- and I cannot encourage you enough tosign up for our new Golazo Starting XI newsletter. It has everything you need to know about the action in Qatar, which seems, well, important, considering the largest sporting event in the world is happening there.

So sign up for it here. Do it. It's so, so worth it.

The Football Five

My goodness, Patrick Mahomes. He led a six-play, 75-yard game-winning drive in 1:15, capping it with a touchdown pass to Travis Kelce as the Chiefs beat the Chargers, 30-27. Mahomes finished with 329 passing yards and three scores, all to Kelce. Kelce, meanwhile, registered his 33rd career 100-yard receiving game, passing Rob Gronkowski for most ever by a tight end.

With Buffalo buried under snow, the Bills won a "home" game in Detroit, beating the Browns, 31-23.

The Eagles rallied from 10 down in the fourth quarter to beat the Colts,

17-16. Jalen Hurts ran for the game-winning score to cap Philadelphia's first double-digit, fourth-quarter comeback since 2010.

Cordarrelle Patterson recorded his NFL-record ninth career kickoff return touchdown-- breaking a tie with Josh Cribbs and Leon Washington

-- and the

Falcons beat the Bears, 27-24.

Matthew Stafford exited early to be evaluated for a concussion as theRams lost yet again,

27-20

to the Saints. It's the Rams' fourth straight defeat following their bye week.

Good morning to everyone but especially to...

THE DALLAS COWBOYS

If you could pick a dream game for the Cowboys -- and an absolute nightmare for the Vikings -- Sunday's contest was exactly it. Dallas dominated in every single facet in a historic 40-3 win thatmakes us look at both teams very differently.

Dallas, coming off a loss to the Packers, simply overwhelmed Minnesota to bounce back in emphatic -- and historic -- fashion. It's the largest road win in Cowboys history and the fifth-largest win against a team at least seven games over .500 since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger overall.

Tony Pollard had 189 yards from scrimmage and a pair of receiving touchdowns, while Ezekiel Elliott had two scores on the ground.

The Cowboys sacked Kirk Cousins seven times -- a season high for both parties involved -- and pressured him on nearly 57 percent of his dropbacks, the third-highest rate of any quarterback in any game this season.

Heck, even kicker Brett Maher

made some history.

This was the Cowboys at their best, and that gotan A+ in our weekly grades. The defense wreaked havoc on an overwhelmed Minnesota offensive line. The offense moved the ball with ease. Our NFL expert Jeff Kerr says they're the second-best team in the NFC

, only behind Philadelphia. I have to agree. The championship-caliber ceiling has always been there for the Cowboys, and they played to it Sunday.

Cousins, meanwhile, falls to 2-9 in his career against the Cowboys, and he's also 0-7 as a Viking when pressured on at least half of his drop backs. The Cowboys were the perfect team to take advantage of his struggles -- and his offensive line's struggles -- in a manner that brings the Vikings crashing back to Earth after beating the Bills last weekend.

Honorable mentions

Gonzaga routed Kentucky, 88-72.

In women's hoops, No. 1 South Carolina rallied to force overtime and then beat No. 2 Stanford, 76-71.

Tyler Adams is the youngest USMNT World Cup captain ever.

President Joe Biden called the USMNT ahead of the World Cup.

Novak Djokovic

won his sixth career ATP Finals titleto tie Roger Federer for most ever.

Adam Svensson won the RSM Classic.

And not such a good morning for...

THE NEW YORK JETS

Jets head coach Robert Saleh called his team's offense "dog s---" on Sunday.I can't even imagine what sort of words he would use to describe his special teams.

Marcus Jones ran a punt back 84 yards for a touchdown with just five seconds remaining, giving the Patriotsthe win in arguably the wildest 10-3 game ever.

It's the only punt return touchdowns so far this season.

It's the second-latest go-ahead punt return since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970. DeSean Jackson's Miracle at the Meadowlands II in 2010 came with no time left

It didn't come without controversy, though: It looked like there was a block in the back

, but no flag was thrown.

As for the offense that Saleh referenced?It had two yards in the second half. Two.It's the fewest by any team in any half this season.Zach Wilson is a major issue for the Jets, who have suddenly gone from a really nice story to a team with plenty of talent but significant quarterback issues -- basically the position a lot of NFL teams are in. Here's where Wilson ranks this season among qualified quarterbacks:

Last in completion percentage

Second-to-last in quarterback rating

Third-to-last in expected points added per dropback and off-target percentage

That's just not good enough, no matter how good your defense is.

Not so honorable mentions

Damian Lillard has another calf strain.

Star French striker Karim Benzema is out for the World Cup with a thigh injury.

U.S. starts World Cup journey today vs. Wales

Put on your red, white and blue, and try as you might to calm your nerves. It's game day for the U.S. men's national team at the World Cup, as Gregg Berhalter's squad takes on Wales. Our experts' picks are in, and let's just say there's a variety of opinions.

So, just who is this group of Americans?

Roger Gonzalez has what you need to know about all 26 players. Perhaps just as intriguing is what Berhalter's lineup looks like today.Chuck Booth took his best guess as to who the starting 11 will be, and his solution to the striker question is...

Booth: "Jesus Ferreira (FC Dallas):Forward is one of the toughest positions to choose around the entire team but despite the hot form of Josh Sargent and challenges from Ricardo Pepi and Jordan Pefok, Ferreira has earned Berhalter's trust with his ability to draw defenders with his runs, drop deep to press, create chances with his feet and still be able to shoot at a solid rate."

(Here's who U.S. legend Landon Donovan would start, for what it's worth.) Chuckhas the USMNT making it out of the Group Stage, but you'll have to read

his prediction

to see just how far they go. Our team of soccer gurus has done a terrific job previewing everything -- and here's it all in one place -- but here are a few of my favorites:

Game-by-game predictions from... Chuck Booth| Jonathan Johnson |

James Benge |

Francesco Porzio

Staff picks

Power Rankings

Standings (bookmark this one)

Why isn't there beer at the World Cup?

While USMNT begins play today,World Cup action begin yesterday asQatarput onone heck of an opening ceremony... and then a complete dud on the pitch.Enner Valenciascored twice as Ecuador ran roughshod over the hosts,2-0, in the opening match of the World Cup.

There are three games today. Check the schedulehere, and be sure tosign up for the Golazo Starting XI newsletter, in case you haven't already, for some reason.

CFB recap: Hooker tears ACL in Tennessee loss; Michigan, Ohio State, TCU get narrow wins

Tennessee's loss has thrown a wrench into the College Football Playoff and its quarterback's season-ending injury has thrown a wrench into the Heisman race.South Carolina crushed Tennessee, 63-38, behind Spencer Rattler's breakout performance of 438 passing yards and a program-record six touchdown passes. The 63 points are the most ever by an unranked team against a top-five team in the AP Poll Era, which goes all the way back to 1936.

To make matters worse for the Volunteers, quarterback Hendon Hooker suffered a torn ACL late in the game, ending the Heisman contender's season prematurely.

Perhaps the main beneficiary was USC. The Trojans beat UCLA in a 48-45 thriller in which Caleb Williams made his own Heisman statement with 470 passing yards and three total touchdowns. Our college football expert Dennis Dodd says the best is yet to come. In fact, our playoff prognosticator Jerry Palm has

already put USC in his College Football Playoff field. You can see his full projections here.

We could have had even more shakeup to the playoff picture if not for some comebacks:

Michigan beat Illinois,19-17, thanks to three fourth-quarter field goals by Jake Moody, including the game-winning 35-yarder with nine seconds left. The Wolverines got a couple of calls that made Illinois coach Bret Bielema

none too happy.

TCU cut things even closer, needing a walk-off 42-yarder by Griffin Kell to remain unbeaten in a 29-28 thriller against Baylor. The Horned Frogs trailed by eight with just over two minutes to go.

Ohio State trailed Maryland

at halftime but used some big plays from the special teams and defense to win,

43-30. Dallan Hayden ran for 146 yards and three touchdowns.

Here's everything else you need to know.

Winners, losers. and overreactions

Grades

AP Top 25

Coaches Poll

Top 25 recap

What we're watching Monday

England vs. Iran, 8 a.m. on FS1 Senegal vs. Netherlands, 11 a.m. on FOX United States vs. Wales, 2 p.m. on FOX No. 23 Texas Tech vs. No. 10 Creighton, 2:30 p.m. on ESPN2 Warriors at Pelicans, 8 p.m. on NBA TV 49ers at Cardinals, 8:15 p.m. on ESPN Jazz at Clippers, 10:30 p.m. on NBA TV

24/7 Sports News

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1401 West Cypress Creek Road, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309