COHEN'S CORNER SPORTS

 JETS 34 - BENGALS 31  Do the Jets have a quarterback controversy on the horizon?  If Mike White's performance against the Cincinnati Bengals is any indication, then that answer is a straight up "YES!"  White was incredible. He made big time throws and plays the Jets hoped they would get from rookie Zach Wilson, but couldn't.  White showed poise, confidence and accuracy all game long. Even though he was charged with two interceptions, neither of which was his fault, and got his bell rung in the third quarter, White led a spirited Jets comeback victory that left Jets fans jumping for joy -- hoping that maybe, Mike White could be an answer to the Jets quarterback riddle.  White tossed for 405 yards, and three touchdowns; he even caught a two-point conversion. It was the most yards by a Jets quarterback since Vinny Testaverde in the year 2000.  With the Jets down 11-points, 31-20, late in the fourth quarter, White led an inspired comeback, taking exactly ...

 The Mets exhaustive search for a General Manager and/or President of Baseball Operations keeps taking one wild turn after another.  First the team was rejected by Billy Beane and Theo Epstein; two of the best executives of this generation, because they just deem the Mets as a good fit for them. Beane is comfortable in Oakland, California. He's a part owner for the A's.  Epstein is working in baseball's front office, and has ownership aspirations. It was never gonna happen with them.  Then we heard the Mets couldn't interview David Stearns of the Brewers; were rejected by Matt Harris of the Giants, and there was even speculation that ex-Giants executive Brian Sabean was interested in the job.  However on Tuesday, reports surfaced that Brewers General Manager Matt Arnold could be a candidate for the job. Mike Puma of the New York Post reported that contact was made. Andy Martino of SNY reported the Mets hadn't heard back on a request to speak with Arnold.  I...

 Zach Wilson will officially miss at least a month with a sprained posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) in his right knee, after suffering the injury in Sunday's 54-13 smackdown at the hands of the New England Patriots.  Wilson will not require surgery. He will miss two to four weeks with an outside possibility of playing November 14 against Buffalo.  In order to solidify their issue at quarterback, the Jets sent a conditional sixth round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles to re-acquire Joe Flacco .  Why the Jets didn't bring back Flacco before the season started is beyond anyone's understanding when they needed a veteran quarterback in the building, but, hey here we are now.   Flacco started four games for the Jets last year, lost all four of them, but didn't play badly. He threw six touchdowns to just three interceptions in those starts. He gave the Jets a great shot to win games against New England and the LA Chargers last season.  The Jets are looking at star...

 PATRIOTS 54 - JETS 13 Talk about insult to injury.  Not only did the New York Jets suffer one of their worst blowouts in years, they  lost their starting quarterback in the process. Zach Wilson suffered a knee injury in the first half of Sunday's 54-13 loss to the Patriots. It is believed that it could be a PCL injury, and according to ESPN's Rich Cimini, it is not believed to be season ending. Wilson will undergo an MRI on Monday.  Wilson was involved in two brutal hits during Sunday's game.  First he landed awkwardly when defensive end Lawrence Guy dove toward Wilson's knees. His knee appeared to buckle and twist the wrong way on the play. There was no roughing the passer called on the play.  Two plays later, Matt Judan landed on the quarterback's lower half as he heaved a pass downfield for an incompletion. Wilson lay on his back for several minutes before he was helped off the field.  The Wilson injury exposed a hard truth about this Jets franchis...

 GIANTS 25 - PANTHERS 3  It wasn't pretty, but the Giants got the job done against the woeful Carolina Panthers. The score 25-3. And for at least one week, Joe Judge, David Gettleman and company won't have to hear about job security.  After getting plastered by the Rams 38-11 last week, Judge changed things up. The Giants started practicing in pads again, and the focus turned to getting this season -- that seemed destined to hit the third rail -- back on track.  It also helped matters that the G-Men were going up against a Panthers team that is now 0-4 since dynamic running back Christian McCaffery left a week 3 match-up against Houston with a hamstring injury.  Sam Darnold has been terrible since Carolina lost McCaffery. It didn't get any better on Sunday for the former Jets signal caller, who threw for only 111 yards and an interception and was promptly benched by head coach Matt Rhule in the fourth quarter.  Guess, it wasn't all the Jets fault for Darnol...

 The Atlanta Braves are heading back to the World Series for the first time since 1999. The miracle Braves, who were two games under .500 (52-54) and five games behind the New York Mets for first place in the NL East on July 31, find themselves in the Fall Classic against the Houston Astros, who are in their third World Series in five seasons.  It's been an incredible ride by the Braves. They went 36-19 in the final two months of the regular season to take the NL East, ran right through the postseason, which they capped off on Saturday night by taking down last year's World Series Champions, the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-2 in Game 6 of the NLCS.  In fact the Elias Sports Bureau says the Braves didn't climb over the .500 mark until August 6, and that is the "latest-first-day-over-.500 date ever for a team to reach the World Series.  As he has throughout this series, Eddie Rosario spearheaded Atlanta's offense. Rosario's three-run bomb off Dodgers starter Walker Bueh...

 Well this was news that was not met very well by Yankees fans.  Aaron Boone will be back in the Yankees dugout in 2022, and beyond for that matter. The Yankees and Boone inked a three-year extension that will keep him pinstripes through 2024, with a club option for 2025.  In four years, Boone is 328-218 as Yankees skipper, has been to the playoffs all four years. Yet, the team has never been to the World Series under his watch.  This past season, the Yanks struggled to get over .500 for large chunks of the year, and didn't qualify for the postseason until the final day of the  season.  As we all know the season ended a day later in the AL Wild Card game in Boston, a 6-2 loss.  Yankees fans have been calling for Boone's head for years. They don't like his managerial style, the decisions he makes regarding pitchers or off days for players. But what fans keep glazing over is the obvious, Boone is the right manager for this front office.  Baseball te...

 RAMS 38 - GIANTS 11  It was a contrast of two different franchises in two completely different directions.  The New York Giants  (1-5) were totally outclassed by the Los Angeles Rams (5-1), who rolled over the Giants 38-11 in a game that was over by the half.  Daniel Jones, who made his return to Big Blue after suffering a concussion last week in Dallas was putrid, tossing three interceptions, and getting sacked four times. Jones was even stripped twice, losing one fumble.  For an organization that honored the 2011 Giants' team that won the Super Bowl that year against New England, Sunday's smackdown at the hands of the Rams was a harsh reminder of how far the Giants have fallen.  With the defeat, Big Blue is a league worst 19-51 since 2017. The only reason they are alone in that category is because the Jets had a bye week.  On the flip side, the Rams looked like a juggernaut.  Matthew Stafford was pinpoint accurate, completing 22 of 29 pass...

 COWBOYS 44 - GIANTS 20  The Giants have bigger problems now on their hands beyond just getting blown out by the Dallas Cowboys, Sunday.  Big Blue suffered three huge injuries that could impact the way this team performs in the coming weeks. Saquon Barkley, Daniel Jones and Kenny Golladay all left Sunday's action with injuries, and there is serious questions about when they will return.  Barkley suffered a sprained ankle, he suffered early in the game when he got his foot rolled up on with a Dallas corner Jourdan Lewis. He was seen in a boot and crutches after the game according to ESPN; he will undergo further tests on Monday. There is a chance he could be sidelined for a "couple weeks." Golladay suffered the knee injury while trying to go up for a catch with corner Trevon Diggs draped over him; his status for Week 6 is uncertain. The scariest injury belongs to Jones, who suffered a concussion while trying to scramble for the end zone in the second quarter. He looke...

 FALCONS 27 - JETS 20  Let's just say the Jets had a case of jet-lag, because there is no other way to describe New York's performance against the Falcons in the United Kingdom on Sunday morning.  The Jets were completely and totally over-matched against Atlanta. Defensively, the Jets couldn't get a hand on Matt Ryan, after sacking Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill seven times a week ago. The Falcons did a tremendous job in blitz pickup on the Jets, and the veteran Ryan picked apart the middle of the Jets defense.  For an Atlanta team that was missing Calvin Ridley and Russell Gage, they sure didn't seem to miss a beat against Gang Green. Not with Cordarrelle Paterson chewing up huge chunks of yards in the first half, and Ryan finding tight end Kyle Pitts in single-to-no- coverage all afternoon.  Pitts, who was an unheralded first top draft pick out of Florida in last April's draft, had his coming out party against the Jets. Nine catches for 119 yards and a touc...

 According to multiple reports, Mets owner Steve Cohen met with former Red Sox and Cubs General Manager Theo Epstein about the team's President of Baseball Operations job, and the two sides agreed that Epstein would not take the job.  New York Post reporter Mike Puma reported in his piece, "Epstein's contentment working to improve baseball's on-field product for the league, plus a desire for his next team job to involve an ownership stake, building an organization from the ground up may have made his candidacy for the Mets job a long shot."   Considering the Mets are keeping Sandy Alderson around in high executive capacity, even though it is expected it will be more on the business side of baseball, coupled with the fact that Cohen just bought the team, and the number of off-field and on-field distractions that took place the past year for the Mets, it probably wasn't the right move for Epstein to come to New York.   It's a shame, because Epstein had built...

RED SOX 6 - YANKEES 2  And just like that the season is over.  The 2021 Yankees limped into the night, and into an uncertain future for many of its star players and manager, after suffering a 6-2 defeat at the hands of the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday in the AL Wild Card game.  It will be remembered as a night of missed opportunities. A night where Gerrit Cole, the Yankees' $324 million man, spit the bit and couldn't get out of the third inning. A night where bad base-running became an epidemic -- just ask Giancarlo Stanton who didn't run out of the box when he though his hit off the facade of the green monster was good enough for a home run, or just ask third base coach Phil Nevin who never put up a stop sign on Aaron Judge as the slugger rounded third and into the waiting arms of catcher Christian Vasquez.  Tuesday's loss was a total nightmare for the Yankees. A reminder of how far this franchise has fallen when compared to the Red Sox or even the Tampa Bay Rays in th...

 Someone was going to take the fall for the Mets epic 2021 collapse.  It was not going to be Sandy Alderson, who last week indicated that he is going to remain a key cog in Mets decision making moving forward - despite a checkered history running the Mets, especially this past season.  It was going to be Luis Rojas. It was always going to be him. The man who had to endure so much chaos over his two years at manager, he never stood a chance in Queens, and one has to wonder if he isn't ecstatic to get away from Steve Cohen and his mercurial Mets.  In his two years managing the Mets, Rojas saw it all. He was hired on whim by then-General Manager Brodie Van Wagenen after Carlos Beltran was dismissed from the job just weeks after his hiring when it was revealed that Beltran played a significant role in the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal.  From there he had to manage a team through the COVID-19 pandemic and a 60-game season in 2020. Then he had to get through an...

 YANKEES 1 - RAYS 0  The Yankees punched their ticket to the postseason with a thrilling, bottom of the ninth RBI single by Aaron Judge.  How else would one expect this season to go for the Yankees? It has been a roller coaster of a season all year for the Bronx Bombers, so it made sense that the Yankees playoff fates would go to the last day. And with the Red Sox and Blue Jays winning their games, the Yankees were deadlocked in a scoreless tie with Tampa Bay.  It wasn't easy. The Yankees spent the entire day watching their pitching staff bend, but never break.  Starter Jameson Tallion gave up only a pair of hits over 3.1 innings of work before getting lifted for Wandy Peralta, who put himself in a precarious position when he gave up a double to Austin Meadows, and walked Ji-Man Choi with one out.  However, he was able to get a fielders choice out against Mike Zunino, and a ground out by Joey Wendle to get out of the jam.    After that the only re...

 JETS 27 - TITANS 24  For Jets fans it was the kind of game they have been waiting for. Years in fact.  It's been a long time since Jets fans had a reason to cheer for anything for that matter, but on Sunday it was different. It felt like Jets fans finally were seeing the team they hoped they would see when the team invested the second overall pick in Zach Wilson last spring.  It wasn't pretty early. Like he had the first three weeks, Wilson was inaccurate. His receivers were dropping passes. He threw a costly pick. Yet, the Jets were only down 9-0. Then the light switch went on. Give credit to Mike LaFleur for this, his simplified the playbook a bit, and Wilson started to get the ball out of his hand faster. He engineered a brilliant 11-play 75-yard drive that culminated in the Jets first touchdown since Week 1 that cut into the Titans lead at 9-7.  By the second half, things started to really open up for New York. Perhaps it was the 54-yard completion Wilson h...

 GIANTS 27 - SAINTS 21 There has been a lot of heat on the Giants this season. Entering Sunday's game in New Orleans at 0-3, the pressure was beginning to mount on the coaching staff to get something done. Many have been questioning whether it was time for Joe Judge to demote, if not fire, Offensive Coordinator Jason Garrett for his lackluster play-calling.  And for the most part, it looked like Sunday was just more of the same. The Giants trailed 21-10 with a little over 12 minutes left in the game after Taysom Hill scored his second touchdown of the day.  At this point the Giants had managed only one scoring drive, a field goal in the second half. That was it.  Then suddenly the light went on.  On one play with 6:52 to go, Daniel Jones found Saquon Barkley streaking down the sideline, hitting him in stride. Barkley cut back, and averted a couple of defenders and was gone to paydirt. 54-yards to be exact. Just like that the Giants had cut into the deficit 21-16...

RAYS 12 - YANKEES 2  Needing to win just one game and get a little help around the league, the Yankees have been waiting for two days for both. Neither has happened. And now, after losing two straight to the Tampa Bay Rays, who clearly are taking pleasure in the idea of knocking the Yankees out of the playoffs via the regular season, the Yankees must win tomorrow just to get into the playoffs.  How the playoff will look in 24 hours is still anyone's guess.  What we do know is that either the Yankees (91-70) or the Red Sox (91-70) will host the wild card game on Tuesday night. Who the visiting team will be is anyone's guess. The Blue Jays (90-71) and Mariners (90-71) are still very much in the mix. There is even the chance of a four-way tie for the wild card, meaning the Yankees, Red Sox, Jays and Mariners will all have to play an elimination round on Monday just to settle the Wild Card match-up for Tuesday.  What else would one expect from a Yankees team that has giv...