AI-assisted summary
• Drake Maye’s MVP candidacy was tempered by two turnovers in the Patriots’ win over the Falcons.
• The Patriots are now 7-2 and tied for first place in the AFC under new head coach Mike Vrabel.
• Maye has recorded eight straight games with over 200 passing yards and a passer rating above 100.

FOXBOROUGH, MA – The rocket ship that is Drake Maye’s Most Valuable Player candidacy nearly took off for good Nov. 2 during the New England Patriots’ 24-23 victory over the Atlanta Falcons. 

Instead, an uneven second half and two turnovers overall poured some cold water on that hype. Maye once again turned in another admirable performance – and his inclusion in the midway MVP conversation was certainly warranted. Most oddmakers had him with the third-best chance of winning the award entering Week 9. But a 23-year-old on a team one year removed from a four-win season claiming the league’s highest individual honor may not be in the cards for Maye and the 2025 Patriots – even if expectations now include playing meaningful January football. 

“It’s tough in a game where you win and you can feel in that locker room that these guys know we can play better,” Maye said. “I think it’s a good feeling to have, but also at the same time it’s tough to win in this league, so you’ve got to enjoy it.” 

The Pats, with head coach Mike Vrabel completely transfiguring the organization’s wayward culture in a matter of months, are 7-2 and tied for first place in the AFC. Maye now has eight consecutive games with more than 200 passing yards and a passer rating better than 100. That’s the second-longest streak in NFL history and tied some guy named Tom Brady, who did it in 2007, as the best streak in team history.

The Falcons entered as the top-ranked pass defense in the league, surrendering 149 yards per game through the air. Maye had 172 and two touchdowns by halftime.

Maye pops up on lists that put him in the same stratosphere, statistically cherry-picking of course, as Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, Brady and Patrick Mahomes. That he’s done it consistently over the first weeks of the season against a spectrum of opponents has to be one of the more encouraging aspects of Maye’s development. 

There’s a long way to go before he can take home the hardware that those other QBs have earned. Plus, voters will be hard-pressed to give him the award unless the Patriots finish atop the AFC; two more games against the New York Jets, one against the Miami Dolphins and one on ‘Monday Night Football’ against the New York Giants could go a long way in that sense, at least. Even if Maye is the best quarterback option, he might suffer from the anti-QB coalition that would give the award to a non-quarterback (Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor?) for the first time since the 2012 season (Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson).

Maye’s youth, inexperience still evident in standout season

On Sunday, his first-half performance included the blemish of a fumble that was the result of poor ball control in the pocket, with rookie linebacker Jalon Walker easily dislodging it and James Pearce Jr. nearly returning it for a touchdown if not for the effort of rookie left tackle Will Campbell to chase him down. 

In the third quarter, an overthrow over the middle resulted in an interception for Falcons safety Jessie Bates. Vrabel approached his 23-year-old quarterback on the sideline, and Maye appreciates that level of coaching, as Vrabel is “always challenging me to battle adversity and get the guys going.” 

“He’s hard on me, but he’s very positive, and I think he wants the best out of me,” Maye said. “Everything that he says to me, I think it’s going to be important and become true.”

Maye’s youth and inexperience is evident even when things go well. A 12-yard scramble on the first drive of the game featured him cutting back and taking a hard hit rather than sliding once he cleared the first-down marker. Perhaps he would not have fumbled at the end of the first half had his other stiff-arm-and-scramble attempts not been as successful. Managing the hero ball moments are part of his development.  

New England converted six of its first seven third-down attempts. Some were more manageable than others, like when he needed to perfectly hit tight end Hunter Henry in the hands to pick up a third-and-7 in the first half. Or in the fourth quarter, facing a third-and-12, it was no problem – there’s Stefon Diggs for 25 yards on an absolute seed between Falcons defenders 

“He puts it in places that definitely makes it – in a tough spot – easier for us,” Henry told USA TODAY Sports. 

Maye’s accuracy has been exemplary all season. He was the third overall pick for a reason, Henry said. 

“I don’t think he’s ever not had that accuracy,” Henry said. “I think he’s just continuing to develop and continuing to make strides. He’s gaining confidence, obviously, in the system.

“We just put a lot of work in and he throws an easy ball to catch, too, so it’s nice.” 

One example of the system working for him was his first touchdown pass to DeMario “Pop” Douglas in the first quarter. Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels – who held the same role during the golden days of the Patriots’ dynasty with Brady as his signal-caller – schemed up the first touchdown by lining Douglas up in the backfield to create a matchup with a linebacker. The wideout ran a wheel route by a defender and Maye perfectly dropped it in the bucket for six points.

“I love this team,” said Douglas, who turned in the first 100-yard game of his career. “I can’t wait to see how far we go.” 

Much of that will depend on the arms and legs of Maye.

AI-assisted summary
• The Buffalo Bills defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 28-21, marking their fifth consecutive regular-season win against them.
• The loss drops the Chiefs to a 5-4 record, putting them two games behind the division-leading Denver Broncos.
• The Bills’ victory keeps them in contention in the AFC East, just behind the New England Patriots.

ORCHARD PARK, NY – Round 10 is in the books.

It happened again. The Buffalo Bills topped the Kansas City Chiefs again at Highmark Stadium on Nov. 2, marking the 10th meeting between the teams since 2020 with a convincing 28-21 effort that proved, well, they can still knock off Patrick Mahomes & Co. in the regular season. That’s five in a row, by that measure.

See ya again in January? Well, maybe. Maybe not. It’s not so automatic this time that the next sequel will come in the AFC playoffs again.

If the playoffs started tomorrow, the Chiefs would be sitting at home.

Sure, that’s a strange thought. Kansas City has advanced to the AFC Championship Game in every season that Mahomes has been the starting quarterback and has won nine consecutive AFC West titles.

Yet the setback on Sunday – coupled with a Denver win at Houston – left the Chiefs (5-4) two games behind the division-leading Broncos.

Sure, it’s only midseason. There’s plenty of football left. The Chiefs have two head-to-head meetings with Denver on tap.

But there’s a whole lot less room for error. That was the prospect for whichever team lost as arguably the NFL’s most compelling rivalry resumed before the typically rabid Bills Mafia. For the first time in this heavyweight rivalry pitting Mahomes against Josh Allen, the NFL’s reigning MVP, neither team was in first place.

Unlike previous encounters, the outcome couldn’t be projected as a crucial swing factor that might determine the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs.

Survival was the ticket, which fueled a playoff-like atmosphere. The Bills (6-2) survived to remain a half-game behind the revitalized New England Patriots (7-2) in the AFC East. And the margin is actually bigger than that, when considering the tiebreaker edge the Patriots claimed by winning here in Week 5.

In any event, Buffalo’s survival was effectively clinched with rookie cornerback Maxwell Hairston’s interception of a deep Mahomes heave with just over four minutes to play. It doused Kansas City’s hope for a huge comeback after the Chiefs put together a 66-yard TD drive early in the fourth quarter – which include Mahomes converting on a fourth-and-17 pass that was the longest fourth-down conversion of his career – that was capped by Travis Kelce’s grab of a two-point conversion.

Yet the Bills defense, despite a manpower shortage that included the absence of star D-tackle Ed Oliver (torn biceps) and a secondary that has had tremendous challenges all season, didn’t wilt in crunch time.

Throughout the game, it kept heat on Mahomes, who entered the contest with a streak of three consecutive games with three TDs. He left the game with zero TD throws, his lowest passer rating of the season (57.2), and for the first time in his career didn’t complete 50% of his passes (15-of-34).

Still, Mahomes, who once stung the Bills in the playoffs by leading a field goal drive in 13 seconds, had a last-gasp chance at a miracle, but two final heaves to the end zone were batted down by Cole Bishop and Hairston, respectively.

Tough defense was just part of the formula. James Cook rushed for 114 yards on 27 carries – the first running back to top 100 against the Chiefs defense since Christmas 2023 – a week after shredding Carolina for 216 rushing yards.

Allen threw 26 passes and had just three incompletions, with a TD pass and 123.2 rating. He also rushed for 2 TDs. Dalton Kincaid, the mobile tight end, was the receiving tight end with 101 yards on six receptions.

And Bills coach Sean McDermott made some shrewd decisions that paid off.

See them again in January. History suggests that the Chiefs lose to Buffalo in the regular season and break the Bills hearts in January, which has happened with four consecutive playoff wins.

We’ll see. As it stands now, history guarantees nothing at the this point.

And the Bills will surely will take that.

The Washington Commanders’ season is an exercise in Murphy’s Law – whatever can go wrong, will go wrong.

Jayden Daniels has already been bitten by the injury bug in 2025, but it came back for seconds in Week 9. The quarterback had a tough night at the office in his return to game action, but it was cut short halfway through the fourth quarter.

The Commanders were down 38-7 at the time of Daniels’ injury, but the scene didn’t look particularly good at Northwest Stadium.

Here’s what to know about the Commanders quarterback:

Jayden Daniels injury update

Daniels suffered a left elbow injury on ‘Sunday Night Football’ in Week 9. Head coach Dan Quinn said after the game that he didn’t have a further update on the quarterback.

Considering the team was facing a 31-point deficit at the time of the injury, Quinn was asked whether there was any consideration of removing the quarterback to prevent potential injury.

‘Not at that space … you don’t want to think that way where an injury can take place,’ Quinn said.

Daniels was helped off the field with his left arm in a cast. He exited with 7:29 remaining in the fourth quarter and was seemingly in a lot of pain.

The quarterback’s arm was twisted backward, and there was immediate concern on the field. He was later helped to the locker room and taken for X-rays, according to the NBC broadcast.

Daniels was making his return on ‘Sunday Night Football’ after missing the last game with a hamstring injury. The 2024 Offensive Rookie of the Year has already missed three games this season.

He previously missed Week 3 and Week 4 with a knee injury.

Marcus Mariota, who started the previous games in Daniels’ absence, came on in relief for the Commanders’ star.

Commanders QB depth chart

1. Jayden Daniels (injured)
2. Marcus Mariota
3. Josh Johnson

Daniels is the unquestioned starter in Washington. As he goes, the Commanders go. He is the face of the franchise and one of the league’s brightest young stars.

It’ll be difficult for Washington to continue their playoff chase without their starter under center.

Mariota figures to continue starting, while Johnson serves as the backup if Daniels is forced to miss an extended period.

It’s at this point where everyone falls in line, where 10 weeks of varying college football polls suddenly — almost magically, really — become oddly similar.  

Now it’s up to the College Football Playoff selection committee to figure it all out. And they were given the ‘tools’ to do just that.

In theory, anyway.

“This team just won’t go away,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said after his team beat Florida late, and now hopes a resume of come-from-behind wins will plant it somewhere near the top four of the first CFP poll of the season.

Or exactly where Georgia is in both the US LBM Coaches and Associated Press polls. Those two polls played a game of footsie for two months, before falling into the comfortably numbing annual regurgitation of mirroring.

That mirroring and slotting by wins is what the commissioners of the Big Ten and SEC ― you know, conferences who run the sport ― spent all offseason talking about. They floated ideas to change the CFP selection committee, eliminate it, and give it stronger metrics. They settled on new metrics.

New metrics, you say? Well, it’s complicated.

The selection committee is now supposed to consider good wins and bad losses, and bad wins and good losses. Basically, just analyze the schedule and not simply slot teams based on wins.

The committee’s first chance to embrace that concept is Tuesday night, with its first poll of the season. But if history tells us anything, the CFP selection committee poll will closely resemble the media polls until the final poll of the season ― when the eye test supersedes all.

Until then, get ready for the copycat show.    

The first 10 teams of the two media polls are identical, and the final two — it’s a 12-team CFP format — are swapped. Virginia is No. 11 in the coaches poll, and No. 12 in the AP poll, and Oklahoma is its opposite. 

Anyone who believes Virginia is one of the top 12 teams in college football hasn’t been watching Virginia. But that’s another Indiana story (circa, 2024) for another time. 

A look at the projected CFP poll, with the real deal set to arrive shortly. Remember, these are the 12 best teams (we’ll figure out the five automatic qualifiers after the fact).

Projected CFP bracket rankings

1. Indiana: If we’re being intellectual honest, it’s Indiana and a long way to No. 2. No one else has been so impressive. Next: at Penn State.   

2. Texas A&M: Aggies coach Mike Elko continues to pound the drum of ignoring the past. This isn’t your grandaddy’s Texas A&M — or Jimbo Fisher’s. Next: at Missouri.

3. Ohio State: For those harping on Ohio State’s strength of schedule, the combined record of FBS opponents is 35-24. Better than some in the Top 12, worse than others. Next: at Purdue. 

4. Alabama: The bye week arrived perfectly after a run of four straight games against ranked teams, and an SEC road game. It’s essentially a one-game schedule (Oklahoma, Nov. 15) on the way to the SEC championship game. Next: vs. LSU.

5. Oregon: Ducks return from the bye with a difficult November, including two difficult road environments (Iowa, Washington). Next: at Iowa. 

6. Georgia: How much longer can Georgia continue to rely on fourth quarter (or overtime) comebacks? Better not get behind this week, on the road, against a team that’s beginning to believe. Next: at Mississippi State. 

8. Texas Tech: Don’t underestimate going on the road and beating surging K-State. All eight wins have been by at least 23 points. Next: BYU.

9. Texas: For three quarters, Texas played its best game of the season against a hot team (Vanderbilt). Then almost blew it. Not buying it just yet. Next: Bye. 

10. Notre Dame: Lost both difficult games on the schedule (Miami, Texas A&M), but had chances to win both. A cakewalk November to 10 wins. Next: Navy.

11. Oklahoma: Sooners in their own personal playoff in November. Win out, and they’re in (at Alabama, Missouri, LSU). Lose once, and it’s going to be difficult to make the CFP. Next: Bye. 

12. Vanderbilt: The classic potential 10-win team that might be left out. The problem: all anyone will remember is the ugly loss to Texas — no matter what the final score says. Next: Auburn.

CFP updated bracket projection

Five automatic qualifiers

• Indiana (projected Big Ten champion), Alabama (SEC), Texas Tech (Big 12), Louisville (ACC), South Florida (Group of 6).

First round byes

• Indiana, Ohio State, Texas A&M, Alabama.

The first round

• (12) South Florida at (5) Oregon
• (11) Louisville at (6) Georgia
• (10) Notre Dame at (7) Ole Miss
• (9) Texas at (8) Texas Tech

When will first 2025 CFP rankings be released?

The first College Football Playoff rankings will be announced between 8-8:45 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Nov. 4 on ESPN, which will drop all the CFP rankings.

Matt Hayes is the senior national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow him on X at @MattHayesCFB.

Keep up with the latest news and analysis from college football’s top two conferences: Check out our Big Ten Hub and our SEC Hub to get school-by-school coverage from across the USA TODAY Network.

Denny Hamlin could see the finish line; only three laps remained from finally, FINALLY realizing his championship dreams.

And then, in the blink of an eye, everything changed.

After 20 full-time seasons and 60 race wins, Hamlin was moments away from his first title, holding nearly a 3-second lead over his closest pursuer in the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway. And then a caution flag flew.

Fellow championship contender William Byron slammed into the Turn 4 wall when his right front tire went down, bringing out the yellow and sending nearly every car to pit road for fresh tires with Hamlin leading the field.

Hamlin’s crew changed all four tires on his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, but fellow Championship 4 driver Kyle Larson took just two tires on his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet and that made all the difference. Because of the faster pit stop, Larson restarted fifth and Hamlin 10th.

With just a two-lap overtime shootout facing the drivers, those positions mattered a lot. So did the Championship Race format, where a title could be secured without winning the race, just finishing better than the other three final four drivers.

In the end, Larson didn’t win the race – that honor went to 2023 NASCAR champion Ryan Blaney – but he did enough to hold off Hamlin, who had the dominant car throughout the 319-lap season finale.

It was a crushing blow to Hamlin, a future Hall of Famer, who remains the ‘Best Driver to Never Win a Championship.’

“Just numb,” Hamlin said after the race. “I feel like there’s still some racing left. I can’t believe it’s over but there’s nothing I can do. Suck it up and it’s just another year.”

But this year may have been the 44-year-old’s best opportunity of his long, illustrious career. His 60 career wins rank 10th on NASCAR’s all-time list. He led the Cup Series with sixth wins 2025. He started on the pole Sunday. He had the fastest car all day – not just among the Championship 4 drivers but the entire field.

“Nothing I can do different. Prepared as good as I could coming into the weekend,” a clearly disappointed Hamlin said. “My team gave me a fantastic car. Just didn’t work out. I was just praying that no caution. Had one there. What can you do? Just not meant to be.

“We took four tires. I thought that definitely was the right call. Just so many cars took two there. Obviously put us back. Team did a fantastic job. They prepared a championship car. Just didn’t happen.”

Hamlin entered the championship race as the sentimental favorite, despite occasionally leaning into a “villain” role as he embraced the boos from some fans throughout the season. The boos could be heard during driver introductions Sunday but so could the cheers as the fans at the Avondale, Arizona, racetrack understood that Hamlin could finally capture the one item missing from his distinguished résumé.

And now Hamlin, his team, and NASCAR fans will be left to ponder if Hamlin will get another chance to win a championship.

“I’ll try,” Hamlin said when he asked if he could do this again. “I got a couple more shots at it. Man, if you can’t win that one, I don’t know which one you can win.”