Sports Express | October 2, 2026 — Watson Drives Browns to Last-Gasp 27-24 Win Over Steelers

1. Watson Drives Browns to Last-Gasp 27-24 Win Over Steelers

Source: Sportsnet

The Cleveland Browns beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 27-24 at home on Thursday night. Quarterback Deshaun Watson led a go-ahead fourth-quarter drive for the third straight week, setting up kicker Andre Szmyt, whose career-long 56-yard field goal with 10 seconds left sealed the win. It is the Browns' first 3-1 start since 2001, and Szmyt extended his streak of made field goals to 22.

Cleveland led 21-7 late in the first half before Pittsburgh rallied to tie it at 24 when Aaron Rodgers threw a 3-yard touchdown pass with 1:44 remaining and ran in the two-point conversion. On the winning drive, Watson went 4 for 5 for 46 yards, including two completions to Jerry Jeudy for 27 yards. Rodgers finished 22 of 40 for 299 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions, the last a Hail Mary picked off by Grant Delpit at the Browns 18 with one second left.

The Browns have now won eight straight Thursday night games, the longest active streak and the fourth longest in NFL history; four of those came against the Steelers. Pittsburgh drops to 2-2 and is 0-10 on the road against AFC North rivals on Thursdays.

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2. Braves Beat Phillies 6-2 in Game 3 to Reach NLDS

Source: Sportsnet

The Atlanta Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies 6-2 on Thursday night in the decisive Game 3 of their National League Wild Card Series and advanced to a best-of-five Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Michael Harris II hit a three-run homer in the first inning to make amends for hitting into two double plays a night earlier, and Chris Sale came out of the bullpen on one day of rest to get the final four outs.

Surprise starter Ray Kerr threw 3 1/3 scoreless innings in his postseason debut, only his fourth career start; Ozzie Albies added a two-run homer in the fourth and Matt Olson a solo shot in the seventh. Phillies starter Aaron Nola was pulled after allowing three runs in 1 2/3 innings, while Zack Wheeler gave up two runs over four innings. Braves manager Walt Weiss said his team has been at its best when the stakes are highest.

It is the Braves' first postseason series win since the 2021 World Series and their first ever against the Phillies, who had eliminated Atlanta in the 1993 NLCS and the 2022 and 2023 NLDS. A sellout crowd of 41,731 attended at Truist Park.

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3. White Sox Sweep Astros 7-3 to Reach ALDS

Source: Chicago Sun-Times

The Chicago White Sox beat AL West champion Houston 7-3 on Thursday to sweep their best-of-three Wild Card Series and set up a Division Series against the Cleveland Guardians beginning this weekend. Chase Meidroth launched a three-run homer in the sixth inning, the biggest homer in Sox history since Jim Thome's blast in Game 163 in 2008. Meidroth hit 16 home runs in the regular season.

Astros ace Hunter Brown, who had dominated the Sox twice in the regular season, lasted just 36 pitches and walked off to boos after two outs, with two errors behind him. Reliever AJ Blubaugh stopped the bleeding, and Peter Lambert threw three scoreless innings on two days of rest as Houston clawed back with three solo shots. But Bryan Abreu hung a slider that Meidroth crushed in the sixth to break the game open.

The bullpen closed it out in style: Jordan Hicks struck out three over two perfect innings, and 33-year-old Erick Fedde finished it off, a rare bright spot from the club's record 121-loss season.

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4. Aces Eliminate Fever 94-83, Ending Clark's Season

Source: Fox News

The defending champion Las Vegas Aces beat the Indiana Fever 94-83 at home on Thursday in the decisive Game 3 of their first-round WNBA playoff series. A'ja Wilson scored 36 points, 21 of them by halftime, while Fever star Caitlin Clark, the AP Comeback Player of the Year, finished with 18 points on 6-of-18 shooting.

Indiana kept the deficit in single digits until the final two minutes, when the shots stopped falling. With 3:16 left and the Fever down 82-77, Clark took a sharp elbow to the face from Jewell Loyd; with her mouth bleeding heavily, she ran back onto the court and fought to stay in the game despite her head coach Stephanie White and officials trying to hold her back.

The series had been dominated by talk of Wilson, who received a technical foul in Game 2 and stepped beyond the sideline to confront a fan; the league ultimately chose not to suspend or eject her.

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5. Oilers Beat Canucks 9-7 as Bouchard Sets Defenceman Record

Source: Sportsnet

The Edmonton Oilers beat the Vancouver Canucks 9-7 in Vancouver on Thursday, after dropping their home opener 6-5 in overtime to the same opponent. Edmonton has now allowed 12 regulation goals in its first two games. The Oilers led 8-2 at one point before Vancouver scored five more, with Leon Draisaitl making it 9-6 with just over 10 minutes to play.

The goaltending has been poor: Edmonton's team save percentage of .727 is last in the NHL, with Tristan Jarry at .739 and Devon Levi at .682 with a 7.02 goals-against average. Captain Connor McDavid had a goal and four assists, saying the first 30 to 40 minutes were what the team should look like but the finish needed to be cleaner.

With Zach Hyman among the injured, Edmonton's top line of McDavid between Draisaitl and Vasily Podkolzin produced four goals and 10 points. Defenceman Evan Bouchard became the first NHL defenceman since 1980 to record a hat trick on Opening Night, and with a goal and two assists Thursday he set the record for most points by a defenceman in the first two games of a season with eight. The Oilers host Seattle on Saturday.

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6. Seravalli Floats Oilers Move for Hellebuyck

Source: Yahoo Sports

The Oilers' goaltending woes have the rumour mill churning. Sportsnet's Frank Seravalli floated a scenario this week: could Edmonton make a play for Connor Hellebuyck? The three-time Vezina Trophy winner has been suspended by the Winnipeg Jets for failing to report to training camp after publicly confirming a trade request made months earlier, and is forfeiting nearly $39,000 per day.

According to Seravalli, Hellebuyck prefers to continue his career south of the 49th parallel, and insider Darren Dreger previously shot down the idea of him landing in Edmonton or Montreal. But Sportsnet Jets reporter Sean Reynolds believes Hellebuyck would consider Edmonton because the Oilers could give him the best chance to chase a Stanley Cup during the prime years of McDavid and Draisaitl. There is no confirmed negotiation between the two clubs.

Hellebuyck posted a .895 save percentage and a 2.86 goals-against average in 2025-26; at 33, he has five years left on his contract at an $8.5 million cap hit. In Seravalli's scenario Tristan Jarry would head back to Winnipeg, the most puzzling part. Edmonton has roughly $306,000 in cap space, and Hellebuyck makes more than $3 million more than Jarry, so a third team may be needed to absorb salary.

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7. Ronaldo Leaves Portugal Camp Early

Source: NBC Sports

Cristiano Ronaldo's international future has taken another turn. It was reported this summer that the Portuguese great would play his final match for his country during this international break, but he changed his mind after a conversation with new head coach Jorge Jesus, vowing to lead a new generation while pursuing 1,000 career goals with Saudi side Al Nassr.

The 41-year-old took seven shots without scoring in a 1-0 win over Wales in Portugal's UEFA Nations League opener, then was left out as Portugal won 2-1 in Norway on Sunday through goals from Joao Felix and Goncalo Ramos. Jesus played down reports of a rift, but Ronaldo left camp ahead of Thursday's match.

In a statement, Ronaldo said: "After the press conference of the National Team coach, and following a conversation with the President of the Portuguese Football Federation, I decided to leave the National Team camp. In due time, I will tell all the Portuguese about the reasons that motivated my departure from the national team." His sister Elma also spoke out, saying Ronaldo deserved more respect.

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8. Downing Street: Man City Not 'Above the Rules'

Source: BBC

Downing Street said on Thursday that Manchester City are not "above the rules" after UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham was criticised for his comments about the club's breaches of Premier League financial rules. Burnham said on Wednesday he would be "really concerned" if the club's owners decided to sell up, after City were found guilty by an independent commission of most of the 115 charges they faced.

His remarks were branded "completely out of touch" and "extraordinary" by the Conservatives. Downing Street then made clear the Prime Minister believes "the initial judgement is serious and there can't be any suggestion that anyone is above the rules," adding that the independent process must run its course and be respected. City deny any wrongdoing and have until Friday to submit an appeal.

Sources told BBC Sport that City are expected to claim in their appeal that key sponsorship deals were funded by the Abu Dhabi government rather than the club's owners. The panel found City arranged "sham contracts" with commercial partners to disguise secret funding of more than 830 million pounds, and the Premier League says City "systematically broke Premier League Rules for nearly a decade." A sanctions hearing could take months, with a huge fine or a points deduction among possible punishments.

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9. Fury vs Joshua Confirmed for December 11 in Cardiff

Source: Al Jazeera

Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, the most anticipated heavyweight fight in British boxing history, is finally set: the two came face to face in London on Wednesday to confirm the bout will take place on December 11 in Cardiff. Fury is 38 and Joshua 36, and both are former heavyweight world champions. Asked whether the fight had come too late, Fury replied: "Is it too late? It's the icing on the cake of two great careers."

The fight has been years in the making. The negotiations date back to a two-fight deal in 2020, and contracts were signed in 2021 for an undisputed showdown, but Deontay Wilder won an arbitration case that forced Fury into a trilogy fight. In 2022 Joshua reportedly accepted a 60-40 purse split in Fury's favour, yet the deal collapsed again; in that period Oleksandr Usyk beat Joshua twice and Fury twice.

Netflix holds the global rights and has billed the fight as a collaboration between Saudi powerbroker Turki Alshikh's The Ring magazine and UFC owner Dana White. Neither Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn nor Fury's promoter Frank Warren was named in the deal, and Hearn has said "Dana White cannot be involved with this fight promotion." The fighters will reportedly share a $200 million purse, more than any British fighter has earned in a single fight.

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10. Tiger-Cats' Jaelen Gill Set for First CFL Start

Source: 3downnation

American receiver Jaelen Gill will make his first career CFL start when the Hamilton Tiger-Cats visit the Ottawa Redblacks on Friday night, after the team published its official depth chart on Thursday morning. The 26-year-old has spent the entire season on Hamilton's practice or reserve rosters, with previous stops with the Los Angeles Chargers, Cleveland Browns and San Antonio Brahmas; this will be his first career regular-season pro game.

A native of Westerville, Ohio, Gill finished his college career at Fresno State in 2023 with 49 catches for 516 yards and six touchdowns in 13 games. He also played at Boston College (80 receptions for 1,092 yards and two touchdowns in 32 games) and Ohio State (seven catches for 51 yards and one score in eight games). The five-foot-eleven, 189-pound target starts in place of Keric Wheatfall, who is on the one-game injured list with an ankle injury.

The Tiger-Cats (4-11) were eliminated from playoff contention after last week's loss to the Edmonton Elks, while the Redblacks (0-14) remain winless. Kickoff is Friday, October 2 at 7:00 p.m. EDT, broadcast on TSN and RDS2 in Canada and on CFL+ internationally.

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