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Rams fallout continues after their overtime loss to Buffalo, with Alaric Jackson suspended and a kicker change looming large. Plus, Saints ownership turns up the heat, Falcons monitor Michael Penix Jr.’s rib injury, and the Knicks suffer a brutal pre
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Welcome to The Sports Hangover Daily, I'm Sadie. Today on the show: Rams fallout after the Buffalo loss, Saints ownership getting loud, Falcons quarterback injury math, and one ugly NBA preseason score in New York. Coffee first, cleanup second.
The Rams lost thirty-seven to thirty-four in overtime to Buffalo on Monday night, and Tuesday somehow felt worse.
Left tackle Alaric Jackson got suspended two games for striking Bills defensive lineman Bradley Chubb during the postgame mess. Then the Rams cut kicker Harrison Mevis after his rough night included a blocked potential game-winner in overtime. They signed Blake Grupe off the Jets’ practice squad.
That is a nasty forty-eight-hour stretch. Lose a thriller. Lose your left tackle for two games. Fire the kicker before anyone’s hoodie is even dry.
And for the Rams, this is real football math, not just bad vibes.
Jackson’s suspension is a pass-protection problem. If it stands, Matthew Stafford loses his blind-side starter for two games. That hits Puka Nacua, Cooper Kupp, and every Rams passing-game piece. You can still like the offense. They moved it against Buffalo. But Stafford pressure is now part of the conversation.
The kicker move is simpler. Grupe is the Rams fantasy kicker option now. Mevis is droppable. Cold little fantasy sentence, but there it is.
The betting piece is messier. Cardinals at Rams is a number to watch because kicker weirdness and a left tackle suspension both matter in a close spread. If the market treats the Rams like nothing changed, I’d circle it. Not because the Rams stink. Because tiny cracks get loud in one-possession games.
Josh Allen covered up Buffalo’s own chaos with three hundred thirty-one total yards and two touchdowns. Two hundred ten through the air. One hundred twenty-one rushing. That’s not a quarterback stat line. That’s a one-man emergency generator.
Around the league, Gayle Benson went public on the Saints’ one and four start, and owners don’t usually do that for fun. She said she will not accept this level of performance as the standard in New Orleans. Once that leaves the owner’s mouth, everyone in that building hears the chair legs scraping.
The Saints have lost three straight. The roster is stuck between “we can still compete” and “why are we lying?” That is the worst NFL neighborhood. Too expensive to reset cleanly. Too flawed to scare good teams.
In Atlanta, Michael Penix Junior says his rib injury is not long-term and that he’ll be okay. Good. Because if Penix misses time, Tua Tagovailoa becomes the contingency name, and that changes the weekly feel of the Falcons’ passing game.
Fantasy-wise, this is about volatility. Drake London and the Falcons pass-catchers don’t become unusable if Penix sits. The range just gets wider. Wednesday and Thursday practice reports matter because ribs can turn every throw into a negotiation.
Green Bay’s pass rush is also on watch. The Packers believe Javon Hargrave tore his Achilles, and Micah Parsons’ return timeline is still its own weekly stress test. If Hargrave is out long term, that interior pressure takes a hit.
That matters for the Packers defense in fantasy. It matters on the board, too. Pressure rate can move a total before anyone on TV starts yelling about it.
The Marvin Harrison Junior trade fallout is still worth watching. Arizona sent him and a twenty twenty-seven sixth-round pick to Houston for twenty twenty-seven second-round and seventh-round selections. In fantasy, Harrison is an upside hold. I’m not cutting talent like that.
But immediate volume is not automatic in Houston. The target tree is more crowded, and young receivers don’t just teleport into a full route share because the name is shiny. Hold him. Don’t pretend the weekly floor is fixed yet.
One model note for Week six: Seahawks at Broncos is the number I’d watch. Seattle was showing as a narrow road favorite early. If that creeps toward Seattle minus three, the key-number value changes. That’s not a chase spot. That’s a “why is this moving?” spot.
Non-football corner, and we’re keeping this tight because it’s preseason: the Raptors beat the Knicks one forty-eight to ninety-eight. Fifty points. In preseason. I know it doesn’t count in the standings, but losing by fifty in an exhibition still feels like leaving the house with two different shoes on.
The Thunder also beat the Pacers one fourteen to one twelve in overtime. And in the NHL, the Devils beat the Red Wings five to four in overtime on a busy full-league night.
The Hangover Take: the Saints should stop acting like this is just a patience problem.
One and four is bad. Three straight losses is bad. Your owner publicly calling the standard unacceptable is worse, because that means the private frustration already spilled out.
New Orleans has lived on cap gymnastics and veteran optimism for too long. At some point, you are not “one fix away.” You are just expensive and sad.
The move is not to panic-fire your way into theater. Be honest before the trade deadline. If a veteran has value and is not part of the next real Saints team, take the call. If a contract can be moved, listen. If a younger player needs snaps, play him.
Fans hate hearing that in October. I get it. But fake hope is how teams lose three more years. The Saints do not need a motivational speech. They need a mirror.
That's your hangover. Go hydrate. I'll see you tomorrow.