How can you not be romantic about baseball?
Life is busy and demanding.
Football is an event sport. NFL RedZone makes it easy to watch across the league. Fandom becomes transactional. Someone in Miami enjoys watching Jaxon Smith-Njigba more than their local Dolphins. A fan in Arizona becomes a Jahmyr Gibbs fan. In one afternoon, fans of all interest levels can have their finger on the pulse of the league. Many indulge and move on to the next demand.
Baseball is different.
It is an old friend. It's there when you need to spend an afternoon with someone and no one at the same time. It's background for mowing the lawn or cleaning the garage. It's a soundtrack for a long drive on a clear summer night. For fans of a certain age, it's a time machine to when nothing demanded your attention.
When you are a fan of a good team, it becomes appointment viewing.
When your team has an ace pitcher, every sixth day is an event.
The Detroit Tigers gave me a connection to my grandfather, a quiet man from a time when men were quiet. They have helped me keep an easy conversation starter with my own father.
"Verlander is pitching."
The Tigers were horrible for most of my childhood. Their 2006 season was the best kind of sports surprise. Justin Verlander was at the center.
That season, I was finishing college and transitioning to the real world. The Tigers started hot, then tried to hold on before the Twins eventually took the division. They entered the playoffs as the wild card and were blown out by the Yankees in Game 1. The Tigers turned to their Rookie of the Year pitcher in Game 2. Verlander battled the star-studded Yankees lineup as the Tigers stole the game late. My father and I attended Game 3, Comerica Park's playoff debut, and it was one of the most electric sports environments I have experienced. The Tigers took the Yankees series. Magglio Ordonez sent them to the World Series after beating Oakland. Then the pitchers forgot how to throw to first.
Unforgettable.
"Verlander is pitching."
Three words that meant more than baseball.
It became a code. "Want to talk?" Talks that started with baseball and went to anything else. A path to say "my time is yours."
This weekend, the standing appointment ended in one of the most touching sendoffs. Seeing Verlander's daughter rush to greet him as he walked off the mound hit hard in the best way. I'm a father now. One day, I hope for a Verlander connection with my daughters.
Anyone know how to ask your dad if he wants to talk?
Blind Resume
| Player | Passing Yards | Passing Touchdowns |
|---|---|---|
| A | 321 | 3 |
| B | 312 | 2 |
| C | 292 | 3 |
| D | 379 | 4 |
| E | 282 | 3 |
| F | 297 | 4 |
| G | 248 | 3 |
| H | 255 | 4 |
| I | 390 | 2 |
From pitchers to passers. From 1947 to 1979, passing yards per game stayed fairly static, rarely topping 180 yards and rarely dipping below 158. They jumped to 196 in 1980, then stayed in the 196 to 212 range until 2006. Then, from 2011 to 2021, they bookended a new era: a 228 to 243 yard range. That number dropped starting in 2022 before bottoming out at 209 in 2025, the lowest mark since 2006.
So far, teams are bouncing back, averaging 218 yards per game. The league-wide 93.7 passer rating would be the highest ever, rivaled only by 93.6 in 2020. We all know 2020 heavily favored offenses, largely because teams played in empty stadiums.
A bunch of quarterbacks posted big numbers in Week 3. Can you place this production?
Stats Of The Week
Jahmyr Gibbs, Detroit: 99 Rushing Yards, 2 Rushing Touchdowns, 7 Receptions, 65 Receiving Yards, 1 Receiving Touchdown
Gibbs passed Billy Sims for second on the Lions' career rushing touchdown list.
This performance was the fifth in history with 99+ rushing yards, 2+ rushing touchdowns, 7+ receptions, 65+ receiving yards, and 1+ receiving touchdown. The others: Christian McCaffrey, Chris Johnson, Priest Holmes, and Franco Harris.
Gibbs is on pace for 1,740 rushing yards, 22.7 rushing touchdowns, 102 receptions, 884 receiving yards, and 11 receiving touchdowns. No player has come close to those numbers. Removing the touchdowns and dropping the yardage to 1,300 rushing and 600 receiving, with 90+ receptions, it returns these five seasons from Pro-Football-Reference:
- LaDainian Tomlinson, 2003: 1,645 rushing yards, 13 touchdowns, 100 receptions, 725 receiving yards, 4 touchdowns
- Steven Jackson, 2006: 1,528 rushing yards, 13 touchdowns, 90 receptions, 806 receiving yards, 3 touchdowns
- Christian McCaffrey, 2019: 1,387 rushing yards, 15 touchdowns, 116 receptions, 1,005 receiving yards, 4 touchdowns
- Brian Westbrook, 2007: 1,333 rushing yards, 7 touchdowns, 90 receptions, 771 receiving yards, 5 touchdowns
- Saquon Barkley, 2018: 1,307 rushing yards, 11 touchdowns, 91 receptions, 721 receiving yards, 4 touchdowns
Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Seattle: 10 Receptions, 128 Yards, 2 Touchdowns
Smith-Njigba has topped 8 receptions and 120 yards in every game. He had a 4-game streak in 2025, tying Andre Johnson and Odell Beckham Jr. for the longest streaks. He joins Julio Jones as one of only two players to have two separate streaks of three games or more. Smith-Njigba is on pace for 153 receptions, 2,295 yards, and 34 touchdowns.
Bijan Robinson, Atlanta: 194 Rushing Yards, 2 Touchdowns, 2 Receptions, 19 Receiving Yards
Drake London, Atlanta: 9 Receptions, 194 Receiving Yards
Robinson and London became the first teammates to top 150 scrimmage yards in a game three separate times. They are the first teammates with 190+ yards in a road game since Lawrence McCutcheon and Ron Jessie for the Rams in 1976.
Robinson came one yard short of his career high in rushing yards. Derrick Henry was the last player with 190+ rushing yards and 2+ touchdowns, hitting the marks in Week 17, 2025.
London did establish a career high in receiving yards, topping his previous mark of 187 from Week 18 of the 2024 season. He became the 36th player to top 190 receiving yards without scoring a touchdown. CeeDee Lamb was the last in Week 9 of 2023.
Kirk Cousins, Las Vegas: 248 Passing Yards, 3 Passing Touchdowns
Brock Bowers, Las Vegas: 10 Receptions, 116 Receiving Yards, 1 Touchdown
Cousins threw three touchdown passes for his third consecutive game. Rich Gannon, Derek Carr, Jay Schroeder, and Daryle Lamonic are the other Raiders quarterbacks with three-game streaks. No one has gotten to four games. Cousins is 35 touchdown passes from catching Fran Tarkenton for 13th all-time. Tarkenton's mark stood as the NFL record for 19 years.
Bowers recorded his fourth career 10+ / 100+ / 1+ game. Only three tight ends have more: Tony Gonzalez (9), Zach Ertz (5), and Travis Kelce (5). Bowers has 186 receptions through his first 30 career games. Only Odell Beckham Jr. (206), Puka Nacua (202), and Michael Thomas (190) have more.
The Raiders are 3-0 for the first time since 2002. That season ended in a Super Bowl loss.
Davante Adams, LA Rams: 7 Receptions, 137 Receiving Yards
Adams had nearly half of his 2025 total of 789 yards in six days, posting 334 between Monday night and Sunday. He is closing on Jason Witten (55 away) and Steve Largent (98) to move into 22nd on the career list.
Puka Nacua remains out with an injury that's been rumored to be anything from a hip to a groin. Nacua posted 573 yards in a 3-game span to end 2025, his only stretch with 300 yards over two games.
Derrick Henry, Baltimore: 89 Rushing Yards, 2 Rushing Touchdowns
Henry passed Eric Dickerson to move into ninth on the career rushing yards list. Jerome Bettis is next, 343 yards away, while LaDainian Tomlinson is just 22 yards ahead of Bettis. Curtis Martin at 6th all-time is the realistic target for 2026; Henry would need 782 yards over the rest of the season.
Henry jumped Ray Rice for second on the Ravens' career rushing touchdown list. Jamal Lewis is 7 away as the franchise's all-time leader. Henry needs 17 rushing touchdowns to catch Tomlinson for second on the career rushing touchdown list. He broke a tie with Cris Carter on the career touchdown list and now needs 3 to catch Marshall Faulk for the 7th most.
Deebo Samuel Sr., San Francisco: 80 Receiving Yards, 0 Receptions
Samuel set an NFL record for the most receiving yards without recording a reception. Timmy Brown recorded 65 yards without a reception in 1961, the previous record. Samuel entered the game averaging 8.77 yards per reception. He bumped that up to 17.7.