Monday’s Sports Recap
Carolina wins in prime time, Milwaukee walks off San Diego, and Atlanta brings its Division Series back to even.
Sunday delivered narrow NFL finishes, two one-run postseason baseball games and a pair of NBA preseason openers. The scoreboard records the completed action; the betting notebook uses an identified pregame snapshot rather than an assumed closing line.
NFL: all Sunday finals
| Matchup | Final |
|---|---|
| Indianapolis Colts at Washington Commanders | Colts 30–13 |
| New England Patriots at Buffalo Bills | Patriots 29–26 |
| New York Jets at Chicago Bears | Bears 23–12 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars at Cincinnati Bengals | Jaguars 22–17 |
| Arizona Cardinals at New York Giants | Giants 36–24 |
| Los Angeles Rams at Philadelphia Eagles | Rams 24–20 |
| Green Bay Packers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Packers 17–14 |
| Tennessee Titans at Baltimore Ravens | Ravens 24–18 |
| Dallas Cowboys at Houston Texans | Cowboys 34–30 |
| Miami Dolphins at Minnesota Vikings | Vikings 15–10 |
| Kansas City Chiefs at Las Vegas Raiders | Chiefs 30–27 |
| Denver Broncos at San Francisco 49ers | 49ers 24–14 |
| Los Angeles Chargers at Seattle Seahawks | Seahawks 30–23 |
| Detroit Lions at Carolina Panthers | Panthers 32–26 |
Carolina’s receiving centerpiece
Tetairoa McMillan caught 14 passes for 192 yards and two touchdowns in the Panthers’ 32–26 victory over Detroit. Chuba Hubbard added 122 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Jared Goff threw for 412 yards in defeat.
New England wins in Buffalo
Drake Maye passed for 269 yards and three touchdowns as the Patriots won 29–26. New England moved to 2–2, while Buffalo fell to 3–1.
Taylor powers Indianapolis in London
Jonathan Taylor ran for 95 yards and two touchdowns in the Colts’ 30–13 win over Washington.
ISR analysis: Passing-yard volume and winning efficiency are different measures. Detroit’s 412-yard passing day came in a loss. A useful review asks how drives ended and how much scoring came from each possession before treating the yardage total as proof of offensive control.
MLB: two tight Division Series games
| Matchup | Final |
|---|---|
| San Diego Padres at Milwaukee Brewers | Brewers 4–3 |
| Atlanta Braves at Los Angeles Dodgers | Braves 3–2 |
Chourio turns the ninth inning
Jackson Chourio’s two-run single with two outs in the ninth gave Milwaukee a 4–3 walk-off win and a 2–0 lead in its best-of-five series against San Diego.
Harris helps Atlanta square the series
Michael Harris II went 3-for-5 with a double, a triple, a run and an RBI in Atlanta’s 3–2 win at Los Angeles. The Braves and Dodgers are tied 1–1.
ISR analysis: A one-run final describes the margin, but the pitching handoff and timing of the decisive hits explain the game. Milwaukee’s ninth-inning reversal is a reminder that a starter’s performance and the full-game result need separate reviews.
NBA: preseason finals
| Matchup | Final |
|---|---|
| Utah Jazz at Denver Nuggets | Jazz 109–97 |
| Golden State Warriors at LA Clippers | Clippers 104–101 |
Markkanen leads Utah
Lauri Markkanen scored 17 points in the Jazz’s 109–97 win over Denver. Julian Strawther led the Nuggets with 14.
Clippers edge Golden State
Rui Hachimura scored 21 points in the Clippers’ 104–101 victory. Charles Bassey led Golden State with 12 points.
ISR analysis: These were preseason games. Rotation experiments and limited workloads make a direct comparison with regular-season team strength premature.
College sports: the midnight boundary
NCAA Football FBS: ESPN’s October 4 date scoreboard lists no new games. San José State–Hawai‘i was scheduled for 11:59 p.m. ET on Saturday, October 3, and finished in Sunday’s early hours. CBS groups it under October 4; the final is included below as a clearly labeled carryover.
NCAA men’s basketball: No October 4 games on ESPN’s date scoreboard or RealGM’s combined basketball scoreboard.
| Matchup | Final |
|---|---|
| San José State at Hawai‘i | San José State 20–16 |
Weaver delivers against his former team
Luke Weaver completed 19 of 28 passes for 246 yards and two touchdowns in San José State’s win. The Spartans moved to 3–2 overall and 1–0 in Mountain West play.
A scoreless first half for Hawai‘i
San José State held Hawai‘i scoreless before halftime, according to the Spartans’ official recap.
Betting notebook: a documented reference number
ATS means against the spread. This is a result against the cited pregame snapshot, not a universal closing line or a record of Insider Sports Report’s paid picks.
NFL.com’s pregame FanDuel snapshot listed Detroit −3.5 and 50.5. Carolina covered; 58 points went over.
ISR analysis: Keep the source number beside the result. Different sportsbooks or snapshot times can produce different totals. Sunday’s 58-point finish exceeded the cited 50.5, but that does not establish where the market closed or how it moved.
Scores & source notes
Reported facts come from the sources below. Paragraphs labeled “ISR analysis” are editorial interpretation. Scoreboard matchup links open individual box scores.
- ESPN: October 4 NFL scoreboard · Final scores and statistical leaders; NFL.com: Sunday game reports.
- MLB: October 4 scoreboard · Official Padres–Brewers highlights · ESPN baseball scoreboard and leaders.
- ESPN: October 4 NBA scoreboard · RealGM: October 4 basketball scores and college status.
- San José State’s official Hawai‘i recap · ESPN game details · CBS Eastern schedule grouping.
- ESPN: October 4 college football date scoreboard · ESPN: October 4 men’s college basketball date scoreboard. Date queries and final statuses checked October 5, 2026.
- NFL.com Week 4 pregame article · FanDuel spread and total snapshot, used only to calculate the completed game’s ATS and total outcomes.