Sports
Bears, Colts eager to define identity growing pains for young QBs
Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) absorbs a hit in the second half of a Week 2 loss at Houston. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images If pressure makes diamonds, the Bears can speak in absolutes when referring to rookie quarterback Caleb Williams as a gem.
Williams and the Bears lick their wounds and take to the road for the second consecutive game with a short trek to Indianapolis on Sunday.
Chicago plans “no changes” to personnel protecting Williams, and head coach Matt Eberflus is confident the growing pains won’t be quite as literal moving forward. The Texans sacked Williams seven times Sunday night in Houston and hit him in the pocket on four other plays, not including the sideline blast at the chains by Houston linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair.
“There’s some great learning moments there in terms of the pressure,” Eberflus said.
Depending on who fields the question, Williams, the No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft, has lacked either the protection or the patience to utilize the array of weapons the Bears proudly assembled around him in the offseason. He enters Week 3 as the team’s leading rusher with 59 yards and has only one completion over 20 yards, no touchdown passes and was sacked nine times in his first two NFL games. After going 5-for-5 on the opening drive at Houston, the Texans sent heavy pressure. On plays he was pressured, Williams’ completion percentage dipped below 35 percent for a total of 33 yards with two interceptions.
“I’m a little bruised up still. Body-wise, moving all of that, I feel good throwing and running around,” Williams said Wednesday.
The Bears rallied from a 17-point deficit to beat the Tennessee Titans in the opener with just 148 yards total offense. New coordinator Shane Waldron has a 44-66 run-pass ratio through two games and the Bears are converting 26.7 percent of third downs. No. 1 wide receiver DJ Moore vented in the loss but said Wednesday he showed “too much frustration” on the sideline.
He emphasized the importance of the Bears “honing in on our identity, whether it’s going to be running the ball or passing the ball.”
Moore was not listed on the injury report for Chicago on Wednesday but Keenan Allen (heel) and Rome Odunze (knee) are not at full strength.
The Colts could be ripe for the picking on the ground. Packers running back Josh Jacobs gained 151 yards in Week 2 and Indianapolis defensive tackle DeForest Buckner landed on injured reserve with an ankle injury.
“Obviously a huge blow,” Colts coach Shane Steichen said of Buckner’s injury. “Phenomenal teammate, phenomenal player for our football team, phenomenal player for the NFL. That guy is so freaking tough.”
With Buckner out, Indianapolis could lean more heavily on rookie defensive end Laiatu Latu to get to Williams. But Latu began the week sidelined by a hip injury.
Barring turnovers, the Bears are likely to test the Colts’ reconfigured defensive front. Indianapolis has been roasted for 474 rushing yards and 5.1 yards per carry this season.
Williams said the two “stupid mistakes,” referring to his interceptions last week, won’t happen again but admits he’s still adjusting to the NFL.
“Just getting used to getting hit again, it’s been a while. It’s been since Nov. 18 (his final game at USC) since the last time I got hit — like really hit,” Williams said.” Getting used to that, getting used to having games like that, there’s going to be games like that. It’s the NFL.”
The Bears’ health also would be a concern if guards Teven Jenkins (thigh) and Nate Davis (groin) miss the game.
Eberflus, who is 11-25 as the Bears head coach, returns to his old stomping grounds at Lucas Oil Stadium. Before being hired by Chicago, Eberflus was the defensive coordinator of the Colts.
Indianapolis (0-2) lost to Houston in Week 1 and then dropped a 16-10 rock fight at Green Bay last week. The Colts’ prized passer, 2023 first-round pick Anthony Richardson, threw three interceptions at Lambeau Field and has a passer rating of 63.1 (Williams is at 53). Richardson was drafted fourth overall but makes just his seventh career start on Sunday.
Steichen said Richardson is making the right reads and isn’t going to overreact to a turnover-heavy game, following the same progression he used to help Justin Herbert develop as a rookie with the Chargers.
“Four games into it, maybe five, he was rolling,” Steichen said of Herbert’s development. “That’s the thing, as long as the ball is going to the right spot — with anything, it just takes time. It’s a process going through this thing with young quarterbacks. But, shoot, he’s a helluva football player and we’re excited to have him.”
Steichen, 9-10 as a head coach and in his second season with the Colts, would like to see the offense start faster. Prior to the fourth quarter in the first two games, Indianapolis has scored 16 total points. Wide receiver Josh Downs practiced Wednesday and could make his 2024 debut as a valuable slot receiver and outlet for Richardson.
“They had a good connection last year, it will definitely help having him back,” Steichen said.
The Colts are averaging 6.1 yards per carry this season and the running game could help counter Chicago’s aggressive front seven. Richardson has 10 carries for 93 yards and Jonathan Taylor has 151 rushing yards.
“They fly around pretty good. Got a lot of respect for ‘Flus,” Steichen said, noting the Bears’ four takeaways and punt block. “They do a lot with movement. We’ve got to be ready for them.”
This is the first meeting between the teams since the Colts beat the Bears 19-11 in Chicago in 2020.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Manchester City look to extend win streak, take on Everton
[Subscription Customers Only] Jun 30, 2025; Orlando, Florida, USA; Manchester City forward Erling Haaland (9) celebrates scoring their second goal with midfielder Rodri (16) during a round of 16 match of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup at Camping World Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Lee Smith-Reuters via Imagn Images Manchester City will try to keep pace with Premier League front-runner Arsenal on Monday night when they pay a visit to an Everton side still on the fringes of the European picture.
City (21-5-7, 70 points) will begin the day six points back of Arsenal with two matches in hand after the Gunners dispatched Fulham 3-0 on Saturday. The Cityzens won’t be even on games played until May 13, when they make up a postponed match against Crystal Palace that was delayed because of City’s triumphant League Cup run.
As a result, there continues to be the appearance of a chase, although the teams would finish level on points if they win out.
Manager Pep Guardiola insists it shouldn’t matter.
“It’s normal, so it’s the calendar,” Guardiola said on Friday. “Sometimes you play first. Sometimes behind. It is what it is. So, nothing changes in these stages, and you know exactly what you have to do.”
City have won six in a row in all competitions, the last three by a single goal: A 2-1 home league win over the Gunners on April 19, a 1-0 league victory at Burnley three days later, and a 2-1 FA Cup semifinal triumph over Southampton on April 25.
Erling Haaland scored once in both league fixtures to bring his EPL-leading total to 24. In the FA Cup semifinal, Jeremy Doku and Nico Gonzalez scored inside the final 10 minutes to complete a late rally.
Everton (13-13-8, 47 points) finished Saturday in 11th place, but only four points out of seventh, which currently would earn a berth in the UEFA Europa Conference League. Should City win the FA Cup, it could be the top eight English league finishers who earn a spot in Europe.
And if Everton could return to continental competition for the first time since 2017-18, it would conclude a much-improved first season at their new Hill Dickson Stadium, after bringing the curtain down on historic Goodison Park last May.
“We still believe there could be something out there for us. And we’ll keep pushing,” manager David Moyes said. “Building Everton back up is a process which I think is going to take quite a bit of time, but I think the first year or so here, we’ve certainly put decent foundations down. And hopefully we can continue to build on it.”
The Toffees are looking to avoid a third consecutive league defeat for the first time this season after a 2-1 home loss to derby rivals Liverpool on April 19 and a 2-1 away defeat at West Ham last weekend.
Beto, one of two Everton players with eight goals, departed the former contest late with a head injury and missed the latter fixture working through the league’s concussion protocol. He should be available Monday night, Moyes said.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Yankees tee off on Orioles to win third straight in 4-game series
May 3, 2026; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge (99) hits a two run home run in the third inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images Jasson Dominguez scored the tiebreaking run in the sixth inning before hitting a two-run homer and an RBI double during a seven-run eighth as the New York Yankees pulled away for an 11-3 victory over the visiting Baltimore Orioles on Sunday afternoon.
The Yankees won for the 13th time in 15 games and beat the Orioles for the 11th time in the past 12 meetings.
Aaron Judge hit a two-run homer off Baltimore rookie Trey Gibson. Ben Rice hit his 12th home run of the season in the first and doubled ahead of Judge’s 13th homer in the third.
Rice exited after the Yankees batted in the third because of a bruised left hand. The Yankees announced X-rays were negative and the first baseman is day-to-day. Rice appeared to get injured fielding a low pickoff throw from Max Fried and was replaced by Paul Goldschmidt.
Dominguez started the tiebreaking rally with a double to left field against Grant Wolfram (1-1) and advanced to third on a groundout by Austin Wells. Ryan McMahon, facing a drawn-in infield, followed with a single that first baseman Coby Mayo couldn’t handle after diving to stop it.
Dominguez started New York’s big inning with a two-run drive into the right field seats off Andrew Kittredge for a 6-3 lead. After an RBI sacrifice fly by Trent Grisham, Goldschmidt ripped a two-run single after the Yankees executed a double steal.
Following a sacrifice fly by Jazz Chisholm Jr., Dominguez added a double to left field for an 11-3 lead.
The Orioles tied it twice before losing their fourth straight and for the 12th time in 18 games.
Blaze Alexander had an RBI single in the third before getting thrown out trying to stretch the hit into a double. After Judge’s 413-foot drive bounced into Baltimore’s bullpen in left field, Leody Taveras hit an RBI infield single and Tyler O’Neill scored on a double play grounder by Jeremiah Jackson in the fourth.
Fried allowed three runs on six hits in 5 1/3 innings. The left-hander struck out six and walked three.
Fernando Cruz (3-0) got the final two outs of the sixth and the first out of the seventh. Brent Headrick ended the eighth by getting a double play grounder against Mayo.
Gibson allowed three runs on four hits in 4 2/3 innings during his major league debut.
The four-game series concludes Monday.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Cam Smith drives in 2 in 10th, Astros edge Red Sox
May 3, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Houston Astros right fielder Cam Smith (11) hits a two run RBI against the Boston Red Sox during the tenth inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images Cam Smith had three hits, including a two-run single in the top of the 10th inning, to help the visiting Houston Astros earn a 3-1 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Sunday.
Smith’s two-out single came against Zack Kelly (0-2) and drove in Braden Shewmake and Jose Altuve.
Boston had the bases loaded with one out in the bottom of the 10th, but Bryan Abreu got Ceddanne Rafaela to ground into a double play to end the game.
Jarren Duran hit a solo home run for the Red Sox, who stranded 13 runners and were 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position. Duran’s home run was his third of the season and his second of the series. He hit a three-run homer in Boston’s 3-1 victory Friday night.
Abreu (1-2) pitched two scoreless innings to get the win. He gave up one hit, walked one and struck out one.
Willson Contreras collected three of Boston’s nine hits in the loss.
Christian Walker and Christian Vazquez each had two-hit games for the Astros, who won two games in the three-game set.
Boston starting pitcher Ranger Suarez was pulled after four scoreless innings because of hamstring tightness. He gave up three hits, walked one and struck out three. Suarez threw 70 pitches.
Duran’s home run off Houston reliever AJ Blubaugh opened the scoring in the fifth. Houston tied the game in the sixth, when Walker reached on an infield single, took third on Altuve’s double and scored on a sacrifice fly by Brice Matthews.
The Red Sox had a chance to win the game in the bottom of the ninth. An error on Abreu allowed Contreras to reach second with two outs in the inning, but Roman Anthony grounded out to first to end the inning.
Houston had the bases loaded with no outs in the 10th, but Altuve grounded into a 6-2-5 double play. Following a walk to Matthews, Smith delivered his two-run single.
–Field Level Media
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