Sports
Lamar Jackson, Ravens brace for challenge from upstart Broncos
Oct 27, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) runs the ball against the Cleveland Browns during the second quarter at Huntington Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Scott Galvin-Imagn Images The Baltimore Ravens and Denver Broncos are in a position to make the postseason with a strong finish to the second half of the season.
The Ravens and Broncos are both 5-3 and in second place in the AFC North and AFC West, respectively. The teams will test their mettle against each other on Sunday afternoon in Baltimore.
The Ravens are led by two-time MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson, who is playing at the highest level of his career.
“He’s been playing great and we’ve got a lot of football in front of us here,” Baltimore head coach John Harbaugh said of Jackson, who sat out practice on Wednesday for rest purposes. “We’ve got a game, quick game, another big game coming up. So that was warranted.”
Rookie Bo Nix has given the Broncos hope for the future and has led them to two straight victories. Nix has thrown for 1,530 yards with eight touchdowns and five interceptions. He could have success against the Ravens’ pass defense, which is ranked last in the NFL by allowing 291.4 yards per game.
“For a rookie quarterback, I think all of these are steps,” Denver coach Sean Payton said about Nix. “Confidence steps. We’ve seen it. The key is — and I’ve said it — the key is around him. Are we good enough at these other positions around him? That’s what we’re constantly looking (at). We have to paint the picture, and when we do that, we’ll have success. We’ll move the ball.”
The Ravens secondary also isn’t doing itself any favors.
Last week, safety Kyle Hamilton bobbled an easy interception that could have sealed the win against Cleveland. On the very next play, Jameis Winston threw a 38-yard touchdown pass to Cedric Tillman to help fuel the Browns to a 29-24 victory. Safety Eddie Jackson, who also dropped two potential interceptions in the game, was beaten badly on the touchdown.
Courtland Sutton leads Denver with 29 receptions for 377 yards with two touchdowns.
“We’ll make those plays, we’ll work hard at it, and we’ll continue to work even harder at it, because it’s something that we want our guys to have confidence in,” Harbaugh said. “We have guys with good hands; they can catch the ball. I’m very confident that we’re going to do it going forward, but I’d like to see it happen really soon.”
The Ravens allow just 69.9 yards rushing per game, tops in the NFL. However, they are dealing with several key injuries.
Defensive end Brent Urban had to leave the game against the Browns with a concussion. Defensive tackle Travis Jones was able to play despite an ankle injury, but he was limited to 15 snaps and did not practice Wednesday. Nose tackle Michael Pierce was placed on injured reserve with a calf injury and will miss at least the next four games.
The Broncos’ rushing game could pose a challenge. Denver averages 121.4 yards rushing per game, led by the duo of Javonte Williams and Jaleel McLaughlin.
“Stopping the run this game is going to be really important — it’s going to be huge,” Harbaugh said. “(The Broncos are) a running team, and they run it really well, and they run it a lot, so it’s going to be a big part of the game plan.”
Much of the Ravens’ success has revolved around Jackson and running back Derrick Henry. Baltimore leads the league in total offense (452.1 yards per game) and rushing offense (200 ypg). The Ravens also are second in average points per game (30.3).
Jackson is having another MVP-caliber season, throwing for 2,099 yards with 17 touchdowns and just two interceptions. He also is second on the team with 501 yards rushing.
Henry leads the NFL with 946 yards rushing and nine touchdowns. He also has two scoring receptions. The Broncos defense has been stout and is ranked third in yards (282.6 yards per game) and points (15 points per game).
“This is our toughest challenge by far,” Payton said about the Ravens.
Broncos safety P.J. Locke (thumb) and offensive tackle Mike McGlinchey (knee) did not practice on Wednesday.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Tundra Esports advances to grand final of DreamLeague Season 28 playoffs
Tundra Esports swept Team Liquid in the upper-bracket final on Saturday to advance to the grand final of the DreamLeague Season 28 playoffs.
The grand final on Sunday will pit Tundra Esports against the winner of the lower-bracket final earlier in the day between Team Liquid and Aurora Gaming in the double-elimination format.
The $1 million Dota 2 event began with 16 teams competing in a round-robin stage split into two groups of eight teams. All series consisted of two games, and the top four teams from each group advanced to Group Stage 2, a single round robin featuring best-of-three matches that ran through Friday.
The playoffs feature best-of-three matches until the grand final, which will be best-of-five.
The championship team will receive $250,000 in prize money and a $40,000 club reward. The runner-up side will get $100,000 and a $30,000 club reward.
Aurora Gaming opened play on Saturday with a 2-1 win over Xtreme Gaming in the lower-bracket semifinal. Xtreme Gaming opened with a win in 40 minutes on red before Aurora Gaming rallied to wins in 47 and 29 minutes, both on red.
Russia’s Egor “Nightfall” Grigorenko logged a 21-4-28 kill-death-assist ratio for Aurora Gaming, while teammate Artem “Lorenof” Melnyk of Ukraine post a 23-8-30 K-D-A over three games. Wang “Ame” Chunyu of China had a 23-9-13 K-D-A ratio for Xtreme Gaming, which finished fourth in the tournament.
Tundra Esports dispatched Team Liquid 2-0 in the upper-bracket final, winning in 46 minutes on red and 39 minutes on green.
Ivan “Pure” Moskalenko of Russia posted a 32-2-19 K-D-A ratio for Tundra Esports and teammate Neta “33” Shapira of Israel had a 24-5-30. Michael “MiCKe” Vu of Sweden posted a 13-10-6 ratio for Team Liquid.
Dream League Season 28 prize pool, with prize money and club reward
1. $250,000, $40,000
2. $125,000, $30,000
3. $80,000, $25,000
4. $60,000, $20,000 — Xtreme Gaming
5. $45,000, $15,000 — Team Falcons
6. $35,000, $15,000 — PARIVISION
7. $30,000, $12,500 — BetBoom Team
8. $25,000, $12,500 — MOUZ
9-10. $20,000, $10,000 — OG, Natus Vincere
11-12. $17,500, $10,000 — Team Yandex, Team Spirit
13-14. $15,000, $10,000 — paiN Gaming, GamerLegion
15-16. $10,000, $10,000 — Yakult Brothers, Execration
–Field Level Media
Sports
LYON, Cloud9 in LCS Lock-In grand final
A backlit keyboard is part of the gear online video game streamer Jordan Woodruff uses in his Gilbert home.
Jordan Woodruff
LYON knocked out Sentinels to earn a meeting on Sunday with Cloud9 in the grand final of the League Championship Series 2026 Lock-In at Los Angeles.
LYON won 3-1 on Saturday in the lower-bracket final, taking the first map in 31 minutes as Kim “Berserker” Min-cheol of South Korea posted a 7-0-1 kill-death-assist ratio. LYON won again in 37 minutes as Niship “Dhokla” Doshi, an American/Indian player, had a 7-3-6 K-D-A and Berserker a 5-0-6.
Sentinels stayed alive with a victory in 34 minutes in the third game as Ham “HamBak” Yoo-jin of South Korea recorded a 5-0-8 K-D-A.
But LYON wrapped up the match by winning the fourth game in 39 minutes on red. Berserker contributed a 6-3-7 K-D-A.
Following the eight-team Swiss stage in the League of Legends event, six teams competed in the double-elimination playoffs, with all matches best-of-five. The overall winner qualifies for the First Stand Tournament, while the second- and third-place teams will head to the Americas Cup.
Both of the latter two events will be contested in Sao Paulo.
Cloud9, which finished atop the Swiss stage standings with a 3-0 record, has moved through the playoffs by beating FlyQuest 3-0 in the upper-bracket semifinal and Sentinels 3-0 in the upper-bracket final.
LYON, who finished fifth in the Swiss stage, eliminated FlyQuest with a 3-0 victory in the lower-bracket quarterfinals, then a 3-1 triumph over Team Liquid in the bracket’s semifinal before Saturday’s victory.
2026 League Championship Series Lock-In at Los Angeles prize pool
1. TBD, qualifies for First Stand Tournament
2. TBD, qualifies for America’s Cup
3. Sentinels, qualifies for America’s Cup
4. Team Liquid
5-6. FlyQuest, Disguised
7. Dignitas
8. Shopify Rebellion
–Field Level Media
Sports
OpTic Texas moves into first place in CDL Major 2 qualifying
YMCA member Austin Manengu works the keyboard as he plays a game of Fortnite during the unveiling of the new gaming lab at the Maplewood Family YMCA in Rochester Thursday, June 20, 2024. YMCA of Greater Rochester in partnership with Metro Sports & Entertainment Group will open two gaming labs for youth and teens this year. OpTic Texas defeated Los Angeles Thieves in a battle of 4-0 teams to move to the top of the standings in qualifying for the Call of Duty League Stage 2 Major on Saturday.
In other second-day action of Week 3 competition, G2 Minnesota edged Riyadh Falcons, Toronto KOI beat Miami Heretics and Carolina Royal Ravens defeated Vancouver Surge.
The 12 Call of Duty League teams are playing a full qualifying round robin to determine seeding for the second major of the season, to be held March 27-29 in Marston Green, England, as part of the DreamHack Birmingham event.
The top six teams in qualifying head straight into the Stage 2 Major playoffs, while the teams in seventh through 10th place will compete in a play-in round.
The Stage 2 Major champion will receive $150,000 and 100 Call of Duty League points, while the runner-up will get $90,000 and 75 CDL points.
After Los Angeles Thieves claimed an opening 250-238 Den Hardpoint victory, OpTic Texas won the next three to claim a 3-1 victory. A 6-2 Exposure Search and Destroy triumph was followed by a 4-2 Den Overload win before the result was clinched with a 250-173 Colossus Hardpoint triumph.
In Saturday’s first match, G2 Minnesota won the final two games to come away with a 3-2 win. Riyadh opened with a 250-229 Scar Hardpoint victory and took a 2-1 lead with a 5-0 Scar Overload win. G2 leveled it at 1 with a 6-1 Raid Search and Destroy win, tied it at 2 with a convincing 250-134 Colossus Hardpoint victory and won the deciding Colossus Search and Destroy game 6-3.
Toronto finished a sweep of Miami with 250-182 Hardpoint, 6-4 Search and Destroy and 4-2 Overload victories, all on the Den map.
Carolina also swept Vancouver for its second victory in as many days after a 1-3 start. After opening with a 250-186 Blackheart Hardpoint win and following with a 6-2 Den Search and Destroy victory, the team closed out the win with an 8-2 Exposure Overload win.
The weekend schedule:
Sunday
–Toronto KOI vs. Paris Gentle Mates
–FaZe Vegas vs. Boston Breach
–Miami Heretics vs. Cloud9 New York
–Vancouver Surge vs. OpTic Texas
Call of Duty League Stage 2 Major qualifiers standings (match record, map differential)
1. OpTic Texas, 5-0, +11
2. Los Angeles Thieves, 4-1, +8
3. Paris Gentle Mates, 3-1, +5
4. G2 Minnesota, 3-2, +1
5. Riyadh Falcons, 3-3, +2
6. Carolina Royal Ravens, 3-3, -1
7. FaZe Vegas, 2-3, 0
8. Toronto KOI, 2-3, -2
9. Miami Heretics, 1-3, -4
10.. Vancouver Surge, 1-3, -6
11. Cloud9 New York, 1-3, -7
12. Boston Breach, 1-4, -7
–Field Level Media
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Tundra Esports advances to grand final of DreamLeague Season 28 playoffs
