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Before free agency began and all 30 teams could have taken a run at Edwin Diaz, the Mets agreed to bring back their closer on a five-year, $102 million deal. 

The deal includes a $12 million signing bonus, a sixth-year option and an opt-out after three years, plus a full no-trade clause through the opt-out year.

The contract is a record for a reliever, surpassing the five-year, $86 million deal Aroldis Chapman signed with the Yankees in 2016. The average annual value of $20.4 million also exceeds Liam Hendriks’ reliever record of $18 million, set in his 2021 deal with the White Sox.

Diaz is coming off arguably the most dominant season of any reliever, in which he recorded a 1.31 ERA and 118 strikeouts across 62 innings. He had 32 saves in 35 chances, with no blown saves over the final four months of the season. In the process, he also became a fan favorite with his popular entrance music, “Narco,” which led to a live performance from Timmy Trumpet at Citi Field for one of Diaz’s appearances in August.

The New York Jets gave up an 84-yard punt return to rookie Marcus Jones in the final seconds of a tie game to suffer a crushing 10-3 defeat to the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium. 

The punt return sent the Jets to their 14th straight loss to New England, the longest current streak in the NFL. The Jets came to Massachusetts with a chance to grab first place in the division. Instead, they left in last. 

The Jets are now 6-4, tied with the Patriots but New England owns the head-to-head tiebreaker after sweeping the Jets for the seventh  consecutive year. These are not the Same Old Patriots, but they still found a way to beat the upstart Jets.

The game came down to the special teams miscue, but the Jets’ offense takes the blame in this one. It looked inept all day. The Jets managed just 103 total yards, the fourth-lowest total in franchise history. They had six first downs, tied for the second-fewest in franchise history. 

Zach Wilson completed just 9-of-22 passes for 77 yards. The Jets were particularly awful in the second half. They did not cross the 50-yard line once in the half and had two total yards. 

The Jets now must pick up the pieces before playing the Bears next week. 

While the Detroit Lions are starting to find their way under second-year coach Dan Campbell, the New York Giants looked lost for the first time this season under first-year coach Brian Daboll.

Jamaal Williams ran for a career-high three touchdowns and the Lions stunned the New York Giants 31-18, posting consecutive roads wins and their first three-game winning streak since November 2017.

The Lions (4-6) now already have one more victory than they did last season, when they went 3-13-1.

The Lions defense shut down NFL leading rusher Saquon Barkley and forced three turnovers on a cold, blustery afternoon at MetLife Stadium.

Defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, the No. 2 overall pick in the draft in April, intercepted a pass and recovered a fumble to help set up 14 points. Jared Goff and the Lions’ offense didn’t have a turnover for the second straight game.

The mistake-prone Giants (7-3) got 3-yard touchdown runs by Daniel Jones and Matt Breida. Jones also threw a meaningless late TD to Richie James but also was intercepted twice, his first picks since Week 3.

Barkley finished with 22 yards on 15 carries. Jones led New York with 50 yards on seven carries.

WWE superstar Cody Rhodes is reportedly recovering well from his pectoral injury. 

Rhodes, who has been out of action due to a torn pectoral muscle since June, is working out, but any upper body weights he uses are extremely light.

Rhodes doesn’t have a set return date, but could possibly be cleared for a surprise Royal Rumble return or for WWE’s Day 1 pay-per-view — which will be held in his hometown of Atlanta.

Rhodes made his WWE return after a nearly six-year absence at WrestleMania 37 in April, becoming the first major All Elite Wrestling star to sign with the company, having also previously served as an executive and a crucial factor in the promotion’s 2019 launch.

The second-generation wrestler is the son of late WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes and younger brother of WWE legend and current AEW wrestler/coach Dustin Rhodes, formerly known as Goldust.

Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp will miss at least four weeks after being placed on injured reserve due to a high-ankle sprain, head coach Sean McVay confirmed.

Rams Head Coach Sean McVay says WR Cooper Kupp has a high ankle sprain and will require surgery tomorrow. Kupp will go on Injured Reserve.

Kupp experienced the injury during the fourth quarter of the Rams’ 27-17 loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, having been held to an uncharacteristic three receptions. The All-Pro receiver was seen grabbing his right ankle after the play and walked to the sideline with the assistance of team medical staffer.

Kupp had accounted for 35.7% of the Rams’ receptions during the 2022 season prior to his injury, which is the most among all NFL players.

Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald added another accolade to his legacy, notching his 100th career sack with a takedown of Cardinals QB Kyler Murray. 

Donald is only the seventh active player to reach the 100-sack milestone, joining six players all drafted multiple years before him. The three-time Defensive Player of the Year is coming off five consecutive seasons with double-digit sacks despite primarily playing as an interior defensive lineman. 

Donald came close to retiring after only eight seasons this past offseason, even going as far as submitting a retirement letter to the Rams, but the two sides agreed to a revised contract. Donald revealed in August that he plans to play at least two more seasons, citing the new contract. 

Donald has won three Defensive Player of the Year awards, just like Lawrence Taylor, who had 142 sacks. 

Daniel Jones threw two touchdown passes, Saquon Barkley ran for 152 yards and a TD and the surprising New York Giants returned from their bye week and beat the Houston Texans 24-16 on Sunday.

Jones went 13 for 17 for 197 passing yards. Jones hit tight end Lawrence Cager on a 9-yard TD pass and Darius Slayton on a 54-yard catch and run as the Giants scored on their opening possession of each half.

Dane Belton, playing in injured Xavier McKinney’s spot, intercepted Texans QB Davis Mills in the end zone in the fourth quarter with Houston looking to pull within one score.

Mills threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Nico Collins and Ka’imi Fairbairn kicked field goals of 38, 34 and 46 yards for Houston, which has lost four in a row.

The Giants improved to 7-2, their best start since opening 8-1 in 2008.

Burger King is planning to invest more than $400 million over two years in advertising, restaurant enhancements, and modernization.

The chain’s owner, Restaurant Brands International, shared details of a plan it calls “Reclaim the Flame” aimed at accelerating sales growth and driving franchisee profitability. 

The investment is intended to modernize the Burger King restaurant  portfolio and improve the customer experience, attracting more traffic to the brand.

Burger King said it would invest in premium branding to “reaffirm the elevated position of its flame-grilled Whopper,” in addition to building a chicken sandwich portfolio with the launch of the Royal Crispy Chicken sandwich.

It noted that, as the cost of food at home continues to face pressures from inflation, it will continue to provide “a strong everyday value offering in its menu.”

Despite their strong start, there were still questions regarding the legitimacy of Robert Saleh’s New York Jets team entering Sunday’s game against the Bills. Those questions may be gone now, as the Jets posted a 20-17 win over visiting Buffalo to post the franchise’s biggest win in a dozen years.

Two interceptions of Josh Allen loomed large in Sunday’s outcome. The picks overshadowed Allen’s two touchdown runs as Buffalo was unable to hold its early 14-3 lead. The Jets’ comeback was spearheaded by an opportunistic defense, an effective running game and the clutch play of quarterback Zach Wilson, who had arguably his best game since coming to the Big Apple. 

Wilson’s go-ahead touchdown, a 7-yard pass to James Robinson late in the third quarter, occurred after Sauce Gardner recorded the Jets’ second pick of Allen, who was sacked five times by the Jets’ aggressive defense. Wilson then turned to running backs Robinson and Michael Carter on the Jets’ game-winning drive after the Bills had briefly tied the score. 

Bryce Huff’s strip sack of Allen essentially ended the Bills’ hopes of pulling off a last-second comeback on their final drive. The win moves the Jets to 6-3, while the Bills fell to 6-2.