The Pulse Newsletter 📣 | This is The Athletic’s daily sports newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Pulse directly in your inbox.Good morning! Catch that pop fly today. Coming up:
While You Were Sleeping: Another fun preseason game?No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza, one week after registering his first NFL touchdown pass, notched his first NFL pick six in last night’s preseason action against the Texans. But I just want to pause for a brief second to acknowledge we actually saw entertaining football at the end of a game in the preseason. Here’s the game-winning play:
RAIDERS TAKE THE LEAD LATE!!
LVvsHOU on ESPNStream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/WQKAH0lJTH
— NFL (@NFL) August 21, 2026That’s Raiders third-string quarterback Aidan O’Connell pushing in a go-ahead quarterback sneak, which came one play after completing a long-range dart to put the Raiders at the goal line. This all came with the clock running with no timeouts left. Does it matter? No, it doesn’t. But did it feel good to feel actual tension in a football game after six months away? Yes, very much. Happy Friday. Let’s keep moving:Feedback Loop: WoofIt’s a busy day, so we’ll make this quick. On the topic of current NFL rookies possibly going back to college and entering the transfer portal via court order, here’s how you felt:I don’t have much to say outside of “sheesh.” Is distaste or malaise worse? I’d bet it’s the latter. Thanks for voting. This topic won’t go away anytime soon.News to KnowMatthew Stockman / Getty ImagesAlcaraz returns
