By Greg Halbleib

The Bears dropped the season opener to Houston 23-14. Chicago didn’t score in the second half and Jay Cutler was sacked five times while throwing for 216 yards with one touchdown and one interception. The Bears have the Monday night game next week against the Eagles.

The Lions held off the Colts 39-35. The Packers edged the Jaguars 27-23. The Patriots captured the Sunday night game 23-21 over Arizona as Eastern Illinois University’s Jimmy Garoppolo won his first career start playing in place of suspended quarterback Tom Brady.

Two games are featured on the first Monday Night Football edition. The Steelers visit the Redskins followed by the Rams and 49ers.

The Cardinals dropped a 2-1 decision to the Brewers as Ryan Braun hit a solo homer in the ninth inning for the game-winner.

The Cubs’ magic number to clinch the National League Central is 5 after a 9-5 win over the Astros. The Cubs and Cardinals hook up for three games in St. Louis starting tonight as right-handers Kyle Hendricks for the Cubs and Mike Leake for the Cardinals start on the bump.

The White Sox fell to the Royals 2-0. The Indians visit the South Side tonight as Cleveland’s Carlos Carrasco duels Chicago’s Miguel Gonzalez in a match-up of right-handers.

Illinois State women’s soccer earned a 2-0 win over North Dakota at the Adelaide Street Field.

Stan Wawrinka has won the U.S. Open tennis championship for the first time, winning his third Grand Slam singles title with a four-set win over defending champion and top seed Novak Djokovic.

On the links, reigning U.S. champion Dustin Johnson now owns the lead in the FedEx Cup points race after winning the BMW Championship at Crooked Stick.