HOUSTON (AP) — The Atlanta Braves clinched their seventh NL East championship in nine years on Sunday with a 4-2 win over the Astros, and celebrated with hugs and a team photo in championship hats and T-shirts.
Mike Yastrzemski hit a three-run homer during a four-run sixth inning to give the Braves the lead. After Dylan Dodd struck out the side in the ninth to clinch the title, the team ran onto the field to celebrate.
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Atlanta Braves players and coaches take a group photo on the field after a baseball game against the Houston Astros as the Braves clinched the NL East title, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Karen Warren)
Atlanta Braves' Ozzie Albies, right, celebrates in the visitors' clubhouse with hitting coach Darnell Coles, left, after a baseball game against the Houston Astros as the Braves clinched the NL East title, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Karen Warren)
Atlanta Braves' Ozzie Albies, front left, celebrates in the visitors' clubhouse with DaShawn Keirsey Jr., right, after a baseball game against the Houston Astros as the Braves cinched the NL East title, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Karen Warren)
Atlanta Braves' Michael Harris II (23) and DaShawn Keirsey Jr., front right, celebrate on the field after a baseball game against the Houston Astros as they clinched the NL East title, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Karen Warren)
“This is what it’s all about,” Yastrzemski said of the celebration. “It’s so hard to win baseball games in general in the big leagues because everybody is so good. It’s obviously not the end goal, but these are the times that you need to celebrate because it’s hard to get here."
Under first-year manager Walt Weiss, the Braves have rebounded after missing the playoffs last season with a disappointing 76-86 record and fourth-place finish in the division, snapping a streak of seven straight playoff appearances that included six consecutive NL East titles from 2018-23.
That run was highlighted by beating the Astros to win the 2021 World Series.
“I told these guys winning the division is really tough,” Weiss said. “I know it’s the first step, but it takes six months to do it. It takes everybody, and we used everybody. Virtually everyone that got an opportunity stepped up and helped us win games this year. Special group in that way. Very close group."
Atlanta has won 24 division titles, tying the Dodgers for the most since the inception of the divisional format in 1969. Atlanta has won the NL East 19 times in 32 seasons.
“Just felt like they responded well to certain messages,” Weiss said. “I thought the way they competed was high-level stuff. I felt like the makeup of this team was really good. Coming off a tough year, I think a lot of it was getting them to believe that they were still really good.”
The Braves clinched a postseason berth on Friday night with a 6-2 win over the Astros but had a subdued celebration, with the team having a simple toast with bubbly as their focus was on the NL East crown.
The celebration on Sunday was less subdued with players dousing each other in beer and sparkling wine and cigar smoke in the air in the visitors' clubhouse.
“This is first step of what we want to accomplish,” Mauricio Dubón said. “We are trying to enjoy this as much as we can. It’s a lot of hard work. It’s six months of preparation. I think Walt did a great job of bringing everybody together.”
Atlanta has the third-best record in the NL at 92-64. The top two teams in the league get a first-round bye in the playoffs.
The Braves have won at least 90 games in five of the last eight seasons. The only teams with more 90-win seasons over that span are the Dodgers, who have eight, and the Yankees, with six.
“You just want to get in, and then you take your best shot,” Weiss said. “I feel like this series (versus Houston) we really took it to a different level. Now, we have to keep our foot on the gas. … You can’t ever let your guard down in this league because the game will embarrass you.”
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Atlanta Braves players and coaches take a group photo on the field after a baseball game against the Houston Astros as the Braves clinched the NL East title, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Karen Warren)
Atlanta Braves' Ozzie Albies, right, celebrates in the visitors' clubhouse with hitting coach Darnell Coles, left, after a baseball game against the Houston Astros as the Braves clinched the NL East title, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Karen Warren)
Atlanta Braves' Ozzie Albies, front left, celebrates in the visitors' clubhouse with DaShawn Keirsey Jr., right, after a baseball game against the Houston Astros as the Braves cinched the NL East title, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Karen Warren)
Atlanta Braves' Michael Harris II (23) and DaShawn Keirsey Jr., front right, celebrate on the field after a baseball game against the Houston Astros as they clinched the NL East title, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Karen Warren)
HOUSTON (AP) — Ja'Marr Chase reminded everyone of just how good he can be on Sunday after the five-time Pro Bowler was a non-factor in Cincinnati's season-opening win.
Chase caught two touchdown passes from Joe Burrow to lead the Bengals to a 20-6 win over the Houston Texans.
The big day by Chase came a week after he had just two receptions for 12 yards in a victory over Tampa Bay. That prompted Burrow, coach Zac Taylor and offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher to say that getting him the ball more had to be a priority against the Texans.
They showed they meant that early as Chase eclipsed last week’s performance with 14 yards receiving on Cincinnati’s first drive and didn’t slow down after that.
Chase said he wasn't concerned about his limited touches in Week 1 since the team got a win.
“We got weapons on this team at the end of the day,” he said. “So, I’m gonna just hold myself accountable and try to do whatever I can to make the team win.”
He put the Bengals (2-0) on top 7-0 when he managed to drag his toe inbounds on a spectacular 32-yard TD catch over Derek Stingley with about 3 1/2 minutes left in the first half.
Burrow said the catch was one of the best he's ever seen.
“I thought he was falling down,” he said. “I was about to argue for a pass interference and then somehow he stayed up and contorted his body and got two feet in. It was incredible.”
Chase called it the second-best catch in his career behind a TD grab he had in the Super Bowl as a rookie.
He also gave Burrow credit for his ball placement on the throw.
“He was still a little on top of me and I had to just give myself a position,” Chase said. “Joe threw a good enough ball to where the DB couldn’t get to it.”
The Bengals were up by seven when Burrow found Chase again. This time, he grabbed an 18-yard pass in the end zone in front of a diving Reed Blankenship to make it 17-3 with about three minutes left in the third.
Taylor was impressed with how Chase handled the week and by his performance Sunday.
“We’ve been in enough games together to know that can happen in this offense sometimes, and what’s important is the win, and Ja'Marr was a captain through the whole thing," Taylor said. "I didn’t hear one word out of him. He’s positive. He’s great, helping everybody else. He knew this stuff’s going to come.”
Chase had seven receptions for 75 yards and Burrow was 20 of 31 for 207 yards despite dealing with back tightness that caused him to miss practice time this week. Tee Higgins added five receptions for 95 yards.
It was another disappointing game for the Texans, who are 0-2 after losing to Buffalo 36-31 in the opener. They’ll need to get back on track next week to avoid starting 0-3 for a second year in a row.
C.J. Stroud was 30 of 55 for 353 yards passing on a day the Texans had trouble running the ball. Their backs finished with just 18 yards rushing. They failed to score a touchdown while playing without star receiver Nico Collins after scoring 31 points last week.
“The one key to this victory was controlling the front and from an offensive perspective we did not control their front,” Houston coach DeMeco Ryans said. “We got outplayed up front. We couldn’t run the ball well and that forced us into a lot of passing situations.”
Kaʻimi Fairbairn’s 45-yard field goal got the Texans within 17-6 near the end of the third.
Evan McPherson’s 57-yard field goal pushed the lead to 20-6 early in the fourth.
The Texans were driving on the next possession when Stroud was flagged for intentional grounding to force a punt.
A 37-yard field goal by Fairbairn cut the lead to 7-3 with just over a minute until halftime.
McPherson’s 51-yard field goal made it 10-3 early in the third.
The Texans had some miscues in the first half that put them in bad spots. They fumbled the snap on a punt early in the second quarter and failed to convert on fourth-and-inches from the Cincinnati 18 when Dexter Lawrence stuffed David Montgomery on their next drive.
“When you’re playing the Houston Texans, it’s not always going to be pretty,” Taylor said. “That’s a team that I respect a lot, how they’re built, how they’re coached. And we knew this was going to be a really difficult, challenging game, and to come out with a 20-6 win, I’m proud of that.”
Bengals: Visit the Steelers next Sunday.
Texans: Visit the Colts next Sunday.
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Houston Texans defensive end Will Anderson Jr. (51) sacks Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9), right, during the first half of an NFL football game in Houston, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud throws a pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals in Houston, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9), left, throws as he is tackled by Houston Texans defensive tackled Sheldon Rankins (98), right, during the first half of an NFL football game in Houston, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'marr Chase, left, reacts after catching a pass for a touchdown as Houston Texans safety Reed Blankenship, (6) and safety Calen Bullock (2) tried to defend during the second second of an NFL football game in Houston, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'marr Chase (1) celebrates after catching a pass for a touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game against the Houston Texans in Houston, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'marr Chase (1) catches a pass for a touchdown as Houston Texans safety Reed Blankenship, behind, and safety Calen Bullock (2) try to defend during the second half of an NFL football game in Houston, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
