How to Use early/late in the game in a Sentence

early/late in the game

idiom
Definition of early/late in the gamenext
  • But the Phillies bullpen let Suárez down late in the game.
    — Isaac Avilucea, Axios, 10 Oct. 2024
  • Still, late in the game, the Ravens had a chance to even it or win.
    — Louisa Thomas, The New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2024
  • Most of it came on drives late in the first half and late in the game.
    — Elliott Teaford, Orange County Register, 31 Oct. 2024
  • Her 25-yard kick-off late in the game helped seal the win.
    — Justin Gamble, CNN, 14 Oct. 2023
  • At the plate, the Twins set the tone fairly early in the game.
    — Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 27 May 2024
  • But time wasn’t on the Gators side as they were forced to foul late in the game.
    — Nathan Canilao, The Mercury News, 28 Feb. 2024
  • The Blueshirts had the B’s hemmed in for several shifts late in the game.
    — Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 1 Feb. 2025
  • Among the group was Disu, who had missed some easy shots early in the game.
    — Chuck Carlton, Dallas News, 24 Mar. 2023
  • Devoe’s key three late in the game helped the Blazers hold off the Spurs.
    — Afentres, oregonlive, 9 July 2023
  • Still, the 15-yard penalty kept the Chiefs' drive alive and gave them a boost early in the game.
    — Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 25 Jan. 2025
  • Tight end Luke Deal was hurt in the game too, but briefly returned late in the game.
    — Matt Cohen | McOhen@al.com, al, 19 Sep. 2023
  • In that game the Tigers were called for roughing-the-kicker late in the game, and the Wildcats won 21-17.
    — Mark Heim | Mheim@al.com, al, 18 July 2023
  • Alt also was seen limping off the field late in the game.
    — Thuc Nhi Nguyen, Los Angeles Times, 23 Sep. 2024
  • There’s no doubt that LeDee would love some do-overs late in the game against the Broncos.
    — Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Mar. 2024
  • His 26-yard scramble on third down kept alive a drive late in the game that gave the Bears a chance.
    — Jeff Faraudo, The Mercury News, 21 Sep. 2024
  • The one sustained drive, late in the game, on which Daniels threw the ball downfield was their best.
    — Dan Pompei, The Athletic, 24 Nov. 2024
  • He was benched late in the game, also a first in his career.
    — Mark Heim | Mheim@al.com, al, 17 Sep. 2023
  • But Stone, 25, could only laugh late in the game as the Packers pulled away.
    — Sean Neumann, Peoplemag, 15 Jan. 2024
  • Turner’s home run early in the game got us off to a good start.
    — Creg Stephenson | Cstephenson@al.com, al, 8 Apr. 2023
  • Both teams went scoreless for over two minutes late in the game, the score locked at 97-96.
    — Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 28 Nov. 2024
  • The pair came up in key spots early in the game and didn’t deliver.
    — James O'Connell, New York Daily News, 24 July 2024
  • He was benched late in the game for Mac Jones to protect him from injury.
    — Ben Morse, CNN, 24 Sep. 2024
  • The Niners are a bit late in the game to hire a DC, having just played a game on Sunday.
    — Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 14 Feb. 2024
  • Turnovers plagued UConn early in the game, and six of Seton Hall’s first 16 points came off of turnovers.
    — Emily Adams, Hartford Courant, 18 Jan. 2024
  • Raven said his team’s size advantage helped late in the game.
    — Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 Feb. 2024
  • Spencer Steer also added a homer late in the game to put the cherry on top of the victory.
    — Sam Joseph, CNN, 10 July 2024
  • Shamet scored 19 behind a barrage of 3-pointers late in the game.
    — The Arizona Republic, 8 May 2023
  • Ryan McLeod and Darnell Nurse scored the final two goals late in the game against an empty net to seal the 5-1 win.
    — Greg Rosenstein, NBC News, 22 June 2024
  • And despite that, the Chiefs and Eagles played to an even beat, slipping and sliding to 35-35 tie late in the game.
    — Jackson Thompson, Fox News, 5 Feb. 2025
  • Two garbage-time touchdowns from the Chiefs late in the game made the final score – 44-22 – look much closer than than the game actually was.
    — Jim Reineking, USA TODAY, 11 Feb. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'early/late in the game.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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