NFL - NEWS & NOTES

Jags hit their first FG of the season in their 6th game.

 

Marvin Jones Jr. catches a 1st down and is on the ground facing the wrong way so he throws up a Nazi salute.

 

What I don't understand why go for it on 4th and 2 instead of kicking the fg

 

Now your losing Dolphins 20 Jaguars 17

 

Jaguars snap losing streak with win over Dolphins in London



Two of the worst teams in the NFL played an ugly game in London today. In the end, the Jaguars came out on top.

The Jaguars won 23-20 on a last-second field goal, snapping their 20-game losing streak, which had been the second-longest in NFL history.


It was not a well-played or well-coached game, but it was the Dolphins who made the big mistakes in the end. Brian Flores made several questionable decisions and wasted two timeouts with two bad challenges late in the game, and Tua Tagovailoa threw one of the ugliest interceptions you’ll ever see.

Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence completed 25 of 41 passes for 319 yards, with one touchdown and no interceptions. Lawrence looks like he’s well on his way to becoming a good NFL quarterback, even if he doesn’t have a good team around him.

Neither of these teams have much around their young quarterbacks, for that matter. They’re both now 1-5 on the season.

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Cleveland will be without both starting OTs for Browns-Cardinals



The Browns could have some trouble with pass protection and running along the edge against the Cardinals on Sunday.

Both left tackle Jedrick Wills (ankle) and right tackle Jack Conklin (knee) are inactive for Cleveland.



The Browns will start Blake Hance at left tackle and rookie James Hudson at right tackle.

Cleveland’s run game had already taken a hit with Nick Chubb (calf) declared out on Friday. Kareem Hunt, who has 295 yards rushing and five rushing touchdowns, will start at the position. But he also missed two practices with wrist and knee injuries this week.

At cornerback, both Denzel Ward (neck) and Greg Newsome (calf) are active after they were questionable.

Cleveland’s other inactives are cornerback A.J. Green, linebacker Malcolm Smith, and defensive tackle Tommy Togiai.

The Cardinals are without head coach Kliff Kingsbury and edge rusher Chandler Jones, who both tested positive for COVID-19. Cornerbacks Byron Murphy and Marco Wilson are both active after they were questionable.

Arizona’s inactives are tight end Zach Ertz, quarterback Chris Streveler, receiver Andy Isabella, running back Eno Benjamin, and linebacker Tanner Vallejo.

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Ravens maul Chargers, move to 5-1 on season



Sunday’s meeting between the Ravens and Chargers was pitched as a measuring stick game for two 4-1 teams in the AFC and the Ravens came out well ahead of their AFC West club.

The Ravens rolled up 187 rushing yards and nearly doubled the Chargers’ time of possession en route to a 34-6 win that moved them to 5-1 on the season. It’s also five straight wins after a season-opening loss in Las Vegas and they’ll try to keep the winning streak going in Week Seven against the Bengals in their first divisional game of the year.


Baltimore rotated all three members of their 2016 All-Star backfield to power the rushing attack. Devonta Freeman, Latavius Murray, and Le’Veon Bell combined for 122 yards and three touchdowns on 25 carries as the Chargers never came up with a way to keep the Ravens from moving the ball on the ground.

Lamar Jackson had 51 yards on the ground, but was shakier through the air than he was in last Monday’s win over the Colts. He was 19-of-27 for 167 yards, a touchdown, and two interceptions. The win makes it easier to swallow that stat line as does the job the Baltimore defense did against Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert.

Herbert’s been one of the brightest stars of this season, but Ravens defensive coordinator Wink Martindale’s unit limited him to 22-of-39 for 195 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. The Chargers never established any run game and failed to convert on a pair of fourth downs in their own territory to give the Ravens easy chances to add points.

The loss snaps a three-game winning streak and sends the Chargers into the bye with many wounds to lick. They’ll face the Patriots upon returning to action in Week Eight.

 

Packers beat Bears to take two-game lead in NFC North



With a win today in Chicago, the Packers took a big step toward their third consecutive NFC North title.

Green Bay’s 24-14 win over the Bears improves the Packers to 5-1 and drops the Bears to 3-3, giving the Packers both a two-game division lead and the tiebreaker advantage.


It wasn’t a great day for Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who was held to just 195 passing yards, but in the end he passed for two touchdowns and ran for another, and hooked up with Davante Adams for some big passes, as the Packers took control in the second half.

Justin Fields was solid but not spectacular running the Bears’ offense. For the most part Fields was careful with the ball, although the officials didn’t do him any favors by failing to flag the Packers when they jumped offside, leading to Fields throwing an interception on what he thought was a free play. Fields was also sacked four times, and avoiding the pass rush remains a challenge for him.

Fields and the Bears can get better, and they’re still in the mix for a wild card. But the NFC North is looking like it’s going to be the Packers’ division for the third straight year.

 

Chiefs crawl back to .500 with win at Washington



The Chiefs still don’t look like the Super Bowl favorites they were thought to be before the season. But today they delivered a solid 31-13 win at Washington.

Patrick Mahomes threw two interceptions (one a bad decision by him, one a bobbled ball by Tyreek Hill), but he also threw for 397 yards and made several big plays with both his legs and his arm. Mahomes remains one of the NFL’s truly elite players.


Mahomes spread the ball around successfully, with seven different receivers gaining more than 20 receiving yards. Darrel Williams also ran for two touchdowns for Kansas City.

A bigger concern for the Chiefs is their defense, which did make some mistakes again today, but this time Washington wasn’t often able to capitalize, as Taylor Heinicke hit Ricky Seals-Jones for one big touchdown but otherwise couldn’t do much. Washington’s running back duo of J.D. McKissic and Antonio Gibson picked up some yardage but didn’t make many big plays.

The Chiefs are now 3-3, which is not where they expected to be through six games but also far from a disaster. Washington falls to 2-4, a disappointing record for a team that had aspirations of taking a big step forward this season.

 

Colts thrash Texans 31-3 behind Darius Leonard, Jonathan Taylor



The Colts blew a game against the Ravens on Monday night. They made sure Sunday’s game didn’t come down to the end.

Indianapolis led by only a touchdown at halftime, but outscored Houston 21-0 in the second half behind Jonathan Taylor. They won easily 31-3 in a battle of 1-4 teams.



Taylor rushed for 145 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries. He had touchdown runs of 4 and 11 yards.

Darius Leonard forced two turnovers, which the Colts turned into 14 points. Leonard had seven tackles, an interception, a forced fumble, a pass breakup and a quarterback hit. The Colts had three takeaways.

Carson Wentz completed 11 of 20 passes for 223 yards and two touchdowns. T.Y. Hilton caught four passes for 80 yards in his return from injured reserve but left in the second half with a quadriceps injury. Parris Campbell caught a 51-yard touchdown but left with a foot injury.

The Colts had 388 yards, including 174 rushing.

The Texans had 353 yards but turned it over three times and went 1-for-2 on fourth downs. Davis Mills was 29 of 43 for 243 yards and two interceptions.

Brandin Cooks caught nine passes for 89 yards, and Melvin Ingram rushed for 73 yards on 18 carries.

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Vikings beat Panthers 34-28 in overtime



The Vikings got the ball first in overtime against the Panthers and there won’t be a second possession.

Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins hit wide receiver K.J. Osborn for a 27-yard touchdown to make the Vikings 34-28 winners in Carolina. The win moves both teams to 3-3 on the year, although the Vikings feel better about that than the Panthers given Carolina started 3-0 while the Vikings lost their first two games of the year.



Cousins threw three touchdowns on Sunday, including a strike to Adam Thielen in the third quarter that was part of a 16-0 run that put the Vikings up 28-17 in the fourth quarter. The Panthers passing offense had been abysmal to that point, but they were able to put together a pair of scoring drives that erased all of Minnesota’s lead with under a minute to play. The Vikings got into position for a 47-yard field goal try that Greg Joseph missed to force overtime.

They didn’t need to turn back to the kicker. Dalvin Cook ran for 25 yards and Cousins completed four passes to move the team into position for the scoring strike to Osborn.

It was Cousins’ third touchdown pass of the day and he finished with 373 yards through the air. Cook added 140 yards and a touchdown on the ground in his return from an ankle injury.

Sam Darnold hit Robby Anderson for a touchdown and Tommy Tremble for a two-point conversion to force overtime, but his work throughout the first 50-plus minutes of the game was a big reason why the Panthers had to mount such a furious comeback. He finished the day 17-of-41 for 207 yards while throwing an interception and losing a fumble. That makes seven turnovers for Darnold in three games without Christian McCaffrey in the backfield and they’ll have at least two more games without him before he’s eligible to come off injured reserve.

The first of those games comes against the 1-5 Giants on the road next weekend. The Vikings will have a bye before they try to keep their winning streak going at home against the Dallas in Week Eight.

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Cardinals roll Browns 37-14 to stay undefeated, improve to 6-0



The Cardinals had a lot overcome on Sunday, playing the Browns without their head coach.

But despite missing head coach Kliff Kingsbury, quarterbacks coach Cam Turner, defensive line coach Zach Allen, and top edge rusher Chandler Jones due to positive COVID-19 tests, the Cardinals rolled the Browns 37-14 on Sunday.


Quarterback Kyler Murray was an efficient 20-of-30 passing for 229 yards with four touchdowns. He didn’t run much, but the Cardinals didn’t need him to, as Arizona’s defense produced three takeaways.

James Conner had 71 yards on 16 carries with Chase Edmonds adding 46 yards on four carries.
Arizona scored on all five of its possessions in the first half to build a 23-7 lead. Cleveland cut into it with a completed Hail Mary as time expired in the first half. But the Browns got nothing more, with a pair of Murray touchdowns in the second half completing closing the scoring.

Quarterback Baker Mayfield had another poor showing on Sunday with three giveaways — two lost fumbles and an interception. The quarterback also aggravated his left shoulder injury when he was sacked by defensive lineman J.J. Watt in the second half, but was able to stay in the game after being examined on the sideline.

Mayfield’s final stats were 19-of-28 passing for 234 yards with a pair of touchdowns and an interception.

Case Keenum ended up finishing the game, with the Browns inserting him with 4:48 left in the fourth quarter.

But Cleveland’s biggest concern is likely Kareem Hunt, who exited the game after suffering a non-contact, lower-leg injury in the second half. He was announced as out with a calf injury. He did not put any weight on his right leg when he was helped off the field.

The Browns were already playing without Nick Chubb, who missed the game with a calf injury.

Cleveland has a quick turnaround, playing Denver on Thursday night in Week Seven.

The league’s last undefeated team, the Cardinals will take on the 1-5 Texans next week at home.

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Rich Bisaccia steers Raiders to win in head coaching debut



A tumultuous Week Six for the Raiders started with head coach Jon Gruden’s resignation and it ended with a resounding win in Denver.

Interim head coach Rich Bisaccia said he wanted the team to treat Gruden’s departure as a “bump in the road” and that he wanted them to focus on their game against the Broncos despite the distraction created by the release of Gruden’s offensive emails to former Washington team president Bruce Allen. That message was echoed by the team’s players this week and they showed that they were able to do that on Sunday afternoon.


Derek Carr threw for 341 yards and two touchdowns, Maxx Crosby had three sacks of Teddy Bridgewater, and the Raiders picked up a 34-24 win. The victory snapped a two-game losing streak and leaves the Raiders with a share of first place in the AFC West with a 4-2 record.

Carr opened the game with a 48-yard touchdown strike to Henry Ruggs and hit Ruggs for a 40-yarder later in the game to set up a Josh Jacobs touchdown. He also hooked up with Kenyan Drake for a 31-yard score and Drake added a rushing touchdown in his most productive day as a Raider.

Jacobs and Drake combined to run 20 times for 87 yards as the Raiders consistently found success on offense. They matched that effort by overwhelming Bridgewater on defense.

Bridgewater padded his numbers once the Raiders went up three scores in the fourth quarter, but he was sacked five times, threw three interceptions, and missed open receivers more than once over the course of the afternoon. The most damning of those misses was a deep shot to a wide open Courtland Sutton and the overall performance was enough to make you wonder if more of the same in the next few weeks will lead to Drew Lock getting a chance to start.

The Broncos will be in Cleveland to try to halt their losing streak next week. The Raiders will be home to host the Eagles in their final game before their bye week.

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T.J. Watt saves the day, Steelers beat Seahawks 23-20 in OT



T.J. Watt got paid to make plays as he did on Sunday.

The edge rusher helped save the day for Pittsburgh, making a strip-sack in overtime that led to Chris Boswell’s walk-off 37-yard field goal for a 23-20 victory on Sunday Night Football.


While Seattle won the OT coin toss and gained plenty of yards on the opening drive, Watt sacked quarterback Geno Smith for a 13-yard loss on third-and-4 from the Pittsburgh 45. That forced a punt.

Then after the Steelers punted it back, Watt sacked Smith again, this time forcing a fumble that linebacker Devin Bush recovered. A few plays later, Boswell sent the ball through the uprights to even Pittsburgh’s record at 3-3.

Starting his first game since 2017 with Russell Wilson on injured reserve, Smith finished 23-of-32 passing for 209 yards with a touchdown. He did not perform well in the first half but was able to heat up in the second to give Seattle a chance to win.

He was especially key on the Seahawks’ last drive of regulation — which continued Seattle’s tendency to play weird games. Smith hit receiver D.K. Metcalf on the left with a 12-yard pass, but cornerback James Pierre punched the ball out Peanut Tillman style, giving Pittsburgh a chance to win the game with a recovery. Receiver Freddie Swain jumped on the loose ball instead, sprinting to midfield so Seattle could spike it.

But the officials stopped the play to review Metcalf’s catch, perhaps to review whether he stepped out of bounds. Metcalf did not, as the ruling on the field stood as called. With Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin livid on the sideline, the Seahawks had three seconds to execute a spike and did so. Jason Myers then connected from 43-yards out to put the game in extra time.

On the other side, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger finished 29-of-40 for 229 yards with a touchdown. Deontae Johnson had nine catches for 71 yards. And running back Najee Harris had over 100 yards from scrimmage again, with 81 rushing and 46 receiving, plus a receiving touchdown.

And defensively, Watt made a good case for AFC defensive player of the week with 1.0 sacks, three tackles for loss, three passes defensed, and a forced fumble.

The game did have a scary moment when Seattle’s Darrell Taylor had to be carted off the field on a stretcher late in the fourth quarter. Taylor had smashed his helmet into the side of teammate Al Woods when trying to tackle Harris on a run play. Fortunately, the Seahawks told NBC’s Michelle Tafoya that Taylor has all use of his extremities after being transported to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center for further examination.

Now at 3-3, the Steelers have their bye next week.

At 2-4 in the tough NFC West, the Seahawks will take on the Saints on Monday night in Week Seven.

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23 games have been decided in final minute or overtime



Plenty of games played on the sixth Sunday of the 2021 season weren’t competitive or close. However, in each of the four windows during which games were played on Monday, the NFL delivered a thrilling finish.

From 9:30 a.m. ET (Dolphins-Jaguars) to 1:00 p.m. ET (Vikings-Panthers) to 4:25 p.m. ET (Cowboys-Patriots) to 8:20 p.m. ET (Seahawks-Cowboys), three went to overtime and one ended with a walk-off game-winning field goal at the end of regulation.


That’s 23 games in six weeks decided in the final minute of regulation or overtime, with one more game to be played tonight, Bills-Titans.

Eleven games have gone to overtime this year, the most through six weeks since 1995, which featured 12 overtime games in the first six weeks of the season. Again, with one game still to play, the record could be matched tonight.

With six weeks (nearly) done, the NFL has completed one third of its self-styled “biggest season ever.” With 12 weeks to go, there should still be plenty of exciting football games to come — including games that may not have looked like they were destined to be great games but that, given the performance of the teams involved, will be.

For example, in 10 days the Packers visit the Cardinals on Thursday Night Football. That’s one that wouldn’t have been circled in early September. It should be now.

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The Browns injury situation is quickly getting worse.

With Nick Chubb already dealing with a calf strain, running back Kareem Hunt is now slated to miss several weeks with a calf strain. Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reported on Monday that Hunt will be out for four-to-six weeks.


While head coach Kevin Stefanski didn’t quite confirm that timeline in his press conference, he did say that’s “in the ballpark” of what he was told by Cleveland’s training staff.

Because he’s out for several weeks, Hunt is likely to go on injured reserve.

Hunt was carted to the locker room during the fourth quarter of Sunday’s loss to the Cardinals. He started that game in place of Chubb, who has been dealing with a calf strain.

Stefanski told reporters Chubb has not been ruled out of Cleveland’s upcoming Thursday matchup with Denver, but the short week makes it tougher for the running back.

Browns rookie linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah is also slated to miss a few weeks with a high-ankle sprain suffered in Sunday’s loss. He’s also a candidate to go on injured reserve.

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Jerry Jeudy unlikely to play Thursday night



The Broncos designated wide receiver Jerry Jeudy for return from injured reserve over the weekend, but it looks like they will remain without him when they play the Browns on Thursday night.

Broncos head coach Vic Fangio said at his Monday press conference that there’s a less than 50 percent chance of Jeudy making it on the field this week. Jeudy sprained his ankle in the team’s season-opening win over the Giants.


Designating Jeudy for return opened a 21-day window for him to practice with the team. He can be activated at any point, but will not be able to return if he’s not activated before that window is closed.

Courtland Sutton leads Broncos receivers with 33 catches through the first six weeks of the season. Tim Patrick and Kendall Hinton have joined him in three receiver sets in recent weeks.

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Titans stop Josh Allen QB sneak to seal 34-31 victory over Bills



The defensive front of the Tennessee Titans crashed through the line of scrimmage to stop Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen short on a fourth down quarterback sneak from the 3-yard line on fourth-and-inches to turn away the Bills and seal a 34-31 victory on Monday night.

Allen had made a leaping dive for the first down sticks on third down that saw him ruled down at the two-and-a-half yard line with 22 seconds left to play. Instead of kicking a chip shot field goal to force overtime, the Bills went for the win with Allen attempting to find daylight on the fourth down sneak. Jeffery Simmons crashed through the line and Allen lost his footing as he was stopped short to turn the ball back over to Tennessee with 21 seconds left.


Derrick Henry rushed for 143 yards and three touchdowns on the night for Tennessee as he carried the team’s offensive attack. His third score of the night, a 13-yard run with 3:05 left to play, gave the Titans their final lead. Bills returner Isaiah McKenzie had a 101-yard return touchdown wiped out on the ensuing kickoff due to a hold on Andre Smith Jr. The Bills still marched down to the Titans red zone to give themselves scoring chances that wouldn’t come to fruition.

The Titans managed to get the win despite losing several players throughout the night. Left tackle Taylor Lewan (concussion) and cornerback Caleb Farley (knee) were carted off, and returner Cameron Batson couldn’t put any weight on his leg as he was helped off the field just before halftime. Wide receiver Julio Jones (hamstring) and cornerback Chris Jackson (foot) were both forced from the game in the fourth quarter as well. Bills tight end Dawson Knox also was ruled out for the night due to an injured hand.

Allen threw for 353 yards with three touchdowns and an interception for the Bills in the loss. He provided almost all of Buffalo’s offensive firepower for the night.

Henry broke free on a 76-yard touchdown run to give the Titans a 7-6 lead in the second quarter. The Bills answered as Allen hit Stefon Diggs for a 14-yard touchdown on Buffalo’s next possession. After a 43-yard Randy Bullock field goal, Ryan Tannehill scored on a 4-yard touchdown run to give Tennessee a 17-13 lead.

Cole Beasley caught a 29-yard touchdown pass from Allen late in the half as the Bills took a 20-17 lead into the break.

After a 52-yard Tyler Bass field goal extended the Buffalo lead, Henry’s second score of the night put the Titans back on top, 24-23. Allen found Tommy Sweeney for 1-yard touchdown and made the two-point conversion on a variation of the “Philly Special” with a throwback pass from Knox to Allen to give the Bills a 31-24 lead inside the final minute of the third quarter.

Bullock’s 38-yard field goal made it 31-27 before Henry’s third score gave the Titans the lead for good.

Tannehill completed 18 of 29 passes for 216 yards with an interception for Tennessee. Seven of the completions were to A.J. Brown for a total of 91 yards.

Diggs had 89 yards and a touchdown. Beasley had 88 yards and a touchdown. Emmanuel Sanders had 91 yards receiving for Buffalo on the night.

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Dawson Knox broke bone in his hand on Monday night



Bills tight end Dawson Knox had a starring role in one of the most memorable plays from a wild Monday night game in Nashville and he did it while playing hurt.

After a touchdown catch by tight end Tommy Sweeney late in the third quarter, the Bills dialed up some trickery on a two-point try. Josh Allen flipped the ball to wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie running left, McKenzie flipped it to Knox coming right, and Knox shot putted the ball to Allen all alone in the end zone to give the Bills a 31-24 lead.


It would be the final play of the game for Knox, who was first called questionable with a hand injury and later ruled out of the game. Mike Garafolo of NFL Media reports that Knox broke a bone in his hand ahead of the play.

There’s no firm timeline for Knox’s return, but the Bills have a bye this week and Garafolo reports that the hope is he won’t be out long. Knox has 21 catches for 286 yards and five touchdowns this season.

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Of course he did why because i was actually able to snag him in a couple of leagues last week.