NFL - NEWS & NOTES

Titans rough up Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs in 27-3 victory



The Titans sacked Patrick Mahomes four times, knocking him out of the game in the fourth quarter, and Ryan Tannehill ran for a touchdown and threw another as Tennessee blew out Kansas City 27-3.

The Titans had four sacks of Mahomes and hit him five other times.


With 8:19 remaining in the rout, Mahomes’ legs were wrapped up by Denico Autry as Jeffery Simmons‘ thigh accidentally caught Mahomes’ head as Mahomes was going to the ground. Mahomes passed concussion protocol after appearing woozy initially, but he did not return to the game.

The concern now seems to be with Mahomes’ neck.

He finished 20-of-35 for 206 yards with an interception and a lost fumble.

The Titans led 27-0 at halftime and finished the game with 369 yards. They had three takeaways as the Chiefs gained 334 yards.

Tannehill went 21-of-27 for 270 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He had a 2-yard touchdown run. A.J. Brown caught eight passes for 133 yards and a touchdown.

Derrick Henry rushed for 86 yards on 29 carries, caught two passes for 16 yards and threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to MyCole Pruitt.

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Falcons kick last-play field goal for 30-28 win over Dolphins



Mike Gesicki caught seven passes for 85 yards and a touchdown.Tua Tagovailoa threw two fourth quarter touchdown passes, the second of which gave the Dolphins the lead with 2:27 remaining, but it was too much time for Matt Ryan.

Ryan led the Falcons on a nine-play, 57-yard drive to set up Younghoe Koo‘s 36-yard field goal as time expired to give Atlanta a 30-28 victory.


Ryan went 25-of-40 for 336 yards with two touchdowns, an interception and a lost fumble as the Falcons rolled to 325 yards.

Rookie tight end Kyle Pitts caught seven passes for 163 yards.

Tagovailoa had an up-and-down day, the same as his career, going 32-of-40 for 291 yards with four touchdowns but two costly interceptions. His picks came after the Dolphins had reached the Atlanta 14 and the Atlanta 32, the latter set up by Xavien Howard‘s interception of Ryan.

Tagovailoa also ran for 29 yards on four carries.

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Giants thump Panthers 25-3 for second win of season



The Giants couldn’t get much going offensively through the first half of Sunday’s game against the Panthers, but they came alive after halftime to power their way to their second win of the season.

Dante Pettis and Devontae Booker scored touchdowns while the Giants defense put the hammer down on Carolina in a 25-3 victory. The win moves the Giants to 2-5 on the season and drops the Panthers to 3-4 after they started the year with three straight wins.


It was 5-3 Giants at halftime, but things started to flow much more smoothly once Pettis was able to get into the end zone. The Giants scored on four straight possessions before running the clock out late in the game.

Carolina’s slide has taken place with running back Christian McCaffrey out of action with a hamstring injury and Sunday’s game was the latest in a string of poor outings for quarterback Sam Darnold. He was pulled from the game with the Panthers down 15-3 in the fourth quarter and ended the day 16-of-25 for 111 yards and an interception.

P.J. Walker took over and went 3-of-14 for 33 yards, so any attempt to provide a spark to the offense failed. Head coach Matt Rhule’s press conference should shed some light on whether there’s any chance that he’ll be back in the lineup against the Falcons next weekend.

Azeez Ojulari had 2.5 of the Giants’ five sacks and former Panther James Bradberry had the interception of Darnold. The Panthers picked up just eight first downs after driving for a field goal to open the game in a needed bounceback game for the Giants defense after back-to-back routs by the Cowboys and Rams the last two weeks.

Daniel Jones was 23-of-33 for 203 yards and the touchdown to Pettis, who also completed a 16-yard pass to the quarterback as the Giants used some trickery to get their offense going in the second half. They’ll be in Kansas City next Monday night for a game against a Chiefs team that looks a lot less imposing than it did when the schedule came out.

 

Packers improve to 6-1 with win over Washington



The Packers are continuing to show that they’re one of the league’s elite teams. And Washington is continuing to show that last year’s playoff appearance was a fluke.

Green Bay dominated today, with Aaron Rodgers spreading the ball around effectively and throwing touchdown passes to Davante Adams, Robert Tonyan and Allen Lazard. It was a 24-10 victory that was never really in doubt in the second half.


Although the Packers were obliterated in Week One by the Saints, they’ve gone on a six-game winning streak since then. They’re now preparing to face the Cardinals on Thursday Night Football in a game that could have significant implications for the all-important bye and home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.

Washington, which falls to 2-5, has been a mess this season. The Football Team won the NFC East last year, but that was one of the worst divisions in NFL history. This year the defense has significantly regressed, and although Taylor Heinicke has been fine by the standards of an inexperienced backup quarterback thrust into starting, he hasn’t done enough to win many games.

Rodgers, however, has won a lot of games. And the season that may prove to be his last in Green Bay is looking like it could be a very special season.

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Patriots beat Jets for 12th straight time



The Patriots and the Jets share a division, but they haven’t been rivals for years and that isn’t changing this year.

Mac Jones threw two touchdowns,Damien Harris ran for two scores, and J.J. Taylor ran for two more in the fourth quarter as the Patriots ran their winning streak over the Jets to 12 straight games. The 54-13 win moves the Patriots to 3-4 on the season and marks both their first home win of the year and their highest point total of the season.


Jones was 24-of-36 for a career-best 307 yards and Harris posted 106 yards on 14 carries. It’s a season-high for Harris and he’s now topped 100 rushing yards three times this season. The Patriots picked up 554 total yards of offense in the unit’s best performance of the season by a wide margin.

The Patriots also got a touchdown pass from wide receiver Kendrick Bourne, who hit Nelson Agholor to open the scoring in the first quarter of the game and provide a hint that everything would be working for New England on Sunday.

The Jets failed to score points in the opening quarter for the sixth time in six tries this season. Their offensive situation got even worse in the second quarter when rookie quarterback Zach Wilson had to go to the locker room with a knee injury after a hit by Patriots pass rusher Matthew Judon. He was ruled out of the game at halftime and his status for Week Eight and beyond will be a hot topic at head coach Robert Saleh’s postgame press conference.

Mike White made his regular season debut in relief of Wilson and threw a touchdown a couple of plays after entering the game, but couldn’t sustain that early success. He finished 20-of-32 for 202 yards and two interceptions and the Jets’ lack of an experienced backup will likely become a topic again for Saleh.

Whoever is at quarterback for the Jets next weekend will face the Bengals. The Patriots will try to get to .500 in Los Angeles against the Chargers.

 

What a difference between HC Mike Zimmer of Minnesota Vikings and HC of the Indy Colts and Frank Reich, wow Xavier Rhodes INT

 

Colts defeat 49ers 30-18 on a rainy night in the Bay Area



Some teams handle the elements better than others.

On Sunday, a weather event called a Bomb Cyclone brought significant rain to the Bay Area, and wet conditions affected the matchup between the Colts and 49ers. But the team that plays in a stadium with a retractable roof forced four takeaways, and Indianapolis defeated San Francisco 30-18.


It was an ugly game for both sides, with both quarterbacks losing a fumble. But things were worse for 49ers’ Jimmy Garoppolo, who threw two picks.

The Colts were largely able to control the game after the first quarter. Though the 49ers had an early 12-7 lead, Indianapolis scored a pair of touchdowns (one with a failed two-point play) to go up 20-12 toward the end of the third quarter.

San Francisco made things interesting by getting a quick touchdown on a three-play drive at the beginning of the fourth quarter. But Indianapolis’ defense tightened up and intercepted Garoppolo on each of the next two possessions. The Colts got a 42-yard field goal off one of them and then receiver Michael Pittman scored a 28-yard touchdown to put the game on ice.

Wentz finished 17-of-26 passing for 150 yards with two touchdowns. He also had four carries for 23 yards, including a 1-yard touchdown last in the second quarter.

Lead back Jonathan Taylor continued to pace the offense, netting 107 yards on 18 carries with a touchdown.

After missing a Week Five start due to a calf injury, Garoppolo finished 16-of-27 passing for 181 yards with one touchdown. Garoppolo was sacked on his last dropback, which was the fifth time he’d been hit all night.

Garoppolo’s performance could merit some discussion about a quarterback change. But with No. 3 overall pick Trey Lance dealing with a knee injury — he didn’t practice at all in Week Seven — the 49ers may be stuck.

With the win, Indianapolis is 3-4 and has a date with 5-2 Tennessee at home next week.

The 49ers are now 2-4, and they could have a hard time making up ground in the NFC West with the Cardinals undefeated at 7-0 and the Rams sitting at 6-1. They’ll head to Chicago to take on the 3-4 Bears next week.

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Matthew Stafford beats his old team, Rams move to 6-1 with 28-19 victory over Lions



The Lions pulled out several tricks, executing special teams plays that gave them extra opportunities.

They were in position to take a late lead with the ball on Los Angeles’ 12-yard line with 4:53 left.


But then the turnover problem reared its ugly head for Jared Goff once again.

On second-and-10, Goff was pressured up the middle by his former teammate Aaron Donald, which led to an errant pass for tight end T.J. Hockenson. Defensive back Jalen Ramsey undercut the route and picked the ball off, ending Detroit’s best chance for a comeback.

The Rams took off most of the clock with a four-minute drive and Matt Gay sent a field goal through the uprights with 1:03 left, giving Los Angeles a 28-19 win.

In this meeting between two teams that swapped quarterbacks in the offseason, the Rams came out a clear winner. But the Lions didn’t make it easy. In the first half, they came out with a surprise onside kick following a 63-yard touchdown. Then they executed their first of two fake punts on the day to keep the drive alive, going up 10-0.

But the Rams scored touchdowns on their second and third drives, going up 17-16 at halftime.

Los Angeles went down 19-17 late in the third quarter on an Austin Seibert 31-yard field goal. But Matthew Stafford connected with receiver Cooper Kupp for a 5-yard touchdown to take the lead back. Robert Woods took in a pop pass on a jet sweep for a two-point conversion.

Matthew Stafford finished 28-of-41 passing for 334 yards with three touchdowns against his old team. And receiver Cooper Kupp continued his stellar 2021 season, catching 10 passes for 156 yards with a pair of touchdowns. Robert Woods added six receptions for 70 yards and Van Jefferson had four cates for 43 yards with a touchdown.

Goff performed well in spurts, but the red-zone interception spoiled the day. He finished 22-of-36 for 268 yards with a touchdown and two picks. His final pass went off D’Andre Swift’s hands and into the arms of former teammate Nick Scott for a diving interception.

Swift also had a solid day, setting a career-high with 96 receiving yards. He took a screen 63 yards for a touchdown on the Lions’ opening drive.

Now at 6-1, the Rams go to Houston to play the 1-6 Texans in Week Eight.

Still winless at 0-7, the Lions will look for their first victory against the Eagles next week.

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Derek Carr shines, Raiders beat Eagles 33-22



Rich Bisaccia is now 2-0 as the head coach of the Raiders.

The Raiders rattled off 30 straight points after falling behind 7-0 in the first quarter and then went into cruise control to finish off a 33-22 victory. The win moves the Raiders to 5-2 on the season and the Eagles will head back to Philly with a 2-5 mark.


Derek Carr continued his strong start to the 2021 season by going 31-of-34 for 323 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception in the win. The interception was the only real blemish on the day as Carr threw behind running back Jalen Richard in the red zone, but he made up for it with touchdown throws to Bryan Edwards and Foster Moreau. Moreau had six catches for 60 yards to help make Darren Waller‘s absence a non-factor for the AFC West club.

Running back Josh Jacobs picked up 68 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown before leaving with a chest injury. Kenyan Drake took over and finished with 79 yards and a touchdown of his own.

Las Vegas has a bye next week, so Jacobs will have time to heal before they return to action against the Giants on November 7.

The Eagles started with a touchdown, but their offense went nowhere for most of the second and third quarters of the game. They did drive the ball to the one-yard-line late in the third quarter, but quarterback Jalen Hurts couldn’t handle a shotgun snap and Cory Littleton recovered for Las Vegas. Yannick Ngakoue had two sacks and the Raiders also forced a fumble by running back Kenneth Gainwell in the first half.

Hurts was 18-of-34 for 236 yards and two touchdowns and he added 61 rushing yards, but too much of that came when the Raiders were comfortably ahead after halftime. He’ll try to do better in Detroit next weekend.

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Buccaneers cruise to 6-1 with dominant win over Bears



Some games are good, old-fashioned butt-kickings, and today’s game in Tampa was one of them.

The Buccaneers absolutely dominated the Bears, jumping out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter, making it 35-3 at halftime and cruising through an easy second half to win 38-3.


Tom Brady completed 20 of 36 passes for 211 yards, with four touchdowns, no interceptions and no sacks, before giving way to Blaine Gabbert in the fourth quarter. Brady became the first player in NFL history to reach 600 career passing touchdowns and is now at an NFL-record 602 for his career.

It wasn’t all great news for the Bucs: They’ve already been devastated by injuries in the secondary, and they had another one when cornerback Dee Delaney left with an ankle injury. Those secondary injuries could be an issue as the season progresses. But the Buccaneers are now 6-1, and one of the clear favorites to come out of the NFC and repeat as Super Bowl champions. Tampa Bay is firing on all cylinders right now.

The Bears, meanwhile, are a mess. Rookie quarterback Justin Fields is struggling and the team isn’t doing much to help him. Fields threw three interceptions and was sacked four times, and the 3-4 Bears need to get things turned around in a hurry.

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Bears coach Matt Nagy has tested positive for COVID-19.

Nagy confirmed today that he has the virus and will work remotely. Nagy, who is fully vaccinated, said he is feeling good.


The Bears also currently have four players on the COVID-19 reserve list, which will certainly raise questions about whether the Bears need to take enhanced steps to prevent the virus from spreading in the team facility.

Bears special teams coordinator Chris Tabor is currently handling the in-person duties of the head coach.

Nagy can return to the Bears when he has two negative tests at least 24 hours apart.

 

With several injuries at linebacker, the Broncos are making a move to bring in more help at the position.

According to multiple reports, Denver is acquiring Kenny Young and a 2024 seventh-round pick from the Rams in exchange for a 2024 sixth-round pick.


Young had started all seven games for the Rams this season, recording 46 total tackles, six tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks, a pass breakup, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. While Young played nearly every snap in three of Los Angeles’ first four games, his playing time has dipped in the last three weeks. He played roughly 55 percent of the team’s defensive reps in each of the last two games.

Young appeared in all 16 games last season, starting six of them.

Linebacker Ernest Jones played 35 percent of Los Angeles’ defensive snaps against the Giants in Week Six, and he is a likely replacement for Young.

The Broncos currently have seven linebackers on injured reserve, inducing four inside linebackers. The club also traded for edge rusher Stephen Weatherly over the weekend.

Denver hosts Washington in Week Eight.

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Bears fans must be so disappointed to hear that Matt Nagy tested positive for COVID. They were hoping he was fired.

 

Had to get it on a fucking Monday didn't he. Couldn't have been a Saturday where we'd be guaranteed one game off from his incessant bullshit.

 

Not out of the woods, yet. Lots of anti-vaxxers have told me the vaccine kills people. Fingers crossed, Nagy...

 

Monday Night Football: Brian Johnson game-winning field goal lifts Saints to 13-10 win over Seahawks



Alvin Kamara caught 10 passes for 128 yards and a touchdown and Brian Johnson‘s 33-yard field goal with 1:53 left to play to give the New Orleans Saints a 13-10 victory over the Seattle Seahawks on Monday night.

Kamara carved up the Seahawks defense in the first half as practically the only offensive threat the Saints could muster against Seattle. In addition to his 128 receiving yards, Kamara added 51 yards rushing on the night as well.


In rainy and windy conditions in Seattle, offense was rather tough to come by for most of the night.

The Seahawks quickly jumped out to a 7-0 lead as Geno Smith connected with DK Metcalf for an 84-yard touchdown. Marshon Lattimore fell down when he clicked feet with Metcalf and Marcus Williams was unable to make a play on Metcalf as he sprinted for the touchdown. The only passes longer in team history are Seneca Wallace to Koren Robinson for a 90-yard touchdown in 2008 and Matt Hasselbeck to Ben Obomanu for an 87-yard score in 2010.

Kamara then began his assault on the Seahawks defense. He had eight catches for 109 yards in the first half alone, including a 13-yard touchdown from Jameis Winston inside the final minute of the half that gave the Saints a 10-7 lead at the break.

Winston completed 19 of 35 passes for 222 yards and a touchdown for New Orleans.

Saints tight end Adam Trautman had the football knocked out of his grasp by cornerback Ugo Amadi with 1:45 left in the third quarter and Seahawks linebacker Jordyn Brooks picked up the loose ball to give Seattle possession at the Saints’ 28-yard line.

Despite an abysmal offensive series from Seattle that saw them unable to move the ball a yard, Jason Myers smashed home a 50-yard field goal try with 14 seconds left in the quarter to make it a 10-10 game headed to the fourth quarter.

Myers had missed a tying attempt earlier in the quarter as a 44-yard attempt tailed wide right. He also missed a 53-yard attempt to take the lead with 6:49 left to play.

On the next Saints drive, the Seahawks appeared to force a punt as Marquise Blair and Bobby Wagner combined to sack Winston with six minutes remaining. However, Blair was called for a personal foul for hitting Winston helmet-to-helmet. On third-and-10 for the Saints, Kamara sprung free to move New Orleans into field goal.

Seattle finally got the stop they needed on third down only to jump offsides on the ensuing field goal try to give the Saints another free first down with 3:08 remaining. Rasheem Green and Carlos Dunlap split a sack of Winston to finally force another field goal try at the two-minute warning.

Johnson’s kick gave the Saints the 13-10 lead.

Smith and the Seahawks had one last chance to drive for a tying or go-ahead score. Instead, they went backward. Smith was sacked by Malcolm Jenkins and Damario Davis on consecutive plays and a fourth-and-28 throw for Metcalf was nearly picked off by Davis. The incompletion was still enough for the Saints to get the victory.

For Smith and the Seahawks, it’s the third straight game they have had the ball in the closing minutes with a chance to win a game and come up short with Russell Wilson sidelined. Seattle mustered just 219 yards of total offense with 84 coming on the early touchdown to Metcalf. Smith completed 12 of 22 passes for 167 yards and a touchdown.

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Miles Sanders week to week with ankle injury



It didn’t look good when Miles Sanders was carted to the training room in the second quarter of Sunday’s game, but Sanders avoided a major injury.

Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said Monday the running back is unlikely to play this week, but the team isn’t ruling Sanders out yet.


“Miles will probably be down,” Sirianni said, via Reuben Frank of NBCSportsPhiladelphia.com. “We’re week-to-week with him, so it’s a stretch for him to be up this week, but we’re not ruling anything out yet.”

Sanders had six carries for 30 yards before his injury. In seven games, he has 82 touches for 418 yards, including 63 carries for 300 yards.

The Eagles used Boston Scott and rookie Kenny Gainwell after Sanders’ departure Sunday. The team also likely activates Jordan Howard from the practice squad for this week’s game against the Lions.

“We have Jordan on the practice squad as well,” Sirianni said. “We feel really good about him.”

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Packers place WR Davante Adams on reserve/COVID-19 list



Green Bay's receiving corps could be without a major piece for Thursday Night Football.

Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst announced Monday that star receiver Davante Adams has been placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list, casting doubt on his status for the team's Week 8 clash with the undefeated Cardinals.

The news comes hours after NFL Network's Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapoport reported that defensive coordinator Joe Barry will likely miss TNF after testing positive for the virus.

Packers coach Matt LaFleur told reporters earlier in the day that the club entered heightened COVID protocols in light of Barry's positive test. The advanced measures include virtual team meetings and the requirement for everyone in the facility to wear masks at all times, regardless of their vaccination status.

LaFleur also stated that there were "potentially some other issues" with the team regarding the latest round of COVID testing. So far, only Adams and Barry have been labeled with a COVID list designation.

From a football perspective, losing Adams for a matchup against a team as well-rounded as Arizona's would be a crushing blow for Aaron Rodgers and the Packers as a whole. The All-Pro wideout is fresh off a six-catch, 76-yard, one-touchdown day in a win over Washington; he has accumulated 52 catches for 744 yards and three scores this season.

Just as Green Bay attempts to sort through a number of COVID-related issues, Arizona is preparing to welcome stud pass rusher Chandler Jones and defensive lineman Zach Allen back from their own stints on the COVID list. Both were activated on Monday.


The Packers will conduct walk-through workouts on Tuesday and conduct a light practice on Wednesday before traveling to the west coast.

NFL.com