Despite a spectacular comeback from the New Orleans Saints, the Atlanta Falcons found a way to win 27-25 on Sunday afternoon at the Superdome.
Trailing by 18 with just over 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter, the crowd favorites got going. The Saints (5-3) scored 19 points to take a 25-24 lead with just one minute remaining in regulation time.
In those happy moments for the home team, Trevor Siemian threw two touchdown passes and Alvin Kamara scored a major with his legs. Recall that this was a first game without Jameis Winston for the Saints; he will not return in 2021 due to injury.
Going back to the outcome of this exciting duel, Matt Ryan found Cordarrelle Patterson on 64 yards on his first play. This allowed kicker Younghoe Koo to make a 29-yard field goal for the victory.
By virtue of that setback, the Saints missed an opportunity to edge out the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the top tier of the National League South. For their part, the Falcons (4-4) are third in the same division.
The Titans send a strong message
Just because Derrick Henry is on the sidelines doesn’t mean the Tennessee Titans aren’t serious anymore. That’s the message head coach Mike Vrabel’s club sent by beating the Los Angeles Rams 28-16 on Sunday night at SoFi Stadium.
Recall that the Titans (7-2) lost the services of the best running back in the NFL for a period of six to ten weeks. Never mind the defense rose against one of the most threatening attacks on the Goodell circuit.
Indeed, the Rams offense (7-2) was unable to cross the goal line until the last minute of the fourth quarter. Quarterback Matthew was also the victim of two interceptions.
For his part, center Ryan Tannehill managed a touchdown pass and also scored a middle finger with his legs. Veteran Adrian Peterson, hired in disaster to make up for the loss of Henry, also scored a touchdown. The other success for the winners was the work of Kevin Byrad, who brought one of Stafford’s relays back into the paying zone.
As for the other points of the Californian club, they were all amassed by the leg of Matt Gay. The kicker notably managed an impressive 54-yard field goal.
Surprise in Jacksonville
At EverBank Field, the Jacksonville Jaguars caused one of the biggest upsets of the 2021 season by defeating the Buffalo Bills 9-6.
The “Jags” defensive unit not only managed to prevent their opponents from scoring a touchdown, but also made quarterback Josh Allen look bad.
The Bills center (5-3) threw two interceptions and suffered four quarterback sacks. His biggest torturer was… Josh Allen.
The Jaguars (2-6) linebacker, who has the exact same name as the Buffalo club’s superstar, had eight tackles, including a quarterback sack, and also had one larceny.
All the points in this match were amassed by the kickers. Matthew Wright had three of four field goal attempts in the win, while Tyler Bass was perfect on two tries in the loss.
The “Pats” defense rises
At Bank of America Stadium, the New England Patriots defense made life difficult for the Carolina Panthers and its quarterback Sam Darnold and the New England team won 26-6.
Cornerback JC Jackson was the big star for the Pats in the win. The 25-year-old had two of his team’s three interceptions, including one for a touchdown.
Offensively, the Patriots (5-4) scored two majors. Running back Damien Harris found the pay zone in a fifth straight game, while Mac Jones spotted Hunter Henry behind the goal line.
The winning quarterback had 12 of 18 attempted passes for 139 yards. He was, however, the victim of a larceny and saw his rivals recover a ball which he dropped.
Among the Panthers (4-5), Darnold had a very poor performance. He completed 16 of 33 stints for 172 yards. This duel also marked the return to play of running back Christian McCaffrey, who was injured on September 23. The star player amassed 52 yards with his legs and another 54 yards through the air.
Cowboys humiliated
At AT&T Stadium, the Dallas Cowboys scored all of their late points in a losing cause and were defeated 30-16 by the Denver Broncos.
The Texas team thus failed in their attempt to defeat their Colorado rivals for the first time since September 10, 1995.
The Broncos (5-4) are therefore on a series of seven victories against the Cowboys (6-2).
The Winners’ defense was dominant, allowing just 290 yards to their opponents of the day, the majority of which came late in the game. On the other side of the ball, quarterback Teddy Bridgewater threw a touchdown pass and also crossed the goal line with the ball in hand.
James Conner takes over
In the absence of quarterback Kyler Murray and wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, running back James Conner took charge in the Arizona Cardinals’ 31-17 win over the San Francisco 49ers, Sunday at Levi’s Stadium.
The 26-year-old athlete was simply extraordinary. He had 96 yards and two touchdowns with his legs, while adding 77 yards and another major on five catches.
Conner thus allowed the Cardinals (8-1) to return to victory, they who had lost their first game of the season last week.
It was the pivot Colt McCoy who had the task of replacing Murray behind the center of the “Cards”. The 35-year-old veteran completed 22 of 26 attempted passes for 249 yards and a touchdown.
Among the 49ers (3-5), fans will have to wait again before seeing their favorites win. Indeed, the Californian club is now 0-4 ahead of their fans.
Not easy for the Packers
At Arrowhead Stadium, the Green Bay Packers had to make do without quarterback Aaron Rodgers and they weren’t able to find the pay zone until the final moments of the game. The Kansas City Chiefs took the opportunity to win 13-7.
Rodgers contracted COVID-19 and was therefore forced to make way for youngster Jordan Love. The Packers’ 2020 first-round pick (7-2) completed 19 of 34 throws for 190 yards and one interception. He also amassed 23 yards with his legs. For his first career passing major, he found Allen Lazard on 20 yards in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter.
Patrick Mahomes scouted Travis Kelce for the only major winner in this duel. The other points for the Chiefs (5-4) came through the leg of Harrison Butker.
Chargers return to winning ways
At Lincoln Financial Field, the Los Angeles Chargers snapped a two-game losing streak by beating the Philadelphia Eagles 27-24.
It was not easy, however, as the Californian team secured their victory with a 29-yard field goal from Dustin Hopkins, with five seconds remaining on the scoreboard.
To allow the kicker to do his job, the Chargers offense (5-3) crossed the field in six minutes. This left the Eagles (3-6) with no time to come back.
In short
At MetLife Stadium, the New York Giants (3-6) upset the Las Vegas Raiders (5-3) 23-16. Among the winners, Xavier McKinney scored a 41-yard major on an interception .
At Hard Rock Stadium, the Miami Dolphins (2-7) capitalized on a poor outing by quarterback Tyrod Taylor to defeat the Houston Texans (1-8) 17-9. The losers center threw three interceptions.
At Paul Brown Stadium, the Cleveland Browns (5-4) had one of their best games of the season as they edged out the Cincinnati Bengals (5-4) 41-16.
At M&T Bank Stadium, Justin Tucker made a 36-yard overtime field goal that gave the Baltimore Ravens (6-2) a 34-31 win over the Minnesota Vikings (3-5).
