49ers lose in wild finish but end six-year playoff drought

The San Francisco 49ers have ended a six-year playoff drought even though they lost to the Atlanta Falcons 29-22 in a wild finish in which they allowed 12 points in the final two seconds.

That’s right, 12 points in the last two seconds.


Julio Jones caught a 5-yard pass from Matt Ryan with two seconds left to give Atlanta a 23-22 lead.

Wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus recoverd a fumble in the end zone when the 49ers botched the kickoff return when they lateraled in a futile attempt to score on a razzle-dazzle return.

The 49ers (11-3) nevertheless made it into the NFC playoff field minutes later when the Dallas Cowboys wrapped up their 44-21 win over the Los Angeles Rams.

The Cowboys’ win also put the Green Bay Packers and the Seattle Seahawks into the playoffs.

Earlier, the New England Patriots clinched their 11th consecutive playoff berth despite another pedestrian passing performance by Tom Brady.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Patriots hold Cowboys’ No. 1 offense without TD in 13-9 win

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Few teams have had success scoring touchdowns against the Patriots this season.

Add the NFL’s top-ranked offense to that list.

The Patriots held the Cowboys without a TD for the first time this season, Tom Brady threw a touchdown pass and New England beat Dallas 13-9 on Sunday.

It was New England’s 18th straight regular-season victory at home. The Patriots (10-1) have won 10 games in 17 consecutive seasons dating back to 2003 and surpassed the San Francisco 49ers (16 seasons from 1983-98) for the most consecutive years with at least 10 wins.

Dallas (6-5) had a chance to take the lead late. But facing fourth-and-11 on its own 25 with 1:50 left, Dak Prescott’s 20-yard completion to Amari Cooper was nullified after an official review.

The Patriots, who struggled offensively in their win over Philadelphia last week, played without two key receivers after Mohamed Sanu and Phillip Dorsett were ruled out with injuries. Brady made the most of what he had, tossing a first-quarter touchdown pass to rookie N’Keal Harry and completing a 32-yard pass to rookie Jakobi Meyers.

Brady finished 17 of 37 for 190 yards. Julian Edelman caught eight passes for 93 yards. Sony Michel rushed 20 times for 85 yards.

Brady has been critical of the offense’s output in recent weeks. Coming away with wins is enough for him right now.


“I think every team develops at different times,” Brady said. “I think we take the challenges as they come and try to do the best we can. … I’m happy we came away with more points than them.”

Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said the wet and windy conditions on the field, which included temperatures that dipped into the 30s, played a factor.

“Obviously no excuses. But the weather had an impact on both offenses,” he said. “A lot of balls on the ground, a lot of balls going off receivers’ hands. I thought our guys handled it better and better as the game went on.”


But not well enough.

Dallas struggled to move the ball for most of the game. Ezekiel Elliott rushed 21 times or 86 yards, but the Cowboys were just 2 of 13 on third down.

Prescott finished 19 of 33 for 212 yards and an interception. Cooper was held without a catch for the first time as a member of the Cowboys.

Dallas entered the game averaging 444.6 yards per game on offense and had the league’s best passing attack, averaging 312.7 yards.

But the Cowboys looked pedestrian for most of the first half opposite New England’s top-ranked defense, which came in allowing just 152.6 passing yards.

The Patriots focused on taking away two of Prescott’s favorite targets in Cooper and tight end Jason Witten. Prescott threw in their direction just twice in the opening half, while mostly checking down to short passes.

Elliott helped the Cowboys keep the ball moving, but his long gains were limited as New England stacked the box on first and second down.

“It was frustrating,” Elliott said. “Just gotta find a way to score.”

Dallas finally found some traction trailing 13-6 in the fourth quarter when Prescott connected with Randall Cobb for a 59-yard gain to get the Cowboys to the New England 25.

The drive stalled on the Patriots 11 and the Cowboys settled for a 29-yard field goal by Brett Maher.


New England got help from a special teams play to set up Harry’s TD.

Matt Slater blocked Chris Jones’ punt on the Dallas 30, and Nate Ebner recovered on the 12. Two plays later, Brady hit Harry in the front of the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown — the first of Harry’s NFL career.

“I’m definitely not satisfied yet,” Harry said. “Anybody who knows me knows I’m about to turn it up a notch. To set the bar higher. I’m ready to get back to work.”

Prescott was intercepted by Stephon Gilmore on Dallas’ ensuring drive. The Patriots took over on the Dallas 29, but quickly went three-and-out. They settled for a 44-yard field goal by Nick Folk that made it 10-0.

RECORD WATCH

Harry became the 75th player to catch a touchdown pass from Brady, extending an NFL record. Vinny Testaverde was second, with 70 different TD targets.

A first-round draft choice from Arizona State, Harry made his debut last week after spending time on injured reserve with an ankle injury.

It was the 15th touchdown pass of the season for Brady. That’s a record for a player after his 42nd birthday.

JONES VENTS

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said he was frustrated the team didn’t perform better on a day it had a chance to gain some distance in the NFC East.


“Make no mistake: This was a bigger game for us than it is for the Patriots,” he told reporters in a lengthy session in an equipment closet off the visitors’ locker room. “We had a chance to establish something. I’m just frustrated. I thought we could put together a better effort.”

Jones said he got what he expected out of the defense and seemed willing to give the offense a bit of a pass because of the foul weather. But the special teams came under scrutiny for allowing a blocked punt, missing a field goal and blowing 20 yards of field position with a penalty on another punt.

“Special teams is 100 percent coaching,” he said.

INJURIES

Dallas: S Jeff Heath was checked out on the sideline after delivering a hit on Meyers in the third quarter.

UP NEXT

Cowboys: Host the Bills on Thanksgiving.

Patriots: Visit the Texans next Sunday.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Steelers’ Rudolph: ‘No acceptable excuse’ for role in brawl

PITTSBURGH—Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph wanted to get away from Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett.

The way Rudolph went about it—a process that contributed to a brawl that culminated with Rudolph getting smacked in the head with his own helmet and led to Garrett getting suspended by the NFL indefinitely—is one of the first-year starter’s regrets.

Saying “there is no acceptable excuse,” Rudolph said his behavior in the final moments of last Thursday’s 21-7 loss to the Browns fell short of the standard set by the league and the Steelers.

“The bottom line is I should have done a better job keeping my composure in that situation,” Rudolph said Wednesday while reading from a prepared statement before briefly taking questions from reporters.

Garrett and Rudolph became entangled on the next-to-last Steelers snap of Cleveland’s lopsided 21-7 victory. Rudolph flipped a short pass to running back Jaylen Samuels just before getting hit by Garrett, who twisted Rudolph to the ground as play continued downfield.

Rudolph took exception to Garrett wrapping him up, calling it “late.” Rudolph said he was trying to separate himself from Garrett—who was not flagged on the play—when he briefly grabbed the back of the 6-foot-4, 272-pound Garrett’s helmet.

“It was the last play of the game and I was just trying to get him from off on top of me,” Rudolph said.

Garrett responded by tugging at Rudolph’s facemask, eventually ripping it off and holding it high while Steelers guard David DeCastro attempted to separate them. Rudolph scrambled to his feet and gave chase in an apparent attempt to retrieve his helmet. Garrett then swung the helmet at Rudolph, connecting on the right side of Rudolph’s head. The chaos that followed included Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey punching and kicking Garrett and Rudolph getting knocked to the ground by a blind-side hit from Cleveland defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi.

In addition to handing out a record suspension to Garrett, the NFL banned Pouncey for three games and ordered Ogunjobi to sit out on Sunday when the Browns host Miami. All three players are appealing. Rudolph said he has not been notified of any fine for his actions but will accept whatever punishment the league metes out.

“I have no ill will toward Myles Garrett, great respect for his ability as a player,” Rudolph said. “And I know if Myles could go back he would handle the situation differently.”

Rudolph said he “definitely didn’t say anything” to escalate the situation with Garrett, calling the ordeal “an unfortunate situation for both teams involved.” Rudolph lamented that his actions led directly to Pouncey’s retaliation against Garrett that resulted in Pittsburgh (5-5) potentially losing the seven-time Pro Bowler during a critical stretch that will go a long way to determining whether they stay in the playoff picture.


“Probably one of the best teammates I’ve ever had.,” Rudolph said of Pouncey. “A guy that you want on your team. He has your back. He has everybody’s back on this team. … I put him in a bad spot and we’re looking to get him back as soon as possible whenever that is.”

source: sports.inquirer.net

Bill Belichick wins 300th, perfect Patriots beat Browns 27-13

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Bill Belichick was 39 years old when he coached the Cleveland Browns to a win over the New England Patriots in 1991 — his first as an NFL coach.

As Belichick trotted toward the center of the field Sunday, his trademark cutoff hooded sweatshirt soaked in rain following the Patriots’ 27-13 win over the Browns, he did so as a member of a small, but elite group of coaches.


Tom Brady threw for 259 yards and two touchdown passes to help Belichick earn his 300th career victory in the Patriots’ win.

Belichick sits behind only Don Shula (347) and George Halas (324) on the NFL’s all-time list.

“Fortunately I didn’t play in any of those games,” Belichick said. “I was a part of those, but honestly, players win games in this league and I’ve been fortunate to coach a lot of great ones.”

The Patriots improved to 8-0 for the third time in team history and the first time since 2015, when they started 10-0. The Browns have lost three straight games.


Brady completed 20 of 36 passes, hitting Julian Edelman on eight of them for 78 yards and both TDs.

New England capitalized on three first-quarter turnovers by Cleveland to take a 17-0 lead. Running back Nick Chubb had back-to-back fumbles and quarterback Baker Mayfield had an interception.

The Patriots have now forced a league-high 25 turnovers this season.

Safety and captain Devin McCourty said they now come into games expecting to force two or three turnovers.

“It’s an awareness to hunt the football,” he said. “As a defense we all know that.”


The Browns did trim New England’s lead to 17-10 early in the third quarter. But the Patriots struck right back on their next possession, using a 59-yard completion from Brady to James White to help set up a 14-yard touchdown pass from Brady to Edelman.

Chubb ran for 131 yards, and Mayfield finished 20 of 31 for 194 yards and a touchdown. The Patriots have now won 21 straight games against first- or second-year signal callers, the longest such streak in NFL history.

Cleveland’s first-quarter turnovers came on three consecutive plays.

After the Patriots took a 3-0 lead, Chubb took a handoff from Mayfield but had the ball inadvertently kicked out of his hands by left guard Joel Bitonio . It was scooped up by Dont’a Hightower and returned 26 yards for a touchdown.

On the first play of the ensuing series after the Patriots’ kickoff landed out of bounds, Chubb got the ball again, this time getting around the edge and scampering 44 yards down the sideline.

He appeared headed for a touchdown, but New England cornerback Jonathan Jones gave pursuit and hammered the ball from Chubb’s hands on the Patriots 4. It was recovered McCourty.

Following a Patriots’ punt, the Browns’ next series ended when Lawrence Guy broke into the backfield and stepped in front of Mayfield’s shovel pass attempt to Jarvis Landry on the Cleveland 16 for his first-career interception.

New England needed just two plays after the changeover for Brady to connect with Edelman for an 8-yard touchdown.

“They’re going to take advantage of stuff like that. That’s jut the kind of team they are,” Mayfield said. “This isn’t Nick Chubb’s fault. He’s going to be very hard on himself.”

Cleveland finally found some traction in the second quarter on their sixth possession, capping a six-play, 54-yard drive with a 21-yard pass from Mayfield to Demetrius Harris.



The Browns made a handful of changes on both sides of the ball in hopes of ending a two-game losing streak to the Patriots.

On offense Justin McCray made his first-career start left tackle in place of Greg Robinson. Starting cornerbacks Denzel Ward and Greedy Williams returned to the lineup on defense after missing the past four games with hamstring injuries.

The Patriots tested both early on.

On New England’s second drive of the game Phillip Dorsett beat Williams along the sideline and caught a 33-yard pass from Brady to get the Patriots into Browns territory.

But after the Patriots extended the drive by converting on a fourth-and-7 on the Browns 33, Ward nearly intercepted Brady’s third-and-2 pass into the end zone intended for Dorsett. New England settled for a field goal.

Brady said they are already looking to add to Belichick’s win total.

“The only thing better than 300 is 301,” he said.

STREAK BUSTER

Mayfield’s TD pass to Harris in the second quarter ended a 71-0 scoring streak by the Patriots. They scored the final 21 points in their win over the Giants on Oct. 10 and then shut out the Jets 33-0 last week.

BAD COMPANY

Cleveland’s three turnovers on three consecutive offensive plays marked the first time any team has done so since the Dolphins did it in Week 1 of the 2012 season against the Texans. It is only the seventh time it has been done since 2000.

UP NEXT

The Browns visit Denver. The Patriots are at Baltimore.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Cowboys Run over Eagles, Take 1st in Nfc East with 37-10 Win

Ezekiel Elliott powered into the Philadelphia secondary and simply ran over safety Malcolm Jenkins.

The apparent 14-yard touchdown run by the star Dallas running back was overturned on review because his knee was down at the 1 but the message had been sent early in a game with the division lead on the line.

The Cowboys (4-3) are back in control of the NFC East after ending a three-game losing streak that clouded the high expectations for the defending division champions following a 3-0 start.

Elliott got his touchdown the play after overpowering Jenkins on his way to 111 yards, Dak Prescott threw an easy scoring pass on a great fake to his backfield mate before a late TD run and the Cowboys rolled to a 37-10 victory over the Eagles on Sunday night.

“That’s how I play every week,” Elliott said.
“I like to think of the defense as a shield.
In the first quarter, you hit them a couple of times, you dent the shield a little bit.
You keep on hitting it.”

Prescott’s 8-yard scoring run for the final points broke Roger Staubach’s club record of 20 rushing TDs by a quarterback and sent the Cowboys into their open week feeling good after a week of talk that coach Jason Garrett’s job might be on the line.

Next time out, they’ll be going for a season sweep of the New York Giants and possibly a firmer hold on first in the NFC East.

“No doubt in my mind about how we were going to come out and perform tonight,” Prescott said.
“We didn’t panic.
We didn’t have to say everything hit the fan, let’s start over.
We doubled down on who we are and just got better.”

Carson Wentz threw an interception and had two of Philadelphia’s three lost fumbles.
The Eagles (3-4) dropped their second straight game after a two-game winning streak that looked like it might get their season going.

“A little embarrassed,” Wentz said.
“We didn’t show up.”

Brett Maher finished the highest-scoring half against Doug Pederson since he became coach of the Eagles in 2016, kicking a 63-yarder on the final play before halftime for a 27-7 lead.

Maher is the first kicker in NFL history with three field goals of at least 60 yards and all three have been at least 62.
He kicked a 62-yarder last week against the New York Jets.
Maher’s other from 62 was against the Eagles last season, his first in the league.

Pederson had to clarify during the week that he wasn’t guaranteeing a win after saying on his radio show that his team would go down to Dallas, win the game and fly home in the first place.

And the coach tried to reverse Philadelphia’s trend of slow starts by taking the ball after winning the coin flip, just the second time in 33 winning flips that Pederson hasn’t deferred in order to start the second half on offense.

It backfired when the Eagles fumbled on their first two possessions, leading to a pair of touchdowns after the Cowboys got the ball on the opponent’s side of the 50 for the first two times this season.

Before that, Dallas was the only team in the NFL that hadn’t started a drive on the favorable side of midfield.

“I feel like he got a statement today, and so we’re going to let him go sleep on it,” said defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence, whose sack of Wentz created the second turnover.

Dallas Goedert fumbled on a hit from Jaylon Smith at the end of an 8-yard catch on the opening possession, and Maliek Collins recovered at the Philadelphia 45.
Five plays later, receiver Tavon Austin took an option pitch 20 yards for the score.

After Wentz fumbled on the sack by Lawrence, and Antwaun Woods recovered, Elliott ran over Jenkins on the next play, then scored from the 1 after this initial TD was overturned.

“It starts with me,” Pederson said.
“This is one of those games that I take personal from that standpoint.
I’ve got to get that fixed.”

The Cowboys answered the only touchdown from Eagles Wentz’s 28-yard pass to Goedert when Prescott faked a handoff to Elliott from the 1 and threw to a wide-open Blake Jarwin in the end zone for a 21-7 lead.

Prescott was 21 of 27 for 239 yards with a touchdown and an interception and had another 30 yards rushing.
Amari Cooper caught five passes for 106 yards after missing most of a loss to the previously winless Jets with a thigh injury.

Wentz was 16 of 26 for 191 yards and the Cowboys held the Eagles to 283 yards after letting second-year Jets quarterback Sam Darnold have one of his best games as a pro last week.

GROUND CONTROL

Dallas finished with 189 yards rushing, 116 more than the average that the league’s No. 2 run defense was allowing.

Elliott, the last back to get 100 yards against the Eagles, did it again on 22 carries.
The two-time NFL rushing champion is averaging 115 yards in five games against his division rival.
It was his fourth 100-yard game of the season.

NFL INJURIES

Dallas linebacker Leighton Vander Esch didn’t return after injuring his neck in the first half.
He walked off the field after staying down for a few minutes.
Cowboys defensive end Robert Quinn had a sack in the first half before leaving with a rib injury.


UP NEXT

Eagles: At Buffalo next Sunday.

Cowboys: At the Giants on Monday, Nov. 4.

source: usa.inquirer.net

Aaron Rodgers throws 5 TD passes, Packers gash Raiders 42-24

GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Green Bay Packers gave the rest of the NFL its first true glimpse of what Matt LaFleur’s offense can look like with Aaron Rodgers at the helm.

And it was scary.

Rodgers had his best game by far under the new Packers coach, throwing for 429 yards and five touchdowns and running for another as Green Bay beat the Oakland Raiders 42-24 on Sunday.

Rodgers completed 25 of 31 passes to eight different targets and finished with the first perfect passer rating of his career, leading LaFleur’s offense to a season high in points.

“A lot of times that ball leaves his hand, I’m always like in awe. So, yeah, he’s pretty good,” LaFleur said of the two-time MVP.

Even with top target Davante Adams sidelined for the third straight game with turf toe, Rodgers threw for his most touchdowns in a game since Sept. 28, 2015, against the Chiefs.


“Yeah, I think this was the most complete that I’ve played,” Rodgers said. “I felt good about the timing. There was a lot of balls thrown on time, and obviously the line played fantastic.”

Derek Carr finished 22-for-28 for 293 yards, two touchdowns and two costly turnovers for the Raiders (3-3), who lost their eighth straight against Green Bay, dating back to 1990. The Packers (6-1) have scored 30-plus points in each of their last five games against the Raiders.

“Carr was rolling,” Oakland coach Jon Gruden said. “We were rolling offensively today. It was an offensive game. We just had a couple turnovers and they finished some drives.”

Green Bay took the lead for good on a 2-yard touchdown from Rodgers to Jamal Williams with 3:27 to go in the first half. The score capped an 11-play, 82-yard drive that took up 8:06 — the Packers’ longest drive of the season — and made it 14-10.

Carr put the Raiders in position to retake the lead with a 48-yard completion down the middle to Waller, giving Oakland first and goal at the 3. On second down, as Carr scrambled for the pylon, Blake Martinez forced a fumble and the ball went through the end zone for a touchback.


“I’ll have to look at it again. I think he’s trying to give a great effort, trying to lay out for the score,” Gruden said of Carr on the play. “I think the ball slipped out of his hands. If he would have scored, we would have felt pretty good. But, unfortunately, after that play, the next time we got the ball we were down 28-10. We were going in to make it 17-14 Raiders. That was a big play in the game.”

Rodgers made Oakland pay, finding Jake Kumerow for a 37-yard touchdown to make it 21-10 at halftime.

The Raiders had seven penalties for 87 yards in the first half. They finished with eight penalties for 97 yards.

Rodgers opened the second half with a 59-yard completion to Marquez Valdes-Scantling. Four plays later, Rodgers crossed the goal line on a 3-yard run.

“Collectively, we didn’t get enough push up front,” Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby said. “We didn’t get in (Rodgers’) face enough. We have to get to the quarterback to help our guys out on the back end.”

Crosby had Oakland’s lone sack on the day.

Carr and Waller connected on a 7-yard score to cut the Green Bay lead to 28-17.

Jimmy Graham got into the action, scoring his third touchdown of the season on a 3-yard pass from Rodgers before the end of the third.

Kevin King picked off Carr in the end zone with 8:09 to play. That led to Rodgers’ sixth score of the day, a 74-yard pass to Marquez Valdes-Scantling, who finished with the two catches for 133 yards. Valdes-Scantling was a game-time decision after suffering knee and ankle injuries on Monday night against the Lions. Geronimo Allison, who was also listed as questionable, had four catches for 33 yards.

“We had a lot of guys step up, specifically Marquez and G-mo,” LaFleur said. “Shoot, two days ago, we didn’t even know if they were going to play, and I thought those guys came and put together gritty performances.”


Mike Glennon relieved Carr late in the fourth and found Waller for a 17-yard score for the Raiders, whose winning streak ended at two games. Oakland fell to 3-14 following a bye since 2003.

HOMECOMING

Raiders rookie fullback Alec Ingold, a Green Bay native, returned home. Ingold played his college ball at Wisconsin and is a 2014 graduate of nearby Bay Port High School.

“It is pretty special,” Ingold said. “The one thing about coming back home is that I hope to inspire some kids that are going through the same thing I was going through. Not a lot of people make it from Green Bay, so if there are some kids that push a little bit harder and follow their dreams a little bit more, then that is what it is all about.”

INJURIES

Packers: DL Kenny Clark left the game in the second quarter with a shin injury but returned shortly after.

UP NEXT

Raiders: At Houston next Sunday.

Packers: At Kansas City next Sunday.

source: sports.inquirer.net

NFL: Texans and Chiefs Showdown

NFL passing pace-setter Patrick Mahomes, nursing a sore left ankle, leads the Kansas City Chiefs against visiting Houston on Sunday in a showdown of division leaders and top young quarterbacks.

The Chiefs, coming off a loss to Indianapolis, still top the AFC West division at 4-1, a game ahead of Oakland, while the Texans are level with Indianapolis atop the AFC South at 3-2 after routing Atlanta 53-32.

Mahomes, who like Houston counterpart Deshaun Watson turned 24 last month, tweaked an ankle injury suffered in the season opener but says he will be fine for the pivotal matchup.

“It’s feeling pretty good, so I’m glad to be able to go out there and practice on it and get it moving around,” Mahomes said.
“I feel like I’ll be fine playing and moving around and still doing what I need to do to win.

“It’s not perfect.
But it’s good enough where I can run, cut and do all that type of stuff.”

Mahomes will need full mobility to evade the Texans defenders, led by defensive end J.J. Watt, who have made 15 quarterback sacks this season.

“We’re not going to put him in harm ‘s way,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said.
“That’s not how we roll here.
If we thought it was going to hurt him down the road, he wouldn’t be in there.”

Mahomes, last year’s NFL Most Valuable Player, has completed 65.6 percent of his passes for an NFL-best 1,831 yards and 11 touchdowns with no interceptions as well as rushing for 81 yards.

“He’s a phenomenal player,” Watt said of Mahomes.
“It’s a great challenge for us, which we’re really looking forward to. But the guy deserves all the credit he gets.
He’s a great player.”

Watson, who like Mahomes entered the NFL in 2017, has completed 69.2 percent of his passes for 1,364 yards and 11 touchdowns with only one interception while rushing for 122 yards and three touchdowns.

But the Texans’ offensive fireworks finally exploded last week as Watson, who has been sacked 18 times this season, threw for 426 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions or sacks and only five incompletions.

He was the first passer in NFL history with more than 400 yards and five touchdowns with five or fewer incompletions in the same game as Houston’s attack rolled up 592 yards.

“That’s Deshaun,” said Texans receiver DeAndre Hopkins.
“The things he can do with the football in his hands, not a lot of quarterbacks can do that.
Stay in the pocket and take hits, make throws on the run, make the right calls, but the offense in — I’m proud of him .”

 He’s a Magician

The Texans rank second in the NFL in scoring when they reach an opponent’s 20-yard line.

It helps that Houston’s offensive line has improved, with left tackle Laremy Tunsil, who only arrived last month in a trade from Miami, anchoring Watson’s protectors and watching as the signal-caller ran 10 yards after recovering his own fumble.


“I was right there and I was like, ‘There’s no way he picked it up and ran for a first down,'” Tunsil said.
“He’s a magician, bro.
A magician.”

NFC East co-leader Philadelphia (3-2) visits Minnesota (3-2) while co-leader Dallas travels to New York to face the winless Jets (0-4).

Undefeated San Francisco (4-0) will visit the Los Angeles Rams (3-2) while Seattle, also in the hunt for the lead with those NFC West rivals, takes a 4-1 mark to Cleveland (2-3).

NFC South leader New Orleans (4-1) travels to Jacksonville (2-3) while NFC North leader Green Bay (4-1) hosts Detroit on Monday night.

source: usa.inquirer.net

Brady carries unbeaten Patriots past winless Redskins 33-7

LANDOVER, Md. — Playing before an appreciative audience in a place far from home, Tom Brady helped the New England Patriots stay unbeaten by picking apart the lowly Washington Redskins.

While he was at it, the 42-year-old quarterback climbed past a former star in the NFL record book.

Brady threw for 348 yards and three touchdowns, and the Patriots got another strong performance from their defense in a 33-7 rout of the winless Redskins on Sunday.

Now in his 20th season, Brady whisked by Brett Favre into third place on the career list with 71,923 yards passing. Brady now trails only Peyton Manning (71,940 yards) and Drew Brees (74,845).

Brady also edged closer to Manning’s record 539 touchdown passes, connecting with Julian Edelman, Brandon Bolden and Ryan Izzo to bring his total to 527.

His prowess on the football field is rarely surprising, but the reaction he received was certainly unexpected. Thousands of fans in the crowd wore blue Patriots jerseys — many of them No. 12 with BRADY on the back — and were cheering for the reigning Super Bowl champions from warmups to well after the final whistle.


“It was ridiculous. It was pretty amazing,” Brady said. “It was pretty sweet. We appreciate all the support. It was great to get a win in front of them.”

Shrugging off four sacks, Brady completed 28 of 42 passes — including a 15-yarder to Edelman in the third quarter to eclipse Favre.

This is the fifth time in franchise history that New England has started the season 5-0, and only the second time since 2007.

Playing for the first time since breaking his leg against Philadelphia last December, Redskins quarterback Colt McCoy went 18 for 27 for 119 yards and an interception. McCoy began the season behind Case Keenum and rookie Dwayne Haskins Jr., but got the start over the injured Keenum and inexperienced Haskins for the Redskins (0-5).

Washington had only 220 yards in offense and was 1 for 11 on third-down conversions.

“There is no excuse for what we put out there today,” said McCoy, who was sacked six times.

“We hit the quarterback and (they had) a lot of long third downs,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said.

It’s the first time in franchise history New England has four straight games with at least five sacks. In addition, the Patriots completed a fifth consecutive game without allowing a touchdown pass, the first team to pull off that feat since the 1988 Cleveland Browns.

The defeat kept the pressure on Redskins coach Jay Gruden, whose job status appears to be tenuous in the wake of his team’s 0-5 start. Gruden is 35-49-1 over five-plus seasons with Washington.

“No one’s told me anything,” Gruden said. “I don’t have a concern. If the key works Monday, keep working, go attack the Miami Dolphins and plan on getting our first win next week.”

Washington travels to Miami next week to face the winless Dolphins, who absorbed a 43-0 beatdown from New England on Sept. 15.

After Brady’s 10-yard TD pass to Izzo with 9:14 left made it 33-7, the chant “Brady! Brady!” rose from the stands while thousands of Redskins backers fled to the exits.

“It felt like a home game, just like Foxborough,” New England receiver Josh Gordon said. “It was great to get that support.”

McCoy completed a 12-yard pass on Washington’s first play from scrimmage. Two short runs and a sack followed, but New England’s opening possession also ended with Brady getting dumped in his own backfield.

The Redskins jumped on top when Steven Sims Jr. scored on a 65-yard end around, but the Patriots led 12-7 at halftime and tacked on two touchdowns in the third quarter.

The difference between the seasoned Brady and untested McCoy (now 1-6 as a starter with Washington) was made evident late in the second quarter. With 58 seconds left, McCoy forced a pass that was intercepted by Jason McCourty, who took it 16 yards to the Washington 11.

Brady cautiously completed a short pass and twice threw the ball away before accepting a field goal try that kept New England’s momentum flowing into halftime.

KICKING IT

Mike Nugent handled the kicking for the Patriots after Stephen Gostkowski (hip) was placed on injured reserve Wednesday. Nugent’s first attempt was a botched extra point, but he bounced back with three PATs and field goals of 37 and 23 yards.

INJURIES

Patriots: WR Phillip Dorsett (hamstring) did not play the second half. … RB Rex Burkhead (foot) was inactive. … S Patrick Chung (heel) and S Nate Ebner (groin) were inactive. …

Redskins: DL Daron Payne (knee) left in the second quarter but returned. … OT Morgan Moses (stinger) played through the injury. … CB Quinton Dunbar (stinger) left in the fourth quarter… Keenum (foot) was inactive.

UP NEXT

Patriots: New England faces another NFC East foe, the visiting New York Giants on Thursday night. The Patriots are 55-14 against NFC teams since 2002.

Redskins: Washington is presented with an ideal opportunity to nab its first victory against Miami next Sunday.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Mayfield and Chubb combine to carry Browns past Ravens 40-25

BALTIMORE — Finally, Baker Mayfield and the Cleveland Browns lived up to the hype.

Even better, the brash quarterback and the long suffering franchise celebrated their coming out party with a lopsided victory over a longtime nemesis.


Mayfield threw for 342 yards and a touchdown, Nick Chubb ran for a pivotal 88-yard score and the Browns beat the Baltimore Ravens 40-25 Sunday to earn a share of first place in the AFC North.

Chubb finished with 165 yards and three touchdowns against the league’s third-ranked rushing defense. Jarvis Landry had eight catches for 167 yards before leaving with a suspected concussion, and Odell Beckham Jr. had two catches for 20 yards in a supporting role.

The addition of Beckham and the maturation of Mayfield, combined with an improved defense, created high expectations for the Browns (2-2) during the offseason. Then Cleveland started 1-2, losing twice at home. Worse, Mayfield threw five interceptions and just three touchdown passes.

None of that mattered after the Browns breezed past the Ravens.

“We know how good we can be. That’s the frustrating part about how we started,” Mayfield said. “We just need to do our job and that’s what guys did this week.”

First-year coach Freddie Kitchens concurred.

“You keep your head down and keep working, usually good things happen,” he said. “You turn the corner.”

Cleveland kept Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson in check and used a mixture of Mayfield’s passing and Chubb’s physical running to rip the Ravens for 530 yards — the second straight week Baltimore (2-2) yielded more than 500 yards.

“We’ve just got to clean it up and guys do their job. Simple as that,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “We’re not doing our assignment the way we’re supposed to, too many times, and it’s costing us big plays.”

Mayfield hit Landry for 65 yards and connected with Ricky Seals-Jones for 59. Then, of course, there was that 88-yard run. In all, the Browns had 10 plays of at least 16 yards.

As a result, Cleveland finds itself tied atop the division with the Ravens, who won it last year. It’s the first time Cleveland has been in first place after four games since 2013.

“We haven’t really won anything,” Kitchens conceded. “Guys, it’s just one game.”

Still, it’s worth noting that Cleveland went 1-15 in 2016 and 0-16 just two years ago, and this victory came against a team that owned a 30-10 lead in a series that began in 1999 — three years after Art Modell moved the original Browns to Baltimore.

Jackson’s deft passing and elusive running were a key part of Baltimore’s 2-0 start, but for a second straight week he couldn’t make up for his own team’s porous defense. He got the Ravens to 24-18 with 9:51 left before Chubb took a pitch deep in his own territory, burst through a hole on the right side and ran untouched into the end zone.

“Anybody could have ran through that hole,” Chubb said.

A subsequent fourth-down gamble by Baltimore failed before Jackson threw successive interceptions. The first one ended a run of 248 passes without being picked off.

Jackson went 24 of 34 for 247 yards and three scores. He had 66 yards rushing.

Down 17-10, the Ravens were moving for the potential tying score when Mark Ingram had the ball pried loose by Jermaine Whitehead, and Chad Thomas recovered at the Cleveland 26. It was Baltimore’s first turnover of the season.

The Browns immediately went the other way and grabbed a two-touchdown advantage late in the third quarter with a 2-yard run by Chubb.

CHOKE HOLD

Beckham and Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey tangled several times during the game and got into a heated scuffle in the third quarter. Beckham threw a punch and Humphrey choked him after they wrestled to the ground. Both players were penalized.

“I ran to him after the game, apologized,” Humphrey said. “That’s not really the brand of football I really want to represent. When the whistle blows, it’s got to be over with.”

HAIL BRIAN

The Ravens inducted former coach Brian Billick into the team’s Ring of Honor, adding his name to the facade on the upper deck. Billick led Baltimore to a Super Bowl victory during the 2000 season and went 85-67 from 1999-2007.

INJURIES

Browns: Starting CBs Denzel Ward and Greedy Williams were inactive with hamstring injuries for a second straight week. … LB Willie Harvey left in the first quarter with a shoulder injury and did not return.

Ravens: DT Brandon Williams (knee) was placed on the inactive list after struggling during a pregame workout.

UP NEXT

Browns: For the second time in three weeks, Cleveland plays in prime time, facing the San Francisco 49ers on the road Monday night.

Ravens: In the second of three successive AFC North games, Baltimore travels to Pittsburgh to face the rival Steelers (0-3 entering Monday night game vs. Cincinnati).

source: sports.inquirer.net

New England Patriots: Brady Wins 30-14 Over Jets

The New England Patriots lead by Tom Brady became the third team in seven months to sour on Antonio Brown’s off-field problems when they released the All-Pro receiver Friday.  On the field, they didn’t need him to roll to an easy victory over the New York Jets.

Tom Brady threw a pair of touchdown passes and the Patriots didn’t allow an offensive touchdown for the third straight week as they dominated in a 30-14 win Sunday.

It was the Patriots’ first game since Brown was cut after a second woman accused him of sexual misconduct.

“Obviously, it was a tough week,” safety Duron Harmon said. ”

A lot of media. A lot of stories. But the only thing we focused on was the Jets and I thought it showed today.”

Sony Michel and Rex Burkhead each added a rushing touchdown for the Patriots (3-0), who won their seventh straight over the Jets and earned their ninth consecutive regular-season win at home over their AFC East rival.


Brown’s absence didn’t slow New England against a Jets team that was without starting quarterback Sam Darnold, still recovering from mononucleosis, and injured linebacker C.J. Mosley and defensive lineman Quinnen Williams.

They seemed lost at times on defense and struggled to move the ball offensively — going 0 for 12 on third down — against the Patriots’ top-ranked defense in quarterback Luke Falk’s first NFL start.

Phillip Dorsett and Julian Edelman caught TD passes from Brady.

But, Edelman left the game with about a minute to play in the quarter with a chest injury and didn’t return.

The Super Bowl MVP in February caught a 3-yard pass from Brady, fell on his right side and was sandwiched by Harvey Langi and Henry Anderson. Edelman got up holding his rib area.

Brady was 28 of 42 for 306 yards and headed to the sideline with 8:41 left in the fourth quarter and New England leading 30-7.

He was briefly replaced by rookie Jarrett Stidham, who completed his first two passes before having his third intercepted and returned for a touchdown by Jamal Adams.

Brady returned the following series.

Falk, who was on the practice squad a week ago, got the nod with Darnold still at least a week away from returning and Trevor Siemian sidelined for the season after injuring his ankle in New York’s loss to Cleveland last Monday night.

Falk finished 12 of 22 for 98 yards and had an errant pass in the third quarter intercepted by Devin McCourty deep in the Jets own territory.

“It was a hard lesson to learn,” Falk said. “When playing a team like that, you can’t have errors.”

The Jets dropped to 0-3 for the first time since the 2003 season.

It was McCourty’s third straight game with an interception.

“We’ve just got to continue letting the ball find somebody,” McCourty said.

Le’Veon Bell carried 18 times for just 35 yards.

The Jets punted on their first six possessions and only crossed into New England’s territory once in the first half.

They punted on 10 of their 13 possessions.

New York didn’t get on the scoreboard until Gunner Olszewski muffed a punt late in the third quarter and it was recovered in the end zone for a touchdown by Arthur Maulet.

The Patriots were also limited in the run game without running back James White.

He missed the game to be with his expectant wife.

But New England still scored on each of its first three possessions, building a 20-0 halftime lead.

Michel scored the game’s first touchdown, running it from 5 yards out to cap a 9-play, 88-yard drive.

Brady and offense then took to the air, spreading out New York’s secondary with multiple four-receiver formations.

Dorsett had a 25-yard TD reception and Edelman caught another score from 3 yards out early in the second quarter.

Edelman capped the score with an emphatic spike of the ball, a throwback to the celebration of choice by retired Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski.

New England Patriots Defense

The Patriots are the first team in the Super Bowl era that hasn’t allowed a rushing or passing TD in their first three games.

New England Patriots Milestone

With his touchdown throw to Dorsett in the first quarter, Brady passed Drew Brees for second place on the NFL’s career list for touchdown passes.

It was Brady’s 523rd TD pass. Peyton Manning is first with 539.

New England Patriots Progress

Jets cornerback Trumaine Johnson, who played only four snaps in New York’s loss to Cleveland last week, saw a little more action against the Patriots.

Nate Hairston started the game, but Johnson subbed in early in the first quarter.

He finished with three tackles.

Johnson, who signed a five-year, $72.5 million deal last year, entered the season as the Jets’ No. 1 cornerback.

New England Patriots Injuries

Patriots: WR Josh Gordon came off the field early in the second half with an apparent finger injury after he got his hand caught in an opponent’s face mask. But he returned later in the third quarter, catching a 28-yard pass inside the 5 to help set up Burkhead’s touchdown run. … DL Adam Butler left late in the third quarter with a leg injury after combining on a sack with Don’t’ a Hightower.

Hightower left in the fourth quarter with a shoulder injury.

source: ussa.inquirer.net

Houston Texans Hurting After Saints Defeat

Drew Brees and Wil Lutz supplied the accuracy and poise New Orleans needed to overcome another officiating gaffe and its defense’s late collapse.

Lutz made a 58-yard field goal as time expired, and the Saints beat the Houston Texans 30-28 on Monday night in a game that had three scoring plays in the final minute.

“That one’s got to be a top-one moment for me,” Lutz said, adding that as much as he tries to treat each kick the same, “I got to be honest.
That one felt a little different.”

New Orleans had lost its previous five season openers.
And after last season ended with a bitter loss in the NFC title game, the Saints had expressed urgency to start the 2019 campaign well.

“I knew how big this win would be,” Lutz said.

The moment the ball left Lutz’s foot, punter Thomas Morstead, who holds on field goals, turned toward his kicker, triumphantly flexing both arms at his side.
Moments later, the crowd noise in the Superdome reached an ear-splitting crescendo as the ball split the uprights and Saints players jubilantly streamed onto the field.

Deshaun Watson threw a 37-yard touchdown pass to ex-Saints receiver Kenny Stills with 37 seconds left, capping a two-play, 75-yard drive that put the Texans in front after they began their final possession down by six with 50 seconds left.

But that left just enough time for Brees, who capped a 370-yard, two-touchdown performance by completing a 15-yard pass to Ted Ginn Jr., an 11-yarder to Michael Thomas and another pass to Ginn for 9 yards in quick succession.
That allowed New Orleans to save its final timeout until just 2 seconds remained and set up Lutz’s career-long kick.

“When you have Drew as your quarterback, all I cared about was getting ready for the kick, because I knew with 37 seconds left there was going to be a chance,” Lutz said.

New Orleans Saints

Had the Saints lost, it would have marked the second straight game in the Superdome in which a league-acknowledged officiating mistake worked against New Orleans.
In last season’s NFC championship game, missed pass interference and helmet-to-helmet contact fouls against the Los Angeles Rams went uncalled in the final minutes.
This time, a botched ruling left the Saints with 15 fewer seconds to run their hurry-up offense at the end of the first half.
New Orleans had to settle for a 56-yard field goal try that Lutz narrowly missed.

The Saints came back from an 11-point, third-quarter hole to win anyway, but Brees wasn’t letting the officials or the league off the hook.

“That can’t happen.
That’s a game-changer,” Brees said. “If we had 15 more seconds, are you kidding me?”

The 40-year-old Brees completed 32 of 43 passes, mirroring his NFL-record 74.4 completion percentage last season.
One of his TD passes went to reserve QB and utility player Taysom Hill, who also subs in as a tight end or slot receiver.
The other went to second-year pro-Tre’ Quan Smith.

“Playing on the road against a great quarterback like Drew Brees, you’ve got to be able to put the game away,” Watson said.
“We had the opportunities.”

CLOCK QUESTIONS

The officiating mistake occurred when replay review officials stopped the game with 26 seconds left in the first half to determine if Thomas’ catch was long enough for a first down after he was initially marked just short.
After the review resulted in a first down, officials called for a 10-second runoff to begin from when the game was stopped, not when Thomas came down with the ball 15 seconds earlier.

Brees animatedly disputed the decision, which left the Saints just 16 seconds to work with from their own 47.

After the game, NFL vice president of officiating Al Riveron said: “We should have reset it to 41 (seconds), not 26, and then ultimately to 31 (seconds) after the 10-second runoff.”

Fans in the Superdome, who won’t soon forget last year’s officiating gaffes, booed during the runoff and after Lutz’s long miss.

STAT LINES

Thomas caught 10 passes for 123 yards, and Ginn’s seven-catch, the 101-yard night was highlighted by his 41-yard reception deep downfield at the 2-minute warning.

Alvin Kamara had 169 yards from scrimmage, including an 11-yard run set up the first score of the final minute on Lutz’s 47-yard kick.

Watson completed 20 of 30 passes for 268 yards and three touchdowns two of them to DeAndre Hopkins.
Watson also ran for a 21-yard score on a fourth-down play.

The Texans finished with 180 yards rushing 68 yards more than the Saints allowed in any game last season with Carlos Hyde rushing for 83 yards and Duke Johnson 57.

Linebacker Whitney Mercilus intercepted Brees deep in Texans territory and also had Houston’s only sack.

The Saints, by contrast, had six sacks of Watson, two by reserve end Trey Hendrickson.

PASS PROTECTION

Saints right tackle Ryan Ramczyk and the offensive line kept 2018 AFC sack leader J.J. Watt from getting to Brees.

“We didn’t do a good job of stopping the run and we didn’t do a good job of stopping the pass,” Watt said, adding that he felt his unit let Watson and the Texans offense down.

INJURIES

Saints safety Marcus Williams, who had a momentum-swinging interception in the third quarter, stayed down on a knee after Johnson’s 32-yard run in the fourth quarter.
He left the field on his own after a trainer briefly spoke with him.

UP NEXT

Texans: Hosts Jacksonville on Sunday.

Saints: Visit the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.

source: usa.inquirer.net

Raiders beat Broncos in 1st game after Brown’s release

OAKLAND, Calif. — Derek Carr threw a touchdown pass on the opening drive of the season, rookie Josh Jacobs ran for two scores and the Oakland Raiders responded to a tumultuous week surrounding former receiver Antonio Brown by beating the Denver Broncos 24-16 on Monday night.

The Raiders (1-0) took out all the frustration over the drama surrounding Brown with a convincing win over the AFC West rival Broncos (0-1). The offensive line cleared holes for Jacobs and protected Carr, and the defense harassed Joe Flacco into three sacks and kept Denver out of the end zone until 2:15 remained in the game.


The win spoiled the Denver debuts for Flacco and coach Vic Fangio and ended the NFL’s longest opening weekend winning streak at seven games.

The final scheduled home opener at the Coliseum before the Raiders planned move to Las Vegas next season began with derisive chants from the boisterous fans toward Brown. Those only grew louder after each successful pass play as both the fans and Raiders players seemed relieved to have the monthlong saga over Brown in the past.

He arrived with optimism following a trade from Pittsburgh in March. But a bizarre foot injury, fight with the NFL over his helmet, skipped practices, multiple fines, a run-in with general manager Mike Mayock and odd social media posts ultimately led to the decision to release the game’s most prolific receiver two days before the opener.

Brown agreed to a deal with New England just hours after being granted his wish to be released by Oakland on Saturday and the Raiders wasted little time proving they had moved on.


They took the opening kickoff and marched 75 yards in 10 plays. Carr completed all five passes to four receivers, capped by an 8-yard TD to Tyrell Williams.

Oakland added another score in the second quarter when Jacobs capped a 95-yard drive with a 2-yard run to make it 14-0. Jacobs scored again in the fourth quarter, becoming the first Raider to run for two TDs in his debut.

BY THE NUMBERS

Carr completed 22 of 26 passes for 259 yards and wasn’t sacked once after going down 51 times last year. … Jacobs had 23 carries for 85 yards and a 28-yard reception. … Wiliams had six catches for 105 yards, including a game-sealing 10-yard catch on third down after the two-minute warning. … Flacco was 21 for 31 for 268 yards with a 1-yard TD pass to Emmanuel Sanders in Sanders’ first game back from a ruptured Achilles’ tendon.

UNDER PRESSURE


After recording an NFL-low 13 sacks last year following the trade of Khalil Mack, the Raiders got off to a much better start this year with the pass rush, sacking Flacco three times. Benson Mayowa had two sacks, becoming the first Oakland player to record more than one in a game since Mack had two against Denver on Dec. 17, 2017. Rookie Clelin Ferrell also had one.

MISSED CHANCE

Denver’s comeback attempt fell short in part because the Broncos had to settle for field goals on three red zone trips in the second half. A pair of third-down sacks by Mayowa and Ferrell stalled two drives and DaeSean Hamilton dropped a potential TD in the end zone.

INJURIES

Broncos: RT Ja’Wuan James left the game in the first half with a knee injury. … WR Tim Patrick left in the second half with a hand injury.

Raiders: CB Gareon Conley was taken off the field strapped to a stretcher with a neck injury after being hit in the head by teammate Johnathan Abram.

Conley was down on the ground for several minutes with players on both teams kneeling on the ground out of concern. Conley was taken off the field on a stretcher but was able to give a thumbs up to the crowd.

UP NEXT

Broncos: Host Chicago on Sunday. Fangio spent the past four seasons as defensive coordinator for the Bears.

Raiders: Host Kansas City on Sunday in a second straight division matchup. The Chiefs have won eight of the past nine games in the series.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Tom Brady starts his 20th season by beating Steelers 33-3

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The New England Patriots trolled the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday and then blew them out Sunday night.

A day after the acquiring former Steelers malcontent Antonio Brown, the defending Super Bowl champions showed they might not even need him, getting 341 yards and three touchdown passes from 42-year-old Tom Brady to beat Pittsburgh 33-3.

Phillip Dorsett caught two touchdown passes, including a 58-yard score, and Josh Gordon — another receiver who wore out his welcome elsewhere — caught one TD pass. On the night New England unveiled its sixth NFL championship banner, Super Bowl MVP Julian Edelman caught six passes for 83 yards and also completed a throw to help the Patriots begin their title defense.

No one has won back-to-back NFL titles since New England did it in 2003 and ’04.

Facing the last team to beat them, back in Week 15 last year, the Patriots opened a 20-0 lead before Pittsburgh kicked a field goal on fourth-and-goal from the 1 with 10:17 left in the third quarter. Brady responded with a 58-yard touchdown pass to Dorsett and a 27-3 lead.

Dorsett had four catches for 95 yards and the first multi-score game of his career. He will be moving down the depth chart Monday when the Patriots are expected to make Brown’s signing official.

“He’s a playmaker,” Edelman said. “The more playmakers you have, the more dynamic we can be.”

The move couldn’t be welcome in Pittsburgh. Unable to get Brown to behave, the Steelers refused to trade the disgruntled diva to New England only to see him wind up with the team that has reached the AFC championship game eight straight seasons.

“Whatever,” said quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

“Didn’t spend a lot of time thinking about it or dwelling on it,” coach Mike Tomlin said. “I’m not specifically worried about anything relative to Antonio Brown.”

Roethlisberger completed 27 of 47 passes for 277 yards and an interception, though 116 of the yards came on non-scoring drives in the fourth quarter with the Steelers down four scores. The offense showed the effects of losing two of its biggest playmakers: Brown, who talked and tweeted his way out of both Pittsburgh and Oakland in one offseason, and running back Le’Veon Bell, a two-time All-Pro who sat out all of last season to avoid a franchise tag.

In their place, James Conner gained 21 yards on 10 carries; the Steelers gained only 32 yards rushing in all. Top receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster caught six passes for 78 yards, 26 of it coming on one throw in the final six minutes with the Steelers already trailing 33-3.

The drive ended when Roethlisberger threw it into the end zone from the 41-yard line and was picked off by Devin McCourty.

The Steelers had five full possessions in the first half and punted on four of them, going three-and-out three times.

“We got our butts whooped,” defensive tackle Cameron Heyward said.

AB NEGATIVE

Brown, who asked for and was granted his release by Oakland on Saturday morning and then agreed to terms with the Patriots in the afternoon, and was not yet eligible to play.

There was no sign of him at the stadium. The Patriots are expected to announce on Monday the one-year deal that will guarantee the four-time All-Pro $9 million. Asked about it during his postgame news conference, coach Bill Belichick didn’t even allow a reporter to finish his question.

“Do you have any comment on the reports … ”

“No,” Belichick interrupted. “Next.”

“Of Antonio Brown …”

“Next,” Belichick said.

BANNER NIGHT

The Patriots made room for another Super Bowl memento above their south end zone.

The team unveiled their sixth championship banner before the game in a ceremony that included fireworks and a highlight video projected onto a screen covering much of the field.

Drew Bledsoe, Ty Law, Willie McGinest, Rob Ninkovich and Martellus Bennett brought out the first five Lombardi Trophies. Owner Robert Kraft brought out the one the team won in February by beating the Los Angeles Rams 13-3 — the one that was dented by Rob Gronkowski when he used it for batting practice at the Boston Red Sox opener.

Kraft received a big cheer from the fans, who seemed unbothered by charges that he solicited prostitution in a Florida massage parlor. Gronkowski, who retired in March, also received a loud cheer.

INJURIES

Steelers: Linebacker T.J. Watt left with a hip injury and did not return.

Patriots: Linebacker Marcus Cannon had a shoulder injury.

UP NEXT

Steelers: Host the Seattle Seahawks next Sunday.

Patriots: Visit Miami next Sunday.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Browns stars Baker Mayfield, OBJ rip NY Giants

BEREA, Ohio — Maybe it’s good the Browns and Giants won’t play this season.

They’re already trash-talking.


Comments by brash Cleveland quarterback Baker Mayfield and star receiver Odell Beckham Jr. created a stir at the training camps for both teams Tuesday, adding extra heat to brutally humid weather conditions.

Mayfield, the outspoken and uninhibited second-year QB, strangely took a swipe at the Giants and rookie quarterback Daniel Jones, the team’s first-round pick this year and potential heir apparent to Eli Manning.

In an interview with GQ, Mayfield said he was stunned the Giants would draft someone such as Jones, who played at Duke and was not considered one of the top QBs in this year’s class.

“Blows my mind,” Mayfield told the magazine, adding he thinks NFL teams are flawed in their quarterback evaluation. “Some people overthink it. That’s where people go wrong. They forget you’ve gotta win.”


Mayfield’s remarks were then presented to Jones, who was somewhat shocked by them because he doesn’t know Cleveland’s quarterback.

“I try not to listen to much that’s said,” Jones said. “I think I’ve done a pretty good job of that. I heard that before. I kind of have the same mindset, I certainly have a lot to focus on here, I have a lot to worry about here and I’m focused on that.”

He doesn’t have any background or known beef with Mayfield, which is why Jones was somewhat caught off guard.

“I have never spoken to him,” said Jones, who went 17-19 in college. “He has an opinion. A lot of people have opinions.”

While Mayfield’s feelings may have rubbed some the wrong way, first-year Browns coach Freddie Kitchens was unfazed.


Kitchens dismissed the idea that anything Mayfield says or does will make the Browns, who have huge expectations after a 7-8-1 season and the arrival of Beckham, any more of a target.

“We don’t care, all right?” Kitchens said, when asked if the bull’s-eye on the Browns had grown. “It is already on there so it does not matter. We will be ready to play. I do not know what a ‘bull’s-eye’ is,” he said. “I do not know what that is. Does anybody know? Does anybody know what a bull’s-eye is? If they are not trying to beat our ass and we are not trying to beat their ass, I do not know what else you do.

“That is what we are going to try and do, and hopefully, they try and do the same.”

Following practice, Mayfield posted on Instagram that his comments about Jones were taken out of context.

“This is not what I said … just so we’re clear,” Mayfield wrote. “I also said I was surprised I got drafted number one. Then was talking about the flaws in evaluating QBs. Where I brought up winning being important. Reporters and media will do anything to come up with a clickbait story. Heard nothing but good things and wish nothing but the best for Daniel.”

The former No. 1 overall pick is scheduled to meet with reporters Wednesday.

As for Beckham, he can’t seem to shake the Giants despite insisting he has moved on from his drama-filled days with them.

In a Sports Illustrated cover story, the three-time Pro Bowler said New York turned down better trade offers to send him to Cleveland in March. The Browns acquired Beckham and defensive end Olivier Vernon for guard Kevin Zeitler, safety Jabrill Peppers and first- and third-round picks.

“This wasn’t no business move,” he told SI. “This was personal. They thought they’d send me here to die.”

Shurmur, who spent part of last season sparring with Beckham or dealing with the endless theater that seems to follow him, chose not to engage any further with his former player.

“Quite frankly on our list of issues of the day it really doesn’t matter what Odell or Baker says,” Shurmur said. “There are many other things we probably should be discussing. Again, we wish him (Beckham) well and it was a trade. We said that all along, I said I would not comment on what he says about the situation.”

Beckham has acknowledged struggling in the weeks after the deal. He skipped almost all of Cleveland’s offseason program but he’s been adamant that he’s adjusted to his new team and city.

Kitchens believes Beckham.

“No doubt. When he came back, he was all in — exactly what he promised me he would do,” Kitchens said. “I trust him. He trusts me. I will not betray him. I do not think he will betray me.”

NOTES: Pro Bowl DE Myles Garrett missed practice with an unspecified illness. … Mayfield and Kitchens were presented with jerseys by Columbus Blue Jackets’ Nick Foligno and Brandon Dubinsky, who came to camp to show their support for the Browns. Kitchens followed the NHL club’s playoff run last season, and he’s amazed by the skill level it takes to play hockey. Has he ever tried the sport? “No, I am from Alabama,” he quipped. “There are no hockey sticks. There is a football, baseball and basketball and that is about it. ”

source: sports.inquirer.net

Former Longhorns, NFL RB Cedric Benson dies in motorcycle accident

AUSTIN, Texas — Former NFL running back Cedric Benson, one of the most prolific rushers in NCAA and University of Texas history, has died in a motorcycle accident in Texas. He was 36.

Benson’s attorney, Sam Bassett, said Austin law enforcement told him that Benson was killed in the wreck Saturday night. He had no details about the accident.


Benson was a key player in the Longhorns’ resurgence under coach Mack Brown, who said Sunday that Benson’s death has left him grief-stricken.

“He was as good as you’ll ever see as a football player and as tough as they come,” said Brown, who recently returned to coach North Carolina following a long run at Texas. “But what I’ll remember most is what a special, special person he was. We always enjoyed talking with him because he was such a bright and unique guy. There will never be another one like him, and he will be dearly missed by so many. It’s just heartbreaking, but we feel very fortunate to have had him in our lives.”

Benson was one of the top high school recruits out of the West Texas town of Midland. According to Texas Football magazine, he is eighth on the career rushing list for Texas high schools. He led Midland Lee to three straight state championships, the only three in school history, from 1998-2000.

Benson played at Texas from 2001-2004 and his 5,540 yards ranks second at the university and ninth in NCAA history. He scored 64 career touchdowns with the Longhorns and won the Doak Walker award, given to the nation’s top running back, in 2004.


He was the only player in school history to rush for at least 1,000 yards in four seasons and was inducted into the university’s Hall of Honor in 2014.


Benson was drafted No. 4 overall by the Bears in 2005 and helped Chicago reach the playoffs the following season. He had his finest years with Cincinnati from 2008-11, taking over as the featured back on a team that made the playoffs twice but lost in the first round each time.

“Cedric was a fine football player for us,” Bengals President Mike Brown said. “He played a principal role for several years here, including a couple of playoff runs. ”

Benson ran for a career-high 1,251 yards while leading a playoff push in 2009, the first of three straight 1,000-yard seasons. He also led the Bengals to the playoffs in 2011, when Andy Dalton and A.J. Green arrived as rookies.

“Once he bought into our system, he was like a flower. He just blossomed,” former Bengals running backs coach Jim Anderson said. “He gave us an element we didn’t have. We had complementary guys, but Cedric gave us a missing element. He was a good man. He was one of my guys and it hurts. Life is too short.”


Benson played one season with Green Bay, where he started the first five games in 2012 before suffering a season-ending Lisfranc fracture in Indianapolis on Oct. 17. He rushed for 248 yards and a touchdown on 71 carries, and caught 14 passes for 97 yards in five games with the Packers before the foot injury.

Benson finished his NFL career with 6,017 yards rushing and 33 total touchdowns.

“He was from Texas, and he showed his Texas toughness in leading us to a division championship in just his second season with us,” Bengals owner Mike Brown said. “His three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons displayed the talent he possessed. Our organization is deeply saddened by his sudden and tragic passing.”

Benson returned to Austin after his playing career and set up a foundation, NUFCED, to aid underprivileged children and families. Those efforts included helping repair damage at the home of the first victim killed in a series of bombings in Austin early 2018.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Dak Prescott Turns Down Contract Offer After Losing to the 49’s

Dak Prescott refused contract after the Dallas Cowboys set off to a bad start in a brief cameo in the exhibition opener. San Francisco’s rookie receivers took over after that to lead the 49ers to the victory.

Prescott completed all four of his pass attempts, caught one and led Dallas to a field goal on his only drive before the 49ers rallied behind two touchdown catches from Jalen Hurd to beat the Cowboys 17-9 on Saturday night.

“It was a good first drive,” Prescott said. “We came out pretty clean, in and out of the huddle. We set the tempo we wanted to. Obviously, we wanted to get in the end zone.”

The drive stalled when his third-down pass in the red zone was batted at the line by Sheldon Day right back to Prescott, who lost a yard on the play, setting up Brett Maher’s first of three field goals.

“I just wanted to show I could catch too,” Prescott said. “At that point, I figured it was time to get down.”

Dallas didn’t have its entire first-team offense on the field as star running back Ezekiel Elliott remains a holdout in search of a new contract. Rookie Tony Pollard got the nod and ran four times for 16 yards on his only drive.

“He looks confident out there,” owner Jerry Jones said. “We’ve seen him do it. We know he’s capable if he really needs to, to carry the whole load.”

The Cowboys also played most of their starters on defense for the first two drives, while the Niners kept about 30 players out either with injuries or out of caution. Only a handful of projected starters played for San Francisco, with quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo waiting until next week to make his return from knee surgery.

Despite that approach, San Francisco had three players go down with injuries in the first quarter with swing tackle Shon Coleman (right ankle), running back Raheem Mostert (concussion) and defensive tackle D.J. Jones (knee) all getting hurt.

Nick Mullens got the starting nod at quarterback and threw for 105 yards, one touchdown and one interception in the first half in his attempt to win the backup job. C.J. Beathard threw for 141 yards, one TD and one interception in the second half before leaving with what appeared to be an injured hand.

Hurd, a third-round pick, caught the two TD passes, bowling over a defender on the first and leaping over one on the second. He finished with three catches for 31 yards.

“I can do different things,” Hurd said. “We’ll just see what they do with me. I’m just trying to seize the opportunity to make a play.”

Second-round receiver Deebo Samuel had two catches for 61 yards, one runs for 14 yards and also drew a 25-yard pass interference call.

TARGETING

Niners safety Adrian Colbert was ejected in the third quarter for an illegal hit on defenseless receiver Cedrick Wilson. This is the first season that replay officials in New York can eject players for illegal hits. The 49ers were penalized 18 times for 216 yards for the game.

COMEBACK KID

The game had special meaning for Dallas four-time Pro Bowl center Travis Frederick, who missed all last season battling a nerve disorder. He played the opening drive in his return.

“It was a good feeling to be out there, playing with the guys and being a part of the game,” he said. “I am trying to treat everything just like a normal preseason and a normal training camp.”

JUST FOR KICKS

Maher, who missed six field goals from inside 50 yards last season for Dallas, got plenty of chances in this game as he tries to show the consistency Dallas wants from that position.

He made kicks from 25, 40 and 31 yards in the first half, while also missing another field goal wide right from 35 yards.

INJURIES

The bad news on injuries for the 49ers wasn’t limited to the game. The team announced that the projected starting slot receiver Trent Taylor had surgery on a broken bone in his foot Friday and was expected to miss four to six weeks.


The most serious injury from the game appeared to be Coleman, who had an air cast placed on his lower right leg and was taken off the field on a cart after getting hurt on San Francisco’s opening drive.

The Cowboys lost LB Luke Gifford with what Jones described as a “significant” ankle injury in the first half. Gifford had an interception before getting hurt.

UP NEXT

Cowboys: Play the Los Angeles Rams in Honolulu on Aug. 17.

49ers: Visit Denver on Aug. 19.

source: usa.inquirer.net

Kyler Murray already turning heads at Cardinals camp

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Kyler Murray took off around the left end of the line, made a quick cut and raced through the secondary for a big gain, drawing a rising roar from the fans who watched it unfold right below them.

OK, so it was one run during a training camp practice. Murray wasn’t allowed to be hit, wasn’t even wearing pads.

Even so, the burst and bolt was what the Cardinals and their fans had hoped to see from the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft.

The next step is doing it against NFL teams intent on squashing Arizona’s diminutive quarterback.

After an offseason of seeing what Murray can do firsthand, Cardinals players have no doubt the show he put on at Oklahoma will continue in the pros.

“He’s been really impressive, on and off the field,” Cardinals receiver Trent Sherfield said Saturday before Arizona’s first practice in pads.


The Cardinals were so enamored of Murray’s skills, they used the top pick in this year’s draft to take the reigning Heisman Trophy winner despite using the No. 10 overall pick last year on Josh Rosen, who was traded to Miami.

They saw Murray as a generational talent, a game-changing quarterback who would be a perfect fit for new coach Kliff Kingsbury’s offensive experiment in the desert.

Other teams have implemented versions of the Air Raid-style offenses that have been so successful at the college level, but none has gone all-in with it as Kingsbury is attempting.

Murray will be the key to making it work.

Though undersized for an NFL quarterback at 5-foot-10, he’s a pinpoint passer who can avoid long-armed defensive lineman by changing arm angles, similar to Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes. He’s an adept passer on the run and can use his agility to escape oncoming pass rushers, a la Seattle’s Russell Wilson.

Murray also has the speed to turn an innocuous scramble into a game-changing touchdown run, as Michael Vick did in his prime.

Whether Murray can live up to those lofty comparisons remains to be seen. He hasn’t been hit in practice, much less in a game, nor has he seen the speed and ferocity of a live NFL game.

He does have confidence. Lots of it.

Not the hollow, chest-puffing, look-at-me type of confidence. The type of confidence that comes with being successful at every level he’s played; winning a Heisman Trophy after one year as a starter; becoming the first person drafted in the top 10 of the NFL and Major League Baseball drafts.

“When you look in his eyes, there’s nothing timid about him,” Cardinals veteran receiver Larry Fitzgerald said. “He looks confident, he looks ready to go and that’s a great sign for a young quarterback.”

Murray also has a pair of advantages over other would-be rookie starting quarterbacks.

The first is Kingsbury’s system.

Though new to the NFL, Murray knows it inside out. Oklahoma ran a similar offensive system as Kingsbury did at Texas Tech and Murray did pretty well with it, racking up more than 5,300 combined yards and 53 touchdowns.

Murray also knows the terminology, putting him ahead of Arizona’s veteran players, at least during the offseason.

“It’s helped me a lot, coming in and being more comfortable,” Murray said. “If I was to go anywhere else, play for another guy, have to learn a whole new system, a whole new offense, it would be a lot hard, obviously. For me coming into this system, Day 1 and through rookie minicamp, I’m probably more comfortable than any other quarterback out there.” 



Murray also enters the season as Arizona’s undisputed starter. No quarterback battle, no waiting his turn behind a veteran.

The downside could be immediately throwing a rookie into the NFL fire, but the upside is he has no distractions during camp, no questions about his role. He’s also had the support of his teammates from the day he first stepped on the practice field, further bolstering his confidence.

“Everybody in this locker room knows he’s going to be here,” Fitzgerald said. “First pick overall, guys understand, it’s going to be his show. You want to be a part of it? Get on board.”

source: sports.inquirer.net

Only four players in 100 years have won six NFL titles

Tom Brady will soon slip on his sixth Super Bowl ring, and Herb Adderley is the only other player on the planet who can relate to that level of success in the National Football League, which celebrates its 100th season this year.

“It’s going to be a long time, another 100 years, before somebody wins himself six titles,” suggested Adderley, the Hall of Fame cornerback for Vince Lombardi’s great Green Bay Packers teams of the 1960s.

“Because of all the free agency and guys jumping around from team to team, you’re not going to be on one team long enough and you’re not going to be lucky enough to be with a team every year that’s going to win a championship.”

Adderley, who turns 80 next month, won five championships in Green Bay, including the first two Super Bowls, plus another with Tom Landry’s Dallas Cowboys in 1971, as did Hall of Fame lineman Forrest Gregg, who died last month at age 85.

Their Green Bay teammate, offensive lineman Fuzzy Thurston, who died in 2014, won all six of his titles with Lombardi and the Packers just as Brady has won each of his half dozen rings in New England with coach Bill Belichick.

Belichick reminds Adderley a lot of Lombardi.

“The teams are fundamentally sound and they play with discipline,” Adderley said. “And if you get a team that can do that week after week after week and you have good players, you’re going to win.”

Adderley, who just celebrated his 22-year-old cousin Nasir Adderley’s selection in the NFL draft by the Los Angeles Chargers, won his six rings in a 12-year span.

“You look at all the great players that never played on a championship team that went to the Hall of Fame like Gale Sayers and Deacon Jones, one of my classmates when in 1980 when I went in,” Adderley said. “There are just so many guys that deserved just one Super Bowl title and then I end up with six, which was half of my career.

“I played 12 years and six times to be an NFL champion, I mean, that’s mind blowing.”

Thurston won his six titles over a 10-year span, Gregg over a 15-year career and Brady has won his six rings over a 19-year career. He’ll be 42 this summer as he enters his 20th season. Gregg retired at 38, Thurston at 34 and Adderley at 33.


Gregg was the first man to play and coach in the Super Bowl. He took the Cincinnati Bengals to their first Super Bowl during the 1981 season when they lost 26-21 to Joe Montana and the 49ers.

Gregg died last month after a long fight with Parkinson’s, a disease his neurologist and family believe might have been triggered by countless concussions he sustained while playing football in the 1950s at SMU and in the NFL from 1956-71 during a Hall of Fame career that led Lombardi to call him “the finest football player I ever coached.”

“Aw man, I was with him for nine years in Green Bay and then we were teammates in Dallas,” Adderley said. “For 10 years we were teammates and we were the best of friends, I’m telling you. They had a grading system where offensive linemen would be graded on pass blocking and run blocking and every week Forrest Gregg was the only one that ended up with a 100 on both run and pass, and if he didn’t, it would be 95.

“Other guys on that line in the Hall of Fame, Jim Ringo and Jerry Kramer — and Fuzzy Thurston wasn’t a bad lineman, either — but those guys didn’t end up with the same grades as Forrest Gregg. That’s why Lombardi said he was the best that he’d ever coached.”

While he believes it might take another century for the four-man club to expand to five, Adderley concedes that Brady might very well become the first player to win seven NFL championships.

“Oh yes, indeed. He has a shot at it as long as he plays,” Adderley said. “As far as I’m concerned, because of the titles that he’s won, he’s the best quarterback to play. And Bill Belichick gets a lot of credit because of the system that he has. He brings in guys that fit in that system. It doesn’t matter who it is, Brady’s going to hit the open man.”

Adderley, who lives outside Philadelphia, said Lombardi’s teams may have won all their titles in a shorter span than Belichick has won his championships in New England but the similarities are striking: both dynasties are marked by sidestepping boneheaded plays and calls that their opponents just can’t avoid.

“There would be games and seasons that we wouldn’t make any mistakes to beat ourselves,” Adderley said. “Of course, everybody makes mistakes, even the scientists — they use pencils with erasers on the end because everybody’s going to make mistakes now and then. But we didn’t make enough to beat ourselves and other teams either we forced them to make mistakes or they just lacked discipline.

“So, that’s the key, if you are fundamentally sound and play with discipline, you’re going to be in the running to win. And I think that as long as Brady and Belichick are there, Brady’s going to have a chance to get No. 7,” Adderley said.

“And as long as he keeps going, our names will always be mentioned: Thurston, Gregg and myself.”

source: sports.inquirer.net

Shooting kills college football player, injures Giants’ pick

TOPEKA, Kan. — Washburn University’s joy over one of its own going to the pros quickly shifted to grief this weekend after a shooting killed a current Washburn football player and wounded the former member of the team who was drafted by the New York Giants just hours earlier.

Police in Topeka, Kansas, where the university is located, said officers found 23-year-old defensive back Dwane Simmons dead when they investigated gunshots shortly before 1 a.m. Sunday. Cornerback Corey Ballentine was wounded, but his injuries were not believed to be life-threatening. Ballentine, also 23, grew up in Topeka and was picked by the Giants on Saturday in the sixth round of the NFL draft.


A preliminary investigation determined that the shooting occurred during a social gathering outside a residence, Topeka police spokeswoman Gretchen Koenen said in an email Sunday evening. She said dozens of people were at the gathering and police were working to gather evidence and witness statements.

“We want to emphasize that we need those who were present to let us know what they saw,” Koenen said.

Washburn president Jerry Farley said, “This was a terrible way to end a day which should have been a day of celebration and a day to look forward to Dwane’s upcoming year at Washburn and the beginning of Corey’s professional career.”

Washburn coach Craig Schurig said Simmons’ death is heartbreaking. He said Simmons, a junior from Lee’s Summit, Missouri, maintained a great attitude even while battling through two knee injuries.

“Dwane is one of the most energetic and well-liked players I have ever coached at Washburn,” Schurig said. “Dwane’s infectious smile and love for football and his teammates was truly inspirational.”

Farley said both Simmons and Ballentine have been great representatives of the university.

It’s not yet clear how Ballentine’s injuries from the shooting might affect his football career.

In a statement Sunday, the Giants said, “We are aware of the tragic situation and continue to gather information. We have spoken to Corey, and he is recovering in the hospital. Our thoughts are with Dwane Simmons’ family, friends and teammates and the rest of the Washburn community.”

source: sports.inquirer.net