Monday, September 23, 2024

NFL - Week Three Recap

Sam Darnold and the Vikings rolled to an easy win over the Texans.
Break up the Minnesota Vikings! 

They pasted the visiting Houston Texans, 34-7 on Sunday afternoon to improve to 3-0 on the young season as quarterback Sam Darnold threw four touchdown passes and the defense had five sacks and picked off Houston QB C.J. Stroud twice in the easy victory. The Texans  (2-1) out gained the Vikings in total yardage, but this one was never close.

 

The Pittsburgh Steelers (3-0) shut down the Los Angeles Chargers in the second half in a 20-10 home win as QB Justin Field scored a rushing touchdown and threw a 55-yard scoring pass to wide receiver Calvin Austin. Meanwhile, the Chargers (2-1) saw starting QB Justin Herbert leave the game after re-aggravating an ankle sprain after he threw a 27-yard TD pass to WR Quentin Johnston for a 7-0 lead. The Steelers defense held the 'Bolts to just 61 rushing yards and 168 total yards in offense and had five sacks as well.

The New York Giants (1-2) went into Cleveland and beat the Browns, 21-15 as the defense dominated with eight quarterback sacks while QB Daniel Jones had a pair of TD passes and Devin Singletary scored a rushing touchdown to lead the way on offense. The Browns (1-2) got a pair of scoring passes from QB Deshaun Watson in the loss.

Indianapolis (1-2) earned their first win this season with a 21-16 victory against the visiting Chicago Bears (1-2) as Colts running back Jonathan Taylor had two rushing touchdowns and 110 yards on the ground. Bears rookie QB Caleb Williams threw for two touchdowns (along with two interceptions) and was sacked four times in defeat.

The Baltimore Ravens (1-2) held on for a 28-25 road win against the Dallas Cowboys (1-2) after nearly blowing a 25-point lead. Baltimore led 28-3 in the third quarter before the Cowboys put up 19 unanswered points in the fourth quarter as QB Dak Prescott had two TD passes (379 passing yards) and also a rushing touchdown. Ravens running back Derrick Henry went off for 151 rushing yards and two touchdowns while QB Lamar Jackson had a scoring run and a TD pass in the win.

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas they say, but the Raiders (1-2) would like to see that phrase dry up as the visiting Carolina Panthers routed them, 36-22 with Andy Dalton taking over at quarterback this week and passing for three touchdowns and 319 yards to help the Panthers (1-2) get their first win this season. Carolina gained 437 yards in offense as they built up a 33-7 lead after three quarters.

The Green Bay Packers (2-1) won at Tennessee, 30-14 behind QB Malik Willis' 202 passing yards and a touchdown pass and run while Jaire Alexander took an interception back 35 yards for a touchdown. Green Bay's defense limited the Titans (0-3) to only 33 rushing yards and had eight QB sacks.

 


In Los Angeles, the Rams (1-2) stunned the San Francisco 49ers, 27-24 as rookie kicker Joshua Karty  (pictured right) made a 37-yard field goal with two seconds remaining to complete a 14-point comeback. San Francisco (1-2) led 24-14 in the final seven minutes, but the defense folded as Rams RB Kyren Williams scored three touchdowns (two rushing, one receiving) to pace the offense. 49ers QB Brock Purdy had three TD passes in the loss. 


The Denver Broncos (1-2) surprised the host Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 26-7 with rookie QB Bo Nix and RB Jaleel McLaughlin scoring rushing touchdowns. Meanwhile, the Bucs (2-1) struggled on offense as QB Baker Mayfield was sacked seven times as his team had two turnovers and managed just 223 total yards in offense.

The Detroit Lions (2-1) survived a trip to Arizona and won, 20-13 behind a defense that frustrated the Cardinals (1-2) offense while the Lions offense racked up 373 yards with a balanced attack (187 rushing yards, 186 passing yards) and QB Jared Goff throwing two TD passes and RB David Montgomery (105 rushing yards) scoring a rushing touchdown.

The Seattle Seahawks ripped the visiting Miami Dolphins, 24-3 to stay unbeaten and drop Miami to 1-2 as backup QB Skylar Thompson was knocked out with a chest injury. The Dolphins managed just 205 total yards in offense. Seahawks RB Zach Charbonnet gained 91 rushing yards and scored twice on the ground while QB Geno Smith hooked up with DK Metcalf on a 71-yard scoring pass and the Seattle defense had six sacks.

The Philadelphia Eagles (2-1) stole one in New Orleans, 15-12 with a late touchdown as Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (147 rushing yards) scored two touchdowns, including the game winner on a four-yard run with 1:01 remaining in the game. The Philly defense then intercepted Saints QB Derek Carr (142 passing yards, one TD, one INT) to end the game. The Saints (2-1) came in averaging 45.5 points per game, but were stymied as they were outgained 460-219 in total yardage.

On Thursday night, the New York Jets (2-1) rode a pair of touchdown passes from QB Aaron Rodgers (281 passing yards) and a solid defensive effort to blast the visiting New England Patriots, 24-3. The Patriots (1-2) only gained 139 total yards in offense and the Jets defense had seven QB sacks in the rout.

The Sunday night game in Atlanta was an exciting one as the Kansas City Chiefs held on for a 22-17 win to improve to 3-0 this season. Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes (217 passing yards, two TD, one INT) connected with wide receivers Rashee Rice (12 receptions, 110 yards) and JuJu Smith-Schuster for touchdowns and Harrison Butker made three field goals to lead the way. The Falcons (1-2) led 14-7 in the first half as QB Kirk Cousins had a scoring pass and RB Bijan Robinson scored a rushing touchdown, but the Kansas City defense held firm the rest of the way. 

On Monday night in Buffalo, it was all about the Bills (3-0) as they annihilated the Jacksonville Jaguars, 47-10 behind four TD passes from QB Josh Allen to four different receivers. Running backs James Cook and Ray Davis added touchdown runs and the defense forced two turnovers (one fumble, one interception) and had five sacks. The only touchdown for the Jaguars (0-3) came in the third quarter on a six-yard TD pass by QB Trevor Lawrence to Brenton Strange. 

The second Monday Night Football game in Cincinnati went for the Washington Commanders, 38-33 as rookie QB Jayden Daniels set an NFL record by completing 91 percent of his passes in the game for 254 yards and two touchdowns and he also had a four-yard scoring run. Running backs Austin Ekeler and Brian Robinson, Jr. also scored rushing touchdowns and WR Terry McLaurin (four receptions, 100 yards) had a 27-yard TD reception with 2:10 remaining to make the score 38-26 for Washington (2-1) and ice the game. The Bengals (0-3) had 436 total yards in offense and QB Joe Burrow passed for 324 yards and three touchdowns in the loss.


WEEK THREE RESULTS 

N.Y. Jets 24, New England 3 

Pittsburgh 20, L.A. Chargers 10 

Denver 26, Tampa Bay 7 

Green Bay 30, Tennessee 14

Indianapolis 21, Chicago 16

Minnesota 34, Houston 7 

Philadelphia 15, New Orleans 12 

N.Y. Giants 21, Cleveland 15

Seattle 24, Miami 3

Carolina 36, Las Vegas 22

L.A. Rams 27, San Francisco 24

Baltimore 28, Dallas 25

Detroit 20, Arizona 13

Kansas City 22, Atlanta 17

Buffalo 47, Jacksonville 10

Washington 38, Cincinnati 33


No comments:

Post a Comment