Another aggressive move by Los Angeles Chargers head coach Brandon Staley almost came to haunt the organization.
Luckily for LA, Cleveland Browns kicker Cade York missed his field goal from 54 yards in the closing moments of the game and the Chargers secured a 30-28 victory.
Both teams played a hotly contested game and with the controls by two runs late in the fourth quarter, the Chargers could run out the last seconds on the clock.
However, the attack was held back in the middle of the pitch with just over a minute to go. Instead of clearing, the head coach decided to keep his offensive unit on the field to try to convert a 4e try and two yards. Justin Herbert’s pass didn’t reach Mike Wiliams who was well covered which gave the ball back to the Browns.
The Chargers’ defense prevented Cleveland from making enough progress on the field to offer York a complicated field goal for the win. The latter just missed on the right.
The game was between two excellent ball carriers and they answered the call. For the Chargers, Austin Ekeler rushed 16 times for 173 yards and scored a touchdown. He also registered a major following a pass.
For his part, Nick Chubb distinguished himself with two touchdowns and 134 yards.
Taysom Hill gets four touchdowns
Taysom Hill scored three rushing touchdowns including one from 60 yards in the fourth quarter and also threw a touchdown pass to lead the New Orleans Saints to a 39-32 victory over the Seattle Seahawks.
Hill also crossed the end zone after eight and nine yard runs. He completed his first attempted pass of the season when he joined Adam Trautman for 22 yards.
Alvin Kamara was back in action after his rib injury and led the Seahawks for 194 yards, including 103 on the ground.
Andy Dalton was at quarterback for the Saints and he had 187 yards while throwing a touchdown pass. He was the victim of an interception.
Geno Smith continued to enjoy success this season despite the loss. Smith spotted DK Metcalf for a 50-yard touchdown. Tyler Lockett recorded two majors after catches for 35 and 40 yards.
In the loss, running back Rashaad Penny suffered an ankle injury and head coach Pete Carroll said a long absence was to be expected.
Fournette and Brady take care of the Falcons
Leonard Fournette took care of the Atlanta Falcons in a 21-15 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Falcons 15 – Buccaneers 21
The running back scored a touchdown both on the ground and following a reception in this game. He finished the game with a combined yardage of 139.
Tom Brady was effective in his pocket with a crop of 351 yards on 35 passes completed on 51 attempted. Mike Evans had 81 yards with four receptions.
For the Falcons, Marcus Mariota was limited to 147 yards through the air. The most productive receiver was Olamide Zaccheaus who scored a touchdown and had 39 yards.
In the absence of running back Cordarrelle Patterson, the Falcons turned to Tyler Allgeier, but he finished the game with 45 yards on 13 carries past the Bucs defensive line.
Lions brought back to earth
Operating at full throttle since the start of the season, the Detroit Lions offense was brought down to earth by the New England Patriots who posted a 29-0 shutout victory.
Jared Goff struggled with just 19 completions on 35 attempts for 229 yards. He was the victim of an interception.
Goff’s prime target in recent weeks, tight end TJ Hockenson settled for a catch for six yards. Jamaal Williams rushed for 56 yards in the loss.
First Texans victory
Dameon Pierce had 99 yards and a touchdown and the Houston Texans beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 13-6.
Houston picked up its first win of the season and fifth straight at Jacksonville despite just 248 yards on offense.
The Texans (1-3-1) got a big assist from first overall pick in the April NFL Draft, linebacker Travon Walker, who was disciplined for roughing quarterback Davis Mills after the whistle after a third play and 20 to go. The offense gave the Texans a first down and didn’t have to punt.
Pierce, who grew up in the Jacksonville area, later made the Jaguars look bad (2-3) made the Jaguars look bad (2-3) with his longest run of the day before slipping into the end zone with a one-yard run for a major. His touchdown in the fourth quarter made it 13-6.
Pierce’s touchdown was the only one of the game. The rest of the offense was up to the kickers who managed a total of four field goals for the rest of the points on the board.
Quarterback Trevor Lawrence completed 25 of 47 passes for 286 yards and had two interceptions. Texans rookie Derek Stingley Jr. notably had an interception against him in the end zone early in the third quarter.
Davis Mills played flawless football for Houston. He completed 16 of 24 passes for 140 yards.
For the Pats, Balley Zappe got the job done with 188 yards, throwing just 21 total passes. His prime target was Jakobi Meyers. The receiver had 111 yards and he scored a major.
The Vikings beat the Bears
Kirk Cousins scored a touchdown after a one-yard sneak with 2:26 left and the Minnesota Vikings edged the Chicago Bears 29-22.
Justin Fields and the Bears were unable to come up the field to tie the game. The quarterback finished his game with a season-high 208 yards. He also threw the first touchdown pass in 15 quarters.
Justin Jefferson once again shone for the Vikings with 12 catches for 154 yards. Dalvin Cook also stood out in the win with two touchdowns and 94 rushing yards.
Cousins also set a team mark with 17 consecutive completions to start the game.
Back in action, David Montgomery scored a touchdown for the Bears on a nine-yard run.
After Tua, Miami also loses Bridgewater
The New York Jets hit a safety touchdown on the Miami Dolphins’ first offensive play en route to a 40-17 win over their National East Division rivals.
The New York team thus ended a streak of 12 defeats in intra-division games, a shortage dating back to the 17e week of the 2019 season.
Michael Carter earned two majors on one-yard runs, while Zach Wilson, Breece Hall and Braxton Berrios were also credited with majors for the Jets, which improved to 3-2 for the first time since 2017. .
Already without Tua Tagovailoa, Miami (3-2) also lost the services of its replacement Teddy Bridgewater when the latter took a tackle from rookie Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner in the first quarter.
Bridgewater was checked for a concussion and an elbow injury, and was not seen on the field again. It is rather the rookie Skylar Thompson who found himself behind the center, without necessarily doing badly.
Thompson completed 19 of 33 passes for 166 passing yards, as well as one interception. Raheem Mostert rushed for 113 yards for a touchdown for the Dolphins, who were losing a second straight game after starting the season with three wins.
Offensively, the Jets were led by running back Breece Hall, who had 100 receiving yards in addition to 97 on the ground.
His 79-yard catch in the second half was the longest by a New York running back since 1970.
Bridgewater was the starting quarterback after Tagovailoa suffered a concussion Sept. 29 against the Bengals in Cincinnati. Four days earlier, in the first half of the game against the Bills, Tagovailoa took a hard tackle from linebacker Matt Milano. He appeared disoriented and had difficulty keeping his balance as he tried to get up.
Tagovailoa was sent to the locker room to follow NFL concussion protocol and was cleared to return.
For this reason, the NFL and its players’ association (AJNFL) have agreed to modify the league’s concussion protocol, adding the term “ataxia” to the list of symptoms leading to the player’s mandatory withdrawal. In the statement, ataxia is defined as “abnormal balance/stability, motor coordination, or verbal dysfunction caused by a neurological problem.”
However, an NFL and AJNFL investigation found the Dolphins followed concussion protocol during the streak.
Titans defense rises once again
Derrick Henry had 102 rushing yards and a touchdown as the Tennessee Titans made a big defensive play at the goal line in the final minute to beat the Washington Commanders 21-17, before entering a bye week on a three-game winning streak.
Titans 21 – Commanders 17
David Long Jr. intercepted Carson Wentz at the e ‘one line with six seconds left. It’s the second time in three games that the Tennessee defense has saved a win.
Henry also had two catches for 30 yards, including a pass that set up Dontrell Hilliard’s 13-yard reception for a first-quarter touchdown. He passed 100 yards rushing for the second straight game, and the Titans improved to 24-3 when Henry reached that mark.
Henry’s third-quarter touchdown was Tennessee’s first major in the second half since the start of the season. He also joined Earl Campbell in second place on the Titans touchdown list with 73, one behind Eddie George.
The Titans (3-2) won despite five sacks against quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who completed 15 of 25 passes for 181 yards including a touchdown pass to Hilliard.
Washington (1-4) lost its fourth straight game. Carson Wentz completed 25 of 38 passes for 359 yards with two touchdown passes to Dyami Brown. The Commanders, however, were one in eleven on third down.