One-and-Niners top embattled Giants
C.J. Beathard threw for 288 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a third score to lead the San Francisco 49ers to their first win of the season, 31-21, against the New York Giants yesterday in Santa Clara, Calif.
Beathard connected on an 83-yard TD to Marquise Goodwin and a 47-yarder to Garrett Celek in the second quarter as the 49ers (1-9) took advantage of another listless effort by the Giants (1-8) to win for the first time under coach Kyle Shanahan.
Beathard’s time as starting quarterback in San Francisco figures to be numbered after the team acquired Jimmy Garoppolo two weeks ago from the Patriots in a trade. Garoppolo has been learning the offense and could take over when the team returns from the bye in two weeks.
While the Niners could be making a quarterback change soon, this performance will only heighten the questions about whether the Giants will need to change coaches. Ben McAdoo has been under fire after a report this past week from ESPN that quoted an anonymous player as saying the players have given up on the season and don’t view McAdoo as a leader.
The Giants have not fired a coach during the season since 1976.
Falcons 27, Cowboys 7 — Adrian Clayborn set a team record with six sacks, Matt Ryan threw a pair of short touchdown passes and Atlanta romped over visiting Dallas.
The Cowboys looked anemic offensively in their first game without suspended running back Ezekiel Elliott.
Ryan hooked up with Justin Hardy on a 3-yard pass for Atlanta’s first offensive touchdown in the third quarter this season. Early in the fourth, Ryan put the game away for the Falcons by tossing one to Austin Hooper for a 1-yard score.
While the Cowboys sure missed Elliott, who finally began serving a six-game suspension for allegations of domestic abuse after three legal reprieves, they really noticed the absence of left tackle Tyron Smith. He sat out the game with back and groin injuries, leaving third-year player Chaz Green to protect Dak Prescott’s blind side.
Beating Green time after time, Clayborn forced two fumbles, recovered one of them and surpassed the team record of five sacks. Clayborn’s performance matched the second-most sacks in NFL history.
Rams 33, Texans 7 — Robert Woods caught two of Jared Goff’s three touchdown passes in the third quarter, and surging Los Angeles returned after a month away from home for its fourth straight victory, dominating depleted Houston.
After struggling to a 9-7 lead during a quiet first half for the NFL’s highestscoring team, the Rams ran away with a series of big throws by Goff, who passed for a career-high 355 yards.
Vikings 38, Redskins 30 — In Landover, Md., Case Keenum threw touchdowns to four different receivers to build a big lead, and NFC North-leading Minnesota won its fifth in a row against Washington.
With Teddy Bridgewater active for the first time since January 2016 after a devastating knee injury, Keenum was 21-of-29 for 304 yards and TD passes to Stefon Diggs, Adam Thielen, David Morgan and Jarius Wright.
Packers 23, Bears 16 — Brett Hundley threw for 212 yards and a touchdown, Nick Perry had three sacks and Green Bay snapped a three-game losing streak with a win in Chicago.
Hundley, starting his third game for an injured Aaron Rodgers, threw a 17-yard touchdown to Davante Adams to make it 23-13 with 5:29 to play, and the Packers hung on to beat the Bears for the eighth time in nine games.
Titans 24, Bengals 20 — In Nashville, Tenn., Marcus Mariota tossed a 7-yard touchdown pass to DeMarco Murray with 36 seconds left, and Tennessee rallied past Cincinnati for its fourth consecutive victory.
It’s the longest winning streak for the Titans since takin five straight in 2009, and it’s their best start to a season since 2008.
Lions 38, Browns 24 — Matthew Stafford lofted a 29-yard, tiebreaking touchdown to Eric Ebron early in the fourth quarter and Detroit went on to beat the winless Cleveland in Allen Park, Mich.
The Lions rallied from first- and second-half deficits to earn consecutive victories for the first time since winning the first two games this season. The Browns had a 10-0 lead early in the game for their first double-digit lead of the season.
Buccaneers 15, Jets 10 — In Tampa, Ryan Fitzpatrick led two long scoring drives and Tampa Bay limited New York to less than 200 yards of offense until late in the fourth quarter to snap a five-game losing streak.
With Fitzpatrick filling in for injured quarterback Jameis Winston, the Buccaneers used three field goals to build a 9-3 lead. Charles Sims put the game out of reach with a 6-yard touchdown reception with just over six minutes remaining.