‘We’re a very dumb football team,’ says Bucs’ coach
An exasperated Tom Brady put his hands on his knees and looked down at the field after his second interception in the first quarter.
Hours later, the defense couldn’t get off the field late in the fourth with the chance to dig the defending champions out of another hole.
Brady was intercepted twice in his first six passes, and the Buccaneers surrendered a clockkilling, 19-play drive that sealed a 29-19 upset in Washington on Sunday.
“Not a great day of football for us,” said Brady, who finished 23for-34 for 220 yards and two touchdowns, but threw two interceptions — just as he did in the loss at New Orleans two weeks ago. “We just never really played on our terms. We played from behind the whole game, and they played a good game.”
Tampa Bay head coach Bruce Arians was more forceful. “The stupidity has to go away if we’re going to go anywhere,” he said. “We’re a very dumb football team, and that’s a reflection on the coaches.”
Tampa Bay (6-3) was dealt an extra blow in the last minute when nose tackle Vita Vea, a Milpitas High alum, was carted off the field with an injury on the final play of the 80-yard drive over 10:26 that finished things for Washington (3-6). Arians did not have an update, but said Vea felt something in one of his knees.
Washington lost reigning NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Chase Young to a right knee injury in the first half. Young gave a halftime speech to teammates and was back on the sideline later on crutches.
Chiefs 41, Raiders 14: Patrick Mahomes threw five touchdown passes and returned to his usual form after a surprisingly shaky stretch this season, and visiting Kansas City (6-4) won to move into first place in the AFC West. Mahomes and the Chiefs had shown little resemblance to the team that overpowered the AFC the past three seasons over the first nine weeks, raising questions about whether they could make it back to a third straight Super Bowl. The Chiefs responded with a dominant performance over the Raiders (5-4) on a day everyone else in the division lost to return to the top of the standings.
Cowboys 43, Falcons 3:
Ezekiel Elliott ran for two touchdowns and Dallas (7-2) won at home after the previous Sunday’s blowout loss to Denver that ended a six-game winning streak. The Cowboys looked much more like the NFL’s No. 1 offense, with Dak Prescott throwing two TD passes to CeeDee Lamb and Elliott finishing two drives kept alive by fourth-down conversions, all before halftime. The Cowboys’ 29-point second quarter was the highestscoring quarter in franchise history. The Falcons (4-5) have a short week before hosting New England on Thursday.
Titans 23, Saints 21: Ryan Tannehill ran for a touchdown and threw for one as host Tennessee recorded its sixth straight victory. The Titans (8-2) also became the second team in NFL history to win five straight over playoff teams from the season before, joining the 2003Eagles. The Saints (5-4) dropped their second straight since losing quarterback Jameis Winston to a season-ending ACL injury.
Bills 45, Jets 17: Josh Allen threw two touchdown passes, Buffalo ran for four scores and the Bills’ top-ranked ranked defense intercepted four Mike White passes and smothered host New York. The Bills (6-3) rebounded from a 9-6 loss at Jacksonville by dominating the Jets (2-7). Allen was 21-for-28 for 366 yards with TD passes to ex-49ers running back Matt Breida and Stefon Diggs. Breida added a scoring run, as did Devin Singletary, Zack Moss and wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie as Buffalo’s offense looked alive and well.
Patriots 45, Browns 7: Mac Jones threw three touchdown passes, rookie Rhamondre Stevenson rushed for a personal-high 100 yards and two scores, and host New England rolled as Cleveland lost quarterback Baker Mayfield to a knee injury. The Patriots (6-4) won their fourth straight game. The Browns (5-5) have dropped four of their past six. Playing without running back Nick Chubb (positive virus test), the Browns were held to
217 total yards and were 1for-11 on third down. Mayfield limped off the field after two hits in the third quarter.
Colts 23, Jaguars 17: Jonathan Taylor rushed for 116 yards and a touchdown and host Indianapolis’ defense held off Jacksonville. Indy (5-5) has won four of five to reach .500 for the first time this season. Taylor has scored in seven straight games and posted at least 100 yards from scrimmage in each of those, both league highs. But after taking an early 17-0 lead, the Colts struggled to seal it — again. Jamal Agnew had a 66-yard scoring run for the Jaguars (2-7).
Vikings 27, Chargers 20: Kirk Cousins threw two touchdown passes to Tyler Conklin, Dalvin Cook rushed for 94 yards and a score, and visiting Minnesota bounced back after a trying couple of weeks. Justin Jefferson had nine receptions for 143 yards to help the Vikings (4-5) snap a two-game losing streak after they squandered late leads to Dallas and Baltimore. Los Angeles (5-4) has dropped three of its past four.
Eagles 30, Broncos 13: Cornerback Darius Slay returned a fumble 82 yards for a touchdown and rookie DeVonta Smith hauled in two TD passes from Jalen Hurts for Philadelphia. The Eagles (4-6) won for the fourth time on the road and prevented Denver (5-5) from sweeping the NFC East teams on its schedule just a week after Denver dominated Dallas. The Broncos had trouble punching it in all day, stalling at the Eagles’ 3, 10 and 11 before Melvin Gordon fumbled while trying to convert a fourth down at the Philly 23. Slay then brought it back for a TD.