The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Garoppolo’s 4 TD passes power 49ers
Jimmy Garoppolo decisively delivered a fourth-down pass to George Kittle with time running out, and the veteran tight end vigorously galloped up the sideline, seemingly embracing an opportunity to defiantly jerk his head back and forth as a Saints defender grabbed his face mask.
“Run through people, but have a good time doing it,” Kittle said of his mindset, which seemed to be contagious across his team.
With that adrenaline-fueled play — which netted 53 yards after the Saints’ penalty — Drew Brees’ late-game heroics moments earlier were virtually undone and the 49ers took a crucial step toward securing the top playoff seeding in the NFC.
Robbie Gould kicked a 30-yard field goal as time expired, sending San Francisco players streaming onto the Superdome turf to celebrate a 48-46 victory over New Orleans on Sunday.
Garoppolo finished with 349 yards and four touchdowns passing. His clutch connection with Kittle on fourth-and-2 from the San Francisco 33 was his 26th and final completion on 35 attempts.
“I know a lot of people are still looking at him to see what kind of player he is, but I’m telling you he’s a baller,” 49ers receiver Emmanuel Sanders said. “When you’ve got somebody like Jimmy with the personality he has and the hard work he puts in, in the clutch moments, he’s not going to fold.”
The Saints took their last lead on Brees’ fifth touchdown pass of the game — an 18-yarder to Tre’Quan Smith with 53 seconds left. But Brees’ pass on an attempted 2-point conversion fell incomplete, leaving New Orleans’ lead at one point.
“This was like a heavy weight boxing match, just trading punches all game long on both sides,” Brees said. “We had a chance to win, and so did they. Unfortunately they were the ones who came out on top today.”
The victory kept San Francisco (11-2) in strong position to capture the top seed in the NFC playoffs. The Niners left New Orleans knowing they could clinch a playoff berth if Seattle lost to the Rams on Sunday night.
Sanders had a 75-yard touchdown in he which fell backwards making a catch, got up and broke safety Vonn Bell’s tackle on his way to the end zone. He later added his second-career touchdown pass after taking a handoff on a reverse and finding running back Raheem Mostert wide open down the right side for a 35-yard score.
“We knew we were going to have to do some things like that because it’s a very, very sound defense,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said. “We knew we had to take some risks.”
Packers 20, Redskins 15: Aaron Jones rushed for a season-high 134 yards and a TD on 16 carries. Jones had his third 100-yard rushing game of the season and had six catches for 58 yards. With fewer than three minutes left, he had more total yards (192) than the Redskins (187).
Broncos 38, Texans 24: Denver rookie Drew Lock threw for 309 yards and three touchdowns and Kareem Jackson had an interception and returned a fumble 70 yards. The Broncos scored on their first five possessions to build a 38-3 lead early in the third quarter.
Vikings 20, Lions 7: Danielle Hunter had three of Minnesota’s five sacks to spearhead a resurgence by the defense and stick Detroit with its sixth straight loss. Kirk Cousins passed for 242 yards and a touchdown. For the first time this season, the Lions never held a lead.
Steelers 23, Cardinals 17: Diontae Johnson ran for an 85-yard TD on a punt return and caught a pass for another score to lead Pittsburgh. The Steelers’ defense had three key interceptions in the second half — two by Joe Haden and another by T.J. Watt — to end Arizona drives.
Titans 42, Raiders 21: Ryan Tannehill threw for 391 yards and three TDs, Derrick Henry ran for two scores and Tennessee won its fourth straight and improved to 6-1 with Tannehill as the starting QB. The win moved the Titans into a tie for first place in the AFC South with Houston.
Buccaneers 38, Colts 35: Jameis Winston threw for 456 yards and four touchdowns, helping Tampa Bay rally to beat reeling Indianapolis. The Colts have dropped five of six following a 5-2 start, falling from first place to third in the AFC South.
Falcons 40, Panthers 20: Atlanta’s Matt Ryan threw a 93-yard touchdown pass, the longest TD pass of his career and became the 10th quarterback in NFL history to reach 50,000 yards. Carolina was officially eliminated from playoff contention with its fifth straight loss.
Browns 27, Bengals 19: Cleveland’s Nick Chubb ran for 106 yards — 99 after halftime — and Baker Mayfield and Kareem Hunt had rushing touchdowns. The Browns got a huge late break when Mayfield’s third interception was reversed following an interference call.
Chargers 45, Jaguars 10: L.A.’s Philip Rivers threw for 314 yards and three TDs, including an 84-yarder to Austin Ekeler that was the longest completion of the quarterback’s 16-year NFL career. It was Jacksonville’s fifth consecutive lopsided loss, all by at least 17 points.