‘Big D’ indeed: Defense seals Cowboys’ victory
CeeDee Lamb had 122 yards from scrimmage, Tony Pollard had a 58-yard touchdown run and the Cowboys’ defense produced timely sacks and turnovers in a 27-17 victory over the host Saints on Thursday night.
The Cowboys intercepted Saints quarterback Taysom Hill three times in the final 6:32 of the game, including defensive tackle Carlos Watkins’ pick-six on a screen pass that made it 27-10 with 2:52 left.
The Saints (5-7) gave the dualthreat Hill his first start this season in hopes that he could help them end a four-game skid. He was effective in spurts, passing for 264 yards and two touchdowns — and running for 101 yards — but he threw four picks.
Dak Prescott passed for 238 yards and a one-yard touchdown to Michael Gallup as the Cowboys (8-4) won without coach Mike McCarthy and five assistants because of positive COVID-19 tests. Defensive coordinator Dan Quinn was the Cowboys’ acting head coach.
Deonte Harris turned a short pass into a late 70-yard touchdown for the Saints, but they could not recover an onside kick and the Cowboys ran out the clock.
Bucs WR Brown suspended
Antonio Brown and two other NFL players were suspended for three games by the league for violating COVID-19 protocols.
The Buccaneers wide receiver and teammate Mike Edwards, a cornerback, were suspended. Freeagent defensive back John Franklin III, if signed by a team, also is ineligible to play in the next three games. All three players accepted the discipline and waived their right of appeal. The suspensions are effective immediately.
The NFL Players Association, which developed the protocols along with the league, represented the three players during a review of the recent allegations that players misrepresented their vaccination status. Brown, Edwards and Franklin, who last played for the Bucs in 2019, were found in violation of the protocols.
Brown has missed the last five games with an ankle injury and is expected to miss two more weeks.
The suspensions come two weeks after a Los Angeles chef told the Tampa Bay Times that Brown obtained a fake COVID-19 vaccination card shortly before the start of training camp in July.
Vikings’ D-line getting healthy
The Vikings activated defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson from the COVID-19 reserve list, a welcomed boost for their depleted defense. Tomlinson was back at practice after sitting out the previous 10 days. He missed the game last week at San Francisco, the first absence of his five-year NFL career.
Browns exec to coach U.S. team
Browns chief of staff Callie Brownson, one of a handful of female assistant coaches in the NFL, will coach the U.S. Women’s Tackle National Team this summer at the world championships in Finland. It’s a dream job for the 32-year-old Brownson, who won two gold medals while playing on the U.S. team.