Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Brees throws for 228 yards, three TDs as Saints beat Bucs
SAINTS 34, BUCCANEERS 17
TAMPA, Fla. — The New Orleans Saints played with the urgency of a team determined to get back on track.
“You lose a game, you move forward. The next game can’t come quick enough,” coach Sean Payton said Sunday after the NFC South leaders rebounded from an ugly loss to last-place Atlanta with a 34-17 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Drew Brees threw for 228 yards and three touchdowns, and NFL receptions leader Michael Thomas became the first player in league history with 90-plus catches in the first 10 games of a season for the Saints (8-2).
In addition to a 16-yard scoring pass to Thomas in the first half, Brees tosses TD passes of 3 yards to Jared Cook and 6 to Ted Ginn Jr. after New Orleans was held out of the end zone during the previous week’s 26-9 loss to the Falcons.
Safety Marcus Williams put an exclamation point on a strong defensive performance, returning the third of New Orleans’ four interceptions 55 yards for a touchdown that put the Saints up 34-17 with just over five minutes remaining.
Thomas, who also became the first player with at least 90 receptions in each of his first four NFL seasons, had eight catches for 114 yards. That boosted his totals for 2019 to 94 receptions for 1,141 yards. The previous high for most catches in the first 10 game of a season was 89 by Hall of Famer Marvin Harrison and Atlanta’s Julio Jones. Brees isn’t surprised. “It’s just what we see every day in practice. Maybe it’s one of those things that when it’s all said and done you’ll look back and you’ll really appreciate it. I just love his mindset. He is a ‘I want the ball, I will get open, I will make the play for you’ guy,” Brees said.
“I’ve played with a lot of good ones, a lot of great ones, and the thing that’s common with those guys is the trust factor,” Brees added. “You have to be able to anticipate certain things which allow you to play with confidence and be accurate and make a lot of those throws that others might not try to make.”
RAMS 17, BEARS 7
LOS ANGELES — Todd Gurley and Malcolm Brown ran for touchdowns and Los Angeles was able to ground out a victory over Chicago.
Gurley tied a season high with 97 yards on 25 carries, scoring on a 1-yard carry up the middle with 3:28 remaining in the first half to extend Los Angeles’ lead to 10-0.
After Tarik Cohen’s third-quarter touchdown catch brought Chicago to 107, the Rams (6-4) put it out of reach with 3:35 remaining in the fourth quarter on Brown’s 5-yard run.
Jared Goff was 11 of 18 for 173 yards and an interception. That is the least attempts the fourth-year quarterback has had when he has started. Cooper Kupp was the Rams’ only active starting receiver, which might explain why the Rams relied more on their ground game.
The Bears (4-6) ran 22 more plays than the Rams but averaged only 3.6 yards. Mitchell Trubisky was 24 of 43 for 190 yards with a touchdown and interception. Chase Daniel replaced Trubisky for the final series.
49ERS 36, CARDINALS 26
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Jimmy Garoppolo threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Jeff Wilson Jr. with 31 seconds left for his fourth TD pass of the game and the San Francisco 49ers rallied for a victory over the Arizona Cardinals.
Garoppolo connected with Wilson over the middle for the go-ahead score one play after the Niners (9-1) narrowly converted on a third-and-3 pass that went to replay review.
Instead of being ruled short and having to decide whether to kick a tying field goal or go for it on fourth down, San Francisco had a new set of downs and took advantage on Wilson’s first career touchdown catch.
David Johnson fumbled on the next play for the Cardinals (3-7-1), who squandered a 16-0 lead and lost their fourth straight game. San Francisco added a fumble recovery for a touchdown by D.J. Reed on the final play after a botched lateral by Arizona.
This marked the biggest deficit erased by the 49ers in a win since rallying from 20 points down to beat Philadelphia on Oct. 2, 2011. San Francisco also overcame a 17-point deficit in the NFC title game at Atlanta following the 2012 season.
Garoppolo threw for 425 yards and four touchdowns, but also threw two interceptions deep in Arizona territory that nearly doomed the 49ers. The first set up a field goal that put Arizona up 19-17 and the second came with San Francisco trailing by three late in the fourth quarter.
COLTS 33, JAGUARS 13
INDIANAPOLIS — The Indianapolis Colts finally got their offense running again.
Marlon Mack waited patiently for holes to open. Jonathan Williams took advantage of each opportunity. Jacoby Brissett and Nyheim Hines both ran for scores, and even All-Pro left guard Quenton Nelson got a chance to carry the ball.
The throwback strategy worked perfectly. Indy rushed for a season-high 264 yards and overpowered Jacksonville for the franchise’s 300th win since moving to Indianapolis in 1984.
“I don’t think you ever expect to run for that many yards in an NFL game because defenses are too good and that defense is too good,” coach Frank Reich said. “I can’t give our guys enough credit for how well they played.”
The Colts turned a milestone day into an unforgettable performance.
Mack ran 14 times for 109 yards and one score before leaving in the third quarter with a hand injury. Williams finished with 13 carries for a career-high 109 yards and twice gave himself up after long, fourth-quarter runs to keep the clock moving, including a 48-yard run when Reich said Williams wasn’t even supposed to be in the game.
It’s the first time the Colts have had two 100-yard runners in a game since Oct. 6, 1985, and only the third time in franchise history.
Indy (6-4), meanwhile, snapped a two-game losing streak and reclaimed a share of the AFC South when Houston lost to Baltimore.
The only thing that went awry: Nelson’s apparent 1-yard TD run on third down was nullified by a replay review. Brissett cleaned it up by hooking up with Marcus Johnson for a TD pass on fourth down.
FALCONS 29, PANTHERS 3
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Cornerback Isaiah Oliver can’t explain the Falcons’ dramatic turnaround the past two weeks on defense.
But he said it’s a little bittersweet.
“This was the defense we expected to be playing from the start of the season,” Oliver said.
If they had, things might be different this season for the Falcons.
Atlanta had one of the worst defenses in the league the first eight games of the season, which played a big role in a 1-7 start. But over the past two weeks the Falcons have been nothing short of dominant, allowing just four field goals and no touchdowns.
On Sunday, Atlanta intercepted Kyle Allen four times and sacked him five times, Kenjon Barner returned a punt 78 yards for a touchdown and the Falcons defeated the Carolina Panthers 29-3 for their second straight lopsided win against an NFC South foe.
The Falcons upset the Saints 26-9 the week before.
The Falcons (3-7) had only two interceptions all season — and none since Week 2 against the Eagles — but intercepted Allen three times in the first half to build a 20-0 lead.
Oliver said the exasperating thing is the Falcons aren’t doing anything different defensively the past two weeks since returning from the bye week.
“Defensively, we have the same players on the field, we’re calling the same calls we have been calling, running the same defense — it’s just working better, honestly,” Oliver said. “Guys are communicating more and getting to the ball quicker. But in terms of the schemes, everything is the same.”
BILLS 37, DOLPHINS 20
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Josh Allen tied a career high with three touchdown passes and ran for another score to help the Buffalo Bills complete a season sweep of the Miami Dolphins by winning.
Allen’s TD tosses covered 40 and 9 yards to John Brown, and 23 yards to Dawson Knox. Allen also scored on an 8-yard run, and he had a 36-yard run to set up a field goal.
Miami couldn’t keep up against Buffalo’s smothering defense. The Bills totaled a season-high seven sacks and allowed only 23 yards rushing.
The victory gave the Bills (7-3) their best 10-game record since 1999, but they won for only the second time in the past four games.
Miami (2-8) lost to Buffalo for the fourth time in the past five meetings.
Allen went 21 for 33 for 256 yards without a sack or turnover, and his passer rating of 117.7 was a career high. He extended his streak of passes without an interception to 163.
Brown finished with nine receptions for 137 yards, both season highs. The Bills netted a season-best 424 yards, and their point total was also a season high.
JETS 34, REDSKINS 17
LANDOVER, Md. — Toward the end of the game, all Sam Darnold wanted to talk about on the sideline was his interception.
Thanks to Darnold’s career-high four touchdown passes and the Washington Redskins’ offensive ineptitude, that mistake was a mere blip in the New York Jets’ rout.
Darnold was 19 of 30 passing with 293 yards and tossed touchdowns to Daniel Brown, Robby Anderson, Ryan Griffin and former Redskins receiver Jamison Crowder to help New York win its second in a row.
“For us as an offense as a whole, it’s just another stepping stone in the right direction,” Darnold said. “Once our offense is in a really good rhythm, it’s easy for me and a lot of the other guys on the offense to go and make plays.”
Despite getting picked off deep in his own territory by Jon Bostic, the 2018 third overall pick bounced back and now has 11 TDs and 10 INTs this season. Darnold excelled at throwing on the run and managed the game well.
“He’s still developing,” Crowder said. “You can definitely tell that he’s starting to be a little more vocal, take ownership of the offense, which he should — that’s part of the development of a quarterback in this league. I’m just glad he’s taking the right steps to become a great quarterback in this league.”
RAIDERS 17, BENGALS 10
OAKLAND, Calif. — Derek Carr passed for 292 yards and a touchdown, Josh Jacobs had his fourth 100-yard game in the last six weeks, and the Oakland Raiders beat the winless Cincinnati Bengals.
Maxx Crosby had a team rookie-record four sacks as the Raiders harassed Bengals rookie quarterback Ryan Finley and shut down Cincinnati’s offense after Joe Mixon had given it a lift in the first half.
Oakland (6-4) won its third straight to move into a first-place tie with Kansas City in the AFC West.