Move West suits Rams
Carolina QB Newton might miss next game after hit to the head
The move to the West Coast has done wonders for the Rams.
Tavon Austin returned a punt 47 yards to set up Case Keenum’s 4-yard touchdown pass to Brian Quick with 2:36 to play, and Los Angeles improved to 3-1 for the first time in a decade, adding to Arizona’s early season woes with a 17-13 victory Sunday.
After years of mediocrity in St. Louis, the Rams are 3-1 for the first time since 2006, tied with Seattle for first in the NFC West.
The Cardinals (1-3), the reigning NFC West champions and expected to contend for the Super Bowl, have lost as many games this year as they did all of last season, and two of them have been at home.
Now they head to a Thursday night game against the 49ers at Levi’s Stadium almost certainly without Carson Palmer, who left late in Sunday’s loss to undergo the concussion protocol after his head was slammed to the turf on a sack by Aaron Donald.
“The sky is not falling for us,” Arizona coach Bruce Arians said. “I’m sure it is for a bunch of the fans — we’re as disappointed as they are — but we’ve got a game Thursday night.”
Newton takes head shot: Another big name quarterback went down Sunday and also might not be back for the next game.
Cam Newton left Carolina’s 48-33 loss at Atlanta in the fourth quarter. The team said Newton suffered a concussion after taking a hit from Deion Jones on a successful 2-point run. There appeared to be helmet-to-helmet contact but there was no penalty on the hit.
Newton, the 2015 NFL MVP, completed 14 of 25 passes for 165 yards with one touchdown before leaving the game.
“It’s unfortunate,” said Carolina linebacker Luke Kuechly. “I don’t what the severity of it is. ... He’s a fighter. He’s one of the toughest guys I know. He’ll get out there as soon as he can.”
Wilson’s magic: Russell Wilson didn’t look like a man with a bad knee. The Seattle quarterback, who suffered a sprained MCL last Sunday against the 49ers, passed for 309 yards and three touchdowns in a 27-17 road win against the Jets.
“I thought it was a sterling effort by the quarterback,” Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said. “Everybody was wondering and questioning what was going to happen and how he would be able to do it. He just did it. This is the best he’s looked in the last few weeks.”
Jets QB Ryan Fitzpatrick looked better too; he threw only three interceptions after throwing six a week ago.
Do the Jets need a new QB? Receiver Brandon Marshall bristled at the question.
“I am. Going down. In a boat. With Ryan Fitzpatrick,” Marshall said, measuring his words. “OK?”
Falcons takes flight: It might be a long time before Julio Jones sees another rookie cornerback assigned to him in man coverage.
Lined up against Carolina rookie James Bradberry, Jones caught 12 passes for 300 yards.
“They put the young corner on me man to man ... and Matt made some great decisions,” Jones said.
Matt Ryan passed for a team-record 503 yards and four touchdowns as Atlanta broke the 45-point mark for the second game in a row. According to Elias Sports Bureau, it the first time a team has had a 500-yard passer and a 300-yard receiver in one game.
No break: The Indianapolis Colts are 1-3 for only the second time since they drafted Peyton Manning in 1998. In a 30-27 loss Sunday to Jacksonville in London, the Colts were whistled for 11 penalties and allowed six sacks. Five of Andrew Luck’s first 11 passes were dropped.
And now they need to get right back to work. The Colts play again next Sunday.
In each of the previous 14 games in London over the past decade, teams were granted a bye to recover from the exhausting travel. The Colts declined that option when the schedule was made.
In their favor, it’s only the Chicago Bears (1-3) coming to Indy. Then again, it was only the Jaguars (1-3) on Sunday.
Must be the shoes: Washington receiver DeSean Jackson, the former Cal star, stepped up his social protest Sunday. Jackson warmed up in cleats with a design that depicted yellow caution tape used by law enforcement.
“Today is the start of my attempts to be part of a solution and start dialogue about the senseless killings of both citizens and police,” Jackson said in a statement. “This isn’t meant to be any kind of protest against the good men and women in law enforcement in this country.”
Gore moves up: Indianapolis running back Frank Gore rushed for 68 yards and a touchdown. The former 49ers star has 12,293 rushing yards and passed Marcus Allen (12,243), Edgerrin James (12,246) and Marshall Faulk (12,279) to move into 10th place in NFL history.
Couldn’t stand the weather: For the second straight week, play was stopped in the fourth quarter at Raymond James Stadium because of inclement weather.
The game was suspended for 1 hour, 26 minutes with 6:52 remaining Sunday, with only a few thousand fans returning to their seats for the conclusion. Denver moved to 4-0 on the season with a 27-7 win over the Buccaneers .