NFL Game Recaps: Week 6, 2022

NFL Game Recaps of previous weeks and seasons can be found via links at the bottom of the page.

Redskins 12, Bears 7

Everyone complained about the Colts-Broncos 12-9 grinder last week, yet this game somehow saw even fewer points. This Bears-Redskins matchup may have set football back 50 years, as it seemed like no team wanted to win.

It initially seemed as though Chicago would prevail, as it entered the Washington 5-yard line twice in the first half. However, the Bears didn’t even score a single point during those two trips very deep into Redskins territory. The first drive concluded with a turnover when a Fields pass was deflected at the line of scrimmage and caught by Jonathan Allen after the ball popped into the air. The second possession came down to a fourth-down try at the goal line, with Khalil Herbert being stuffed inches shy of the end zone.

The Bears weren’t the only team committing blunders. Carson Wentz was nearly intercepted on a couple of occasions, while Curtis Samuel dropped a routine catch that would have resulted in a touchdown. The Redskins generated a laughable 88 net yards in the opening half.

This was a 7-6 Bears lead when disaster struck for Chicago in the fourth quarter. Rookie receiver Velus Jones tried to catch a punt on his own 10-yard line, but he muffed it, and Washington recovered at the 5-yard line. Unlike the Bears, the Redskins struck gold inside the opposing five, with Brian Robinson pushing the ball into the end zone.

Chicago, suddenly down 12-7 after Washington missed a two-point conversion, had two chances to score. The first possession ended because the Bears inexplicably were flagged for a delay-of-game penalty on fourth down. The second drive, which occurred after a missed Joey Slye field goal, once again ventured inside the Washington 5-yard line, thanks to 39-yard Fields scramble. However, some incompletions put the Bears into another fourth-down situation. Fields lobbed a pass to Darnell Mooney, who caught the ball after a bobble, but was an inch shy of the goal line. The Redskins prevailed by the thinnest of margins.

The most surprising element of this game was Fields’ passing volume. The Bears had been hesitant to air out the ball with Fields every week heading into this game, but they had their quarterback fire the ball 27 times. Fields even threw more than Carson Wentz (22 attempts) even though Chicago seldom trailed in this game. The result wasn’t pretty. Fields barely completed half of his throws, going 14-of-27 for 190 yards, one touchdown and the deflected interception.

Fields saw plenty of pressure behind his abysmal offensive line, but he must be partly blamed for this loss. He missed several receivers, including a wide-open Ryan Griffin for a touchdown. He also didn’t see an open receiver who would have moved the chains on a third-and-3 prior to halftime. Fields can’t fully develop as a passer behind his offensive line, but he definitely has a long way to go. At the very least, Fields can at least run extremely well. He scrambled 12 times for 88 rushing yards.

Wentz wasn’t any better than Fields. In fact, he was arguably worse, as he was extremely fortunate not to be intercepted on numerous occasions. Wentz didn’t even break the century-yard mark, going 12-of-22 for only 99 yards. Granted, Samuel dropped a touchdown, but Wentz was atrocious overall. The Redskins should perhaps move back to Taylor Heinicke or give Slingin’ Sammy Howell a chance.

The decisive touchdown was scored by Robinson, who is an amazing story, considering that he was shot prior to the season. Robinson had some nice runs, rumbling for 60 yards on 17 carries otherwise.

The game’s leading rusher, besides Fields, was Herbert, who dashed for 75 yards on seven carries. David Montgomery saw more than double the work, but offered less production with 67 yards on 15 tries. It’s unclear why Montgomery is getting more of a workload than Herbert.

The other touchdown in this game was hauled in by Dante Pettis, who snatched four balls for 84 yards. Mooney was next on the stat sheet with seven grabs for 68 yards. No other Bear recorded more than 15 receiving yards.

Washington’s receiving corps was “led” by Terry McLaurin, who recorded three catches for 41 yards. Samuel, who dropped a touchdown, was a major disappointment with two catches for only six yards.

Patriots 38, Browns 15

This was supposed to be a low-scoring grinder. Both teams were expected to methodically move the chains with their great rushing attacks. Instead, this was a 53-point affair in which the two quarterbacks combined to throw for 575 yards!

Bailey Zappe was able to outduel Jacoby Brissett. It wasn’t too long ago that Bill Belichick utilized a very conservative game plan when Zappe took over for an injured Brian Hoyer in Green Bay. Belichick, in this victory, saw his team call 34 pass plays compared to 29 runs despite holding a lead for the majority of the afternoon.

Zappe began the game well by completing a third-and-7 while under serious pressure and then connecting with DeVante Parker on a perfect, back-shoulder throw for 29 yards. He later showed tremendous accuracy by lofting a pass over a defender and in front of another to hit Jakobi Meyers for a 25-yard completion. Zappe was highly accurate all afternoon, finishing 24-of-34 for 309 yards and two touchdowns. He should have thrown a third score, but Hunter Henry caught the ball after being out of bounds, so he was flagged for an illegal touching to nullify the score. Zappe was terrific despite his inexperience. His only mistake was losing a fumble on a strip-sack, but he couldn’t do anything about that because Myles Garrett made a great play. Besides, the Browns weren’t able to capitalize on the turnover because Jacoby Brissett was uncharacteristically stuffed on a fourth-and-1 sneak.

Brissett, conversely, had been doing a great job of managing the Browns during the first five weeks of the season, but struggled mightily against his former coach. Brissett threw an early interception into double coverage on a very late throw and then missed David Njoku for a deep touchdown, the first of two times he failed to hook up with Njoku for a potential score. He still connected with Njoku for a 33-yard pass, but the ball was underthrown, so the potential for a deep score was lost. Brissett fired a second interception later, but was hit upon releasing the ball. That wasn’t his fault, but he had two other potential picks that were dropped. failed to complete half of his passes, going 21-of-44 for 266 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.

The most surprising element of this game, aside from Zappe’s rapid improvement, was that the Browns couldn’t get anything on the ground versus a soft New England run defense. Nick Chubb was restricted to just 28 yards on nine carries, while Kareem Hunt (4-12) did even less. An injury to Pro Bowl Browns guard Wyatt Teller was a primary reason for this.

The Patriots, on the other hand, were able to have success with their runs. Rhamondre Stevenson scored twice while rumbling for 76 yards on 19 attempts. He also caught four passes for 15 receiving yards. Stevenson had two chances for a third touchdown, but was stuffed on back-to-back occasions on one drive. His only other blunder was dropping a pass in the red zone.

Donovan Peoples-Jones was the leading receiver in this game with four catches for 74 yards. Amari Cooper reeled in four balls for 44 yards, but did so on 12 targets. He scored a touchdown in garbage time, but was guilty of a drop.

Jakobi Meyers was a disappointing producer for the Patriots with three catches for 33 yards. Rookie Tyquan Thornton scored a touchdown while catching four balls for 37 yards. Jonnu Smith paced the team with 61 yards on two grabs, thanks to a 53-yard reception in which he broke two tackles.

Jets 27, Packers 10

Aaron Rodgers appeared to throw a pick-six on the initial drive of this game. A pass of his toward Robert Tonyan bounced into the arms of a Jets player, who ran all the way back for six. This play was overturned by replay review, but it was an ominous sign for how this contest would go for Green Bay. The Packers were guilty of sloppy play throughout the afternoon, as they suffered an ugly loss to the Jets.

There were both mental and physical blunders for the Packers. They ran with A.J. Dillon on a third-and-5 in New York territory for some reason. No yards were gained, and Mason Crosby’s field goal was blocked on the ensuing play. Green Bay blocked a punt a bit later, but scored no points as a result because a 22-yard Aaon Jones was negated by a hold. Rodgers took a sack on third-and-9 to move out of field goal range. Rodgers then fumbled on a hand-off, giving the Jets a free field goal. Dillon lost a fumble on a third-down play. And if that wasn’t enough, Rodgers overthrew Romeo Doubs on a fourth-and-3.

All of this was in the opening half. Despite holding a 142-80 yardage edge over the Jets, the Packers were locked in a 3-3 tie with an inferior team at intermission. Things only got worse in the second half. The Jets were the first team to get into the end zone when Braxton Berrios scored a touchdown after Corey Davis made a great catch. The Jets then scored on a blocked punt, giving them an insurmountable 17-3 lead.

Rodgers clearly needs help. His receiving corps is abysmal, and it’ll only be worse moving forward because Randall Cobb was carted off the field with an ankle injury. Rodgers couldn’t get anything going downfield until he was trailing 17-3. Allen Lazard led all wideouts with four catches for 76 yards and a touchdown, trailing only Tonyan (9-82) in receiving. Doubs was a huge disappointment with four grabs for 21 yards on nine targets.

Rodgers, as a result, finished with some mediocre numbers; he was 26-of-41 for 247 yards, one touchdown and a lost fumble. Green Bay’s front office must make a trade for receiving help.

The Packers couldn’t establish the run at all, with Jones being limited to 19 yards on nine carries. Dillon posted better numbers, gaining 41 yards on 10 attempts, but a 19-yard chunk came late in the game. Dillon also lost a fumble and dropped a pass.

The Jets, conversely, had much more success on the ground, as the gap between Breece Hall and Michael Carter continued to widen. Hall dashed for 116 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries, while Michael Carter was given just six attempts, which he turned into 41 yards. Hall caught two passes (five yards), compared to one reception for Carter.

With Green Bay’s miserable offense imploding, and Hall ripping off big gains, Zach Wilson didn’t have to do anything. Wilson was just 10-of-18 for 110 yards. Wilson is lucky he wasn’t intercepted twice. A potential pick of his was dropped when he threw the ball way late across his body into the end zone. The other possible interception was on a sideline throw. Wilson also made some other mental mistakes. He threw a zero-yard pass on a third-and-1 early in the game, and he later ran into a sack.

Davis was the only Jet with more than 17 receiving yards. He caught two passes for 52 yards. Garrett Wilson (1-8) and Elijah Moore (0 catches) saw their numbers suppressed because Wilson didn’t have to do anything. Wilson was bothered by Jaire Alexander the entire afternoon.

Colts 34, Jaguars 27

The Indianapolis crowd was not very happy with its team for half the afternoon. The Colts were once again able to move the chains well in between the 20s, but repeatedly stalled in the red zone. They had to settle for too many field goals, while the Jaguars were able to establish a 14-3 lead. Indianapolis, however, finally broke through with a touchdown to Parris Campbell late in the opening half, and that seemed to open the floodgates. The Colts scored two more touchdowns to establish a 26-21 lead, forcing the Jaguars to attempt a comeback in the fourth quarter.

Jacksonville was able to step up with a big drive. Trevor Lawrence made a perfect throw on a third-and-13 to Zay Jones. Lawrence converted a sneak on fourth down, then made a nice scramble into the end zone to go ahead, 27-26.

Indianapolis needed just a field goal this time, and it moved into a position for a 50-yard try for Chase McLaughlin. However, on a third-and-13, Matt Ryan lobbed a pass to Alec Pierce into the end zone, which was caught. The Colts scored a touchdown instead of converting a field goal, giving them a 34-27 victory.

This was a big day for Ryan; not just with his monstrous in-game numbers – 42-of-58 for 389 yards and three touchdowns – but with his career achievement. He passed Dan Marino for seventh place on the all-time passing list.

While Pierce (3-49-1) caught the game-winning touchdown, Michael Pittman was Ryan’s favorite receiver once again. The Jaguars had no answer for Pittman, who hauled in 13 of his 16 targets for 134 yards. Campbell also had a nice game with seven receptions for 57 yards.

Indianapolis’ 34-point output is surprising, considering that Jonathan Taylor and Nyheim Hines were both sidelined. Deon Jackson stepped up with a monstrous performance as a receiver out of the backfield, catching all 10 of his targets for 79 receiving yards. He also rushed for 42 yards and an angry touchdown on 12 carries.

The Jaguars, being ahead for most of the afternoon, had three rushers with more yards than Jackson. Travis Etienne had some big gains in the opening half, ultimately finishing with 86 yards on just 10 carries. James Robinson saw more work (12 attempts), but with worse results (54 yards).

Both Jacksonville running backs saw potential touchdowns vultured by Lawrence, who scored twice. Two is also the number of incompletions Lawrence had in this game, as he was 20-of-22 for 163 yards and a touchdown.

Lawrence’s lone aerial score went to Christian Kirk, who caught four passes for 24 yards. Zay Jones led the team with five grabs for 42 yards.

Vikings 24, Dolphins 16

The Vikings were arguably one of the most overrated teams heading into Week 6, as they lucked out with some victories over injured teams during their first five games. The narrative will continue to be the same after this game despite a two-touchdown victory over Miami.

Minnesota was outgained by Miami, 458-234. Excluding the third quarter, when Teddy Bridgewater was trying to get into a groove while replacing the injured Skylar Thompson, the Dolphins moved the chains much better than the Vikings. By the time there were four minutes remaining in the game, the Dolphins had outgained the Vikings, 344-179. Miami was trailing at that stage of the afternoon, 16-10, because of numerous mistakes made in Minnesota territory. Thompson took a sack on third-and-1 to move out of field goal range on the initial drive, and then the enusing possession saw Miami commit a ridiculous five penalties and two drops. Because of those mental mistakes, the Dolphins had to punt despite getting the ball to the Vikings’ 9-yard line.

The errors continued beyond the second drive. Jason Sanders missed a field goal. Jaylen Waddle had the ball pop out of his hands to give the Vikings an interception and a subsequent field goal. Miami tried a fake punt and failed miserably. And if that wasn’t enough, the Dolphins moved toward the red zone in a 16-10 affair with several minutes remaining in regulation, but Waddle fumbled the ball after catching a deep pass. The Vikings made the margin 24-10 with Dalvin Cook rushing for a 53-yard touchdown when the Dolphins gave up.

The Vikings’ offense endured numerous three-and-outs in this game, as Kirk Cousins had issues with Miami’s blitz. The final numbers didn’t look too bad because of a couple of big gains, with Cousins going 20-of-30 for 175 yards and two touchdowns.

The couple of big plays Cousins had were throws to Justin Jefferson, who accounted for more than half of Cousins’ yardage. Jefferson reeled in six passes for 107 yards. He didn’t find the end zone, but Adam Thielen (4-36) was able to do so. Irv Smith Jr. (3-7) also scored.

Cook, as mentioned, sprinted for a 53-yard touchdown when the Dolphins gave up. He had just 20 rushing yards otherwise. His 73 yards and a touchdown were on 12 attempts.

As for the Dolphins, Bridgewater had some serious problems in the third quarter, but found a nice rhythm in the final frame. He went 23-of-34 for 329 yards, two touchdowns and a pair of interceptions. Thompson (7-13, 89), who was betrayed by multiple drops, was doing well before exiting with a bloody thumb.

Tyreek Hill and Waddle both had big statistical games. Hill snatched 12 of his 15 targets for 177 yards. Waddle logged six receptions for 129 yards, but he killed his team with horrible mistakes. Mike Gesicki (6-69) was finally productive, and he even vultured two touchdowns from the stud receivers.

The Dolphins couldn’t get anything on the ground either. Raheem Mostert was limited to 49 yards on 14 carries.

Bengals 30, Saints 26

It appeared as though the Bengals would lose this game for most of the afternoon. They never even had a lead until the final touchdown of the game. They trailed 23-14 in the third quarter, as their offense couldn’t get anything going. Joe Burrow saw tons of pressure despite battling a defense that hasn’t generated much of a pass rush this year. The defense, meanwhile, couldn’t get off the field despite battling an offense missing its top three receivers.

Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase, however, came up big on the final possession. Following a failed drive where Burrow saw plenty of heat in the pocket, Burrow found Chase with an intermediate gain, and Chase did the rest. Chase, spun away from a tackle, avoided another, and outran the defense for a 60-yard touchdown, which was the decisive score of the game. The Saints had one more chance after that, but some inaccurate Andy Dalton throws and a big loss on a sack doomed the Saints.

Burrow had a monstrous fantasy performance, going 28-of-37 for 300 yards and three touchdowns. He also had a fourth score on a scramble. Much of this came in the second half, as Burrow recorded just 126 yards and one touchdown by halftime.

Chase, thanks to his heroic game-winning touchdown, was able to break over the century mark and finish with a stellar fantasy day as well. Chase caught seven of his 10 targets for 132 yards and two touchdowns. Directly trailing him, both Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd caught six passes each for 47 and 66 yards, respectively. Higgins was guilty of a drop.

Joe Mixon didn’t do much on the ground, as the Bengals couldn’t run because of a constant deficit. Mixon rushed just eight times for 45 yards. However, he scored a receiving touchdown on four catches for 23 yards. Mixon hurt Burrow on an early drive when he whiffed on a blitz pick-up, resulting in a Burrow sack.

With no receiving threats, Alvin Kamara handled most of the workload. He barely missed out on the century mark, rushing for 99 yards on 19 carries. He also caught six passes, but was limited to 25 receiving yards. Kamara should have caught eight balls, but he dropped a pass, and another routine throw was behind him.

Dalton struggled in this game, as his poor passing prevented the Saints from holding on to their constant big lead. Of course, his lackluster receiving corps was one of the reasons for this, but Dalton is not blameless, as a number of his throws were woefully off the mark. Dalton barely completed half of his passes, going 17-of-32 for 162 yards and one touchdown.

Tre’Quan Smith led that beleaguered receiving corps with three catches for 43 yards and a touchdown. Marquez Callaway also caught three balls for 36 yards.

Giants 24, Ravens 20

If Lamar Jackson wants to obtain the massive contract he’s been pining for, he’ll need to do better than this. Jackson won last week, but missed some wide-open receivers late in the game. That poor passing carried over into this affair, as Jackson was primarily responsible for this unexpected defeat.

Jackson did not get much help from his receiving corps in this game – Rashod Bateman wasn’t available, and Mark Andrews dropped two passes, including a touchdown – but his accuracy was poor. He barely completed half of his passes, going 17-of-32 for 210 yards, one touchdown and an interception. He took a sack to move out of field goal range on the initial drive and then missed some routine passes early in this game. The losing moments, however, occurred late in the afternoon. Jackson’s pick set up the game-winning score for the Giants, as he inexplicably threw late over the middle of the field despite having a 20-17 lead. Then, on the final offensive drive when the Ravens trailed 24-20, Jackson lost a fumble on a strip sack, and he never saw the ball ever again. Saquon Barkley, perhaps learning from the mistake Nick Chubb made in Week 2 this year, didn’t score a touchdown when he was easily able to do so, taking a knee shy of the goal line to preserve the upset victory for the Giants.

Going back to Jackson, he, like Aaron Rodgers, needs some help at receiver. He can only do so much on the ground – seven scrambles, 77 yards – and it must be noted that Bateman was sidelined, but it was a mistake to go into this season with just him at receiver. There’s still Andrews, obviously, but Baltimore has no downfield threats. Of course, Jackson needs to do a better job of protecting the ball. Demarcus Robinson led the way at the position with three catches for 27 yards. This must change, though Andrews will continue to be very productive; Andrews made seven grabs for 106 yards and a touchdown.

Remarkably, a big chunk of Baltimore’s offensive production came via Kenyan Drake. The backup running back took over for an injured J.K. Dobbins and dashed for 119 yards and a touchdown on just 10 carries, as he was able to burst free for a trio of long gains. Dobbins was limited to 15 yards on seven attempts before exiting the game when his knee, according to John Harbaugh, “tightened up.”

Drake outgained everyone, including Barkley, though Barkley had the last laugh. Barkley rushed for 83 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries, though he easily could’ve scored twice if he were selfish. He also caught three passes, but for only 12 receiving yards.

Daniel Jones didn’t post pretty numbers, but was efficient and error-free, save for an apparent interception that was overturned by pass interference. He went 19-of-27 for 173 yards and two touchdowns. He had to have been thrilled to get some receiving help for a change, with second-round rookie Wan’Dale Robinson finally returning from injury. Robinson caught three passes for 37 yards and a touchdown, though he dropped a key pass on third down.

Robinson was the only productive wide receiver of note. Darius Slayton (1-18) and Richie James (2-18) were huge disappointments. Daniel Bellinger topped Robinson by one yard, catching five balls for 38 yards and a score.

Steelers 20, Buccaneers 18

This was supposed to be an easy victory for the Buccaneers. They opened as eight-point favorites in Pittsburgh, and the line moved to double digits because the Steelers would be without four of the five starters in their secondary. Pittsburgh’s pass defense was already poor, so how in the world would it stop Tom Brady and his talented receivers?

By the end of the second quarter, Brady was yelling at his offensive linemen. When he took his first possession in the third quarter, he was down 13-9. The Buccaneers moved the chains well in between the 20s, but constantly bogged down in Pittsburgh territory. The blocking was dreadful on a Leonard Fournette rushing attempt at the Pittsburgh 1-yard line, pushing him back three yards. Later on, Cade Otton dropped a touchdown, and this was followed by a false start in the red zone and another drop, this time by Russell Gage. It was easy to see why Brady was so frustrated.

Todd Bowles may have been frustrated by the end of the game. The Buccaneers, trailing 20-18, thanks to all of their offensive incompetence, needed one stop. Bowles’ defense pinned Mitchell Trubisky, playing for a concussed Kenny Pickett, to third-and-16 and third-and-12 plays. Trubisky converted both with 17- and 26-yard passes to Chase Claypool to win the game.

Brady went 25-of-40 for 243 yards and one touchdown. As odd as it may seem, Brady’s yardage came in garbage time. He was just 10-of-21 in the opening half. This result was baffling, given the status of Pittsburgh’s secondary.

Brady threw mostly to Chris Godwin, who caught six of his 12 targets for 95 yards. The two had issues connecting early, with Brady missing his first four throws to Godwin, but they eventually were able to correct things. Brady, however, couldn’t find Mike Evans very often despite the Steelers missing most of their secondary. Evans caught just four passes for 42 yards.

Fournette was the best fantasy performer for the Buccaneers, thanks to a late touchdown. He was limited to just 63 yards on 21 carries, but he was able to catch all six of his targets for 38 receiving yards and a score.

As for the Steelers, Trubisky, amazingly, was 9-of-12 for 144 yards and a touchdown. It’s unclear why he was able to play so well, but it’s unlikely that Pickett would’ve been able to keep the final drive alive because he was struggling against the Bowles blitz. Pickett was 11-of-18 for just 67 yards and a touchdown.

Claypool, the other hero on the final drive, caught all seven of his targets for 96 yards and a touchdown. Aside from a backup tight end, no other Steeler logged more than 28 receiving yards, as Diontae Johnson (5-28) and George Pickens (3-27) both disappointed, though Johnson had a 27-yard reception negated by a hold.

Perhaps the only unsurprising thing to happen in this game was Najee Harris being limited on the ground to 39 yards on 13 carries. However, he salvaged his fantasy performance with a receiving touchdown.

Falcons 28, 49ers 14
By Charlie Campbell – @draftcampbell

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is only the third time in the past decade that a team (Falcons) has started at least 6-0 against the spread.

The limitations of Jimmy Garoppolo that led to San Francisco trading away three first-round picks to take Trey Lance reared up in Atlanta. Garoppolo had some missed some opportunities in the clutch, while the Falcons were very opportunistic. Atlanta controlled the ball on the ground, running for 168 yards on 40 attempts. Marcus Mariota, meanwhile, only threw 14 passes. The Falcons had a good game plan and improved to 3-3, moving into first-place tie with Tampa Bay in the NFC South. This 49ers loss really helps the Rams, Cardinals and Seahawks.

Atlanta got moving on the opening drive with Olamide Zaccheaus (4-58), hauling in a 37-yard reception to get inside the San Francisco 30. To finish the drive, Mariota tossed a short touchdown to MyCole Pruitt. After trading punts, Rashaan Evans stripped Jeff Wilson and A.J. Terrell returned the ball to the goal line before fumbling it himself. His Falcons teammate, Jaylinn Hawkins, recovered in the end zone to give them 14-0 lead.

The 49ers responded with a completion to Deebo Samuel for about 20 yards and then capped it with a screen-pass touchdown to Brandon Aiyuk. San Francisco got in position to tie the game after a big punt return from Ray-Ray McCloud, and Aiyuk scored from 14 yards out to make it even midway through the second quarter.

Late in the first half, the Falcons got moving with Mariota taking off on a 17-yard run and Drake London making a phenomenal catch for 20 yards. Mariota then ran into the end zone on a zone read. The 49ers had one last drive going, but Isaiah Oliver intercepted Garoppolo to give the Falcons a 21-14 lead at the half.

To open the third quarter, McCloud got open deep down the field and Garoppolo threw a perfect pass, but it was dropped by McCloud. That forced a punt, and Atlanta kept moving the ball, with Mariota ripping off another zone-read run of 20 yards to get into the red zone. Mariota closed out the drive by throwing a rope to Kyle Pitts for a score and a 28-14 lead entering the fourth quarter.

At the start of the fourth quarter, Garoppolo had a dangerous pass tipped by Darren Hall and intercepted by Hawkins, which set up Mariota near midfield. The 49ers forced a punt, but it was downed at the 1-yard line. San Francisco started a drive that saw Garoppolo connecting with his receivers to incrementally move down the field, but the deep field position led to valuable time burning off the clock. On the 16th play of the drive, a fourth-and-1 at the Atlanta 19-yard line, Garoppolo threw a pass at the feet of his receiver, and that turned possession over. The Falcons ran out enough clock to clinch the win.

Mariota completed 13-of-14 passes for 129 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for 50 yards and a touchdown.

Caleb Huntley led the Falcons on with the ground 59 yards over 16 carries. Tyler Allegier (15-51) had similar production for them.

London (3-40) and Pitts (3-19-1) flashed well in their limited opportunities.

Garoppolo completed 29-of-41 passes for 296 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. He had some nice passes, but he also made some critical mistakes that were huge plays which San Francisco.

Wilson Jr. had seven carries for 25 yards.

Aiyuk led the 49ers in receiving with eight catches for 83 yards and two touchdowns. George Kittle (8-83) and Samuel (7-79 receiving, 2-11 rushing) had solid games.

Seahawks 19, Cardinals 9
By Charlie Campbell – @draftcampbell

EDITOR’S NOTE: Nothing in the NFL made sense this week, including this game. How did the Cardinals score just nine points against Seattle’s epically bad defense?

The Seattle defense entered the game having allowed the most points in the NFL, but the Seahawks looked like their Super Bowl defenses against the inept Arizona offense. Both offenses struggled to protect the quarterback, but the Cardinals were horrible offensively, generating only three points. They can’t get DeAndre Hopkins back fast enough. Geno Smith outplayed Kyler Murray, and the Seahawks came away with a big win to move into a first-place tie in the NFC West with the Rams and 49ers.

Arizona got moving on the first drive with Murray taking off on a 42-yard run. A third-down conversion to Rondale Moore moved inside the five, but even though the Cardinals got inside the one, they settled for a field goal. Seattle responded with two big runs from Kenneth Walker, totaling 51 yards, and that led to a field goal to tie the game at three. Midway through the second quarter, Smith led two field goal drives to take a 9-3 lead into the half.

Seattle’s defensive success continued in the third quarter, with Murray throwing a terrible pass on a fourth-and-2 to squander a scoring opportunity. Smith started moving the ball, and a roughing-the-passer penalty helped move the Seahawks into Arizona territory. Walker had a superb run with a handful of broken tackles for a 20-yard gain, but once again, Seattle settled for a field goal.

The Cardinals got a drive going, but Murray was stripped of the ball by Coby Bryant, and Tariq Woolen recovered the ball to snuff out a scoring opportunity. The Arizona special teams came through with a big play when it was needed, as the Cardinals were poised to block a punt when Seattle punter Michael Dickson fumbled while being tackled in the end zone and Arizona recovered for a touchdown. The Cardinals missed the extra point, and Seattle clung to a 12-9 lead entering the fourth quarter.

Early in the fourth quarter, Smith led the Seahawks down the field, distributing the ball, and Walker capped the drive with an 11-yard touchdown run. Down 19-9, Arizona drove into Seattle territory, but on a fourth-and-2, Quentin Jefferson sacked Murray to create a turnover on downs. Woolen picked off Murray on a fourth-and-11 with four minutes remaining to clinch the win for Seattle.

Geno Smith completed 20-of-31 passes for 197 yards and ran for 48 yards.

Walker ran for 97 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries.

D.K. Metcalf (2-34) and Tyler Lockett (2-17) were held in check.

Murray completed 23-of-37 passes for 222 yards and an interception. He also ran 10 times for 100 yards and lost a fumble.

Zach Ertz led Arizona with 70 yards on seven receptions. Marquise Brown (5-68) was injured late in the game.

Rams 24, Panthers 10

It didn’t take very long for the Panthers to involve Christian McCaffrey in the wake of Matt Rhule’s firing. Rhule was infamous for failing to give McCaffrey the appropriate number of touches. Thus, it was no surprise that McCaffrey received the first five touches of the game.

McCaffrey’s workload, as well as a Matthew Stafford pick-six, helped the Panthers establish leads of 3-0 and 10-7 in the first half. Then, reality set in, and the Panthers didn’t score a single point after intermission. The Rams outgained Carolina following halftime, 234-86, as the Panthers imploded. It got so bad that the interim head coach kicked Robbie Anderson out of the game after the two engaged in a shouting match.

The Rams prevailed, but it wasn’t pretty. They should have won by more than two touchdowns, but Stafford gifted the Panthers seven points. Stafford misfired just twice in the second half, however, but the Rams needed an interception by the Carolina third-string quarterback to avoid losing the cover. Stafford finished 26-of-33 for 253 yards, one touchdown and the interception, which was a dumb throw toward Cooper Kupp, who was covered well.

Speaking of Kupp, he led the Rams with seven catches for 80 yards, which includes a third-and-13 conversion in which he broke numerous tackles. Kupp, however, saw Allen Robinson vulture a touchdown. Robinson was finally productive with five catches for 63 yards otherwise.

Darrell Henderson handled the majority of the workload with Cam Akers out because of personal issues. Henderson mustered 43 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries. However, Malcolm Brown stole too many rushes. Brown was limited to 15 yards on seven tries. It’s unclear why Sean McVay insisted on giving him any work.

McCaffrey paced all backs in rushing with 69 yards on 13 attempts. He was huge as a receiver with seven catches for 89 receiving yards.

Amazingly, McCaffrey accounted for all but 30 of the Carolina passing yards in this game. Phillip Walker went 10-of-16 for 60 yards before leaving the game with an injury. Jacob Eason took over and showed some promise – 3-of-5 for 59 yards – before tossing an interception into the end zone on his final attempt.

New coach, more disappointment for D.J. Moore, who was limited to seven receiving yards on his three catches. Moore saw seven targets, which were seven more than Anderson’s share before Anderson was booted off the field.

Bills 24, Chiefs 20

This was not exactly the insane shootout everyone expected. Both teams had issues scoring in the opening half. The Bills moved the chains well initially, but a backward pass to Isaiah McKenzie was dropped, allowing the Chiefs to take over on the fumble recovery. The Chiefs then drove the length of the field, but Patrick Mahomes threw an interception into the end zone when Kaiir Elam ripped the ball away from Marquez Valdes-Scantling.

The Bills, stuck in a 7-3 deficit prior to halftime, were pinned to their own 1-yard line on a third-and-13, thanks to another McKenzie drop. There was no way Josh Allen was going to be conservative, and he fired a conversion to Gabe Davis to move the chains. Allen later hit Davis for a touchdown on the same drive to give Buffalo a 10-7 lead. The Chiefs erased that advantage in a mere 12 seconds, moving into kicking position for Harrison Butker’s 62-yard field goal, echoing what occurred in the divisional round of the playoffs last year.

The Chiefs eventually established a 20-17 lead, as Buffalo had a fourth-down miscue and then didn’t get the appropriate call on what should have been a Chris Jones tripping infraction. Unfazed, Allen completed some throws to Stefon Diggs, then leapt over defenders on a scramble. He eventually hit Dawson Knox for the decisive touchdown. This time, there was no Mahomes magic, as Von Miller pressure forced a poor throw by Mahomes, which was snatched by Taron Johnson, who jumped the route.

Allen was the better of the two quarterbacks in this latest duel. He went 27-of-40 for 329 yards and three touchdowns. His numbers would have been much better if it weren’t for some drops. Mahomes also suffered some misfortune – a touchdown of his to Valdes-Scantling was nullified by an ineligible man downfield penalty – but the two turnovers were killers. They weren’t necessarily his fault, especially the first one, but they ended up being the difference in this game.

Diggs had a monstrous performance, reeling in 10 of his 13 targets for 148 yards and a touchdown. Davis (3-74) and Knox (3-37) hauled in Allen’s other touchdowns.

The top receiver on Kansas City was JuJu Smith-Schuster, who converted all five of his targets for 113 yards and a touchdown. Travis Kelce also eclipsed the century mark with eight catches for 108 yards, while Mecole Hardman (3-42) was able to secure Mahomes’ second score. Valdes-Scantling didn’t catch a single pass, but as mentioned, he had a touchdown that was overturned.

Devin Singletary was the leading rusher in this game. He rushed for 85 yards on 17 carries. Clyde Edwards-Helaire was limited to 33 yards on nine attempts.

Eagles 26, Cowboys 17

The Cowboys’ stellar defensive lines has beaten up on teams with terrible blocking units this year, so this was going to be the ultimate test for them. The Eagles, by contrast, have an elite offensive front and a mobile quarterback, so stopping Jalen Hurts was going to be a massive challenge.

By halftime, it was clear Dallas was losing this battle. The Eagles outgained the Cowboys by intermission, 173-81, as Philadelphia moved the chains easily despite being guilty of some drops. The Eagles’ defense, meanwhile, forced Cooper Rush into a couple of interceptions. The result was a 20-3 Eagles halftime lead in what looked like a sure blowout.

However, for the second consecutive week, the Eagles suffered a major injury to their offensive line. Jason Kelce and Landon Dickerson exited last week at Arizona, though they eventually returned. This time, it was Lane Johnson, who was diagnosed with a concussion. There was no coming back from that, and Philadelphia’s offense mustered only six points in the second half as a result. This allowed the Cowboys to get back into the game, as Rush got into a groove. This ended, however, when Brandon Graham hit Rush as he released the ball, resulting in an interception to clinch the victory for Philadelphia.

Hurts was terrific in the first half, but completed just four passes after intermission with Johnson’s absence severely hurting the pass protection. Hurts finished 15-of-25 for 155 yards and two touchdowns. He also scrambled nine times for 27 rushing yards.

Both of Hurts’ touchdowns went to the primary receivers. A.J. Brown caught five of his eight targets for 67 yards and a touchdown. DeVonta Smith caught five balls for 44 yards and a score.

Miles Sanders also found the end zone. He ran well versus Dallas, dashing for 71 yards on 18 carries.

As for the Cowboys, Rush failed to complete half of his passes, going 18-of-38 for 181 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions. The first pick was off a deflection, while the second was a great play by Darius Slay jumping the route. The third, as mentioned, was the result of the Graham hit. Rush was nearly picked a fourth time on the ensuing drive. He had severe issues dealing with Philadelphia’s constant pressure.

CeeDee Lamb caught five passes for 68 yards. He was streaking downfield for a potential touchdown late in the game, but Rush couldn’t deliver the ball to him because he was hit by Graham. Lamb was also the subject of a controversial call when the officials spotted the ball incorrectly following a reception of his. Lamb should’ve had the first down, but the refs signaled fourth down. Mike McCarthy could have challenged and won, but opted to go for it on fourth down. The attempt failed, which set up a field goal for Philadelphia.

Ezekiel Elliott was the leading rusher in this game with a rare, quality performance. He gained 81 yards and a touchdown on only 13 carries.

Chargers 19, Broncos 16

Russell Wilson’s health was a major question mark in this game in the wake of news breaking about the pain injection he took for his shoulder and torn lat. It was unclear if Wilson would perform well under these circumstances, but he silenced all critics immediately by completing his first 10 passes, which included a deep touchdown to rookie tight end Greg Dulcich.

The Broncos opened a 10-0 lead, but continued to struggle in the red zone. This wasn’t all Wilson’s fault, as there was a dropped touchdown, plus some timely blitzes by the Chargers, but Denver’s lead slowly dwindled as the evening progressed, even with a gift field goal as a result of a Justin Herbert interception on a deflection. It also can’t be ignored that while Wilson began 10-of-10, he was 5-of-18 for 72 yards the rest of the way. He completed just three passes on third down, and he didn’t achieve a single first down in overtime on two drives. The questions that appeared to be answered suddenly resurfaced.

With both defenses dominating the opposing offenses, it appeared as though this would end up being a 16-16 tie. The Broncos looked to have a third overtime possession, but a Denver player ran into the return man, causing a muffed punt. The Chargers recovered and moved nine yards closer to field goal range, setting up a 39-yard field goal for Dustin Hopkins, who was laboring through a painful injury that he suffered on the initial extra point of the evening. Nevertheless, Hopkins connected, giving the Chargers a three-point victory.

The media will continue to ask questions about Denver’s offense. Nathaniel Hackett can’t seem to come up with any answers, and despite a hot start, Wilson’s health is still a worry. Wilson finished 15-of-28 for 188 yards and a touchdown. He scrambled four times for 23 yards, but had severe problems with the Charger blitz. He also made some poor reads. For example, he had a wide-open Dulcich on a third down, but didn’t see him. He took a sack instead.

The Chargers, conversely, escaped with a victory despite having severe problems dealing with Denver’s stalwart defense. The Chargers only had success targeting rookie Denver cornerback Damarri Mathis, but didn’t achieve much else, thanks to multiple injuries on the offensive line. Mike Williams being smothered by Patrick Surtain didn’t help matters.

Justin Herbert finished 37-of-57 for 238 yards and an interception on a deflection. The Denver pass rush gave him problems, but the good news is that he’ll get to take on the defensively inept Seahawks next week.

Austin Ekeler was instrumental in the Chargers moving the chains with Williams (2-17) tied up with Surtain. Ekeler caught 10 of his 16 targets for 47 receiving yards to go along with 36 rushing yards and a touchdown on 14 carries. Joshua Palmer led the Chargers in receiving with nine catches for 57 yards.

Only three Denver players logged more than 16 receiving yards: Jerry Jeudy (3-54), Dulcich (2-44) and K.J. Hamler (2-44). Courtland Sutton drew a pass interference flag, but did nothing otherwise; he caught only two passes for 14 yards.

Melvin Gordon started for the Broncos, but didn’t finish the game. He rushed thrice for eight yards and then was pulled in favor of Latavius Murray (15-66). There was no injury, so it appears as though Gordon has been phased out of the offense.

For more thoughts, check out my updated NFL Power Rankings, which will be posted Tuesday morning.

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