It’s time for another new feature. One that might, or might not, continue.
It’s a recap of the Sunday games, with our quick analysis of the contest, in PFT style. It’s a supplement to the many other blurbs that we’ll be posting; on Sunday alone, for example, we published 97 articles.
Here’s another one for a football Monday, with the biggest takeaway or whatever caught my eye in each game.
Jaguars 32, Patriots 16
Down 10-0 early, the Jaguars roared back against perhaps the worst team in the league. After the 32-16 loss, New England coach Jerod Mayo said the Patriots are “a soft team across the board.”
With Travis Etienne inactive, running back Tank Bigsby had 118 rushing yards and two touchdowns for the Jaguars. Parker Washington’s ill-advised but well-executed 96-yard punt return for a touchdown became the dagger.
Jaguars coach Doug Pederson avoided the sword, for now, with a win. It won’t get much easier than it was today for Jacksonville. Next week, it definitely won’t be; the Packers come to town.
Seahawks 34 , Falcons 14
The Seahawks needed to reverse a three-game losing streak, and they did. After the game, quarterback Geno Smith told PFT that the extra time after the Thursday night loss to the 49ers helped the Seahawks mentally and physically reset.
Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. made his NFL debut in garbage time, after Kirk Cousins had three turnovers.
Seahawks receiver DK Metcalf emerged from the game with a knee injury, but the team is optimistic that it’s not a long-term thing.
It ultimately was a blown opportunity for Atlanta in what will be a two-team race in the NFC South. For the Seahawks, it gives them a chance to take charge of the NFC West.
Bills 34, Titans 10
In Josh Allen’s 100th career start, the Bills fell behind 10-0 before waking up. And they woke up in a big way, scoring 34 unanswered points.
Days after arriving via trade from the Browns, receiver Amari Cooper had four catches for 66 yards and a touchdown. Allen told PFT after the game that Cooper put in plenty of extra work — and that defenses now face a “pick your poison” proposition when deciding whether to rotate extra coverage toward Cooper.
If they do, Allen throws elsewhere. If they don’t, Allen throws it to him.
Sometimes, football can be that easy.
Bengals 21, Browns 14
Cincinnati meat-and-potatoed their way to a win. The outcome was overshadowed by the likely season-ending Achilles injury suffered by Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson.
Dorian Thompson-Robinson initially entered the game in place of Watson, since Jameis Winston curiously was demoted to No. 3. Winston finished the game after DTR suffered an injury. It’s unknown whether it will be Winston or Thompson-Robinson against the Ravens next week.
It is known that, even with Watson out for the rest of 2024, the Browns have a huge problem with Watson’s contract in 2025 and 2026.
Packers 24, Texans 22
In his first game with the Packers after the resolution of a sexual assault lawsuit that essentially slammed the door on potential league discipline, kicker Brandon McManus kicked the game-winning field goal from 45 yards out.
The Packers held Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud to 86 passing yards, nearly 30 fewer than running back Joe Mixon’s 115 rushing yards. That helped Green Bay overcome a minus-3 turnover differential.
Packers running back Josh Jacobs notched the first receiving touchdown of his career in the third quarter, giving the Packers a 21-19 lead.
Colts 16, Dolphins 10
The Dolphins are expected to get quarterback Tua Tagovailoa back. And they need him.
They fell to 2-4 on Sunday at Indy, with Tyler Huntley injured and Tim Boyle replacing him. While it was a one-score game, it felt like the Dolphins were overmatched.
One catch for eight yards for Tyreek Hill isn’t good enough. One catch for eleven yards for Jaylen Waddle isn’t good enough. If things don’t improve soon, the Dolphins won’t have to worry about losing in the wild-card round.
The Colts, meanwhile, are squarely in the thick of things, at 4-3. And they’re still waiting for running back Jonathan Taylor to get healthy.
Lions 31, Vikings 29
Jared Goff continues a historic run for an offense that can’t be stopped; he’s the fourth quarterback in league history to generate a passer rating of 140.0 or higher for three straight games. The Vikings did their best to overcome a second-half deficit to take a late lead.
But no lead is safe against the Lions, especially not a one-point lead. For Minnesota, it came down to the inability to convert a third and four with the score at 29-28 and the fourth quarter evaporating. That gave the Lions one last chance to take the game — and they did.
Now, the Vikings need to forget about their first loss quickly and get ready for a short-week visit to the Rams.
Eagles 28, Giants 3
The Eagles won back-to-back games for the first time since they lost to the 49ers last December. But they won’t be facing the Browns and Giants on a regular basis. And they need more from their passing game.
It wasn’t an issue on Sunday, with running back Saquon Barkley gaining 176 rushing yards on only 17 carries. It was the second most rushing yards any player has ever had against his former team.
And he gets another crack at them. In Week 18. Between now and then, it’s the Bengals, Ravens, and Steelers — and it’s the Commanders twice and the Cowboys twice.
In other words, the Eagles still have plenty of work to do.
Scoring a point in the first quarter would be nice. They haven’t once all year.
Commanders 40, Panthers 7
The Panthers are as bad as any team has been, in a while. Even with Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels injured, the Panthers had no chance.
It’s unclear what they need to do. But chaotic owner David Tepper is getting the chaos he deserves.
The Commanders are legitimate contenders. They’ll need Daniels back, as soon as possible. As explained during Football Night in America, the concern level for his rib injury is three or four, on a scale of one to 10.
It could be worse. The Commanders could be the Panthers, where the concern level is generally 1,000.
Rams 20, Raiders 15
A win is a win is a win, but a five-point win over a Raiders team that doesn’t seem to have much punch offensively isn’t the kind of win that will turn things around for the Rams.
The Raiders outgained the Rams by nearly 60 yards. Running back Kyren Williams, who scored twice, had only 76 rushing yards on 21 carries. Matthew Stafford’s passer rating was a paltry 62.6.
The bigger test for L.A. comes on Thursday night. Topple the 5-1 Vikings, and the Rams might be in business. Lose to Minnesota, and it might be time for the Rams to be in the trade business.
Chiefs 28, 49ers 18
It continues to not be pretty. It continues to produce results.
The Chiefs have morphed into a defensive team with a just-good-enough (if that) offense, winning six games in a row to start the season.
It helps to have quarterback Patrick Mahomes, even if he’s not playing like he ever has before. He still knows when the time comes to make a big play, and he does.
The 49ers, in contrast, can’t get out of their own way. They’ve had too many injuries, and they keep getting more. Their wunderkind quarterback suddenly isn’t so wonderful. They need to start winning soon, or they won’t have to worry about facing the Chiefs again in February. Or any opponent in the postseason.
Steelers 37, Jets 15
Maybe Mike Tomlin knows what he’s doing.
He told Jay Glazer that he went “Lone Ranger” in the decision to start Russell Wilson. Unlike the Lone Ranger, Tomlin is backed up by a lot more firepower than Tonto.
It started slowly and looked rough. But the Steelers settled down, ripping off 31 straight points after falling behind, 15-6.
They do it how they always do it. Tough, opportunistic defense. Offense with a knack for making big plays at the right time. And special teams that can make a difference, this time by blocking a field goal while the game was still in the balance.
It’s amazing the Jets were favored. People keep waiting for them to show up. Like the Great Pumpkin, at some point it might be wise to accept that they won’t.
