Sports Al Dente

Green Bay Packers linebacker Quay Walker left the game against the Houston Texans on Sunday after a teammate accidentally hit him in the head with his leg at the end of a play.

Walker immediately went out of the game to be checked for a concussion. The Packers later announced that he would not return to play.

The incident happened after a 1-yard completion from Houston’s C.J. Stroud to Stefon Diggs early in the second quarter.

Walker was involved in the tackle and was lying on his stomach when Packers defensive end Kingsley Enagbare came in on the play. As Enagbare ran over, his leg struck Walker’s helmet.

Play was paused while the Packers assessed Walker, who eventually walked to the sideline and entered the injury tent.

Walker, a first-round pick from Georgia in 2022, came into Sunday’s game with a team-high of 51 tackles.

The Miami Dolphins lost another quarterback, Tyler Huntley, to injury on Sunday, and it’s unclear when he might return.

Coach Mike McDaniel said he had no immediate news on Huntley’s throwing shoulder after Miami’s 16-10 loss at Indianapolis, which was their fourth loss in five games. Tim Boyle took over for Huntley late in the third quarter and completed the game.

“He’s a tough dude, so coming off the field he was trying to say he was going to be good,” McDaniel said. “I think when the paid professionals talked to him about the things he’d have to do in terms of testing, I think he wasn’t … I don’t really know the extent of it, but I know it was going to take a lot to keep him out.”

It has been a tough start for Miami (2-4), which has already used four different quarterbacks.

The latest injury happened when Huntley took a hit in the third quarter. He made it to the Dolphins’ sideline on his own but went into the team’s injury tent before heading to the locker room for more tests.

The Dolphins quickly ruled Huntley out for the rest of the game. He completed 7 of 13 passes for 87 yards and one touchdown while also running five times for 20 yards on a day when the league’s lowest-scoring offense struggled again.

“I thought he did a good job with command; I thought he gave the offense a chance to win,” McDaniel said about Huntley. “I’ll have to look at the tape, but there are a couple things that maybe were there that we didn’t execute.

But I think it’s short-sighted to place blame on any one individual. I think he had us in a position to win, and that’s all you can ask for.”

Miami’s starting quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa, can return from the injured reserve list on Monday after missing four games due to his latest concussion.

McDaniel did not share any details about the Dolphins’ plans for their starter on Sunday or if Tagovailoa might return wearing a Guardian helmet like running back De’Von Achane did after being cleared from the concussion protocol.

Boyle finished the game, completing 8 of 13 passes for 74 yards after taking over for Huntley. Skylar Thompson, who got a rib injury during his first start of the season—a loss to Seattle in Week 3—was named the emergency third quarterback on Sunday.

Patriots coach Jerod Mayo shared his thoughts about his team’s performance against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday. He also made his feelings clear to everyone else. “We’re a soft football team across the board,” Mayo said.

New England (1-6) lost their sixth game in a row, falling 32-16 at Wembley Stadium after giving up an early lead, allowing 171 rushing yards, and a touchdown on a punt return.

“What makes a tough football team? That’s being able to run the ball, that’s being able to stop the run and that’s being able to cover kicks. We did none of those today,” Mayo said.

This is the team’s longest losing streak since 1993.

The Patriots started strong, taking a 10-0 lead by scoring on their first two drives. Drake Maye threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to JaMycal Hasty on the first drive, followed by a 41-yard field goal from Joey Slye.

After that, Jacksonville scored four times in a row. Tank Bigsby ran 26 times for 118 yards and two touchdowns, while the Patriots struggled to stop Jacksonville’s offense in the second half.

“I felt like as we kept running the ball that the Patriots were getting tired,” Bigsby said. He added, “on film it shows, fourth quarter comes, third quarter comes, those guys start arm tackling. We just did what we had to do.”

New England managed to rush for only 38 yards.

“They controlled the ball for most of the day,” Mayo said. “Back to the drawing board. We can’t sit here and pout.”

Parker Washington scored on a 96-yard punt return in the second quarter. He caught Bryce Baringer’s 66-yard punt at the Jacksonville 4-yard line, ran straight, then moved left to dodge two tacklers and found open space.

“I saw guys getting out-leveraged, I saw a punt down the middle of the field, which is always difficult to cover,” Mayo said. “He has a strong leg and he outkicked his coverage and we weren’t disciplined in our lanes.”

Maye, making his second career start, completed 26 of 37 passes for 276 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. He also scrambled three times for 18 yards.

The Patriots closed the gap to nine points when Maye connected with K.J. Osborn for a 22-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter, but the 2-point conversion attempt failed.

The third overall pick in this year’s NFL draft mentioned that Mayo shared his honest thoughts in the locker room, and veteran cornerback Jonathan Jones also spoke up.

“Jon Jones gave a speech after the game saying ‘you’ve got to find it,’” Maye said. “What we’re doing is not good enough. Got to man up.”

DK Metcalf’s impressive game for Seattle came to an end when the star receiver was taken off the field in the fourth quarter with a knee injury.

Even though the Seahawks were leading 34-14 against Atlanta, seeing Metcalf leave on a cart was tough for quarterback Geno Smith.

“Man, my heart dropped,” Smith said. Smith felt guilty about Metcalf’s injury. He thought his throw to Metcalf put him in a risky situation.

“You know, I was over there just telling him, like, ‘Massages are on me through the week, man,’” Smith said. “You know, I put him in a tough spot right there. And whatever I’ve got to do to get him back healthy, however, we’ve got to get him back because he’s a guy that we need.”

Before his injury, Metcalf had four catches for 99 yards and a touchdown but landed hard while trying to make a catch late in the third quarter. The Seahawks announced that Metcalf was questionable to return just before he was taken off the field.

Before being carted away, Metcalf tested his knee on the sideline. The team didn’t specify which knee was hurt, but a trainer was seen looking at Metcalf’s right leg on the sideline.

Coach Mike Macdonald said the early signs for Metcalf were positive.

“He banged up his knee a little bit, so I’m not sure of the severity,” Macdonald said. “We’re optimistic at this point so it doesn’t look too bad.” Metcalf, a two-time All-Pro player, has 35 catches for 568 yards and three touchdowns this season.

His 31-yard touchdown catch late in the first half helped Seattle take a 17-7 lead. The Seahawks decided to keep their offense on the field with 10 seconds left instead of kicking a field goal. Smith found Metcalf in the end zone.

“We’ve shown over the course of the three years I’ve been here we’re going to take that shot if it’s available,” Smith said.

“The protection was great. DK ran a great route and we were able to get it in the end zone.” The Seahawks (4-3) ended a three-game losing streak.

“We came out and played very hungry today from the start to the finish,” Smith said. “It would have been easy for everyone to be negative after losing three games but I think the energy was spectacular.”

Smith threw for 207 yards and two touchdowns. Running back Kenneth Walker III, who had flu symptoms that got him on the injury report on Saturday, rushed for 69 yards and a touchdown, and caught two passes for 24 yards and another score.

“I was iffy,” Walker said when asked about his status before the game. “Our training staff did a great job of helping me.”

Macdonald said Walker “was pretty sick, but he pulled through it.” Smith said players would remember this performance as Walker’s “flu game.”

The Seattle Seahawks needed to show they could do better on defense after three poor games. They certainly did against the Atlanta Falcons.

Derick Hall scored a touchdown by returning a fumble 36 yards, helping the Seahawks end their three-game losing streak with a 34-14 win on Sunday.

Geno Smith threw for two touchdowns, but this win was mainly due to a defense that created turnovers on three straight Atlanta possessions in the fourth quarter, including Hall’s touchdown run down the sideline.

Hall mentioned it was his first touchdown since high school. “Just playing ball,” he said. “It’s a blessing to be able to have those opportunities.”

The Seahawks (4-3) stopped Atlanta’s three-game winning streak, controlling a Falcons offense that had scored an average of 37 points in the previous two weeks.

Smith completed 18 of 28 passes for 207 yards, which was his second-lowest total of the season but enough to win against the Falcons. He threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Kenneth Walker and a big 31-yard touchdown to DK Metcalf just before halftime.

After Walker’s touchdown catch made it 24-14 late in the third quarter, Seattle’s defense secured the win.

Kirk Cousins was hit by Boye Mafe while trying to throw, causing the ball to come loose before his arm went forward. Hall picked it up in front of the Atlanta bench and ran all the way to the end zone with 12:46 left in the game. Hall credited Mafe for the play.

“As soon as he got off, he was like, ‘You’re welcome,’” Hall said. “He plays with an effort that nobody can match. I feel like that’s where everybody on the team can get to. I mean, that guy flies around every single play.”

Cousins ended a rough day with interceptions on his last two drives, along with three sacks. Rookie Michael Penix Jr. took over for the Falcons, marking his first NFL game.

Atlanta had a hard time against the struggling Seahawks defense, which had given up nearly 36 points a game during the losing streak. “A tough day at the office,” Cousins said. “Pro football has a way of testing you like that.”

The Seahawks’ win was affected by Metcalf being taken to the locker room with a knee injury after a tough landing while trying to make a difficult catch late in the third quarter.

“We’re optimistic at this point,” Seattle coach Mike Macdonald said. “It doesn’t look too bad.”

After dealing with a flu-like illness that added him to the injury report late, Walker also scored on a 20-yard run that put the Seahawks up 10-0. Jason Myers made field goals of 38 and 59 yards.

The Falcons narrowed Seattle’s lead to 10-7 with a 70-yard drive fueled by their running game. Cousins threw only one pass, relying on Bijan Robinson, who ran seven times for 55 yards, capped by a 5-yard touchdown.

But Seattle regained some space on its last drive of the first half. Smith completed four passes in a row before an intentional grounding penalty forced the Seahawks to use their last timeout with 10 seconds left.

Instead of going for a field goal, the Seahawks chose to run one more play from the 31. That decision worked out well.

Smith found Metcalf open on a slant toward the middle of the end zone, throwing a touchdown pass with just 4 seconds left, sending the Seahawks into halftime with a 17-7 lead.

“Great defenses step up and get stops in that situation,” said Falcons safety Jessie Bates, who couldn’t reach Metcalf after he got past cornerback A.J. Terrell.

Cousins connected with Drake London on a 5-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter, but that fourth-down score ended up being Atlanta’s last chance.

As Saquon Barkley entered MetLife Stadium to face the New York Giants for the first time as a Philadelphia Eagle, he noticed fans burning his old Giants jersey.

Barkley found that “crazy,” but he did what he always did in big games for the Giants: he played exceptionally well. He ran past and through his former teammates, gaining 176 yards and scoring a touchdown, helping the Eagles to a 28-3 win over the struggling Giants.

His performance changed the boos he received at the start into cheers by the end. Barkley said nothing bothered him during the game—not the boos, the trash-talking from former teammates, or his slow start in the first quarter. In fact, he thought the booing was a compliment in the end. He just hopes he won’t see his jersey burned again.

“There’s a reason why when I go out there and I’m getting booed, I didn’t remove myself from the moment,” said Barkley, who rushed for 5,211 yards and scored 47 touchdowns during his five seasons with the Giants, making him fourth in franchise history. “I stayed locked in the whole time.”

Jalen Hurts scored two touchdowns on quarterback sneaks and threw a 41-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Brown. The Eagles (4-2) defeated the Giants (2-5) for the sixth time in seven games and the 14th time in 17 matchups. Philadelphia’s defense was impressive too, recording eight sacks and holding New York to just 119 yards.

What made this game different was that Barkley was now wearing an Eagles uniform. The Giants had selected him second overall in 2018, but he signed a three-year, $37.5 million contract with Philadelphia in March.

Barkley proved he was worth every bit of his contract on Sunday. He started the Eagles off strong with a 55-yard run to the left, which helped set up his 3-yard touchdown that made it 7-0 in the second quarter. Jalen Hurts then connected with A.J. Brown on a fourth-and-3 play to extend the lead to 14-0.

Barkley also had a 38-yard run up the middle that set up Hurts’ first quarterback sneak touchdown in the third quarter, and his 41-yard run in the fourth led to the second.

Barkley finished with 176 rushing yards on 17 carries, averaging 10.4 yards per carry, which is the second-highest total of his career. His best was 189 yards against Washington on December 22, 2019, and he didn’t play much toward the end of the game.

“I said to him, ‘Just be yourself,’” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. “He’s been one of the best players on his football teams since probably he was 8 years old. Just go be yourself. I was happy for him that he was able to have that experience.”

After the game, Giants coach Brian Daboll took time to hug Barkley. “He played well,” Daboll said. “Like we said, if he gets in space, he’s going to make some yards and he played well, particularly there in the second half.”

Hurts completed 10 of 14 passes for 114 yards, and his day ended after his second touchdown run. He was sacked four times, including twice by Dexter Lawrence, who now has nine sacks this season.

“I played with him for years,” Lawrence said about Barkley. “I know his attitude towards the game and that’s the way he approached it today.”

Greg Joseph kicked a 38-yard field goal for the Giants in the final seconds of the first half. Daboll received sarcastic cheers early in the fourth quarter when he replaced quarterback Daniel Jones with Drew Lock. A struggling Jones finished 14 of 21 for 99 yards, while rookie receiver Malik Nabers caught four passes for 41 yards.

The Giants remain winless at home, having scored just one touchdown in their last four games.

Brandon McManus said he hadn’t planned to do a “Lambeau leap” if he made a winning field goal in his first game with the Green Bay Packers. However, when he kicked a 45-yard field goal as time ran out to secure a 24-22 victory over Houston on Sunday, he couldn’t resist celebrating by jumping into the stands at Lambeau Field.

“I figured it’d be cool to do that,” McManus said. “I definitely need to work on my hops. I don’t practice jumping that much anymore.”

Green Bay (5-2) managed to win despite committing three turnovers, marking their third straight victory and ending Houston’s three-game winning streak.

“It wasn’t perfect, definitely was not perfect,” said Packers quarterback Jordan Love, who completed 24 of 33 passes for 220 yards, with three touchdowns and two interceptions. “A lot of mistakes. But we found a way to win, and that’s what it’s all about.”

McManus’ kick adds to an eventful year for him. He had been without a job since the summer when two women sued him and the Jacksonville Jaguars, claiming he sexually assaulted them while they worked as flight attendants on a Jaguars trip to London last year.

The NFL announced last month that it did not find enough evidence to say McManus violated the personal conduct policy. Lawyers for both McManus and the women stated that the civil case had been resolved.

The Packers released rookie Brayden Narveson and signed McManus on Wednesday, trusting the 33-year-old veteran’s experience. McManus has made over 90% of his career field-goal attempts from under 50 yards, while Narveson had converted 12 of 17 without attempting any kicks longer than 49 yards.

McManus stepped up on Sunday. Even after the Texans called a timeout during his first kick attempt, he successfully made the kick the second time. Packers holder Daniel Whelan did a good job getting the ball set for McManus after catching a low snap.

“I always want a practice kick if I can,” McManus said. “It was a little windy today, just seeing where the wind might move the ball.”

Houston’s Joe Mixon ran for 115 yards and scored two touchdowns on 25 carries. Ka’imi Fairbairn successfully kicked three field goals, putting the Texans (5-2) ahead with a 35-yarder with 1:44 left in the game.

C.J. Stroud completed only 10 of 21 passes for a career-low 86 yards and was sacked four times in a game that saw seven lead changes.

“Obviously, we didn’t pass the ball well all day,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “So, it wasn’t good all the way around. We ran the ball well. I thought Joe did a good job running the ball. We needed to pass it. It was not good enough, starting with the protection. If we can’t protect, then that’s going to be difficult for the quarterback to make the plays.”

Despite missing many key players, the Texans almost managed to pull off a surprising win. They were without five defensive starters, with tackle Mario Edwards Jr. suspended and linebackers Azeez Al-Shaair and Henry To’oTo’o, cornerback Kamari Lassiter, and safety Jimmie Ward sidelined due to injuries.

Houston also played without injured receivers Nico Collins and Robert Woods, as well as receiver/punt returner Steven Sims.

Houston was aiming for its first four-game winning streak since 2018, when the Texans had nine straight wins. The emotions were clear even before the game started, as Texans receiver Stefon Diggs had some heated exchanges with Packers cornerbacks Jaire Alexander and Keisean Nixon.

The Texans took a 19-14 lead at halftime by scoring 16 points off three turnovers made by the Packers.

Josh Jacobs gave the Packers the lead midway through the third quarter by catching his first career touchdown pass on his 212th overall reception. Jacobs held the NFL record for the most catches without a touchdown.

“It was long overdue,” said Jacobs, who also had 12 carries for 76 yards. “We talked about it all week at practice that, ‘Man, this is the week that we’re going to get (it).’ We had like three or four plays in the red zone for me.”

However, the Packers went three-and-out on their next three possessions, allowing the Texans to regain the lead with Fairbairn’s last field goal. Green Bay was down 22-21 when they got the ball at their own 30-yard line with one timeout left.

“It’s a two-minute drive, we need a field goal, we know what we need to do,” Love said. “So the mindset is just go win the game.”

The Packers reached midfield when Love completed a 13-yard pass to Romeo Doubs. An offside penalty on Houston’s Will Anderson brought the Packers 5 yards closer. After a 6-yard completion from Love to Doubs got them to Houston’s 26-yard line, the Packers called a timeout with 3 seconds left to set up for McManus.

“He’s a vet,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said. “You can see it. The moment’s not too big for him. Obviously that was a big-time kick.”

As Deshaun Watson tucked the ball and fell without being touched, some Browns fans cheered. For the wrong reasons.

Cleveland’s controversial quarterback, who has split the fan base since joining the team two years ago, appears to have suffered a season-ending Achilles tendon injury during the first half of a 21-14 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.

This is yet another surprising turn in Watson’s time with the Browns, who thought they were signing a franchise quarterback when they gave him a fully guaranteed $230 million contract in 2022. Now, everything is up in the air.

Browns coach Kevin Stefanski, who has supported Watson this season despite his inconsistent play, hasn’t officially ruled him out for the season. However, it seems likely that the 29-year-old will miss the rest of the year.

“That’s what it looks like,” Stefanski said. Watson’s leg gave out on a non-contact play while he was trying to pass with 1:26 left in the half. As he planted his foot, his calf seemed to shake, and he fell to the ground.

The troubled Watson, whose time in Cleveland has been filled with off-field issues, injuries, and poor performance, covered his head with a towel as he was taken off the field. Both the Browns and Bengals players came together to show their support.

Initially, some boos were heard before fans understood how serious Watson’s injury was. Browns star defensive end Myles Garrett was upset that some fans cheered when Watson fell.

“Whether it’s an opponent that goes down or one of our own, we don’t boo,” Garrett said. “We should be ashamed of ourselves as Browns and as fans to boo anyone and their downfall — could be a season-altering, career-altering injury.”

“The man is not perfect. He doesn’t need to be. None of us are expected to be perfect. Can’t judge him for what he does off the field or on the field because I can’t throw stones from my glass house. But we need to do better.”

Joe Burrow threw two touchdown passes in the third quarter as the Bengals (3-4) ended a six-game losing streak in Cleveland. Although he has played well against most teams, Burrow had struggled against the Browns, coming in with a record of 1-5 overall and 0-3 on the road.

Burrow connected with Ja’Marr Chase for an 18-yard touchdown, and six minutes later he found Tee Higgins for a 25-yard score. He completed 15 of 25 passes for 181 yards.

“Big win,” Burrow said. “But it’s just one. We’re 3-4 now. Great teams find ways to win and I think we’ve got a chance to be a great team. We’re not there yet.”

Watson has been a controversial figure since the Browns (1-6) traded three first-round draft picks to Houston for him. He was suspended for the first 11 games of the 2022 season for violating the league’s personal conduct policy after two dozen women accused him of sexual assault during massage therapy sessions.

Last year, Watson made six starts and showed some flashes of his Pro Bowl talent with the Texans before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury.

The 29-year-old has not played well for most of this season, but the Browns have continued to support him.

Before he got hurt, Watson completed 15 of 17 passes for 128 yards. He was replaced by Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who moved ahead of Jameis Winston on the depth chart this week. Thompson-Robinson finished 11 of 24 for 82 yards and threw two interceptions before leaving with a finger injury.

Winston played the final 3:43 and threw a touchdown pass to David Njoku, followed by a 2-point conversion to Cedric Tillman. Like Garrett, Winston was upset about the fans’ reaction.

“I am very upset with the reaction to a man that has had the world against him for the past four years,” Winston said. “He put his body and life on the line for this city every single day. Regardless of your perception, regardless of what you thought should happen with him, he committed every single day that I’ve been here to be the best that he can be for this team.”

Charlie Jones returned the opening kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown for the Bengals, who have won three of their last four games after starting the season with three losses.

Watson’s injury occurred as the Browns welcomed running back Nick Chubb back, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 2 last season. Chubb ran for a 1-yard touchdown just after Watson went out.

Chubb received a loud cheer when he ran from the tunnel during pregame introductions, right after the struggling Watson was booed before Cleveland’s first home game in three weeks.

“I was so happy for him to get a touchdown, his first game back, and I know how much the fans love him,” Winston said. “I heard those ‘Chubb, Chubb, Chubb,’ and we need more of that.” The Bengals were ahead 7-0 before Burrow even had a chance to touch the ball.

Jones caught the opening kick at his goal line, found a path at Cleveland’s 25, made a cut to the right, and was gone. He nearly got caught at the 10-yard line but kept his balance and tumbled into the end zone.

This was only the third kick return of his career. He had a punt return for 81 yards for a touchdown last season as a rookie against Baltimore.

Jones’ touchdown was the longest return this season and the third since the new kickoff rule was put in place.

The Detroit Lions became division champions for the first time in 30 years late last season with a clinching win at Minnesota. This time, they left with another memorable and strong performance, which greatly helped their chase for another NFC North title.

Jake Bates kicked a 44-yard field goal with 15 seconds remaining in the Lions’ 31-29 win on Sunday, handing the Vikings their first loss in a thrilling game that showcased the NFL’s toughest division.

“We talked about patience, keeping your composure, communication and an attitude, and our guys did that,” coach Dan Campbell said. “We didn’t bat an eye when things appeared to start going a little south.”

Jahmyr Gibbs rushed for 116 yards and scored two of Detroit’s three touchdowns in the second quarter. He also assisted Jared Goff in driving the team 48 yards in four plays to set up their rookie kicker while forcing the Vikings to use their timeouts.

Bates, who was picked up from the United Football League after Michael Badgley got injured at the start of training camp, is 10 for 10 on field goals this season.

Goff completed 22 of 25 passes for 280 yards, throwing touchdown passes to Amon-Ra St. Brown and Kalif Raymond, with no turnovers. This marked his third straight game with a passer rating over 140, joining Aaron Rodgers (2011), Kurt Warner (1999), and Roger Staubach (1971) as the only quarterbacks in NFL history to achieve this.

“He doesn’t get frazzled. He’s tough. He’s competitive, and he’s reliable,” Campbell said.

Gibbs had 150 total yards, leading a strong effort by the Lions (5-1) against a defense that had the second-best rushing average allowed in the league, with 3.6 yards per play. “He’s been so close to exploding,” Campbell said, “and we felt like this was the game.”

Ivan Pace Jr. returned David Montgomery’s fumble 36 yards for a touchdown with 5:50 left, giving the Vikings (5-1) a one-point lead after they were down 21-10 at halftime. However, Sam Darnold’s important 2-point conversion pass went past Justin Jefferson.

The Vikings reached midfield on their final drive, but an illegal formation penalty on left tackle Christian Darrisaw after they hurried to get set pushed them out of range for their rookie kicker, Will Reichard, to try a field goal. Darnold was sacked to end the game, giving the Lions their fourth straight win over the Vikings, marking their longest streak against them since 1961-63.

The defending division champion Lions are tied with the Vikings, while the Green Bay Packers (5-2) are a half-game back and the idle Chicago Bears (4-2) are one game behind.

These four teams, which have produced only one Super Bowl champion in the last 27 seasons, had the highest combined winning percentage for one division in NFL history heading into Week 7 or later.

Aaron Jones rushed for 93 yards and a touchdown for Minnesota, despite being listed as questionable with a hamstring injury. Jefferson had 81 yards receiving and a touchdown, while Reichard made three field goals, including a 57-yarder.

Darnold completed 22 of 27 passes for 259 yards, but he ruined a promising drive in the second quarter by missing a wide-open Jones in the flat after a play-action fake and forcing a throw to Jordan Addison that was intercepted by a diving Brian Branch.

“Obviously can’t let that happen,” Darnold said. “But Branch made a really good play on it.”

The Lions had an incredible second quarter. They completed three scoring drives, each covering at least 69 yards, thanks to clever play-calling by offensive coordinator Ben Johnson. This made the strategies of Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores ineffective, as Goff handled one blitz after another.

“They want to apply the pressure. For us, we go down 10-nothing and we’re kind of getting kicked in the mouth a little bit,” Goff said. “Stay calm, stay relaxed.”

Aidan O’Connell was excited to solidify his position as the starting quarterback for the Las Vegas Raiders, but he suffered a thumb injury in the first quarter during a 20-15 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.

O’Connell got hurt when his right hand hit Rams safety Kam Curl’s hand while he was throwing a long pass. To make matters worse, he was penalized for intentional grounding on the same play.

“It was super unfortunate,” he said. “I was really looking forward to today and this opportunity, and so for it to be cut short like that was definitely hard.”

He stayed in for the final play of that drive and completed a short pass to wide receiver DJ Turner on third-and-21, but O’Connell mentioned that his thumb was already numb.

“I tried to give that third down play a shot, and then I threw it and it didn’t feel great, so I tried to tough it out but, yeah, it was not feeling great,” said O’Connell, who completed 6 of 10 passes for 52 yards on the Raiders’ first two drives.

After the game, O’Connell had his thumb in a splint covered with black tape. The 26-year-old said they wouldn’t know the full extent of the injury until they returned to Las Vegas for further evaluation. “But I’m hoping for some good news,” he added, recalling a similar injury he had in middle school.

Gardner Minshew took over for O’Connell in Las Vegas’ third series. Minshew had started the season as the quarterback but was replaced by O’Connell earlier this month due to turnover problems.

Unfortunately, Minshew struggled too, throwing three interceptions and losing a fumble that was returned for a touchdown late in the first half. His first two interceptions led to Rams touchdown runs, and the last one came with 1:18 left as Minshew attempted to drive for a lead.

“No, that’s on me, man,” Minshew said. “That’s unacceptable to have that many turnovers. I got to be smarter with the ball. To have a game where we lose by five points and have four turnovers, like that’s critical, and it’s unfair to the rest of the team.”

The Raiders (2-5) have the worst record in the league for turnovers, with a total of 16. Minshew is responsible for eight interceptions and two lost fumbles in six games. Las Vegas has a takeaway differential of minus-13, having recorded a minus-3 margin against the Rams.

Minshew stated this was the worst period for ball security in his career.

“It’s super frustrating,” he said. “I’ve never turned the ball over like this in my life. It’s just very frustrating. So just got to keep looking at it, keep studying, and keep training good habits, and we’re going to find a way out of this.”

The Raiders nearly managed to tie the game late in the fourth quarter, but right tackle DJ Glaze had a false start on fourth down at the Rams’ 4-yard line. Head coach Antonio Pierce then sent out Daniel Carlson to kick his fifth field goal after the penalty.

“Like, those are some drive killers,” said Minshew, who completed 15 of 34 passes for 154 yards.

O’Connell recognized that the struggling offense, playing for the first time since wide receiver Davante Adams was traded to the New York Jets and missing Jakobi Meyers due to an ankle injury, is not in a position to recover from these mistakes.

“Feels a little bit like a snowball effect right now, where it’s happened before, and we’re trying to get out of that mindset,” O’Connell said. “But, yeah, it’s just kind of been unforced error, unfortunate error after error, and really nothing you can do but go back to the drawing board and try to regroup and put our best foot forward next week.”

Ricky Pearsall’s return to the field after being shot brought a brief lift for the 49ers, but it didn’t last long. During the game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Brandon Aiyuk suffered a right knee injury that coach Kyle Shanahan fears might be a season-ending ACL tear.

Shanahan mentioned that the team is waiting for an MRI scheduled for Monday to confirm the injury, but they expect Aiyuk to be out for the rest of the season. This is another setback for a San Francisco team already missing All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey and other key players.

“I know a lot of teams deal with that,” Shanahan said about the injuries. “Not every team, but we’re dealing with it hard right now. It got worse today. It’s tough.”

Aiyuk got hurt late in the first half when he was hit on the knee after making a catch in the red zone. He stayed down for a few minutes before being taken to the locker room and was quickly ruled out for the remainder of the game.

Aiyuk, who signed a $120 million, four-year extension in late August, has 25 catches for 374 yards this season. Last year, he was a second-team All-Pro with 1,342 receiving yards.

“Obviously just what BA does for our offense, who he is as a teammate and brother of ours, man, it’s sad,” quarterback Brock Purdy said. “So wish him nothing but the best moving forward. That’s my guy.”

San Francisco was already without two other top receivers, with Jauan Jennings out due to a hip injury that isn’t expected to be long-term and Deebo Samuel limited to four snaps against Kansas City because of an illness.

With the injuries to other players, more responsibility fell on Pearsall, who was activated from the non-football injury list on Saturday. He stepped in for his first play during San Francisco’s opening drive and caught his first career pass late in the second quarter. Pearsall ended the game with three catches for 21 yards.

“He was going to get eased in a little today,” Shanahan said. “That changed a little bit with Deebo going out and it changed a bunch with Aiyuk going out. So he had to do more than we expected today and I was proud of him for handling it. It’s great to have him back.”

Pearsall returned to practice this past Monday for the first time since he was shot in the chest in San Francisco’s Union Square area on August 31. He spent one night in the hospital but didn’t suffer damage to any organs or nerves, and he was back working out at the team facility the following week.

“Obviously my first thoughts through the whole incident was whether I was going to be alive or not,” Pearsall said. “Once I knew I was going to be OK, and I was going to be able to live, the next question was whether I was going to play football again.

As soon as I got that answer, that light just grew inside of me and I was super excited to get back out here.” Pearsall, who was drafted in the first round in April, missed most of training camp due to hamstring and shoulder injuries but was on track to be ready for the opener before the shooting incident. It took weeks for Pearsall to fully recover so he could play in a game.

“The biggest hurdle for me was just recovering from the wound,” he said. “There was obviously a lot of scar tissue built up in the area, and since it was in my chest, under my armpit.

Just working through that, making sure I’m getting that all worked on and getting that scar tissue out. And once I started feeling a better range of motion, pain tolerance-wise, that’s when I was headed in the right direction in practice to return.”

Pearsall showed he was ready during practice that week, but stepping onto the field for the first time as a professional was the biggest moment for him.

“It meant everything to me,” Pearsall said. “Obviously, all the adversity I just went through this past month. It was really good to go out there with my guys again. I think that’s a refresher for me at the end of the day.

When the incident first happened, the first thing I was thinking about was the guys in this locker room, the coaches in the locker room, and the entire staff. They did a really good job of rallying around me and making sure I stayed up. It was a huge blessing for me today.”

Amari Cooper quickly got used to Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills’ offense, even as the quarterback changed plays at the line of scrimmage.

Just five days after being traded from Cleveland, Cooper turned his first catch in his Bills debut into a go-ahead touchdown during a 34-10 win over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.

Despite limited practice time, the experienced player was able to grasp Buffalo’s complex playbook. Cooper understood his role in adjusting at the line by running an in-route, which allowed Allen to connect with him for a 12-yard touchdown that put Buffalo ahead 14-10 at the start of the second half.

“We had an alert on the play based on a specific look we wanted,” Cooper explained, motioning to fellow receiver Keon Coleman to confirm the play. “We got the look we wanted, made the check, and it worked just like in practice.”

Cooper finished with four catches for 66 yards on 18 offensive snaps. His presence also helped create more space for Buffalo’s other receivers, who had been struggling to get open.

“Having a player like him draws extra attention. If not, we’re likely going to throw him the ball,” Allen said about Cooper. “But our other guys did a great job of getting open and making plays.”

Coleman became the first Buffalo receiver this season to exceed 100 yards, finishing with 125 on four catches.

Allen marked his 100th career start with his 26th 300-yard game, going 21 of 33 for 323 yards and two touchdowns. He improved to 68-32 as a starter, tying four other quarterbacks—Joe Montana, Terry Bradshaw, Brett Favre, and Aaron Rodgers—for the sixth-most wins in a quarterback’s first 100 starts.

Allen bounced back after a slow first half, where he completed only 4 of 11 passes for 65 yards. He also threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Ty Johnson. James Cook and Ray Davis added touchdown runs, helping the AFC East-leading Bills (5-2) come back from a 10-0 deficit to win.

The Titans fell further, now at 1-5, marking their worst start since 2015 when they began 1-6. A change in quarterback didn’t help, as their offense ranked low in several categories, including scoring. They have not scored more than 17 points for the fifth time this season.

Backup Mason Rudolph started in place of Will Levis, who is dealing with a right shoulder injury. Coach Brian Callahan mentioned that Levis is week to week and decided to go with Rudolph after practice on Friday.

“The injury is real. He tried to fight through it. I appreciate the toughness and willingness,” Callahan said. Regarding the loss, Callahan noted it reflected an offense that has struggled to score in the second half throughout the season.

“We went backwards on offense. We had penalties, we had a million issues, quarterback hits, all those things. Not good enough,” Callahan said. “We didn’t do a good enough job to do anything in the second half worthwhile. It’s frustrating. Got to find an answer.”

The Titans got off to a good start with Rudolph’s 4-yard touchdown pass to Nick Westbrook-Ikhine and Nick Folk’s 25-yard field goal, giving them a 10-0 lead. However, they were shut out on their last eight drives.

Rudolph completed 25 of 40 passes for 215 yards, with one touchdown, one interception, and one lost fumble. Buffalo took control of the game by scoring three touchdowns and two field goals on their five possessions in the second half.

The game changed early in the second half when Buffalo’s defense forced the Titans to turn the ball over on downs. On third-and-1 at Buffalo’s 45, Tony Pollard took a direct snap but lost a yard trying to dive over the middle.

On the next play, rookie defensive tackle DeWayne Carter and safety Taylor Rapp tackled Pollard for a 3-yard loss. Cooper scored six plays later. In Cooper’s debut, the fans cheered with “Cooooop!” echoing through the stadium after each of his catches.

The only catch he missed was a drop when he bobbled Allen’s swing pass that seemed to hit his helmet and nose on a third-and-1 play, ending Buffalo’s first possession.

“It seems like a different ‘Coop’ chant every single time,” Cooper said about the chant that started in his college days at Alabama. “Just grateful, appreciative, there was something special about the one today though.”