Sports Al Dente

The Atlanta Falcons are showing they can win in different ways, especially against their rivals.

Bijan Robinson rushed for 95 yards and two touchdowns, while Tyler Allgeier added 105 yards and a key touchdown to help the Falcons beat the Carolina Panthers 38-20 on Sunday. This win marks their third victory over an NFC South team in three weeks.

This win follows a game where Kirk Cousins threw a record 58 passes for 509 yards, leading the team to a 36-30 overtime win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This week, Cousins completed 19 of 30 passes for 225 yards, including a 3-yard touchdown pass to Drake London.

Robinson mentioned that the way the Falcons are playing forces opposing defenses to choose how to stop them.

“That’s where you want to go with the offense, where those guys don’t know if they have to stop the run or the pass,” Robinson said. “And then you’re able to do both, it’s just really hard for a defense because then they’re like, ‘OK, what do we do?’”

The Falcons took advantage of a Panthers defense that has struggled with injuries, allowing the most points in the league this season. They have given up 34 or more points in four games.

Falcons coach Raheem Morris noted that the team’s success in rushing for 198 yards and averaging 5.2 yards per carry came from taking what the Panthers offered.

“Last week we threw it 58 times and threw it for 509 yards, and this week we were able to run for (198), and that is the sign of a good football team when you have to find ways to beat them,” Morris said. “We are taking what you’re giving us and going out there and dealing.”

Carolina’s Andy Dalton went 26 of 38 for 221 yards with two touchdown passes and two interceptions in the fourth quarter for the Panthers (1-5), who have now lost three in a row.

The Panthers were down 28-20 early in the fourth quarter and had some momentum, moving the ball well on the ground with Chuba Hubbard gaining three first downs before Dalton threw a deep pass that was intercepted by A.J. Terrell.

That interception shifted the game’s momentum.

The Falcons quickly took advantage, marching 84 yards in nine plays for the final touchdown. Relying on Robinson and Allgeier, Atlanta ran the ball seven times for 70 yards and four first downs before Allgeier scored on a 2-yard run with 5:38 remaining.

“You get into those situations in a one-score game and we’ve just got to finish,” Panthers coach Dave Canales said. “There’s nothing else to say other than that.

We’ve got to finish on our terms and be able to punch that in, get a 2-point opportunity and turn it into a game. We have to learn how to put a full game together.”

The Falcons (4-2) led 22-17 at halftime, thanks to touchdown runs of 5 and 7 yards by Robinson and a well-placed touchdown pass from Cousins to Landon on third down.

Jared Goff’s streak of completed passes ended with his first throw. By that time, the Detroit Lions were already making comments about the controversial 2-point conversion from their loss to the Dallas Cowboys nine months earlier.

Goff threw for 315 yards and three touchdowns, while David Montgomery scored twice on the ground as Detroit dominated Dallas 47-9 on Sunday. This marked the Cowboys’ fourth straight heavy loss at home.

However, the Lions (4-1) had little to celebrate, as they lost pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson to a serious left tibia injury in the third quarter, which would require surgery before he could return home.

The injury occurred while Hutchinson was sacking Dak Prescott, and his leg seemed to snap above the ankle after hitting teammate Alim McNeill’s leg.

“He’s a guy who’s part of the heartbeat of this team, he’s a leader, does everything right,” Goff said. “And to have him go down like that, and be visibly upset is tough for all of us. But knowing him, he will be fine. He will bounce back.”

Prescott threw two interceptions in what became the worst home loss for the Cowboys (3-3) since 1988. They became the first team since at least 2000 to trail by 14 or more points at halftime in four straight home games, including playoffs.

Detroit led 27-6 at halftime, bringing Dallas’s total halftime deficit at AT&T Stadium to 110-35, dating back to a wild-card playoff loss to Green Bay in January.

This losing streak followed a remarkable 16-game home winning streak, which was the second longest in franchise history. Dallas has allowed 167 points in this four-game home stretch, marking the third most in NFL history.

“I’m not a guy to hit the panic button,” Prescott said. “You never prepare for that or think that can happen the way it did today, here at home, again. Now dropping three at home, a place that we’ve been great.”

Goff had set an NFL single-game record by completing 18 consecutive passes in the Lions’ 42-29 win over Seattle before their bye week. His streak of 19 completions in total ended when he failed to connect with running back Jahmyr Gibbs on the second play.

On Detroit’s first play, coach Dan Campbell made a remark about the officials who had penalized a crucial 2-point pass in the Lions’ 20-19 loss to the Cowboys last December. Dan Skipper was reported as eligible for a basic 5-yard run by Montgomery.

He was the tackle that officials said was eligible when Taylor Decker caught the 2-point pass from Goff nine months ago.

The Lions were confident that Decker had made himself eligible, but it didn’t matter. The loss cost them a chance at the top seed in the NFC, and they later lost the conference championship game in San Francisco.

With the Lions ahead 34-9 in the third quarter, Decker was declared eligible again on first down from the 2-yard line. Goff threw a pass to him in the end zone, but Damone Clark broke it up.

“Yeah, we were joking we might throw two to two tackles,” Goff said after the Lions scored at least 40 points in consecutive games for the first time since 1962. “Tried to fit that into Decker, and couldn’t make it work.”

Against a Dallas defense missing its two pass rushers, including two-time All-Pro Micah Parsons, as well as a starting linebacker and cornerback, Goff went 18 of 25 without throwing an interception. He became just the second quarterback to have a passer rating of at least 150 in back-to-back starts; Drew Brees was the other in 2018.

Sam LaPorta made a 52-yard touchdown catch on a trick play, where he was wide open after Goff pitched to Montgomery, who then pitched to Amon-Ra St. Brown, who passed it back to Goff for the deep throw.

Montgomery’s first touchdown was a twisting, tough 16-yarder that put Detroit ahead for good at 7-3.

Prescott’s first interception — and the first of five turnovers for Dallas — came in the end zone on a sprinting play by Brian Branch when the Cowboys had a chance to regain the lead in the first quarter.

Branch had another interception and became the second player in franchise history to have two picks and a forced fumble in the same game.

“I thought we really played the most complete game we’ve probably played here in a long time, if not the most since we’ve been here,” fourth-year Lions coach Dan Campbell said.

“We applied pressure, we finally got a multiple takeaway game. We’ve talked about it. These things will come in bunches.”

After Goff threw a 37-yard touchdown pass to Jameson Williams, giving the Lions a 34-6 lead early in the third quarter, chants of “Let’s go Lions” filled the air.

Meanwhile, Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, and the rest of the team faced loud boos. The star quarterback and his All-Pro receiver struggled to connect, and Prescott ended with a 42.2 passer rating, which is the second-worst of his career.

“A loss is a loss,” Lamb said. “Obviously at home is terrible. Us not scoring and them almost putting up 50 is even worse. As far as the confidence level, we’ve got time to regroup.”

Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys seem to be struggling at home. The Cowboys lost their fourth straight home game, 47-9 to the Detroit Lions on Sunday.

This marks a record for them, as they became the first team since at least 2000 to be down by 14 points or more at halftime in four consecutive home games. Each of these games has seen them trailing by at least 22 points.

What makes this losing streak surprising is that before losing a playoff game at home to the Green Bay Packers on January 14, the Cowboys had won 16 consecutive home games over two seasons.

They were among the few teams, alongside New England, to have a streak that long and were close to breaking their franchise record of 18 home wins set between 1979 and 1981.

The Cowboys (3-3) have been successful in all three of their road games this season.

“We’ve got to take advantage of every opportunity, whether we’re home or away. So far this season, we’ve performed much better on the road than at home,” receiver CeeDee Lamb said. “Our last four games at home have not been good.”

The 38-point loss was the largest for the Cowboys at AT&T Stadium, which opened in 2009. In their franchise history, there have only been three other home games with a larger loss, the last being a 43-3 defeat to Minnesota at Texas Stadium in 1988.

Dallas will head into November without a home win, as they will have two road games following their bye week. Six of their last nine regular-season games will be at home, starting November 10 against Philadelphia.

“Very disappointing. We all know you should feel better at home,” owner Jerry Jones said. “It should give us an advantage, so we need to figure out why we’re not performing better at home.”

Despite this, the Cowboys are only one game behind NFC East-leading Washington (4-2) and have only played one of their six division games. They won against the New York Giants on September 26, which was their only division game so far.

“We definitely took a hit today, and it’s tough. We need to reflect on it during the bye week,” Lamb said. “We have another week to observe how others perform. We need to return ready to work and focus on our fundamentals.”

Detroit, the last team to lose in Arlington on December 30, took a 27-6 lead into halftime on Sunday.

Raiders coach Antonio Pierce didn’t hesitate when asked about his team’s current performance.

“Our record is what it shows. We’re 2-4 — it’s not good enough,” Pierce said after the 32-13 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. “We’re not coaching well enough, we’re not playing well enough, and we’re not paying attention to details.”

“More importantly, we’re gonna keep going back to it, when you turn the ball over, you don’t give yourself a chance.”

Las Vegas had a chance to even its record and possibly get a fresh start. Meanwhile, the Steelers came into the game on a two-game losing streak after starting the season 3-0, dealing with a quarterback situation between Justin Fields and Russell Wilson, and showing one of the least effective offenses in the NFL.

But the Steelers outperformed the Raiders.

Las Vegas’ effort was filled with mistakes, including three turnovers, four penalties, and a blocked punt that gave Pittsburgh the ball on the Raiders’ 9-yard line in the third quarter.

“It starts with discipline,” Pierce said. “We had four penalties, but they happened at critical moments. The turnovers are embarrassing. We don’t respect the ball enough, so we don’t even deserve a chance to win.”

Looking for a boost, Pierce gave the offense to Aidan O’Connell, who had been backing up Gardner Minshew for the first five weeks.

O’Connell completed 27 of 40 passes for 227 yards, with one touchdown and one interception.

One week after gaining 330 yards of offense but turning the ball over three times against Denver, the Raiders managed only 275 yards — just 57 on the ground. They scored on only 2 of 11 drives.

“We can’t put our defense in a position like that where we’re not running plays and not on the field for very long,” O’Connell said. “We need to sustain drives and obviously can’t turn the ball over, starting with myself. It’s frustrating, with some self-inflicted wounds.”

On defense, the Raiders allowed Pittsburgh, which ranked 23rd in offense, to gain 293 yards and score on seven of ten drives, not counting the last drive that ended with kneel-downs.

The Steelers had previously scored on only 39.2% of their drives.

Last week, the Steelers’ longest play against Dallas was a 21-yard pass from Fields to George Pickens. On Sunday, Najee Harris rushed for 106 yards on 14 carries (7.6 yards per carry), including a 36-yard touchdown, while Fields went 14 of 24 for 145 yards and added 59 yards rushing with two rushing touchdowns.

“I thought we did a good job tackling in the first half, but as the game went on, we became a bit leakier,” Pierce said. “So really, it’s about getting back to work. It’s very cliché, but it’s true.”

There were times when rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler had the lively Superdome crowd believing he could lead the New Orleans Saints to their biggest comeback since 2009.

But then, he and the Saints fell apart.

Rattler, a fifth-round draft pick making his NFL debut in place of injured Derek Carr, threw two interceptions and was sacked five times in the second half as a three-point lead turned into a 51-27 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

New Orleans had scored 20 points in just over five minutes during the second quarter to come back from a 17-0 deficit, but they were shut out in the second half.

“We shot ourselves in the foot a few times, made a few mistakes, starting with myself,” Rattler said. “Got to play better in the second half, but we fought, we battled and we’ll learn and get better from it.”

Rattler, who was inactive for the first five games behind Carr and second-year quarterback Jake Haener, troubled the Buccaneers early with a series of planned rollouts. He finished 22 of 40 for 243 yards but struggled in the second half, going 11 of 23 for 103 yards.

All five of the Bucs’ sacks occurred in the second half.

“We were setting the edge more with our outside guys instead of trying to drop them,” Tampa Bay coach Todd Bowles said. “We knew if we could cut him off in the pocket and just keep him as a pocket passer, we’d have a chance to get a little pressure on him.”

Rattler was sacked twice in a row after the Saints took over near midfield following a Tampa Bay punt in the third quarter. This led to Chris Godwin’s 55-yard touchdown catch and run, giving the Bucs a 31-27 lead that they never lost.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, cornerback Zyon McCollum intercepted Rattler’s underthrown deep pass aimed at receiver Rashid Shaheed, which led to another touchdown for Tampa Bay.

Another interception by safety Tykee Smith ended a stretch of five drives where the Saints only managed one first down and had two turnovers.

“They definitely had a good plan that second half, but it came down to execution,” Rattler said. “It was about what we could have done better and what I could have done better.”

During pregame introductions, Rattler received one of the loudest cheers, along with star running back Alvin Kamara. He drew more applause when he completed his first pass for 27 yards.

His next pass was also on target, but Smith stripped the ball from Chris Olave, and Antoine Winfield Jr. returned it 58 yards for a touchdown, giving the Buccaneers a 14-0 lead. Olave also suffered a concussion from a helmet-to-helmet hit, leaving the Saints without their top wide receiver.

The Carolina Panthers have lost three games in a row since Andy Dalton led them to a happy win over the Las Vegas Raiders. This victory happened shortly after first-year head coach Dave Canales made the bold choice to bench Bryce Young.

Canales confirmed that Dalton will start again next Sunday against Washington, despite a costly interception in the fourth quarter during a 38-20 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.

“Andy will be playing against the Commanders,” Canales said, without providing further details.

Young has only played briefly since being benched after two disappointing starts, which have left him with a 2-16 record as an NFL starter. Dalton went 26 of 38 for 221 yards, with two touchdown passes in the first half and two interceptions in the second half, making his record 1-3 as a starter for Carolina.

The Panthers have not won since veteran wide receiver Adam Thielen injured his hamstring, and they were missing two starting offensive linemen during Sunday’s game.

Before his first interception in the fourth quarter, the Panthers were doing well running the ball, with Chuba Hubbard gaining 9, 12, 5, and 8 yards on four straight runs, resulting in three first downs.

Canales, who calls the team’s offensive plays, thought it would be a good moment to pass, assuming the Falcons would be focused on stopping Hubbard.

However, Dalton’s deep throw to tight end Ian Thomas, who was covered by three defenders, was intercepted by A.J. Terrell, ending the Panthers’ momentum and quieting the home crowd.

The Falcons then took control, driving 84 yards for a touchdown, with Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier rushing for a combined 200 yards on 33 carries and scoring three touchdowns.

Dalton mentioned that, looking back, he should have thrown the ball earlier or made a safer play. He also noted that he hadn’t practiced much with Thomas, who was playing for the first time after coming off injured reserve.

“That was a big drive for us, especially with the momentum we had at that point,” Dalton said. “That one hurt and set us back, and it’s on me. I’ve got to make better decisions in that moment.”

Joe Burrow made just enough plays, and the struggling Bengals defense stepped up to secure a much-needed win, giving Cincinnati some hope after a rough start.

Burrow scored on a career-long 47-yard run during the first drive, and Chase Brown sealed the game with a 30-yard touchdown run right after his fumble thankfully rolled out of bounds, leading to a 17-7 victory over the New York Giants on Sunday night.

“We really needed it,” Burrow said after the Bengals improved to 2-4. “I don’t want to say we would have been out of it if we lost, but we’d be scratching and clawing for the rest of the year.

We still really are, but it was good to get a win. Great to see our defense step up like that. They’ve taken some heat the last couple of weeks. They played awesome tonight.”

Evan McPherson kicked a 37-yard field goal to give the Bengals the lead in the third quarter after a bad snap and hold caused him to miss a possible game-winning kick the week before.

Rookie Tyrone Tracy scored a 1-yard touchdown for the Giants (2-4), who are still winless at home in three games and have scored just one touchdown. They failed to take advantage of a Bengals defense that was ranked 31st in the league for scoring.

The Giants punted four times in the first half. In the second half, they turned it over on downs twice, and Greg Joseph missed two field goals.

The high-scoring Bengals were coming off a tough 41-38 overtime loss to Baltimore, their second defeat this season where Burrow and the offense scored more than 30 points. McPherson’s missed kick played a part in that loss, but the Bengals also struggled to stop the Ravens and Lamar Jackson.

This time, Cincinnati’s defense was led by Trey Hendrickson, who had two sacks, and linebacker Germaine Pratt, who intercepted Daniel Jones near the goal line in the first quarter after former Giant B.J. Hill hit Jones while he was throwing.

“We just knew we had to come out and play our type of football,” Hill said. “We were better at it. We’re still not perfect, still got a long way to go, but we can build off this win.”

After Tracy’s touchdown run tied the game, the Bengals quickly took the lead again as Burrow moved around in the backfield to find Ja’Marr Chase with a 33-yard pass to the Giants’ 37-yard line. McPherson kicked a field goal to put the Bengals ahead with 41 seconds left in the quarter.

New York had a chance to tie the game soon after, but Joseph missed a 47-yard attempt when the ball veered left as it approached the goalposts.

The Giants had one last opportunity to even the score late in the fourth quarter, but a pass to Darius Slayton was knocked away by DJ Turner.

The Giants, who hadn’t scored a touchdown in their first 10 quarters at home this season, finally reached the end zone with Tracy’s 1-yard run with 5:48 left in the third quarter. This capped a long 16-play, 79-yard drive that included two fourth-down conversions by Tracy.

Burrow put the Bengals in front with his legs. After scrambling for a first down on the third play of the game, he ran untouched for 47 yards to score a touchdown on third-and-18.

“I saw an opening, saw it was man coverage,” said Burrow, who led the Bengals with 55 yards rushing on four carries. “I was able to squeak through there and find the end zone.”

Burrow’s previous longest run was 23 yards, which he achieved twice since starting his career in 2020.

The Giants played without talented rookie receiver Malik Nabers (concussion) and starting running back Devin Singletary (groin) for the second week in a row, and Nabers’ absence was felt.

“We didn’t score enough points offensively and it starts with me,” coach Brian Daboll said. “It’s hard to win games when you score seven points, and that’s the reality of it.”

The New York Giants are redefining the saying, “There is no place like home.”

Home is becoming the last place the Giants (2-4) want to be right now. They have played three games at MetLife Stadium and lost all of them, with the latest being a 17-7 defeat to the struggling Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday night.

Not only have the Giants lost, but they haven’t given their fans much to cheer for, especially with the offense. They have scored just 28 points in losses to Minnesota, Dallas, and the Bengals, with only one touchdown coming from rookie Tyrone Tracy on a 1-yard run in the third quarter after a pass interference call in the end zone.

“It’s probably a number of things. I’ll go back and watch the tape,” said coach and offensive play-caller Brian Daboll. “I thought we had some opportunities throughout the game. Whether it be run, whether it be pass.”

The offense made some costly mistakes. Quarterback Daniel Jones took the Giants to the Bengals’ 14-yard line with about four minutes left in the first quarter while they were down 7-0.

On first and 10, he attempted a throw to tight end Theo Johnson but was hit by former Giants defensive lineman B.J. Hill as he threw. The ball floated in the air and was intercepted by Germaine Pratt near the goal line.

Later in the second quarter, Jones connected with Darius Slayton on a quick crossing route that went for 56 yards. However, this run-pass option, which started at the Giants’ 9-yard line, was called back because left tackle Andrew Thomas was ruled to be illegally downfield.

That’s how the night went for New York, which was 5 of 15 on third down and 3 of 5 on fourth down. The Giants slightly outgained the Bengals with 309 yards compared to their 304.

“It’s very disappointing — just couldn’t sustain drives, execute, get into a rhythm, and frustrating,” said Jones, who completed 22 of 41 passes for 205 yards.

“I feel like we’ve taken steps and progressed as an offense. Obviously, we didn’t do that today, so we’ll get a look at what we need to do better and clean it up.”

It’s clear that the Giants have missed rookie star Malik Nabers, who was leading the league with 35 catches before getting a concussion against Dallas on September 26. He has missed the last two games, although New York won at Seattle last weekend.

Nabers, who has three touchdown catches, has been improving, and the hope is he can return next Sunday against the Eagles, which will also be at MetLife Stadium.

“He definitely brings out a certain energy, he brings out a certain aura when he is on the field,” said outside linebacker Brian Burns. “He’s an explosive player and we would love to have him (back out on the field), but we’ve seen guys step up last week and guys step up this week, so it’s always next-man-up.”

The longest plays for the Giants in the game were four passes for 15 yards, which aren’t considered big plays.

“It makes it tough when you have to do that in this league,” said Jones, who led the Giants with 56 yards rushing on 11 carries. “I think credit to their defense, their scheme and their plan is to prevent some of those plays, but we’ve got to execute and find a way to generate some of them.”

A positive for the Giants is that the defense has played well at home in the last two games. It held Dallas to 20 points in a 20-15 loss last month and limited the Bengals to 17 points after they had scored at least 33 in each of their last three games.

Special teams also did not help on Sunday. Kicker Greg Joseph missed field goals from 47 and 45 yards in the fourth quarter, the first one when New York was down 10-7.