George Kittle dragged the 60 ers to a win over the Saints, Patrick Mahomes finally beat the Patriots and the Ravens topped the Bills in a week that did not disappoint.
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************************************************************************************ ers scored a touchdown in the third quarter, but it was a catch-and-run in the fourth quarter that set up San Francisco’s win.******************
George Kittle of the
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********************** Dec. 9, (**********************************Updated
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A week ago, San Francisco lost a defensive thriller in Baltimore. This week,they won a shootout in New Orleansagainst Drew Brees and the Saints. Doubt the 49 ers all you want, but you can’t accuse them of not having range. In what may prove to be the biggest week of the season in terms of strong head-to-head matchups, the ers cemented themselves as Super Bowl contenders, the Baltimore Ravens held on for a tough win over the Buffalo Bills and the Kansas City Chiefs, with some help from the officials,upset the New England Patriotsin Foxborough .
Here’s what we learned:
(****************************************** A defensive back can water ski by using George Kittle’s face mask as a tow rope. The ers were down by a point, facing a fourth-and-2 from their own – yard line, and had seconds left to play. Jimmy Garoppolo threw a 2-yard pass to Kittle, who was streaking across the line of scrimmage and Kittle easily stepped away from a diving C.J. Gardner-Johnson, breaking into the open field. Safety Marcus Williams, knowing Kittle was closing in on field-goal range, simply grabbed on to the enormous tight end’s face mask and started to furiously yank. Showing rare strength and situational awareness, Kittle protected the balland managed to carry Williams– still holding on for dear life – more than yards before finally going to the turf (thanks to two other Saints defenders catching up to the action). The – yard play, combined with the 17 – yard penalty assessed on Williams, set up a game-winning field goal, endingone of the most entertaining gamesof the year. (**********************
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****************************Running out of challenges is a big deal, even when you’re right. New England was forced to challenge a play in the second half in which Travis Kelce of the Chiefs pretty clearly had fumbled. The call was reversed in the Patriots’ favor, but that was New England’s last challenge, which prevented it from challenging a later play in which wide receiver N’Keal Harry was incorrectly ruled out of bounds on his way to the end zone – forcing New England to settle for a field goal on that drive. The Patriots’ final drive also featured a questionable non-call of pass interference that could not be challenged, and
the chiefs held on to win.
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************************************************** If forced, Matt Ryan can talk about himself. Atlanta’s quarterback became just the 15 th player to reach
, passing yards for his career, but in an on-field interview after the Falcons beat the Panthers, 40 – (************************************************************************************************************************, he needed to be coaxed into talking about his own achievement rather than praising his teammates for their effort. He briefly relented. “It’s been a fun ride the last 13 years, ”he said. “I kind of pinch myself that I’ve been able to do it this long and this consistently. But I think there’s a lot left in the tank. ”He then went back to talking about his teammates.
- ******************************************** When Marie Kondo happily declared “I love mess,” she could have been talking about the Cleveland Browns.The tidying expert, who firmly believes in throwing out anything that does not spark joy, would have a field day with these browns. With a win over Cincinnati on Sunday, the Browns, who before the season had Super Bowl aspirations, improved to 6-7. Quarterback Baker Mayfield couldn’t avoid controversy even after a win. When asked about the health of wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., whose tough season continued with a two-catch effort on Sunday, Mayfield matter-of-factly said
the team’s training staff had made a mistake by not having Beckham get surgery for his sports hernia before the season. Mayfield did acknowledge that hindsight is / 20, and tried to put a positive spin on the issue he’d just shined a giant spotlight on by saying of Beckham, “Not percent is still good enough for us. ”******************************
(****************************************************************** You can’t outscore the Rams with your defense and special teams. The Seattle Seahawks were dealt a tough blow when running back Rashaad Penny was injured on the team’s opening drive, but his absence alone couldn’t explain an effort in which Seattle’s defense scored six points on an interception, its special teams scored six on a pair of field goals , and its offense was entirely shut out. Russell Wilson threw for a toothless yards and his interception on the Seahawks’ final drive sealed his team’s fate in the – 12 loss. As a result of Seattle’s loss and San Francisco’s win, the Seahawks dropped from the No. 1 seed in the N.F.C. playoff race to the No. 5 seed.
(Top Passer: Jimmy Garoppolo) **************************************************Garoppolo’s name does not appear among the top-four quarterbacks in passer rating this week, but that was a function of an interception in which his pass hit Emmanuel Sanders in the hands only to have Sanders essentially tip the ball to Craig Robertson of the Saints. Take out that play and Garoppolo’s rating would have been 143. 6 to go with his yards and four touchdowns. Garoppolo had to settle for the second best passer rating on his own team, however, as Sanders threw a – yard touchdown pass to Kendrick Bourne on a trick play in the second quarter, resulting in a perfect rating of **********************
********************************** (Top Runner: Derrick Henry) *************************************************The Titans offense has been nothing short of sensational over the last four weeks and Henry is an enormous reason for the surgeon . In the four-game win streak, the star running back has run for yards and seven touchdowns, pushing him to career bests of 1, 243 yards and (touchdowns for the season.)
One * Sentence About Sunday’s Games (*************************** Except when it takes more.****************
Top Receiver: AJ BrownRemember the bit about the Titans in the previous entry? Brown, a rookie out of Mississippi, played a huge part in Sunday’s surge as well, scoring twice and topping 143 yards for the second time in three weeks. San Francisco’s Emmanuel Sanders had quite a case for this distinction as well, with 192 receiving yards and a touchdown to go with his touchdown pass.
One * Sentence About Sunday’s Games (*************************** Except when it takes more.****************
**************** Ravens ******************************************************************************************************************, Bills (*********************************** Marcus Peters – who came to Baltimore in a salary dump so the Rams could upgrade to Jalen Ramsey – continues to pay enormous dividends, as the cornerback broke up a fourth-down pass to seal the win for the Ravens.
************************** ers (**************************************************************************************************, Saints 46a game with 100 combined points it is hard to pinpoint key moments, but one huge momentum swing was a beautiful attempt pt at a fake punt by New Orleans, which was thwarted by Tarvarius Moore, a 75 ers defensive back who********************************** absolutely mugged wide receiver Tre’Quan Smith throughout the play. Unfortunately for the Saints – it just had to be the Saints – neither pass interference nor holding penalties can be called on players lined up far outside of a play run out of a punt formation – a fact that did not, apparently, escape Moore’s attention.
********** Chiefs (************************************************************************************************************************, Patriots (************************************ There is no question that some incorrect officiating decisions played a huge role in New England’s loss, but Patriots detractors can point to New England’s 278 yards of total offense as a crucial factor in the team’s upset loss at home.
(Packers) ********************************************************************************************************************** , RedskinsGreen Bay took things just seriously enough to win, but Washington was dealt what could be an enormous blow when the promising young running back Derrius Guice, who has been plagued with leg injuries, left with yet another knee injury.************** (Rams) ******************************************************************************************************************, Seahawks****************************************************************************************************************Resurgent Los Angeles is up to two straight wins, having survived a pair of interceptions from Jared Goff – including a pick -6 – Thanks to a terrific performance from the Rams’ defense.Vikings (******************************************************************************************************************, Lions 7**************************** Showing they could concentrate even in a game in which they were comically favored, the Vikings went up by at halftime and then coasted to victory.
****************************************** (Broncos) , Texans
How does Drew Lock respond to pressure? Denver’s rookie quarterback went on the road to Houston for his second career start and easily outplayed Deshaun Watson, throwing three first-half touchdowns in a fairly shocking upset.**********************
****************** (Titans) ************************************************************************************************************, Raiders 21Tennessee’s hot streak continued thanks to a familiar combination of Ryan Tannehill and Derrick Henry, and the Titans moved into a tie with Houston at the top of the AFC South standings. Two of Tennessee’s final three games are against the Texans.
********** Steelers (**********************************************************************************************************************, Cardinals (**************************************** Pittsburgh’s defense has been as opportunistic as It is tough this season, and that trend continued as the Steelers intercepted three of Kyler Murray’s passes, including the rookie Quarterback’s final attempt of the game.
****************************************** (Buccaneers) *****************************************************************************************************, Colts
Jameis Winston threw three interceptions, and Tampa Bay was down by 15 with less than four minutes left in the third quarter, but Indianapolis collapsed late for a second consecutive week and saw its playoff hopes****************** essentially vanish.
************** (Browns) **********************************************************************************************************, BengalsCleveland needed a huge second half from Nick Chubb, a pick-6 from Denzel Ward and for a Baker Mayfield interception to be reversed on a challenge… to beat Cincinnati.
(Falcons) **************************************************************************************************************, PanthersYou know how some teams get a boost from an in-season coaching change? That didn’t happen for Carolina. (Chargers) , Jaguars (******************************************** Philip Rivers stopped getting in his own way and Los Angeles put up an outrageous yards of offense in a game it dominated in every way.
********** Jets (************************************************************************************************************************, Dolphins****************************************************************************************** (Needing a last-second field goal to) beat Miami at homeis better than losing, but isn’t exactly something to get excited about. (**********************************************************
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**************** Ravens ******************************************************************************************************************, Bills (*********************************** Marcus Peters – who came to Baltimore in a salary dump so the Rams could upgrade to Jalen Ramsey – continues to pay enormous dividends, as the cornerback broke up a fourth-down pass to seal the win for the Ravens.
************************** ers (**************************************************************************************************, Saints 46a game with 100 combined points it is hard to pinpoint key moments, but one huge momentum swing was a beautiful attempt pt at a fake punt by New Orleans, which was thwarted by Tarvarius Moore, a 75 ers defensive back who********************************** absolutely mugged wide receiver Tre’Quan Smith throughout the play. Unfortunately for the Saints – it just had to be the Saints – neither pass interference nor holding penalties can be called on players lined up far outside of a play run out of a punt formation – a fact that did not, apparently, escape Moore’s attention.
********** Chiefs (************************************************************************************************************************, Patriots (************************************ There is no question that some incorrect officiating decisions played a huge role in New England’s loss, but Patriots detractors can point to New England’s 278 yards of total offense as a crucial factor in the team’s upset loss at home.
(Packers) ********************************************************************************************************************** , RedskinsGreen Bay took things just seriously enough to win, but Washington was dealt what could be an enormous blow when the promising young running back Derrius Guice, who has been plagued with leg injuries, left with yet another knee injury.************** (Rams) ******************************************************************************************************************, Seahawks****************************************************************************************************************Resurgent Los Angeles is up to two straight wins, having survived a pair of interceptions from Jared Goff – including a pick -6 – Thanks to a terrific performance from the Rams’ defense.Vikings (******************************************************************************************************************, Lions 7**************************** Showing they could concentrate even in a game in which they were comically favored, the Vikings went up by at halftime and then coasted to victory.
****************************************** (Broncos) , Texans
How does Drew Lock respond to pressure? Denver’s rookie quarterback went on the road to Houston for his second career start and easily outplayed Deshaun Watson, throwing three first-half touchdowns in a fairly shocking upset.**********************
****************** (Titans) ************************************************************************************************************, Raiders 21Tennessee’s hot streak continued thanks to a familiar combination of Ryan Tannehill and Derrick Henry, and the Titans moved into a tie with Houston at the top of the AFC South standings. Two of Tennessee’s final three games are against the Texans.
********** Steelers (**********************************************************************************************************************, Cardinals (**************************************** Pittsburgh’s defense has been as opportunistic as It is tough this season, and that trend continued as the Steelers intercepted three of Kyler Murray’s passes, including the rookie Quarterback’s final attempt of the game.
****************************************** (Buccaneers) *****************************************************************************************************, Colts
Jameis Winston threw three interceptions, and Tampa Bay was down by 15 with less than four minutes left in the third quarter, but Indianapolis collapsed late for a second consecutive week and saw its playoff hopes
************** (Browns) **********************************************************************************************************, BengalsCleveland needed a huge second half from Nick Chubb, a pick-6 from Denzel Ward and for a Baker Mayfield interception to be reversed on a challenge… to beat Cincinnati.
(Falcons) **************************************************************************************************************, PanthersYou know how some teams get a boost from an in-season coaching change? That didn’t happen for Carolina. (Chargers) , Jaguars (******************************************** Philip Rivers stopped getting in his own way and Los Angeles put up an outrageous yards of offense in a game it dominated in every way.
********** Jets (************************************************************************************************************************, Dolphins****************************************************************************************** (Needing a last-second field goal to) beat Miami at homeis better than losing, but isn’t exactly something to get excited about. (**********************************************************
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