Aaron Ranson
Oct 24. 2022
Sunday 4 O’clock Games
Carolina Panthers @ Los Angeles Rams
The defending Super Bowl champs have been victims or the championship hangover. They started the year losing in a rout to the Buffalo Bills at home, and their offence hasn’t seemed to click the same way it did last season. They lost Odell Beckham Jr to injury and have been unable to re-sign him, they lost Robert Woods to free agency, and Allen Robinson hasn’t been what management expected when they signed him in the offseason. On top of all of this, starting running back Cam Akers has reportedly requested a trade. This teams needs something to go their way, and a home game against the rebuilding Carolina Panthers was exactly what the doctor ordered.
A Panthers’ field goal by Eddie Pineiro were the only points scored in the first quarter, but Matthew Stafford struck in the second, finding Allen Robinson for a 5-yard touchdown. Stafford got the ball again just two minutes later, but didn’t have the same success. He threw an interception to Panthers’ corner Donte Jackson, who ran it back 30 yards for a pick six. The half ended with the champs behind 10-7, but their defence buckled down, allowing zero points in the second half. The Rams would tie the game with a field goal to start the third quarter, and touchdowns by Ben Skowronek and Darrell Henderson would vault them to a two-score lead. Matthew Stafford had been criticized in weeks past for force feeding his favourite receiver, Cooper Kupp, the ball unnecessarily. Kupp definitely got his targets in this game, but there was a conscious effort to spread the ball around, which may be a key component of their offence moving forward. Los Angeles will work on that strategy on their bye this week. The Panthers will take on Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in week seven.
Christian McCaffery, playing his last game as a Carolina Panther, racked up 158 yards in the loss. A fitting tribute to his tenure with the organization.
Final Score: (3-3) Los Angeles Rams 24
(1-5) Carolina Panthers 10
Arizona Cardinals @ Seattle Seahawks
Rashaad Penny suffered a fractured fibula in the Seahawks week five loss to the New Orleans Saints, and after undergoing successful surgery, he was placed on injury reserve, ending his season. Luckily, the Seattle management had the foresight to use a 2022 second round pick on Michigan State star Kenneth Walker II. The rookie running back has hit the ground running and been a revelation for an offence that was expected to struggle heading into the season. In this game, Walker would score the only offensive touchdown, and add 110 all-purpose yards.
The Seahawks carried a 12-3 lead on the back of four Jason Myers field goals, but would surrender a late quarter touchdown to Cardinals safety Chris Banjo, who picked up a blocked punt in the endzone, making the game 12-9 heading into the final quarter of the game. Walker would hit paydirt for his touchdown only two minutes later, on a rush from 11-yards out, extending the Seahawks lead to 10. That is where it would stay until the final whistle, the Seahawks improve to .500 on the season, good for a three-way tie for first place in the NFC West. The Cardinals, also in the West, will welcome back star receiver Deandre Hopkins in their week seven Thursday Night game against the Saints. It is truly anyone’s division to win at this point and will be one to watch the rest of the way. Seattle will try to stay in the win column when they travel to Los Angeles to take on Justin Herbert and the Chargers.
Final Score: (3-3) Seattle Seahawks 19
(2-4) Arizona Cardinals 9
Buffalo Bills @ Kansas City Chiefs
Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes may be the modern-day Tom Brady, Peyton Manning. Two AFC juggernauts clashing every year, in what many expect to be an AFC Championship game preview, and must-see TV.
Despite the hype behind the two best offences in the NFL, the first two drives ended in redzone turnovers. Josh Allen pitched one to Isaiah Mackenzie on a sweep play, which was dropped and determined a fumble, recovered by the Chiefs. The next drive, Patrick Mahomes marched down the field, only to throw an interception to rookie corner Kaiir Elam in the corner of the endzone. The Bills would then have to settle for a 39-yard field goal after a drop by Isaiah Mackenzie on third down. On the subsequent drive, Mahomes would find the endzone with a 42-yard catch and run by Juju Smith-Schuster. The Bills would then miss a fourth and goal try, again to Isaiah Mackenzie, who had a very rough first half. After a three and out by Mahomes, the Bills got the ball back with two minutes remaining in the half. Josh Allen would lead a 99-yard drive and find Gabe Davis for a touchdown with 19 seconds left. The Bills then played an ill-advised prevent defence, allowing Mahomes to get the Chiefs within field goal range, and Harrison Butker tied the game with a 62-yard kick.
Kansas City got possession of the ball to start the second half and were forced to settle for another long field goal attempt. This time Butker couldn’t connect on the 51-yard try, giving the Bills the ball with great field position. Josh Allen cashed in on his opportunity, finding Stefon Diggs for a 17-yard score, giving Buffalo a 17-10 lead. The teeter totter flow of this game continued though, as Mahomes led an 83-yard drive and found Mecole Hardman to tie the game at 17. After a failed fourth down conversion, Mahomes got the ball back on the 50-yard line. The Bills showed why they were the number one defence in football last year, holding the Chiefs to a field goal, despite the ideal field position. After two possessions that ended in punts, Buffalo got the ball back with five minutes left, down three points. These are the moments that separate the franchise quarterbacks from the rest of the league. Josh Allen put together a 76-yard drive, that included a hurdle over Chiefs safety Justin Reid and ended with a Dawson Knox touchdown with 64 seconds left in the game. Patrick Mahomes attempted to make a miracle comeback, but Taron Johnson picked off his first pass of the drive, ending the game. The Bills now own the tiebreaker over the Chiefs, which could be extremely important when determining home field advantage in the playoffs. They head into their bye week in sole possession of the top seed in the AFC, and the Chiefs will take on the 49ers in San Francisco.
Final Score: (5-1) Buffalo Bills 24
(4-2) Kansas City Chiefs 20
Sunday Night Football
Dallas Cowboys @Philadelphia Eagles
The Sunday Night game featured two of the favourites to come out of the NFC East. Philadelphia was a perfect 5-0 and the Cowboys were 4-1 even without their franchise quarterback Dak Prescott. Cooper Rush had been more than serviceable in his four starts, but this Eagles defence presented a different challenge than he’d seen so far.
The opening quarter saw no points scored, but on the first play of the second quarter, Miles Sanders ran in a touchdown to give the Eagles the lead. Cooper Rush, looking to respond, targeted Michael Gallup over the middle, but the pass was tipped and intercepted by Chauncey Gardner-Johnson. The Eagles took advantage of their defence flipping the field, and hit AJ Brown with a quick strike for a 15-yard touchdown. Before the Cowboys knew it, Jake Elliott had hit two field goals on Philadelphia’s next to possessions, making the score 20-0 at the end of the half. The third quarter saw the momentum shift, Josh Myers hit a 30-yard field goal, and their next possession was capped off by a 14-yard touchdown by Ezekiel Elliott. Just like that, it was a 10-point game. Dallas’ defence held the Eagles off the scoreboard for the rest of the quarter, and to start the fourth Cooper Rush hit tight end Jake Ferguson for a seven-yard score. 20-17, Eagles. The comeback would stop there however, and Jalen Hurts would add another touchdown to extend the Eagles lead to nine. Philadelphia is now 6-0 going into their bye week, and the Dallas Cowboys have a date with the Detroit Lions at home.
Final Score: (6-0) Philadelphia Eagles 26
(4-2) Dallas Cowboys 17
Monday Night Football
Denver Broncos @ Los Angeles Chargers
The Broncos made their third of four scheduled primetime game appearances this past Monday in Los Angeles against the high-powered Chargers offence. That’s an adjective you couldn’t attribute to Russell Wilson’s unit however, as their anemic redzone production continues to haunt them five games into the season. However, Danger Russ, as he likes to be called, looked very efficient in the first quarter, hitting Greg Dulcich for a 39-yard touchdown giving his Broncos an early 10-0 lead. The Chargers would counter with a touchdown of their own, courtesy of a six-yard run by Austin Ekeler. The next three score would be field goals, two by the Chargers and one by the Broncos, making it 13-13 to start the fourth quarter. Brandon McManus would add another three points to the board for the Broncos by making his third field goal of the night from 48-yards out. Justin Herbert and Russell Wilson struggled to convert third downs all night, resulting in the field goal fest continuing, this time in the form of a game tying 35-yarder from Dustin Hopkins. This one required extra time, and in overtime Dustin Hopkins hit his fourth kick of the game from 39-yards out for the win. Justin Herbert became the first quarterback in NFL history to throw 55+ passes and not record a touchdown, but it didn’t matter, the Chargers improve to 4-2 and will play the Seattle Seahawks in week seven. The Broncos will take on the surging New York Jets at home.
Final Score: (4-2) Los Angeles Chargers 19
(2-4) Denver Broncos 16
Share This Post On
0 comments
Leave a comment
You need to login to leave a comment. Log-in
