Confetti from an NFL weekend
San Francisco 24, L.A. Rams 9: The Rams’ longest play from scrimmage went 18 yards, and 33 of Matthew Stafford’s 48 passes were aimed at either Cooper Kupp or Tyler Higbee, with Allen Robinson still no factor. San Francisco’s defense had seven sacks, 11 quarterback hits and nine tackles for loss, and Talanoa Hufanga, the third-rated safety in the NFL according to Pro Football Focus, took an interception 52 yards for a score. In last year’s NFC Championship game, Jaquiski Tartt dropped an interception in the fourth quarter that allowed the Rams to keep possession. If not for that, the Niners might well have an 8-game streak against L.A., which has been blown out 44-3 in fourth quarters this season.
Philadelphia 29, Jacksonville 21: This was the Eagles’ last home game before superfan Mike Trout joins the crowd, so they made it a good one after they fell behind 14-0. They held the ball for 39:51 on the way to a 4-0 start. They’re proving that the game belongs to the big men, with dominance on both lines, and they took the ball away from the Jaguars five times. Hasson Reddick, a Temple alum who came to Philly from Arizona, was the star of stars, with two sacks, two forced fumbles, two recoveries and a tackle for loss.
Kansas City 41, Tampa 31: Even though Isiah Pacheco was a seventh-round pick from Rutgers, the Chiefs signaled their fondness by giving him No. 10. That’s Tyreek Hill’s old number. Pacheco is yet another weapon for Kansas City, gaining 63 yards on 11 carries. Patrick Mahomes was brilliant as usual, but the real story was Tampa Bay’s refusal to run. The Bucs (2-2) had six runs from scrimmage for a total of four yards, forcing Tom Brady to chuck it 52 times. A significant amount of his 385 yards came in garbage time.
Buffalo 23, Baltimore 20: The Ravens lost a 17-point lead at home for the second time this season and fell to 2-2. They tried to convert a fourth down in the red zone instead of kicking a go-ahead field gaol, and Jordan Poyer made a startling interception of Lamar Jackson in the end zone. That created a touchback and put the ball on the 20, and it was relatively simple for the Bills to get the winning field goal. The Bills (3-1) proved they could make something happen even when Josh Allen has a 68.4 QB rating.
Minnesota 28, New Orleans 25: The Vikings rose to 3-1 when Will Lutz’s 61-yard field goal banked off the crossbar and upright and onto London soil. Again, Justin Jefferson was a main driver, catching 147 yards of passes, mostly against the Saints’ ace corner, Marshon Lattimore. Jefferson was targeted 13 times by Kirk Cousins and caught 10.
Atlanta 23, Cleveland 20: The undermanned Falcons went 7-10 in Arthur Smith’s first year as head coach, and were 7-2 in games decided by eight points or fewer. Now they’re 2-2 with wins by four and three points, and losses by one and four. A much improved defense is playing complimentary football with a surprising running attack, keyed by Cordaelle Patterson and rookie Tyler Allgeier. Grady Jarrett’s late sack preceded the game-saving interception by Dee Alford, of Tusculum U. The Browns got one TD in three red-zone trips and are now 2-2.
Dallas 25, Washington 10: For the fourth consecutive week the Cowboys held somebody below 20 points, as Dan Quinn’s defense continues to plunder. Dallas defenders hit Carson Wentz 11 times and sacked him twice. Cooper Rush went to 4-0 as a starter, counting last year’s win at Minnesota, and Michael Gallup punctuated a comeback from an ACL tear with a touchdown catch. We’ll know more after Dallas’ next two games, both on the road: Rams and Eagles.
New York Jets 24, Pittsburgh 20: The Jets got two fourth-quarter touchdowns for the comeback win, the last one facilitated by the second of Kenny Pickett’s three interceptions. The Pitt rookie replaced Mitch Trubisky and ran for two touchdowns, but the Steelers have scored only seven TDs in four games (1-3) and continue to pay for their failure to groom a successor to Ben Roethlisberger.
Seattle 48, Detroit 45: It was another big day for Jared Goff except for one mistake, which might sound familiar to Rams’ fans. Goff threw a pick-six to the Seahawks’ Tariq Woolen. Otherwise Goff hit 28 of 39 passes for four touchdowns. The Lions are 1-3 even though they’ve scored 140 points, and they exploded on Seattle even though they were missing Amon-Ra St. Brown and DeAndre Swift. This was almost like a touch football game, with eight plays of 30 or more yards and Rashaad Penny’s scoring runs of 36 and 41 yards for Seattle. The Seahawks are 2-2 like every other team in the N.L. West.