Monday Morning Clip - NFL Week 11 & More

In the NFL, Dallas put out a statement win over Minnesota. Cincinnati, Kansas City, and Buffalo both faced deficits before coming out on top of Pittsburgh, LA Chargers and Cleveland, respectively. A punt return TD secured New England’s win over the Jets. Justin Fields continued to impress in the running game, but failed to get the win for Chicago in Atlanta while Jalen Hurts’ running enabled a comeback win for Philadelphia over Indianapolis. Carolina and Houston’s offenses continued to be anemic in losses to Baltimore and Washington. The LA Rams continued to slide and even lost Matt Stafford (concussion protocol), and three turnovers for the Giants led to their second loss in three games against Detroit. In a game that almost everyone thought would be significantly more interesting at the beginning of the season, Las Vegas got the OT win over Denver. Tennessee topped Green Bay on Thursday Night.

 

In the NBA, Klay Thompson, Steph Curry, and Andrew Wiggins combined to hit 23 of 38 three-pointers in their win over Houston, and Kyrie Irving returned to the Nets in a win over a Memphis team missing Ja Morant and Desmond Bane. Beyond that, the Boston Celtics have won nine straight games and now sit atop the Eastern Conference. The Indiana Pacers are sitting in fifth in the East after winning their last four. In the West, the Utah Jazz remain on top of the conference and the Sacramento Kings have now won six straight games after their win over Detroit (who has now lost seven straight) and are in fifth in the West.

 

In college football, #3 Michigan and #4 TCU remain undefeated after pulling out narrow wins over Illinois and Baylor, respectively. Beyond the undefeated top 4, #5 Tennessee lost its second game in three weeks to South Carolina and also lost QB Hendon Hooker to a torn ACL. With Tennessee’s loss, USC and Clemson are the only remaining Power Five teams with just one loss.

 

In the soccer world, the World Cup group stage got started yesterday with Ecuador getting a 2-0 win over the host, Qatar. For those who don’t know: each team is in a group of four and plays each team within their group once. The top two teams (in terms of points: 3 points for a win, 1 for a draw) advance to the round of 16, with the winner playing the second place team from another group and vice-versa.

 

The NFL game summaries look a little bit different today - I felt like they were getting boring to read and too time-consuming to write on my end. That being said, feel free to let me know how you feel either way.

 

NFL

 

Dallas 40, Minnesota 3

Top highlights: Tony Pollard 30-yard TD in the second quarter; Tony Pollard 68-yard TD in the opening drive of the third quarter

Top performers: Tony Pollard: 15 rush, 80 yds, 6 rec, 109 yds, 2 TD; Dallas defense: 7 sacks

Game flow: Dallas was up 23-3 at the end of the first half and scored two more touchdowns in their first two possessions of the second half. 

 

Cincinnati 37, Pittsburgh 30

Top highlights: Samaje Perine’s first touchdown, a 29-yard catch-and-run in the first quarter; Najee Harris’ 19-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter 

Top performers: Cincinnati: Joe Burrow: 24-39, 355 yds, 4 TD, 2 INT; Tee Higgins: 9 rec, 148 yds; Samaje Perine: 11 rush, 30 yds, 4 rec, 52 yds, 3 TD; Pittsburgh: Najee Harris: 20 rush, 90 yds, 2 TD

Game flow: Pittsburgh responded to each of Cincinnati’s scores with one of their own immediately after, then hit a field goal to go up 20-17 at halftime. Cincinnati took the lead with a touchdown midway through the third and eventually made it a 2-touchdown lead with 3:18 remaining. Pittsburgh scored a touchdown late, but Cincinnati recovering the ensuing onside kick killed any chance they had of winning.

 

Kansas City 30, LA Chargers 27

Top highlights: Joshua Palmer’s 50-yard TD catch in LA’s opening possession; Travis Kelce’s second TD early in the fourth

Top performers: Kansas City: Patrick Mahomes: 20-34, 329 yds, 3 TD; Travis Kelce: 6 rec, 115 yds, 3 TD; Isaih Pacheco: 15 rush, 107 yds; LA Chargers: Justin Herbert: 23-30, 280 yds, 2 TD, INT; Joshua Palmer: 8 rec, 106 yds, 2 TD; Austin Ekeler: 19 rush, 83 yds, TD

Game flow: LA scored 10 points in their first two possessions, but Kansas City scored 13 in their first three. LA managed to get 10 more late in the first half and led 20-13 at halftime. Kansas City scored 10 unanswered in their first two possessions of the second half to take the lead in the third, but LA pulled back ahead with a touchdown. Kansas City responded with a lead-taking touchdown of their own and picked off Justin Herbert in LA’s final possession.

 

Buffalo 31, Cleveland 23 (played in Detroit due to snow in Buffalo)

Top highlights: Amari Cooper's 25-yard TD to open scoring; Stefon Diggs' 5-yard TD to take the lead

Top performers: Buffalo: Devin Singletary: 17 rush, 86 yards, TD; James Cook: 11 rush, 86 yards; Cleveland: Amari Cooper: 8 rec, 113 yds, 2 TD

Game flow: Cleveland went in front early with a touchdown in their opening possession, but Buffalo took the 13-10 lead with 14 seconds remaining in the first half with their first touchdown. Buffalo scored 15 unanswered points in their first four drives of the second half (1 touchdown with failed 2 point conversion, 3 field goals) to go up 28-10. Cleveland scored touchdowns in both of their last two possessions, but the onside kick went out of bounds with 19 seconds remaining. Also worth watching: the transformation of Ford Field

 

New England 10, NY Jets 3

Top highlights: Marcus Jones' 84-yard punt return TD with 5 seconds remaining

Top performers: NY Jets defense: 6 sacks; New England pass defense: held Zach Wilson to 9 completions and 77 yards on 22 pass attempts

Game flow: Both teams hit their field goals early in the second quarter. New England missed one later in the second (44 yards) another in the third (43 yards), and turned the ball over on downs late in the third. New England punted seven times in this one and the Jets punted 10 times (they only had 6 first downs and 103 yards all game). The last of the Jets’ punts resulted in the game’s only touchdown. 

 

Detroit 31, NY Giants 18

Top highlights: Aidan Hutchinson's interception in the second quarter

Top performers: Detroit: Jamaal Williams: 17 rush 64 yds, 3 TD; NY Giants: WanDale Robinson: 9 rec, 100 yds

Game flow: Detroit opened scoring with a field goal, but the Giants took the lead with a touchdown on the next possession. Detroit capitalized on a Giants pick that gave them the ball on New York’s 18 and scored a touchdown. They followed that with another touchdown and led 17-6 at halftime. Detroit scored a touchdown to put them up 24-6. The Giants scored on 2 of their last three possessions, but Detroit also scored a touchdown following a New York fumble in the fourth quarter to give themselves some breathing room. The Giants outgained Detroit 413-325, but the Giants had three turnovers while Detroit had none.

 

Atlanta 27, Chicago 24

Top highlights: Cordarelle Patterson’s 104-yard kickoff return TD with 4:18 in the second quarter

Top performers: Justin Fields: 14-21, 153 yds, TD, INT, 18 rush, 85 yds, TD

Game flow: Both teams scored touchdowns on their opening possessions. Chicago had 10 points unanswered to go up 17-7, but Atlanta responded with 10 points in their last two first half possessions to tie it at 17 before halftime. The two teams both scored touchdowns on back-to-back possessions in the late third and early in the fourth. Atlanta hit a field goal to take the lead, and they picked off Justin Fields in Chicago’s final possession to seal the game.

 

Philadelphia 17, Indianapolis 16

Top highlights: 22-yard TD by Quez Watkins for Philly early in the fourth

Top performers: Philadelphia: Jalen Hurts: 18-25, 190 yds, TD, 16 rush, 86 yds, TD; Indianapolis: Jonathan Taylor: 22 rush, 84 yds, TD

Game flow: Indianapolis scored a touchdown in their opening possession and the two teams traded field goals in the second quarter, putting Indianapolis up 10-3 at half. Indy hit a second field goal (and missed a third attempt) to go up 13-3, but Philadelphia scored their first touchdown and cut Indy’s lead to 13-10. A Philadelphia fumble set up an Indy field goal, but Philadelphia responded with a touchdown drive to take their first lead with 1:20 remaining. Indianapolis turned the ball over on downs, sealing the win for Philly.

 

New Orleans 27, LA Rams 20

Top highlights: 62-yard TD from Matt Stafford to Tutu Atwell; 53-yard TD from Andy Dalton to Chris Olave

Top performers: New Orleans: Andy Dalton: 21-25, 260 yds, 3 TD; Chris Olave: 5 rec, 102 yds, TD

Game flow: A 62-yard TD in the first quarter and a touchdown right before halftime put the Rams up 14-10 at the half. New Orleans then scored 17 points unanswered in their first three possessions in the second half while LA only managed two field goals and three punts in the second half.

 

Baltimore 13, Carolina 3

Top highlights: Jason Pierre-Paul's interception late in the game

Top performers: Batlimore: Demarcus Robinson: 9 rec, 128 yds

Game flow: Baltimore hit a field goal as time in the first half expired to go up 3-0. They hit another field goal early in the fourth, and a fumble on the following drive gave them the ball on Carolina’s 31, setting a touchdown 2 plays later. Carolina had a turnover on downs and two interceptions on their last two drives.

 

Washington 23, Houston 10

Top highlights: Kendall Fuller’s pick six early in the first quarter

Top performers: Washington’s defense: they sacked Davis Mills five times and held Houston to 21 rushing yards on 16 attempts

Game flow: Washington got out in front early with a pick-six on Houston’s first possession, then 13 points on their final three possessions of the half put them up 20-0 at halftime. Houston eventually scored a touchdown in their final possession, but they were down 23-3.

 

Las Vegas 22, Denver 16 (OT)

Top highlights: Derek Carr to Davante Adams 31 yard TD in the second quarter; Derek Carr to Davante Adams 35 yards for the game-winning TD

Top performers: Las Vegas: Derek Carr: 23-37, 307 yds, 2 TD; Josh Jacobs: 24 rush, 109 yds; Davante Adams: 7 rec, 141 yds, 2 TD

Game flow: Denver got ahead with 10 points in their first two possessions, but Las Vegas scored a touchdown to keep it tight before halftime. After trading field goals twice in the second half, Las Vegas hit one more with 16 seconds remaining to send it to OT. From there, Las Vegas got the ball first and ensured Denver didn’t get another chance.

 

Tennessee 27, Green Bay 17 (played Thursday Night)

Top highlights: Tannehill’s 43-yard pass to Treylon Burks on their opening drive; Tannehill’s 31-yard pass to Chiozem Okonkwo; Derrick Henry’s TD pass to Austin Hooper early in the fourth

Top performers: Tennessee: Ryan Tannehill: 22-27, 333 yds, 2 TD; Treylon Burks: 7 rec, 111 yds; Derrick Henry: 28 rush, 87 yds, TD, pass TD

Game flow: Tennessee scored a touchdown on their first possession to take the early lead. Green Bay responded at the end of the first quarter, but Tennessee took the lead back with 32 seconds remaining in the first half to go up 14-6. Green Bay scored 10 points in their first two possessions, but Tennessee scored 13 in their first two (missed extra point). Green Bay only managed two punts and two turnovers on downs in their final four possessions.

 

Monday Night Football

San Francisco @ Arizona (+8); 8:15 PM

 

Miami, Seattle, Tampa Bay, and Jacksonville have byes this week

 

Standings

 

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College Football

 

#1 Georgia 16, Kentucky 6

#2 Ohio State 43, Maryland 30

#3 Michigan 19, Illinois 17

#4 TCU 29, Baylor 28

South Carolina 63, #5 Tennessee 38

#6 LSU 41, UAB 10

#7 USC 48, #16 UCLA 45

#8 Alabama 34, Austin Peay 0

#9 Clemson 40, Miami 10

#12 Oregon 20, #10 Utah 17

#11 Penn State 55, Rutgers 10

Georgia Tech 21, #13 UNC 17

Arkansas 42, #14 Ole Miss 27

#15 Kansas State 48, West Virginia 31

#17 Washington 54, Colorado 7

#18 Notre Dame 44, Boston College 0

#19 Florida State 49, Louisiana 17

Navy 17, #20 UCF 14

 

Rankings

 

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NBA

 

Golden State 127, Houston 120

Golden State: Klay Thompson: 41 pts (10-13 3P); Steph Curry: 33 pts (7-14 3P), 15 ast; Andrew Wiggins: 22 pts (6-11 3P); team: outscored Houston 40-28 in first quarter

Houston: Kevin Porter Jr.: 30 pts, 6 ast; Jabari Smith Jr.: 22 pts, 7 reb

Phoenix 116, New York 95

Phoenix: Cameron Payne: 21 pts, 9 ast, 7 reb; Devin Booker: 20 pts, 5 reb; team: 17-39 3P (43.6%), outrebounded NY 60-39

New York: Jalen Brunson: 27 pts

Washington 106, Charlotte 102

Washington: Kyle Kuzma: 28 pts, 10 reb, 5 ast; Bradley Beal: 26 pts, 5 ast, 5 stl

Charlotte: Kelly Oubre Jr.: 23 pts, 7 reb; Gordon Hayward: 20 pts, 5 reb

Sacramento 137, Detroit 129

Sacramento: De’Aaron Fox: 33 pts, 7 ast; Harrison Barnes: 27 pts (10-11 FT), 9 reb; Domantas Sabonis: 15 pts, 13 reb, 7 ast; team: 31-35 FT (88.6%)

Detroit: Jaden Ivey: 24 pts; Bojan Bogdanovic: 21 pts

Brooklyn 127, Memphis 115

Brooklyn: Kevin Durant: 26 pts, 7 ast, 7 reb; Ben Simmons: 22 pts, 8 reb, 5 ast; team: 16-34 3P (47.1%)

Memphis: Dillon Brooks: 31 pts, 5 reb; team 17-31 FT (54.8%)

Cleveland 113, Miami 87

Cleveland: Darius Garland: 25 pts, 7 ast; Cedi Osman: 20 pts, 12 reb

Miami: Bam Adebayo: 21 pts, 6 reb; team: 6-31 3P (19.4%)

Denver 98, Dallas 97

Denver: Bones Hyland: 29 pts, 6 ast; DeAndre Jordan: 8 pts, 17 reb

Dallas: Luka Doncic: 22 pts, 9 reb, 8 ast; Josh Green: 23 pts (6-7 3P)

LA Lakers 123, San Antonio 92

LA Lakers: Anthony Davis: 30 pts, 18 reb; Austin Reaves: 21 pts; outrebounded SA 54-44

San Antonio: Devin Vassell: 17 pts; team: 7-34 3P (20.6%)

 

Standings

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