NFL

49ers, Eagles stay hot as Cowboys, Pats search for answers. Plus, Hurricanes make all-time coaching blunder

by
SaC Bot
October 9, 2023

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🏈 Football Five

In a battle between the NFC’s last two Super Bowl representatives, the Eagles moved to 5-0 with a 23-14 win over the Rams. Philadelphia got an “A-” in our weekly grades.
Travis Kelce suffered an ankle injury but was able to “Shake It Off” 😏 and return with a touchdown in the Chiefs‘ 27-20 win over the Vikings. Kansas City limited Justin Jefferson before he left with a hamstring issue.
Sparked by a blocked punt for a safety and a Kenny Pickett touchdown pass to George Pickens, the Steelers outscored the Ravens 14-0 in the fourth quarter to rally for a 17-10 win. The Pickens score snapped eight consecutive quarters without a touchdown for the Steelers.
The Jaguars went to London with a 1-2 record. They’re coming home 3-2. Despite playing against himself in Fantasy Football, Travis Etienne had a career-high 184 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns as Jacksonville beat Buffalo, 25-20. The loss for the Bills is much larger than the score: All-Pro linebacker Matt Milano (leg, knee) is likely done for the season; they lost Tre’Davious White (Achilles) last week.
Jonathan Taylor made his season debut after agreeing to a three-year, $42-million extension, but it was the Zack Moss show in the Colts‘ 23-16 win over the Titans. However, Anthony Richardson left early for the third time in four starts, this time with an AC sprain.

💪 Good morning to everyone but especially …

THE SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS

The showdown turned into a beatdown, and the 49ers still haven’t found someone who can slow them down. San Francisco thumped Dallas, 42-10, dominating both sides of the ball.

Brock Purdy threw three touchdowns to George Kittle, who tied the franchise’s single-game record for a tight end, and another to Kyle Juszczyk.
Purdy is now 10-0 in his regular-season career. His 121.1 passer rating is the best by any quarterback through 10 starts since 1950 (when the NFL started tracking quarterback starts).
Christian McCaffrey scored for the 14th consecutive game (including postseason) and stands three games from tying the all-time record.
The defense was arguably more impressive picking off Dak Prescott three times and recovering a Tony Pollard fumble. Fred Warner became just the third player this season to have a sack, forced fumble and interception in the same game.
This was the 49ers’ largest victory in this storied rivalry.

The 49ers were in control from the start, and little threw them off track. Here’s one sequence in particular: San Francisco faced third-and-3 early in the third quarter, leading 21-10. Purdy found Brandon Aiyuk for 40 yards, but there was an offensive holding. Facing third-and-13, Purdy found Deebo Samuel for 42 yards. The Cowboys had no answers. Then again, no one seems to have any.

Dallas, meanwhile, has produced two absolute stinkers in the last three weeks. The running game is struggling. The defense got shredded. Prescott doesn’t look comfortable in the new offense, which doesn’t seem inspiring in the first place. The Cowboys had a chance to make a statement. Instead, they barely made a whimper.

😊 Honorable mentions

😓 And not such a good morning for …

THE MIAMI HURRICANES …

There’s a reason it’s called “victory formation.” There’s no reason the Miami Hurricanes didn’t use it. Yet because they didn’t, they suffered one of the most ridiculous, completely unnecessary losses ever.

With 33 seconds left, Miami led Georgia Tech 20-17. The Yellow Jackets had no timeouts. The play clock in college is 40 seconds. Easy enough, right? Kneel and win.

Apparently not. For no reason at all, Miami coach Mario Cristobal dialed up a run, and Donald Chaney Jr. fumbled. Georgia Tech’s Kyle Kennard recovered. You know what happens next: Haynes King led the Yellow Jackets 74 yards in 25 seconds, hitting Christian Leary for the game-winning 44-yard touchdown with two ticks remaining.

I was taught that if I had nothing nice to say, I shouldn’t say anything at all. In that case, I have nothing to say about
Cristobal and the Miami coaching staff. So, I’ll say nothing more and let you see how the disaster unfolded for yourself.

… AND THE NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS

This weekend, the Canes were an affront to intelligent football. The last two weeks, the Patriots have been an affront to football, period. One week after Bill Belichick‘s largest loss as head coach — a 38-3 beatdown at the hands of the Cowboys — he suffered his second-largest loss in a 34-0 thrashing against the Saints.

Mac Jones threw a pick six to Tyrann Mathieu on New England’s second drive, and it never got much better. Jones finished with three turnovers — two interceptions and a fumble — and Bailey Zappe replaced him late for the second straight week.
Jones has four career pick sixes at Gillette Stadium. That’s as many as Tom Brady in his career.
Derek Carr threw touchdowns to Chris Olave and Foster Moreau and had no turnovers. Alvin Kamara also scored.

Forget using Belichick as the standard; this is atrocious play on a historic level regardless of coach. It was the largest home shutout loss in Pats history and just the fifth time in the last 35 years a team lost consecutive games by 34+ points.

Yes, Jones has been awful. I’m not absolving him. But this is a complete dumpster fire. The line is a mess, the running game is non-existent, and the pass catchers — after years of misses on draft picks and free agents — are among the league’s worst. All that adds up to the worst scoring offense in the league … and no solutions in sight.

In Sorting the Sunday Pile, Will Brinson wonders about the big picture for Belichick, and Jeff Kerr does the same in his overreactions and reality checks.

😕 Not so honorable mentions

⚾ MLB playoffs: Rangers, Twins win; NL favorites look to bounce back

USATSI

The Rangers and their explosive offense are one game away from the ALCS, and they’re yet to meet a pitching staff that can stop them. Texas chased Baltimore starter Grayson Rodriguez early and held on late for an 11-8 win.

The Orioles took an early 2-0 lead in front of a raucous home crowd, but Texas answered right back with five runs in the second inning and four more in the third inning via a Mitch Garver grand slam.
Overall, Texas gathered 11 hits and drew 11 walks, including a postseason-record five by Corey Seager. The Rangers are the first team to have at least 11 of each in a playoff game since 2005.
Jordan Montgomery struggled on the mound for the Rangers, but Cody Bradford came through with 3 2/3 scoreless innings of relief.

The other team from the Lone Star State didn’t have quite as much fun: Behind another excellent start from Pablo López and another clutch postseason performance from Carlos Correa, the Twins knotted up their series with the Astros with a 6-2 win.

López tossed seven scoreless innings and has a 0.71 ERA in two starts this postseason.
Correa added three RBI to his career postseason total of 63; only Bernie Williams and Manny Ramírez have more in MLB history.
Minnesota snapped a nine-game playoff road losing streak.

Tonight, the top two seeds in the NL are looking to restore order in their series. The Braves were shut out at home for the first time this season in a 3-0 loss to the Phillies on Saturday. Manager Rob Thomson explained Philadelphia’s pitching strategy, which proved to be ingenious. Here’s our Game 2 preview.

Clayton Kershaw, meanwhile, allowed six runs and recorded just one out as the Diamondbacks crushed the Dodgers, 11-2. Kershaw called his performance “embarrassing.” Here’s the Game 2 preview.

🏈 College football recap: Oklahoma tops Texas in Red River Rivalry thriller

Last year, Dillon Gabriel could only watch as Texas routed Oklahoma, 49-0. This year, he spent the waning moments embracing teammates after finally playing (hero) in the Red River Rivalry. Amid a crumbling pocket, Gabriel found Nic Anderson for the game-winning touchdown in a 34-30 triumph. Dennis Dodd says the SEC must be excited for what’s to come, but for now, Will Backus says Brent Venables is one of the biggest winners of the weekend, and Barrett Sallee gave the Sooners an “A+” in his weekly grades.

On the other end of the grading scale was Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish lost, 33-20, at Louisville. They can’t wallow in self-pity, though, because USC is next. The Trojans won their latest nail-biter, topping Arizona, 43-41, in triple overtime. Caleb Williams scrambled for a two-point conversion, and the Trojans defense got one of its few stops of the night at the perfect time. The two-loss Irish are actually slight favorites.

Here’s more from the weekend: