There was surely a lot of disappointment among the Dallas Cowboys’ fanbase Sunday night. But even the most ardent believers must be used to it by now. Presented with an opportunity to make a statement on the road against the San Francisco 49ers, the Cowboys laid a gigantic egg. While it was only Week 5 on the NFL schedule, this has become a recurring pattern for Dallas.
Dallas has wilted in big spots since the Cowboys won their last Super Bowl in January 1996. Up-to-date sports news shows that the Cowboys are now two games behind Philadelphia in the standings for first place in the NFC East. While Dallas is unlikely to fall out of the playoff race, the Cowboys are now in a more difficult spot.
San Francisco’s 32-point win was the most pressing result from a weekend that featured plenty of wild football around the league.
Bears Celebrate End of Losing Streak
The Chicago Bears franchise needed something good to happen to them. For the first time in a while, the Bears’ found solace on the football field. Chicago celebrated the end of a 14-game losing streak when the Bears blew past the Washington Commanders 40-20 last Thursday night.
The franchise was going through a challenging week on and off the field. Legendary Hall-of-Fame linebacker Dick Butkus died. There was a dispute between the coaching staff and wide receiver Chase Claypool, which saw him traded to the Dolphins. A big part of the turnaround was the play of Bears quarterback Justin Fields.
Fields and receiver D.J. Moore established a strong connection Chicago hopes will persist beyond the game. Moore caught eight passes for 230 yards. Fields finished the game with four touchdown passes and 282 yards through the air. Fields has now thrown four touchdowns in back-to-back games.
If Chicago’s offense can keep humming like this, the Bears likely won’t have to wait so long for their next victory.
Buffalo Continues Weird Stretch to Start the Season
Penciling the Bills in as contenders hasn’t been quite as easy this season. Quarterback Josh Allen was again inconsistent during a 25-20 loss to Jacksonville in London. But even more concerning was the Bills suffering another brutal injury on defense.
After losing Tre’Davious White for the season with an injury in the prior week, Buffalo saw Matt Milano and DaQuan Jones exit the game with injuries against the Jaguars. Jacksonville, which has the same 3-2 record as the Bills, didn’t have much issue moving the ball against Buffalo.
Travis Etienne was given 26 carries and rewarded Jacksonville’s faith in him by gaining 136 yards and scoring two touchdowns. Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence also passed for 315 yards. This was an important win for the Jaguars for tiebreaker purposes in the playoff race. Jacksonville had already lost to Kansas City earlier in the season.
Hackett Gets His Revenge
Nobody likes being reminded of a failure, especially not by the person who follows them in that job. When Sean Payton took over as Denver Broncos coach, he said in an interview that his predecessor, Nathaniel Hackett, may have turned in one of the worst coaching jobs ever the previous season. Hackett, who the Broncos fired as head coach after 15 games last season, took the job as the offensive coordinator of the Jets.
New York was motivated to help Hackett get revenge last Sunday. Hackett’s offense produced 23 second-half points to help the Jets win 31-21 on the road against the Broncos. New York running back Breece Hall carried New York’s offense, piling up 177 rushing yards on 22 carries.
Denver lost three fumbles to help set the Jets up in good positions to score. Top sports news today shows the Broncos are off to another disastrous start and sit at 1-4 on the season.
Young Steelers Stun Ravens
Pittsburgh won’t care about style points. The Steelers’ 17-10 upset win over Baltimore was ugly. The Ravens dropped several passes, including two in the end zone that swung the game’s momentum. But Pittsburgh forced three turnovers and kept the game close.
The Steelers were thrilled when second-round pick Joey Porter Jr., son of former Pittsburgh linebacker Joey Porter, grabbed his first career interception in the second half to kill a Baltimore drive in the end zone. Second-year Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett shook off a poor performance to make a big play in the fourth quarter.
Pickett found second-year wide receiver George Pickens for a 41-yard touchdown that would prove to be the winning score for Pittsburgh. While the Steelers head into the bye week with a 3-2 record and some confidence, they will need to be better on offense if they want to contend for the Super Bowl.
Belichick Would Like Some Relief
The search for Tom Brady’s replacement at quarterback will be a years-long process. How long New England head coach Bill Belichick will be the one to lead that search remains to be seen. The Patriots have been on the wrong end of two beatings in consecutive weeks. New England has fallen to 1-4 on the season and been outscored 72-3 during the past two weeks.
New Orleans dominated New England last weekend, chasing quarterback Mac Jones from the game by forcing him to throw two interceptions and limiting him to 110 passing yards. Jones has struggled immensely this season and is showing signs he may not be the guy to lead New England into the future.
The Saints have shown that a veteran quarterback can help improve an offense by being a capable game manager. Carr threw for 183 yards and two touchdowns during the 34-0 New Orleans win. While the Saints have proven they are a solid defensive team, the Patriots have to feel like they can move the ball more competently than they showed last week.
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