About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 5, 2018)
NFL The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com Monday, November 5, 2018 3B SCOREBOARD Houston wins sixth straight Gainesville High graduate Watson threw pair of Texans touchdowns [>■ Houston Texans quarterback and Gainesville High graduate Deshaun Watson (4) avoids the tackles of Denver Broncos linebacker Shaquil Barrett (48) and outside linebacker Bradley Chubb during the second half of Sunday’s game in Denver. Associated Press Brandon McManus missed a 51-yard field goal as time expired, leaving Demaryius Thomas a win ner in his homecoming and Hous ton escaped Denver with a 19-17 victory. Gainesville High graduate Deshaun Watson threw for a pair of Houston touchdowns but was sacked four times. The Texans (6-3) won their sixth straight and the Broncos (3-6) lost for the sixth time in seven games. Thomas finished with three receptions for 61 yards, but two of them were back-to-back for 31 and 18 yards on the Texans’ open ing touchdown drive. McManus’ second miss of the game came after Case Kee- num completed an 18-yard pass between two defenders to Emmanuel Sanders on fourth- and-8 from the Denver 45-yard line. Keenum threw a 5-yard pass to tight end Jeff Heuerman, who had a career-best 10 catches for 83 yards and then running back Phillip Lindsay lost a yard. SAINTS 45, RAMS 35: Michael Thomas caught a late 72-yard touchdown reception and then celebrated with a cellphone in a throwback to another famous New Orleans play, and the streak ing Saints handed the Los Angeles Rams their first loss of the season with a win on Sunday. Drew Brees passed for 346 yards and four touchdowns in New Orleans’ seventh straight win, and Thomas finished with a club-record 211 yards receiving. But what happened after their last connection of the day really stole the show in a wild shootout between two of the NFL’s best offenses. Thomas’ long TD came on a pivotal third-down play with about four minutes to go, when the Rams seemed to expect the Saints to run a play closer to the first-down marker. Thomas ran free behind Marcus Peters, caught Brees’ long throw virtually in stride and ran straight to the goal post, where he got out an old- school flip phone — reminiscent of Joe Horn’s Sunday night TD celebration in 2003. CHARGERS 25, SEAHAWKS 17: Philip Rivers made his 200th consecutive start and kept Los Angeles surging at the midpoint of the season, surviving a late rally by Seattle’s Russell Wilson. Rivers threw for 228 yards and two touchdowns, Melvin Gordon added 113 yards rushing and the Chargers won their fifth straight with a 25-17 win over the Seahawks on Sunday. Rivers threw touchdown passes of 12 yards to Tyrell Williams and 30 yards to Mike Williams, and let the Chargers defense stymie Rus sell Wilson until the final minutes. Seattle had won four of five fol lowing a 0-2 start. Desmond King provided the deciding points for Los Angeles (6-2) by stepping in front of Wil son’s pass for David Moore and returning it 42 yards for a touch down with 6:44 remaining to give the Chargers a 25-10 lead. Wilson managed to make the final minutes nervous for Los Angeles. STEELERS 23, RAVENS 16: James Conner rushed for 107 yards and caught a TD pass for the Steelers (5-2-1), who have won four straight since falling to the Ravens at home on Sept. 30. Roethlisberger went 28 for 47 for 270 yards. His 1-yard run put Pittsburgh up 20-6 in the third quarter, and the 36-year-old showed his grit by missing only one play after being flattened during a sprint from the pocket with just over 13 minutes left. CHIEFS 37, BROWNS 21: Pat rick Mahomes passed for 375 yards, threw three touchdown passes — two to Travis Kelce — and continued the best start by an NFL quarterback in 68 years as Kansas City’s impossible-to- handle offense kept rolling with a win over the Browns, who played their first game since coach Hue Jackson’s firing. Kareem Hunt had two scoring runs and one receiving for the Chiefs (8-1), who came in averag ing 36.3 points per game with an offense overloaded with weapons for Mahomes. The 23-year-old used all of them in winning his first pro matchup against Baker Mayfield and the Browns (2-6-1). VIKINGS 24, LIONS 9: Dani elle Hunter had 3(4 of Minneso ta’s franchise-record 10 sacks and a fourth-quarter fumble return for a touchdown, making for a miserable afternoon for Matthew Stafford and the Lions. Hunter, the fourth-year defen sive end, also was credited with nine tackles and four quarterback hits as the Vikings (5-3-1) limited the Lions to 214 total yards. DOLPHINS 13, JETS 6: Rookie linebacker Jerome Baker inter cepted Sam Darnold and scored the only touchdown on a 25-yard return with 11 minutes left, and a resilient defense helped the Dol phins beat the Jets. Darnold threw four intercep tions and took four sacks, and the Jets went 2 for 13 on third down. The hobbled Dolphins (5-4) endured another wave of inju ries, but their defense was much improved after three consecutive JACK DEMPSEY I The Associated Press poor games, with the quality of the opposition certainly a factor. Darnold tried to rally his sput tering team from a 6-3 deficit, but following a punt he took a high snap and made an ill-advised throw to tight end Eric Tomlin son. Baker stepped in front for his first career interception and scored untouched. T.J. McDonald and Walt Aik- ens made interceptions to end the Jets’ final two possessions. The Jets (3-6) lost their third in a row and have scored 33 points during the skid. They’ve dropped nine of their past 10 road games dating to 2017. BEARS 41, BILLS 9: Jordan Howard scored two touchdowns and the Bears’ defense had two others in a win over the Bills in what proved to be another com edy of errors for Buffalo and its anemic offense. Eddie Jackson scored on a 65-yard fumble return and Leon ard Floyd returned a tipped pass 19 yards for another score some 3(4 minutes apart in the second quarter. Standings AMERICAN CONFERENCE East W L T Pet PF PA New England 6 2 0 .750 239 185 Miami 5 4 0 .556 187 225 N.Y. Jets 3 6 0 .333 198 213 Buffalo 2 7 0 South .222 96 241 W L T Pet PF PA Houston 6 3 0 .667 216 184 Tennessee 3 4 0 .429 106 127 Jacksonville 3 5 0 .375 134 170 Indianapolis 3 5 0 North .375 231 213 W L T Pet PF PA Pittsburgh 5 2 1 .688 227 188 Cincinnati 5 3 0 .625 221 237 Baltimore 4 5 0 .444 213 160 Cleveland 2 6 1 West .278 190 247 W L T Pet PF PA Kansas City 8 1 0 .889 327 226 L.A. Chargers 6 2 0 .750 220 180 Denver 3 6 0 .333 205 213 Oakland 1 7 0 .125 NATIONAL CONFERENCE East 141 252 W L T Pet PF PA Washington 5 3 0 .625 160 172 Philadelphia 4 4 0 .500 178 156 Dallas 3 4 0 .429 140 123 N.Y. Giants 1 7 0 South .125 150 205 W L T Pet PF PA New Orleans 7 1 0 .875 279 218 Carolina 6 2 0 .750 220 180 Atlanta 4 4 0 .500 228 226 Tampa Bay 3 5 0 North .375 229 275 W L T Pet PF PA Chicago 5 3 0 .625 235 153 Minnesota 5 3 1 .611 221 204 Green Bay 3 3 1 .500 175 173 Detroit 3 5 0 West .375 180 210 W L T Pet PF PA L.A. Rams 8 1 0 .889 299 200 Seattle 4 4 0 .500 188 156 Arizona 2 6 0 .250 110 199 San Francisco 2 7 0 .222 207 239 Sunday's Games Minnesota 24, Detroit 9 Miami 13, N.Y. Jets 6 Atlanta 38, Washington 14 Kansas City 37, Cleveland 21 Pittsburgh 23, Baltimore 16 Chicago 41, Buffalo 9 Carolina 42, Tampa Bay 28 Houston 19, Denver 17 L.A. Chargers 25, Seattle 17 New Orleans 45, L.A. Rams 35 Green Bay at New England, late Open: Indianapolis, Arizona, N.Y. Giants, Jacksonville, Philadelphia, Cincinnati Today's Games Tennessee at Dallas, 8:15 p.m. Witten set to broadcast first game of Cowboys Jason Witten vividly remembers Tony Romo’s return to the home of the Dallas Cowboys for the first time as a broadcaster last year after retiring as the storied franchise’s all-time passing leader. Now it’s the 15-year tight end’s turn. Witten’s move from the field to ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” booth was a little more sudden and surprising than Romo’s decision to join CBS after he had lost his job to Dak Prescott. The club’s career leader in catches and games was still a starter when he left, and probably a little more beloved than his best friend and former quarterback. The fans figure to illustrate as much when the Cowboys (3-4) host the pro team from Witten’s home state, the Ten nessee Titans (3-4), on Monday night. Associated Press FALCONS ■ Continued from 1B JULIE SMITH I Associated Press Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan (2) scrambles with the ball during the first half against the Washington Redskins on Sunday in Landover, Maryland. team than we were at the start and we’ve got to keep it trending in that direction.” Nowhere is that progress more evident than on the ground, where Coleman ran for 80 yards and Ito Smith had 66 yards and a rushing touchdown. The Falcons sur passed 100 yards rushing for the first time since Week 2. “The big guys, they put the work in,” said coach Dan Quinn, whose team didn’t punt until midway through the third quarter and converted its first eight third-down opportunities. “We know we are at our best when both the run game and our pass game are in bal ance. And today we had that, and the results were there.” Atlanta’s 30th-ranked defense did its part, too, holding Washington to 35 first-quarter yards and mak ing a crucial stop after Ryan was picked off by Quinton Dunbar — just the quarter back’s third interception this season. The NFC East-leading Redskins (5-3) could blame poor tackling, ill-timed pen alties and a series of injuries along the offensive line for the end of their three-game winning streak. Already without left tackle Trent Williams after surgery to repair his dislo cated right thumb, Wash ington lost left guard Shaun Lauvao to a left knee injury, right guard Brandon Scherff to a left shoulder injury and struggled to stop the Falcons when it mattered. “It wasn’t the prepara tion, just the executing,” Washington safety D.J. Swearinger said. “Got to be better. Got to be disciplined. Got to be disciplined in our efforts.” Swearinger and other players blamed officials for part of the Redskins’ disci plinary trouble that added up to 10 penalties for 147 yards. Adrian Peterson was held to 17 yards on nine carries a week after rushing for 149 yards at the New York Giants. Alex Smith was 30 of 46 for 306 yards, an intercep tion and a touchdown pass to Josh Doctson. KAZEE’S PICK AND THROW Falcons safety Damontae Kazee effectively ended any chances of a Redskins comeback when he picked off Smith with about seven minutes left. After the play, Kazee ran toward the cor ner of the stadium full of Falcons fans and did his best Ryan impression by throw ing the ball to the top of the lower deck. Kazee said he was trying to get the ball to his nephew in that corner of the stands and isn’t worried about punishment. “I get fined every week,” Kazee said. “I don’t care.” SMITH’S RUN As inconsequential as Washington’s ground game was, Smith had its lon gest gain of the day on a scramble that helped set up a touchdown. With Peter son blocking for him, the 34-year-old picked up 22 yards before being stopped on a crushing shoulder-to- shoulder hit from Brian Poole at the Atlanta 19. INJURIES FALCONS: Calvin Ridley was cleared to return after being evaluated for a head injury. .. K Matt Bryant missed his second consecu tive game with a right ham string injury, and CB Robert Alford was out with an ankle injury, the first game he has missed since 2015. Falcons 38 Redskins 14 Atlanta 7 14 7 10—38 Washington 0 7 7 0—14 First Quarter Atl—Coleman 39 pass from Ryan (Tavecchio kick), 9:46. Second Quarter Atl—I.Smith 12 run (Tavecchio kick), 9:10. Was—Doctson 2 pass from A.Smith (Hopkins kick), 3:10. Atl—Ridley 40 pass from Ryan (Tavecchio kick), :28. Third Quarter Atl—Coleman 10 pass from Ryan (Tavecchio kick), 9:58. Was—Bibbs 3 run (Hopkins kick), 2:15. Fourth Quarter Atl—FG Tavecchio 27,7:09. Atl—Jones 35 pass from Ryan (Tavecchio kick), 3:45. A—0. Atl Was First downs 25 20 Total Net Yards 491 366 Rushes-yards 24-154 15-79 Passing 337 287 Punt Returns 1-4 1-0 Kickoff Returns 0-0 5-95 Interceptions Ret. 1-0 1-24 Comp-Att-Int 26-38-1 30-46-1 Sacked-Yards Los t2-13 3-19 Punts 2-51.5 5-49.0 Fumbles-Lost 0-0 0-0 Penalties-Yards 7-50 10-147 Time of Possession 32:56 27:04 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING—Atlanta, Coleman 13-88, I.Smith 10-60, Ridley 1-6. Washington, A.Smith 1-22, Perine 2-20, Bibbs 3-20, Peterson 9-17. PASSING—Atlanta, Ryan 26-38-1-350. Washington, A.Smith 30-46-1-306. RECEIVING—Atlanta, Jones 7-121, Ridley 6-71, Coleman 5-68, Sanu 4-45, Hooper 3-41, I.Smith 1-4. Washington, M.Harris 10-124, Davis 5-62, J.Reed 4-34, Doctson 3-31, Peterson 3-16, Richardson 2-16, Perine 2-8, Bibbs 1-15. MISSED FIELD GOALS—None. REDSKINS: Played stretches without three- fifths of their starting offen sive line and lost Lauvao to a potentially serious knee injury. Lauvao injured his left knee on the third play of the game, was taken off the sideline in a wheelchair and did not return. RT Morgan Moses injured his right knee in the first quarter before returning in the second. Coach Jay Gruden said Lau vao and Scherff would have MRIs Monday. gainesvilletimes.com Honestly local. Learn about the ghosts who inhabit Gainesville from two believers, Kathy Amos and Gail Hogan, who claim to have experiences with at least three of them. Listen to all Hall Tales Podcast episodes here: www.gainesvilletimes.com/halltales
