Sunday, Sep 12, 2021. 8:18 PM
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jameis Winston and the New Orleans Saints may have been moved from Louisiana, but they played with confidence to crush the Green Bay Packers 38-3 on Sunday in what could be the start of the end of being Aaron Rodgers
Winston threw five touchdowns and the Saints defense intercepted two passes from Rodgers.
The game, which was originally scheduled at the Superdome, was moved to Florida due to Hurricane Ida, which hit Louisiana at the end of August.
Winston, who led the NFL with 30 interceptions in his final season as a starting quarterback, in 2019 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, made smarter choices. He completed 14 of his 20 passes for overhead gains of 148 yards.
Winston’s only risky pass was intercepted in the end zone by Packers defensive back Darnell Savage, but the theft was called off due to a harshness penalty to the Saints quarterback.
The penalty set the stage for Juwan Johnson’s second touchdown of the game, who opened the game with just four career catches.
It wasn’t a good day at work for the Packers and Rodgers, who were pulled out of the game with about 11 minutes remaining.
Rodgers, who was named MVP last season, only managed 15 of his 28 passes for gains of 133 yards. He didn’t throw any touchdown pass.
A touchdown pass and a loss for Mac Jones
Xavien Howard recovered from a fumble late in the fourth quarter and the Miami Dolphins held on to triumph 17-16 over the New England Patriots.
After an interception by the Patriots at the expense of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, Bill Belichick’s men got on the goal gate, but Damien Harris dropped the ball.
Tagovailoa gave the Dolphins a 17-10 lead when he threw a touchdown pass to Jaylen Waddle in the third quarter.
Tagovailoa completed 16 of his 27 passes for overhead gains of 202 yards. He also got a rushing touchdown following a three-yard run. Receiver DeVanta Parker caught four of his passes for 81 yards.
It was the Dolphins ‘second straight win over the Patriots and it spoiled Mac Jones’ NFL debut.
Jones, who became the first rookie quarterback to start a season for the Patriots since Drew Bledsoe in 1993, had 29 of his 39 passes for overhead gains of 281 yards. He threw a touchdown pass.
Harris concluded the clash with 23 carries for 100 yards, but his fumble virtually shattered the Patriots’ hopes of victory.
Great start for Bridgewater
Teddy Bridgewater threw two touchdown passes in his first start with the Broncos and the Denver roster beat the New York Giants by a score of 27-13.
Acquired in the offseason from the Carolina Panthers, Bridgewater saw 28 of his 36 passes grabbed for gains of 264 yards.
Melvin Gordon III had a long touchdown on a 70-yard run and Brandon McManus added two field goals for the Broncos, who have had four consecutive losing seasons since winning Super Bowl 50.
Giants quarterback Daniel Jones threw a 37-yard touchdown pass to Sterling Shepard and he scored a major on the ground on the last play of the game. Jones completed 22 of his 37 passes for gains of 253 yards, but suffered a fumble.
Returning to the game after a long recovery, running back Saquon Barkley was unable to set his pace. He finished the clash with 10 carries for gains of 26 yards.
The Giants, returning from a 6-10 season under first-year coach Joe Judge, haven’t made the playoffs since 2016.
