For the first time in nearly two years, Deshaun Watson played in an NFL regular season game on Sunday.
Having served the 11-game suspension imposed on him last August, Watson was able to make his debut with the Cleveland Browns, and they won 27-14 at the expense of his former club, the Houston Texans.
Under a shower of boos, particularly in the first half of the game, Watson completed 12 passes for a modest gain of 131 yards.
He added 22 yards rushing on four carries, including an eleven-yard gain.
The former Pro Bowl participant, who led the Texans to the playoffs three years ago, was sued by 25 women who alleged Watson sexually assaulted them.
Cleveland’s defense stole the show, scoring two ouches at the expense of Kyle Allen’s attack, Denzel Ward and Tony Fields II.
Receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones added to Houston’s woes (1-10-1) by scoring a major from 76 yards on a punt return.
The Texans have yet to savor a victory in front of their fans in 2022, posting a dismal 0-5-1 record.
They become the first NFL roster to be mathematically excluded from the postseason schedule.
Before a short touchdown from Allen in the direction of Nico Collins at the very end of the game, the only points for Lovie Smith’s team had been scored on two field goals from Ka’imi Fairbairn, as well as a successful safety touch at the start of the game. second quarter, when Nick Chubb was tackled in his own end zone.
To date, 23 of the 25 lawsuits that had been filed against Watson have been settled out of court by the 27-year-old athlete and his lawyers.
While Watson was serving his sentence, Jacoby Brissett was the Browns’ starting quarterback (5-7) for their first eleven outings.
We’ll see Watson and the Browns in action next Sunday against Texas’ other team, the Dallas Cowboys, also on the road.
The Packers are the winningest team in the NFL
The Green Bay Packers became the NFL’s winningest team in the regular season by beating the Chicago Bears 28-19.
The Bears held the record for 101 years, but the Packers finally surpassed them on Sunday with a 787th win.
Green Bay has come dangerously close the past three seasons, going 39-10 under Matt LaFleur while the Bears struggled at 22-27. Nothing has improved since Matt Eberflus took charge of the team, which is 3-10 this season.
The Packers (5-8) have now won their last eight games against the Bears and kept that streak alive by overcoming a 13-point second quarter deficit this afternoon at Soldier Field.
After taking a 20-19 lead in the fourth quarter, cornerback Jaire Alexander intercepted quarterback Justin Fields and then the Packers capitalized on the following offensive streak thanks to a 46-yard run from rookie Christian Watson into the the end zone. Marcedes Lewis then completed the two-point convert to extend the lead to two possessions.
Fields was intercepted once again on his last play, this time by Keisean Nixon.
Watson, who finished the game with two touchdowns, has eight in his last four games. Veteran Aaron Rodgers completed 18 of 31 passes for 182 yards and a touchdown.
No winner between Giants and Commanders
Graham Gano’s game-winning 58-yard punt attempt lacked power, and the New York Giants tied the Washington Commanders 20-20 at MetLife Stadium.
The two division rivals, respectively third and fourth in the standings of the powerful NFC East, will meet in two weeks, in Washington.
The Giants (7-4-1) led by a touchdown going into the fourth quarter, but Taylor Heinecke was able to lead a streak leading to the tying touchdown, Jahan Dotson’s 28 yard run.
Since taking the reins of the Washington attack (7-5-1), Heinecke has lost only one game in seven starts (5-1-1).
For the G-Men, Saquon Barkley rushed for 63 yards and scored a touchdown, while quarterback Daniel Jones provided 71 yards.
New York’s other major in the game came from Isaiah Hodgins, on a pass from Jones, with 11:34 remaining in the third quarter.
The Steelers finally line up two
Najee Harris rushed for 86 yards and the Pittsburgh Steelers scored 13 points in the second quarter before holding on to win 19-16 over the Atlanta Falcons.
The Steelers (5-7) thus signed a second straight victory for the first time in 2022, approaching two games of the .500 mark to keep their hopes of reaching the playoffs alive.
Pittsburgh rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett didn’t have to push the score, he completed 16 of 28 passing attempts for 197 yards, with a touchdown caught by tight end Connor Heyward.
After starting his career with eight interceptions in his first five starts, Pickett was clean for a fourth straight game.
For their part, the Falcons (5-8) squandered a chance to tip the clash near the end zone for a second week in a row.
Atlanta had a first-down situation and the goals at the 10 line, but had to settle for a Youghoe Koo field goal with 5:27 left in the duel.
Minkah Fitzpatrick intercepted an errant pass from Marcus Mariota in the final moments to confirm the success of Mike Tomlin’s troupe.
The Steelers will return to Heinz Field in the 14e week of activities, in order to welcome their eternal rivals, the Baltimore Ravens.
Lamar Jackson leaves early; Huntley does just enough
Coming in relief to Lamar Jackson, Tyler Huntley put the exclamation mark on a 91-yard offensive streak by scoring on the ground from two yards with 28 seconds left, and the Baltimore Ravens just defeated the Denver Broncos 10 at 9.
Baltimore (8-4) shrugged off the loss of star quarterback Jackson early in the game.
Jackson left the matchup after the first quarter, shortly after suffering a knee injury.
From there, the Broncos (3-9) held off the Ravens offense until Huntley got one last chance to make the difference.
Huntley converted a fourth down and two from Denver’s 18-yard line before following it up with a pass to Kenyan Drake good for 13 yards.
This offensive opportunism on the part of John Harbaugh’s formation allowed them to remain at the top of the AFC North division standings.
His vis-à-vis Russell Wilson managed to bring the Broncos into Ravens territory before the end of the game, but Brandon McManus’ attempt came short from 63 yards.
Lions insurmountable lead against Jacksonville
Jamaal Williams finished in the end zone for his 14th touchdown of the season, and the Detroit Lions relied on a strong start to win 40-14 over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Lions (5-7) scored in their first five streaks to give them a 17-0 lead in the first half and add on in the next three in the second half .
The Jaguars (4-8) had a scare on the last play of the second quarter when quarterback Trevor Lawrence was sack-sacked and grabbed his knee. He continued to play until the fourth quarter, being taken out of the game when his team trailed by 26 points. He ultimately completed 17 of 31 passes for 179 yards and a touchdown.
On the side of Detroit, Jared Goff had one of his best games of the campaign having completed 31 of his 41 passes for 340 yards and two touchdowns.
Amon-Ra St. Brown had two touchdowns and rushed for 114 yards on 11 receptions, while Williams and D’Andre Swift combined for 97 rushing yards and two majors.
