The Baltimore Ravens will regret the result of the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers for a long time. A touchdown pass to Isaiah Likely that could have given them the victory was ruled incomplete and the Pittsburgh Steelers were able to hold on until the very end to win 27-22.
At the same time, the Steelers alone regain the top of the North division of the American Association.
Veteran Aaron Rodgers had a good game completing 23 of the 34 passes he attempted for 284 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. He started the game with his longest pass of the day to DK Metcalf for 52 yards. Metcalf finished the game with seven receptions and 148 yards. Rodgers also scored a rushing touchdown as did Kenneth Gainwell.
As for Lamar Jackson, his statistics were more impressive than those of recent weeks, but remained well below the standards to which he has accustomed us. He collected 219 yards while completing 19 of 35 passes, in addition to obtaining a touchdown pass and being the victim of an interception. He also accumulated 43 yards rushing.
The Steelers were the first to strike in the game thanks to Rodgers’ long gain to Metcalf. The quarterback then completed the Steelers’ first drive with a one-yard run.
Jackson made his first mistake in the second quarter, falling victim to an interception in the hands of James Pierre. Gainwell scored the major during the subsequent sequence to make it 17-3.
The Ravens then scored their first touchdown of the game. Keaton Mitchell first had a 55-yard run before Jackson found Likely in the end zone for four yards. Unfortunately, the running back was injured later in the game and Mitchell was unable to complete the game.
In the third quarter Rodgers joined Jaylen Warren who scampered 38 yards to make it 27-16 Ravens.
Two Ravens field goals allowed Baltimore to narrow the gap. John Harbaigh’s squad believed they were in a position to take the lead, as Jackson connected with Likely for 13 yards into the end zone. But after review, the referees ruled that Likely had not been able to keep the ball sufficiently and that the touchdown was not good. The Ravens were then unable to make a play to get at least a first down and had to give the ball back to the Steelers. With less than two minutes to play and after using all their timeouts, Lamar Jackson was taken to the ground to end the game.
The Ravens thus suffered a seventh defeat this season, while the Steelers took the lead in their division with a seventh victory. The Steelers will be off next week, while the Ravens will face another division rival, the Cincinnati Bengals.
Ward beats Sanders in rookie duel
Tony Pollard ran for a career-high 161 yards and two touchdowns, Cam Ward had two touchdown passes and the Tennessee Titans beat the Cleveland Browns 31-29 on Sunday, ending a seven-game losing streak.
Shedeur Sanders, passed for 364 yards and three touchdowns in his third game as a starter, and he also ran for a touchdown in a game between two rookie quarterbacks. However, Sanders threw a costly interception in the third quarter that gave Tennessee the lead.
The Titans (2-11) led 31-17 with 6:17 remaining before the Browns scored two touchdowns. Sanders had a 7-yard run with 4:27 remaining and threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Harold Fannin Jr. with 1:03 remaining, but the Browns (3-10) missed both of their two-point attempts.
Cleveland attempted a short punt, but it was recovered by Tennessee’s Chimere Dike and the Titans let the clock run out.
Ward, the first overall pick in April’s NFL draft, completed 14 of 28 passes for 117 yards and had his first game with at least two touchdowns. The victory was the first in seven games for interim coach Mike McCoy since he replaced the fired Brian Callahan.
Sanders completed 23 of 42 passes and became the first Browns rookie quarterback since Baker Mayfield to have a 300-yard game. Freshman tight end Harold Fannin finished with eight receptions for 114 yards and a touchdown.
Myles Garrett became the 14th player in NFL history to record at least 20 sacks in a season when he brought Ward down in the second quarter. With four games remaining, he needs three sacks to break the record of 22.5 sacks held jointly by Michael Strahan and TJ Watt.
The Vikings crush the Commanders
JJ McCarthy threw a career-high three touchdown passes in the Minnesota Vikings’ 31-0 win Sunday over the Washington Commanders.
McCarthy completed 16 of 23 passes for 163 yards in his seventh game as an NFL starting quarterback, after being sidelined last week in Seattle with a concussion.
McCarthy, who missed his entire rookie season after knee surgery and five games earlier this season due to a sprained ankle, targeted his tight ends for each of his three touchdowns, the first two to Josh Oliver and the last to TJ Hockenson.
Jayden Daniels was forced to leave the game midway through the third quarter after landing heavily on his left elbow, which he dislocated last month, forcing him to miss three games. Daniels also missed three games early in the season due to injury.
After Daniels left, 13-year veteran Zach Ertz injured his right knee. Unable to put any weight on his leg, he was taken off the field on a stretcher.
Marcus Mariota, who is 1-5 as a starter this season, threw an interception and had a fumble, while the Vikings were finally able to enjoy a stellar performance from all of their playing groups after having a difficult November that knocked them out of the playoff race.
Seahawks annihilate Falcons
Rashid Shaheed returned the second half’s kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown, Seattle’s defense had three turnovers and the Seahawks earned their seventh win in eight games, beating the Atlanta Falcons 37-9.
Sam Darnold threw for 249 yards and three touchdowns, including two to Jaxon Smith-Njigba and another to Cooper Kupp. The Seahawks (10-3) broke a 6-6 halftime tie by scoring 31 points in the final two quarters.
With their seventh defeat in eight games, the Falcons (4-9) confirmed their eighth consecutive losing season. They thus tied the worst series in franchise history, and were officially eliminated from the race for the playoffs with still a month to go in the regular season.
Atlanta hasn’t reached the playoffs since 2017, a year after its memorable Super Bowl loss to Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.
Shaheed started the offensive explosion of the second half in the first play after the break. Atlanta allowed a long touchdown on special teams for the second straight week.
Veteran Kirk Cousins had another tough outing. He completed 15 of 30 passes for 162 yards and threw two interceptions.
The Falcons were without the services of Drake London for a third consecutive game. Kyle Pitts Sr was Cousins’ favorite target, catching six balls for 90 yards. Bijan Robinson ran 20 times for 86 yards. He was also the victim of a fumble.
After having his worst game of the season last week against the Minnesota Vikings (two receptions for 23 yards), Smith-Njigba bounced back nicely against the Falcons. The most productive receiver in the NFL since the start of the campaign made seven receptions for gains of 92 yards.
Tagovailoa still perfect against the Jets
Tua Tagovailoa maintained his perfect record against the New York Jets and the Miami Dolphins won 34-10 against their division rivals.
The Dolphins scored three rushing touchdowns en route to their fourth straight victory. Tagovailoa is now 7-0 against the Jets and 8-0 in games he has played. It was the first time he won a match when the temperature was below 8 degrees Celsius.
De’Von Achane rushed for 92 yards and scored a touchdown before leaving the game in the second quarter with a rib injury. Achane would have been able to get back into the game, but Mike McDaniels didn’t want to take any unnecessary risks with his star player.
Jaylen Wright sort of stepped into his role and did very well getting 107 yards and a touchdown, his highest career game winning total. Rookie Ollie Gordon II also scored a rushing touchdown to give the Dolphins 239 yards rushing and their fifth win in their last six games, having started the season with a record of just one win and six losses.
Tagovailoa finished the game by completing 13 of the 21 passes he attempted for 127 yards, in addition to a touchdown pass to Jaylen Waddle, before giving way to Zach Wilson in the final minutes of the game.
Zach Sieler did well on defense obtaining 2 and a half sacks of the six obtained by the Dolphins.
The Jets for their part are officially eliminated from the playoffs, having suffered a tenth defeat this season. It’s number 15e consecutive season that the Jets do not participate in end-of-season games, the longest such streak in the NFL.
