Month: October 2021

WATCH: Taylor Heinicke drops an absolute dime to DeAndre Carter for Washington touchdown

Taylor Heinicke with a dime to DeAndre Carter for Washington’s first touchdown.

The Washington Football Team has had plenty of trouble scoring touchdowns in recent weeks, especially when the team gets deep into the opposition’s territory.

Late in the third quarter of Sunday’s game against the Denver Broncos, Washington trailed 10-3 and was again deep in Denver’s territory. On a first-and-10 at the Broncos’ 20-yard line, Washington quarterback Taylor Heinicke drops back and throws a dime to wide receiver DeAndre Carter to even the score at 10 with the Broncos.

It was one of, if not the best Heinicke throw of the season.

Now, Washington trails 17-10 late in the fourth quarter and Heinicke has another chance for late-game heroics.

 

Dak Prescott ruled out as Cowboys-Vikings announce Week 8 Inactives

After a dramatic warmup routine, Dak Prescott is ruled out for the primetime matchup against the Vikings. Cooper Rush will start for Dallas. | From @CDBurnett7

All throughout the week, the status of quarterback Dak Prescott loomed over Sunday Night Football with the Dallas Cowboys coming off the bye in a testing matchup against the Minnesota Vikings.

Prescott went through his normal pregame routine impressively but the calf strain was deemed too detrimental for him to start for Dallas at US Bank Stadium. It’s a heavy blow for the Cowboys and backup Cooper Rush will have to salvage after taking the first-team reps in practice during the week. Quarterback Will Grier is active as the backup for Rush.

The fourth-year defensive end has only played in two of the six games in 2021 after an eye-opening offseason.

Wide receiver Michael Gallup returned to practice this week but isn’t ready for a return but cornerback Kelvin Joseph is active for the first time in his rookie campaign, expected to make his NFL debut in primetime.

Here’s a look at the rest of Dallas’ inactives for the Week 8 matchup on Sunday Night Football.

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Trick or Treat: Which Bears have impressed, disappointed through Week 8?

In the spirit of Halloween, here are the tricks and treats through Week 8 of the Bears’ season.

The 2021 Bears’ season has been full of ups and downs. The Justin Fields pick has energized the fan base, but fans are still waiting for the rookie quarterback to deliver. Although they got a glimpse of that against the 49ers.

Outside of Fields, there have been a few bright spots on the offense and defense and plenty of disappointments. So, in the spirit of Halloween, here are the tricks and treats through Week 8 of the season.

Boston Celtics vs. Chicago Bulls: Stream, lineups, injury reports and broadcast info (11/1)

Everything you need to know ahead of Boston’s return to TD Garden against the Bulls Monday.

The Boston Celtics head back to TD Garden to take on the 5-1 Chicago Bulls after a double-overtime loss to the Washington Wizards on Saturday.

The Bulls will be no easy task as they just hung a loss on the Utah Jazz to give them their first L of the season. Chicago has lost just one game this season, a one-point defeat to the New York Knicks despite a 12 – 0 run to end the game. They have been led by shooting guard Zach LaVine and his 25.5 points per game. Veterans DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic have also been instrumental for them as well. The Bulls are currently 5th in the NBA in three-point shooting, so the Celtics likely cannot afford another shooting performance like the one they had against the Wizards.

Keep reading to find out how to watch Monday’s game against the Bulls on cable television or via online streaming service, with all the updates you need along the way.

Vikings Wire staff predictions: Sunday night vs. the Cowboys

What’s going to happen on Sunday night?

The Vikings have a big matchup in Week 8. The Cowboys head into the game with the top-ranked offense in the NFL. Dallas QB Dak Prescott is among the best quarterbacks in the league right now.

But what if Prescott doesn’t play? That’s within the realm of possibility before the Week 8 matchup.

Here are the staff predictions for the Sunday night game at U.S. Bank Stadium:

LOOK: Texans fans dress up for Halloween for Week 8 against the Rams

Although the Houston Texans lost 38-22 to the Los Angeles Rams, fans were still festive at NRG Stadium for the first Halloween game since 2004.

The Houston Texans don’t play on Halloween very often. In fact, Week 8 marked the first time the Texans played on Oct. 31 since 2004 when they beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 20-6 at then-Reliant Stadium.

The Texans didn’t fare as well against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday as the NFC West club handed Houston their seventh loss of the season, beating the Texans 38-22.

Even though it has not been a fun season for Texans fans as their team drops to 1-7, they did make the most out of Halloween.

Here are some of the best costumes seen in the stands at NRG Stadium on Halloween.

3 Stars from the Oklahoma Sooners win over Texas Tech

No. 4 Oklahoma put on a show against Texas Tech in a 52-21 win. Here’s three Sooners that stood out against the Red Raiders.

There was plenty for Sooner fans to like about No. 4 Oklahoma’s 52-21 demolition of Texas Tech on Saturday. Finally, OU looked on both sides of the football like the team many thought would wind up in the College Football Playoff before this 2021 season started.

Here’s three Sooners that stole the show for Oklahoma on Saturday.

Caleb Williams

If true freshman quarterback Caleb Williams wasn’t a serious Heisman Trophy candidate before Saturday, he is now.

Williams slung six touchdown passes to five different recipients and finished 23-of-30 passing with 402 yards through the air. His composure in the pocket and ability to extend plays while keeping his eyes downfield was on complete display against the Red Raiders.

The Washington, D.C., native pulled off some of those escapability magic tricks on his first touchdown of the day, a 22-yarder to freshman wide receiver Mario Williams in the back right corner of the end zone.

 

The biggest upgrade for Oklahoma since Williams became the starting quarterback has been the return of explosive plays for the Sooners. Williams delivered six more 20-plus yard passing plays versus Texas Tech, including this 43-yard touchdown bomb to sophomore wide receiver Marvin Mims.

Williams’ historic day passing meant big days at the office for both Mims and Williams in the receiving category, too. Mims finished with four receptions, two touchdowns and 135 receiving yards, while Williams hauled in five passes for 100 receiving yards and his game-opening touchdown.

The Sooners’ starting quarterback drew rave reviews from one of his star defensive linemen in Isaiah Thomas.

“It’s definitely something that’s unprecedented at least from my perspective. Never seen nothing like it. I know they call him Superman, but I call him Houdini today because he was making some stuff happen that I didn’t think was able to happen. He was making his way out of nowhere. I was impressed by his performance,” Thomas said.

“What makes it so exciting is that he’s only a freshman. I think that’s exciting because he has a lot to learn, a lot to grow on and I mean he can only get better. He’s definitely not at his peak, but for him to be where he’s at as a freshman is really impressive. I can’t say that for a lot of freshmen that I’ve seen play that position. He’s a special kid. I love that guy.”

Up next: That rave reviewer gets some love

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Adrian Phillips’ pick six of Justin Herbert gives Patriots the lead

Adrian Phillips with a pair of picks of Justin Herbert in Week 8

Adrian Phillips spent his first six seasons with the Chargers, in San Diego and Los Angeles. He’s been a New England Patriot for the past two seasons.

On Sunday, the DB burned the Bolts, picking off Justin Herbert and taking the ball 26 yards to the end zone for six points.

The pick was the second of the day for Phillips, who has 5 with New England and 10 in his career.

The 2-point conversion from Mac Jones to Jakobi Meyers was good and New England led, 24-17.

The pick came after a failed challenge by Bill Belichick.

The Chargers were deep in their territory and had been called for offensive holding.

The Patriots’ coach challenged, saying the penalty had occurred in the end zone. If he had been correct it would have been safety — two points for the Patriots — and the ball to them.

However, replay did not concur.

Browns struggle, lay egg in Week 8 loss to the Steelers: What we saw from Cleveland

Quite a few problems to sort out from the Browns inexcusable loss to the Steelers in Week 8:

The Cleveland Browns had an inexcusable loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 8. The team was flat on offense, made a lot of mistakes on both sides of the ball and couldn’t get the important stop when needed on defense.

In the end, the team is 4 – 4 and in last place in the AFC North.

Trying to find some simple positives is difficult. With the Baltimore Ravens on a bye this week, the Browns are only 1.5 games back in the AFC North with five more games against division foes. Only one team in the AFC will come out of Week 8 with more than five victories.

The negatives are many as we walk through the Week 8 loss with a few areas where we can find some positives to go with the negatives:

Studs and duds from Rams’ Week 8 win over Texans

Ernest Jones and Darrell Henderson Jr. were among the top performers from Sunday’s win over the Texans.

At the midway point in the season, the Rams seem to be hitting their stride, especially on offense. They’ve now scored 38 points in two of their last three games, winning each of their last four by at least nine points.

Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp have been the catalysts on that side of the ball and always seem to be on the same page, connecting for yet another big game in the Rams’ 38-22 win over the Texans on Sunday afternoon.

They were among the top performers in the team’s Week 8 victory, as were Leonard Floyd, Aaron Donald and others. Here are our studs and duds from the victory.