Tag: game recap

Unsung heroes Tolbert, Dowdle lead Cowboys to last-minute win vs Steelers, 20-17

The Cowboys got standout performances from two unheralded starters and a strong defensive performance helps them escape Pittsburgh with a W. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The Dallas Cowboys were extremely shorthanded entering Sunday night’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Down a slew of key defenders to begin with, they then had to sit through an hour and a half weather delay as storms passed through Acrisure Stadium. On their first defensive drive, they lost Marshawn Kneeland to a knee injury, as he was filling in for DeMarcus Lawrence and Micah Parsons. Quarterback Dak Prescott fumbled first and then threw a red-zone interception later, adding a third turnover in the second half on a deep pass.

It didn’t matter. Thanks to RB Rico Dowdle and WR Jalen Tolbert’s career days, the Cowboys had just enough offense to pull out a final-drive victory over the Steelers when on fourth down Prescott found Tolbert on a cross right over the goal line. Dallas’ second touchdown of the night, right before 1 am on the east coast, gave the team a 20-17 win.

The victory improved the Cowboys to 3-2 on the young season, notching their first winning streak of 2024. The loss dropped the Steelers to a similar record.

Tolbert finished the game with a career and team-high 87 receiving yards, which went hand-in-hand with Dowdle’s career high 87 rushing yards. Dowdle also caught two passes for 27 yards and the first score of the game.

The Cowboys also got step-up performances from Kavontae Turpin as WR Bradin Cooks missed the game after being placed on IR. Turpin caught four of his five targets for 50 yards.

Dallas was able to corral Steelers QB Justin Fields, who was coming off a a 300-passing yard performance last week. Fields had two passing touchdowns but accrued just 131 air yards and 27 on scrambles and designed runs.

The Dallas defense had three sacks and forced two fumbles, allowing the Steelers just 226 yards on the game. Playing without their two star edge rushers, and their two corners who start opposite Trevon Diggs in Daron Bland and Caelen Carson, Mike Zimmer’s group had their best outing of the season, though they did allow Pittsburgh to march down the field and take a late lead.

Still, there’s a ton to be proud of as the injuries continue to mount. Dallas lost two starting offensive linemen in the game as well. Rookie Tyler Guyton went out with a knee injury and stayed out as he was questionable to return. The team also lost RG Zack Martin to cramps, but he was able to return.

Next up for Dallas will be the 3-1 Detroit Lions coming to AT&T Stadium where the Cowboys will now try and solve their home woes as they’ve lost three consecutive games in blowout fashion.

‘We played well at all three levels’: Billy Napier credits Florida’s defense in win vs. UCF

The Gators defense had five sacks, an interception and allowed just 13 points in their win vs. UCF.

Florida football (3-2) earned a big victory over the UCF Knights (3-2) in Week 6, winning 24-13. The Gators didn’t trail once in the game in what was a fantastic showing on both offense and defense.

Coming into the game, there were some uncertainties surrounding the Gators’ defensive unit and their inability to stop the run. Going up against a rush-heavy team like UCF was a recipe for disaster but, the defense held their ground and didn’t let the Knights get anything going on offense.

The Gators’ defense gave up just 274 total yards (165 passing and 108 rushing), had seven tackles-for-loss that included five sacks. Florida also managed to get an interception.

“I think that we played with better gap integrity,” head coach Billy Napier said about the Gators’ defense. “And I think we got after it up front. I thought we tackled… We played well at all three levels.”

The Gators’ offense started off strong in their opening drive. They put together a 15-play, 75-yard drive that lasted over seven minutes and resulted in a 13-yard touchdown pass thrown by Graham Mertz to senior receiver Elijhah Badger that gave Florida an early 7-0 lead.

Early in the second quarter, UCF attempted to go for it on fourth down on their own 43-yard line, but the Gators’ defense stuffed it up and took over with great field position.

Freshman quarterback DJ Lagway manned the ensuing drive for the Gators and threw a 37-yard strike to receiver Chimere Dike that set Florida up on the goal line. Ja’Kobi Jackson would rush it in for the touchdown that gave the Gators a 14-3 lead.

A 3-yard touchdown run by Montrell Johnson Jr. capped off what felt like a flawless first half for the Gators. Florida took a commanding 24-3 lead into halftime.

Both of Florida’s quarterbacks played well. Mertz ended up going 19-for-23 with 179 yards passing and a touchdown. Lagway was 4-for-4 for 50 yards through the air.

Florida’s defense in the first half played just as well as the offense. They limited UCF to just 119 total yards and forced two punts and two turnovers-on-downs while allowing three points.

The Gators didn’t get as much going offensively in the second half as they did in the first, but the defense continued to cause havoc in the Knights’ backfield. They managed to not let go of their lead and played with 100 percent effort on defense throughout the entire 60 minutes.

Sophomore defensive back Bryce Thornton intercepted Knights quarterback KJ Jefferson to ultimately seal the victory for Florida.

The Gators have won back-to-back games and look to make it a third-straight victory next week. The only problem is that they have a tough road matchup ahead.

Up next for the Gators

Florida travels on the road to Knoxville to play the Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday, Oct. 12. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on ESPN.

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RECAP: Wisconsin dominates Purdue en route to first Big Ten win of 2024 season

Initial thoughts on Wisconsin’s dominant win over Purdue

Wisconsin notched its first Big Ten win of the 2024 season with its 52-6 blowout victory over Purdue.

The score tells the story — the Badgers mostly dominated the game from start to finish.

Related: Wisconsin fans react to dominant victory over Purdue: ‘Badgers are back’

That dominance started early when a Purdue muffed punt led to a quick 12-yard touchdown from Badgers RB Tawee Walker. Wisconsin then added another touchdown before the end of the first quarter with a 52-yard strike from QB Braedyn Locke to WR Vinny Anthony.

That 14-0 lead was trimmed to 14-6 by two Purdue field goals. But that’s as close as the Boilermakers got the rest of the afternoon. Wisconsin added to its lead with a clutch touchdown drive before halftime, then hit another gear after halftime with a 31-0 second-half margin.

The Badgers’ performance against Purdue was badly needed after back-to-back losses against top teams No. 1 Alabama and No. 11 USC, respectively. USC’s 28-0 second-half margin built a cupboard full of questions. This win against a poor Purdue team does not answer all of them, but it at least gets the season headed back in the right direction.

QB Braedyn Locke finished the afternoon with 20 of 31 passing for 359 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. WR Trech Kekahuna was the star of the afternoon with six receptions, 134 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Other notable performances include WR Vinny Anthony (two receptions, 66 yards, one touchdown), RB Tawee Walker (19 carries, 94 yards, three touchdwons) and WR C.J. Williams (four receptions, 60 yards).

Wisconsin improves to 3-2 on the season and 1-1 in Big Ten play with the win. Purdue drops to 1-4 overall and 0-2 in Big Ten play. The Badgers are back in action on Oct. 12 at Rutgers.

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Cowboys hope winning battle vs Giants, 20-15, didn’t cost them much more via injury

The Dallas Cowboys finally got back in the win column, but they hope they didn’t suffer a much larger defeat. In taking out the division rival New York Giants, 20-15, the Cowboys were better in a ton of issue areas they’ve had recently. Dak Prescott …

The Dallas Cowboys finally got back in the win column, but they hope they didn’t suffer a much larger defeat. In taking out the division rival New York Giants, 20-15, the Cowboys were better in a ton of issue areas they’ve had recently. Dak Prescott was precise in his passing, CeeDee Lamb got going with over 100 total yards and a score and the defense was as strong as they’ve been in a long time.

After allowing almost 500 yards rushing in the last two games, they held the Giants to just 26 on 24 attempts, a lowly 1.1 yard-per-carry average. The defense kept the Giants out of the end zone after New Orleans and Baltimore had conveyor belts in Weeks 2 and 3 and sealed the game with an interception. But the biggest concern now is the health of superstar Micah Parsons.

Parsons left the contest twice, the first for a stinger concern that he quickly returned from. But late in the game, Parsons was landed on when his teammate pushed a Giants offensive linemen on the back of his legs.

Parsons was taken into the locker room on a cart.

The team was working without DeMarcus Lawrence, who suffered a foot injury early in the third quarter and never returned. The club also lost Trevon Diggs and Zack Martin for a few plays each.

But thanks to two first-half passing touchdowns off the arm of Prescott, the Cowboys were able to overcome. The Giants scored a field goal on their opening drive but Dallas answered with a long, methodical response that ended with a Rico Dowdle receiving touchdown, his first score of the season.

After another Giants field goal, Prescott found Lamb on a beautiful route, who weaved into open space and scored on a 56 yarder. That helped them overcome a ridiculously bad tackling night by the defense, which again buckled down when necessary.

Eric Kendricks, Mazi Smith and DeMarvion Overshown had great games.

Cowboys run defense creates crater of a deficit, comeback falls short vs Ravens, 28-25

Too little, too late as Cowboys’ furious fourth quarter comeback falls short in loss to Ravens. | From @KDDrummondNFL

Is it officially time to panic? The Dallas Cowboys wanted to prove to the world, but more importantly to themselves that last week was an aberration. It wasn’t. The team was blown out in their home opener, 44-19 to the New Orleans Saints in Week 2 but they had a chance to reverse course seven days later with the Baltimore Ravens coming to town.

After allowing 190 rushing yards to Alvin Kamara and the Saints, the two-headed monster of QB Lamar Jackson and RB Derrick Henry made that effort look ambitious by comparison. The Ravens rushed for 274 yards on the game, bludgeoning Mike Zimmer’s embarrassed unit in every way imaginable en route to a 28-25 win.

The game came down to the wire, but this was after the Ravens ran out to a 28-6 lead they carried into the fourth quarter. Dak Prescott and the Dallas offense finally came alive, and aided by an onside kick recovery and some defensive stops, they gave themselves a chance scoring 19 points in the fourth quarter.

Unfortunately, the defense wasn’t able to shut down the Ravens’ final drive, as a Jackson keeper on 2nd-and-9 gave themselves a fresh set of downs and the chance to run out the clock.

The loss drops Dallas to 1-2 on the season, with a quick turnaround trip to New York to take on the Giants on Thursday night.

Prescott finished with 373 passing yards, two touchdowns and no turnovers without much help from the running game. Once again Dallas had issues moving the ball on the ground and then game situation took the run off the table. They finished with just 51 rushing yards on 16 carries.

New Orleans Saints vs. Philadelphia Eagles game recap: Everything we know

Here’s everything to know from the New Orleans Saints’ 15-12 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles:

The New Orleans Saints were looking to get to 3-0 for the first time in roughly a decade as they faced the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 3, but that opportunity slipped away from them last-minute. The last time New Orleans went unbeaten for its first three games of the season was in 2013, and it’s a feat they’ve only accomplished seven times in team history.

In what was largely a defensive contest, the Saints ultimately lost the edge offensively against an Eagles team that left it all out on the field in a bounceback effort after falling in an equally close game to the Atlanta Falcons last week.

Here’s a look at everything to know from the Week 3 loss for the Saints, the biggest storylines, who stood out and what is coming up next on the schedule:

The Eagles won the time of possession battle in the first half and stifled what has been a difficult-to-stop Saints offense. The unit was on a historical track through the first two games of the season, putting together some 91 points.

The Eagles zapped the run game from the Saints early, holding running back Alvin Kamara to just 33 yards on 12 carries in the first half. The Eagles dominated the majority of the game at that point, but did not have anything to show for it on the scoreboard through the first two quarters. The Saints walked into the locker room with a 3-0 lead.

The defensive slugfest continued into the second half, but both offenses started to find some life in the fourth quarter as the Eagles lessened their self-inflicted wounds — something that Saints did not do. Outscoring the Saints 15-9 in the final quarter made all of the difference for Philadelphia.

There were injury issues for both teams in this one as the Saints did not suffer losses in the same way the Eagles did, but still suffered the effects.

  • OL Erik McCoy suffered a groin injury early in the game and did not return
  • OL Cesar Ruiz left with an injury, but quickly came back into the game

With the amount of back and forth that transpired in the second half, it was anyone’s game until quite literally the final seconds of the contest.

Quarterback Derek Carr threw a touchdown pass to wide receiver Chris Olave in the final three minutes of the game to make it 12-7. The two-point conversion failed.

The defensive effort by the Saints on the Eagles’ last drive started off strong, as defensive tackle Bryan Bresee gets the sack on Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts on a key play. But tight end Dallas Goedert’s 60-yard reception set up a Barkley touchdown, and it was Barkley again who took it in for the two-point conversion to send the Eagles up.

The Saints had a chance to tie the game with a field goal or to get a win with a touchdown on the following drive, but a poor decision by Carr under pressure sent a pass intended for Rashid Shaheed to Eagles defender Reed Blankenship instead.

The Saints didn’t have the same number of offensive standouts this week as defense told the story of the game for both teams. There were several key plays made on that side of the ball, though, to get New Orleans the outcome it was after.

  • Special teams ace J.T. Gray blocked a punt at the bottom of the third quarter that was recovered by Jordan Howden, setting the Saints up with favorable field position.
  • CB Paulson Adebo finished as the team’s leading tackler with 10 total tackles, all of which were solo.
  • S Tyrann Mathieu was also a force, notching 7 solo tackles and one interception
  • WR Chris Olave was an essential part to generating somewhat of an offensive spark for the Saints as he scored the team’s only touchdown of the day. Olave caught six passes for 86 yards with the score.
  • RB Alvin Kamara, despite the slowed offense, continued to be the team’s most important piece on that side of the ball. Kamara finished the game with 87 rushing yards on 26 carries, also catching three passes for 40 yards.

The Saints will face the division rival Atlanta Falcons up next on the schedule as they hit the road to travel to Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The Falcons come off of a thrilling 22-21 victory full of last-minute heroics against none other than the Eagles, and have their work cut out as the Kansas City Chiefs travel to Atlanta for Sunday night’s game.

The Saints and the Falcons are set to kick off at 1 p.m. ET in Atlanta on Sunday, Sept. 29.

Three takeaways from Florida’s Week 4 win over Mississippi State

Florida needed a win against Mississippi State this weekend, and the offense delivered a performance to guarantee a 2-2 record. The Gators defense is another story…

The Florida Gators improved to 2-2 on the year with a 45-28 win over the Mississippi State Bulldogs Saturday afternoon in Starkville.

The victory is mostly thanks to the offense, which scored on seven of 11 drives against a porous Mississippi State defense. The Gators split things between the air and the ground, passing for 277 yards and three touchdowns while adding 226 yards and two more scores in the run game.

Despite a three-score win, many of the concerns surrounding the program remain. Winning is good, but 17-point victories are supposed to be convincing. It wasn’t until the fourth quarter that it felt like Florida had the lid on the jar when Mississippi State turned to its backup quarterback.

Mississippi State’s defense is not good

Mississippi State’s deficiencies on defense were well-documented coming into this game. The Bulldogs feature one of the worst secondaries in the conference, one that allowed Toledo to put up nearly 300 yards through the air against them last week, and Florida had already proven itself against a bad defense once before.

Florida didn’t achieve the same success it had in the air against Samford, but only two incompletions on the day paints the picture here. The Bulldogs didn’t play the Gators tight, and Billy Napier exploited that with his playcalling after a three-and-out on the first offensive drive of the day.

With the pass game established and a sizeable lead on the scoreboard, Florida ran the ball more in the second half. All four Gators rushers looked comfortable handling the ball and broke rushes of 10 or more yards. Both quarterbacks also had positive rushing days.

It won’t be this easy for Florida’s offense for the rest of the season, though. Mississippi State is at the bottom of the SEC for a reason, and Florida’s schedule only gets more and more difficult moving forward.

Graham Mertz is still QB1

Recycling a takeaway from last week, it’s now clear that [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] made the right decision to keep [autotag]Graham Mertz[/autotag] as Florida’s starting quarterback. For the second week in a row, Mertz has looked more poised and in control than he did in an ugly performance against Miami.

It’s impossible to deny the raw talent of [autotag]DJ Lagway[/autotag]. His intermediate and deep passes have more zip on them than the ones we see from Mertz, but he’s still a bit overwhelmed at times. Going through reads and making decisions is what makes Mertz the better option in most scenarios, but it won’t be long until Lagway becomes comfortable.

For now, Napier should ride the guy who went 19-of-21 for 201 yards and three touchdowns. Mertz had one bad throw all day, a pass behind tight end Tony Livingston that could have been picked off, but that’s far from disqualifying.

Florida’s run defense is a major concern

Coming into Saturday’s matchup, Mississippi State ranked last in the SEC averaging under 100 yards per game. The Bulldogs ran for 240 yards and three touchdowns against the Gators, and the front seven looked tired at times as missed tackles piled up.

Mississippi State nearly doubled their rushing yards for the season in one game against Florida’s defense. Imagine what Georgia, LSU and Texas will do to this defense.

The broadcast mentioned that Ron Roberts, Florida’s defensive play caller, admitted that he doesn’t feel like the defense trusts one another with the way the season has played out. There’s no room for the blame game after a performance like this. Figure it out, or stick your head in the sand so you don’t have to watch yourself get buried.

Up Next

The Gators have a bye week coming up. Hopefully, Florida gets a little healthier before UCF comes to town on Oct. 5. Ten players earned inactive tags on the initial SEC Availability Report this week, and Florida can’t afford to be shorthanded moving forward.

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Lions offense fizzles in Week 2 loss to the Buccaneers

The Lions offense, notably Jared Goff and Ben Johnson, fizzles in Week 2 loss to the Buccaneers

The Detroit Lions played with fire in the Week 1 win over the Los Angeles Rams, needing overtime to overcome a shaky game from the offense. In Week 2, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers kept the Detroit offense from firing on all cylinders again, and it cost the Lions a win in Ford Field.

The Buccaneers prevailed, 20-16, when quarterback Jared Goff’s fourth-down pass skimmed across the turf well short of its target on Detroit’s final gasp. It put a sour note on a tremendous day from EDGE Aidan Hutchinson, who bagged 4.5 sacks and almost singlehandedly kept the struggling Lions offense in the game for much of the afternoon.

The offense had all sorts of issues. Jared Goff was not sharp with his accuracy on the whole, completing 36-of-55 passes for 306 yards. Goff threw two interceptions; the first was a terrible missed call against the defense on Detroit’s first offensive play, but the second was a brutal, drive-killing red zone INT in the fourth quarter that a pressured Goff threw into the middle of three Buccaneers with no receivers as options.

Coordinator Ben Johnson’s play calls left much to be desired, abandoning the run in the middle quarters. There were a plethora of empty-calorie yards; the Lions racked up 463 yards and 24 first downs, but Detroit went just 1-of-6 in the red zone in scoring touchdowns.

[lawrence-related id=111765]

The defense outside of Hutchinson had some woes of its own. Rookie cornerback Terrion Arnold was guilty of two costly penalties, a pass interference call of specious validity early and a facemask call later. There were breakdowns in the zone coverage that Mayfield exploited nicely.

Still, the Lions more than doubled the offensive output by Tampa Bay’s offense, which gained just 216 yards and picked up only 14 first downs. The Lions’ defense held strong on third downs, with the Bucs picking up just two out of 10.

The disappointing loss drops the Lions to 1-1, while Tampa Bay rises to 2-0. Detroit heads to Arizona for a late-afternoon road date next Sunday.

Detroit Lions Podcast: Breaking down the Lions Week 1 win

Detroit Lions Podcast: Breaking down the Lions Week 1 win

The latest episode of the Detroit Lions Podcast is a happy one, celebrating the Lions’ Week 1 victory over the Los Angeles Rams.

This one is a solo show recapping everything from Sunday night’s win. From David Montgomery’s heroics in overtime to why the Lions needed those late-game heroics after a disappointing fall from a 17-3 lead to a 20-17 deficit, it was an intense game with a lot of different wrinkles and tentacles.

The Lions pass rush thrived even without recording sacks, as evidenced by how the Rams played offense. Detroit’s own offense had its bread and butter taken away, but Jameson Williams provided a lift the Rams simply could not defend.

Lions survive a shaky effort to beat the Rams in overtime

The Detroit Lions survive a shaky effort to beat the visiting Los Angeles Rams in overtime

The Detroit Lions are 1-0. It can be difficult to remember that, because it doesn’t really feel like a triumphant debut for the 2024 Lions.

Detroit survived a vastly undermanned Los Angeles Rams team, eking out a 26-20 overtime win in Ford Field. In front of a national audience on Sunday Night Football, the Lions looked rusty and meek, especially on offense. There were sporadic reminders that the Detroit offense has been one of the NFL’s best over the last two years, but they were not close to being in top form after not playing a down together in the preseason.

The Lions did not get great performances from the expected stars on the team. All-Pro wideout was a nonfactor all night, getting just six targets and netting three catches for 13 yards. One target to St. Brown was a throw where Jared Goff was a half-count late over the middle and Rams safety John Johnson picked it off.

Tight end Sam LaPorta was very quiet as well, catching just four passes for 45 yards. On one key third-down catch, LaPorta ran his route well short of the sticks. Whether by schematic design or a lapse by LaPorta, it’s the kind of mistake the Lions don’t typically make. His last catch, on the game-tying drive at the end of the fourth quarter, netted nearly half of LaPorta’s yards.

Goff wasn’t at his best, either. The drive after his INT intended for St. Brown should have ended in another Rams INT, but cornerback Cobie Durant dropped it. Goff wasn’t aggressive in attacking down the field, and it allowed the Rams to cram the field effectively.

Safety Brian Branch had a poor overall game. Branch missed two INT opportunities and a couple of tackles as well. He got burned on a huge play by the Rams, where backup LB Malcolm Rodriguez ran past Branch well down the field to save a potential touchdown.

About the only thing that worked for the Lions offense was Jameson Williams. Well, David Mongtomery was effective running between the tackles early, and Jahmyr Gibbs had one nice drive. Beyond that, the Rams rookie defensive coordinator, Chris Shula, won the battle against Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.

The defense did just enough, barely. Aaron Glenn’s unit probably should have done more against a dilapidated Rams offense that played fourth-string tackles most of the night. Matthew Stafford was sharp in his old building, and some costly penalties by rookie CB Terrion Arnold helped the Rams get two scores as well.

Kicker Jake Bates forced overtime with a clutch 32-yard field goal. Aidan Hutchinson sacked Matthew Stafford to end any Rams threat at the very end of regulation.

And then Ben Johnson remembered that he had David Montgomery. In his first carries in several drives, Montgomery put the Lions on his back and dragged Detroit, as well as the Rams defense, into the end zone for the game-winning score. Montgomery ran for 45 yards on five carries on the final drive, none bigger than the final one.

Montgomery and Williams, who authored the game’s biggest highlight and turned in his first career 100-yard game, were the overriding positives to take away. That, and also not blowing a prime-time game against a team playing backups and undrafted rookies all over the place, which would have been a devastating blow.

It’s still not good enough football from the Lions, but never apologize for a win or take it for granted. Week 1 is a good lesson in that for Dan Campbell and the Lions.