WATCH: Janoris Jenkins houses a pick-6 off of Tom Brady

New Orleans Saints cornerback Janoris Jenkins intercepted Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady and returned it for a touchdown.

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Great players tend to make their own highlights, and that’s what New Orleans Saints cornerback Janoris Jenkins did to open the second half against Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Jenkins read a route perfectly, timed his jump, and intercepted a pass from Brady before sprinting 36 yards for a defensive touchdown on the return.

It’s the eighth interception returned for a touchdown Jenkins has logged in his NFL career, and the most of any active NFL player. It also ties him for the eighth-most in NFL history. He’s matched the totals set by Buccaneers great Ronde Barber, longtime Chicago Bears star Charles Tillman, and 1990’s Saints standout Eric Allen. Another one will elevate him to fifth-most, tied with Hall of Famers Deion Sanders, Aeneas Williams, and Ken Houston.

The pick-six also lifted the Saints to a 24-7 lead, but Brady bounced back on the next series to narrow the gap to 24-14. And there’s still plenty of football left. It might take another huge play from Jenkins to seal the deal.

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WATCH: Alvin Kamara scores the 1st 2 Saints touchdowns of 2020

New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara scored a pair of touchdowns against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 1 of the 2020 season.

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It took a little time to get up to speed, but the New Orleans Saints offense shook off some early jitters to strike back against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers early in the second quarter. Running back Alvin Kamara slipped between Buccaneers defenders to catch a screen pass from quarterback Drew Brees and cut upfield, slicing through the Tampa Bay secondary to cover 12 yards in a blink and slip into the end zone.

That tied the score at 7-7, and it’s everything you want to see a day after the Saints worked out a five-year contract extension with Kamara. While the Saints executed the play just like it was drawn up, mistakes and limitations by the Buccaneers defense — defensive back Sean Murphy-Bunting took himself out of his zone while watching Brees’ eyes, and nose tackle Vita Vea got a handful of Kamara’s jersey as they passed each other but couldn’t slow him down — really made the magic happen.

But Kamara wasn’t finished yet. After a huge interception from free safety Marcus Williams off of an errant Tom Brady throw, the Saints set up shop and got to work. A couple of plays later, Kamara took the handoff from Brees and cut 6 yards upfield, elbowing his way through traffic, to score his second touchdown of the game, putting the Saints up 14-7 over Tampa Bay. See it for yourself:

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Falcons can’t keep up with Seahawks in 38-25 loss

Here’s a quick look at the major takeaways on offense, defense and special teams from the Falcons’ Week 1 matchup with Seattle.

The Falcons lost their Week 1 matchup against the Seahawks by a score of 38-25 on Sunday, falling to 0-1 on the season. Here’s a quick look at the major takeaways on offense, defense and special teams.

Offense

(AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

The Falcons definitely ran the ball better with free-agent RB Todd Gurley than they did for most of last season. Gurley finished his Atlanta debut with 14 carries for 56 yards and a touchdown.

The problem was most of his production came in the first half and we saw the same one-dimensional Falcons offense in the second half. Overall, the team still struggled to finish drives and went 0-4 on fourth-down attempts.

Quarterback Matt Ryan threw for 450 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Wide receiver Calvin Ridley finished with nine catches, 130 yards and two touchdowns. Julio Jones went for 9 catches and 157 receiving yards.

It was too little, too late again for the Falcons’ offense on Sunday. Sound familiar?

WATCH: Teddy Bridgewater takes a late lead over the Raiders with 75-yard TD pass

Panthers QB Teddy Bridgewater, former New Orleans Saints backup, struck WR Robby Anderson for a huge touchdown pass against the Raiders.

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There he goes: former New Orleans Saints quarterback Teddy Bridgewater put on some late-game heroics in his first career start with the Carolina Panthers, striking wide receiver Robby Anderson for a 75-yard touchdown pass to take the lead against the Las Vegas Raiders.

Bridgewater dropped back to his own 15-yard line before targeting Anderson on an out route near midfield, placing the ball well enough for Anderson to secure the catch, reset his feet, and streak 40 yards away for a score. The following point-after attempt put Carolina up 30-27 over Las Vegas, with about 8 and a half minutes left in regulation. But the Raiders rallied back on their next drive, and Bridgewater’s Panthers now trail 34-30 with 4 minutes remaining.

It was a great play by the former Saints backup, but hopefully he won’t keep up this habit of making great plays when he faces the Saints on Oct. 25 (and again on Jan. 3). In the meantime, the Saints are playing the Raiders themselves next week on Monday Night Football, flying into Las Vegas for a Sept. 21 kickoff. Here’s hoping their pass defense remains suspect.

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Calvin Ridley’s TD keeps Falcons alive vs. Seahawks

Calvin Ridley has high expectations of himself this season, and the third-year Falcons wide receiver is backing it up on the field.

Calvin Ridley has high expectations of himself this season, and the third-year Falcons wide receiver is backing it up on the field in Week 1.

Trailing by 19 points in the fourth quarter, Ridley’s 13-yard touchdown catch made it a two-possession game with nine minutes left in the fourth quarter. Check it out below, as shared by the team’s Twitter account.

Atlanta’s trails Seattle, 31-18, halfway through the fourth quarter.

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Falcons Highlights: Grady Jarrett, Dante Fowler combine for sack

The Falcons’ defense brought down Seahawks QB Russell Wilson three times in the first half of their Week 1 matchup.

The Falcons’ defense brought down Seahawks QB Russell Wilson three times in the first half of their Week 1 matchup.

Defensive tackle Grady Jarrett and Dante Fowler Jr. combined for Atlanta’s third sack, which you can see in the below tweet from the team’s Twitter account.

Seattle currently leads Atlanta, 14-12, early in the third quarter.

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Falcons WR Russell Gage leaves field after big hit by Jamal Adams

Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Russell Gage took a brutal hit from Seahawks safety Jamal Adams late in the second quarter and went into the injury tent.

Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Russell Gage took a brutal hit from Seahawks safety Jamal Adams late in the second quarter and went into the injury tent.

Later on the same drive, Falcons kicker Younghoe Koo made his second field goal of the day to make it a 14-12 Seahawks lead at halftime.

UPDATE: Per ESPN’s Vaughn McClure, Gage is being evaluated for a head injury and is questionable for the second half.

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WATCH: Todd Gurley scores Falcons’ first TD of the season

The Falcons brought in former Georgia star RB Todd Gurley in the offseason and the move is already paying off.

The Falcons brought in former Georgia star RB Todd Gurley in the offseason and the move is already paying off.

Early in the second quarter, Gurley scored Atlanta’s first touchdown of the year. Check it out below, as shared by the team’s Twitter account:

Gurley has 40 rushing yards and a touchdown on eight carries thus far. Stay tuned for more Falcons highlights from their Week 1 matchup with the Seahawks.

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WATCH: Takk McKinley sacks Russell Wilson on opening drive

After a field goal from Younghoe Koo put the team up by three, defensive end Takk McKinley got his first sack of the year.

The Falcons are off to a good start in their Week 1 matchup with the Seattle Seahawks.

After a field goal from Younghoe Koo put the team up by three, defensive end Takk McKinley got his first sack of the year. Check it out below, as shared for Atlanta’s Twitter account.

 

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Falcons list inactives for Week 1 matchup with Seahawks

The Atlanta Falcons released their list of inactives for today’s game against the Seattle Seahawks.

The Atlanta Falcons play the first game of their 2020 season at 1 p.m. ET today against the visiting Seattle Seahawks.

According to the team’s inactives list, CB Kendall Sheffield, RB Qadree Ollison, OT Timon Parris and DE Charles Harris won’t be suiting up for the Falcons’ season opener.

 

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