Tag: instant analysis

Instant analysis from LSU’s Week 5 win over South Alabama

Despite some talk of a trap game, the Tigers had little issue getting past South Alabama on Saturday.

LSU’s Week 5 non-conference finale against South Alabama looked like it could have been a trap game on paper, but the Tigers had little issues as they avoided a slow start similar to past weeks.

They jumped on the Jaguars early and never let them make it a game as they won 42-10.

LSU got off to a fast start offensively thanks to freshman running back [autotag]Caden Durham[/autotag]. He touched the ball on each of their first two plays from scrimmage, taking a screen for 71 yards and a run for 86, scoring a touchdown on the former and setting up an easy score from the one on the latter.

Durham flashed brilliance, running for 128 yards and a touchdown on seven carries, but an injury sidelined him for the second half.

Still, his early playmaking set the tone for a dominant first half in which the Tigers led 35-3 at the break and totaled 429 yards of offense. Quarterback [autotag]Garrett Nussmeier[/autotag] scored four touchdowns in the first two quarters, two with his arm and two with his legs.

However, it wasn’t all great from Nussmeier. After ending the first half with an interception, he threw his second of the game on the opening drive of the third quarter, giving him as many picks as he had thrown on the season so far before the game.

But Nussmeier responded after the Tigers got a turnover on downs at the goal line, leading a 12-play, 99-yard drive capped off by a [autotag]Josh Williams[/autotag] touchdown to give LSU a decisive fourth-quarter lead.

Nussmeier finished the game with over 400 yards passing on 26 of 39 passing.

Defensively, it was easily the Tigers’ best performance of the season. Against a South Alabama offense that scored 135 combined points in the last two weeks, LSU allowed just 10 in this one while holding the Jags to 333 yards, more than 200 which came in the second half when the outcome was not in question.

Fluff Bothwell, one of the most productive backs in the nation this season, had just 17 yards on 10 carries. Meanwhile, the defense turned in nine tackles for loss and three sacks in a disruptive performance.

With the win, the Tigers head into the bye week sitting at 4-0 before SEC play picks up again in Week 7 with a crucial home matchup against Ole Miss, though that game may have lost a bit of luster with the Rebels falling at home to Kentucky on Saturday.

Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.

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Instant analysis of Packers’ 30-14 win over Titans in Week 3

Instant analysis of the Packers’ 30-14 win over the Titans in Week 3.

The Green Bay Packers used two total touchdowns and another efficient performance from backup quarterback Malik Willis and another dominant showing from Jeff Hafley’s defense to cruise past the Tennessee Titans by a 30-14 final at Nissan Stadium on Sunday.

Willis ran in a touchdown on the opening drive, Jaire Alexander produced a pick-six and the pass-rush slammed the door shut on the victory in Nashville.

The Packers are now 2-1 overall and 2-0 with Willis under center in place of Jordan Love.

Here is an instant analysis of the Packers’ win over the Titans in Week 3:

Final score: Packers 30, Titans 14

1 2 3 4 F
GB (2-1) 17 3 7 3 30
TEN (0-3) 7 0 7 0 14

Scoring plays

First quarter

GB 7, TEN 0: Malik Willis 5-yard run (12:25)
GB 7, TEN 7: Nick Vannett 1-yard catch (7:15)
GB 10, TEN 7: Brayden Narveson 21-yard FG (1:05)
GB 17, TEN 7: Jaire Alexander 35-yard interception return (0:51)

Second quarter

GB 20, TEN 7: Brayden Narveson 26-yard FG (0:00)

Third quarter

GB 27, TEN 7: Emanuel Wilson 30-yard catch (8:25)
GB 27, TEN 14: DeAndre Hopkins 11-yard catch (4:55)

Fourth quarter

GB 30, TEN 14: Brayden Narveson 47-yard FG (3:07)

It was over when…

… Xavier McKinney ranged to his right and intercepted Will Levis’ desperate heave on 3rd-and-16 with just over two minutes to go in the fourth quarter. The pick was McKinney’s third in three games.

https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1837942194776559699

Game balls

Offense — QB Malik Willis: The Packers backup completed 13 passes for 202 yards and one touchdown, rushed six times for 73 yards and a second score and didn’t have a turnover.

Defense — DL Devonte Wyatt: He was the star of a dominant pass-rush, tallying two sacks and three quarterback hits.

Special teams — K Brayden Narveson: In his return to Tennessee, Narveson made all three field goals (one miss negated by penalty) and all three extra points.

Key stat

The Packers out-rushed the Titans 188 to 33. It was tough sledding at times for the Packers running backs, but Malik Willis made big plays with his legs, and Josh Jacobs, Emanuel Wilson and Jayden Reed all had a run of 10 or more yards. The Titans rushed 11 times, and their longest non-scramble rush was a 6-yard run by Tyjae Spears. The defense forced the game into Will Levis’ hands, and he mostly gave it away under heavy and consistent pressure.

Deciding factor

The Packers defense created eight sacks for -56 yards, allowed only 33 rushing yards, created three takeaways and scored a touchdown. The Titans averaged 4.5 yards per play, had just two scoring drives on 11 possessions and finished 3-for-10 on third or fourth down. This was a dominant performance from Jeff Hafley’s defense.

Malik Willis watch

(Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

Another marvelous performance from the Packers backup, who is now 2-0 as the starter with Jordan Love injured. Willis completed 68.4 percent of his passes, averaged 10.6 yards per attempt and rushed for 73 yards, including another touchdown. He made big plays on third down and didn’t have a turnover for the second consecutive game. His passer rating finished over 120.0 for the second straight week, too. In terms of backup performances over a two-week stretch, this is about as good as it gets.

Play of the game

https://twitter.com/packers/status/1837909012865507458

The pick-six — the first of Jaire Alexander’s career — put the Packers up 17-7 in the first quarter.

Injury updates

Tight end Tucker Kraft briefly left the game with a shoulder injury but returned.

What’s next

The Packers head back home for a big-time NFC North showdown with the 3-0 Minnesota Vikings at Lambeau Field. The Vikings blew out the Houston Texans on Sunday to remain undefeated. The Packers could return Jordan Love for the rivalry game.

Instant analysis from LSU’s Week 4 win over UCLA

The Tigers had another slow start, but they outscored the Bruins 17-0 in the second half to move to 3-1 on the year.

LSU had to battle a slow start once again on Saturday against UCLA in Week 4, but like in Week 3 against South Carolina, it overcame that. This time, the Tigers pulled away in the second half for a much more comfortable 34-17 win to move to 3-1 on the year.

LSU had some defensive struggles in the first half, particularly against the pass, but quarterback [autotag]Garrett Nussmeier[/autotag] got off to a hot start with a pair of first-half touchdown passes, including a 45-yard bomb to [autotag]Kyle Parker[/autotag].

And despite those defensive issues, the unit came up with some big, timely plays. The Tigers totaled four first-half sacks and recovered a fumble that led to a field goal.

However, the Bruins managed to drive down the field in the final minute, setting up a game-tying touchdown with two seconds to left as the teams entered the locker room tied at 17.

After getting a stop to start the second half, LSU was pinned at its four but responded with a 14-play, 96-yard drive capped off by a [autotag]Josh Williams[/autotag] touchdown to get back on top.

The Tigers would expand their lead early in the fourth despite starting the drive pinned at the eight when Nussmeier found freshman running back [autotag]Caden Durham[/autotag] on a 35-yard touchdown, most of which came after the catch.

Though LSU allowed a fairly efficient day from quarterback Ethan Garbers aside from a late interception from [autotag]Jardin Gilbert[/autotag], it ultimately tightened up, pitching a second-half shutout while allowing fewer than 300 yards.

On the ground, the Bruins totaled just 14 yards on 22 carries while the Tigers sacked Garbers five times, including one from five-star true freshman [autotag]Dominick McKinley[/autotag].

The defense did suffer a potentially significant loss in the fourth quarter as [autotag]Harold Perkins Jr.[/autotag] left the game with a knee injury and was later ruled out. His status moving forward is unclear.

It was another big game for Nussmeier, who completed 32 of 44 passes for 352 yards and three touchdowns. [autotag]Mason Smith[/autotag] (eight catches, 77 yards) and [autotag]Aaron Anderson[/autotag] (six catches, 75 yards) paced the team through the air.

It wasn’t a particularly efficient game on the ground, but [autotag]Josh Williams[/autotag] was the standout with 62 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries.

The Tigers will play at home again next weekend against South Alabama before a bye. Then, a potentially top-five Ole Miss team comes to town in Week 7.

Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.

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Instant analysis of Patriots’ lopsided 24-3 loss to Jets in Week 3

The Patriots got dominated by the Jets on Thursday night

The New England Patriots got their hearts broken in Week 2 just to have it stomped and splattered on the pavement in Week 3.

Thursday’s primetime debut of Jerod Mayo’s Patriots was a lopsided butt-kicking courtesy of the New York Jets in a 24-3 loss. It was a come-back-down-to-reality performance by the Patriots after their shocking Week 1 upset win over the Cincinnati Bengals.

The offensive line was an absolute disaster for the Patriots on a night where the unit gave up seven sacks and 15 quarterback hits. Meanwhile, the defense looked gassed on a short week after Sunday’s 23-20 overtime loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

Aaron Rodgers went 27-of-35 passing for 281 yards and two touchdowns. It was a dominant performance from the 40-year-old quarterback, who made the Patriots defense look average. Unfortunately for New England, average isn’t good enough when their offense is well below average.

Patriots quarterback Jacoby Brissett completed 12 passes for a pitiful 98 yards. The rushing attack had been the team’s bread and butter in the first two games, but the Patriots weren’t as committed to it for some strange reason. They finished with only 15 total carries for 78 yards.

Rookie quarterback Drake Maye got some garbage time work late in the fourth quarter. He appeared to potentially be on the brink of a scoring drive before the Patriots ran out of time. In his short time in the game, he was sacked twice by an aggressive Jets defensive front.

However, he did show the ability to make plays with his legs and keep the drive going. He picked up 12 rushing yards and went 4-of-8 passing for 22 yards.

Overall, the ugliest stat line of the night was the time of possession with the Jets having the ball for 40 minutes in comparison to the Patriots’ 19 minutes.

Gang Green dominated at the line of scrimmage, ran the ball effectively and converted 10-of-15 third downs. The Jets looked more like the Patriots than the Patriots.

It will be a tough flight home for the team after this loss. Hopefully, a few extra rest days will be good for the players ahead of another brutal three-game stretch for the Patriots against the San Francisco 49ers, Miami Dolphins and Houston Texans.

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Instant analysis of Patriots’ heartbreaking overtime loss to Seahawks

Close.

The homecoming party got spoiled for the New England Patriots by the visiting Seattle Seahawks, who eked out a 23-20 victory in overtime at Gillette Stadium on Sunday.

New England had a chance to close the deal at the top of the extra quarter, but their offense got swallowed early, leading to a game-winning drive from Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith.

The offense drove down the field on the Patriots defense and set up the game-clinching 31-yard field goal kick.

It was a valiant effort for the Patriots, but their lack of explosive plays and inability to finish drives with touchdowns hurt them. One of the more glaring issues for the team was the offensive line. They got overwhelmed by Seattle’s defensive front throughout the game, and quarterback Jacoby Brissett didn’t have much time to work in the pocket.

The unit looked slow and sluggish unless Rhamondre Stevenson was single-handedly carrying them with his legs. Stevenson had another strong showing with 81 yards and a touchdown, and even tight end Hunter Henry stepped up for a big day with eight receptions and 109 receiving yards.

Those were mostly short passes that Henry turned into long gains. Meanwhile, the leading receiver for the Patriots was rookie Ja’Lynn Polk with two receptions and 12 yards.

That isn’t good enough to win consistently.

The defense can’t play perfect football every week, But more importantly, how long will Brissett survive behind a patchwork offensive line that seems incapable of protecting a quarterback? Even Mike Onwenu, who is widely believed to be the Patriots’ best offensive lineman, was getting starched in pass protection on a couple of key plays.

Help doesn’t appear to be coming for the Patriots, and the season could get out of hand really fast if they can’t stop the bleeding along the offensive front.

To make matters worse, they’re on a short week before heading back on the road to face the New York Jets on Thursday night.

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Instant Analysis: LSU comes back to avoid upset against South Carolina

The Tigers overcame a 17-0 deficit against the Gamecocks, but Saturday’s win certainly raised questions.

For most of Saturday’s game at South Carolina, it looked like LSU was heading for one of the worst losses of the [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] era.

The Tigers found themselves in a three-score deficit, but a hot close to the first half and start to the second fueled a comeback. LSU held on to win 36-33 and avoid the upset after South Carolina missed a 49-yard field goal that would have sent the game to overtime as the clock expired.

The Tigers fell behind early, dropping into a 17-0 hole in the first half in part thanks to a blocked punt that set up an easy Gamecocks touchdown. LSU fought back before half, leading three consecutive scoring drives to end the second quarter including a touchdown to cut it to one score with 1:20 to play.

The extra point was botched after a bad hold, however, and the Tigers went to the locker room down eight.

The offensive momentum continued out of the gate, with LSU driving down to set up a first and goal from the two on its opening possession of the second half. Though it was held out of the end zone with a fourth down stop, it scored a touchdown on its ensuing drive from true freshman running back [autotag]Caden Durham[/autotag] — his second of the game — but failed to convert the game-tying two-pointer.

After forcing a quick stop, the Tigers didn’t squander another goal-to-go opportunity as [autotag]Garrett Nussmeier[/autotag] found [autotag]Mason Taylor[/autotag] for a go-ahead touchdown pass on the first play of the fourth quarter.

That lead wouldn’t last long, however. On the following possession, South Carolina’s Raheim Sanders broke a 66-yard touchdown run, and while the Gamecocks missed their two-point try to go up three, they still recaptured a slim 30-29 lead.

LSU tried to answer, but things went from bad to worse when a miscommunication led to a mistimed snap and turnover in its own territory, allowing South Carolina to stretch the lead to four with a field goal.

The Tigers were gifted a massive opportunity when a fumble from Robby Ashford, who entered for an injured LaNorris Sellers, gave them the ball in the red zone. But the opportunity was again wasted as [autotag]Garrett Nussmeier[/autotag] threw a bad interception at the goal line that was returned 100 yards the opposite way.

A penalty called back what would have been a dagger pick-six, but the Gamecocks still took over with less than six minutes to play.

After the South Carolina offense continued to struggle to move the ball, LSU got something going in the final minutes set up by an impressive sideline catch from [autotag]Kyren Lacy[/autotag], and [autotag]Josh Williams[/autotag] capped it off with a two-yard go-ahead touchdown with just 1:12 to play.

South Carolina managed to get the ball down to the LSU 31, but the game-tying quick sailed just left.

Despite earning the win, there were plenty of concerns for the Tigers, especially on defense, where they allowed 243 yards and four touchdowns on the ground. They struggled to contain Sellers, who had 88 yards and two scores with his legs before he left the game with an injury. Sellers struggled through the air, and Ashford did after replacing him, as well.

Offensively, there were some bright spots. Durham emerged as the team’s leading rusher, finishing with 98 yards and two scores on 11 carries, while Nussmeier made some big plays but struggled with efficiency and made some questionable decisions.

Still, he finished with 285 yards and two touchdowns through the air, along with one interception.

LSU has quite a bit to work on, and it will get a break from SEC play next week as it hosts UCLA in a matchup against a Big Ten opponent in Baton Rouge.

Instant analysis of Patriots’ shocking 16-10 upset win over Bengals

The Patriots stunned Cincinnati on the road in a 16-10 victory

The New England Patriots played spoiler in front of thousands of Cincinnati Bengals fans at Paycor Stadium on Sunday.

It was supposed to be quarterback Joe Burrow’s triumphant return and an easy Week 1 road block on a likely playoff return for the Bengals. But Jerod Mayo and the Patriots had other plans.

The defense was lights out for New England. In one game, defensive end Keion White went from breakout hopeful to looking like the best defensive player on the team. The former Georgia Tech standout was a wrecking machine on the field with four tackles and 2.5 sacks. He lined up all over the defensive front and proved to be a thorn in the side of Burrow and company throughout the game.

Without Christian Barmore and Matthew Judon, who were the Patriots’ two best defensive players last season, the unit dominated and held the Bengals’ high-flying offense to only 10 points and 224 total yards.

It was an absolute masterclass by newly-hired head coach Jerod Mayo and defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington.

On the offensive side of the ball, the Patriots did what they couldn’t do last season. They dominated on the ground with a sensational effort from running back Rhamondre Stevenson and avoided costly turnovers.

The team also forced two turnovers with long-snapper Joe Cardona causing a fumble on special teams and Kyle Dugger negating a touchdown with a forced fumble before the half.

There is no secret recipe for the winning sauce in New England. They’re going to lean on their defense, run the ball, avoid turnovers, create turnovers and win at the line of scrimmage. Wash, rinse and repeat.

It isn’t the prettiest brand of football, but it can prove effective for a team that only won four games last season. The fact that they were able to knock off a playoff contender in the opener is an impressive feat.

It also shows that the 2024 season might not be as daunting as some expected.

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LSU pulls away in second half to beat Nicholls in home opener

It was closer than the Tigers would have hoped, but they earned their first win of the season with a 44-21 victory over Nicholls.

It was certainly closer at times than LSU would have liked, but coach Brian Kelly’s team pulled away in the second half to beat Nicholls State 44-21 in its Week 2 home opener on Saturday night. The Tigers move to 1-1 heading into its SEC opener on the road against South Carolina, which will host College GameDay next week.

Nicholls, a ranked FCS opponent facing LSU for the first time in program history, held its own for a while. The Colonels trailed just 23-14 at halftime and cut the Tigers lead to just two early in the third, but some offensive explosion was enough for them to avoid a much scarier conclusion.

[autotag]Garrett Nussmeier[/autotag] was strong in this game, completing 27 of 37 passes for 302 yards and six touchdowns. It was a good thing he was that productive because the ground game was non-existent.

The Tigers managed just 64 yards on 21 carries, with no back exceeding 19 yards individually. That’s a concern, especially with the season-ending injury to [autotag]John Emery Jr.[/autotag]

Freshman defensive back [autotag]Ju’Juan Johnson[/autotag], who moved to running back this week, helped bridge that gap and caught a touchdown pass out of the backfield. [autotag]Kyren Lacy[/autotag], who was injured in the first half but returned, caught three touchdown passes and totaled 65 yards in the receiving game.

After giving up a big day to USC, LSU’s defensive concerns were far from alleviated in this game. While it held Nicholls under 300 yards — just barely — quarterback Pat McQuaide was efficient and avoided turnovers while Collin Guggenheim went off for 145 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.

While Lacy was able to return, LSU didn’t escape the game entirely unscathed from an injury perspective. Veteran defensive tackle [autotag]Jacobian Guillory[/autotag] exited the game, didn’t return and was later spotted on the sideline in a wheelchair with his leg in a cast.

That would be a major loss if it proves to be for a significant period.

It wasn’t exactly the performance the Tigers were hoping for, but it gave them their first win and something to build on with a South Carolina matchup looming that suddenly seems tougher than expected.

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Instant analysis from LSU’s heartbreaking season-opening loss to USC

The Tigers lost their fifth-straight season opener on Sunday night as they couldn’t stop a game-winning Trojans drive.

LSU will have to wait another year to earn its first season-opening win since 2019.

On Sunday night, the Tigers fell 27-20 to USC in Las Vegas to begin the 2024 season after the Trojans scored a go-ahead touchdown with eight seconds to play to clinch a win and hand LSU a heartbreaking defeat.

The Tigers had their chances in this one, driving down the field while trailing by three in the final minutes. But due to a few mistakes, the drive stalled out in the red zone and LSU had to settle for a game-tying field goal.

USC responded quickly on the other end, moving down the field despite holding just one timeout and a 13-yard run from Woody Marks capped off the drive.

LSU’s defense proved to be stronger in this game than in many contests last year, but it still wasn’t enough. The Trojans totaled 447 yards with quarterback Miller Moss accounting for 378 of those through the air.

It overshadowed what was an overall strong regular season starting debut for [autotag]Garrett Nussmeier[/autotag]. He looked poised and played efficiently, finishing 29 of 38 for 304 yards and two touchdowns with an interception, which came on a desperation play with less than 10 seconds to play.

[autotag]Kyren Lacy[/autotag] was LSU’s clear top option in the passing game, finishing with 94 yards and a touchdown on seven catches. [autotag]Mason Taylor[/autotag] also had seven catches with 62 yards, while [autotag]Aaron Anderson[/autotag] managed 64 with a touchdown.

The Tigers also ran the ball with some success, totaling 117 yards on 26 carries with [autotag]John Emery Jr.[/autotag] leading the way with 61 yards on 10 carries.

It looked like an improved product in some ways, particularly when it came to a defensive line that got pressure, headlined by a two-sack day from [autotag]Sai’Vion Jones[/autotag]. Ultimately, the Tigers will start another season 0-1 and will now have to dig themselves out of an early hole, with Nicholls coming to town for next weekend’s home opener.

Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.

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Instant analysis of Patriots 20-10 road loss to Commanders

A mistake-filled night led to a second straight preseason loss for the Patriots

New England Patriots coach Jerod Mayo will probably be seeing yellow flags in his sleep after Sunday’s 20-10 preseason road loss to the Washington Commanders.

It was raining flags on the Patriots in a game where the team was called for 10 penalties.

Sure, some of the calls felt a bit ticky-tacky, particularly with some of the ones called on the Patriots’ offensive line. But it’s hard to even present that as a viable argument considering the offensive line has struggled throughout training camp and the preseason.

And Sunday’s showing against the Commanders might honestly have been the worst we’ve seen. The offensive line racked up penalties and struggled in pass protection when facing a Commanders defense mostly composed of backups. It was an absolute mess of a performance.

Chukwuma Okorafor drew multiple penalties, and Nick Leverett once again struggled snapping the ball. Rookie Layden Robinson also had issues with penalties. The miscommunication was so bad up front that quarterback Jacoby Brissett got flattened like a pancake in the first quarter.

Brissett exited the game with a right shoulder injury and didn’t return.

Perhaps the only silver lining in the game was rookie Drake Maye, who once again showed signs of being a future franchise quarterback. He looked comfortable moving around in the pocket, avoiding defenders and delivering accurate throws to receivers.

He finished the game throwing 13-of-20 for 126 yards, one touchdown and a 99.2 passer rating.

Brissett’s injury will be worth monitoring over the next couple of weeks, as the team prepares for their Week 1 regular season matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals. The Patriots could be forced into a position where they have to start Maye under center.

That might not necessarily be a bad thing considering he’s looked like the best quarterback on the team in the preseason games. However, he’d be getting thrown into the fire behind a makeshift offensive line and a bunch of unproven wide receiver weapons.

It’s a potentially disastrous situation that could either make or break a young quarterback.