Tag: week 6

Instant analysis of Packers’ 24-22 win over Texans in Week 7

Instant analysis of the Packers’ 24-22 win over the Texans in Week 7.

The Green Bay Packers won a back-and-forth showdown with the Houston Texans on Sunday at Lambeau Field, using three touchdown passes from Jordan Love, four sacks of C.J. Stroud and a game-winning field goal from new kicker Brandon McManus to escape with a 24-22 victory.

After falling behind 22-21 late, Love led a 44-yard drive to set up McManus — who signed on Wednesday — for a 45-yarder with three seconds left. Even after a timeout negated his first attempt and a poor snap on his second, McManus made the game-winner as time expired.

Here is an instant analysis of the Packers’ win over the Texans in Week 7:

Final score: Packers 24, Texans 22

1 2 3 4 F
HOU (5-2) 3 16 0 3 22
GB (5-2) 0 14 7 3 24

Live scoring

First quarter

HOU 3, GB 0: Ka’imi Fairbairn 23-yard field goal (11:48)

Second quarter

GB 7, HOU 3: Tucker Kraft 14-yard catch (13:16)
HOU 10, GB 7: Joe Mixon 2-yard run (11:52)
GB 14, HOU 10: Dontayvion Wicks 30-yard catch (8:51)
GB 14, HOU 13: Ka’imi Fairbairn 52-yard field goal (4:30)
HOU 19, GB 14: Joe Mixon 4-yard run (1:13)

Third quarter

GB 21, HOU 19: Josh Jacobs 8-yard catch (7:25)

Fourth quarter

HOU 22, GB 21: Ka’imi Fairbairn 35-yard field goal (1:44)
GB 24, HOU 22: Brandon McManus 45-yard field goal (0:00)

It was over when…

… Daniel Whelan got down the hold and Brandon McManus snuck his kick inside the left upright as time expired, giving the Packers a dramatic 24-22 win over the Texans.

Game balls

Offense — WR Romeo Doubs/QB Jordan Love: Love gets a game ball for delivering a game-winning drive and making a handful of special throws. Doubs, meanwhile, caught eight passes for 94 yards, including a pair of catches on the final drive.

Defense — LB Eric Wilson: The veteran linebacker delivered two sacks, four tackles for loss and a pass breakup. His production helped the Packers limit the Texans to 55 net passing yards.

Special teams — K Brandon McManus/P Daniel Whelan: McManus gets a game ball for a game-winner in his first appearance as a Packer. Whelan gets one for five field-flipping punts, including three over 60 yards, and a great final hold on the game-winning kick.

Key stat

55: The Texans finished with 55 net passing yards. C.J. Stroud completed only 10 of 21 passes, and the Packers sacked him four times for -31 yards. Stroud found only six completions to wide receivers and finished with one completion over 20 yards.

Deciding factor

Overwhelming offensive depth: On one touchdown drive in the first half, seven different players touched the ball in a meaningful way. On the game-winning drive, Love connected with three different targets. Three different players caught a touchdown pass, and Josh Jacobs produced three explosive runs. It wasn’t always pretty, but when the Packers needed plays in big spots, the sheer number of playmakers helped Matt LaFleur’s team find them.

Jordan Love watch

Sunday was a rollercoaster experience for Jordan Love and the Packers offense. Love threw sublime touchdown passes to Tucker Kraft and Dontayvion Wicks in the first half, extending his streak with two or more passing touchdowns in a game to 11, including the postseason. He also led a terrific go-ahead touchdown drive to start the second half, and he masterfully executed the two-minute drill late to set up the game-winning field goal. That’s all high-level stuff. Love also threw two picks, including one on a terrible throw targeting Christian Watson, and the Packers offense stalled too often against a defense missing five starters. Still, Love completed 24 of 33 passes, threw three touchdown passes and won the game late.

Play of the game

Love’s first touchdown pass was a thing of beauty. He rifled the ball into a small window, and Tucker Kraft made an incredible diving catch to haul in the 14-yard score on third down.

Injury updates

Linebacker Quay Walker exited the game with a concussion and did not return. He will need to go through the league’s concussion protocol before he returns to the field.

What’s next

The Packers will go to Jacksonville to play the Jaguars, who are coming back from a two-week trip in London. Doug Pederson’s team beat the New England Patriots earlier Sunday to improve to 2-5. A week earlier, the Chicago Bears cruised past the Jaguars.

Broncos now have 7 players on injured reserve or PUP list

Going into Week 8, the Broncos have 5 players on injured reserve and 2 players on the reserve/physically unable to perform list.

After activating three players from injured reserve last week, the Denver Broncos still have seven players on IR or physically unable to perform lists going into week 8. Five of those players will be eligible to return later this season.

Broncos running back Tyler Badie (back) will be eligible to return in Week 9, and center Luke Wattenberg (ankle) and wide receiver Josh Reynolds (hand) can return in Week 10.

Denver linebacker Drew Sanders (Achilles) and safety Delarrin Turner-Yell (ACL) have been eligible to return from the PUP list since Week 5, but they apparently still need more time to recover.

Broncos eligible to return from IR/PUP

  1. LB Drew Sanders: Eligible to return since Week 5
  2. DB Delarrin Turner-Yell: Eligible to return since Week 5
  3. RB Tyler Badie: Eligible to return Week 9
  4. WR Josh Reynolds: Eligible to return Week 10
  5. C Luke Wattenberg: Eligible to return Week 10

The Broncos also have two players — linebacker Alex Singleton (ACL) and offensive lineman Quinn Bailey (ankle) — who are on season-ending IR.

Broncos on season-ending injured reserve

  1. LB Alex Singleton: Out for season
  2. OL Quinn Bailey: Out for season

If healthy, Badie could return after Denver hosts the Carolina Panthers next Sunday.

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7 players did not play in Broncos’ win vs. Saints

The Broncos held out seven players from Thursday’s game against the Saints, including CB Pat Surtain, who is recovering from a concussion.

Seven members of the 53-man roster did not play in the Denver Broncos‘ 33-10 win over the New Orleans Saints on Thursday Night Football.

Broncos quarterback Zach Wilson*, cornerback Pat Surtain (concussion), offensive tackle Alex Palczewski (ankle), cornerback Kris Abrams-Draine, outside linebacker Dondrea Tillman, defensive lineman Eyioma Uwazurike and tight end Greg Dulcich were inactive in Week 7.

Wilson was inactive but was still dressed as an emergency third quarterback.

Jarrett Stidham, Denver’s primary backup quarterback, made his 2024 debut when he entered the game late in the fourth quarter for kneel-downs. After Stidham entered the game, all of the Broncos’ active players had seen the field on TNF.

Broncos who did not play in Week 7

  1. QB Zach Wilson (emergency third QB)
  2. CB Pat Surtain (concussion)
  3. OT Alex Palczewski (ankle)
  4. CB Kris Abrams-Draine
  5. TE Greg Dulcich
  6. OLB Dondrea Tillman
  7. DL Eyioma Uwazurike

Denver waived running back Blake Watson on Thursday, but if he clears waivers, the Broncos are expected to re-sign him to the practice squad.

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Bills sign kicker to practice squad as ‘concern’ with Tyler Bass grows

Bills sign kicker to practice squad as ‘concern’ with Tyler Bass grows

The Buffalo Bills have signed free agent kicker Lucas Havrisik to the practice squad the team announced on Thursday.

The Bills released wide receiver Ahmarean Brown from the practice squad to make room for Havrisik.

Havrisik has appeared in just nine games in the NFL. They all came in 2023 for the Los Angeles Rams. Last year he made 15-of-20 field goals (75%) and converted 19-of-22 extra points (86.4%). He also spent some time on the practice squad for the Indianapolis Colts and Cleveland Browns.

Havrisik’s kicking percentages would rank towards the bottom of the barrel when it comes to NFL kicking. But, current Bills kicker Tyler Bass ranks that poorly right now.

Bass has had an inconsistent year through six weeks of the season. And his struggles date back to last year.

During a press conference on Tuesday, Bills head coach Sean McDermott expressed his concern with Bass.

McDermott said bluntly, “I can understand everyone’s concern [with Bass]. I’m concerned the same.”

The concern about Bass’ performance is what led to the Bills bringing in two free-agent kickers for workouts in September. And the concern remains a month later.

McDermott did, however, express his confidence that Bass would turn it around.

“He’s had some really good kicks in some really good moments, and some that weren’t his best,” McDermott said. “That’s part of the journey as well. I’m confident that he’ll continue to work through that and his best football is ahead of him.”

On Monday night against the New York Jets, Bass missed a field goal from 47 yards and he also missed an extra point that wasn’t particularly close to the uprights. It was a very windy night in East Rutherford in Bass’ defense.

Bass is 9-of-12 on field goals for the year. His 75% field goal percentage ranks 28th in the NFL. His 90% conversion rate on extra points ranks 32nd in the NFL.

The added competition in the special teams room with Havrisik can’t hurt.

The Bills need to turn their kicking around for the rest of the year. Bass will get a chance to get back on track against the Tennessee Titans at home in Week 7.

Stars, studs and duds from Packers’ Week 6 win over Cardinals

The stars, studs and duds from the Packers’ Week 6 win over the Cardinals.

The Green Bay Packers improved to 4-2 with a convincing and comfortable win over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday at Lambeau Field. Matt LaFleur’s team jumped out to a 24-0 lead in the first half, absorbed a counter punch from the Cardinals and then finished the job with three takeaways and a productive run game down the stretch.

The Packers produced more first downs, total yards, passing yards, rushing yards and third down conversions while also winning the turnover battle.

Here are the stars, studs and duds from the Packers’ Week 6 win over the Cardinals:

Stars

QB Jordan Love: Without a truly unfortunate interception thrown when Bo Melton slipped down, Love’s passer rating would have been 132.8 — a better representation of how well he played. Love was excellent on third or fourth down, throwing three touchdown passes and producing seven total conversions. When not blitzed, Love sliced and diced the Cardinals, averaging almost 10 yards per attempt. Even against pressure, he found Romeo Doubs for a touchdown against a free runner. Love hit a layup deep shot to Christian Watson, and he consistently found the underneath or intermediate target. His throw to Watson on fourth down — a perfectly layered ball into the smallest of windows — was incredible. Love completed passes to nine different players, scrambled three times for positive gains and wasn’t sacked.

S Evan Williams: The rookie safety killed two drives with elite plays. In the first half, Williams took the quarterback on a zone read and made a terrific open-field tackle on Kyler Murray behind the line of scrimmage, forcing a punt. Later, his punch — perfectly timed and placed on the ball — forced a fumble with the Cardinals driving. Williams is mixing down-to-down reliability with impact plays.

Studs

RT Zach Tom: Another quietly dominant performance. Tom didn’t allow a pressure over 38 pass-blocking snaps, per PFF.

DE Rashan Gary: This might have been Gary’s best game of the season. He created three pressures, including one near-sack and a quarterback hit. Gary also had two stops against the run, and his pass-rushing discipline helped keep Kyler Murray in the pocket.

CB/PR Keisean Nixon: He was in on a run stuff on the Cardinals’ first play from scrimmage. He broke up a third down pass in the first half, forcing a punt. He returned a punt 39 yards, flipping the field and setting up a touchdown. He even returned two kicks. Nixon finished with 99 return yards, a season high.

RB Josh Jacobs: He produced an explosive run on the Packers’ first touchdown drive, consistently gained tough yards between the tackles, caught all three targets for 28 yards, forced five missed tackles and produced four total first downs. His 90 total yards were a team high.

DL Karl Brooks: His turnover was a fantastic individual play. Brooks read the screen, pursued the ball and stripped James Conner before recovering the fumble. Without Devonte Wyatt available, Brooks has consistently made big plays.

LB Edgerrin Cooper: The rookie linebacker stuffed Trey Benson after a 1-yard gain and made a tackle covering a kickoff. He flew around the field, showcasing speed and aggressiveness. The Packers want more consistency with his run fits but his talent can’t be kept off the field. Cooper played 38 snaps.

LB Ty’Ron Hopper: Over 15 special teams snaps, Hopper produced three tackles — two solo and one assisted — covering kickoffs.

Duds

K Brayden Narveson: Another miss. Narveson’s 44-yarder went wide right in the second half. The rookie has a miss in four of six games this season and leads the NFL with five total misses through six weeks. He did remain perfect on extra points.

NFL power rankings: Houston Texans continue rising

The Chiefs and Vikings remain the NFL’s only undefeated teams after byes in Week 6. Meanwhile, the Texans and Lions are surging.

The Kansas City Chiefs (5-0) and Minnesota Vikings (5-0) both had byes in Week 6, so their unbeaten records will stand for at least one more week.

Elsewhere in the NFL, the Houston Texans improved to 5-1 on Sunday with a convincing 41-21 victory over the struggling New England Patriots (1-5).

The Detroit Lions (4-1) also made a statement with a huge 47-9 demolishing of the Dallas Cowboys (3-3) on the road.

Meanwhile, the Chicago Bears are suddenly 4-2 following their 35-16 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars (1-5) in London. It’s probably worth noting that Chicago’s four wins have come against the Tennessee Titans (1-4), Los Angeles Rams (1-4), Carolina Panthers (1-5) and Jags (1-5). It might be too early to call the Bears the real deal, but they deserve some respect.

So, where does that leave us? Here are our latest NFL power rankings going into Week 7 of the 2024 NFL season.

NFL power rankings after Week 6

  1. Kansas City Chiefs (5-0)
  2. Minnesota Vikings (5-0)
  3. Houston Texans (5-1)
  4. Detroit Lions (4-1)
  5. Baltimore Ravens (4-2)
  6. Washington Commanders (4-2)
  7. Atlanta Falcons (4-2)
  8. San Francisco 49ers (3-3)
  9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-2)
  10. Green Bay Packers (4-2)
  11. Pittsburgh Steelers (4-2)
  12. Buffalo Bills (4-2)
  13. Chicago Bears (4-2)
  14. Philadelphia Eagles (3-2)
  15. Los Angeles Chargers (3-2)
  16. Seattle Seahawks (3-3)
  17. Indianapolis Colts (3-3)
  18. Denver Broncos (3-3)
  19. New York Jets (2-4)
  20. Dallas Cowboys (3-3)
  21. Miami Dolphins (2-3)
  22. Cincinnati Bengals (2-4)
  23. New Orleans Saints (2-4)
  24. Arizona Cardinals (2-4)
  25. Los Angeles Rams (1-4)
  26. New York Giants (2-4)
  27. Las Vegas Raiders (2-4)
  28. Tennessee Titans (1-4)
  29. Carolina Panthers (1-5)
  30. New England Patriots (1-5)
  31. Jacksonville Jaguars (1-5)
  32. Cleveland Browns (1-5)

Week 7 will kick off on Thursday when the Saints host the Broncos.

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Bills QB Josh Allen connects with Ray Davis for 42-yard gain vs. Jets

Check out this highlight-reel play that helped the #Bills regain their lead over the #Jets on “Monday Night Football” in Week 6.

The Buffalo Bills took control of their Week 6 matchup against the New York Jets when star quarterback Josh Allen connected with wide receiver Ray Davis for a 42-yard gain in the second quarter on “Monday Night Football.”

The big play happened after New York gained an early lead with an Aaron Rodgers touchdown pass to Garrett Wilson, and helped spark the Bills to score a touchdown that gave Buffalo a 13-10 advantage over the Jets.

However, Buffalo was unable to extend its lead to four points when kicker Tyler Bass missed the extra point try after the touchdown.

Take a look at the game-changing connection between Allen and Davis in this video, which was posted to Twitter by the NFL’s official account:

 

Heading into halftime, the Bills held a three-point lead over the Jets.

Expect Allen and Buffalo’s high-octane offense to continue impressing fans with more outstanding plays in the second half of this AFC East showdown.

Jets QB Aaron Rodgers hits WR Garrett Wilson for go-ahead TD vs. Bills

Check out this touchdown pass from #Jets QB Aaron Rodgers to WR Garrett Wilson that gave New York an early lead over the #Bills.

The New York Jets got out to an early lead over the Buffalo Bills in Week 6 when quarterback Aaron Rodgers hit star wide receiver Garrett Wilson for a touchdown in the second quarter of Monday night’s contest.

Though Buffalo would ultimately regain the lead before halftime, the play was an excellent demonstration of the Jets’ offensive potential with Rodgers under center.

New York desperately needs a win against the Bills to keep its season on track after the Jets fired head coach Robert Saleh last week.

Watch take a look at Wilson’s dramatic grab in this video that was shared to Twitter by the NFL’s official account:

https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1845988830891200717

After a high-scoring first half, viewers should expect Rodgers to continue putting on a show as he attempts to out-duel Josh Allen to earn New York a share of the top spot in the AFC East heading into the middle part of the regular season.

Watch Aaron Rodgers warm up before Jets’ matchup vs. Bills

Check out this video of #Jets QB Aaron Rodgers showing off his arm in pre-game warmups ahead of New York’s Week 6 matchup against the #Bills

While the New York Jets weren’t able to score a touchdown on the opening drive of their matchup against the Buffalo Bills on “Monday Night Football,” Aaron Rodgers made sure to show fans that he still has the arm to upset the home crowd at Highmark Stadium in his pregame warmups.

Rodgers and the Jets entered Week 6 with a 2-3 record, and need a win tonight to get their season back on track.

Monday night’s matchup against Buffalo will be New York’s first game since the Jets fired head coach Robert Saleh last week.

Check out this video of Rodgers’ warmup, which was posted by the NFL’s official Twitter account:

Expect Rodgers to do his best to lift New York back to relevance over the next few weeks as he looks to salvage the Jets’ season after the team’s decision to part with Saleh.

After a quarter and change of play, New York currently trails Buffalo 13-10.

Monday Night Football schedule: Is there a ‘ManningCast’ tonight?

Peyton and Eli are back on ESPN2 tonight with another ‘ManningCast’ for the Bills-Jets showdown on ‘Monday Night Football.’

Peyton and Eli Manning have returned for a fourth season of the ManningCast with the two former quarterbacks set to provide commentary for 11 weeks of Monday Night Football games this fall.

The brothers released a funny 10-minute musical to promote the upcoming ManningCast season earlier this month. The 2024 slate continues tonight for the New York Jets vs. Buffalo Bills showdown on ESPN2, which is available to stream on fuboTV (try it free).

Peyton and Eli will welcome new guests on the program each week there is a ManningCast, and Bill Belichick will be featured on every episode this fall.

In addition to 10 weeks of regular-season action, Peyton and Eli will also provide commentary for a Wild Card game in January.

Check out the full schedule below.

ManningCast 2024 Schedule

NFL Week Date Game TV
1 Sept. 9 Jets @ 49ers ESPN2, ESPN+
2 Sept. 16 Falcons @ Eagles ESPN2
5 Oct. 7 Saints @ Chiefs ESPN2
6 Oct. 14 Bills @ Jets ESPN2
7 Oct. 21 Ravens @ Bucs ESPN2, ESPN+
7 Oct. 21 Chargers @ Cards ESPN+
8 Oct. 28 Giants @ Steelers ESPN2, ESPN+
9 Nov. 4 Bucs @ Chiefs ESPN2
11 Nov. 18 Texans @ Cowboys ESPN2
12 Nov. 25 Ravens @ Chargers ESPN2
14 Dec. 9 Bengals @ Cowboys ESPN2, ESPN+
Wild Card Jan. 13 TBD ESPN2, ESPN+

The ManningCast is televised on ESPN2. The primary MNF broadcast will continue to feature Joe Buck, Troy Aikman and Lisa Salters on ESPN.

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