It was smooth sailing in the first half for the Los Angeles Rams before some late shenanigans resulted in a narrow 31-27 win at home against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.
The Rams were cooking early, jumping ahead in the first quarter when quarterback Matthew Stafford decided to feed newly acquired wide receiver Allen Robinson II for a one-yard touchdown.
Their 7-0 lead was doubled to 14-0 when Darrell Henderson rushed one in from eight yards out, and after a Falcons field goal, the Rams added their third touchdown of the half with a three-yard fade to the back corner of the endzone for Cooper Kupp.
Reigning Offensive Player of the Year Kupp nabbed his second of the game after half-time, getting on the end of a 10-yard pass to make it 28-3. He went on to finish with 11 catches from 14 targets for 108 yards and two touchdowns, after snagging 13 catches for 128 yards and a touchdown in Week 1.
While the game appeared dead, nobody told the Falcons as they began to march back into the contest.
The first receiver taken in this year's NFL Draft – Drake London, at pick eight – gave the Falcons their first touchdown of the night, and the first of his career, when he reeled in a four-yard pass from Marcus Mariota.
Another field goal for the Rams would extend their lead to 31-10, which was cut to 31-17 when Olamide Zaccheaus found some space for an 11-yard touchdown reception with eight minutes remaining.
The Rams clearly felt they had done enough for the win, and were content to punt the ball away on their next drive, only for the punt to get blocked, scooped up and run in by Lorenzo Carter for a Falcons touchdown, with a two-point conversion cutting the deficit to 31-25.
Atlanta would get a chance to drive down and win the game after Kupp coughed up an uncharacteristic fumble, but Mariota's pass into the endzone was picked off by Jalen Ramsey, allowing the Rams to run out the clock, even taking an intentional safety in the process to drain the time.
Stafford completed 27 of 36 passes for 272 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions, and with Falcons running back Damien Williams placed on injured reserve, Cordarrelle Patterson and Tyler Allegier split the carries with 10 each.
Wilson's Broncos ride to choppy first win
New Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson heard boos in his first home game in Empower Field at Mile High, but did enough to earn an unimpressive 16-9 win against the Houston Texans.
The Broncos trailed 6-3 in the final seconds of the first half, and with fourth-and-goal at the one yard line they opted to trot out the kicker, which was met with a chorus of boos for the coaching decision.
After an interception on the opening drive of the second half, Wilson himself was met with boos as he had only completed six-of-18 passes up until that point, but a touchdown pass to Eric Saubert at the start of the fourth quarter was enough to get the Broncos over the line.
Wilson ended up completing 14 of his 31 passes for 219 yards, one touchdown and one interception, and he relied heavily on receiver Courtland Sutton, who reeled in seven of his 11 targets for 122 yards.
Edge rusher Hendrickson reportedly requests trade from Bengals
A day before the NFL draft, one of the league's best edge rushers has requested a trade.
Three-time Pro Bowler Trey Hendrickson has asked to be traded from the Cincinnati Bengals on Wednesday, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.
Hendrickson, who is set to make $14.8million this season and $15.8million in 2025, is reportedly seeking a long-term deal - something that hasn't been worked out with the Bengals.
His request to be traded comes at an intriguing time with the draft set for Thursday, as another team could be looking to make a deal with Cincinnati for the established pass rusher.
The 29-year-old is coming off a career year, registering a personal-high 17 1/2 sacks to tie with Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Josh Allen for the second most in the league.
Hendrickson's 16 tackles for loss were tied for 10th in 2023, and his 53 sacks since the start of the 2020 season rank third behind T.J. Watt (62) and Myles Garrett (58).
A third-round pick by the New Orleans Saints in 2017, Hendrickson signed with the Bengals in 2021, and has been named a Pro Bowler in each of his three seasons in Cincinnati.
Hendrickson's request for a trade comes a little more than a month after wide receiver Tee Higgins asked to be traded.
Higgins, who had the franchise tag placed on him by the Bengals on February 26, did say earlier this month, however, that he intends to play for Cincinnati in 2024.
Fellow Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase had the fifth-year option on his rookie contract picked up on Wednesday.
Chase, the 2021 AP Offensive Rookie of the Year, has 268 receptions for 3,717 yards and 29 touchdowns in his first three seasons - the team leader in each category since 2021.
Detroit Lions WR St. Brown gets $120M extension
The Detroit Lions have locked up one of their most important players for the foreseeable future by agreeing to a reported four-year, $120 million extension with wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown.
St. Brown, who was entering the final season of his rookie contract, confirmed the news Wednesday with a video message on his Instagram account.
"I can't wait. I'm here, four more years!," St. Brown announced.
One of the NFL's most productive receivers since entering the league as a fourth-round draft pick of the Lions in 2021, St. Brown will now be among the highest-paid players at his position. NFL.com reports the contract, which runs through 2028, includes $77 million in guaranteed money for the largest sum ever for a wide receiver.
The deal's $30 million average annual value is tied for the highest among wide receivers, matching the four-year, $120 million extension Tyreek Hill received from the Miami Dolphins in 2022.
St. Brown earned first team All-Pro honours with a brilliant 2023 campaign in which he finished in the NFL's top three in receptions (119) and receiving yards (1,515) and recorded a career-high 10 touchdown catches in 16 games.
The 24-year-old added 22 catches for 274 yards and a touchdown in three post-season games to help the NFC North champion Lions advance to the conference title game for the first time since 1991.
St. Brown's 315 career receptions are the third-most by any player in NFL history through his first three seasons, eclipsed only by Minnesota Vikings star Justin Jefferson's 324 from 2020-22 and Michael Thomas' 321 with the New Orleans Saints from 2016-18.
The two-time Pro Bowler is also one of just three receivers in league history with 90 or more catches through his first three seasons, joining Thomas and Odell Beckham Jr. (2014-16).
Broncos reportedly trade for Jets QB Wilson
Zach Wilson has a chance to restart his career in a new setting after the Denver Broncos reportedly traded for the former starting quarterback from the New York Jets on Monday, according to NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport.
The Broncos are also acquiring a seventh-round pick in this year's NFL draft, and the Jets will receive a sixth-rounder.
New York will also pay part of Wilson's $5.5million salary next season.
Wilson arrives in Denver after never living up to expectations with the Jets after the franchise selected him second overall in the 2021 draft.
He went 3-10 as a rookie in 2021, and things didn't improve in 2022, leading to his benching.
The Jets had seen enough and decided to move on from Wilson, trading for Aaron Rodgers prior to the 2023 season. Wilson, though, got another chance to start after Rodgers tore his Achilles on his first drive with New York in the season opener.
He was unable to take advantage of that opportunity, however, throwing for eight touchdowns and seven interceptions in 12 games in 2023. His 77.2 passer rating ranked 30th out of 32 qualifying QBs last season.
In 34 career games, he has completed 57.0 per cent of his passes for 6,293 yards with 23 TDs and 25 picks.
Among the 30 quarterbacks with a minimum of 700 pass attempts since 2021, Wilson ranks last in completion percentage and QB rating (73.2), and 29th in both touchdown passes and yards per attempt (6.34).
In Denver, he'll likely get a chance to compete for the starting QB job after the Broncos released Russell Wilson in early March.
The only other quarterbacks on Denver's roster are Jarrett Stidham and Ben DiNucci, but the team could also decide to select one in Thursday's draft.
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