The Cleveland Browns are now 2-1 after defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers 29-17 on Thursday night thanks to excellent offensive showings from quarterback Jacoby Brissett and star running back Nick Chubb.
Brissett was impressive for the Browns, finishing 21-of-31 for 220 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions as Amari Cooper hauled in seven catches for 101 yards and Njoku caught nine balls for 89 yards. On the ground, Chubb posted strong figures of 23 carries for 113 yards.
Pittsburgh's offense stalled as Mitch Trubisky started the game with nine completions from his first 10 passes, before only being able to complete 11-of-22 the rest of the way, with the Steelers only scoring once in the second half, a consolation field goal.
In a game predicted to be a defensive struggle, both teams were able to move the ball early, with the Browns capping off a seven-play, 60-yard drive in the first quarter with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Brissett to Cooper, giving Cooper his second game in a row with a score.
Pittsburgh workhorse Najee Harris punched in a five-yard run with the first play of the second quarter to tie the game at 7-7. The Harris touchdown drive included a stunning 36-yard catch from Steelers rookie George Pickens, with his one-handed snag while falling backwards sure to go down as one of the catches of the season.
David Njoku was the next player to find the endzone, with the big Cleveland tight end coming down with a high pass from Brissett to retake the lead, before Steelers quarterback Mitchell Trubisky punctuated a 10-play drive with a one-yard touchdown run.
Cleveland led 16-14 heading into the last quarter and manufactured a six-and-a-half minute, 11-play, 80-yard drive, resulting in Chubb converting a fourth-and-goal at the one yard line.
The Browns' defense was able to add a late stat-padding score as the Steelers desperately tried to pitch laterals around in the backfield on the final play, resulting in a fumble for Pro Bowl safety Denzel Ward to fall on for a touchdown.
Cowboys quarterback Prescott reportedly expected to miss multiple weeks with hamstring injury
The path to the play-offs is now even tougher for the Dallas Cowboys.
Quarterback Dak Prescott will reportedly miss several weeks with a hamstring injury sustained in Sunday's 27-21 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
The severity of the injury was determined following an MRI, and reported Monday from multiple media outlets.
Prescott is planning to get a second opinion, and the Cowboys have not decided if they will place him on injured reserve, which would keep him on the sideline a minimum of four games.
Prescott, who signed a record-breaking, $240million contract hours before this season's opener, suffered the injury late in the third quarter.
He was replaced by Cooper Rush, and the seven-year backup will get the start this Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Rush completed 13-of-25 passes for 115 yards and a touchdown against the Falcons, but couldn't rally Dallas all the way back.
The Cowboys ended up losing their third straight game to drop to 3-5, which matches the total number of losses the team had each of the last three seasons.
They now sit in third place in the NFC East, 3 1/2 games behind the division-leading Washington Commanders.
Rush has found some success as a fill-in starter for the Cowboys, though, the 30-year-old hasn't been forced into the starting role since 2022.
In six career starts for Dallas, he's gone 5-1 with 1,281 passing yards with seven touchdowns, four interceptions and an 83.6 rating.
There is some good news for the Cowboys, though, as star defensive end Micah Parsons is likely to return this Sunday after missing the last four games with a high-ankle sprain.
Cowboys quarterback Prescott expected to miss multiple weeks with hamstring injury
The path to the play-offs is now even tougher for the Dallas Cowboys.
Quarterback Dak Prescott will reportedly miss several weeks with a hamstring injury sustained in Sunday's 27-21 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
The severity of the injury was determined Monday following an MRI.
Prescott is planning to get a second opinion, and the Cowboys have not decided if they will place him on injured reserve, which would keep him on the sideline a minimum of four games.
Prescott, who signed a record-breaking, $240million contract hours before this season's opener, suffered the injury late in the third quarter.
He was replaced by Cooper Rush, and the seven-year backup will get the start this Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Rush completed 13-of-25 passes for 115 yards and a touchdown against the Falcons, but couldn't rally Dallas all the way back.
The Cowboys ended up losing their third straight game to drop to 3-5, which matches the total number of losses the team had each of the last three seasons.
They now sit in third place in the NFC East, 3 1/2 games behind the division-leading Washington Commanders.
Rush has found some success as a fill-in starter for the Cowboys, though, the 30-year-old hasn't been forced into the starting role since 2022.
In six career starts for Dallas, he's gone 5-1 with 1,281 passing yards with seven touchdowns, four interceptions and an 83.6 rating.
There is some good news for the Cowboys, though, as star defensive end Micah Parsons is likely to return this Sunday after missing the last four games with a high-ankle sprain.
Stumbling Saints fire head coach Allen
The New Orleans Saints fired head coach Dennis Allen on Monday, one day after the team’s losing streak reached seven games with a 23-22 defeat to the lowly Carolina Panthers.
New Orleans got off to an unexpected strong start to the 2024 season by outscoring its first two opponents 91-29 in a pair of victories.
The Saints lost their next two games by just a combined five points, but then it really started to unravel for the team.
New Orleans’ next four defeats all came by 13 points or more, and on Sunday, the Panthers pulled out a 23-22 win over the Saints after Carolina entered the meeting with a 1-7 record.
Allen was promoted from New Orleans' defensive coordinator to head coach after the 2021 season, and the Saints posted an 18-25 record under him with no play-off appearances.
The Saints (2-7) are expected to name special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi as interim head coach ahead of their Week 10 visit from the NFC South-leading Atlanta Falcons (6-3).
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