NFL

NFL: Commanders, Bills win on Monday night

By Sports Desk September 23, 2024

Jayden Daniels delivered a nearly perfect Monday Night Football debut that carried the upstart Washington Commanders to a 38-33 victory over the scuffling Cincinnati Bengals.

The No. 2 overall pick of this year's draft completed 21 of 23 attempts for 254 yards and threw the first two touchdown passes of his young career, leading Washington (2-1) to a second straight win following a season-opening loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that began first-year head coach Dan Quinn's tenure. Daniels' completion percentage of 91.3 set an NFL single-game record for a rookie.

Washington scored on every one of its possessions, save for kneel-downs to end the first half and the game, to overcome Joe Burrow's three touchdown passes and drop Cincinnati to 0-3.

Daniels added a rushing touchdown while Terry McLaurin recorded 100 yards and a touchdown on four catches for the Commanders.

Jayden Daniels was dealing. pic.twitter.com/h89iQbd7KF

— NFL (@NFL) September 24, 2024

Burrow finished with 324 yards on 29-of-38 passing and threw two touchdowns to Ja'Marr Chase as the star wide receiver totalled 118 yards on six catches.

The Bengals piled up 436 total yards for the game, but their defence never had an answer for Daniels as Washington matched every score Cincinnati offered while leading from the second quarter on.

Cincinnati started strong as Chase got behind the Washington secondary to haul in a 41-yard touchdown pass from Burrow on the game's opening drive. 

The Commanders responded by going 70 yards on 10 plays to tie the game at 7-7 on Brian Robinson's 1-yard touchdown run, a play set up by Daniels' 30-yard completion to Luke McCaffrey on 4th-and-2.

After Cincinnati's Evan McPherson missed a 48-yard field goal on the next possession, Washington marched back into Bengals' territory before Austin Ekeler broke loose for a 24-yard touchdown run and a 14-7 lead early in the second quarter.

The Bengals moved inside Washington's 10-yard line on their next series, but settled for McPherson's 28-yard field goal that the Commanders countered with another touchdown.

Daniels hit McLaurin on a deep pass for a 55-yard gain to the Bengals' 4-yard line, then ran untouched into the end zone on the following play for a 21-10 advantage with 2:04 left before half-time.

McPherson's 31-yard field goal brought Cincinnati within 21-13 at the half, but Ekeler took the second-half kick-off 62 yards deep into Bengals' territory to quickly get Washington in scoring range again.

Daniels finished that drive with a 1-yard touchdown pass to reserve offensive lineman Trent Scott on a trick play to extend the lead to 28-13.

Burrow kept the Bengals in it by hitting Andrei Iosivas for a 2-yard touchdown on the subsequent possession, and the defence was able to hold Washington to a field goal on its next drive as the Commanders went up 31-20 with 11:30 to go.

Cincinnati again answered, as Burrow completed all four of his passes on a 70-yard drive that Chase finished with a 31-yard touchdown grab with 9:42 left. Burrow's pass for Tee Higgins on the 2-point attempt was broken up, however, to keep Washington's lead at 31-26.

Daniels converted a 4th-and-4 with a 9-yard pass to Zach Ertz on the following possession, however, and McLaurin came down with a diving 27-yard touchdown catch shortly afterward to again give Washington a two-score lead with 2:10 remaining.

Burrow led the Bengals down the field once again in the waning moments as Cincinnati closed within 38-33 on Zack Moss' 1-yard run with 40 seconds left. Washington then recovered the ensuing onside kick and ran out the clock.

 

Bills move to 3-0 with 47-10 rout of spiralling Jaguars

Josh Allen threw four first-half touchdown passes to lead a dominant performance by the Buffalo Bills, who remained unbeaten with a 47-10 thrashing of the still-winless Jacksonville Jaguars.

Buffalo scored touchdowns on all five of its first-half drives to build a commanding 34-3 half-time lead en route to its first 3-0 start since 2020. Allen finished with 263 yards while completing 23 of 30 passes before being removed early in the fourth quarter with the outcome already decided.

The Jaguars dropped to 0-3 and were never competitive as their free-fall continued. Jacksonville has now lost eight of nine games dating back to last season following an 8-3 start to the 2023 campaign.

Trevor Lawrence's struggles were extended as well as the former No. 1 overall draft pick threw for just 178 yards and one touchdown on 21 of 38 passing. Jacksonville's expected franchise quarterback was also sacked four times and threw an interception to Damar Hamlin, the first pick of the inspirational safety's career.

Allen and the Bills set the tone from the get-go, as the star quarterback connected on 6 of 7 passes while orchestrating a 10-play, 70-yard opening drive capped by James Cook's 6-yard touchdown run less than 5 1/2 minutes in.

Tyler Bass' extra-point attempt was blocked, about the only thing that went wrong for Buffalo over the first two quarters.

Following a three-and-out from Jacksonville, the Bills marched 65 yards in 11 plays to take a 13-0 lead on Allen's 6-yard touchdown pass to Dalton Kincaid on 3rd-and-goal with 3:25 left in the first quarter.

The Jaguars answered with Cam Little's 41-yard field goal early in the second quarter, but Allen hit Keon Coleman for a 24-yard score on the following possession - the rookie's first career touchdown - to extend Buffalo's advantage to 20-3.

Hamlin then intercepted Lawrence's overthrown pass on the next drive to put the Bills back into Jacksonville territory. Five plays later, Khalil Shakir caught a short pass from Allen and broke a tackle before racing 27 yards for a touchdown that put the Jaguars in a further hole late in the first half.

The Bills got the ball back with 1:12 remaining before the half and needed just 53 seconds to find the end zone again, as Allen hit running back Ty Johnson for a 16-yard score for his fourth TD pass of the evening.

Jacksonville's offence did show some life to start the second half, as Lawrence went 4 for 5 for 53 yards on an 8-play drive that he finished with a 6-yard touchdown strike to Brenton Strange to cut the lead to 34-10.

The Jaguars faltered from there on, however. After two Bass field goals got the Bills to the 40-point mark, Jacksonville backup quarterback Mac Jones fumbled when sacked by Javon Solomon and Buffalo recovered at the Jaguars' 21-yard line with 6:21 left.

Four plays later, rookie Ray Davis scored his first NFL touchdown with a 3-yard run to finish off the rout.

Related items

  • Prescott throws 2 touchdowns as Cowboys continue mastery of Giants Prescott throws 2 touchdowns as Cowboys continue mastery of Giants

    Dak Prescott threw one of his two touchdown passes to CeeDee Lamb and the Dallas Cowboys held on for a 20-15 victory to continue their mastery of the rival New York Giants on Thursday night.

    Dallas has won seven straight and 14 of the past 15 meetings with New York.

    Prescott, who has won his last 13 starts against the Giants, hit running back Rico Dowdle on a 15-yard screen pass for a touchdown to put Dallas ahead in the first quarter. He then found Lamb for a 55-yard catch-and-run TD on a play that ended with the receiver being called for taunting.

    Lamb slipped past two defenders and trotted into the end zone. He then fired the ball in their direction and flexed his muscles, drawing an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty.

    Prescott finished 22 of 27 for 221 yards, while Lamb had seven catches for 98 yards.

    Brandon Aubrey kicked field goals of 60 and 40 yards for Dallas (2-2), which came into the game with major concerns after being thoroughly beaten at home by New Orleans and Baltimore. A new issue for the Cowboys is an apparent leg injury to star pass rusher Micah Parsons, who was carted off the field in the fourth quarter.

    Greg Joseph kicked field goals of 52, 41, 38, 22 and 42 for the Giants (1-3), who controlled the ball for 35:37 but failed to score a touchdown at home for the second straight game.

    Daniel Jones completed 29 of 40 passes for 281 yards, finding sensational rookie Malik Nabers 12 times for 115 yards and Wan'Dale Robinson 11 times for 71 yards.

  • 'I failed myself' - Lamb apologises for attitude in Cowboys loss to Ravens 'I failed myself' - Lamb apologises for attitude in Cowboys loss to Ravens

    CeeDee Lamb has apologised for his performance and attitude in the Dallas Cowboys' 28-25 defeat to the Baltimore Ravens.

    The All-Pro wide receiver was seen having a touchline disagreement with quarterback Dak Prescott during Sunday's loss at the AT&T Stadium.

    Lamb also lost a red zone fumble and dropped a pass, while he caught four of seven targets for 67 yards.

    Reflecting on a disappointing game for him and his side two days on, Lamb said: "I expect a lot out of myself, more than anyone could put on me.

    "And quite honestly, I failed myself, and obviously I failed the team, just as far as producing and being that game-breaker.

    "I kind of let the game get to my head a little bit. Honestly, I've got to be truthful to myself, and I played a part in that loss, a big part.

    "Honestly [neither] my body language nor attitude, [helped change] the outcome of the game.”

    Lamb has 13 receptions this season on 24 targets for 218 yards and a touchdown, having sat out the off-season as he waited for a new contract.

    The 25-year-old's connection with Prescott has been lacking, but he insists there are no issues between them.

    "Our relationship, if anything, has gotten stronger," he said. "Don't let what's out there fool you. We're brothers to the end. 

    "We know that we're all we got. I tip my hat to him. I have the utmost respect for him. I look at him as a brother. 

    "Everything is going to come out: the energy, the passion, the love, the fight, and then we'll make up in the end. No craziness now."

    The 1-2 Cowboys face the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium next up on Thursday.

  • Niners' woes pile up as Hargrave tears triceps and McCaffrey sees specialist Niners' woes pile up as Hargrave tears triceps and McCaffrey sees specialist

    The San Francisco 49ers' selection woes show no signs of easing with defensive tackle Javon Hargrave suffering a potentially season-ending injury and Christian McCaffrey needing specialist treatment on an Achilles issue.

    The 49ers have made a 1-2 start to the 2024 season after winning the NFC championship for the eighth time last campaign, with injuries hampering them early on.

    McCaffrey, the NFL's reigning Offensive Player of the Year, was placed on injured reserve last week after missing the entirety of preseason with what was later diagnosed as Achilles tendonitis.

    Wide receiver Deebo Samuel and tight end George Kittle also missed Sunday's 27-24 defeat to the Los Angeles Rams, during which Hargrave partially tore his right triceps.

    That injury will require surgery and will likely bring his 2024 season to a premature end.

    Head coach Kyle Shanahan said: "It's a big loss. I thought he had his best game. I thought he was a huge factor, really affected the quarterback in that game. 

    "He's one of our better players. He was definitely going in the right direction and was going to have a big year."

    McCaffrey, meanwhile, has flown to Germany to see a specialist regarding his Achilles issue.

    He must miss four games after being placed on IR. Having missed two thus far, he cannot return until after the 49ers' October 6 meeting with the Arizona Cardinals at the earliest. 

    Shanahan also revealed quarterback Brock Purdy had complained of back soreness after the Rams game and would be evaluated daily, though an MRI scan came back all-clear.

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.