NFL

Chase injury robs in-form Burrow of leading receiver before big Browns clash

By Sports Desk October 28, 2022

Ja'Marr Chase could be set for injured reserve following a hip injury, potentially slowing the Cincinnati Bengals' momentum as they recover from a tough start in 2022.

Second-year wide receiver Chase sustained the injury against the New Orleans Saints in Week 6, although he still caught two touchdown passes in that game and two more against the Atlanta Falcons last week, tallying 262 receiving yards across the two games combined.

Despite initially playing through the issue, Chase appeared on the Bengals' injury report on Thursday.

Coach Zac Taylor suggested the injury would be assessed daily, but ESPN subsequently reported Chase was facing four to six weeks on the sideline after seeing a specialist.

That would represent a huge blow to the Bengals, who started 0-2 after losing Super Bowl LVI but have recovered to 4-3.

As last year, when his 1,455 receiving yards set a rookie record for the Super Bowl era, Chase leads the Cincinnati receiving corps, tallying 605 yards and six touchdowns from 47 catches.

However, the Bengals are the only team in the NFL to have three players with at least 400 receiving yards, with Chase joined by Tyler Boyd and Tee Higgins (both 455).

Boyd led the way with 155 yards in last week's 35-17 defeat of the Falcons, in which quarterback Joe Burrow threw for 481 yards – the third-most in a regular-season Bengals game all-time – and three TDs, rushing for a further 20 yards and a score.

Burrow endured a dismal start to the year, with four interceptions and seven sacks against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 1, but now looks back to his best.

The QB's 11.45 yards per attempt against the Falcons represented a career high, while his completion percentage of 81.0 (34 of 42) was his second-best mark.

Burrow now faces the Cleveland Browns, a team he has never beaten in three attempts.

In fact, the Bengals have lost four straight to their AFC North rivals, their worst run in this matchup since dropping seven in a row between 1992 and 1995.

Bidding to end that run without Chase on Monday, Burrow and the Bengals are second in the division, two games ahead of the third-placed 2-5 Browns.ja

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    Patrick Mahomes says "any way you win is good" in the NFL after the Kansas City Chiefs blocked a last-minute field goal to beat the Denver Broncos.

    The Chiefs held out for a 16-14 win on Sunday, with their defense proving the difference as Denver's only points were all scored in the second quarter.

    Leo Chenal then pulled off the big play in the final seconds to secure the win, blocking Will Lutz's 35-yard field-goal attempt in the final seconds.

    Kansas City trailed 14-3 late in the second half before Travis Kelce's touchdown and Harrison Butker's two field goals turned the game in their favour.

    And even though the Chiefs' offense was not at its best, Mahomes, who completed 28 of 42 passes for 266 yards, says they are still happy with the result.

    "Yeah, they all feel like wins," the quarterback told reporters. "I've learned that any way you win is good in this league.

    "Obviously, there's stuff to learn from. I thought we did good things in good spots. I missed – I mean, if I made the touchdown throw to Trav [Kelce] and I made the touchdown throw to [Xavier] Worthy, we're probably in a different situation.

    "I think more than anything [during the last play], I was just sick that last drive because I missed that touchdown throw that would've given us the chance to make it where they [the Broncos] had to score a touchdown.

    "I thought our defense stepped up in that second half and did a great job. I was just happy. I was happy that we ended with that block and Leo [Chenal] got through there. It was just joy after that."

    The two-time reigning Super Bowl champions are aiming for an unprecedented 'three-peat' and are on a 15-game winning streak, including the playoffs, dating back to Week 17 of last season.

    Kansas City (9-0) are the only team in the NFL with a perfect record so far, and though Mahomes was delighted to keep that run going, he acknowledged it would be tough to maintain it.

    "You live for these moments [at the end of the game]," he added. "When you grow up playing football, you live for the walk-off, whatever it is.

    "It's special when you build [with] these guys for so long, and you've built this chemistry with them and guys get to make that play.

    "It's week-to-week in this league. We know it’s going to be a great challenge this next week – Buffalo's playing great football.

    "We know they'll be fiery, and they're going to be trying to beat us, so we're going to [have to] play better and execute at a higher level in order to win."

  • NFL: Chiefs hold on to stay unbeaten NFL: Chiefs hold on to stay unbeaten

    The Kansas City Chiefs incredibly remained unbeaten by blocking a 35-yard field-goal attempt on the final play of the game to hold off the Denver Broncos 16-14 on Sunday. 

    Two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City went ahead on Harrison Butker's 20-yard field goal with 5:57 left, but Denver put together a drive that brought the Broncos down to the Chiefs' 17-yard line with one second remaining.

    The Chiefs then blocked Will Lutz’s field-goal attempt to hang on and win their 15th straight game, including the play-offs, dating back to Week 17 of last season. The streak is the longest in the NFL since the Green Bay Packers won 19 straight spanning the 2010 and 2011 seasons. 

    Kansas City (9-0) trailed 14-3 before Patrick Mahomes threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Travis Kelce with 1:44 to go in the first half to pull the Chiefs within four points.

    Butker’s second and third field goals of the game were the only points either team scored in the second half.

    Mahomes finished with 266 yards on 28-of-42 passing, while Kelce recorded eight catches for 64 yards.

    Bo Nix completed 22 of 30 attempts for 215 yards with touchdown passes to Devaughn Vele and Courtland Sutton for Denver (5-5), which has lost two straight since winning five times in a six-game stretch. 

     

    Lions rally past Texans despite five Goff interceptions

    Jake Bates kicked two long field goals, including a 52-yarder as time expired, as the rolling Detroit Lions overcame five Jared Goff interceptions in a stunning 26-23 comeback win over the Houston Texans.

    Down 23-7 at half-time in this interconference clash of division leaders, Detroit scored 19 unanswered points over the final two quarters to extend its winning streak to seven games in improbable fashion. The Lions are the first team to win a game in which their quarterback was picked off five times since the Atlanta Falcons defeated the Arizona Cardinals in 2012.

    Goff did deliver a pair of touchdown passes, a 20-yarder to Sam LaPorta in the second quarter and a 9-yard strike to Amon-Ra St. Brown with 11:38 left that brought Detroit within 23-20. The Lions tied it 6 1/2 minutes later when Bates knocked home a career-long 58-yard field goal.

    Detroit, which is 8-1 for the first time since 1954, began its rally with the first of two second-half picks of C.J. Stroud, which set up David Montgomery's 3-yard touchdown run that trimmed Houston's lead to 23-13 after the Lions failed on the ensuing 2-point try.

    Stroud did throw a 15-yard touchdown pass to John Metchie late in the second quarter that sent Houston (6-4) into the break up 23-7. The Texans also got three first-half field goals from Ka'imi Fairbairn and an 8-yard touchdown run from Joe Mixon in the first quarter, a score that came shortly after the Texans got their first of three first-half interceptions of Goff.

    Fairbairn missed a 58-yard try with the game tied at 20-20 with under two minutes to go, however, and Goff's 11-yard completion to St. Brown on third down shortly after put the Lions in range for Bates' winning kick.

    Metchie finished with 74 yards on five catches in the loss, the Texans' second straight and third in four games.

     

    Wilson's late touchdown pass to Williams puts Steelers over Commanders

    Mike Williams made an immediate impact in his Pittsburgh Steelers debut, as the wide receiver hauled in a go-ahead 32-yard touchdown pass from Russell Wilson with 2:22 remaining to lift his new team to a 28-27 win over the Washington Commanders.

    Williams, acquired in a trade with the New York Jets on Tuesday, caught the last of three touchdown passes from Wilson that helped the Steelers rally from a 24-14 third-quarter deficit. The veteran quarterback also had first-half scoring strikes to Pat Freiermuth and George Pickens, who finished with 91 yards on five receptions.

    Pittsburgh (7-2), now a half-game ahead of the Baltimore Ravens for first place in the AFC North, also got another big effort from its defence to extend its winning streak to four games - including all three Wilson has started since he returned from a calf injury that sidelined him six games. 

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    Washington had a three-game win streak halted despite two first-half rushing touchdowns from Austin Ekeler and another from Jeremy McNichols that put the Commanders up 24-14 early in the third quarter. The Steelers countered with a nine-play, 75-yard drive capped by Najee Harris' 1-yard touchdown run that cut the lead to three points midway through the period.

    Jayden Daniels had a fifth straight game without an interception, but the Commanders' star rookie quarterback went without a touchdown pass while completing just half of his 34 attempts for 202 yards. Most of that total went to Terry McLaurin, who registered 113 yards on five catches. 

     

    Eagles dominate decimated Cowboys to take NFC East lead

    The surging Philadelphia Eagles passed the Commanders for first place in the NFC East with a lopsided 34-6 victory over the injury-plagued Dallas Cowboys, a win sparked by Jalen Hurts' four total touchdowns.

    Hurts rushed for two touchdowns and threw for two more in a game Philadelphia (7-2) controlled from start to finish en route to a fifth consecutive win. The star quarterback ended with 202 yards and an interception on 14-of-20 passing while accounting for 56 of the Eagles' 187 rushing yards.

    Playing its first game since quarterback Dak Prescott suffered a hamstring injury expected to end his season, Dallas (3-6) managed a mere 146 total yards while committing five giveaways to lose its fourth straight overall and drop to 0-4 at home this season. 

    Cooper Rush started in Prescott's place but produced a measly 45 yards while completing 13 of 23 attempts before being replaced in the fourth quarter. Trey Lance took over for Rush and was 4 of 6 for 21 yards with an interception.

    Hurts had a 1-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, a score set up by Rush's fumble deep in Dallas territory, and a 14-yard touchdown pass to Dallas Goedert late in the second to send the Eagles into half-time with a 14-6 lead.

    Philadelphia then dominated the final two quarters, outscoring the Cowboys 20-0 in the second half. The Eagles' final two touchdowns - a 5-yard pass from Hurts to Johnny Wilson and an 8-yard touchdown run by the quarterback - both came in the third quarter.

     

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    Derek Carr threw two second-quarter touchdown passes to Marques Valdes-Scantling and New Orleans (3-7) got a couple of key late stops on defence to prevail in its first game since firing Allen on Monday and promoting Rizzi from special teams coach to take over.

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    Murray set a franchise record with 17 consecutive completions while going 22 of 24 for 266 yards with a touchdown pass to Marvin Harrison Jr. The playmaking quarterback added two more touchdowns on the ground to keep Arizona (6-4) ahead of second-place San Francisco in the NFC West race. The 49ers kept pace with a 23-20 win at Tampa Bay on Jake Moody's 44-yard field goal as time expired.

    The Cardinals' defence did its part as well by limiting the Jets to 207 total yards and sacking Aaron Rodgers three times. Rodgers managed just 151 passing yards despite completing 22 of 35 throws.

    Murray and James Conner each had 1-yard touchdown runs to stake Arizona to a 14-3 lead through one quarter. Murray's 9-yard touchdown pass to Harrison extended the margin to 21-6 in the second, and the Cardinals closed out the first half with Chad Ryland's 37-yard field goal for an 18-point advantage.

    New York (3-7) also couldn't get anything going in the second half while being dealt another unwanted result in a season that began with high expectations. The Jets have now lost six of seven and are 1-4 since firing head coach Robert Saleh last month and replacing him with defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich.

    Murray closed out the scoring with a 12-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. Conner led the Cardinals with 80 receiving yards on five catches, while Trey Benson recorded 62 rushing yards on 10 carries in the win.

  • Forest taught 'a lesson' as winning run ended by Newcastle according to Nuno Forest taught 'a lesson' as winning run ended by Newcastle according to Nuno

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    Forest had won their previous three matches to climb to third in the Premier League, and Murillo's opener had them on course for another victory.

    But that goal came against the run of play, and Newcastle continued to dominate, eventually equalising through Alexander Isak.

    Forest, who have been so solid at the back this season, went chasing victory and were instead caught out as both Joelinton and Harvey Barnes scored on the break.

    Those counter-attacks have been a large part of Forest's own attacking identity previously, and Nuno was full of praise for how ruthlessly Newcastle executed that tactic.

    "I cannot say that was a bad performance, that is totally out of the question," the Forest boss told BBC Sport.

    "We played against a very good team that was able to control us and then hurt us in the way we've been doing. It is a lesson for us to learn.

    "I just have to recognise that today we played a good team, who were better than us in many, many moments.

    "There's nothing to say about the [Forest] players. The character and belief was there."

    Newcastle were a little unfortunate to trail at half-time, having had seven shots to Forest's three and 60% of the possession.

    Yet Eddie Howe, the Newcastle coach, still saw plenty of room for improvement, which his side delivered on after the restart.

    "It was difficult, but we knew it would be," he said. "They are a difficult team to play against because they don't concede many chances and you're left fearing the worst when you go behind.

    "We had work to do at half-time, but credit to the players because the second half was up there with our best performances this season.

    "Everything we didn't do in the first half, we did at the start of the second half. We were intense and direct with our attacking. We asked more questions and could have scored.

    "I'm really pleased with the second half."

    Newcastle have won three in a row in all competitions for the first time in over a year, helped by a return to form for their attacking stars.

    Isak had netted only once this season before scoring in the past four successive matches, while Barnes again showed his quality from the bench. Six of his nine Newcastle goals have come as a substitute.

    Howe added: "We need our attacking players to contribute goals, and Alex has done that in the past few weeks with massive moments, then Joelinton and Harvey Barnes pop up with moments, too.

    "We know we have players who can make that difference, and I'm really pleased with that side of our game.

    "Harvey Barnes did what he does. He's an outstanding player. Trying to find room for him in the team is something that I am conscious of.

    "I'm really pleased he got that goal – I thought it was a fantastic finish."

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