Lamar Jackson got the better of rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels and the Baltimore Ravens defeated the Washington Commanders 30-23 on Sunday.
In this duel featuring two of the best quarterbacks in the NFL this season, Jackson threw a touchdown pass and for 323 yards, helping the Ravens (4-2) to their fourth straight victory.
Jackson joined slotback Mark Andrews in the end zone and completed nine passes to receiver Zay Flowers for a total of 132 yards.
“It’s a diversified attack. You gotta pick your poison,” Jackson said.
Derrick Henry had two rushing touchdowns to bring his total to nine this season, which is an NFL high. He rushed for 132 yards.
“Guys are going to have the ball and good things are going to happen. That’s what happened today, Andrews noted. We were extremely versatile in what we did. We’re going to take this game and improve week by week to become the machine we can be. »
Daniels threw two touchdown passes to Terry McLaurin, but he didn’t get much help from his ground attack, which was among the NFL’s top-2 heading into the game. With Brian Robinson Jr. injured in his knee, the Commanders (4-2) only amassed 52 yards rushing.
“B-Rob is a very good player, but it’s the next player mentality,” Daniels said. We have to go out there and do our job. »
The Commanders defense struggled to contain Jackson and Henry, allowing the Ravens to gain 484 total yards. Washington saw its four-game winning streak come to an end, while its opponent looked like the Super Bowl contender everyone expected at the start of the campaign.
“We have so many guys who can make plays, touch the ball and show their talent,” Henry said. This is what you want as an attack. »
The Ravens scored points following offensive sequences of 93 and 94 yards. They had three sacks on Daniels and overcame a Jackson interception in the hands of rookie Mike Sainristil.
The Ravens defense still struggled to contain the air game, as Daniels completed 24 of 35 passes for 269 yards, but the Baltimore team scored plenty of points of its own to alleviate its problems.
“All three phases of the game contributed to the victory when we needed them,” observed Ravens head coach John Harbaugh. The guys answered the call in many ways. »
Henry became the first player to have a rushing touchdown in his first six games of a season since LaDainian Tomlinson in 2005. Andrews tied Todd Heap for the highest total receptions for a touchdown since the team moved in Baltimore, with 41.
Doubs and Love defeat the Cards
Romeo Doubs caught two touchdown passes and the Green Bay Packers easily defeated the Arizona Cardinals 34-13 on Sunday.
Doubs, who returned from a one-game suspension, scored his first two touchdowns of the season, a 10-yard touchdown in the second quarter and another 20-yarder in the third.
Doubs, who caught three passes for 49 yards, missed last week’s win over the Los Angeles Rams due to team-injurious conduct after missing two practices.
Quarterback Jordan Love also threw a five-yard touchdown pass to Jayden Reed and another 44-yarder to Christian Watson. He completed 22 of his 32 attempts through the air for gains of 258 yards, and he was the victim of an interception.
The Packers (4-2) took advantage of a rare lack of discipline by the Cardinals, who were penalized 13 times for a total of 100 yards on Sunday, after leading the NFL with just 3.8 penalties per game this season. They also committed three turnovers.
In addition, the Cardinals (2-4) lost several players during this game, including receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., who left the game due to a concussion suffered in the second quarter.
Good old Flacco is there for the Colts
Joe Flacco threw two touchdown passes and for 189 yards, leading the Indianapolis Colts to a 201-7 victory over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.
The veteran is now 1-1 after his second straight start for the Colts (3-3), who needed to separate their two straight road games against South Division clubs. American Association.
Flacco had the confidence of his head coach due to second-year quarterback Anthony Richardson’s right hip injury. Selected fourth overall in the 2023 draft, Richardson sat out last weekend in a loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Colts were also without running back Jonathan Taylor. The NFL’s leader in rushing yards in 2021 missed a second straight game with an ankle injury.
The Titans (1-4) have now lost a third straight game against section rivals. They will have to wait until November to offer their new head coach, Brian Callahan, a first home triumph this season.
Tony Pollard gave the Titans a 17-10 lead with a 23-yard run for a touchdown. Flacco responded to help the Colts score 10 points and regain a lead they did not lose.
Receiver Calvin Ridley didn’t make a single catch, even though he was targeted eight times by Levis, and he could hardly hide his frustration at the end of the game.
“I need the ball early in the game,” Ridley said. “This story is getting crazy. I was terrible today and I need to do better. But I need to get the ball a little earlier so I can be in the game. »
Titans coach Brian Callahan said multiple times before the game that he wanted to make sure to get Ridley the ball, but the former Jaguar was only targeted twice in the first half. -time.
“I’m sure he’ll be the first to tell you it’s disappointing,” Callahan said. “He’s one of our best players and we counted on him to try to make one or two plays and we couldn’t do it at the end of the game. »
The slide continues for the Browns
Jalen Hurts threw two touchdown passes to help the Philadelphia Eagles win 20-16 over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.
Hurts had 264 air yards, including 45 connecting with DeVonta Smith for a touchdown midway through the final quarter. This connection broke the 13-13 deadlock.
Hurts also completed a 22-yard touchdown pass to AJ Brown.
Smith and Brown returned to the game following injuries.
The Eagles improved to 3-2, while Cleveland is now 1-5.
Once the score was 20-13, the Browns could do no better than a 31-yard field goal from Dustin Hopkins.
Deshaun Watson only had 49 passing yards in the first half (168 total). He was the victim of five sacks.
The Browns’ only touchdown came from an unforeseen source, following a blocked field goal attempt by Myles Garrett: Rodney McLeod then grabbed the ball and sped into the end zone.
