• This week, Mac Jones has been suffering from back spasms, ever since last week’s matchup against the Miami Dolphins. However, he’s told the media that he feels good-to-go, and was able to play in-full this week against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The first half of the Patriots game was very low-scoring and defensively dominated by both teams. The second half was when both team’s offenses began to turn it up with the Patriots scoring a touchdown after a fumbled punt return by Steelers’ Gunner Olsewski. After that, the Steelers drove down the field and scored a touchdown, bringing them within three points of taking the lead in the fourth quarter. After lots of back-and-forth, the Patriots were able to hold on for their first win of the season. Overall, it was a defensively-dominated game, but the Patriots were able to do enough on offense to squeak out the win.
• Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers traveled to New Orleans to play against the New Orleans Saints. As a member of the Buccaneers, Tom Brady had played against the Saints a total of four times in his two full seasons with the team and has lost all four times. However, on his fifth matchup with the Saints as a member of the Buccaneers, this all changed as he beat the Saints. The game started off slowly but ramped up in the second half. In the fourth quarter, with around two minutes left in the game, Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans got into a fight with Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore, causing both of them to get ejected. Along with this, Mike Evans will receive a one-game suspension for starting the fight. 
• The mighty comeback – The Baltimore Ravens hosted the Miami Dolphins this Sunday. At halftime, the Ravens were in the lead with a score of twenty-eight to seven. However, after a huge rally by the Dolphins, the score was tied, thirty-five to thirty-five wIth five minutes left in the fourth quarter. WIth two-and-a-half minutes left in the game, Ravens kicker Justin Tucker made a fifty-one yard field goal. With thirty seconds left, the Dolphins scored a touchdown which was a pass from quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to receiver Jaylen Waddle, and in the final few seconds, the Ravens were unable to score again, making the Dolphins twenty-one point comeback a huge success 
• The San Francisco 49ers hosted the Seattle Seahawks in a divisional matchup against two well-matched teams. In the beginning of the first quarter, 49ers new starting quarterback Trey Lance, who was taken in the first round, third overall in the 2021 NFL draft, went down with a serious ankle injury which caused him to have to get carted off the field with an air-cast on his leg. Jimmy Garrappolo went into the game in place of him. Later that day, it was discovered that Lance will likely need season-ending ankle surgery.
• The Las Vegas Raiders hosted the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday late-afternoon football. The Raiders looked like they were going to get their first win of the season. However, after a late touchdown by the Cardinals and a two-point-conversion to tie the game, the game went into overtime. The Raiders had an opportunity to kick a game-winning field goal, but after a fumble by receiver Hunter Renfrow, the Cardinals recovered the ball, and it was taken all the way for a touchdown on the turnover-play, giving the Cardinals their first win of the season. 
• Down to the wire – The reigning AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals traveled down to Texas to play “America’s team” better known as the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys were without their star quarterback, Dak Prescott, who broke his thumb in his team’s blowout loss versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in week one, and instead, their quarterback was backup Cooper Rush. The Cowboys were able to dominate the entire first half, despite not having their star quarterback. However, in the second half, especially the second half of the fourth quarter, the Bengals began their rally for a comeback. After being down seventeen to three at halftime, the game was tied with just a few minutes left. As time expired, Cowboys kicker Brett Maher nailed the game-winning, fifty yard field goal, ensuring that the Bengals didn’t make the fourteen point comeback that was at their fingertips.
• Monday doubleheader: For the first time, there were two games played on Monday night, including the Tennessee Titans versus the Buffalo Bills and the Minnesota Vikings versus the Philadelphia Eagles. 
• During one of the Monday Night Football games, the Tennessee Titans versus the Buffalo Bills, Bills cornerback Dane Johnson was hit in the neck by one of his oncoming teammates, and was taken off of the field in an ambulance. Thankfully, he was able to escape the scary hit without any major injuries to his neck or spine

Final Scores

• The New England Patriots vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers (played in Pittsburgh) – Patriots win 17-14
• The Los Angeles Chargers vs. the Kansas City Chiefs (played in Kansas City) – Chiefs win 27-24
• The Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. the New Orleans Saints (played in New Orleans) – Buccaneers win 20-10
• The Miami Dolphins vs. the Baltimore Ravens (played in Baltimore) – Dolphins win 42-38
• The New York Jets vs. the Cleveland Browns (played in Cleveland) – Jets win 31-30
• The Washington Commanders vs. the Detroit Lions (played in Detroit) – Lions win 36-27
• The Indianapolis Colts vs. the Jacksonville Jaguars (played in Jacksonville) – Jaguars win 24-0
• The Carolina Panthers vs. the New York Giants (played in New York) – Giants win 19-16
• The Atlanta Falcons v.s the Los Angeles Rams (played in Los Angeles) – Rams win 31-27
• The Seattle Seahawks vs. the San Francisco 49ers (played in San Francisco) – 49ers win 27-7
• The Cincinnati Bengals vs. the Dallas Cowboys (played in Dallas) – Cowboys win 20-17
• The Houston Texans vs. the Denver Broncos (played in Denver) – Broncos win 16-9
• The Arizona Cardinals vs. the Las Vegas Raiders (played in Las Vegas) – Cardinals win (in overtime) 29-23
• The Chicago Bears vs. the Green Bay Packers (played in Green Bay) – Packers win 27-10
• The Tennessee Titans vs. the Buffalo Bills (played in Buffalo) –  Titans win 41-7
• The Minnesota Vikings vs. the Philadelphia Eagles (played in Philadelphia) – Eagles win 24-7

Kristina Klauzinski ’24, Assistant Sports Editor

24kklauzinski@montroseschool.org