• The New England Patriots traveled to East Rutherford, New Jersey to play against the on-fire New York Jets. Quarterback Mac Jones was deemed the starter for this game, despite getting benched last week on Monday night football. The first half was overall very uneventful, with both team’s defenses dominating the majority of it. With forty-eight seconds left in the half, Jets quarterback Zach Wilson threw an interception to Patriots linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley. However, the Patriots were just behind the Jets score-wise at halftime, as the score was ten to six. Early in the third quarter, the Patriots took the lead with a touchdown pass. Then, on the Jets’ drive that followed, kicker Greg Zuerlein missed the field goal attempt. Zach Wilson continued to struggle, throwing two more interceptions. Meanwhile, the Patriots had some struggles on offense, especially when they got close to their end zone. However, they were able to capitalize on many drives by scoring field goals. The Jets scored a touchdown with two minutes left, but it wasn’t enough to win. With that, the Patriots got their thirteenth consecutive win against the Jets. However, there was one game-changing call in the second quarter, which would’ve caused the final outcome to be a tie, and go to overtime. There was a wrongful roughing-the-passer call called against the Jets, negating an interception, which was taken all the way for a touchdown. 
• In-state showdowns: Across the league this week, there are many games between two teams that are located in the same state. Often, these teams have a rivalry between them because of their close proximity, and fight to get the football fans of their state to root for their team, and not the other. These in-state matchups include the Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns on Monday Night Football, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday afternoon, and NFC West division-rivals San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams on Sunday evening (which is technically Sunday afternoon for all Californians, but the evening time for us here in Massachusetts).
• After years of marriage, and having two children, now-Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady and his wife, Brazilian supermodel Giselle Bundchen, have filed for a divorce.
• London football’s return: The Denver Broncos traveled a long way to London to square off against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium, which is a renowned soccer arena. The game was played on (at least for us here in the U.S.) Sunday morning. During the approximately nine hour flight, Broncos’ quarterback Russell Wilson was seen working out in the aisle of the plane, specifically while everyone was sleeping. In this game, the Jaguars had the chance to take the lead back with a minute-and-a-half left in the fourth quarter. However, after quarterback Trevor Lawrence threw an interception, there wasn’t enough time to get possession of the ball back. For the second week in a row, the Jaguars lost a close game. After the game, a few players from each team were seen on one knee in a circle at centerfield, having a prayer session, which was led by quarterback Russell Wilson.
• The Carolina Panthers scored a touchdown against the Atlanta Falcons with eleven seconds left, tying the game. However, after an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, which caused a fifteen yard penalty on the extra point kick, that kick was missed, keeping the game tied, instead of giving the Panthers a lead. Therefore, the game went into overtime. The Falcons ended up taking the win with a forty-one yard field goal eight minutes into the ten minute overtime period.
• After getting a home win against in-state rival Pittsburgh Steelers, the Philadelphia Eagles continue their undefeated campaign, now at 7-0 for the first time since 2004 (note that they are 7-0, not 8-0, because they already had their bye week)

Final Scores

Note that the Los Angeles Chargers and the Kansas City Chiefs were on bye week

• The New England Patriots versus the New York Jets (played in New York) – Patriots win 22-17
• The Tampa Bay Buccaneers versus the Baltimore Ravens (played in Tampa) – Ravens win 27-22
• The Denver Broncos versus the Jacksonville Jaguars (played at Wembley Stadium in London) – Broncos win 21-17
• The Carolina Panthers versus the Atlanta Falcons (played in Atlanta) – Falcons win (in overtime) 37-34
• The Chicago Bears versus the Dallas Cowboys (played in Dallas) – Cowboys win 49-29
• The Miami Dolphins versus the Detroit Lions (played in Detroit) – Dolphins win 31-27
• The Arizona Cardinals versus the Minnesota Vikings (played in Minnesota) – Vikings win 34-26
• The Las Vegas Raiders versus the New Orleans Saints (played in New Orleans) – Saints win 24-0
• The Pittsburgh Steelers versus the Philadelphia Eagles (played in Philadelphia) – Eagles win 35-13
• The Tennessee Titans versus the Houston Texans (played in Houston) – Titans win 17-10
• The Washington Commanders versus the Indianapolis Colts (played in Indianapolis) – Commanders win 17-16
• The San Francisco 49ers versus the Los Angeles Rams (played in Los Angeles) – 49ers win 31-14
• The New York Giants versus the Seattle Seahawks (played in Seattle) – Seahawks win 27-13
• The Green Bay Packers versus the Buffalo Bills (played in Buffalo) – Bills win 27-17

By Kristina Klauzinski ‘24, Co-Sports Editor

24kklauzinski@montroseschool.org