• The New England Patriots hosted the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday afternoon. With Colts’ starting quarterback Matt Ryan who is known for blowing a twenty-five-point lead to the Patriots in Super Bowl 51 while injured, the Colts had to count on their second-year, sixth-round-pick quarterback Sam Ehlinger. In the first quarter, defense dominated the game so much that the average offensive play went for 0.3 yards for the Colts and 0.9 yards for the Patriots. Early in the second quarter, Patriots kicker Nick Folk made a forty-nine-yard field goal. After stopping the Colts, causing them to have to punt, the Patriots blocked the punt, giving them excellent field position for what would end up being a touchdown pass from quarterback Mac Jones to running back Rhamondre Stevenson, who caught it with one hand. The Colts went for a thirty-nine-yard field goal in the final twenty seconds of the half. However, their kicker, Chase McLaughlin, missed the kick. During the third quarter, Patriots receiver Jakobi Meyers fumbled the ball, and the Colts recovered. This drive contained their one and only score of the game which was a field goal. The rest of the half was relatively slow, but the Patriots still came out with a big win

• As the NFL trade deadline came this week, many big-names will be beginning their times on new teams. A few of the biggest-name players to be traded include: 

• Former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Chase Claypool, who is not only a big name on the field for scoring four touchdowns in his NFL debut a few years ago but also a TikTok star, will now play for the Chicago Bears
• Former Denver Broncos linebacker Bradley Chubb is now a member of the Miami Dolphins 
• Robby Anderson, formerly a wide receiver for the Carolina Panthers, was traded to the Arizona Cardinals
• Tight End T.J. Hockenson will now play for the Minnesota Vikings after playing for the Detroit Lions for some time

• On Thursday Night Football, the Philadelphia Eagles snagged their eighth win, continuing their undefeated season
• The New York Jets hosted their newest fellow AFC East rival, the Buffalo Bills, who were favored to win. The game was tied with less than two minutes left, until the Jets scored a field goal. This field goal was the score that helped them make the huge upset as the Bills were unable to score with the forty-five seconds that they had on the clock
• Even larger upset: before this week, the Detroit Lions had a win-loss record of 1-6. This week, they were hosting the perennial powerhouse (but not as much this year) Green Bay Packers. The Lions, who were very much not favored to win this game, pulled out the upset in their very low-scoring square-off against the Packers
• Typical Tom Brady: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers hosted the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday evening. For the entire game, the Buccaneers offense was off, not catching even the most accurate passes. However, this all changed on the final drive of the game. With forty-four seconds left, the Buccaneers were down by four points, and needed sixty yards for a touchdown. The drive started with a twenty-yard pass to rookie and late-round draft pick Cade Otton. After a few completed passes to receiver Scotty Miller, and a run attempt by running back Leonard Fournette, the completion streak ended with an incomplete pass to receiver Mike Evans. However, due to a pass interference call on the defense, the Buccaneers moved to the one-yard line, and got a fresh set of downs. The player to score the touchdown was the one who got the first big play of the drive, Cade Otton. The Rams received possession of the ball with nine seconds left, and after a failed attempt to score a touchdown, the Buccaneers had completed the comeback. The Buccaneers will travel to Munich, Germany to face off against the Seattle Seahawks on what will be Sunday morning for us viewers here in the U.S.

Final Scores

Note that the following teams are on bye week: the Cleveland Browns, the New York Giants, the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Denver Broncos, the Dallas Cowboys, and the San Francisco 49ers

• The New England Patriots versus the Indianapolis Colts (played in New England) – Patriots win 26-3
• The Tampa Bay Buccaneers versus the Los Angeles Rams (played in Tampa Bay) – Buccaneers win 16-13
• The Philadelphia Eagles versus the Houston Texans (played in Houston) – Eagles win 29-17
• The Los Angeles Chargers versus the Atlanta Falcons (played in Atlanta) – Chargers win 20-17
• The Miami Dolphins versus the Chicago Bears (played in Chicago) – Dolphins win 32-32
• The Carolina Panthers versus the Cincinnati Bengals (played in Cincinnati) – Bengals win 42-21
• The Green Bay Packers versus the Detroit Lions (played in Detroit) – Lions win 15-9
• The Las Vegas Raiders versus the Jacksonville Jaguars (played in Jacksonville) – Jaguars win 27-20
• The Buffalo Bills versus the New York Jets (played in New York) – Jets win 20-17
• The Minnesota Vikings versus the Washington Commanders (played in Washington, D.C.) – Vikings win 20-17
• The Seattle Seahawks versus the Arizona Cardinals (played in Arizona) – Seahawks win 31-21
• The Tennessee Titans versus the Kansas City Chiefs (played in Kansas City) – Chiefs win 20-17
• The Baltimore Ravens versus the New Orleans Saints (played in New Orleans) – Ravens win 27-13

By Kristina Klauzinski ’24, Co-Sports Editor

24kklauzinski@montroseschool.org