DALLAS COWBOYS 41, SEATTLE SEAHAWKS 35
Offensive spotlight: Don’t look now, but Dak Prescott is firmly in the MVP conversation, and the Dallas Cowboys are quickly becoming a team nobody wants to face in AT&T Stadium.
Prescott finished 29-of-41 for 299 yards and three scores on Thursday Night Football, recording three big-time throws and no turnover-worthy plays. And even that stat line does him some injustice, as four of those incompletions were because of drops by his receivers.
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS 31, TENNESSEE TITANS 28
Defensive spotlight: Samson Ebukam continued his outstanding recent form, again proving to be a major factor as a pass-rusher. He sacked rookie Will Levis twice and, pending grade review, generated a 25.9% pass-rush win rate after tying for the team lead in total pressures. This represented the second straight game with multiple sacks for Ebukam.
ATLANTA FALCONS 13, NEW YORK JETS 8
Rookie spotlight: The Jets held Falcons running back Bijan Robinson mostly in check. He averaged just 2.9 yards per carry from 18 rushing attempts and was tackled in the end zone for a safety. He did add 26 yards on three receptions, though.
DETROIT LIONS 33, NEW ORLEANS SAINTS 28
Offensive spotlight: Saints wide receiver Chris Olave played despite suffering a concussion last week and had a big game. He caught five passes for 119 yards, including an ill-advised pass from Jameis Winston that was likely on its way to being intercepted. Olave averaged 3.71 yards per route run in the game.
HOUSTON TEXANS 22, DENVER BRONCOS 17
Defensive spotlight: Top-five picks from the past two drafts combined for a big turnover for the Texans late in the third quarter. Will Anderson Jr., the third overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft, tipped a Russell Wilson pass before Derek Stingley Jr. picked it off to make it three games in a row with an interception.
Stingley recorded a second interception in the fourth quarter, making a nice play to undercut a throw from Wilson to Sutton.
LOS ANGELES CHARGERS 6, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS 0
Rookie spotlight: Chargers rookie wide receiver Quentin Johnston caught five of his seven targets for 52 receiving yards. He did drop a pass on a third down, though, taking his season total to two drops on the year.
ARIZONA CARDINALS 24, PITTSBURGH STEELERS 10
Offensive spotlight: Cardinals running back James Conner returned to Pittsburgh for the first time since leaving the Steelers organization and found his way into the end zone twice in this game.
Tight end Trey McBride was a key contributor for the Cardinal’s offense again this week, coming up with a touchdown with eight receptions and 89 receiving yards.
Kyler Murray only had to complete 13 passes for 145 yards to lead his team to victory this week.
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett left this game in the first half and was ruled out with an ankle injury shortly after. Mitchell Trubisky stepped in at quarterback the rest of the way, going 11-for-17 for 117 yards and a touchdown. George Pickens led the way in receiving yards, hauling in four receptions for 86 yards, while Diontae Johnson scored the team’s only touchdown on the day.
MIAMI DOLPHINS 45, WASHINGTON COMMANDERS 15
Defensive spotlight: Dolphins edge defender Andrew Van Ginkel read a Commanders screen pass like a book and jumped the route for an impressive pick-six to put Miami up 17-0, effectively ending the game at the end of the first quarter.
Emmanuel Ogbah continued his production in the unfortunate absence of Jaelan Phillips, getting home for a sack of Sam Howell, who was under siege all day but only went down three times. Interior defender Zach Sieler was also in the backfield plenty and finished the game with 1.5 sacks and a tackle for loss.
The Commanders defense struggled to stop much of anything the Dolphins threw at them, allowing 6.9 yards per play and giving up a score on six of Miami’s nine drives. Tua Tagovailoa was virtually unbothered, completing 18-of-24 passes, including deep bombs all day long that took a while to develop downfield.
TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS 21, CAROLINA PANTHERS 18
Rookie spotlight: Panthers second-round wide receiver Jonathan Mingo led the team in receiving yards for the second straight week. Mingo brought in six receptions on 10 targets for 69 receiving yards in the contest.
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS 42, PHILADELPHIA EAGLES 19
Offensive spotlight: 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy was efficient in this game despite a ton of pressure early that virtually shut down the offense in the first quarter, completing 19 of his 27 passes for 314 yards (11.6 yards per attempt) with four touchdowns. Wide receiver Deebo Samuel backed up his trash talk during the week with 116 receiving yards on four receptions for two touchdowns, also adding 22 yards and a touchdown on three carries. Samuel forced a handful of missed tackles and also had phenomenal blocking in space from tight end George Kittle, among others. Running back Christian McCaffrey added 93 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries, routinely converting on key third downs. San Francisco was unstoppable with six straight touchdown drives to close this game out in convincing fashion.
The Eagles’ elite wide receiver duo of A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith certainly came to play, finishing with eight receptions for 114 yards and nine receptions for 96 yards and a touchdown, respectively. Smith took shot after shot but popped back up and fought for extra yardage on a handful of downfield snags. Without tight end Dallas Goedert in the lineup as he recovers from his forearm injury, the top-heavy nature of Philadelphia’s receiving corps is highlighted, though they’ve been able to overcome it to this point.
LOS ANGELES RAMS 36, CLEVELAND BROWNS 19
Defensive spotlight: Rams linebacker Ernest Jones recorded a game-high 15 tackles on the day. Jones is having a career year in terms of run defense, sporting an 86.4 grade on the season.
GREEN BAY PACKERS 27, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS 19
Rookie spotlight: Packers wide receiver Dontayvion Wicks caught three of his four targets for 43 yards and two first downs on Sunday night. One of those receptions went for 15-plus yards, and he averaged an impressive 2.69 yards per route run.
Second-year receiver Christian Watson suffered what looked to be a hamstring injury late in the game, so the Packers will need Wicks to keep stepping up if Watson is to miss time.
CINCINNATI BENGALS @ JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS
Offensive spotlight: Bengals backup quarterback Jake Browning did everything his team needed him to do and more in just his second NFL start, finishing the game 32-of-37 for 354 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. That stat line could have been even better, too, as two of those incompletions were due to drops by his receivers.
Browning posted just a 3.8-yard average depth of target but averaged 9.6 yards per attempt, with 64.7% of his passing yards coming after the catch. He recorded one big-time throw and no turnover-worthy plays on the first review.
