NFL Week 7 Recap: Ties Happen When Kickers Stink & Other Things We Learned
Bad kicking leads to ties, and bad quarterbacking leads to losses. Here’s what we learned in Week 7 of the 2016 NFL season:
The Seahawks & Cardinals Kickers Choked
Kickers Chandler Catanzaro and Steven Hauschka each missed short field goals that would have won the game for their respective teams in overtime, and the Cardinals tied the Seahawks, 6-6, in Arizona on Sunday night. It was the first NFL tie without a touchdown since 1972.
After the teams battled to a 3-3 tie in regulation, Catanzaro’s 24-yard field goal hit the left upright with 3:26 left in OT for the Cards. Quarterback Russell Wilson rallied Seattle (4-1-1), driving them down the field into position for a game-winning kick, but Hauschka's 28-yard field goal went wide left with seven seconds to play.
Catanzaro kicked field goals of 46 and 45 yards for Arizona (3-3-1), but he had another kick blocked in regulation by Bobby Wagner. The Cardinals dominated the Seahawks’ defense, — out-gaining them in yards by 443-257 and holding the ball for 46:21 to 28:39 — but it didn’t matter thanks to the shanked kicks.
The Vikings Lost Because Carson Wentz > Sam Bradford
Philadelphia rookie quarterback Carson Wentz had a slightly better day than Minnesota’s Sam Bradford and the Eagles beat the Vikings, 21-10, on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field. Josh Huff returned a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown for Philadelphia (4-2), which snapped a two-game losing streak and handed Minnesota (5-1) its first loss. They were the last NFL team to lose a game this season.
Both teams looked awful at times; there were five turnovers in the first quarter and eight total in the game. The Eagles sacked their former quarterback six times and forced him into his first three turnovers of the season. Wentz threw two interceptions, but he also led his team on two touchdown drives, two more than Bradford could manage.
The Philadelphia fans treated Bradford as if the former quarterback had disappointed them in his one and only season as an Eagle in 2015 (SPOILER: He did). There were plenty of boos and jeers as Bradford fumbled four times, losing two.
LeGarrette Blount Killed The Steelers
LeGarrette Blount ran for 127 yards and two touchdowns against his former team, and the New England Patriots beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 27-16, on Sunday. Tom Brady completed 19 of 26 passes for 222 yards and two touchdowns for New England (6-1), and Blount gashed the team that released him in 2014 often.
Backup quarterback Landry Jones played well in place of inured Ben Roethlisberger for Pittsburgh (4-3). He threw for 281 yards and a touchdown with one interception, but Jones and his teammates couldn’t get the ball in the end zone in the second half, and the Pats pulled away with Blount.
Jay Ajayi Is In Beast Mode For The Dolphins
Jay Ajayi ran for 214 yards on 29 carries — his second consecutive 200-yard game — and the Miami Dolphins beat the Buffalo Bills, 28-25, in South Florida on Sunday. Miami (3-4) won its second consecutive game and stopped the four-game winning streak of Buffalo (4-3).
Trailing 10-6 at halftime, the Dolphins put Ajayi to work in the second half, scoring once and setting up two other touchdown drives. Ajayi joined Ricky Williams (2002), Earl Campbell (1980) and O.J. Simpson (1973 and 1976) as the fourth player in the Super Bowl era to post back-to-back 200-yard games.
The Bills drew within three points on a late Reggie Bush touchdown run and two-point conversion, but the rally came too late for the team to continue its win streak.
Case Keenum Is A Bad QB On Two Continents
Case Keenum threw four interceptions, and the New York Giants rallied to beat the Los Angeles Rams, 17-10, on Sunday in London’s Twickenham Stadium. Keenum finished 32 of 53 for 291 yards and one touchdown for Los Angeles (3-4), which suffered its third loss in a row.
The Rams had a chance to tie the game on the final series, but Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie picked off Keenum in the left corner of the end zone to end the game and give the win to New York (4-3).
Los Angeles led 10-0 after one quarter, but two Keenum interceptions, including one returned 44 yards for a score by Landon Collins, allowed the Giants to sneak back and tie the game at half. They won in the fourth quarter when Rashad Jennings scored from the 1-yard-line with 9:23 left.
Keenum has thrown 10 interceptions in seven games this season, with just eight touchdown passes. Like a Bizzaro version of ‘The Office’: neither the U.S. or British versions of his performance are any good. Yet, Rams head coach Jeff Fisher said he’d stick with Keenum instead of giving No. 1-overall pick Jared Goff a start: ¯_(ツ)_/¯.
Other Scores
Thursday, Oct. 20
Green Bay 26, Chicago 10
Sunday, Oct. 23
Cincinnati 31, Cleveland 17
Detroit 20, Washington 17
N.Y. Jets 24, Baltimore 16
Oakland 33, Jacksonville 16
Kansas City 27, New Orleans 21
Indianapolis 34, Tennessee 26
Tampa Bay 34, San Francisco 17
San Diego 33, Atlanta 30 (OT)
Bye Week
Dallas, Carolina