Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – The Dallas Cowboys beat arch-rivals Washington 37-20 in a game marred by a gruesome injury to Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels, while the Chicago Bears lost their own signal-caller Caleb Williams in defeat to Minnesota on a brutal NFL Sunday. Dak Prescott threw for 279 yards and four touchdowns in Arlington, Texas, surpassing former Dallas great Tony Romo for the most touchdown passes in Cowboys history.
“There’s a lot of bigger numbers out there that I want — a championship — but we’re just getting started,” said Prescott, whose team improved to 1-1 after an opening-weekend loss to the New York Giants. But his opposing quarterback Daniels bent his left elbow backward while tumbling from an accidental stamp by his own guard Chris Paul late in the first half and was carted off the field with a towel covering his head. The 25-year-old re-injured the joint he dislocated last year, in another crushing blow to a Commanders franchise that the talismanic Daniels had carried to within a game of the Super Bowl in his thrilling rookie season.
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“It was a dislocation. The X-ray showed no fracture,” said Washington coach Dan Quinn. “Man, are we bummed for him. I thought he was really playing his ass off.” After Daniels’ departure, Dallas stretched their 17-10 halftime lead, despite Washington’s backup QB Marcus Mariota finding Stefon Diggs for the receiver’s second touchdown.
Earlier Sunday, Chicago’s Williams pulled up in agony while scrambling in the red zone late in the Bears’ rain-drenched and low-scoring loss 9-3 to the Vikings. The bitterly disappointing home opener brought the Bears back to earth just one week after piling up 59 points against Carolina. At a sodden Soldier Field, the Bears were restricted to just a single field goal. Williams was given no respite by the Vikings’ steely defense all game, forced to scramble under repeated blitzes, suffering three sacks and coughing up an interception before his injury.
“A hamstring could be pretty damaging…We’ll see how bad it is tomorrow,” said Bears head coach Ben Johnson, with scans scheduled for Monday.
– ‘Doing much better’ –
There were further injury woes in New York, as the Green Bay Packers grabbed a tense 20-17 overtime win after coming from 17-7 down in the fourth quarter against the Jets. The Jets failed to score on the first possession of overtime, before a defensive penalty for unnecessary roughness took Packers kicker Trey Smack comfortably into field goal range for the victory. Green Bay receiver Jayden Reed had to be carried off with a head injury after colliding with a defender’s shoulder pads and collapsing to the floor. The team later said Reed has feeling and movement in all his extremities but will stay in hospital overnight for further testing and observation.
“Doing much better, appreciate all the prayers and support,” Reed posted on social media.
Elsewhere, the New Orleans Saints scored 15 unanswered fourth-quarter points to turn a 17-9 deficit into a 24-17 defeat of the Ravens in Baltimore. Saints quarterback Tyler Shough’s one-yard rushing touchdown with 1min 28sec remaining gave New Orleans the win. The comeback came a week after the Saints forced overtime from 21-0 down to the Detroit Lions, but lost. This time they made no mistake.
“Sometimes you have to learn how to win, learn how to finish…We’re right on time,” said Saints defensive edge Chase Young.
The Philadelphia Eagles snatched a dramatic 24-20 win over the Tennessee Titans thanks to a last-gasp Darius Cooper touchdown, while the New England Patriots bounced back from their opening loss with a clinical 20-3 defeat of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Houston’s highly rated defense could not stop Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow linking with star receiver Ja’Marr Chase for two touchdowns in a 20-6 win. And reigning champions Seattle shrugged off their quarterback Sam Darnold’s injury absence, going 2-0 under backup Drew Lock with a 31-7 rout of Arizona.
© 2024 AFP
