NFL Sunday takeaways: Garoppolo done, Bengals have Chiefs’ number

On a day when three starting quarterbacks left games injured — at least one seriously — and Deshaun Watson played his first game in nearly two years, victories in playoff-calibre showdowns by the Bengals, 49ers and Eagles stood out most in Week 13 NFL action Sunday.

The Cincinnati Bengals knocked off the Kansas City Chiefs, by the same score (27-24) as last January’s AFC championship game.

San Francisco lost quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo early, when he was carted off with a left foot injury, but his rookie backup Brock Purdy — the last pick of the last round in April’s draft — performed fabulously in his first meaningful pro action, in leading the 49ers to a thumping 33-17 victory over the visiting Miami Dolphins.

Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan afterward said Garoppolo broke his foot and is done for the season.

The Philadelphia Eagles, meantime, improved their NFL-best record to 11-1 in similarly proving their class in a second high-profile, cross-conference NFC win over an AFC power, the Tennessee Titans, 35-10.

Besides Garoppolo, the other two passers who had to leave with injuries were:

Besides Garoppolo, the other two passers who had to leave with injuries were:

GAROPPOLO’S ROOKIE REPLACEMENT SHINES

At San Francisco, Purdy was hardly Mr. Irrelevant. That’s the nickname slapped every year on the last pick of the draft.

Purdy, a former Iowa State star, entered the game against the high-flying Dolphins with San Fran trailing 7-3.

While the 22-year-old might have been the 262nd player drafted this year, he completed 25-of-37 (68%) for 210 yards and two touchdowns, against only one pick and three sacks.

Christian McCaffrey caught eight passes for 80 yards and a TD, and rushed 17 times for 66 yards.

The vaunted 49ers defence intercepted Miami QB Tua Tagovailoa twice and harassed him throughout, sacking him three times.

With the loss Miami fell to 8-4, out of top spot in the AFC East.

The Niners improved to the same record and still sit alone on top of the NFC West.

Looks like the 49ers will finish the season with the rookie, and that’s one Purdy tough task for the youngster.

YES, THE BENGALS HAVE THE CHIEFS’ NUMBER

At Cincinnati, the Bengals defeated the Kansas City Chiefs for the third time this calendar year.

In some ways it was with the same recipe as their 34-31 Week 17 victory last Jan. 2, and their 27-24 AFC title-game win in overtime last Jan. 28. That is, with Joe Burrow firing off clutch completions all over the field, and a defence dropping nearly everyone in coverage in the hope of confounding Mahomes.

This time, though, the Bengals’ ground game was perhaps the most dominant element. Samaje Perine rushed 21 times for 106 yards, much of it in the decisive fourth quarter. Burrow contributed 46 rush yards and a touchdown himself, on 11 carries.

Of course, Burrow’s passing was his most impressive contribution, and he completed all but six of his 31 throws for 286 yards, two TDs and no turnovers.

What’s more, the Bengals defence really did seem to bother Patrick Mahomes again, limited him to 16 completions, 223 yards and one score. And would you believe the Bengals sacked Mahomes more times (two) than the Chiefs defence did Burrow (once)?

The Bengals’ effort was so complete they forced a critical fumble by Travis Kelce, when linebacker Germaine Pratt tripped the ball out a split-second before the all-pro tight end hit the ground, with 13:52 left.

Burrow then drove the Bengals 53 yards in 10 plays for the go-ahead TD. The last sack of Mahomes forced Andy Reid to go for a game-tying, 55-yard field goal with 3:24 left, but power-legged Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker missed wide right.

K.C. fell to 9-3, which this week gives Buffalo (also 9-3) the AFC’s top seed by virtue of the Bills win over K.C. in October.

A.J. BROWN ENJOYED A BIG PLATE OF REVENGE

Could Jalen Hurts and the high-octane Eagles look as good against one of the NFL’s most fiercely stingy defences?

You betcha.

Hurts was spectacular in a 25-point home-field defeat of the Tennessee Titans, completing 29-of-39 for 380 yards, three TDs and no turnovers. Hurts ran only five times for 12 yards, but added another score.

Who was Hurts’ most frequently targeted pass catcher? Why, wideout A.J. Brown, of course. The former star Titan, who was traded to Philly in April when that club opted not to pay the man.

The Eagles did, and so far aren’t regretting it one iota.

Hurts targeted Brown 10 times, connecting eight times for 119 yards and two scores.

While everybody in Philadelphia this past week tried to downplay the ‘revenge-game’ aspect for Brown, Eagles head coach Nick Siranni said of course that was easier said than done.

“You try not to get any more up or down for any game,” Sirianni said. “He’s had big games like that before … and I thought he handled his business like a pro.

“But of course he got himself up a little bit more for (this game). As much as we’re telling him, ‘Don’t, don’t, don’t. Just let it be, let it happen naturally,’ human nature is going to take over there … He played a great game.”

DESHAUN WATSON RETURNS, FULL OF RUST

This is not meant in any way to appear sympathetic toward Deshaun Watson’s plight, in playing his first NFL game since early January 2021.

But after he fulfilled terms of his 11-game suspension without pay to start this season, Watson did almost nothing to impress anyone in Cleveland’s 27-14 win at Houston. A punt-return TD, a fumble-return TD and a pick-six accounted for all three Browns TDs. A field goal drive was all Watson and the Cleveland offence could generate.

Watson’s stats: 12-of-22 passing for 131 yards with a pick, and only 21 yards off seven runs.

BEARS ‘OWNER’ WINS ANOTHER IN CHICAGO

Aaron Rodgers did it again. Y’know, the iconic Green Bay quarterback who last year shouted at Bears fans at Chicago’s Solider Field that he owned them.

Figuratively, of course, he still does. Rodgers helped the Packers steal another victory at Chicago’s Soldier Field. Only it was a team effort.

After Chicago took a 19-10 lead with 1:50 left in the third quarter, the Packers en masse took over — Rodgers, pounding running back A.J. Dillon, budding star rookie wideout Christian Watson, a pressuring defence and impactful special teams all shone in the game in the fourth quarter as the Pack won, 28-19 win.

During the late comeback Rodgers, playing with still-injured throwing thumb and ribs, completed 5-of-7 for 70 yards, Dillon rushed eight times for 58 yards and a score, Watson had a 46-yard end-around TD run plus 34 receiving yards, the Packers defence intercepted Bears QB Justin Fields twice, and Green Bay’s special teams blocked a Chicago field goal.

Once the comeback was complete, Rodgers celebrated by giving the home-side fans a prolonged, pronounced salute. Afterward he called Soldier Field his “second home,” and said it was fun to let Bears fans “know I’m still here.”

The Bears defence is perhaps more lame than ever. It never sacked or even hit Rodgers, all game.

Green Bay’s victory probably was meaningless from a 2022 post-season standpoint — the Pack improved to 5-8, the Bears dropped to 3-10 — but meant everything from a historical perspective. With Sunday’s win the Packers passed the Bears as the NFL’s winningest franchise. Green Bay now has 787, Chicago 786.

The Bears had been No. 1 for the past 101 seasons.

“It means a lot,” Rodgers said. “I think that’s part of the legacy. You always want to leave the place you’re at better than you found it, and right now we flipped the all-time series … I’ve had a lot of success against them, so I thin in a few years you look back and you feel pretty good about your contributions to the rivalry.”

HOW DO VIKINGS KEEP DOING IT? SERIOUSLY

Practically week after week, the Minnesota Vikings taunt fate — daring it either to go ahead and take away a victory they have in the bag, or go ahead and try to seal a victory the opposition rightly thinks it has wrapped up.

And prevailing in almost every circumstance, regardless.

On Sunday, the Vikings clutched leads of 20-3 late in the second quarter, and 27-15 with 8:33 left in the fourth, only to have to nearly blow it, in holding off a furious New York Jets comeback to win 27-22.

The Vikings entered the game with the league’s worst pass defence. Although newly anointed Jets QB starter Mike White kept leading his team on field goal drives, as the game wound down he finally scored a touchdown himself on a fourth-down sneak. But his desperation deep pass in the waning seconds was picked off.

Vikes QB Kirk Cousins told teammates in the locker room afterward something his old Washington head coach, Mike Shanahan, preached: “ ‘Tough times don’t last; tough people do’ … I believe strongly in that.”

Minnesota improved to 10-2. New York dropped to 7-5 but still clings to the last AFC playoff position, with five weeks to go.

EXTRA POINTS

The New York Giants overcame an early 10-0 deficit, but wound up tying Washington 20-20 after a scoreless overtime period, leaving the Giants 7-4-1, the Commanders 7-5-1 … Pittsburgh held off offensively inept Atlanta 19-16, for its second road win in seven days. Falcons head coach Arthur Smith afterward said “everything is on the table” as to who will start at QB going forward, after Marcus Mariota’s dreadful 13-completion, 167-yard, one-interception effort … Las Vegas won again, 27-20 over the sagging Los Angeles Chargers, whose ghost of a defence probably will prevent them from reaching the playoffs, AGAIN … Seattle’s defence similarly still appears suspect, but against the other Los Angeles team, the Rams, the Seahawks rallied late to escape L.A. 27-23 win, when DK Metcalf caught an eight-yard TD pass from Geno Smith with 36 seconds left. John Wolford started at QB for the Rams, with Matthew Stafford shelved on IR, and threw for just 178 yards and was picked off twice.

John Kryk writes a weekly newsletter on NFL matters. That’s where you can first see his straight-up picks each week. You can have the newsletter automatically dropped into your email inbox on Wednesdays simply by signing up — for free — at https://torontosun.com/newsletters/

JoKryk@postmedia.com

@JohnKryk

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