The top NFL teams all took apart their lower tier counterparts in the early Sunday matchups. The two leading MVP candidates continued to impress with Tom Brady throwing four touchdowns and Carson Wentz tossing three of his own in the first-half against the Bears.
Patriots (9-2) defeat Dolphins (4-7) 35-17
The Patriots were favored by 17 points coming into the Dolphins’ matchup, so the prevailing question wasn’t whether New England would win, but by how much? From the start, the Patriots seemed to be trolling the Dolphins by successfully faking a field goal on their first possession in their own territory.
Four plays later New England went up 7-0 on a Rex Burkhead two-yard touchdown run. After Miami punted on a three-and-out, the Patriots went up 14-0 when Tom Brady found Rob Gronkowski for a 5-yard score; it’s the 73rd time the duo has hooked up for a touchdown.
Miami finally got on the scoreboard, but it was their defense that did the dirty work. Safety Reshad Jones recovered a Tom Brady fumble and took it to the house to cut the deficit to seven. However, the Patriots answered with a nine-play, 78-yard drive that culminated in Burkhead’s second touchdown of the day. A Miami field goal made it an 11-point game at halftime.
The 74th time that Brady connected with Gronkowski for a touchdown pushed New England's lead to 28-10 in the third quarter.
The Dolphins scored to start the fourth to keep themselves in the game, but Brady responded with his fourth touchdown throw. He shuffled a pass to Brandin Cooks for a five-yard score to put the Patriots up eighteen. Brady finished with 227 passing yards, along with his four touchdowns.
Eagles (10-1) defeat Bears (3-8) 31-3
The Bears are praying that the 2017 second overall pick (quarterback Mitchell Trubisky) has anywhere close to the success that the Eagles’ 2016 second overall pick (Carson Wentz) has had.
Philadelphia came out and clowned Chicago 24-0 in the first-half. Wentz threw for 152 yards and three touchdowns to bury the Bears by halftime. Chicago avoided the shutout by kicking a field goal in the third quarter, but the game was already out-of-reach. The Eagles’ final touchdown came when Nelson Agholor recovered a Jay Ajayi fumble in the end zone.
Falcons (7-4) defeat Buccaneers (4-7) 34-20
Atlanta’s Julio Jones is arguably the top receiver in the NFL, but coming into the game he had just one touchdown, which has been frustrating for Falcons’ fans and making fantasy owners irate. The breakout game that everyone had been waiting for finally happened against the Buccaneers. But it wasn’t last year’s MVP, quarterback Matt Ryan, but fellow receiver Mohamed Sanu who found Jones for a 51-yard score.
Atlanta was up 10-3 when Ryan added to the fun, finding Jones for a 25-yard strike. The Falcons held a 14-point lead at halftime but increased that number to 21 on the opening series of the second-half. A nine-play, 78-yard drive ended with a Tevin Coleman three-yard touchdown run.
But the Buccaneers fought back, scoring touchdowns on each of their next two possessions to make it a seven-point game. A Falcons' fumble gave Tampa Bay a chance to tie the score, but the Buccaneers turned-the-ball over on downs. Julio Jones’ monster game included 253 yards receiving and two touchdowns.
Bills (6-5) defeat Chiefs (6-5) 16-10
From the Chiefs' offensive incompetency versus the Giants last Sunday (Nov. 19) to the Buffalo quarterback fiasco, these teams have more drama than anyone in the NFL outside of Dallas. Quarterback Tyrod Taylor returned to the starting lineup and helped the Bills take an early lead by hitting Zay Jones for an 11-yard touchdown. With Buffalo up 10-0, each team traded field goals to make it a 13-3 game at the half.
The Chiefs' offense momentarily woke from its coma following intermission. Quarterback Alex Smith led his team on a nine-play 85-yard drive, finding Albert Wilson for a 19-yard touchdown pass. Buffalo responded with a field goal to make the score 16-10, but that would be the last points of the game. The two teams punted a total of six times before Kansas City turned-the-ball over on downs, and Smith threw a game-ending interception.
Bengals (5-6) defeats Browns (0-11) 30-16
The all-Ohio matchup inspires little intrigue outside of the state, but the Bengals’ inconsistent play did leave the door open for the Browns to possibly earn their first win. Cleveland made a field goal on their opening possession to grab an initial lead, but Andy Dalton marched Cincinnati on a nine-play, 75-yard drive to answer with a touchdown.
The eight-yard pass from Dalton to Tyler Boyd was the highlight of the half as the rest of the first and second quarters turned into a field goal contest with the Bengals kicking three and the Browns adding one of their own.
With a 10-point lead, Cincinnati increased that margin to 17 with a 78-yard scoring drive to open the second-half. A Browns’ field goal and a three-yard touchdown run by quarterback DeShone Kizer reduced the deficit to seven. But that was as close as Cleveland would get. The Bengals put the game away on their next series when Joe Mixon ran in for an 11-yard score. Mixon rushed for 114 yards and a touchdown on the day.
Titans (7-4) defeat Colts (3-8) 20-16
On a scale of 1-10 as far as football fluidity, firepower, and fanfare, this game was three.
Until Indianapolis scored a touchdown just before halftime, the two teams combined for four field goals, two punts, and two interceptions in the first-half. Another Colts’ field goal put Indianapolis up 16-6 at the beginning of the third quarter. But while the Titans couldn’t get anything going offensively, their defense stepped up. A fumble by Colts’ quarterback Jacoby Brissett deep in his own territory resulted in a Tennessee two-yard touchdown. Down by three, it wasn’t until the fourth quarter that the Titans’ offense finally came to life. Marcus Mariota led Tennessee on a nine-play, 77-yard scoring drive that was capped off with a DeMarco Murray score to claim the lead and earn the win.
