Huge blow in Super Bowl race as superstar dealt ‘horrific’ injury; No.1 pick stuns again: NFL Wrap

Bears’ No.1 draft pick Caleb Williams overcame a hilarious blunder and early interception to continue his impressive start to life in the NFL.

Against the Jaguars, and another No.1 draft pick in Trevor Lawrence, Williams excelled, throwing for 226 yards, and four touchdowns, as well as a second quarter interception.

That performance, key to Chicago’s 35-16 win over the Jaguars in London, has this year’s No.1 pick on the brink of creating franchise history.

The 22-year-old’s 124.4 pass rating is his third consecutive triple digit passer rating performance, tying Charlie O’Rourke for the most consecutive 100 passer rating games in a season by a Bears quarterback.

On top of that, Williams is no two touchdowns shy of smashing O’Rourke’s single-season rookie touchdown passes from a Bears quarterback, set back in 1942.

Earlier this season following Chicago’s loss to the Houston Texans, Williams was labelled as arrogant by some after he was shown barely listening to Texans superstar C.J Stroud as the pair spoke post-game.

Since then Williams has silenced the noise around him, slowly piecing together an incredibly respectable rookie campaign at the 4-2 Bears, who sit third in the NFC North after six games.

Speaking post-game, Bears cornerback Josh Blackwell labelled his QB a “special player.”

“His ability to extend players and make throws that most of them can’t make, it’s pretty cool to see that.”

Williams’ performance inspired Chicago to their first back-to-back wins by 19-plus points since 2006, when he was five.

Speaking to the NFL Network’s Stacey Dales post-game, the 22-year-old credited his mindset as being key to his performance.

“There’s going to be times where there’s plays that you don’t like, plays that you messed up on like today. But to keep going, have the positive mindset, stay a constant communicator throughout the whole team. And have, like I said, that positive mindset goes a long way for our guys,” he said.

The Bears performance meant Aussie punter Tory Taylor had a rather quiet night, punting just twice for 123 yards. By comparison, last week against the Panthers the Victorian punted four times.

Chicago enter their Week 7 bye high on spirits before taking on another high-flying rookie, Jayden Daniels, and the Washington Commanders, the week after.

MAY(B)E NEW ENGLAND SHOULD’VE WAITED LONGER?

Speaking of rookie quarterbacks, the Patriots made the bold decision to start No.3 pick Drake Maye against the Texans.

As ESPN’s Adam Schefter put it, the decision to start Maye doesn’t come as a surprise because the rookie lacks talent.

“The timing is a little curious. The fact Drake Maye is out there is not,” Schefter said.

It comes as a surprise because New England wanted to wait as long as possible before throwing Maye to the NFL wolves. They wanted to give the young quarterback time to develop on the sidelines and the surrounding team, especially the offensive line, time to improve to complement and care for the rookie.

“If you watched the team during training camp and spoke to people in the organisation, Drake Maye outplayed Jacoby Brissett but they did not want to subject him to the NFL, to opposing defences, early in the season,” Schefter added.

“The idea was to stick Jacoby Brissett out there, let Drake Maye grow and learn on the sideline and eventually get to him.”

However, New England entered Week 6 with a 1-4 record having not won since the opening week of the season.

As Schefter explained, the Patriots’ offence “has been stagnate, Jacoby Brissett hasn’t produced (and) the team hasn’t won.” and so they expedited it.”

It meant Maye was thrown into the deep end against one of the NFL’s leading sides, spearheaded by one of the competition’s brightest quarterbacks: C.J Stroud.

Ultimately, Jerod Mayo’s gamble failed to pay dividends as the Patriots fell to their fifth defeat of the season.

Maye threw for three touchdowns, including one 40-yard dime for Kayshon Boutte’s touchdown late in the second quarter, but also gave up two interceptions while completing 20 of 33 passing attempts.

There was plenty to like about Maye in his first start, especially considering the O-line he played behind, which was missing several key starters.

But in the end the rookie’s performance wasn’t enough to get his side over the line against a red-hot Texans outfit.

It left Schefter questioning whether or not the Patriots made the right call playing Maye this week, especially considering their clash with the understrength Dolphins side last week.

“The truth of the matter is they could’ve made this move last week in a more favourable setting?” he asked.

EAGLES HC’S CROWD RANT IN TIGHT WIN OVER BROWNS

As the clock wound down in Philadelphia’s four point win over the Cleveland Browns, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni appeared to turn towards the home crowd, pointed to his ear and exchanged animated words.

While it remains unclear what exactly Sirianni said to the crowd, several Eagles players were seen laughing at their coach’s tirade.

Perhaps Eagles fans were less than impressed with their side’s narrow victory over the now 1-5 Browns, who are spearheaded by QB Deshaun Watson, regarded by some as the “worst trade in history.”

Watson finished with 168 yards from 16 completions, without throwing a single touchdown, and could’ve ended up with a few interceptions had the Eagles’ defence been more astute.

His opposite number, Jalen Hurts, struggled to get his passing game going early in the game, but wasn’t afraid to rush the ball throughout the contest – finishing with 33 yards from 14 carries.

Hurts’ passing game kicked into gear during the second quarter, when he completed a 22-yard dime to AJ Brown for the game’s first touchdown.

Cleveland’s sole touchdown of the game came in extraordinary fashion on the cusp of half time, when a 57-yard Eagles field goal attempt was blocked by the Browns’ defence and carried 50 yards by former Eagle Rodney McLeod for a touchdown.

That play was met by stinging boos from the home crowd, whose team went into the halftime break level with Cleveland.

In the end, DeVonta Smith’s 45-yard fourth quarter touchdown was enough to give the Eagles a narrow victory.

However, the performance wasn’t enough to convince Philly fans this side can hit the heights they hit two seasons ago, when they fell agonisingly short of Super Bowl glory against the Chiefs.

Philadelphia remains the only side not to score in the first quarter this season, even with AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith back on deck after injuries, and Jalen Hurts remaining an elite level quarterback despite some recent struggles.

Defensively there is a lot to be positive about, with rookie cornerback Cooper DeJean impressing in the first start of his career, finishing with six tackles, a half-sack, a QB hit and a pair of pressures on Watson.

As for the Browns, their marriage with Watson grows increasingly unhappier as the weeks pass. Over the last three weeks, the 29-year-old has as many touchdowns (two) as safety Rodney McLeod Jr.

CONCERNS FOR CARDINALS ROOKIE SENSATION

Midway through the second quarter of their loss to the Packers the Arizona Cardinals received a significant scare when star rookie receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. was taken from the field with a concussion.

With just over six minutes to go in the second period, Harrison fell into the thigh of Packers linebacker Isaiah McDuffie and was seen stumbling as he tried to stand up.

Cardinals medical staff assisted the rookie receiver, who was yet to catch a pass at that point, off the field before he was ruled from the game.

Without the 22-year-old, who was drafted with the fourth pick in this year’s draft, the Cardinals fell to the 4-2 Packers.

Quarterback Kyler Murray threw for 214 yards, including a touchdown, but it wasn’t enough to inspire his side against Jordan Love, who played like a man possessed.

Love, who has been under an injury cloud in recent weeks, completed 22 of 32 passing attempts for 258 yards, including four touchdowns.

Arguably the highlight of the 25-year-old’s night came with just under four minutes to go in the third quarter.

Up by nine, Green Bay snapped the ball 20 yards from the Cardinals’ end zone. Arizona blitzed the Packers’ QB, forcing him to drop back to the 35 yard line before he lofted the ball perfectly into receiver Romeo Doubs’ hands for a touchdown.

NFL WEEK 6 SCORES

49ers 36 defeated Seahawks 24

Bears 35 defeated Jaguars 16

Saints 27 defeated by Buccaneers 51

Ravens 30 defeated Commanders 23

Packers 34 defeated Cardinals 13

Titans 17 defeated by Colts 20

Patriots 21 defeated by Texans 41

Eagles 20 defeated Browns 16

Broncos 16 defeated by Chargers 23

Raiders 13 defeated by Steelers 32