MONDAY, OCTOBER 25 , 2021. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ M2 D7
NFL week 7
Colts 30, 49ers 18
INDIANAPOLIS ........................ 7 67 10 —30
SAN FRANCISCO ................... 12006 —18
FIRST QUARTER
San Francisco: Mitchell 14 run (kick failed), 10:12.
San Francisco: FG Slye 34, 8:08.
Indianapolis: Alie-Cox 11 pass from Wentz (Badgley
kick), 5:15.
San Francisco: FG Slye 56, 2:27.
SECOND QUARTER
Indianapolis: Wentz 1 run (pass failed), 1:00.
THIRD QUARTER
Indianapolis: Taylor 5 run (Badgley kick), 3:45.
FOURTH QUARTER
San Francisco: Samuel 14 pass from Garoppolo (pass
failed), 13:07.
Indianapolis: FG Badgley 42, 7:00.
Indianapolis: Pittman 28 pass from Wentz (Badgley
kick), 2:49.
IND SF
First Downs .......................................... 1713
Total Net Yards ................................... 295 280
Rushes-Yards ............................... 33-148 24-111
Passing ................................................ 147 169
Interceptions Ret. ............................... 2-4 0-0
Comp-Att-Int ............................... 17-26-0 16-27-2
Sacked-Yards Lost .............................. 1-3 2-12
Punts .............................................. 6-45.5 4-48.25
Fumbles-Lost ...................................... 4-2 3-2
Penalties-Yards ................................ 6-45 7-122
Time Of Possession ......................... 33:56 26:04
RUSHING
Indianapolis: Taylor 18-107, Wentz 4-23, Hines 8-14,
Mack 3-4.
San Francisco: Mitchell 18-107, Aiyuk 1-3, Hasty 3-1,
Garoppolo 2-0.
PASSING
Indianapolis: Wentz 17-26-0-150.
San Francisco: Garoppolo 16-27-2-181.
RECEIVING
Indianapolis: Pittman 4-105, Alie-Cox 3-25, Pascal 3-14,
Taylor 3-3, Dulin 2-0, Coutee 1-5, Hines 1-(minus 2).
San Francisco: Samuel 7-100, Hasty 3-15, Woerner
2-30, Sanu 1-16, Sherfield 1-9, Aiyuk 1-6, Dwelley 1-5.Buccaneers 38, Bears 3
CHICAGO .................................. 0 300 —3
TAMPA BAY ........................... 21140 3— 38
FIRST QUARTER
Tampa Bay: Fournette 2 run (Succop kick), 11:58.
Tampa Bay: Godwin 4 pass from Brady (Succop kick),
4:37.
Tampa Bay: Evans 9 pass from Brady (Succop kick), :06.
SECOND QUARTER
Chicago: FG Santos 28, 6:08.
Tampa Bay: Evans 2 pass from Brady (Succop kick),
3:35.
Tampa Bay: Evans 8 pass from Brady (Succop kick), :09.
FOURTH QUARTER
Tampa Bay: FG Succop 22, 12:51.
CHI TB
First Downs .......................................... 1728
Total Net Yards ................................... 311 408
Rushes-Yards ............................... 29-143 31-182
Passing ................................................ 168 226
Punt Returns ..................................... 2-13 1-43
Kickoff Returns ................................... 0-0 1-17
Interceptions Ret. ............................... 0-0 3-43
Comp-Att-Int ............................... 22-32-3 22-39-0
Sacked-Yards Lost ............................ 4-16 0-0
Punts .............................................. 4-40.0 4-40.25
Fumbles-Lost ...................................... 4-2 2-1
Penalties-Yards ................................ 4-32 1-10
Time Of Possession ......................... 28:55 31:05
RUSHING
Chicago: Herbert 18-100, Fields 8-38, Williams 3-5.
Tampa Bay: Fournette 15-81, Jones 10-63, Vaughn
5-27, Darden 1-11.
PASSING
Chicago: Fields 22-32-3-184.
Tampa Bay: Brady 20-36-0-211, Gabbert 2-3-0-15.
RECEIVING
Chicago: Kmet 5-43, Herbert 5-33, James 3-20, Mooney
2-39, Goodwin 2-16, Robinson 2-16, Byrd 1-10, Nall 1-4,
Williams 1-3.
Tampa Bay: Godwin 8-111, Evans 6-76, Johnson 2-16,
Fournette 2-9, Bernard 2-5, Howard 1-9, Yelder 1-0.
MISSED FIELD GOALS
Tampa Bay: Succop 43.
Rams 28, Lions 19
DETROIT ................................. 10630 —19
L.A. RAMS ................................ 3 14 01 1— 28
FIRST QUARTER
Detroit: Swift 63 pass from Goff (Seibert kick), 12:07.
Detroit: FG Seibert 37, 7:28.
LA Rams: FG Gay 33, 2:55.
SECOND QUARTER
Detroit: FG Seibert 47, 13:40.
LA Rams: V.Jefferson 11 pass from Stafford (Gay kick), 8:36.
LA Rams: Kupp 2 pass from Stafford (Gay kick), 1:23.
Detroit: FG Seibert 41, :04.
THIRD QUARTER
Detroit: FG Seibert 31, 1:43.
FOURTH QUARTER
LA Rams: Kupp 5 pass from Stafford (R.Woods pass
from Stafford), 13:59.
LA Rams: FG Gay 47, :58.
DET LAR
First Downs .......................................... 1922
Total Net Yards ................................... 415 374
Rushes-Yards ............................... 28-137 19-47
Passing ................................................ 278 327
Kickoff Returns ................................. 1-27 4-70
Interceptions Ret. ............................... 0-0 2-27
Comp-Att-Int ............................... 23-37-2 28-41-0
Sacked-Yards Lost .............................. 2-7 1-7
Punts .............................................. 1-36.0 1-41.0
Fumbles-Lost ...................................... 0-0 0-0
Penalties-Yards ................................ 8-77 4-35
Time Of Possession ......................... 32:40 27:20
RUSHING
Detroit: J.Williams 12-57, Swift 13-48, Moore 1-28,
Goff 1-3, Raymond 1-1.
L.A. Rams: Henderson 15-45, Michel 2-4, Stafford
2-(minus 2).
PASSING
Detroit: Goff 22-36-2-268, Fox 1-1-0-17.
L.A. Rams: Stafford 28-41-0-334.
RECEIVING
Detroit: Swift 8-96, Raymond 6-115, Hockenson 6-48,
Price 1-17, Fells 1-6, Hodge 1-3.
L.A. Rams: Kupp 10-156, Woods 6-70, Higbee 5-46, Jef-
ferson 4-43, Henderson 3-19.
BY ANDREW GOLDENgreen bay, wis. — Taylor Hein-
icke, who grew up a Packers fan,
said before Sunday’s game that
playing at Lambeau Field would
be emotional for him. He and his
dad, who died in 2011, used to
watch Green Bay games together
when Heinicke was a kid.
In his first game playing
against his childhood team, Hei-
nicke put together an up-and-
down performance — leading an
impressive opening touchdown
drive but committing a handful
of key errors in the Washington
Football Team’s 24-10 loss to the
Packers.
“I thought I played well, but
again, I had a strip sack on the
first series of the second half and
then that interception in the end
zone,” Heinicke said about his
performance. “It’s ju st little
thin gs like that, and I feel like if
we don’t do that, a couple calls
go differently, we’re right there
in it.”
Heinicke finished 25 for 37 for
268 yards and a touchdown with
an interception while leading
the team with a career-high 95
rushing yards. But his two turn-
overs and a botched sequence on
a would-be touchdown drive
proved to be pivotal in his team’s
defeat.
He said he was emotional in
the game’s e arly moments, but it
didn’t show on the team’s open-
ing drive. He led Washington to
its only touchdown in the first
quarter, connecting three times
with leading receiver Terry
McLaurin, including for a
4 0-yard touchdown pass. With
defe nsive linemen pressuring
him on first down, Heinicke
lofted a ball to McLaurin, who
leaped over Packers cornerback
Eric Stokes to make the catch
and level the score at 7.
Washington continued to
move the ball effectively
throughout the game, reaching
Green Bay’s side of the field on
every drive but two. But it was
able to put just three more
points on the board the rest of
the game.
“I thought we did well,” Hein-
icke said of the offense’s per-
formance. “... We didn’t punt
the ball once. We moved the ball
on them; we just couldn’t finish
in the red zone.”
The team’s best scoring op-
portunity came on its second
drive of the third quarter, when
Heinicke appeared to scramble
three yards for a score and cut
the deficit to one touchdown.
But the referees ruled that Hein-
icke, whose knee went to the
ground before he fell into the
end zone, had given himself up
at the half-yard line — and on
the ensuing fourth-down play,he was stuffed for no gain on a
quarterback sneak.
Heinicke and Coach Ron Rive-
ra said they believed Heinicke
scored on both plays.
“I know he wishes he had that
one back where [he could] just
keep the ball and extend it —
that way, the interpretation is
you didn’t give yourself up,”
Rivera said. “... I t’s a tough one
for me to swallow, becausether e’s nobody around him.”
Washington’s luck didn’t im-
prove on its final four drives,
which resulted in a turnover on
downs at the Green Bay 3-yard
line, an interception by Packers
cornerback Chandon Sullivan in
the end zone, a field goal to cut
the lead to two touchdowns and
a drive that was still going when
time expired.
While Heinicke acknowl-edged that the lack of success in
finishing drives was frustrating,
he saw improvement in the of-
fense’s performance overall.
“You want to win the game,
but from the last two weeks
offensively to what we did today,
[there’s] definitely improve-
ment,” he said. “But again, we’ve
got to score in the red zone.”
Despite the loss, Heinicke said
his first time starting a game atLambeau Field, against the team
he and his father used to root for,
is something he won’t forget.
“I grew up watching the Pack-
ers at Lambeau, watching those
legendary games with Brett
Favre and Aaron Rodgers,” Hein-
icke said. “To be on the field,
experience it, get to play against
Aaron, it was a really cool experi-
ence.”
[email protected]Facing his childhood team, Heinicke is done in by mistakes
RICKY CARIOTI/THE WASHINGTON POST
Taylor Heinicke, who grew up a Packers fan, had an impressive start at Lambeau Field on Sunday. His two turnovers, though, proved to be p ivotal in Washington’s 24-10 loss.ASSOCIATED PRESSFor the first time this season,
Sam Darnold may have to start
looking over his shoulder.
In fact, there are a lot of guys
on the Panthers who may be
facing reduced playing time after
Carolina dropped a 25-3 decision
to the woeful New York Giants on
Sunday.
Darnold is the obvious player
under the microscope after the
Panthers did little on offense in
dropping their fourth straight
game with Christian McCaffrey
sidelined. He was yanked in favor
of second-year quarterback PJ
Walker early in the fourth quarter
after completing 16 of 25 passes
for 111 yards with one intercep-
tion.
Panthers Coach Matt Rhule
said Darnold, who came to Caro-
lina in an offseason trade with
the New York Jets, will be thestarter next week at the Atlanta
Falcons and for the time being.
“His sense of urgency this week
I expect to be heightened,” Rhule
said of Darnold. “I try to put that
sense of urgency on our coaches.
Obviously, it didn’t show up. We
have to coach better, but our
players have to play better as well.
And that starts with the quarter-
back.”
After getting a field goal on the
opening drive, the Panthers did
very little. Their three points and
173 total yards were lows since
Rhule took over for the 2020
season.
Rhule said the performance
clearly was not what the team
expected. He had said earlier in
the week that Carolina would
stress the running game. It fin-
ished with 56 yards on 17 carries.
“I think quarterbacks go
through ups and downs and
highs and lows,” Rhule said.“Look at Daniel Jones. He went
through the same kind of game
probably last week. He came out
and played great. Sam’s got to
take care of the football, and
Sam’s got to throw on time and if
it’s not there, find the check-
downs.”
l CHIEFS: Quarterback Pat-
rick Mahomes was evaluated for
a concussion late in Kansas City’s
27-3 loss to Tennessee. He took a
knee to his head on a sack by
Denico Autry but said after the
game he was fine.
Kansas City defensive end
Chris Jones strained a groin mus-
cle, and safety Tyrann Mathieu
hurt his ribs.
Mahomes took the blame for
his two turnovers, saying he
pressed too much trying to make
something happen.l (^) JETS: New York’s already
disappointing season took a more
ominous turn when rookie quar-
terback Zach Wilson suffered a
knee injury in the second quarter
of a 54-13 loss to the New England
Patriots.
Wilson said he felt a “pop” and
a “twist” in his knee when Patri-
ots linebacker Matt Judon fell on
the back of his legs early in the
second quarter. The second over-
all draft pick eventually walked
off the field after spending sev-
eral minutes being examined on
the turf.
Wilson said the initial diagno-
sis was an injury to his posterior
cruciate ligament, and he was to
have an MRI exam Monday.
“Initially you feel good. But
you never know,” Jets Coach Rob-
ert Saleh said.
Also for the Jets, linebacker
Jamien Sherwood was evaluated
for a concussion, came back into
the game, then left with a calf
injury. Another linebacker, Quin-
cy Williams, did not return after
he was checked for a possible
concussion.
l MISC.: For what appears to
be a huge leap forward in innova-
tion for helmet safety, the NFL
has awarded a total of $1.55 mil-
lion split among three companies
in its Helmet Challenge.
The challenge, launched in
2019, aimed to dramatically ac-
celerate the timeline for the de-
velopment of a football helmet
better than anything currently
being worn by NFL players.
By tapping into the expertise,
creativity and vision of a wide
range of individuals and compa-
nies, the NFL expects these inno-
vations to be a transformational
improvement about four times as
great as typically seen year-over-
year in helmet design.
Receiving the grant awards are
Kollide of Montreal ($550,000),
Xenith of Detroit ($496,500) and
Impressio of Denver ($454,000).
NOTES
Pressure is on Darnold after Carolina loses its fourth straight
BY JOSH DUBOW
santa clara, calif. — Carson
Wentz threw two touchdown
passes and ran for another score
to lead the Indianapolis Colts to a
30-18 victory over the San Fran-
cisco 49ers on Sunday night.
The Colts overcame rainy con-
ditions and an early nine-point
deficit to win for the third time in
four games following an 0-3 start
to the season.
The 49ers dropped their fourth
straight game and remained win-
less at home for more than a year
since beating the Los Angeles
Rams on Oct. 18, 2020, as the
return of starting quarterback
Jimmy Garoppolo failed to pro-
vide any spark on a wet night.
Garoppolo threw for 181 yards,
lost a fumble, threw two intercep-
tions and struggled to push the
ball downfield in his first game
back after missing one game with
a calf injury.
Wentz and the Colts were able
to do just enough on offense
thanks to three pass interference
penalties for 97 yards and a pro-
ductive game on the ground from
Jonathan Taylor, who ran for 107
yards and a score.
Wentz threw an 11-yard touch-
down pass to Mo Alie-Cox in the
first quarter and then led two
short touchdown drives following
fumbles by San Francisco, leading
to his one-yard score late in the
first half and Taylor’s five-yard
run that made it 20-12 late in the
third quarter.
Garoppolo led a touchdown
drive early in the fourth, cutting
the deficit to 20-18 on a 14-yard
throw to Deebo Samuel. But his
two-point try was batted down at
the line.
The Colts then put it away by
driving for a field goal and getting
a 28-yard touchdown pass from
Wentz to Michael Pittman Jr. on
another short field after Xavier
Rhodes intercepted Garoppolo.
The driving rainstorm had a
big impact on the game, especial-
ly during a stretch midway
through the second quarter.
Colts running back Nyheim
Hines got wide open downfield on
a third-down pass that slipped
right through his hands.
Indianapolis then punted, and
Brandon Aiyuk muffed the ball
before kicking it back nearly 20
yards into the end zone. He recov-
ered it, and it was ruled a touch-
back.
Wentz and Garoppolo both
fumbled snaps that they recov-
ered later in the quarter before
Samuel lost a fumble for San Fran-
cisco at his own 28 on a perfect
punch out by Darius Leonard.
That set up a one-yard run by
Wentz that gave the Colts a 13-12
halftime lead.
The 49ers came in with a
league-low two takeaways but
doubled that total in the first half.
Taylor fumbled on Indianapo-
lis’s first play from scrimmage,
and Fred Warner recovered to set
up a field goal by Joey Slye that
made it 9-0.
Wentz then made an inexplica-
ble decision early in the second
quarter. As he was trying to run
away from Nick Bosa, Wentz ap-
peared to flip the ball forward
right into Azeez Al-Shaair’s
hands. It was ruled a fumble.
— Associated Press
Wentz leads Indianapolis to a rain-soaked victory
COLTS 30,
49ERS 18
JED JACOBSOHN/ASSOCIATED PRESS
C arson Wentz accounted for
three touchdowns for the Colts.