Vea neutralized in Patriots win over Buccaneers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers nose tackle Vita Vea has been a nuisance for teams all season long during his Defensive Player of the Year worthy campaign, coming into the game with fourteen tackles for loss and fourteen sacks.
New England established their quick passing game first, taking Vea out of the game and then were able to run the ball late on their way to a 33-13 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday to extend their winning streak.
Mac Jones threw for 317 yards and two touchdowns in a nearly perfect outing but it was George Abraham who it going, replacing Jones at the goal-line on 4th and 1 to complete the touchdown pass to Dre Agnew.
Agnew finished the game with seven receptions for 97 yards, leading the way before leaving the game with an injury. A banged up Patriots team saw several key players leave with injuries including nose tackle Akiem Hicks, edge rusher George Marshall and guard Eric Alexander.
---------------------------------------------------------------- Scoring Summary
Quarter 1
[NE] D. Agnew 3 Yd pass from G. Abraham (7:54)
[TB] J. Tucker, 41 Yd FG (6:20)
Quarter 2
[NE] R. Moore 24 Yd pass from M. Jones (14:12)
[NE] S. McCormick 6 Yd pass from M. Jones (7:20)
[NE] H. Butker, 35 Yd FG (0:23)
Quarter 3
[TB] A. Smith 3 Yd pass from D. Ridder (10:52)
[NE] H. Butker 35 Yd FG (6:27)
[TB] J. Tucker, 46 Yd FG (2:59)
Quarter 4
[NE] H. Butker, 22 Yd FG (13:35)
[NE] H. Butker, 47 Yd FG (11:24)
---------------------------------------------------------------- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
QB Desmond Ridder: 23 of 38, 227 yards, touchdown, sacked once
HB Leonard Fournette: 14 carries, 142 yards
HB Zach Evans: 7 carries, 17 yards, 5 receptions, 29 yards
TE O.J. Howard: 5 receptions, 70 yards
WR Ainias Smith: 5 receptions, 38 yards
WR Mike Evans: 4 receptions, 55 yards
LB Devin White: 13 tackles, tackle for loss
S Greg Eisworth II: 11 tackles, tackle for loss
S Jordan Whitehead: 9 tackles, tackle for loss
Injuries
CAR TE Fabien Moreau (shoulder)
CAR WR Kenan Bright (shoulder)
--------------
NE LG Eric Alexander (labrum)
NE OLB Micah Webb (ribs)
NE NT Akiem Hicks (thumb)
Darnold throws for 471 yards but not enough in loss to Patriots
With Christian McCaffrey being sidelined after four carries due to a coaching decision, Sam Darnold was going to have throw the Carolina Panthers back into a game they were down 24-3 in.
Darnold near did, getting it to a one score game before New England ended the game with seventeen unanswered points to keep their winning streak alive with a 41-17 win in Carolina on Sunday.
Darnold threw for 473 yards with a touchdown. It was a career day for D.J. Moore who finished the game with 184 yards receiving, taking turns embarrassing J.C. Jackson and Jaire Alexander on deep jump balls, averaging nearly forty yards per reception.
Tavares Ford's touchdown made it a seven point game with 1:16 remaining in the third. New England's offense then got aggressive again with Mac Jones completing a 21-yard pass to Odell Beckham Jr. to jump start the offense and then going up top once more to Charleston Rambo for the 28-yard touchdown.
New England would kick a field goal after Darnold was strip sacked on the next possession. Carolina would then miss a 52-yard field goal, giving New England the ball and the chance to run some clock, running seven straight plays before Jones found a streaking Rambo o the run for a 21-yard touchdown and the dagger.
---------------------------------------------------------------- Scoring Summary
Quarter 1
[CAR] C. York, 37 Yd FG (11:56)
[NE] O. Beckham Jr 3 Yd pass from M. Jones (4:11)
Quarter 2
[NE] D. Harris, 4 Yd run (10:43)
[NE] H. Butker, 44 Yd FG (4;48)
[NE] D. Agnew 10 Yd pass from M. Jones (0:11)
Quarter 3
[CAR] D. Moore 43 Yd pass from S. Darnold (9:12)
[CAR] T. Ford, 1 Yd run (1:15)
Quarter 4
[NE] C. Rambo 28 Yd pass from M. Jones (14:53)
[NE] H. Butker, 20 Yd FG (12:47)
[NE] C. Rambo 21 Yd pass from M. Jones (8:34)
---------------------------------------------------------------- Carolina Panthers
QB Sam Darnold: 22 of 40, 473 yards, touchdown, interception, sacked 9 times, fumble (lost)
HB Darrell Hurt: 15 carries, 29 yards
HB Christian McCaffrey: 4 carries, 19 yards
WR Rashod Bateman: 6 receptions, 118 yards
TE Anfernee Lawson: 6 receptions, 88 yards
WR D.J. Moore: 5 receptions, 184 yards, touchdown
LB Justin Flowe: 20 tackles, tackle for loss
CB Jaycee Horn: 7 tackles, tackle for loss
Week 16 NFL Results
NE 41 - CAR 17 | DET 27 - LAC 17 | HOU 24 - IND 21 | DEN 28 - TEN 14
CIN 34 - PIT 21 | NYJ 35 - BUF 17 | ATL 24 - TB 3 | BAL 17 - MIA 14
MIN 31 - CHI 13 | LV 31 - DAL 10 | SF 27 - LAR 17 | JAX 28 - SEA 21
NYG 31 - PHI 25 | CLE 45 - KC 34 | GB 26 - WAS 20 | NO 35 - ARI 20
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Playoff Race AFC
1. New England, 12-3 x
2. Baltimore, 11-4 x
3. Houston, 9-6
4. Kansas City, 8-7
5. Buffalo, 11-4 x
6. Pittsburgh, 9-6
7. NY Jets, 8-7
-- Cincinnati, 8-7
-- Indianapolis, 7-8
-- Jacksonville, 7-8
-- Miami, 7-8
NFC
1. NY Giants, 11-4 x
2. Arizona, 11-4 x
3. Chicago, 9-6
4. Atlanta, 8-7
5. San Francisco, 10-5
6. Dallas, 9-6
7. Tampa, 8-7
-- Minnesota, 8-7
-- Detroit, 7-8
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Players of the Week
QB Mac Jones (NE): 26 of 31, 290 yards, 4 touchdowns
LB Will Anderson (MIA): 12 tackles, 2 sacks, forced fumble
HB Saquon Barkley (NYG): 13 carries, 176 yards, 2 touchdowns
DE Danielle Hunter (MIN): 7 tackles, 4 sacks
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- NFL DROY Race
DE Harvey Prince (CIN): 57 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, 6 sacks
DT Gerald Garvin (CHI): 43 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 5 sacks
OLB Keilan Britt (NE): 40 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, 11 sacks, INT
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Notable Injuries
T Sean Rhyan (ARI): Season (chest)
TE Foster Moreau (CAR): Season (shoulder)
DE Trace Ford (CHI): 4 Weeks (disk)
C Tyler Biadasz (DAL): Season (knee)
HB Aaron Jones (GB): Season (knee)
G Joe Thuney (KC): Season (shoulder)
S Marcus Williams (NO): Season (elbow)
HB Nick Robertson (PHI): Season (collarbone)
CB Bryce Callahan (SF): Season (ankle)
TE Jonnu Smith (TEN): Season (shoulder)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- NFL.com Draft Prospect Rankings
1. CB Cory McKinney, Texas A&M
2. QB Kurt Parsons, Miami
3. QB Alex Parker, UCF
4. G Damian Clifford, Georgia
5. QB Dakota Veldman, Michigan
6. T Malcolm Parker, West Virginia
7. QB Andrew Mayer, LSU
8. QB Logan Burks, South Carolina
9. QB Tommy Pemberton, Colorado
10. OLB Dalton Glenn, USF
sammy d showed out, but that line really let him down
they got mossed a few times (blrrrrrrr) but i can't complain too much as they're playing at a pretty high level throughout the season, especially jaire after last season's struggles
Injuries
NO WR Micah Stanley (shoulder)
NO S Marcus Williams (elbow)
-----------
NE WR Odell Beckham Jr. (labrum)
NE LG Eric Alexander (labrum)
NE OLB Micah Webb (ribs)
NE NT Akiem Hicks (thumb)
NE S Malachi Moore (knee)
