A Sports Filled Weekend It Was

We’ve been ripping the NFL for poorly-played games over the last few weeks, but now we must repent. What a Sunday!

It ended with the Seattle Seahawks winning 31-24 at the New England Patriots. Russell Wilson threw three touchdown passes to Doug Baldwin and the defense held at the goal line in the waning seconds.

Earlier, the Denver Broncos beat the New Orleans Saints 25-23, the deciding score being their return of a blocked extra point for a defensive two-point conversion. First time that’s ever happened. The Kansas City Chiefs wiped out a 17-0 deficit and beat the Carolina Panthers 20-17. And the Dallas Cowboys won their eighth in a row, beating the Pittsburgh Steelers 35-30 on Ezekiel Elliott’s 32-yard run with nine seconds left. The Steelers have lost four in a row. The Tennessee Titans, hardly thought to be a powerhouse, whipped the Green Bay Packers 47-25. That’s three straight losses for the Pack. How bad was it? Green Bay trailed 35-10 in the first half.

Of course there’s always a clinker, one tarnished penny amid the gold. Los Angeles Rams 9, New York Jets 6. The Rams won for the second time this season without scoring a touchdown. Bleah.

College Football

The Associated Press rankings got wrung out by a spate of upsets. Three of the top four (Michigan, Clemson and Washington), five of the top 10 and seven teams overall in last week’s rankings fell to unranked opponents. The College Football Playoff rankings, which determine the four teams that compete for the national title, will be released Tuesday night. Alabama got every first-place vote in the AP poll (the lone holdout had been voting for Michigan, which lost to Iowa).

NASCAR

Joey Logano won at Phoenix International Speedway and defending NASCAR champion Kyle Busch was second and both qualified for the final four next Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards make up the rest of the championship field.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman