There was a whole lot of good- and a whole lot of bad- on the field on Sunday when the Baltimore Ravens traveled to Cincinnati to take on the Bengals. First and foremost, Lamar Jackson was lights out with his performance. The quarterback, who continues to change the way the position is played, had a perfect passer rating of 158.3 as he completed 17 of his 19 passes in the 49-13 win. In doing so he joined ‘Big’ Ben Roethlisberger as the only other QB to have ever achieved that feat twice in a season. In total he racked up 223 yards through the air to go along with three TD’s, while also running for 65 yards. 49 of those came on a scamper that ended with a rushing touchdown as well. The Bengals, despite the loss, did ‘win’ something at least. They remain in the driving seat for the #1 pick, as they are now 0-9. The Ravens are now 7-2 and look like real contenders, especially with Jackson playing like this.
It’s a rarity when either Drew Brees or Patrick Mahomes manage to lose a game these days. It’s even more rare when the two of them both lose. That’s exactly what took place on Sunday, however, with both of them falling. The Kansas City Chiefs did so to the Tennessee Titans in what was Mahomes’ return from injury. It was a big day for him as well, as he had amassed nearly 450 yards and 3 TD’s. Yet the Titans never ever went away. They had trailed for most of the fourth quarter, yet Ryan Tannehill and co. mustered a 35-32 win that sees the Titans where they seemingly almost always are- right at the .500 line. As for the New Orleans Saints, they also lost one, though theirs is an even bigger head-scratcher. With the previously 1-7 Atlanta Falcons rolling into the Big Easy, it was thought to be a fairly easy day for the Saints. It was anything but, however, as the Falcons got two touchdown tosses from Matt Ryan and a very strong defensive showing to easily win 26-9 on foreign turf. That ended a six-game losing streak and ended what had been a six-game winning run for the Saints as well. That leaves both the Saints and the Chiefs with some thinking to do going forward, that’s for sure.
The Seattle Sounders won their second MLS Cup in club history on Sunday afternoon, holding off Toronto FC 3-1 to do it for the first time in front of their loud and proud fans. They did it, once again, in a way that was far from classic, too, showcasing a willingness to bend but not break. They might have been outplayed every step of the way, just as many of their playoff battles have gone over the years, but in the end, they came out on top. The scoring was started by Kelvin Leerdam, whose cross-shot was deflected into the net in the 57th minute. Victor Rodriguez doubled the lead in the 76th minute with a fine effort, before they got the third goal in the 90th minute from Raul Ruidiaz. A late, late Jozy Altidore for the Canadians was too little too late, as they lost for the second time in three MLS Cups against the Sounders, all of which have come in a four-year period.
