
Inside the best plays of Week 7
Bears rookie safety Eddie Jackson makes history with defensive TDs; plus Seahawks WR Paul Richardson's flea-flicker score, Vikings DE Everson Griffen's sacks, Cowboys TE Jason Witten's grab and more.
The situation: The Packers face third-and-4 from the Saints' 14-yard line with the score tied 7-7 midway through the second quarter.
The play: Out of the shotgun, Brett Hundley quickly recognizes an opening to his left and takes off running. He runs untouched to the 2-yard line, where it looks like he might duck out of bounds. Instead, he turns it back inside and takes a hit to his left shoulder from cornerback Ken Crawley. He bounces off that hit and crosses the goal line just as safety Kenny Vaccaro shoves him from behind. Hundley quickly pops up and heads for the stands behind the north end zone, where he does the first Lambeau Leap of his career. "[Packers OT David] Bakhtiari shut down the left side and scrambled out to the left, and the path was open and I took it. So that's a nice play, nice play with the legs, and that was a big emphasis today, so that was fun." -- Packers quarterback Brett Hundley on his touchdown Dan Powers/Wisconsin/USA TODAY Sports The situation: Trailing 7-0, the Dolphins need an early spark on their opening drive. They face first-and-10 from the Jets' 40-yard line at the 11:02 mark in the first quarter.
The play: Dolphins quarterback Jay Cutler stands tall against pressure by the Jets and releases a 36-yard pass to receiver Kenny Stills, who is well covered by safety Marcus Maye. Stills and Maye both have their hands on the ball at different times and fight for it on their way to the ground. But Stills controls the pass in the end to bring it down in bounds. The officials initially rule it incomplete but overturn it. Stills' catch sets up Miami's first touchdown. "[He's] a slinger, and he's gonna throw it to the guy that's open, so credit to him." -- Dolphins receiver Kenny Stills Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images The situation:The Ravens face a third-and-10 from their own 21-yard line at the start of the fourth quarter, trailing the Vikings 18-9.
The play: Everson Griffen rushes off the edge, gets his left arm up and grabs Joe Flacco's jersey and brings down the Ravens quarterback. Griffen becomes the sixth player to record a sack in each of his team's first seven games to start a season since the sack became an official statistic in 1982, according to ESPN Sports & Information. "Our D-line has been playing lights-out all year, and it makes it easy for the linebackers on the back end to fill the run gaps. " -- Minnesota Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr on the play of Everson Griffen Brace Hemmelgarn/USA TODAY Sports The situation: The Bucs have the ball at the Buffalo 33-yard line with 10:08 left in the game, trailing 20-13.
The play: Bucs QB Jameis Winston takes the snap and uses play-action to his left and rolls to beyond the tackle to his right. He looks back to the opposite side of the field and spots a wide open O.J. Howard. Winston lofts a pass just as Bills defensive end Jerry Hughes hits him and Howard hauls it in, with the nearest Bills defender about 25 yards away. Howard, a first-round pick out of Alabama, had five catches on the season coming into the game. He catches six passes for 98 yards and two TDs on Sunday. The TD pass gives Winston his fourth game this season with at least 325 passing yards, most in the NFL. "The ball was in the air. I just knew I had to catch it, wide open, so that's what I did." -- Bucs tight end O.J. Howard on his touchdown AP Photo/Adrian Kraus The situation: Leading the Colts 20-0 early in the third quarter, the Jaguars face a second down at their own 42-yard line.
The play: T.J. Yeldon, active for the first time this season because starter Leonard Fournette is out with an ankle injury, takes a handoff and dashes up the middle before cutting outside to race 58 yards untouched for a touchdown and a 27-0 lead. It's the third consecutive week the Jaguars have scored a rushing touchdown of 50-plus yards. They had three such TDs from 2010 to 2016 combined, according to ESPN Stats & Information. "We knew we had him if something were to happen, and he was able to come out and show what he could do today." -- Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles on T.J. Yeldon AP Photo/AJ Mast The situation: The Panthers face third-and-10 from the Bears' 33-yard line, trailing 7-0 at the 12:42 mark of the second quarter.
The play: Cam Newton attempts a short pass to wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin on the left. Bears cornerback Prince Amukamara knocks the ball in the air, where safety Eddie Jackson catches it and runs it back 76 yards for a touchdown; he also scored earlier in the game on a 75-yard fumble return. With two defensive touchdowns, Jackson becomes the first player with multiple 75-plus-yard defensive scores in a single game. "Mostly just making him miss -- you know, he's a quarterback. It's like when you're a punt return guy, they always tell you, 'Don't get tackled by the punter.' When you're a DB and you catch an interception, don't get tackled by the quarterback." -- Eddie Jackson on getting by Cam Newton for the pick-six Wesley Hitt/Getty Images The situation: On second-and-2 at their own 41-yard line, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger drops back for a pass. The Steelers and Bengals are tied 14-14 with 5:58 left in the second quarter.
The play: Roethlisberger doesn't find an option downfield, so he dumps a pass to Le'Veon Bell, who goes on a rampage of stiff-arms. Bell pushes off safety George Iloka, tosses cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick (who bounced off the grass like a basketball) and, at the end of the 42-yard run, throws linebacker Vincent Rey out of bounds. This was Bell's longest reception in three years, and was indicative of his dominant day. "That was one of my better stiff-arms of my life." -- Steelers RB Le'Veon Bell Justin Berl/Getty Images The situation:Leading 14-3 after two Ezekiel Elliott touchdown runs, the Cowboys face second-and-7 from the San Francisco 18 with a two-tight end formation that appears to set up a run with 10:33 left in the first half.
The play: Jason Witten had not had a catch longer than 14 yards in the Cowboys' three games entering Sunday. At the snap, Witten uses an outside release on safety Jaquiski Tartt and fakes like he is running toward the sideline. Instead, Witten turns upfield, but Tartt remains in great position. QB Dak Prescott's pass is perfect and Witten makes the grab with just his right hand for his third touchdown catch of the season. It is the 66th touchdown of Witten's career, moving him into third place in team history for touchdown catches behind Bob Hayes (71) and Dez Bryant (70). "That's when you gotta use your body and size, and shield him off ... use your play strength on undersized guys." -- Dallas TE Jason Witten on his touchdown Ezra Shaw/Getty Images The situation:The Seahawks face a first-and-10 from the Giants' 38 midway through the fourth quarter with a 10-7 lead.
The play: Taking advantage of a quick change following a turnover, offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell goes to the trick play section of his play sheet and calls a flea-flicker, in which Russell Wilson pitches to J.D. McKissic and then McKissic laterals back to Wilson. He heaves a deep ball into the corner of the end zone for Paul Richardson, who has a step on safety Landon Collins. The two appear to both have possession when they hit the ground, and they wrestle for the ball for several seconds. Officials award a touchdown to Richardson and the play stands. "The ref said touchdown, it was a touchdown. He [Landon Collins] was trying to rip it out." -- Seahawks wide receiver Paul Richardson on his contested touchdown Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire
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