9/16/24 Hometown Broadcasting Sports Monday
16 September 2024 Sports
From Wayne Mausser
Malik Willis threw his first career touchdown pass, Josh Jacobs had 151 of Green Bay’s 261 yards rushing and the Packers withstood the absence of injured quarterback Jordan Love to beat the Indianapolis Colts 16-10 on Sunday.
Indianapolis (0-2) cut the Packers’ lead to 16-10 on Anthony Richardson’s 4-yard touchdown pass to Antonio Pierce with 1:47 left, but Green Bay’s Evan Williams recovered the ensuing onside kick. The Colts got the ball back at their own 5-yard line with 43 seconds left, but Williams intercepted a Hail Mary attempt from the Indianapolis 41 to end the game.
Richardson was 17 of 33 for 204 yards, but threw three interceptions. He ran for 37 yards on four carries.
Love didn’t play after injuring his left medial collateral ligament during the final series of a 34-29 season-opening loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sept. 6 in Brazil. It was the first game Love missed since taking over as Green Bay’s starting quarterback last year.
His injury pressed Willis into duty less than three weeks after the Packers acquired him from the Tennessee Titans. Willis had made three previous career starts – all in 2022 – and hadn’t thrown for as many as 100 yards in any of them.
With help from a ground attack that dominated the first half, Willis played an efficient game and went 12 of 14 for 122 yards, including a 14-yard touchdown pass to Dontayvion Wicks. Brayden Narveson went 3 of 4 on field-goal attempts to account for Green Bay’s other points, and Jacobs had 32 of the Packers’ 53 carries.
Indianapolis’ Jonathan Taylor rushed for 103 yards on 12 attempts, but didn’t touch the ball in the fourth quarter.
The Packers didn’t need Willis to throw the ball much early on because they were running wild against the Colts’ porous defense, enabling them to take a 10-0 lead in the first quarter
Green Bay gained 164 yards rushing in the first quarter alone, the highest first-quarter total for any NFL team since the Denver Broncos had 167 in the opening period of a 41-23 loss to the New England Patriots on Dec. 18, 2011. By halftime, the Packers had 237 yards rushing on 34 carries.
Indianapolis was coming off a 29-27 loss to the Houston Texans in which they had allowed 213 yards rushing, the highest total any team had given up in the season’s opening week.
Green Bay had 135 yards rushing from six different ball carriers before finally reaching positive passing yardage for the game, on Wicks’ touchdown.
The score remained 10-0 at halftime because Green Bay blew a chance to break it open early in the second quarter when Jacobs fumbled on first-and-goal from the 4. Zaire Franklin forced the fumble that Laiatu Latu recovered in the end zone.
Indianapolis’ run defense stiffened in the second half, but the Colts couldn’t come all the way back because their offense failed to capitalize on opportunities.
After Matt Gay’s 34-yard field goal cut the Packers’ lead to 13-3 with 4:32 left in the third, the Colts drove inside Green Bay’s 30 on their next series and had a chance to make it a one-score game.
But on a third-and-1 play to open the fourth quarter, McKinney stopped Trey Sermon for a 4-yard loss. Gay sent a 50-yard attempt wide left on the next play.
Narveson delivered his third field goal on Green Bay’s next series to make it 16-3.
Packers G Jordan Morgan didn’t play the second half due to a shoulder injury. RB Marshawn Lloyd hurt his ankle.
The Packers visit the Tennessee Titans next Sunday.
Elsewhere in the NFC North Sunday, the Vikings beat the 49ers in Minneapolis 23-17 as Justin Jefferson caught a 97-yard touchdown pass. Minnesota improves to 2-0 on the season. The Lions lost at home to the Buccaneers 20-16 and the Bears lost Sunday night on the road to the Texans 19-13.
In Monday Night Football the Falcons play the Eagles on the road.
Meanwhile, New York Jets rookie Braelon Allen has become the youngest player to score a touchdown from scrimmage in the NFL in 94 years.
Allen, a Fond du Lac native and former Badgers star, scored on a 12-yard touchdown pass from the NFL’s oldest player in 40-year-old Aaron Rodgers with 1:47 left in the second quarter Sunday against Tennessee. The fourth-round pick from Wisconsin bowled into the end zone to finish off the play.
With his TD, he tied Arnie Herber who scored in 1930 at the exact same age of 20 years and 239 days.
The TD catch tied up the game at 7 on the Jets’ best drive of the game to that point. Herber, born on April 2, 1910, in Green Bay was playing for the Packers when he caught a TD pass on Nov. 27, 1930.
The Jets won 24-17.
The Brewers lost in a slugfest to the Diamondbacks Sunday 11-10.
Jackson Chourio had given the Brewers a two-run lead in the bottom of the 10th inning, putting Milwaukee just three outs away from sweeping the D-backs.
The bullpen, however, remained inactive. Two-time All-Star closer Devin Williams wasn’t getting loose with the game in the line. Instead, Jared Koenig returned to close out the game after working the ninth inning.
Koenig (8-4) failed to record an out, loading the bases and allowing a long walk-off single to Eugenio Suárez. Sunday evening under the roof at Chase Field in Phoenix.
Chourio drove in five and Eric Haase also homered for Milwaukee, his fifth. Chourio, Haase and Bryse Turang each had three hits.
Brewers starter D.L. Hall lasted three innings, giving up five runs, all earned, on five hits while striking out four and walking three.
The Brewers failed to sweep the D-backs, but were still able to leave the desert by taking two games from the club that eliminated them from the National League Wild Card round last year, and ultimately became NL champions. With the loss and a Cubs win, Milwaukee’s magic number for clinching the NL Central remains at three.
D-Backs starter Zac Gallen went five innings, giving up three runs, all earned and six hits while striking out seven and walking two. Blake Walson earned (1-0) picked up the win.
The Brewers return home tonight to host the Phillies at American Family Field with the first pitch at 6:40.
Elsewhere in the NL Central on Sunday the Twins beat the Reds 9-2, the Cubs over the Rockies 6-2, the Pirates nipped the Royals 4-3 and the Blue Jays slipped past the Cardinals 3-2. The Brewers magic number for clinching the division is three games.
Cooper Pratt delivered the eventual game-winning RBI double in the bottom of the 8th to give the Timber Rattlers the victory over the Lake County Captains, 5-4.
Dikember Sanchez got the win for Wisconsin and Tyler Bryant closed it out to get the save. Luke Adams went 3-5 with a RBI.
The best of three game series now shifts to Eastlake, Ohio where the Timber Rattlers will be the road team starting on Tuesday as they look to close out the series with a win. Game 3 would be Wednesday if necessary.
Jalen Milroe threw three touchdowns and ran for two more as No. 4 Alabama made a rare trip north and won 42-10 over Wisconsin, which lost quarterback Tyler Van Dyke to an injury on the game’s first series.
Milroe went 12 of 17 for 196 yards with touchdown passes of 31 yards to Ryan Williams, 26 yards to Germie Bernard and 37 yards to Josh Cuevas. He also rushed for 75 yards on 14 carries, scoring on runs of 3 and 10 yards.
Alabama (3-0) was playing its first true road game against a team from north of the Mason-Dixon Line since a 27-11 victory at Penn State in 2011. It also marked the Crimson Tide’s first trip to Camp Randall Stadium since a 15-0 loss to Wisconsin in 1928.
Wisconsin (2-1) suffered its most lopsided home loss since a 48-7 defeat against Penn State in 2008.
Van Dyke was hurt when he was tackled on a scramble. He clutched his right knee at the end of the run and eventually was carted into the locker room. He watched the second half from Wisconsin’s sideline while walking with crutches.
Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell didn’t have any definitive word after the game regarding the severity of Van Dyke’s injury.
In area college football Saturday Ripon College won at home over Grinnell College 23-19 to improve to 1-1 on the season.
UW-Oshkosh upped their record to 2-0 after another victory over a top 25 team, beating #21 Linfield University (Oregon) 28-21 at Titan Stadium.
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