Hometown Broadcasting Sports Monday 10/26/20
26 October 2020 Sports
Aaron Rodgers threw for 283 yards and four touchdowns and the Green Bay Packers rebounded from their first loss with a 35-20 win over the Houston Texans on Sunday. Rodgers played a near-flawless game and tied his season high for TD passes. The performance came after he threw two interceptions, including one that was returned for a touchdown, with no TDs in a 38-10 loss to Tampa Bay last week. WR Davante Adams caught two of those touchdown passes, and had a total of 13 catches, one short of the franchise record, for 196 yards. Green Bay led 14-0 at the end of the first quarter on a three-yard touchdown pass to Adams and another three-yarder to tight end Jace Sternberger. Rodgers then flipped a one-yard scoring pass to wide receiver Malik Taylor in the second quarter for a 21-0 halftime lead. The Texans finally got on the board in the third quarter on a 3-yard touchdown pass from Deshaun Jackson to David Johnson but Rodgers threw his fourth touchdown pass of the day, a 45-yarder to Adams. The Texans would add a field goal that would make the score 28-10 to close out the quarter. Jamaal Williams closed out the Packers scoring with a one-yard run in the final quarter and Houston would score its final touchdown on a six-yard pass from Watson to Will Fuller. Rodgers completed 22 or 34 passes for 283 and four touchdowns. Jamaal Williams added 77 yards rushing on 19 carries and a score. Deshaun Watson was 29 of 39 for 309 yards and two touchdowns. Former Packer Randall Cobb led Houston receivers with eight catches for 95 yards and Brandon Cook had seven receptions for 60 yards. The Texans managed just 79 yards rushing and fell to 1-6. Next week, the Packers, now 5-1, host the Minnesota Vikings at Lambeau Field.
Elsewhere in the NFC North the Lions (3-3) came back to nip Atlanta at home 23-22 and tonight the Bears (5-1) play the Rams in Los Angeles.
Last night Arizona won at home in overtime over the previously unbeaten Seattle Seahawks, 37-34.
In baseball the Los Angeles Dodgers are one win away from a World Series title after a 4-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays in game five in Arlington Sunday night. After a wild win by the Rays Saturday night, Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw went 5 2/3 innings to pick up his second win in this year’s Fall Classic. He gave up two runs, both earned, on five hits while striking out six and walking two. Los Angles scored two runs in the first inning and then added a Joc Pederson solo homer in the second for a 3-0 lead after two. The Rays would score two runs in the third to make it 3-2 and the Dodgers would tally their final run in fifth and the bullpen would then finish up. Rays starter Tyler Glasnow went five innings, giving up all four runs on six hits while striking out seven and walking three. The teams are off today before playing game six Tuesday night.
Graham Mertz who threw five touchdown passes to match the Wisconsin record in a commanding first career start and the No. 14 Badgers beat Illinois 45-7 on Friday night to open the pandemic-delayed Big Ten football season tested positive for COVID-19 over the weekend. He will need a nasal swab test to confirm the initial diagnosis, and if that comes back positive, he’ll have to miss all games and practice for the next 21 days.
Mertz set a school record for completion percentage on 20-of-21 passing, finishing with 248 yards. The lone incompletion was a pass that running back Garret Groshek dropped midway through the third quarter
Mertz was 14 of 14 for 190 yards and four touchdowns in the first half alone as Wisconsin built a 28-7 halftime lead. Three of his five touchdown passes went to tight end Jake Ferguson, who had seven catches for 72 yards.
After Illinois fumbled the ball away on the game’s second play from scrimmage, Mertz hit fullback Jason Stokke for a 10-yard touchdown pass. He found Ferguson wide-open in the back of the end zone for a 5-yard score to make it 14-0.
Illinois briefly got back into it late in the second quarter when Ferguson fumbled at the end of a 9-yard completion. Illinois linebacker Tarique Barnes picked up the loose ball and ran 39 yards into the end zone to cut Wisconsin’s lead to 14-7.
Mertz responded to Illinois’ touchdown by throwing a 34-yard completion to Ferguson and then hitting the senior tight end again for a 14-yard score with 1:06 left in the half. After Illinois went three-and-out on its next series, Mertz threw deep and found Danny Davis for a 53-yard touchdown pass with 28 seconds left until halftime.
The Badgers next game is at Nebraska.
In the AP top 25, Clemson is ranked number one overall and Alabama comes in at number two. Ohio State leaped two spots after easily dispatching Nebraska as the Big Ten Conference kicked off its pandemic-delayed and abbreviated season.
No. 4 Notre Dame and No. 5 Georgia each slipped a spot behind the Buckeyes.
Indiana pulled off a stunner in overtime to jump into the rankings, beating then-No. 8 Penn State to earn the program’s first victory against a team ranked in the AP top 10 since 1987. The Hoosiers snapped a 25-year absence from the poll last season but stayed there only one week.
Indiana has its best ranking since 1993, when it also reached No. 17. With Rutgers coming up next week, the Hoosiers might see a longer stay in the poll than last year. Then again, the Scarlet Knights won their opener, too. Penn State slipped 10 spots to No. 18 after losing to the Hoosiers for just the second time in 24 meetings since joining the Big Ten.
Wisconsin moved up to 9th .
Share |