2022 3GML Season - Week 12

 Houston Texans @ Miami Dolphins

MIAMI - The Houston defense shut down Aaron Rodgers and the Miami Dolphins en route to a 16-15 win.  The victory keeps the Texans (8-3) tied atop the AFC in a tight race for the number one seed and a first round bye.

Green Bay Packers @ Philadelphia Eagles

PHILADELPHIA - Green Bay lost a heartbreaker in Philadelphia as Tua Tagovailoa was unable to complete a late 4th and goal that would have tied the game.  Tagovailoa thew for 405 yards, but he needed five more to give his team a shot at victory.  Even with the loss, the Packers (7-4-1) still hold a comfortable division in the NFC North.

New Orleans Saints @ San Francisco 49ers

SANTA CLARA - Without their leader and quarterback Justin Fields, the San Francisco 49ers looked out of sorts in a 27-10 loss to the New Orleans Saints.  The 49ers (8-3) only ran 47 offensive plays on the afternoon and will look to flush this one as the get ready for Fields return next week.

2022 3GML Season - Week 11

Tennessee Titans @ Green Bay Packers

GREEN BAY - The Green Bay Packers may soon be known as the next iteration of the cardiac kids after another close game resulted in a 20-17 overtime win.  The Packers (7-3-1) looked like they were staring down another walk off field goal loss in overtime, but a timely Shaq Thompson interception set up their own Jason Sanders walk-off field goal.

The player of the game, however, was punter Matt Haack who pinned 4 punts inside the ten yard line.  The long field likely kept Derrick Henry and the Titans (6-4) from points on more than one occasion.

"Matt had a hell of a game," Coach Matt LaFleur said.  "Special teams is just as important as the other two phases of the game.  We don't win that game without Matt Haack."

"I appreciate the love," Haack said after the game.  "This league was founded on a deep appreciation of the punter position, so this is for all those who appreciate punting stats."

Green Bay gets 10 days off now before they take on Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles.

Washington Commanders @ Houston Texans

HOUSTON - The Washington Commanders controlled things from the opening kickoff en route to a 30-15 win over the Houston Texans.  Washington (8-3) took what the defense gave them and "matriculated" the ball down the field all afternoon.  Highlighting their effort was quarterback Taylor Heinicke, who played clean football from a clean pocket, throwing for two touchdowns and no interceptions.

Houston (7-3) was a bit sluggish on offense out of the gate and never found rhythm with the run or pass game.  When the team finally did get into scoring range, they came up empty with two Rodrigo Blankenship missed field goals and failed fourth down attempt.

"Not good enough," Coach David Shaw said.  "We will be making adjustments to our game planning going forward because I won't stand for another effort like that."

Houston will head south next to take on Aaron Rodgers and the Miami Dolphins.

San Francisco 49ers @ Arizona Cardinals

MEXICO CITY - NFL fans in Mexico were not disappointed after watching the San Francisco 49ers score 18 unanswered points in the 4th quarter to beat the Arizona Cardinals 30-27.  Arizona (5-6) looked in control early in this this one with 21 of their 27 points coming off 49er turnovers.  As things headed into the 4th, San Francisco (8-2) found themselves on the wrong side of a 27-12 score.  An early field goal in the quarter cut it to 12 and that's when things got really crazy.

Down two scores with little time left, the 49er offense drove down the field and scored a touchdown leaving around 2 minutes on the clock.  Armed with all three of their timeouts, the defense was able to force a three and out, giving the ball back to the offense with 1:38 to go.  Justin Fields led the team to midfield via multiple short passes that ate up valuable time.  Finally, down to a 4th and ten with 17 seconds left, Fields found DJ Chark running down the sideline and connected for a 50 yard touchdown, winning the game for San Francisco.

The win, however, could be a costly one as MVP front-runner Fields was seen wincing in pain after the game.  Early word is a separated left shoulder, but there is no information on if the versatile QB will miss time.

The 49ers now return home to take on the New Orleans Saints.

2022 3GML Season - Week 10

 Los Angeles Chargers @ San Francisco 49ers

SANTA CLARA - The NFC leading San Francisco 49ers couldn't overcome a litany of injuries in the defensive secondary and dropped their second game of the year 34-20 to the Los Angeles Chargers.  The 49ers were down five defensive backs and Los Angeles (4-5) knew just where to attack, racking up 21 points on three touchdown passes by Justin Herbert in the first quarter.  The 49ers were never able to get back in it and fell to 7-2 on the year.

Justin Fields continued his absolute tear rushing the football racking up another 138 yards on the ground including a 27 yard touchdown run.  The Bears QB is now up to 990 yards on the season.  At this pace, not only will Fields obliterate Lamar Jackson's rushing record for a quarterback (1206 yards), but a 2,000 yard season is not out of the question.  Coach Kyle Shanahan has designed an offense around Fields ability to run the ball and its changing the game.

However, fields likely doesn't care about the stats today as the loss opens the door for a contested race to the number one seed in the NFC.  San Francisco will look to get back on track next week when they take on division rival Arizona.

Houston Texans @ New York Giants

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - The Houston Texans held the visiting New York Giants to 13 total rushing yards earning them a 30-17 victory.  With the win, Houston (7-2) currently sits as the number one AFC seed.  However, there are a staggering eight teams right behind them at 6-3.

New York (6-3) couldn't get much going on the day and this one was lopsided the entire way.  The news wasn't all great for the Texans, though.  Star defensive back Donte Jackson, who had two interceptions in the game ruptured his Achilles and is out for the season.  Jackson, who was anchoring this Houston defensive unit will surely be missed.  It's next man up mentality for this defensive group and budding star Tariq Woolen will look to fill the void made by Jackson's injury.

Houston will head home to take on another NFC East opponent in the Washington Commanders.

Dallas Cowboys @ Green Bay Packers

GREEN BAY - In what seems to be a pattern, the Packers again found themselves in a 17 point deficit, only to once again climb out of it to tie the game.  However, this time, the task was too tall as Dak Prescott lead the Dallas Cowboys (6-3) down the field for a game wining field goal.

Things were going very well for the Packers (6-3-1) early but three turnovers, two of them for defensive scores, in a matter of two and a half minutes proved too big of a hole.  Up 14-13, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was strip-sacked leading to a Micah Parsons scoop and score.  On the next drive, Tagovailoa threw an interception that lead to a Cowboy field goal.  And finally right before the half,  Trevon Diggs jumped an out route and picked off the Packers QB taking it back 88 yards for the touchdown.  Before the Lambeau faithful could blink, it was 31-14.

"I'm sick of this s%!*," receiver Justin Jefferson (137 yards, TD) said.  "We are playing in too many of these close whacky games.  We are too talented and need to be blowing teams out."

Green Bay has a short week to lick its wounds as the Titans come to town for Thursday Night Football.

2022 3GML Season - Week 9

 Green Bay Packers @ Detroit Lions

DETROIT - The Green Bay Packers defeated division rival Detroit 47-23 in Detroit.  With the win, the Packers stay undefeated in division play.

Philadelphia Eagles @ Houston Texans

HOUSTON - The Houston Texans won a thriller 30-27 over the Philadelphia Eagles.  The game came down to a last second kick by Rodrigo Blankenship and Houston walked away with the W.  

2022 3GML Season - Week 8

 San Francisco 49ers @ Los Angeles Rams

LOS ANGELES - In a battle of NFC West contenders, the San Francisco 49ers (7-1) took down the Los Angeles Rams 23-17 in overtime.  After getting out in front, the Rams (3-4) vaunted defense could not keep San Francisco from charging back.

Once in overtime, Justin Fields turned not to CeeDee Lamb or Tyler Boyd, but running back JD McKissic for a deep 60 yard pass.  To his credit McKissic went up and got the ball before running the rest of the way into the end zone for the game winning touchdown.  The sea of red and gold in the LA stands erupted after the play and the 49ers emerged as clear favorites to take the NFC North.

Once again Justin Fields had over 100 yards rushing and is proving difficult to stop.  He's the early front runner for MVP in the 3GML and could be the second player in league history to earn back to back honors.

San Francisco heads into their bye week with a comfortable 3 game lead in the division.

Tennessee Titans @ Houston Texans

HOUSTON - With Tennessee quarterback Ryan Tannehill out with injury, the Houston Texans cruised to a 34-10 victory over their division rivals.  Tennessee (4-3) was able to keep things close early but couldn't hang with the excellent Houston running game.  The Texans (5-2) had over 200 yards rushing on the day which kept the time of possession strongly in their favor.

The turning point took all of five seconds in the beginning of the 2nd quarter.  With the Texans up 6-3, Gardner Minshew found DeVante Parker on a 23 yard touchdown pass to put Houston up 13-3.  On the ensuing kickoff, the Texans forced a Dontrell Hillard fumble and turned it into a scoop and score.  Before they knew it, Tennessee was down 20-3 and could never catch up with backup quarterback Kyle Allen.

With the win, Houston takes a half game lead over Indianapolis in the AFC South.  They will look to keep that advantage next week as they take on the Eagles at home in Thursday Night Football.

Green Bay Packers @ Buffalo Bills

BUFFALO - The Buffalo Bills spoiled GM SD's return to New York with a thrilling 26-24 victory over the Green Bay Packers.  SD who brought Buffalo their first (and second) Super Bowl win, had to watch on in frustration as the Bills (4-3) used a Hail Mary and last minute field goal to hold off the visiting Packers.

Green Bay (5-2-1) came out hot with an opening touchdown drive but struggled to stop Josh Allen the rest of the night.  In spite of their struggles, Green Bay still found themselves in a tight one and only down 10-7 with one second to go in the second quarter.  However, with an arm like Allen's, no throw is too long.  The Buffalo QB rolled right on the last play of the half and heaved a 65 yard bomb to Gabe Davis in the back of the end zone, taking the air out of the Packers before half time.

To their credit, Green Bay hung around and actually took a late 24-23 lead.  However, Allen was left with too much time and drove down the field to set up what would be the game-winning field goal.

"The wings were great, the game sucked." GM SD said after the game.

Green Bay will stay on the road for the third straight week and head to Detroit to take on the 1-6 Lions.