
Sunday Smackdown
A.J. Green and Jalen Ramsey throw down during a wild Week 9 Sunday that features three big fights, a thrilling Philly debut for Jay Ajayi and "Superman" taking flight.
The situation: The Bengals have it 1st and 10 from their own 21 with 10 seconds remaining in the half, trailing 13-7.
The play: Joe Mixon is stopped for a one-yard gain, and A.J. Green, who was headed downfield to block, gets near Jalen Ramsey, extends his arm and puts his left hand on Ramsey, who gives a two-hand shove to Green, knocking him to the ground. Green gets up and puts his right arm under Ramsey's chin, and pulls him down in a choke hold. Green then throws a punch and pulls Ramsey down again as both teams converge on the pile while Green continues to throw punches. Green and Ramsey are ejected. The two had been talking trash throughout the first half and Green indicated Ramsey was putting his hands in Green's face. "I shouldn't have reacted that way... that's not who I am." -- Bengals' wide receiver A.J. Green Matt Stamey/USA TODAY Sports The situation: The Saints lead Tampa Bay 30-3 with 8:35 remaining in the third quarter.
The play: After the play ends, Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore appears to be talking in the direction of the Bucs' sideline. That's when Tampa QB Jameis Winston, who is out of the game with a shoulder injury, nudges Lattimore with a finger to the back of the helmet. Lattimore takes exception and makes contact with Winston before Bucs receiver Mike Evans races in and levels Lattimore from behind, sending him to the ground. A Saints player then tackles Evans to get him away from Lattimore. Evans avoids an ejection and the Bucs are hit with a 15-yard penalty for unnecessary roughness. "Yeah, I was surprised. He [Mike Evans] is a grown man and he snuck me from behind." -- Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore Butch Dill/AP Photo The situation: From the shotgun with 3:39 left in the fourth quarter, 49ers QB C.J. Beathard scrambles for 10 yards to the Arizona 46-yard line, where he slides and is tackled by Arizona safety Antoine Bethea.
The play: Bethea's tackle on Beathard is seen by 49ers players as a hit to their quarterback in the middle of a slide, and San Francisco's Carlos Hyde gets into it with Arizona's Haason Reddick and Frostee Rucker. All three are ejected from the game, and an unnecessary roughness penalty for 15 yards moves the 49ers to first-and-10 at Arizona's 31. "I think our players had enough." -- 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images; Ezra Shaw/Getty Images The situation: The Panthers face a third-and-9 from the Falcons' 9-yard line, trailing 10-7 with 23 seconds left before halftime.
The play: Cam Newton breaks the pocket and takes off for the end zone where he is met by a Falcons defender. The guy they call "Superman" takes flight, leaping into the air holding the ball out with one hand. It breaks the plane of the goal line just before it hits the helmet of a Falcon, but it is ruled a touchdown for a 14-10 Panthers lead. On a day when the Panthers rack up 201 yards rushing, the Panthers quarterback proves to be their most productive rusher with a team-high 86 yards. It's his 52nd career rushing touchdown, extending his NFL record for quarterbacks. "This was one of those games that I wasn't...caring about body, ligaments, whatever. I'm just trying to win a football game." -- Panthers quarterback Cam Newton on his 9-yard touchdown run Bob Donnan/USA TODAY Sports The situation: Leading 24-9 late in the first half, the Eagles have 1st-and-10 near midfield with their new running back, Jay Ajayi, lined up in the backfield with quarterback Carson Wentz.
The play: Ajayi's longest run with the Dolphins this season was 21 yards, but finds his home run form in his first game with the Eagles. Ajayi finds plenty of room to work with along the left side and springs loose for a 46-yard touchdown to extend the Eagles' lead to 31-9. He receives key blocks from left tackle Halapoulivaati Vaitai, guard Stefen Wisniewski and center Jason Kelce, among others, creating a huge lane to run through. The 24-year-old Ajayi shows the burst the Eagles were eager to add to their offense, and finishes with a dive over the pylon. "I'm grateful. You know, I don't think I could have came into a better situation." -- Eagles' running back Jay Ajayi Bill Streicher/USA TODAY Sports The situation: A couple of ill-timed penalties, each negating a Todd Gurley catch, has the Rams backed up to their own 48-yard line and facing third and 33 with 9:26 to go in the second quarter.
The play: Looking for a safe play that might get the Rams in field-goal range, Robert Woods catches a screen pass, accelerates toward the middle of the field, explodes through a hole and outruns the Giants' secondary for a 52-yard touchdown. It's his first TD with the Rams and the longest touchdown of his pro career. In the same quarter, Jared Goff also connects with Sammy Watkins for a 67-yard touchdown pass, the longest completion of Goff's career and part of a dominant performance for the Rams (6-2 overall) at New York's MetLife Stadium. "It was my first one [touchdown with the Rams], so I made sure I ran through the end zone, ran through the line," -- Rams wide receiver Robert Woods Al Bello/Getty Images The situation: The Colts lead Houston 10-7 with 2:15 left in the third quarter and face third and 9 from their own 20-yard line.
The play: Colts QB Jacoby Brissett delivers a pass over the middle to T.Y. Hilton, who catches it at the 25-yard line and races 42 yards before appearing to get tripped up at the Colts' 33-yards line. But Hilton gets back on his feet and runs into the end zone for an 80-yard touchdown. The replay official rules that Hilton was not touched and the TD stands for a 17-7 lead. Brissett and Hilton also hooked up for a 45-yard TD pass in the first quarter, part of a huge day for the Colts receiver, who finishes with five catches for 175 yards. "I think they pretty much thought I was down." -- Colts wide receiver T.Y. Hilton Eric Christian Smith/AP Photo The situation: The Chiefs have a second-and-3 at their 44 with two seconds left in the first half. The Chiefs trail the Cowboys, 14-3.
The play: The Cowboys drop many of their defenders deep into coverage back near the goal line before the snap. The prevent defense is designed to guard against the Hail Mary. So quarterback Alex Smith dumps the ball well underneath the coverage to Tyreek Hill, who has little but artificial turf in front of him until he gets closer to the end zone. Then Hill weaves his way through defenders for the touchdown, stunning the Cowboys. "To catch it with that far to go, and to make that many guys miss and get in, certainly he's a special player when it comes to that." -- Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith on Tyreek Hill's touchdown Michael Ainsworth/AP Photo




