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WAMC Sports Report 9/25/23: Josh Allen throws a TD, runs for another as Bills rout Commanders 37-3

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) leaping into the endzone to score a touchdown against the Washington Commanders during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
Andrew Harnik/AP
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AP
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) leaping into the endzone to score a touchdown against the Washington Commanders during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

NFL

The Buffalo Bills showed again they deserve to be among the NFL's elite by routing the Washington Commanders 37-3. Josh Allen threw for a touchdown and ran for another while passing for 218 yards and rushing for 46. Buffalo's defense forced five turnovers and sacked Sam Howell nine times. Howell threw four interceptions including a pick-6. The Bills improved to 2-1 after a rough season-opening loss at the Jets. Washington lost for the first time this year after a 2-0 start with wins against Arizona and Denver.

Mac Jones threw a touchdown pass, Matt Judon had a late safety and the New England Patriots extended their winning streak over the New York Jets to 15 games with an ugly 15-10 victory. Bill Belichick’s bunch avoided its first 0-3 start since the coach’s first season in New England in 2000 while continuing the team's mastery over its AFC East rivals. Zach Wilson made his second start in place of the injured Aaron Rodgers, but he unable to do much other than one solid drive in the fourth quarter that got the Jets back into the game.

New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner accused Patriots quarterback Mac Jones of taking things a little too far by hitting him in his "private parts” during New England’s 15-10 victory. With the Patriots facing third-and-1 from the Jets 45 early in the fourth quarter, Jones tried to get a first down on a quarterback sneak. He was stuffed but kept churning his legs after the whistle blew. Jones got into it with a few Jets players and was slammed to the turf. When Jones got up, Gardner said the Patriots player bumped into him — and the Jets cornerback shoved him after he said he took an inappropriate shot.

Matt Gay capped a terrific day of kicking with a 53-yard field goal in overtime, giving the Indianapolis Colts a 22-19 victory over the Baltimore Ravens. Gay made four kicks from beyond 50 yards, including a 53-yarder that tied it in the final minute of regulation. His chance in overtime didn’t come until after both teams had been stopped on fourth down near midfield. Gardner Minshew, playing in place of injured rookie Anthony Richardson, threw for 227 yards and a touchdown for the Colts. Lamar Jackson ran for 101 yards and two TDs for the Ravens.

Jordan Love rallied Green Bay from a 17-point, fourth-quarter deficit in his first career home start as the Packers won 18-17 over the New Orleans Saints. The Saints were leading 17-0 before losing quarterback Derek Carr to a shoulder injury in the third quarter. The Packers scored 18 unanswered points in the last 11 minutes of the game. They took their first lead on Love’s 8-yard pass to Romeo Doubs in the right corner of the end zone with 2:56 left. New Orleans' Blake Grupe missed a 46-yard field goal with just over a minute left.

The Miami Dolphins scored the most points in a game by an NFL team since 1966, overwhelming the Denver Broncos 70-20 behind rookie speedster De’Von Achane’s 203 yards rushing and Tua Tagovailoa’s no-look shovel-pass TD. The Dolphins set a franchise record for scoring and finished two points shy of the NFL’s regular-season record — set in 1966 when Washington scored 72 points against the Giants. They are the fourth team in NFL history to score at least 70 points in a regular-season or playoff game. Many of their starters, including Tagovailoa and star receiver Tyreek Hill, were pulled early in the fourth quarter.

Patrick Mahomes threw three touchdown passes, two of them to Jerick McKinnon, and the Kansas City Chiefs routed the Chicago Bears 41-10. Travis Kelce also had a TD catch for the Chiefs, much to the delight of 12-time Grammy winner Taylor Swift, who watched the game from an Arrowhead Stadium suite after getting an invitation from the All-Pro tight end. The Bears lost their 13th consecutive game dating to last season. Justin Fields was just 11 of 22 for 99 yards with a TD and an interception.

New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr being evaluated after hurting his shoulder when he was sacked in the third quarter of an 18-17 loss to the Green Bay Packers. Saints coach Dennis Allen said after the game that he believed Carr was getting X-rays but had no further updates. The possible impact of a long-term injury to Carr was apparent from Sunday's result. The Saints got outscored 18-0 without him. Carr signed a four-year, $150 million contract in the offseason after getting released by Las Vegas.

Philadelphia   at         Tampa Bay    7:15 p.m.       

L.A. Rams      at         Cincinnati      8:15 p.m.

MLB

The New York Yankees missed the playoffs for the first time since 2016, getting mathematically eliminated with a 7-1 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks as Zac Gallen pitched six innings and got his 17th win. Arizona won for the sixth time in seven games and remained in position for the second NL wild card, a half-game ahead of the Chicago Cubs. The Diamondbacks also clinched their first winning season since 2019. New York was eliminated from contention with a week to play.

Nick Castellanos hit his 29th homer and Cristopher Sánchez struck out 10 to lead the Philadelphia Phillies over the New York Mets 5-2 for a four-game sweep. The Phillies need one more win or a loss by the Marlins or Cubs to clinch a National League playoff spot. They can take care of it themselves with a victory Tuesday over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Ronny Mauricio hit his second major league homer for the Mets. J.T. Realmuto had a two-run single for the Phillies.

Mike Clevinger pitched six solid innings, Elvis Andrus had a two-run double and the Chicago White Sox beat the Boston Red Sox 3-2 in a rain-shortened game on Sunday, ending a string of 12 straight series losses. Trying to avoid their second 100-loss season in five years and the fifth in club history, the White Sox took two of three from the Red Sox and captured their first series since August 7-9 when they went 2-1 against the Yankees. The umpires called for the tarp after the sixth inning and the game was called after an hour, 43--minute delay.

Mike Trout’s season ended because of a wrist injury that limited him to one game after July 3. The Los Angeles Angels moved the three-time AL MVP to the 60-day injured list because their series finale against the Minnesota Twins. Trout, a 32-year-old center fielder, fractured the hamate bone in his left wrist on July 3, returned Aug. 22 and went 1 for 4 against Cincinnati. Trout said he felt pain when he fouled off pitches, and he went back on the IL. An 11-time All-Star, Trout hit .263 with 18 homers, 44 RBIs and an .858 OPS.

WNBA PLAYOFFS

DeWanna Bonner scored 20 points, Rebecca Allen added 18 and the Connecticut Sun played stellar defense to beat the New York Liberty 78-63 in the first game of their WNBA semifinals series. Game 2 of the best-of-five series is Tuesday night in New York. Third-seeded Connecticut lost all four games between the teams in the regular season, including getting blown out twice in New York. On Sunday, the Sun turned up their defensive effort, slowing down the second-seeded Liberty and holding them to their lowest point total of the season. Breanna Stewart scored 19 points but was 7 for 25 from the field to lead the Liberty.

A’ja Wilson scored 34 points, including 14 in the third quarter as the Las Vegas Aces beat the Dallas Wings 97-83 in the opening game of the WNBA semifinal playoff series. Wilson, who earlier in the week earned the league’s defensive player of the year award, also had eight rebounds and four blocked shots. Kelsey Plum added 25 points for the top-seeded Aces, Jackie Young scored 19 and Chelsea Gray 13. Young also pulled down 10 rebounds. Satou Sabally led the No. 4 seed Wings with 16 points while Arike Ogunbowale added 12. Game 2 is Tuesday night at 10 in Las Vegas.

MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER

Andrés Perea scored in the 2nd minute, teenager Julián Fernández netted his first career goal and NYCFC eliminated Toronto FC from playoff contention with a 3-0 victory. NYCFC (8-10-13) jumps over D.C. United into the ninth and final playoff spot with the regular season winding down. NYCFC has three matches remaining — one less than United. The season can’t end soon enough for Toronto (4-16-10). The club has lost eight straight on the road in all competitions, including six shutout losses in a row, and been outscored 24-1. Toronto has just four draws in its last 19 away matches in all competitions.

Megan Rapinoe got a triumphant send-off, and the United States beat South Africa 2-0. Trinity Rodman and Emily Sonnett scored, and the U.S. sent its captain toward retirement with one final victory as a member of the national team. The 38-year-old Rapinoe was presented a framed jersey representing her 203 games with the United States prior to the win, and she raised her arms as the crowd roared. Rodman gave the U.S. more to celebrate when she drilled the ball into the net off a cross from Alex Morgan in the 18th minute. Rapinoe was the first to hug her. Sonnett made it 2-0 with a header in the 49th minute and jumped into Rapinoe’s arms. Rapinoe exited to a standing ovation in the 54th minute.

NHL PRESEASON

Boston 3          N-Y Rangers  0         

SO       Pittsburgh      3          Columbus       2

OT      Columbus       4          Pittsburgh      3         

SO       Buffalo           4          Washington    3         

Meanwhile, the Islanders, Devils, and Flyers begin the preseason today.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Colorado fell out of The Associated Press college football poll after a resounding loss in one of the weekend’s showcase games and the teams toward the top of the rankings were shuffled and tightened. Six teams received first-place votes. Georgia is still where it started at No. 1 but down to 55 first-place votes. Michigan remained No. 2 and got a first-place vote. Texas stayed at No. 3 with two first-place votes. Ohio State moved up two spots to No. 4 and got a first-place vote after beating Notre Dame. Colorado went from 19th to out after losing 42-7 to Oregon.

NASCAR

William Byron took the lead for the first time after the final restart with six laps left to win in Texas. He advances to the round of eight in the NASCAR playoffs while giving Hendrick Motorsports its 300th victory. Byron was able to get underneath Bubba Wallace and Chase Briscoe when they were battling for the lead ahead of him. Wallace led a career-high 111 laps to start the second round, but wound up third behind Byron and Ross Chastain, another playoff contender. Wallace moved up three spots to ninth in the standings, still one below the cutoff line when this round is done. It was Byron's sixth win this season.

© 2023 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Alexander began his journalism career as a sports writer for Siena College's student paper The Promethean, and as a host for Siena's school radio station, WVCR-FM "The Saint." A Cubs fan, Alexander hosts the morning Sports Report in addition to producing Morning Edition. You can hear the sports reports over-the-air at 6:19 and 7:19 AM, and online on WAMC.org. He also speaks Spanish as a second language. To reach him, email ababbie@wamc.org, or call (518)-465-5233 x 190. You can also find him on Twitter/X: @ABabbieWAMC.