USFFL

USFFL Season 24 – Week 4

This week in the USFFL saw some exciting and closely contested matchups. The division leaders across the AFC and NFC remained largely consistent, but a few teams battled their way into first place in their divisions.

Division Leaders:

  • AFC East: Buffalo Bills (3-1)
  • AFC North: Cincinnati Bengals (3-1)
  • AFC South: Jacksonville Jaguars (4-0)
  • AFC West: Los Angeles Chargers (4-0)
  • NFC East: Dallas Cowboys (4-0)
  • NFC North: Green Bay Packers (2-2)
  • NFC South: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-1)
  • NFC West: San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks (both 4-0)

Close Games and Key Wins:

  • Miami Dolphins 42, Buffalo Bills 41: Miami pulled off a thrilling victory over the Bills, securing the win by just one point and placing themselves in a competitive position within the AFC East. Josh Allen of the Bills threw for 426 yards and 4 touchdowns but couldn’t quite secure the win for his team.
  • Cincinnati Bengals 24, Tennessee Titans 17: Cincinnati’s win in this close game solidified their position as leaders in the AFC North.
  • Denver Broncos 20, Chicago Bears 17: Denver eked out a narrow win against Chicago, largely thanks to Russell Wilson’s 282 passing yards and Jerry Jeudy’s 150 receiving yards.
  • Tampa Bay Buccaneers 28, New Orleans Saints 23: This NFC South clash saw Tampa Bay triumph over New Orleans, giving the Buccaneers first place in the division. Rachaad White was a standout, rushing for 149 yards.
  • San Francisco 49ers 30, Arizona Cardinals 13: San Francisco maintained their undefeated status, holding on to their lead in the NFC West.

Top Players This Week:

  • Quarterbacks:
    • Josh Allen (Buffalo) led with 426 passing yards and 4 touchdowns.
    • Jordan Love (Green Bay) threw for 391 yards and 5 touchdowns in a stellar performance.
  • Running Backs:
    • Breece Hall (New York Jets) dominated with 194 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns.
    • Rachaad White (Tampa Bay) also shone, racking up 149 rushing yards.
  • Wide Receivers:
    • Jerry Jeudy (Denver) had 150 receiving yards and a touchdown.
    • Brandon Aiyuk (San Francisco) had 133 receiving yards in the 49ers’ win.

Several teams strengthened their hold on division leads, while others struggled in close, high-stakes games that could shape the season.

Game of the Week

Los Angeles Chargers 13, Las Vegas Raiders 7 (OT)

LOS ANGELES- Charger halfback Austin Ekeler’s 15-yard touchdown reception from Justin Herbert was hauled in on the first possession of overtime for a walk-off Los Angeles win (LIP GR, 1 MIZ, O-card, 3 roll SG).

Las Vegas was held scoreless until Hunter Renfrow caught a 16-yard “go for the end zone” LP reception as regulation expired to cut the Charger lead to 7-6 (8 seconds left at snap, GR, D-card FS X auto-catch, 0 MIZ—>1MIZ).  The Raiders opted for a kicked XPA attempt to take the game to overtime.

Both teams were held scoreless through 3+ quarters in a seemingly endless back-and-forth of flat passes, punts and missed field goals.  That changed when Charger halfback Joshua Kelley hit his longest gain of 49-yards early in the 4th quarter to take the Chargers into the red zone for the first time (OT, GW, 1-1-1 roll, Keenan Allen avoided injury on the play via his 21 injury rating). Kelley finished off the drive with a short touchdown run and the Chargers led 7-0 with 10:30 left in regulation.

Limping into the game without starters Jimmy Garoppolo and Josh Jacobs, the Raiders opened up the offense some after that touchdown without much success until the touchdown throw as time expired. Las Vegas overcame obstacle-after-obstacle to get to that point as the Chargers could have run out the clock on the previous possession. But a 3rd and 1 run by Justin Herbert was stymied by a correct key that went to the defensive card where a 6-run defender made the play and forced the punt from the Charger 19 with 37-seconds left. A botched punt and big return put the Raiders on the Charger 37 to start the game-tying drive.

Before the Charger’s first touchdown the teams were small-balling their offenses into the ground, running or throwing flat/LIP 91% of the time compared to a league-wide average of 72%.  The Raiders ran the ball just 6 times throughout the game, leading to a 93% GR-percentage for the Charger defense and 8 correct double team calls.  The Chargers had amassed only 3 correct double team calls all season coming into the game.  Both team’s offensive struggles were best exemplified by their place-kicking units that combined for 0-4 with misses from the 30’s, 40’s and two misses from the 50’s.

The Chargers move to 4-0 and will enjoy a bye week to bask in the joy an early-season perfect record until reality arrives in an intimidating way via their forthcoming matchup with the Dallas Cowboys. The Raiders fall to 1-3 and will host the Packers next week.