Post by MGB01 on Apr 20, 2024 14:27:23 GMT -5
Enforcers 47 Capitols 35
CHICAGO, IL--Brian Flores made a decision to bring his starter back in the game after he had left with a knee injury and missed two quarters, despite P.J. Walker having the game of his life. It did not go well.
Re-entering the game down by ten, he hit Irv Smith for 11 yards to move the sticks. That would be the only first down the Capitols registered until the final drive, which had by then been rendered meaningless. Meanwhile Gardner Minshew, save for one bad throw was returned for a pick-six by Noah Burks, was unstoppable, throwing four touchdown passes as the Enforcers threatened the all-time league record with 635 yards of total offense in a decisive 47-35 win over the Liberty leaders putting them right back into a tie for the top spot.
The two teams went toe to toe--Levis playfaked on fourth and one at the 10 and hit Joel Wilson for the touchdown to open the scoring, followed by a Minshew touchdown to Denzel Mims--before Levis suffered the injury after a short pass to Israel Abanikanda. Walker, getting his first action of the year, nearly turned it over on the second play as Derick Hall knocked the ball free, but Cain Madden jumped on it to keep the drive going, and Walker seemed to be rejuvenated, hitting Breece Hall on a screen pass that went 16 yards, and then a 19-yarder to Golden Tate for the score and the lead.
But as was the case in Washington earlier this year, Columbus had absolutely no answers on defense, as Minshew hit Mims for 26 on the first play, and ultimately Kennedy Brooks took it from nine yards out to tie the game back up. Then Walker made his only mistake, as Elandon Roberts grabbed a short pass intended for Hall for the game's first turnover, and that led to a short touchdown pass from Minshew to Thaddeus Moss for the lead.
However a pair of Chicago turnovers got Columbus right back in it. Dylan Cole forced a D'Andre Swift fumble, and the Capitols once again kept a drive going with a fourth and one conversion, this time as Walker kept it himself for seven yards down to the 2, and a short pass to Osirus Mitchell tied it back up with 27 seconds left.
Unfortunately for the Capitols, there were 27 seconds left.
After Godwin Igwebuike returned the kick to the 27 the Enforcers appeared to be playing out the clock. But instead Swift found a hole and ended up going for 58 yards, putting Chicago right in the redzone. Two plays later Jonathan Garibay poked home a 24-yard field goal as the home team took the lead for good. The Enforcers needed just three plays, highlighted by a 70-yard Swift run, to push the lead to ten, on a short pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown. From that point it was catch-up for Columbus, even after Burks' pick-six brought it 38-35 with 1:57 left in the third.
A crazy sequence late in the third where Levis, who had returned, scrambled 18 yards for a first down and appeared to fumble at the end of it, but Tyrell Crosby was called for a 15-yard personal foul to effectively kill the drive. On the next series after Garibay's second field goal put Chicago up six, it was Levis this time with the bad play as he ended up getting sacked by Jordon Scott for a loss of 18. But the knee injury combined with Levis trying to extend plays was too much for Columbus, as the Capitols', for all intents and purposes, last gasp ended in a turnover as Levis spun out of a Folorunso Fatukasi sack but ended up getting intercepted by Anthony Brown. Levis finished 12 of 16 but for just 96 yards--6 of 10 for 42 yards with an interception after returning.
It probably isn't likely that a healthy Levis, or even Walker for that matter, would have stopped the Enforcers, whose record day offensively came despite the absence of all-rookie wideout Josh Downs, who was out with a knee injury of his own. Even moreso, St. Brown took a backseat, with just 33 yards on five catches as Moss and Jaquarii Roberson both went over 100 yards. Swift carried 14 times for 164 yards.
Chicago has won four of five.
NEXT WEEK: COL (6-3) vs. STL 4/28; CHI (6-3) at SA 4/27
CHICAGO, IL--Brian Flores made a decision to bring his starter back in the game after he had left with a knee injury and missed two quarters, despite P.J. Walker having the game of his life. It did not go well.
Re-entering the game down by ten, he hit Irv Smith for 11 yards to move the sticks. That would be the only first down the Capitols registered until the final drive, which had by then been rendered meaningless. Meanwhile Gardner Minshew, save for one bad throw was returned for a pick-six by Noah Burks, was unstoppable, throwing four touchdown passes as the Enforcers threatened the all-time league record with 635 yards of total offense in a decisive 47-35 win over the Liberty leaders putting them right back into a tie for the top spot.
The two teams went toe to toe--Levis playfaked on fourth and one at the 10 and hit Joel Wilson for the touchdown to open the scoring, followed by a Minshew touchdown to Denzel Mims--before Levis suffered the injury after a short pass to Israel Abanikanda. Walker, getting his first action of the year, nearly turned it over on the second play as Derick Hall knocked the ball free, but Cain Madden jumped on it to keep the drive going, and Walker seemed to be rejuvenated, hitting Breece Hall on a screen pass that went 16 yards, and then a 19-yarder to Golden Tate for the score and the lead.
But as was the case in Washington earlier this year, Columbus had absolutely no answers on defense, as Minshew hit Mims for 26 on the first play, and ultimately Kennedy Brooks took it from nine yards out to tie the game back up. Then Walker made his only mistake, as Elandon Roberts grabbed a short pass intended for Hall for the game's first turnover, and that led to a short touchdown pass from Minshew to Thaddeus Moss for the lead.
However a pair of Chicago turnovers got Columbus right back in it. Dylan Cole forced a D'Andre Swift fumble, and the Capitols once again kept a drive going with a fourth and one conversion, this time as Walker kept it himself for seven yards down to the 2, and a short pass to Osirus Mitchell tied it back up with 27 seconds left.
Unfortunately for the Capitols, there were 27 seconds left.
After Godwin Igwebuike returned the kick to the 27 the Enforcers appeared to be playing out the clock. But instead Swift found a hole and ended up going for 58 yards, putting Chicago right in the redzone. Two plays later Jonathan Garibay poked home a 24-yard field goal as the home team took the lead for good. The Enforcers needed just three plays, highlighted by a 70-yard Swift run, to push the lead to ten, on a short pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown. From that point it was catch-up for Columbus, even after Burks' pick-six brought it 38-35 with 1:57 left in the third.
A crazy sequence late in the third where Levis, who had returned, scrambled 18 yards for a first down and appeared to fumble at the end of it, but Tyrell Crosby was called for a 15-yard personal foul to effectively kill the drive. On the next series after Garibay's second field goal put Chicago up six, it was Levis this time with the bad play as he ended up getting sacked by Jordon Scott for a loss of 18. But the knee injury combined with Levis trying to extend plays was too much for Columbus, as the Capitols', for all intents and purposes, last gasp ended in a turnover as Levis spun out of a Folorunso Fatukasi sack but ended up getting intercepted by Anthony Brown. Levis finished 12 of 16 but for just 96 yards--6 of 10 for 42 yards with an interception after returning.
It probably isn't likely that a healthy Levis, or even Walker for that matter, would have stopped the Enforcers, whose record day offensively came despite the absence of all-rookie wideout Josh Downs, who was out with a knee injury of his own. Even moreso, St. Brown took a backseat, with just 33 yards on five catches as Moss and Jaquarii Roberson both went over 100 yards. Swift carried 14 times for 164 yards.
Chicago has won four of five.
NEXT WEEK: COL (6-3) vs. STL 4/28; CHI (6-3) at SA 4/27
04-20-2024 Soldier Field Temp:47 Wind:10-20
1 2 3 4 Tot
2024 Columbus (6-3) 7 14 14 0 35
2024 Chicago (6-3) 7 17 14 9 47
Scoring Summary
1 9:54 Columbus TD Levis 10 pass to Wilson (Brown,T) (8-57-5:01) 7-0
1 3:57 Chicago TD Minshew 23 pass to Mims (Garibay) (10-80-5:57) 7-7
2 14:51 Columbus TD Walker 19 pass to Tate (Brown,T) (7-60-3:56) 14-7
2 9:21 Chicago TD Brooks 9 run (Garibay) (9-80-5:23) 14-14
2 6:19 Chicago TD Minshew 7 pass to Moss (Garibay) (4-41-2:05) 14-21
2 0:27 Columbus TD Walker 2 pass to Mitchell (Brown,T) (8-49-3:08) 21-21
2 0:00 Chicago FG Garibay 24 (4-67-0:18) 21-24
3 13:17 Chicago TD Minshew 2 pass to St. Brown (Garibay) (3-80-1:34) 21-31
3 8:58 Columbus TD Walker 25 pass to Copeland (Brown,T) (10-57-4:09) 28-31
3 5:40 Chicago TD Swift 4 run (Garibay) (8-70-3:09) 28-38
3 1:57 Columbus TD Burks 51 interception return (Brown,T) 35-38
4 11:41 Chicago FG Garibay 31 (10-80-5:04) 35-41
4 3:22 Chicago TD Minshew 13 pass to Mims (2 - failed) (9-75-6:27) 35-47
COL CHI
First Downs 17 30
Rushes 17-61 30-255
Passes 33-24-227 34-29-380
Sacked 3-25 0-0
Fumble 1 1
Penalties 1-15 6-45
Turnovers 2 2
Missed Tackles 7 4
Dropped Passes 2 1
Bad Passes 2 0
Passes 25+ 1 5
Runs 10+ 0 5
Blitzers 25 25
Challenges 0-1 0-0
Time 25:24 34:36
Third Down 2-11 4-6
Fourth Down 3-3 0-0
Red Att/Td/Fg 3/3/0 7/5/2
Net Offense 263 635
Columbus Capitols Chicago Enforcers
Passing Att Cmp Yds 25 In Td Sk Rate Passing Att Cmp Yds 25 In Td Sk Rate
Walker 17 12 131 1 1 3 1 108.1 Minshew 34 29 380 5 1 4 0 140.2
Levis 16 12 96 0 1 1 2 84.4
Rushing Att Yds Avg FD 10 Lg TD Rushing Att Yds Avg FD 10 Lg TD
Hall 7 29 4.1 1 0 9 0 Swift 14 164 11.7 4 2 70 1
Levis 4 15 3.8 0 0 6 0 Brooks 10 62 6.2 5 2 16 1
Walker 2 8 4.0 1 0 7 0 Bowser 4 26 6.5 2 1 11 0
Abanikanda 1 4 4.0 0 0 4 0 Minshew 2 3 1.5 0 0 2 0
Tate 1 4 4.0 0 0 4 0 30 255 8.5 11 5 70 2
Cohen 2 1 0.5 0 0 2 0
17 61 3.6 2 0 9 0
Receiving No Dp Att Yds Avg FD 25 Lg TD Receiving No Dp Att Yds Avg FD 25 Lg TD
Hall 5 1 7 38 7.6 1 0 16 0 Roberson 9 0 11 143 15.9 5 3 28 0
Copeland 4 0 5 50 12.5 4 1 25 1 Moss 8 0 9 112 14.0 5 1 25 1
Abanikanda 4 0 6 19 4.8 2 0 8 0 St. Brown 5 0 5 33 6.6 3 0 13 1
Tate 3 0 4 33 11.0 1 0 19 1 Mims 5 0 5 80 16.0 5 1 26 2
Smith Jr. 3 0 4 32 10.7 3 0 12 0 Taylor 1 0 1 8 8.0 1 0 8 0
Mitchell 3 1 4 38 12.7 3 0 19 1 Eubanks 1 0 1 4 4.0 0 0 4 0
Wilson 1 0 1 10 10.0 1 0 10 1 Brooks 0 1 1 0 0.0 0 0 0 0
Heyward 1 0 1 7 7.0 0 0 7 0 Swift 0 0 1 0 0.0 0 0 0 0
Turner 0 0 1 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 29 1 0 380 13.1 19 5 28 4
24 2 0 227 9.5 15 1 25 4
Fumbles No Rec TD Fumbles No Rec TD
Walker 1 0 0 Swift 1 0 0
Cole 0 1 0
Madden 0 1 0
Kick Returns No Yds Avg Lg TD Kick Returns No Yds Avg Lg TD
Abanikanda 4 116 29.0 34 0 Igwebuike 5 101 20.2 29 0
Cohen 4 93 23.3 30 0
Punt Returns No Fc Yds Avg Lg TD Punt Returns No Fc Yds Avg Lg TD
Taylor 1 1 6 6.0 6 0
Kicking Fg Lg Xp Pts Kicking Fg Lg Xp Pts
Brown 0-0 0 5-5 5 Garibay 2-2 31 5-5 11
Punting No Yds Avg Tb 20 Bk Lg Punting No Yds Avg Tb 20 Bk Lg
Townsend 3 131 43.7 0 1 0 51 Hekker 1 32 32.0 0 1 0 32
Defense Tkl Sk Def Stf Hur FF INT Defense Tkl Sk Def Stf Hur FF INT
Cole 9 0 0 0 0 1 0-0 Amos 7 0 0 0 0 0 0-0
Ford 8 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 Roberts 5 0 3 1 0 0 1-12
Johnson 8 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 Green 5 0 0 0 0 0 0-0
Pace Jr. 5 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 Hickman 5 0 0 0 0 0 0-0
Lee 5 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 Brown 4 0 0 0 0 0 1-25
Bennett 4 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 Dye 4 0 0 0 0 0 0-0
Sheffield 4 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 Mafe 3 0 1 0 2 0 0-0
Winovich 4 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 Koerner 3 0 0 0 0 0 0-0
Williams 3 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 Hall 2 1 0 0 1 1 0-0
VanValkenbu 3 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 Fatukasi 2 0 0 0 2 0 0-0
Burks 2 0 0 0 0 0 1-51 Ojemudia 2 0 0 0 1 0 0-0
Thomas 2 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 Epenesa 2 0 0 0 1 0 0-0
Jones,T 1 0 0 0 1 0 0-0 Igwebuike 2 0 0 0 0 0 0-0
Watts 1 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 Scott 1 1 0 0 1 0 0-0
Campbell 1 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 Jordan 1 1 0 0 0 0 0-0
Diallo 1 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 Garibay 1 0 0 0 0 0 0-0
Urban 0 0 0 0 1 0 0-0