Sunday held our Gridiron souls captivated for 15 hours of frighteningly good football action with much wizardry stirred into the cauldron that made up NFL Halloween weekend.
There were many magical plays throughout and a few spine-tingling finishes. Christian McCaffrey and his triple-threat stole the weekend, but storylines were popping off everywhere.
You just know this is Scott Hanson’s favourite weekend of the season and when he welcomed us to ‘Witching Hour,’ he did so with over-exuberant gusto, just like the puntastic presenter of Redzone does every single week of the regular season.
So we will follow his lead as David McDonnell of Smashmouting Football adds some fright as we put Week 8 of the NFL over the coals.
49ers v Rams
The 49ers needed to win this game and they did. Had they lost, they would have gone two games behind the Rams and three behind the Seahawks in the NFC West thus jeopardising their play-off ambitions. Without a full deck of players they did what was required and more as they pulled out their best performance of the season on the road against their bitter rivals.
After his big trade 10 days ago and with the unavailability of Deebo Samuel, it was obvious that Christian McCaffery would be at the centre of proceedings and he duly stepped up and delivered one of the best days of his career. He finished the match with 184 yards from scrimmage from all the three phases of attack and was directly involved in three touchdowns.
The 49ers were also the first team into the spirit of the holiday and they played trick or treat with the Rams defence when CMC caught everyone by surprise by throwing to Brandon Aiyuk for the opening touchdown.
CMC with the first trick or treat on Halloween weekend #Niners pic.twitter.com/PKnYNFFVvj
— SmashMouthin' Football 💥👅 🏈 (@SMingFootball) October 31, 2022
The addition of McCaffery is a wonderful outlet for Jimmy Garoppolo who looked more comfortable at quarterback than he has in a long time as the star running-back is so dynamic after the catch. He is also a threat in the passing game and in the third quarter, Jimmy G found his new weapon, who high-pointed the ball for a touchdown to retake the lead.
CMC flies into the air to snatch his second touchdown #Treat #9ers pic.twitter.com/A8BVJVSPgv
— SmashMouthin' Football 💥👅 🏈 (@SMingFootball) October 31, 2022
CMC was soon in the endzone when he finished off a drive from one-yard out to complete a trifecta of having a passing, receiving and rushing touchdown in the same game. They say three, it’s a magic number. He is only the 10th player ever to achieve this feat in the National Football League and the first since LaDainian Tomlinson in the noughties.
With the 49ers now heading into a much needed bye-week, things are looking much brighter all of a sudden. The break will give the roster a chance to get healthier and I expect to see a Superbowl contender in the Bay Area with the level of talent they possess on both sides of the ball. Also having McCaffery and Deebo as a combo should be so exciting to watch and should give many defensive coordinators a scare at bedtime over the coming weeks.
Magical Fairy-tale or Nightmare Ending?
Panthers v Falcons
This was a battle where the victor would finish the day atop of the NFC South and it was certainly a day to remember for Panthers receiver DJ Moore and kicker Eddie Piniero as Carolina grasped defeat from the jaws of victory. For a moment it seemed they had the miracle dreamland finish but it turned into a nightmare with a horror show ending to the contest for both players.
Let me set the scene….
The teams were level at the start of the fourth quarter and when D’onte Foreman scored his third TD of the contest, it saw Carolina into a four-point lead with only three minutes remaining.
By the time the two minute warning arrived, the Falcons had already taken back the lead after Marcus Mariota found Damiere Byrd and the receiver weaved a spell as he ran untouched around a number of defenders for a terrific score.
Mariota finds Byrd who weaves a spell as he flies through the Panther defence #bibbidybobbolyboo #ByrdisaFalcon pic.twitter.com/EDNI6LA5i9
— SmashMouthin' Football 💥👅 🏈 (@SMingFootball) October 31, 2022
It left three points between the sides, which soon became six when Younghoe Koo kicked a field goal with 36 seconds left. Carolina needed some wizardry and with 12 seconds left, PJ Walker saw that his favourite receiver DJ Moore had ghosted behind the Falcons’s defence and he found him with a 62-yard throw to level the scores at 34-34 apiece.
DJ Moore ghosts 👻 behind the Atlanta defence to draw the game at the end of the fourth quarter #TrickorTreat ? 👹 pic.twitter.com/d88DWUDWJs
— SmashMouthin' Football 💥👅 🏈 (@SMingFootball) October 31, 2022
In the wild carelessness of celebrating, Moore was flagged for taking off his helmet and the routine PAT was moved back 15 yards and Eddy Pineiro missed his game winning kick which sent the game into overtime.
Pineiro had a chance to redeem himself with a chip shot from 24-yards to win the game but this time he shanked it badly wide as head coach Steve Wilks could barely believe his eyes at the chilling way his team were bottling a victory well within their grasp. These mistakes were punished when Koo took his chance from 41 yards.
Giants v Seahawks
A well-matched contest between two teams with winning records saw the Giants travel to Seattle in what turned out to be a hugely entertaining contest. A zombie-like scoreless first quarter came to life and the story within the story was the matchup between Giants corner-back Adoree Jackson and Seahawks’ wide-out Tyler Lockett.
They had themselves a battle for the ages.
It was first blood to Jackson when he made this TD-saving play in the second quarter.
#Giants' Adoree Jackson haunted Tyler Lockett like a ghost and saved a certain touchdown #boo #haunted pic.twitter.com/nSFZzpgewD
— SmashMouthin' Football 💥👅 🏈 (@SMingFootball) October 31, 2022
Soon after Geno Smith threw a dart to DK Metcalf at the back of the endzone and later in the second quarter Jackson was being adored by G-men after he ripped the ball from Lockett’s grasp just inside the Seahawks own five-yard line.
Sequon Barkley continued his recent scoring spree and added the six-pointer. Late in the third quarter Lockett then had the chance to score a walk-in touchdown but he dropped his first pass of the season much to the horror of the home fans.
Lockett spooky night continues as he drops a certain TD 👻 pic.twitter.com/fe94oDorMC
— SmashMouthin' Football 💥👅 🏈 (@SMingFootball) October 31, 2022
Lockett found redemption in the final quarter with the most important score of the game when he burned Jackson with his route and Geno found him for a lead they never relinquished.
Afterwards Lockett stated: “It’s amazing what we can accomplish when no one cares who gets the credit.” Was he dropping shade at the departed Russell Wilson? I really don’t know…
Daniel Jones had to chase the game. which he is not noted for and he took his fifth sack on the day as hopes of a comeback vanished. There was still time for rookie Seahawks running-back sensation Kenneth Walker to pull some Thriller dance moves in the endzone after he scored his fourth touchdown in four weeks.
Kenneth Walker celebrates with some #Thriller dance moves 🧟♂️ 🌕 pic.twitter.com/Pd7Sk5XJo8
— SmashMouthin' Football 💥👅 🏈 (@SMingFootball) October 31, 2022
Tom Brady equalling unwanted records
The Baltimore Ravens came to Tampa Bay and rushed for over 200 second-half yards to beat the Buccaneers 27-22 on Thursday Night Football, as Tom Brady lost his third consecutive game for the first time since 2002.
*For more on the Washington Commanders winning a nail-gnawer, Tua Tagovailoa bouncing back in style, Aaron Rodgers’ continued struggles, and the rest of Week 8, check out Smashmouting Football, and give them a follow on Twitter.
