NEW ORLEANS — Jameis Winston picked opportune moments to let it fly in first NFL start since 2019.
Winston completed touchdown passes of 43 and 29 yards to second-year pro Marquez Callaway, and the Saints defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars 23-21 in a preseason game on Monday night.
“Everybody knows Jameis has got a good arm,” Callaway said. “He’s going to throw it to where we can make a play.”
Winston completed nine of 10 passes for 123 yards without an interception, bolstering his candidacy to succeed NFL all-time leading passer Drew Brees as the Saints’ new starter.
“I haven’t started a football game in so long, man,” Winston said. “So, I was so excited just to get an opportunity to start and lead the pack.”
While Winston lamented missing “the easiest throw of the night,” he left the field confident that he made high-percentage throws and minimized the type of risk-taking that defined his last season in Tampa Bay, when his NFL-high 30 interceptions marred a campaign in which he also eclipsed 5,000 yards passing and connected on 33 TDs.
“I think I’m really good on decisions. I just got to get better on accuracy,” Winston said. “As long as I’m executing the right way, my eyes are in the right place and I’m making the right decisions, I can live with it.”
Winston is competing for the job with Taysom Hill, who went 3-1 as a starter while Brees was injured last season. Hill passed for 138 yards and a touchdown against Jacksonville.
Saints coach Sean Payton declined to say how much more he needed to see before announcing a starter.
“When we know what direction we’re going, we’ll let you guys know,” he said.
Both clubs entered the game in the midst of quarterback competitions.
No. 1 overall draft choice Trevor Lawrence got the start over incumbent Gardner Minshew and played the first half, going 14 for 23 for 113 yards behind an offensive line featuring three backups — including rookie Walker Little at left tackle.
“We’re not balanced right now,” first-year Jaguars coach Urban Myer said. “We’ve got to get our offensive line back and play better and run the ball. … There just wasn’t much rhythm in the first half.”
Lawrence led one scoring drive that ended with a field goal.
“I just got to get a little bit better at getting the ball out, taking completions and staying out of second-and-long and third-and-long,” Lawrence said. “We’ve got to click a little bit more, still got some work to do … but I think we’re heading in the right direction.”
His final series stalled when he was sacked for a nine-yard loss by Jalen Dalton at the Saints’ 25. The drive ended with Josh Lambo missing a 43-yard field goal attempt off the upright.
Hill played the majority of the first half and the third quarter, completing 11 of 20 passes. His first two series ended with sacks by Jihad Ward and Dawuane Smoot. His first scoring drive culminated with former Jaguars kicker Aldrick Rosas hitting a 52-yard field goal as the second quarter ended.
Hill’s touchdown went for 14 yards to Lil’Jordan Humphrey to make it 23-3.
“It’s hard to really give you an evaluation without seeing the film,” Hill said. “Just like any other game, there’s plays I’d like to have back and then there was some good stuff.”
Minshew played most of the second half, completing 13 of 21 passes for 149 yards before his night ended when he was intercepted by linebacker Wynton McManis during a scramble on second-and-goal from the 2.
C.J. Beathard had the best night of the Jags QBs statistically, passing for touchdowns of 3 yards to Jeff Cotton and 24 yards to Collin Johnson in the final six minutes.
CATCHING ON
Callaway had the crowd gasping in amazement when they saw replays of his touchdowns. He snagged the first — his longer of the two — with a diving catch between two defenders after he’d been interfered with from behind by rookie Tyson Campbell.
His second TD came on a one-handed catch over his outside shoulder along the sideline.
Callaway, who played in 11 regular-season games with three starts as an undrafted rookie out of Tennessee in 2020, beat seasoned veteran Shaquill Griffin on both scores. Griffin, formerly with Seattle, was among the Jaguars’ most significant acquisitions in free agency, signing a three-year deal worth up to $40 million.
INJURIES
Jaguars: Running back Travis Etienne left with what Myer said was a sprained foot. Those not in uniform because of injuries were receiver DJ Chark (finger), cornerback Tre Herndon (knee), edge rusher Josh Allen (COVID-19), center Brandon Linder (knee) and guard Andrew Norwell (elbow).
Saints: Second-year tight end Adam Trautman, a projected starter this season, was taken to the locker room during the first half with an apparent lower-body injury which the club did not disclose. Reserve defensive back Bryce Thompson limped off the field in the fourth quarter.
UP NEXT
Jaguars: Conclude the preseason Sunday at Dallas.
Saints: Wrap up their preseason slate at home Saturday night against Arizona.
LONDON – Canada will meet three-time champion Germany in the Davis Cup quarterfinals in Malaga, Spain this November.
Canada secured a berth in the quarterfinals — also called The Final 8 Knockout Stage — with a 2-1 win over Britain last weekend in Manchester, England.
World No. 21 Felix Auger-Aliassime of Montreal anchored a five-player squad that included Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., Gabriel Diallo of Montreal, Alexis Galarneau of Laval, Que., and Vasek Pospisil of Vernon, B.C.
The eight-team draw for the quarterfinals was completed Thursday at International Tennis Federation headquarters.
Defending champion Italy will play Argentina, the United States will meet Australia and Spain will take on the Netherlands. Schedule specifics have yet to be released but the Final 8 will be played Nov. 19-24.
Tim Puetz and Kevin Krawietz were unbeaten in doubles play last week to help Germany reach the quarterfinals. The country’s top singles player — second-ranked Alex Zverev — did not play.
The Canadians defeated Germany in the quarterfinals en route to their lone Davis Cup title in 2022. Germany won titles in 1988, ’89 and ’93.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Canada, fuelled by a 2-1 win over the U.S. and scoreless draw with Mexico, has jumped two places to No. 38 in the FIFA men’s world rankings released Thursday.
Of the top six CONCACAF teams, Canada was the only one to move up. Mexico was unchanged at No. 17 while the U.S. and Panama each fell two rungs to No. 18 and 37, respectively
Costa Rica slipped one spot to No. 50 and Jamaica two places to No. 61.
It marks Canada’s highest ranking under coach Jesse Marsch, who was hired in mid-May when the Canadians were ranked 50th. Since then, the team has climbed to No. 49, 48, 40 and now 38.
Canada has been as high as No. 33 in the men’s ranking, achieved in February 2022 under John Herdman with Canada, named the “Most Improved Side” in 2021 by FIFA, turning heads with an unbeaten run in CONCACAF World Cup qualifying.
The new rankings encompass 184 internationals involving teams from all six confederations including 2026 World Cup qualifiers in Asia, Oceania and South America.
The top 10 was unchanged with Argentina ahead of France, Spain, England, Brazil, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, Colombia and Italy. But the gap at the top is closing with Argentina losing 2-1 away to Colombia and 3-1 at home to Italy.
Teams 10 through 15 were also unchanged. But there was movement after that in the form of Japan (, up two), Iran (No. 19, up one) and Denmark (No. 20, up one). Egypt (No. 31), Ivory Coast (No. 33), Tunisia (No. 36) and Algeria (No. 41) all jumped five places while Greece (No. 48) climbed six spots.
The biggest movers were Brunei Darussalam (No. 183) and Samoa (No. 185), who vaulted seven spots on the back of two wins apiece.
Qatar suffered the biggest drop, tumbling 10 places to No. 44.
San Marino remains at the bottom of the rankings in 210th place despite recording its first victory in more than 20 years, San Marino defeated Liechtenstein 1-0 on Sept. 5, ending a 140-game winless run since a 1-0 decision over the same opponent in April 2004.
Liechtenstein fell four places to No. 203.
Canada’s next match is an Oct. 15 friendly against Panama at Toronto’s BMO Field. The next men’s ranking will be released Oct. 24.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024
It has been a difficult start to the NFL season for quarterback Bryce Young and the Carolina Panthers.
Carolina has dropped its opening two games after Sunday’s 26-3 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. And Young, the first player taken in the ’23 NFL draft, was 18-of-26 passing for 84 yards with an interception while being sacked twice.
As a result, veteran Andy Dalton will start Sunday when Carolina faces the Las Vegas Raiders (1-1).
According to the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp., the Chargers’ win was the most accurately predicted moneyline selection by Proline bettors. A whopping 92 per cent of wagers were on Los Angeles beating Carolina with 92 per cent also picking the Chargers to cover -4.5.
In other action that went in favour of Proline bettors: Kansas City edged Cincinnati 26-25 (86 per cent correctly selected the Chiefs to win); Houston got past Chicago 19-13 (81 per cent); the New York Jets defeated Tennessee 24-17 (78 per cent); Pittsburgh beat Denver 13-6 (76 per cent), Washington beat the New York Giants 21-18 (73 per cent); and Seattle toppled New England 23-20 (62 per cent).
However, only five per cent of bettors had the Raiders upsetting Baltimore 26-23.
And there was one winner of Proline’s second week main NFL pool of $407,613.
In NFL futures bets after the second week of the season, the odds for offensive player of the year got shorter for running backs Breece Hall (Jets) and Bijan Robinson (Atlanta) and Detroit receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown. But they got longer for running backs Kyren Williams (Rams), Christian McCaffrey (San Francisco) and Jonathan Taylor (Colts).
Quarterbacks Bo Nix (Denver), Jayden Daniels (Washington) and Caleb Williams (Chicago) all had their odds for offensive rookie of the year go up while they went down for running back Ray Davis (Buffalo), tight end Brock Bowers (Raiders) and receiver Malik Nabers (Giants).
Quarterbacks Patrick Mahones (Chiefs), Aaron Rodgers (Jets) and Jalen Hurts (Eagles) all had their odds for regular season MVP go up. But quarterbacks Jordan Love (Packers), Lamar Jackson (Baltimore) and Joe Burrow (Cincinnati) all saw theirs go down.
Kansas City, Philadelphia and Houston had their Super Bowl odds increase while Green Bay, Baltimore and Cincinnati all decreased.
Not surprising, the week’s top events were all NFL games. In order, they were; Buffalo-Miami, Chicago-Houston, Cincinnati-KC, Raiders-Ravens; and Saints-Cowboys.
A Proline retail player cashed in a $26,183 winner from a $10 bet on a 12-leg major-league baseball parlay. Another won $24,602 from a $10 wager on a 12-leg NFL parlay.
A third received $1,737 from a $3 bet on a six-leg NFL parlay.
A digital bettor earned $2,927 from a $25 bet on a five-leg NFL parlay while a second had a $704.35 return from a $1 wager on a seven-leg NFL parlay.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
