Seahawks suffer meltdown in loss to Jaguars
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Seattle Seahawks defensive end Quinton Jefferson was jogging off the field when something whizzed by his head.
Jefferson stopped, pulled off his helmet and headed toward a rowdy section of fans.
Jefferson pushed aside security guards and started jawing with the spectators. Just when it looked like Jefferson was about to walk away for good, what looked like a cup of beer came flying out of the seats. That prompted Jefferson to rush toward the stands and start trying to climb up. He had to be restrained, pulled back by his shoulder pads, and escorted to the locker room. It was an ugly ending to an exciting game. However, the Jacksonville Jaguars felt what happened on the field was even worse.
The Jaguars (9-4) took exception to the way the Seahawks (8-5) handled the final snaps, two kneel-downs in the closing seconds of Jacksonville’s 30-24 victory.
“There’s no room in the game for that,” tight end Marcedes Lewis said. “You see we’re kneeling. You can get somebody hurt. We’re out there trying to kneel. There are no timeouts. You guys can’t stop the clock, so why try to hurt somebody?
“We had 60 minutes to handle that. The last 30 seconds, while we’re kneeling, you’re going to spear somebody in the legs? That’s not cool.”
Seattle scored twice on long passes in the fourth quarter, with Russell Wilson finding Paul Richardson for 61 yards and then Tyler Lockett for 74 yards. The second one cut the lead to 30-24, and the Seahawks got one last chance to tie or take the lead. But Wilson misfired on a fourth-and-9 play near midfield.
Leonard Fournette iced the game with a 13-yard carry on a third-and-11 play, and Jacksonville tried to run out the clock from there, but the Seahawks wouldn’t go quietly.
Defensive tackle Michael Bennett dived at centre Brandon Linder’s knees, setting off a near-melee. Sheldon Richardson was ejected for throwing a punch, and Fournette went after Bennett.
More pushing and shoving ensued after Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles’ next kneel-down, and Jefferson was tossed.
Seattle coach Pete Carroll also got flagged for coming onto the field. Carroll walked into Seattle’s huddle to settle down his players.
“We have to be more poised than that,” Carroll said. “We didn’t have a chance to get the ball back then, and I was trying to get our guys to not carry it any further. They were trying to fight to get the ball back, and there wasn’t the chance to do it at that point. I was just trying to slow them down.
“I just tried to make a statement to our guys, so we didn’t finish with any more garbage happening out there.” Carroll said Jefferson “just kind of lost it.” “Somebody poured a beer on his head walking out of the stadium or something,” Carroll said. “I told him that’s pro football. They pay to get in. They can do whatever they want, I guess, so that’s what happened.”
The game had a few chippy moments, with Seattle guard Germain Ifedi getting flagged for taunting a referee following a holding call and tight end Jimmy Graham getting penalized for unnecessary roughness for a late hit out of bounds.
But the bigger exchanges happened with the game decided.
“Nobody likes to lose, but at the end of the day, this is our profession,” Jaguars defensive tackle Malik Jackson said. “We have to start acting right and be professionals. That’s twice now that teams have gone against us and wanted to act out.
“We’re just socking them in the mouth and getting them a little upset. We’re going to keep doing it. That doesn’t bother us.”
Jackson was referring to the CincinnatiJacksonville game early last month, in which Jaguars cornerback Jalen Ramsey and Bengals receiver A.J. Green were ejected for fighting. Green attacked Ramsey at the end of a play and threw him to the ground in a choke hold.
“It’s a little bit of people aren’t used to getting beat like that by the Jaguars,” said Bortles. “There is no reason to take anything from anybody. We just beat the crap out of you for 60 minutes.”
Bennett and Jefferson declined comment, but Bennett ripped a reporter who attempted to ask Jefferson about the incident.
“He’s not an animal,” Bennett said. “He’s a human being, so get out of here. How would you like it if one of your kids was playing sports and somebody poured beer on him?”
BILLS 13, COLTS 7
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — LeSean McCoy scored on a 21-yard run with 1:33 left in overtime to secure the Buffalo Bills’ 13-7 win over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday in a wintry, white-out setting best suited for snow shoes and sled dogs.
McCoy finished with 156 yards rushing and topped the 1,000-yard mark for the sixth time in his career on a slick, snow-covered field.
The Bills’ sideline erupted after McCoy’s touchdown, with numerous players running on to the field to either make snow angels or engage in celebratory snowball fights.
Buffalo (7-6) stayed alive in the AFC playoff picture, while the Colts (3-10) were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention.
The game began in nearly white-out conditions with a major lake-effect storm blowing in off nearby Lake Erie. The snow fell so hard a half-hour before kickoff, it was nearly impossible to see New Era Field’s west-end scoreboard from the east-end stands.
McCoy’s touchdown came on Buffalo’s second possession of overtime. Facing thirdand-2, McCoy found a crease up the middle and had enough footing to cut to his left and scamper into the end zone untouched.
EAGLES 43, RAMS 35
LOS ANGELES — Carson Wentz threw for 291 yards and four touchdowns before leaving with a knee injury, and Jake Elliott kicked the go-ahead 33-yard field goal with 3:45 left as the Eagles clinched the NFC East title.
Two sources familiar with the injury tell The Associated Press that doctors believe Wentz has torn his left anterior cruciate ligament and will miss the rest of the season and playoffs.
Wentz needs an MRI to confirm the severity of the injury. Both people spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to release the information.
Wentz was hit hard as he scrambled into the end zone on a play that was called back because of holding. He stayed in the game and threw a three-yard touchdown pass to Alshon Jeffery four plays later to give the Eagles the lead.
Foles replaced Wentz on the next drive for Philadelphia (11-2).
The NFC West-leading Rams (9-4) then went up 35-31 on Todd Gurley’s second TD run.
Elliott kicked a 41-yard field goal to pull the Eagles to 35-34. His go-ahead field goal was set up when Chris Long, a second-round draft pick of the then-St. Louis Rams in 2008, had a strip-sack of Jared Goff, with Rodney McLeod recovering.
STEELERS 39, RAVENS 38
PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers won one for injured star Ryan Shazier — and wrapped up the AFC North in the process.
Chris Boswell made a 46-yard field goal with 42 seconds left and Pittsburgh’s defence overcame a sloppy night to stop one Baltimore’s last-gasp drive.
The Steelers (11-2) trailed by 11 points going into the fourth quarter but capped an emotionally trying week following Shazier’s spinal injury to rally for their eighth straight victory and third division title in four years.
Ben Roethlisberger threw for 506 yards and two touchdowns, becoming the first quarterback in NFL history to top 500 yards passing three times. Antonio Brown caught 11 passes for 213 yards, including two long gains in the fourth quarter that allowed the Steelers to recover after blowing an early 14-point lead. Le’Veon Bell had 125 yards of total offence and scored three touchdowns.
Baltimore’s Joe Flacco threw for 269 yards passing with two touchdowns and one interception but was strip-sacked by linebacker T.J. Watt on the Ravens’ final snap.
Alex Collins ran for 120 yards and a TD for the Ravens (7-6).
CHARGERS 30, REDSKINS 13
CARSON, Calif. — Philip Rivers passed for 319 yards and two touchdowns, and the Chargers continued their ferocious playoff push with their fourth straight victory.
Tyrell Williams caught a 75-yard TD pass and Hunter Henry had another scoring grab for the Chargers (7-6), who have won seven of nine after an 0-4 start to their relocation season.
While outscoring their opponents 131-53 during their winning streak, the Chargers also moved above .500 for the first time since September 2015 with a dominant offensive performance against Washington.
The Chargers stayed atop the AFC West alongside the Chiefs (7-6), their opponents this coming Saturday in Kansas City.
Kirk Cousins hit Vernon Davis with an early TD pass for the Redskins (5-8), who have lost two straight and six of eight.
CHIEFS 26, RAIDERS 15
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kareem Hunt ran for 116 yards and a touchdown and the Chiefs shut down Derek Carr and his offence to snap a four-game losing streak.
The suddenly stingy Chiefs (7-6) also made a big statement in the crowded AFC West race.
Alex Smith threw for 268 yards and Charcandrick West had a TD run for the Chiefs, who held the Raiders (6-7) without points until Marshawn Lynch’s 22-yard run with 8:51 to go.
PACKERS 27, BROWNS 21
CLEVELAND — Brett Hundley threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Davante Adams in overtime as the Packers rallied from a two-touchdown deficit in the fourth quarter.
Cleveland fell to 0-13 and made too many mistakes to break into the win column.
On third-and-6, Hundley threw a short pass to Adams, who broke a tackle and went in untouched with 5:05 left as the Packers (7-6) won in overtime for the second straight week — and third time this season. The Packers have stayed alive in the playoff race without Rodgers, who has been out since Oct. 15 with a broken collarbone, but is expected to play next Sunday.
COWBOYS 30, GIANTS 10
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Dak Prescott threw three TD passes and the desperate Cowboys spoiled Steve Spagnuolo’s debut as interim coach, as well as the return of quarterback Eli Manning to the Giants’ starting lineup.
Prescott threw a go-ahead 20-yard score to tight end Jason Witten with 7:38 to play. Rod Smith scored on an 81-yard pass play with 4:08 left and added a 15-yard scoring run a little more than a minute later after an interception by Sean Lee.
Prescott, who was 20 of 30 for 332 yards, also threw a 50-yard scoring pass to Dez Bryant as the Cowboys (7-6) stayed in the playoff hunt with three games left in the regular season.
Manning, who got a standing ovation taking the field, threw a one-yard TD pass to Rhett Ellison late in the second quarter that gave New York a brief 10-3 lead.
Manning finished 31 of 46 for 228 yards with a TD and two late interceptions as the Giants fell to 2-11.