Chiefs hold off Ravens to clinch playoff spot
Saints win second straight NFC South title NFL Results/Standings
KANSAS CITY, Mo, Dec 10, (AP): Harrison Butker atoned for a 43-yard miss as time expired with a 36-yard field goal in overtime, and the Chiefs edged the Ravens 27-24 in OT to clinch a playoff spot.
The Chiefs (10-2) twice converted on fourth down before Patrick Mahomes threw a tying touchdown pass to Damien Williams with 53 seconds left. Moments later, Justin Houston strip-sacked Lamar Jackson to give Butker a chance to win the game for Kansas City in regulation.
He missed that one. He didn’t miss his second chance.
The Ravens (7-6) marched across midfield as they tried to answer in overtime, but Ronnie Stanley’s holding penalty put them in a bind. Jackson was sacked by Houston and Dee Ford – and wound up leaving the game – and Robert Griffin III threw two incompletions to end it.
Mahomes threw for 377 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Tyreek Hill caught eight passes for 139 yards, including three in overtime to set up the eventual winning field goal.
Jackson threw for 147 yards and two touchdowns for the Ravens, who had never lost in three trips to Arrowhead Stadium. Jackson also had 71 yards rushing in his fourth start in place of Joe Flacco.
Saints 28, Buccaneers 14 In Tampa, Fla, Drew Brees threw for one touchdown and ran another to help the Saints rally from an 11-point halftime deficit to clinch their second straight NFC South title.
Brees shrugged off a pair of turnovers to throw a 1-yard TD pass to Zach Line, then scored on a 1-yard sneak as the Saints (11-2) avenged a season-opening loss to the Bucs (5-8) and also rebounded from a defeat last week at Dallas.
New Orleans’ defense did its part after allowing two first-half TDs, too, sacking Jameis Winston four times and limiting the NFL’s No. 1-ranked offense to 81 yards in the second half – most of that on the final drive.
Brees completed 24 of 31 passes for 201 yards and one interception. Michael Thomas had 11 receptions for 98 yards.
Winston threw a pair of TD passes to Cameron Brate, the latter a 1-yarder set up by Adarius Taylor’s interception to put the Bucs up 14-3 at halftime. The fourth-year pro also threw an 11-yarder to Brate on the opening drive of the game.
Bears 15, Rams 6 In Chicago, Eddie Goldman led a dominant defensive effort, and Chicago shut down Jared Goff and Los Angeles’ high-powered offense.
The Rams (11-2) missed a chance to secure a first-round playoff bye and fell into a tie with New Orleans for home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.
Goff threw a career-high four interceptions and was sacked three times, with Goldman getting to him for a tiebreaking safety early in the third quarter.
Bradley Sowell became the first Bears offensive lineman in 11 years with a touchdown reception when he caught a 2-yarder from Mitchell Trubisky in the third quarter. Chicago improved to 9-4.
Cowboys 29, Eagles 23, OT In Arlington, Texas, Dak Prescott threw his third touchdown pass to Amari Cooper on the first possession of overtime, and the Cowboys took a big step toward the NFC East title.
On third down, Rasul Douglas tipped the pass into the air, and Cooper grabbed it and had a clear path to the end zone from the Philadelphia 7. The Cowboys used almost all of the 10-minute overtime, scoring with 1:55 remaining.
By winning the third overtime game in the past four seasons at A&T Stadium between these division rivals, the Cowboys (8-5) won their fifth straight game and took a two-game lead over the defending Super Bowl champions Eagles (6-7) and Washington.
The Cowboys finished with 576 yards, their most since gaining 578 against the St Louis Cardinals in 1973.
Dallas can clinch the NFC East title with a win at Indianapolis next Sunday.
Carson Wentz threw for three touchdowns, including a pair of tying scores in the fourth quarter. But he never got a chance in overtime because of the 13-play, 75-yard drive engineered by Prescott.
Raiders 23, Steelers 21 In Oakland, Calif, Derek Carr threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Derek Carrier with 21 seconds left before Chris Boswell slipped on a potential game-tying 40-yard field goal attempt on the final play.
Ben Roethlisberger returned from a rib injury to lead a go-ahead touchdown drive that Carr answered for the Raiders (3-10). Big Ben then connected on a 48-yard hook-and-lateral pass play that put Boswell in position for the tying kick. But he lost his footing and sent the kick into the line, sending the Steelers (7-5-1) to their third straight loss.
Carr threw two fourth-quarter touchdown passes for the Raiders, leading his 16th career fourth-quarter comeback. He threw for 322 yards, including a 3-yard TD that put Oakland up 17-14 with 5:20 to play.
Roethlisberger then returned after missing the first four drives of the second half and drove the Steelers to the go-ahead score on a 1-yard pass to JuJu Smith-Schuster before once again ending up on the losing end in a trip to Oakland. He is 0-4 at the Coliseum and the Raiders remain the only AFC opponent he has never beaten on the road.
Roethlisberger finished 25 for 29 for 282 yards and two TDs, but the Steelers failed to open up ground on Baltimore in the AFC North. Pittsburgh has a half-game lead over the Ravens.
Chargers 26, Bengals 21 In Carson, Calif, Philip Rivers threw for 220 yards and Michael Badgley kicked four field goals, including a team-record 59-yarder. Rivers completed 19 of 29 and threw a touchdown in what was not one of the team’s best games. The Chargers (103) had 160 yards of offense on their first two drives but had 121 the remainder of the game.
Austin Ekeler rushed for 66 yards on 15 carries with Melvin Gordon missing his second straight game due to a knee injury. Keenan Allen had five receptions for 78 yards.
Joe Mixon had 111 yards on 26 carries and a touchdown for the Bengals (5-8), who have dropped five straight games. Jeff Driskel, making his second straight start since Andy Dalton’s season-ending thumb injury, was 18 of 27 for 170 yards and a touchdown.
LA trails Kansas City by one game in the AFC West and plays at the Chiefs on Thursday night.
49ers 20, Broncos 14 In Santa Clara, Calif, George Kittle caught an 85-yard touchdown pass on the way to 210 yards receiving and became the 49ers’ first tight end to reach the 1,000-yard milestone.
Kittle finished just shy of Shannon Sharpe’s NFL record by a tight end of 214 yards receiving, not having a catch nor as many chances in the second half. Kittle had seven receptions in all on nine targets.
His long TD reception on a pass from Nick Mullens early in the second quarter put the Niners up 13-0 – and Denver (6-7) never found a groove in seeing its three-game winning streak snapped.
Broncos quarterback Case Keenum struggled to find any rhythm after the Broncos lost top wideout Emmanuel Sanders to a torn Achilles tendon in practice during the week.
Dante Pettis added a 1-yard touchdown reception just before halftime for the Niners (3-10).
Lions 17, Cardinals 3 In Glendale, Ariz, Darius Slay returned an interception 67 yards for a touchdown and Detroit got its first win in Arizona since 1993.
Slay stepped in front of intended receiver Trent Sherfield, picked off Josh Rosen’s pass and raced down the left sideline for the third-quarter score as the Lions (5-8) ended an eight-game losing streak in the desert.
Arizona (3-10) avoided being shut out with Zane Gonzalez’s 22-yard field goal that cut the lead to 10-3 with 8:14 to play.
Rosen completed four of six passes as Arizona drove to the 5-yard line, but a fade pass to Larry Fitzgerald was incomplete and the Cardinals, who fell to 1-6 at home, settled for the field goal.
Fitzgerald caught five passes, all in the second half and most when the game had been all but decided, to move ahead of Jerry Rice for most receptions by a player for one team at 1,286.
Arizona Cardinals running back David Johnson (31) is hit by Detroit Lions middle linebacker Jarrad Davis (40) for an incomplete pass during the first
half of an NFL football game on Dec 9 in Glendale, Ariz. (AP)
Colts 24, Texans 21 In Houston, Andrew Luck threw for 399 yards and two touchdowns and T.Y. Hilton had 199 receiving yards. The Colts (7-6) snapped a nine-game winning streak by the Texans (9-4), trimming Houston’s lead over the AFC South to two games with three remaining.
Hilton entered the game as the alltime leader in receiving yards per game at NRG Stadium with 122.3 yards and finished just shy of 200 yards on nine catches on 12 targets.
Houston cut Indianapolis’ lead to 24-21 with a 7-yard touchdown pass from Deshaun Watson to DeAndre Hopkins with less than three minutes remaining. With the Colts facing a critical third-and-1 at midfield, Luck drew Jadeveon Clowney offside to secure a first down and the win.
The Colts entered Sunday having allowed just 14 sacks, second only to New Orleans. Houston’s usually menacing pass rush was largely neutralized with just two sacks from J.J. Watt and Christian Covington after being held without a sack against Cleveland last week.
Indianapolis’ defense, on the other hand, gave Houston fits both in the passing and running game. The Colts sacked Watson five times for a loss of 41 yards and held Houston’s rushing offense to just 89 yards on 25 carries.
Browns 26, Panthers 20 In Cleveland, Baker Mayfield outplayed Cam Newton, Jarvis Landry caught a touchdown pass and ran for another score and the Browns damaged Carolina’s playoff hopes. The Panthers dropped their fifth straight.
Mayfield bravely threw a 51-yard TD pass into traffic to Landry, who had a 3-yard scoring run and added a long run – on a similar call – early in the fourth quarter to set up a go-ahead touchdown.
Playing the spoiler role down the stretch, the Browns (5-7-1) improved to 3-2 under interim coach Gregg Williams, who needed just five games to match former Browns coach Hue Jackson’s win total over two-plus seasons.
The Panthers (6-7) suffered a loss that could haunt them for months and will increase the heat on coach Ron Rivera.
Newton passed for 265 yards, but overthrew Jarius Wright on fourthand-goal at the 3 with 2:35 left. Carolina got the ball back, but Newton, who has been playing with a sore right
New York Giants free safety Curtis Riley returns his interception into the end zone for a touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game
against the Washington Redskins on Dec 9 in Landover, Md. (AP)
New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara (41) is sent flying on a tackle by Tampa Bay Buccaneers outside linebacker Adarius Taylor (53) during the second half of an NFL football game on Dec 9 in
Tampa, Fla. (AP)
shoulder, badly missed Devin Funchess and was intercepted by Damarious Randall with 57 seconds left.
Mayfield finished 18 of 22 for 238 yards in a bounce back after throwing three interceptions in the first half last week at Houston.
Packers 34, Falcons 20 In Green Bay, Wis, Aaron Rodgers threw two touchdown passes and set an NFL record for interception-free football, and the Packers won their first game under interim head coach Joe Philbin.
Aaron Jones ran for a 29-yard score in the third quarter. The defense limited quarterback Matt Ryan after a game-opening touchdown drive to hand Atlanta its fifth straight loss and guarantee the Falcons a losing record for the first time since 2014.
The Packers (5-7-1) regained some swagger with Philbin taking over for the fired Mike McCarthy. They’ve still got work to do to avoid a losing record, but at least Green Bay snapped a threegame losing streak.
Rodgers was 21 of 32 for 196 yards, including a 24-yard touchdown pass to Randall Cobb in the left side of the end zone for a 27-7. That throw gave Rodgers 359 consecutive attempts without an interception, breaking the league record previously held by New England’s Tom Brady (358 in 201011).
The Falcons (4-9) had trouble keeping up after their first series. When they did, they hurt themselves with eight defensive penalties. Linebacker Deion Jones also had a couple chances to snap Rodgers’ interception streak but couldn’t hang on each time.
Giants 40, Redskins 16 In Landover, Md, Saquon Barkley rushed for 170 yards, including a 78-yard touchdown to surpass 1,000 for the season, and Eli Manning threw for three scores to effectively end Washington’s already-slim playoff hopes.
Barkley gashed the Redskins’ defense for 12.1 yards a carry to become the first Giants rookie to break 1,000, and set a single-season franchise rookie record with his 13th touchdown. The second overall pick also had four catches for 27 yards against a Washington defense that’s a shell of the unit that led the league early in the season.
Manning was 14 of 22 for 197 yards in helping New York take a 34-0 halftime lead before giving way to rookie Kyle Lauletta early in the fourth quarter. Sterling Shepard, Bernie Fowler and Russell Shepard caught TD passes from Manning as the Giants (5-8) put up 40 points for the first time since Nov 1, 2015, and won for the fourth time in the past five games.
The Giants intercepted new Redskins quarterback Mark Sanchez twice, with Curtis Riley scoring on a 9-yard pick-6 in the first quarter. It was Sanchez’s ninth career interception returned for a touchdown.
Sanchez, making his first NFL start since 2015, was 6 of 14 for 38 yards and the two interceptions and didn’t have a completion longer than 10 yards. He was sacked five times behind a patchwork offensive line as the Redskins (6-7) lost their fourth in a row.
Jets 27, Bills 23 In Orchard Park, NY, Sam Darnold one-upped fellow rookie Josh Allen, rallying the Jets.
Elijah McGuire scored on a fourthand-goal run from the 1 with 1:17 remaining to cap a drive during which Darnold completed three of five passes for 52 yards.
The rookie quarterback particularly showed off his deft touch on a 37-yard pass to Robby Anderson, who made an over-the-shoulder catch up the right sideline.
It was Darnold’s first career fourthquarter comeback and came in his first game back after missing three with a strained right foot.