Eagles fly on Foles’ 4 TD wings to playoff bye
Nick Foles threw four touchdown passes in his first start replacing the injured Carson Wentz, and the Philadelphia Eagles secured a first-round playoff bye, rallying from an early 14-point deficit to defeat the surprising New York Giants, 34-29, yesterday in East Rutherford, N.J.
Foles hit 24-of-38 passes for 237 yards and no interceptions. The Eagles (12-2) made a late stand on firstand-goal in the final minute in edging the Giants for the second time this season, spoiling a three-touchdown, season-high 434-yard passing game by Eli Manning.
Foles hit Alshon Jeffery, Zach Ertz, Trey Burton and Nelson Agholor on scoring passes ranging from 3 to 13 yards in filling in for Wentz, who tore an ACL last week and was lost for the season after a brilliant year.
The Eagles got three blocked kicks from their special teams, foiling an extra point, a punt and field goal.
49ers 25, Titans 23 — Jimmy Garoppolo led one final scoring drive in the closing seconds to cap a fantastic first home start and Robbie Gould kicked a winning 45-yard field goal as time expired on this San Francisco win over Tennessee in Santa Clara, Calif.
Garoppolo threw for a career-high 381 yards and a TD to give the 49ers a threegame win streak in a lost season. And Tom Brady’s former backup showed he could do it at home as well as on the road — and against a playoff contender — outdueling Marcus Mariota down the stretch.
Vikings 34, Bengals 7 — Eric Kendricks had an interception return for a touchdown, Case Keenum passed for 236 yards and two scores, and Minnesota clinched the NFC North over depleted and disinterested Cincinnati in Minneapolis.
Running backs Latavius Murray and Jerick McKinnon combined for 37 touches and 242 yards from scrimmage for the Vikings. They never were challenged by the Bengals, who were met with a morning report by ESPN that coach Marvin Lewis will not return next season.
The game went so smoothly that Teddy Bridgewater saw his first live action in 16 months since a massive knee injury.
Cowboys 20, Raiders 17 — Dallas kept its playoff hopes alive by the slimmest of margins after Dak Prescott converted a fourth-down sneak to set up Dan Bailey’s go-ahead 19-yard field goal, and Derek Carr fumbled the ball inches from the goal line with 31 seconds left to lose the game for host Oakland.
Dallas is in a three-way tie for seventh place in the NFC.
Saints 31, Jets 19 — Mark Ingram ran for two TDs and gained 151 yards from scrimmage, including a late 50yard TD run, and host New Orleans overcame three turnovers to beat New York.
Michael Thomas became the second NFL player with at least 90 receptions in his first two seasons. He caught nine passes for 93 yards, including a pivotal fourthquarter TD on a short slant for New Orleans, which retained its tenuous hold on first place in the NFC South.
Ravens 27, Browns 10 — Joe Flacco threw a TD pass, ran for a score and visiting Baltimore stayed on track for the AFC playoffs by beating winless Cleveland.
With victories at home against Indianapolis and Cincinnati in its past two games, the Ravens will return to the postseason after a two-year absence.
Redskins 20, Cardinals 15 — In Landover, Md., Anthony Lanier sacked Blaine Gabbert and forced a fumble that Preston Smith recovered and Washington held on to beat Arizona in a comedy of errors for each team.
Rams 42, Seahawks 7 — Todd Gurley rushed for 152 yards and scored four total touchdowns in just 21⁄2 quarters and Los Angeles moved to the cusp of its first division title since 2003 with an easy win over host Seattle.
The matchup to determine first place in the NFC West was completely onesided. LA was dominant, embarrassing Seattle into the worst loss during Pete Carroll’s eight seasons in charge.