Short-handed Union falls to NYC FC

Sean Johnson highstepped his way up the stairs at the back of a makeshift stage as his New York City FC teammates parted to let the standout goalie slide through the gap.

He crouched and then burst straight up with the MLS Eastern Conference championship trophy as New York danced and shook the floor with good reason — a shot at its first championship is on deck.

Talles Magno scored in the 88th minute to send New York into the MLS Cup final with a 2-1 win over the COVID-19-restriction-ravaged Philadelphia Union on Sunday at Chester.

New York will play at the Portland Timbers on Saturday for the MLS Cup.

Gudi Thórarinsson stripped the ball from Union defender Olivier Mbaizo and fed it to Magno for the decisive goal.

The Union was rocked days before the biggest game in its 11-year history when 11 players were ruled out of the game because of COVID-19 health and safety protocols. Philadelphia was also seeking to reach its first MLS Cup final.

“You have 11 players that I feel awful for that had to sit at home completely healthy and watch this game,” coach Jim Curtin said.

The Union was unable to practice on Thursday because of the league’s protocols. Philadelphia resumed training on Friday. Curtin said during the regular season that all Union players had been vaccinated. The individual players may not have tested positive for the coronavirus, but may have come into contact with someone with a suspected case.

Curtin questioned if MLS’ protocols should be “adjusted and updated for common sense” to prevent a similar occurrence in the future. Curtin said most of the 11 players sat out because “they had some version of the sniffles.”

“If you give us back those 11 players, I think we can beat anybody,” he said.

NFL

STEELERS WIN » John Harbaugh went for the win. The gamble cost the Baltimore Ravens and kept the Pittsburgh Steelers in the mix in the AFC North.

Pittsburgh topped Baltimore 20-19 on Sunday at Pittsburgh, thwarting a two-point conversion attempt after Lamar

Jackson’s touchdown pass to Sammy Watkins got the Ravens within one with 12 seconds to go.

Rather than turn to star kicker Justin Tucker for an almost automatic 35-yard extra point, the Ravens (8-4) went for the knockout punch. Baltimore tight end Mark Andrews couldn’t haul in a flip by Jackson. The Steelers (6-51) recovered an onside kick to seal it.

Pittsburgh ended a three-game winless streak.

Ben Roethlisberger threw for 236 yards and two second-half touchdowns to Diontae Johnson, the final one a 5-yard catch-and-run with 1:48 to play that gave the Steelers a 20-13 lead. LIONS 29, VIKINGS 27 » At Detroit, the Lions (1-101) finally found a victory when Jared Goff threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown as time expired, lifting Detroit over Minnesota (5-7). CARDINALS 33, BEARS 22 » At Chicago, Kyler Murray threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more in his return from an ankle injury to lead Arizona (102) over Chicago (4-8). BUCCANEERS 30, FALCONS 17 » At Atlanta, Tom Brady threw for 368 yards and four touchdowns — two of them to longtime favorite target Rob Gronkowski — and Tampa Bay (93) moved to the brink of clinching the NFC South title with the win over Atlanta (5-7). SEAHAWKS 30, 49ERS 23 » At Seattle, Russell Wilson played his best game since returning from finger surgery, throwing for 231 yards and two touchdowns, and Seattle (48) made a late goal-line stand to beat San Francisco (6-6). WASHINGTON 17, RAIDERS 15 » At Las Vegas, Taylor Heinicke threw two touchdown passes and set up new kicker Brian Johnson’s winning 48-yard field goal with 37 seconds remaining to lead Washington (6-6) over Las Vegas (6-6) and to its fourth straight victory. RAMS 37, JAGUARS 7 » At Inglewood, Calif., Cooper Kupp, Van Jefferson and Odell Beckham Jr. caught touchdown passes from Matthew Stafford, and Los Angeles (8-4) beat Jacksonville (2-10) to snap a three-game losing streak. CHARGERS 41, BENGALS 22 » At Cincinnati, Justin Herbert passed for three touchdowns and Tevaughn Campbell returned a Joe Mixon fumble 61 yards for a score to lead Los Angeles (7-5) over Cincinnati (7-5). COLTS 31, TEXANS 0 » At

Houston, Jonathan Taylor ran for 143 yards and two touchdowns as Indianapolis (7-6) rolled by Houston (2-10).

Golf

HOVLAND WINS » The 24-year-old rising star put a nice ribbon on a threewin year in golf by posing with Tiger Woods at the trophy presentation Sunday in the Hero World Challenge at Nassau, Bahamas.

It just wasn’t the winner anyone imagined.

Not even Viktor Hovland thought it was realistic he could rally from six shots behind Collin Morikawa, the steady hand who was poised to reach No. 1 in the world with a victory.

Instead, the Norwegian did the unthinkable in a final round that was pure chaos.

He looked up from a greenside bunker on the ninth hole and saw Morikawa sliding fast with a pair of double bogeys. Hovland seized the opportunity with back-to-back eagles and closed with a pair of bogeys he could afford for a 6-under 66 and a one-shot victory.

Hovland finished at 18-under 270, one shot ahead of Scottie Scheffler, who closed with a 66. Sam Burns (69) and Patrick

Reed (69) tied for third.

The biggest surprise was Morikawa, who took a five-shot lead into the final round and wasn’t even a serious factor over the final hour. Two double bogeys and a 41 on the front nine sent him to a 76. He finished tied for fifth with Justin Thomas (64).

A victory would have made Morikawa the 25th player to reach No. 1 in the world since the ranking began in 1986. That position still belongs to U.S. Open champion Jon Rahm, who didn’t play this week.

Motor sports

HAMILTON WINS » The increasingly tense Formula One title fight between defending champion Lewis Hamilton and his formidable challenger, Max Verstappen, will head to the last race of the season with the fierce rivals level on points.

This weekend’s Abu Dhabi showdown will see Hamilton crowned for a record eighth time — or Verstappen win his first title.

Hamilton’s win at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on Sunday was his third straight to pull him level with Verstappen on 369.5 points.

Verstappen finished second Sunday.