Dolphins pull off miracle, beat Patriots
Kenyan Drake ran the last 52 yards as the Miami Dolphins scored on a pass and double lateral on the wild 69-yard final play Sunday to beat the New England Patriots 34-33 in Miami Gardens, Fla. It was the longest touchdown to win a game with no time remaining since the 1970 merger.
The Patriots were 16 seconds from clinching their 10th consecutive AFC East title when the Dolphins pulled off their stunner. Ryan Tannehill threw a 14-yard pass to Kenny Stills, who lateraled to DeVante Parker, who quickly lateraled to Drake. He found a seam and beat two Patriots to the corner of the end zone — defensive back J.C. Jackson and tight end Rob Gronkowski, who was on the field as part of New England’s prevent defense.
The Dolphins’ bench emptied as teammates mobbed Drake. Coach Adam Gase said his team had been practicing the play all year for such a situation. “Those guys executed it as well as you could,” Gase said.
Tom Brady threw for 358 yards and three scores, but the stunned Patriots (9-4) lost in Miami for the fifth time in their past six visits. The Dolphins (7-6) came from behind five times to help their slim wild-card chances.
The Patriots’ Stephen Gostkowski missed an extra point for the first time in 38 tries this season early in the game, and he also missed a 42-yard field goal try. But his 32-yarder to cap a 55-yard drive put the Patriots ahead 30-28 with 6:45 left.
Coach Bill Belichick opted to have Gostkowski kick a 22-yarder in the closing seconds rather than pin the Dolphins near their goal line. Instead, they returned the ensuing kickoff to the 31 — and on the next play pulled off a miracle.
Chiefs 27, Ravens 24: Harrison Butker atoned for a 43-yard miss as time expired with a 36-yard field goal in overtime, and the Chiefs stopped the Ravens on fourth down in Kansas City to clinch a playoff spot.
The Chiefs (10-2) twice converted on fourth down before Patrick Mahomes threw a tying TD 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.
Saints 28, Buccaneers 14: Drew Brees threw for one TD and ran another to help the visiting Saints rally from an 11-point halftime deficit and 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.
Colts 24, Texans 21: Andrew Luck threw for 399 yards and two TDs 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 all-time leader in receiving yards per game at NRG Stadium with 122.3 yards and finished Sunday 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.
Packers 34, Falcons 20: Aaron Rodgers threw two TD 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 visiting QB Matt Ryan after a game-opening touchdown drive to hand Atlanta (4-9) 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. Green Bay snapped a three-game losing streak.
Rodgers was 21 of 32 for 196 yards, including a 24-yard TD pass to Randall Cobb in the left side of the end zone for a 27-7 lead. That throw gave Rodgers 359 consecutive attempts without an interception, breaking the league record previously held by New England’s Tom Brady (358 in 2010-11).
Giants 40, Redskins 16: Saquon Barkley rushed for 170 yards, including a 78-yard TD to surpass 1,000 for the season, and Eli Manning threw for three scores to effectively end the alreadyslim playoff hopes of Washington (6-7). 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.
Manning was 14 of 22 for 197 yards in helping visiting New York take a 34-0 halftime lead. 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.
Jets 27, Bills 23: Sam Darnold one-upped fellow rookie Josh Allen, rallying the Jets. Elijah McGuire scored on a fourth-and-goal run from the 1 with 1:17 remaining to cap a drive during which Darnold completed 3-of-5 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. The Jets (4-9) snapped a sixgame losing streak as Darnold, drafted third overall, got the edge on Allen, who was selected with the seventh pick by Buffalo (4-9).
It’s happening CLEVELAND — right in front of our eyes, under clear skies and frigid 20-some-degree temperatures.
As players from both teams had white puffs of smoke coming from their mouths in between the chattering of teeth — the sun was out.
The sun was shining on the Browns, a 26-20 victor over the Carolina Panthers.
The Browns are now 3-2 since Gregg Williams took over as interim head coach. And the offense is cooking up a tasty stew with Freddie Kitchens calling the plays in the last five games.
Know what’s happening here?
The Browns are turning into a real football team in November and December, the months that had been so cruel to the Browns in the past.
Not now.
Not with this team. Not the Browns’ defense stopping Carolina twice at the Cleveland 3 late in the fourth quarter, preserving a six-point lead.
Not with the offense consistently coming up with big plays when it means the most.
Not with Baker Mayfield at quarterback, giving everyone who cares about the orange helmets reason to stand, cheer, stomp, clap and feel something strange in their football hearts.
It’s called hope. That’s right: hope.
Here comes Landry
Right after the game ended, there was Jarvis Landry on the field, being interviewed. You could see him on the scoreboard. You could hear him screaming, “Here we go Browns, here BOWL Celebration New Mexico Cure
Las Vegas Camellia New Orleans Boca Raton Frisco Gasparilla Bahamas Potato Birmingham Armed Forces Dollar General Hawaii First Responder Quick Lane Cheez-It Independence Pinstripe Texas Music City Camping World Alamo Peach
Belk Arizona Military
Sun Redbox Liberty Holiday Gator Outback Citrus Fiesta Rose Sugar Orange Cotton Championship LOCATION Atlanta Albuquerque, N.M. Orlando, Fla. Las Vegas Montgomery, Ala. New Orleans Boca Raton, Fla. Frisco, Texas Tampa, Fla. Nassau Boise, Idaho Birmingham, Ala. Fort Worth, Texas Mobile, Ala. Honolulu Dallas Detroit Phoenix Shreveport, La. New York Houston Nashville, Tenn. Orlando, Fla. San Antonio Atlanta Charlotte Tucson, Ariz. Annapolis, Maryland El Paso, Texas Santa Clara, Calif. Memphis, Tenn. San Diego, Calif. Jacksonville, Fla. Tampa, Fla. Orlando, Fla. Glendale, Arizona Pasadena, Calif. New Orleans we go...woof, woof.”
The weather was still cold enough to make a penguin shiver, but Landry had Browns fans wanting to dance.
Then the song “Danger Zone” boomed over the public address system.
Mayfield was, indeed, “feeling dangerous” again on this Sunday afternoon. He didn’t have to say it, he showed it.
And he was clicking with Landry.
Landry caught a 51-yard TD pass from Mayfield. He ran for a TD on a 3-yard sweep. That’s right, a sweep to a wide receiver — a play that appeared to be initially designed for running back Nick Chubb. Miami Gardens, Fla. Arlington, Texas Santa Clara, Calif. DATE Dec. 15 Dec. 15 Dec. 15 Dec. 15 Dec. 15 Dec. 15 Dec. 18 Dec. 19 Dec. 20 Dec. 21 Dec. 21 Dec. 22 Dec. 22 Dec. 22 Dec. 22 Dec. 26 Dec. 26 Dec. 26 Dec. 27 Dec. 27 Dec. 27 Dec. 28 Dec. 28 Dec. 28 Dec. 29 Dec. 29 Dec. 29 Dec. 31 Dec. 31 Dec. 31 Dec. 31 Dec. 31 Dec. 31 Jan. 1 Jan. 1 Jan. 1 Jan. 1 Jan. 1 Dec. 29 Dec. 29 Jan. 7 TIME Noon 2 p.m. 2:30 p.m. 3:30 p.m. 5:30 p.m. 9 p.m. 7 p.m. 8 p.m. 8 p.m. 12:30 p.m. 4 p.m. Noon 3:30 p.m. 7 p.m. 10:30 p.m. 1:30 p.m. 5:15 p.m. 9 p.m. 1:30 p.m. 5:15 p.m. 9 p.m. 1:30 p.m. 5:15 p.m. 9 p.m. Noon Noon 1:15 p.m. Noon 2 p.m. 3 p.m. 3:45 p.m. 7 p.m. 7:30 p.m. Noon 1 p.m. 1 p.m. 5 p.m. 8:45 p.m. 8 p.m. 4 p.m. 8 p.m.
Later in the game, the Browns ran that same sweep to Landry — and he ran for 51 yards.
Yes, Landry had a 51-yard catch and a 51-yard run in the game. Landry attempted to throw a TD, but it was incomplete.
“He’ll probably want to kick it next,” said a smiling Williams.
Kitchens and Mayfield are on display
Freddie Kitchens keeps making his case for being the Browns offensive coordinator in 2019, regardless who is the head coach.
It began in the beginning, the first play from scrimmage. Kitchens allowed Mayfield to heave the ball down TV ABC ESPN CBSSN ABC ESPN ESPN ESPN ESPN ESPN ESPN ESPN ESPN ESPN ESPN ESPN ESPN ESPN ESPN ESPN ESPN ESPN ESPN ESPN ESPN ESPN ABC ESPN ESPN CBS Fox ESPN FS1 ESPN ESPN2 ABC ESPN ESPN ESPN ESPN ESPN ESPN field.
Breshad Perriman was told to run fast, long and hard toward the goal line. Mayfield heaved the ball about 60 yards — a perfect air-mail delivery right into the receiver’s hands.
Give the Browns 66 yards on their first play.
“We scripted that play then repped (practiced) it all week,” said Williams.
Soon a discussion broke out in my area of the press box about how the Browns are “a fun team to watch.”
When was the last time you could say that?
Mayfield is so comfortable in this offense, completing 18-of-22 passes for 238 yards. His ability to evade a rush and throw off the run are so impressive because he rarely seems rattled.
“When he makes one mistake, he doesn’t repeat that mistake,” said Williams.
The coach also mentioned how he could “hear the ball coming out of the hand” of Mayfield.
Williams made a “zipping” sound, indicating the tight spiral cutting through the wind.
Mayfield completed passes to eight different receivers. He didn’t get upset when Rashard Higgins fumbled, or when Higgins dropped what could have been a possible TD pass.
Rookie offensive coordinator. Rookie quarterback. Rookie runner in Nick Chubb, who has scored a TD in each of the last five games, the first Cleveland running back to do so since Greg Pruitt in 1975.
Williams praised Kitchens for putting the ball in the hands of the playmakers.
Suddenly, the Browns are making plays.
Fans are screaming and barking.
Football is back for real in Cleveland. TEAMS
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