Jackson, surging Ravens rout Jags
The Baltimore BALTIMORE—
Ravens built a 26-point halftime lead against helpless Jacksonville and rolled to a 40-14 victory Sunday that boosted their playoffchances andextendedtheJaguars’losing streak to 13 games.
LamarJackson threwthree touchdownpassesandranfor a score to carry the Ravens (9-5) to their third straight win following a three-game skid. Hopeful of reaching the postseason for the third year in a row, Baltimore is among several AFC teams vying for three wild-card spots.
AfterJacksonreturnedfrom about with cramps to deliver a thrilling 47-42 win in Cleveland on Monday night, the Ravens had no desire for any drama at home against Jacksonville (1-13).
Rookie and OSU alum J.K. Dobbinsranfor64yardsanda score, and32-year-oldreceiver DezBryantcelebratedhisfirst touchdownsince 2017 late in thefirsthalf. Itaddeduptothe kind of confidence-building blowouttheRavenswerelooking for as they head into the final twoweeks of a harrowing season in which they’ve fought through an outbreak of COVID-19 that forced two games to be rescheduled.
Dolphins 22, Patriots 12: Undrafted rookie Salvon Ahmed and veteran Matt Breida combined for 208 yards rushing to lead the Miami to a 22-12 victory over the New England, who were eliminated from playoff contention, ending their NFL-recordrunof 11 consecutive postseasonappearances.
The Dolphins (9-5) bolsteredtheirwild-cardchances and are assured of a winning record for only the second time since 2008.
The Patriots (6-8) will finish at .500 or worse for the firsttime since2000, theyear theydraftedTomBrady. They fall one year short ofmatching the Dallas Cowboys’ NFL record of 20 consecutive winning seasons.
Colts27, Texans20: Philip Rivers threwa late, tiebreaking touchdown to Zach Pascalandthe IndianapolisColts defense recovered a fumble in the end zone with 19 seconds left to seal a 27-20 victoryovertheHoustonTexans.
Indy (10-4) has won three straight to retain a share of theAFCSouth leadwithTennessee, winnersoverDetroit. Houston (4-10) has lost three straight and five of six in this series.
Titans 46, Lions 25: Ryan Tannehill ran for two touchdownsandthrewthreemore, andDerrickHenry ranfor 147 yardsanda score tomove the TennesseeTitans(10-4) closer toclinching their thirdplayoff berth in four seasons routing the Detroit Lions (5-9) 46-25.
Buccaneers 31, Falcons 27: TomBrady did it again to the Atlanta Falcons.
This time, he didn’t even need overtime.
Rallying Tampa Bay (9-5) from a pair of 17-point deficits, BradyrecreatedhisSuper Bowl miracle by leading the Buccaneers on five straight scoring drives in the second half for a 31-27 victory over the stunned Falcons (4-10).
Cowboys 41, 49ers 33: Tony Pollard ran for two touchdowns with Buckeyes alum Ezekiel Elliott sidelined by an injury for the first time inthetwo-timerushingchampion’s career, and the Dallas Cowboys (5-9) beat the San Francisco 49ers (5-9) 41-33 on Sunday.
Bears 33, Vikings 27: David Montgomery rushed for a career-high 146 yards and two touchdowns as the Chicago Bears (7-7) trampled Minnesota’s (6-8) depleted defense and hung on for a 33-27 victory to stay in the hunt for the expanded playoffs.
Seahawks 20, Washington 15: Russell Wilson and the Seahawks (10-4) built a big lead, and Seattle’s suddenly opportunistic defense held on to beatWashington (6-8) 20-15 and clinch a playoff spot.