NFL NOTES QBs Carr, Mariota suffer broken legs
Young quarterbacks out for rest of season
As quarterback Derek Carr fell to the turf with a broken leg, a celebratory day in Oakland immediately turned somber. The Raiders had suffered their most significant loss of the season.
Meanwhile, if the Tennessee Titans make the playoffs, they won’t have quarterback Marcus Mariota.
It was a tough day for a couple of teams with their eyes on the postseason.
Carr broke a bone in his right leg in the fourth quarter of the Raiders’ 33-25 victory over the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday, immediately throwing a dark cloud over a resurgent season in Oakland.
The injury changed the mood at the Coliseum as thoughts turned from the Raiders (12-3) possibly clinching the division with one more win or a Kansas City loss to wondering if an opportunity for a possible Super Bowl run was now lost.
“It’s very sad,” left tackle Donald Penn said. “I’m very disappointed in myself because it was my guy that got him. I’ve been great all year. I was engaged with my guy, I took another step and my foot just slipped from up under me. I wish I could have that play back.”
Now the team must prepare for a playoff run with Matt McGloin at quarterback. McGloin has not started a game since the end of the 2013 season.
Mariota broke his right leg in a 38-17 loss at Jacksonville, a crushing setback for a team that had so many things go right while winning three in a row and seven of 10 previously.
“That breaks my heart, man,” Titans offensive tackle Taylor Lewan said. “Love him. That guy’s an awesome dude. For that to happen to him, it’s unfair.”
With the Titans (8-7) trailing, 25-10, late in the third quarter, Mariota was carted off the field with an air cast on his fractured fibula.
Rookie Sheldon Day sacked Mariota as he scrambled on first down and grabbed him around the lower legs.
Mariota signaled to the sideline as he pounded the ground. Teammates and even some Jaguars patted Mariota on the shoulders before he exited.
“We didn’t protect him — offensive line, running backs — we didn’t protect him all day,” Titans running back DeMarco Murray said.
Journeyman Matt Cassel replaced Mariota.
Bowles makes it: New York Jets coach Todd Bowles arrived in New England a day later than planned, saying gallstones and kidney stones kept him from taking the team flight.
When he got there, he didn’t like what he saw.
The Patriots took advantage of four New York turnovers to stomp the Jets, 41-3. Bowles was on the sideline, having flown up the morning of the game after spending time in the hospital.
Bowles, 53, told reporters after the game the problem was “kidney stones, gallstones, gallbladder” and that he wasn’t certain he would be able to make the game at all.
“Gallstones got stuck in the pipe. A lot of pain, and (it) went from there,” he said. “I had to pass some tests and be feeling somewhat normal to get out there.”
TOP BUCKS PLAYER Malcolm Brogdon
continues to impress. The 24-year-old rookie got the attention of Cleveland’s Kyrie Irving when he dunked over him in Tuesday’s home game. And the point guard did a reverse dunk over LeBron James. Not bad for a second-round pick. Brogdon had 11 points, seven assists and five rebounds at Cleveland in the Bucks’ 113-102 loss Wednesday. Then he scored a careerhigh 17 points on 7-of-7 shooting and had seven assists in Milwaukee’s 123-96 victory over Washington on Friday.
BUCKS LOOK AHEAD
The Bucks start a four-game road trip to end the calendar year when they play the Wizards again Monday at the Verizon Center. They move on to Detroit on Wednesday and Minneapolis on Friday to face Tom Thibodeau’s young Timberwolves. Then it’s New Year’s Eve in Chicago, where the Bucks pummeled the Bulls earlier this month, 95-69.
BUCKS QUOTE
Coach Jason Kidd, on the boisterous holiday crowd loudly chanting “MVP, MVP” for Giannis Antetokounmpo in his career-high 39-point game Friday: “It’s always a compliment when you hear those three letters because they just don’t chant them for everybody.”
TOP NBA PLAYER Kyrie Irving
was sensational with 31 points and a careerhigh 13 assists against the Bucks on Wednesday night. He was pumped up to beat Milwaukee in back-to-back games after the Bucks routed the Cavaliers in late November. The Cavs point guard also had 28 points in his team’s 114-108 overtime victory against the Bucks in Milwaukee on Tuesday, a game he called a “mustwin.”
TOP NBA TEAM
Charlotte has bounced back from a mini-slump (four straight losses) to win its last three games, including a 103-91 victory over the visiting Bulls on Friday. Forward Nicolas Batum posted a triple-double with 20 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. Earlier in the week, the Hornets beat the Los Angeles Lakers and Atlanta Hawks. Kemba Walker had 28 points and 10 assists against the Lakers. The Hornets are 17-13, tied with Boston for third in the East.
NBA QUOTE
Chicago center Robin Lopez, after being ejected from Friday’s game against Charlotte for elbowing two players in the face on the same play: “Basketball is a passionate game. I play with passion.”
NBA RANKINGS (through Friday’s games) Top 10:
1. Golden State, 2. Cleveland, 3. San Antonio, 4. Toronto, 5. Houston, 6. Los Angeles Clippers, 7. Memphis, 8. Boston, 9. Oklahoma City, 10. Charlotte.
Middle 10: 13. Milwaukee,
11. New York, 12. Utah, 14. Atlanta, 15. Indiana, 16. Chicago, 17. Washington, 18. Detroit, 19. Portland, 20. Orlando.
Bottom 10:
21. Sacramento, 22. Denver, 23. New Orleans, 24. Minnesota, 25. Miami, 26. Dallas, 27. Los Angeles Lakers, 28. Phoenix, 29. Philadelphia, 30. Brooklyn.
ONE MAN'S OPINION
Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue said the Cavaliers-Warriors rivalry could rival Lakers-Celtics. Those are big words. But if the teams meet in the NBA Finals for the third straight year, Lue might not be whistling in the wind. The Lakers and Celtics have met 11 times with the title at stake, including three times in four years in the 1980s during the Magic Johnson and Larry Bird era. But they never met in the Finals three years in a row, which could happen this season if the Warriors and Cavaliers meet in a rubber match after splitting the last two titles. “Well, it’s a lot of championships won in that era,” Lue told reporters before the Christmas Day matchup with the Warriors in Cleveland. “But if both teams stay together and both teams continue to keep winning, it could be like that.” Here’s hoping for a Christmas Day game worthy of the Lakers-Celtics comparison.