Pats fall to Fins; QB Wentz is done
Tom Brady was intercepted twice by Xavien Howard and held without a third-down conversion Monday night, and the Miami Dolphins snapped the New England Patriots’ eight-game winning streak with a surprising 2720 victory.
The Dolphins (6-7) were 11-point underdogs at home, but they kept the Patriots (10-3) from clinching their ninth consecutive AFC East title — at least for another week.
Brady went 24 for 43 for 233 yards and one touchdown. Miami sacked him twice and hit him five times, and held the Patriots to 25 yards rushing. New England was 0 for 11 on third down.
The Dolphins’ Jay Cutler threw for 263 yards and three scores, including two to Jarvis Landry. Kenyan Drake had 114 yards rushing and 79 receiving.
WENTZ OUT, FOLES IN: Carson Wentz got the Eagles this far. Now, it’s up to Nick Foles to deliver Philadelphia its first Super Bowl title.
Wentz has a torn left ACL and will miss the rest of the season and playoffs, forcing the NFC East champions to turn to a familiar backup who once had one of the greatest statistical seasons in NFL history.
“The reason we got Nick Foles is for situations like this. I’m excited for Nick,” coach Doug Pederson said Monday. “I hate it for Carson Wentz. I hate it for the season that he’s been having. But at the same time, it’s been the next-man-up mentality and that’s how we approach it.”
Wentz threw for 3,296 yards and set a franchise single-season record with an NFL-leading 33 touchdown passes while only tossing seven interceptions.
Wentz got hurt diving into the end zone on a scramble late in the third quarter Sunday at Los Angeles. Pederson said it appeared Wentz tore his anterior cruciate ligament before contact with two tacklers. The touchdown was nullified by a penalty, but Wentz stayed in the game and tossed a TD pass to Alshon Jeffery four plays later.
Foles replaced him on the next series after the Rams took the lead and rallied the Eagles (112) to a 43-35 win that secured the division title and put them in first place in the conference with three games remaining.
A third-round pick by former Eagles coach Andy Reid in 2012, Foles in his second stint in Philadelphia. He is 20-17 as a starter, including playoffs. Kelly traded Foles to St. Louis for Sam Bradford after the 2014 season. Foles spent a year with the Rams, then a season in Kansas City with Pederson as offensive coordinator, before returning to Philadelphia as a free agent this season.
EX-NFL STARS ACCUSED OF HARASSMENT: Hall of Fame running back Marshall Faulk, former Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb and other former NFL stars allegedly sexually harassed a former NFL Network female employee, according to Bloomberg.
Jami Cantor, who worked as a hair stylist before she was fired in October 2016, alleges Faulk groped her breasts and fondled her from behind. Cantor also claims the NFL Network analyst would ask her “deeply personal and invasive questions” about her sex life, according to Bloomberg.
McNabb, who joined NFL Network as an analyst in 2012 before leaving for Fox and later beIN Sports, allegedly sent Cantor explicit messages, according to Bloomberg.
Former Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor, also an analyst, allegedly sent Cantor a video of him masturbating in the shower as well as other “sexually inappropriate” pictures, according to Bloomberg.
Former Steelers tight end Heath Evans, also an analyst, allegedly groped Cantor and made sexual comments, according to Bloomberg.
Faulk, Taylor and Evans have been suspended pending an investigation into the accusations, according to Bloomberg. —AP