Saints get lead in NFC South

NEW ORLEANS — Saints rookie sensation Alvin Kamara took the brunt of a hard collision near the goal line with Carolina linebacker Shaq Thompson, who is 2 inches taller and 15 pounds heavier than runner he was trying to prevent from scoring on fourth-down.

Kamara bounced backward but remained upright, then slithered out of defensive end Wes Horton’s ankle grab and dived under linebacker Luke Kuechly to find the end zone .

“That was just: I’ve got to get in there by any means,” Kamara said. “I got hit and got it on in.”

Kamara added a second tackle-shedding touchdown from 20 yards, New Orleans took advantage of a couple Carolina special teams gaffes, and the Saints reclaimed sole possession of first place in the NFC South with a 31-21 victory over the Panthers on Sunday.

Carolina coach Ron Rivera seemed at a loss to pinpoint what his defense could have done better to stop Kamara, whose production as a runner and receiver as a rookie are placing him in distinguished company.

“You prepare for everything you want, but he has got some elite ability,” Rivera said.

Kamara finished with 126 yards from scrimmage, capping his day with a serpentine, 22-yard gain on a thirdand-10 screen pass at the two-minute warning. The firstdown gain allowed New Orleans to run out the clock.

“He’s a monster,” fellow Saints running back Mark Ingram said. “He’s always balling, doing his thing, running and catching. He’s definitely the rookie of the year. He’s savage. Cold-blooded.”

Carolina entered the game ranked second defensively overall and third against the run, allowing 83.2 yards per game. The Saints rushed for 148 yards, with Ingram gaining 85.

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Rex Burkhead scored twice and the Patriots won their eighth straight in an AFC East showdown overshadowed by injuries and cheap shots.

Bills starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor had a towel draped over his head while being carted off the sideline with a left knee injury early in the fourth quarter.

Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, meanwhile, was accused of making a dirty hit after pile-driving shoulder-first into the back of the head of Bills cornerback Tre’Davious White, who was laying on the field after making an interception with 4:50 remaining.

White was dazed as he got up and was immediately escorted to the locker room to be evaluated for a concussion. The hit sparked a shoving match between Hyde and Patriots receiver Danny Amendola. Bills defensive end Jerry College Football AP Top 25

Team…..Record

1. Clemson (43)…..(12-1)

2. Oklahoma (18)…..(12-1)

3. Georgia…..(12-1)

4. Alabama…..(11-1)

5. Ohio State…..(11-2)

6. Wisconsin…..(12-1)

7. Auburn…..(10-3)

8. Southern Cal…..(11-2)

9. Penn State…..(10-2)

10. Central Florida…..(12-0)

11. Miami…..(10-2)

12. Washington…..(10-2)

13. TCU…..(10-3)

14. Notre Dame…..(9-3)

15. Stanford…..(9-4)

16. LSU…..(9-3)

17. Oklahoma State…..(9-3)

18. Michigan State…..(9-3)

19. Memphis…..(10-2)

20. Northwestern…..(9-3)

21. Washington State…..(9-3)

22. Virginia Tech…..(9-3)

23. South Florida…..(9-2)

24. Mississippi State…..(8-4)

25. Boise State…..(10-3)

Others receiving votes: North Carolina State 54, San Diego State 40, Toledo 25, Louisville 11, FAU 8, Michigan 8, Fresno State 6, Missouri 3, Troy 1, Kansas State 1.

CFP Rankings

1. Clemson (12-1)

2. Oklahoma (12-1)

3. Georgia (12-1)

4. Alabama (11-1)

5. Ohio State (11-2)

6. Wisconsin (12-1)

7. Auburn (10-3)

8. Southern Cal (11-2)

9. Penn State (10-2)

10. Miami (10-2)

11. Washington (10-2)

12. Central Florida (12-0)

13. Stanford (9-4)

14. Notre Dame (9-3)

15. TCU (10-3)

16. Michigan State (9-3)

17. LSU (9-3)

18. Washington State (9-3)

19. Oklahoma State (9-3)

20. Memphis (10-2)

21. Northwestern (9-3)

22. Virginia Tech (9-3)

23. Mississippi State (8-4)

24. North Carolina State (8-4)

25. Boise State (10-3)

Bowl Glance

Saturday, Dec. 16 Celebration Bowl At Atlanta

NC A&T (11-0) vs. Grambling State (11-1), Noon (ABC)

New Orleans Bowl

North Texas (9-4) vs. Troy (10-2), 1 p.m. (ESPN)

Cure Bowl Orlando, Fla.

Georgia State (6-5) vs. Western Kentucky (6-6), 2:30 p.m. (CBSSN)

Las Vegas Bowl

Boise State (10-3) vs. Oregon (7-5), 3:30 p.m. (ABC)

New Mexico Bowl Albuquerque

Colorado State (7-5) vs. Marshall (7-5), 4:30 p.m. (ESPN)

Camellia Bowl Montgomery, Ala.

Arkansas State (7-3) vs. Middle Tennessee (6-6), 8 p.m. (ESPN)

Tuesday, Dec. 19 Boca Raton (Fla.) Bowl

Akron (7-6) vs. FAU (10-3), 7 p.m. (ESPN)

Wednesday, Dec. 20 Frisco (Texas) Bowl

Louisiana Tech (6-6) vs. SMU (7-5), 8 p.m. (ESPN)

Thursday, Dec. 21 Gasparilla Bowl At St. Petersburg, Fla.

Temple (6-6) vs. FIU (8-4), 8 p.m. (ESPN)

Friday, Dec. 22 Bahamas Bowl Nassau

Ohio (8-4) vs. UAB (8-4), 12:30 p.m. (ESPN)

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Boise

Central Michigan (7-5) vs. Wyoming (75), 4 p.m. (ESPN)

Saturday, Dec. 23 Birmingham (Ala.) Bowl

South Florida (9-2) vs. Texas Tech (6-6), Noon (ESPN)

Armed Forces Bowl Fort Worth, Texas

San Diego State (10-2) vs. Army (8-3), 3:30 p.m. (ESPN)

Dollar General Bowl Mobile, Ala.

Appalachian State (8-4) vs. Toledo (112), 7 p.m. (ESPN)

Sunday, Dec. 24 Hawaii Bowl Honolulu

Fresno State (9-4) vs. Houston (7-4), 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)

Tuesday, Dec. 26 Heart of Dallas Bowl

West Virginia (7-5) vs. Utah (6-6), 1:30 p.m. (ESPN)

Quick Lane Bowl Detroit

Northern Illinois (8-4) vs. Duke (6-6), 5:15 p.m. (ESPN)

Cactus Bowl Phoenix

Kansas State (7-5) vs. UCLA (6-6), 9 p.m. (ESPN)

Wednesday, Dec. 27 Independence Bowl Shreveport, La.

Southern Mississippi (8-4) vs. Florida State (6-6), 1:30 p.m. (ESPN)

Pinstripe Bowl Bronx, N.Y.

Boston College (7-5) vs. Iowa (7-5), 5:15 p.m. (ESPN)

Foster Farms Bowl Santa Clara, Calif.

Arizona (7-5) vs. Purdue (6-6), 8:30 p.m. (FOX)

Texas Bowl Houston

Texas (6-6) vs. Missouri (7-5), 9 p.m. (ESPN)

Thursday, Dec. 28 Military Bowl Annapolis, Md.

Virginia (6-6) vs. Navy (6-5), 1:30 p.m. (ESPN)

Camping World Bowl

Hughes was so upset he was flagged for making contact with an official.

Gronkowski was apologetic after the game.

Tom Brady went 21 of 30 for 258 yards and an interception, while improving to 27-3 over Buffalo and breaking Brett Favre’s NFL record for most wins by a quarterback against any one opponent. Favre had 26 wins over Detroit.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Josh McCown scored on a 1-yard quarterback sneak with 2:15 left, and the Jets bounced back from a brutal start for a wild and wacky win over the spiraling Chiefs.

Chandler Catanzaro kicked a 21yard field goal to put the Jets (5-7) ahead with 3:55 left. But Kansas City’s Bennie Logan was called for a personal foul for hitting long snapper Thomas Hennessy on the play. That gave the Jets the ball at the 1 with a new set of downs.

After two running plays, McCown threw incomplete — but Steven Nelson was penalized for defensive holding, making it first-andgoal from the 2. Three plays later, McCown kept the ball and shoved his way into the end zone.

McCown’s pass on the 2-point conversion was incomplete, but Nelson was called for holding. An enraged Marcus Peters picked up

the penalty flag and tossed it away, drawing an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Elijah McGuire ran it in moments later to convert the 2-point play and make it 38-31.

McCown finished with 331 yards passing and a touchdown to Matt Forte, and ran for two scores — including the winner. Jermaine Kearse had nine catches for 157 yards and Robby Anderson caught eight passes for 107 yards as the Jets dominated in time of possession, but still had to hold their breath in the end.

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Aaron Jones’ 20-yard touchdown run on his only carry, with 5:59 left in overtime, won it.

With the passing game struggling, Green Bay (6-6) wore down the Buccaneers on the ground. Brett Hundley had runs of 18 and 7 yards on the drive to start overtime.

The Packers grinded out a win to stay in the playoff race, though they trail NFC North leader Minnesota by four games. They hope to get starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers back from a collarbone injury in a couple weeks.

Jameis Winston threw two touchdown passes to Cameron Brate in the quarterback’s shaky return from a shoulder injury. But the defense couldn’t hold up in overtime for the last-place Buccaneers (4-8).

Mason Crosby’s 22-yard field goal tied the game at 20 with 2:01 left, giving the team a lift after the

Bucs tried to wear out the Packers on the run.

Peyton Barber had 102 yards for 23 carries. Winston finished 21 of 32 for 270 yards, including an 11yard pass to Brate for a 20-17 lead with 6:02 left.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — LeShaun Sims intercepted a pass intended for DeAndre Hopkins in the end zone with 1:02 left, and the stayed atop the AFC South.

Marcus Mariota also ran for a touchdown and threw for another, but the Titans needed the interception to preserve the win with Tom Savage throwing for a career-high 365 yards despite the Texans losing four offensive players to injuries during the game.

The Titans (8-4) won their second straight and sixth of their past seven. They improved to 4-1 in the AFC South to stay ahead of Jacksonville, a winner over Indianapolis.

BALTIMORE — Joe Flacco threw for 269 yards and two touchdowns, and the Ravens survived a strong comeback bid by Matthew Stafford and the Lions.

After relying heavily on their opportunistic defense for much of the season, the Ravens (7-5) finally received an ample contribution from the league’s 31st-ranked offense. Flacco helped Baltimore take a 20-0 halftime lead and directed three

scoring drives in the fourth quarter to keep the Ravens in front.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Blake Bortles threw two touchdown passes, Leonard Fournette scored for the first time in six weeks and the Jaguars swept the series for the second time since they joined the AFC South in 2002.

The Jaguars (8-4) bounced back from a last-second loss at Arizona, reached eight wins for the first time since 2010, and remained in the thick of the playoff picture.

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Xavien Howard’s 30-yard interception return for a touchdown highlighted a dominating defensive effort by the Dolphins, and they snapped a five-game losing streak.

The Broncos (3-9) lost their eighth in a row.

Miami (5-7) scored two safeties in a game for the first time in franchise history and held Denver to 1 for 13 on third-down conversions. Trevor Siemian, the Broncos’ third starting quarterback in as many weeks, went 20 for 42 for 219 yards with three interceptions.

Kenyan Drake rushed for 120 yards for Miami on 23 carries, both career highs. He scored on a 42yard touchdown run — only the Dolphins’ second rush for a TD this year.

OAKLAND, Calif. — Oakland’s Marshawn Lynch had a 51-yard touchdown run and got his first 100yard rushing game since coming out of retirement, in New York’s first game without Eli Manning starting in 13 years.

Oakland (6-6) overcame the absences of starting receivers Michael Crabtree (suspension) and Amari Cooper (injury) to win consecutive games for the first time since the opening two games of the season. The Raiders moved into a three-way tie for first place in the AFC West with Kansas City and the Chargers.

CHICAGO — Robbie Gould kicked a 24-yard field goal in the closing seconds and Jimmy Garoppolo threw for 293 yards in his first San Francisco start.

CARSON, Calif. — Philip Rivers passed for 344 yards and hit Keenan Allen for a touchdown, and the surging Chargers moved into a tie for first place in the AFC West with a victory over the winless Browns.

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Jared Goff passed for two touchdowns, Los Angeles took advantage of two early interceptions thrown by Blaine Gabbert, and the Rams solidified their grip on first place in the NFC West.