The Mercury News

Dawson kicks Arizona to a win

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GLENDALE, ARIZ. >> Phil Dawson kicked a career-long 57yard field goal with 1 second to play to give the Arizona Cardinals a 27-24 victory over Jacksonvil­le on Sunday, snapping the Jaguars’ four-game winning streak and dropping them into a tie with Tennessee for the AFC South lead.

The 42-year-old kicker, who had uncharacte­ristically missed six field goals this season, also was good from 34 and 42 yards as the Cardinals beat a team with a winning record for the first time this season.

Jacksonvil­le trailed most of the game, but took a 17-16 lead when ex-Cardinal Calais Campbell returned Blaine Gabbert’s fumble 10 yards for a TD with 12:10 to play.

Gabbert, though, brought Arizona back, heaving a 52yard TD pass to Jaron Brown. Gabbert’s 2-point conversion pass to Larry Fitzgerald had Arizona up 24-17.

Corey Grant’s 68-yard return of the ensuing kickoff led to Blake Bortles’ second rushing touchdown of the day, from 17 yards, and it was tied at 24 with 7:26 left.

Each team got an intercepti­on, by Jacksonvil­le’s Barry Church and Arizona’s Tyrann Mathieu, in the final 3:38, but couldn’t convert it to a score.

Gabbert threw two sideline completion­s, the second one to D.J. Foster with 6 seconds to go — Foster made a lunging tippy-toe catch that had to be reviewed — to get close enough for the winning field goal.

It was a bit of redemption for Gabbert, drafted in the first round by Jacksonvil­le in 2011 but traded away for a sixth-round pick after a disappoint­ing stay. Gabbert was 22 of 38 for 241 yards and two touchdowns with one intercepti­on. Bortles was 19 of 33 for 160 yards.

The Cardinals took the lead with a short drive on their first possession. Gabbert completed 4 of 5 for 43 yards to set up Dawson’s 34yard field goal. Dawson’s 42-yarder made it 6-0.

Kerwynn Williams’ 21yard punt return gave Arizona the ball at the Jacksonvil­le 40 and, four plays later, Gabbert found tight end Ricky Seals-Jones wide open on a 29-yard touchdown play that stretched the lead to 13-0.

Jacksonvil­le finally got on the board on Josh Lambo’s 43-yard field goal with 15 seconds left in the half.

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