Jones’ late burst drives Packers past Eagles
Aaron Jones rushed for 130 yards and delivered a game-clinching 77-yard touchdown run with 2:36 left as the Green Bay Packers withstood a fourth-quarter comeback attempt to defeat the Philadelphia Eagles 30-16 on Sunday.
Aaron Rodgers connected with Davante Adams on two of his three touchdown passes and reached a couple of career milestones to help Green Bay (9-3) hand the Eagles (3-8-1) their fourth consecutive loss.
Green Bay owned a 23-3 lead in the fourth quarter when the Eagles scored two touchdowns in a span of just over a minute. Rookie quarterback Jalen Hurts, who took over for an ineffective CarsonWentz midway through the third quarter, started it by throwing a 32-yard touchdown pass to GregWard on fourth-and-18. Jalen Reagor then delivered a 73-yard punt return to cut the lead to 23-16 with 6:30 left, though Jake Elliott missed the extra point.
The Eagles forced a second straight three-and-out, but couldn’t move the ball and punted. That’s when Jones put away the game.
Jones ran through a big hole in the middle of the line, broke an attempted ankle tackle and headed downfield as a second defender made an unsuccessful diving attempt to bring him down. He raced down the left sideline and eluded a third defender inside Philadelphia’s 30yard line, worked his way through traffic before heading into the end zone.
Cleveland 41, Tennessee 35: The NFL’s longest active playoff drought is moving closer to an end after 18 seasons.
Baker Mayfield threw for a season-high 334 yards with all four of his touchdown passes in the first half, and the Browns scored the first 17 points before holding on to win their fourth straight.
With both chasing AFC playoff berths, the Browns looked like the team leading a division — they are second in the AFC North behind the unbeaten Pittsburgh Steelers — as they improved to 9-3 for the third time in their expansion era.
Indianapolis 26, Houston 20: Philip Rivers threw two touchdown passes in the first half and the Indianapolis defense dominated in the second half.
The Texans had a chance to take the lead with about 90 seconds left. They were at the Colts 2 when DeshaunWatson fumbled a low snap and AnthonyWalker pounced on it to seal Indy’s win.
The Colts (8-4) led 24-20 at the break after Rivers threw TD passes of 21 and 39 yards. Their offense didn’t score after that, but the defense held Houston (4-8) scoreless in the second half and Justin Houston added a safety.
Miami 19, Cincinnati 7: Tua Tagovailoa returned from a thumb injury that forced him to miss one game, throwing for a season-high 296 yards and a score in a game that included five ejections and a benches-clearing confrontation.
The Dolphins lost their best defender when NFL interception leader Xavien Howard was thrown out late in the first half. But they limited Cincinnati to 25 yards after halftime and finished with six sacks. Miami ranks second in the NFL in scoring defense and has allowed 10 points in the past two weeks.
Both benches emptied in fourth quarter after Cincinnati’s Mike Thomas was flagged for a foul covering a punt. There was pushing and shoving, and Bengals safety ShawnWilliams and Miami receivers DeVante Parker and Mack Hollins were ejected.
Minnesota 27, Jacksonville 24 (OT): Dan Bailey kicked a 23-yard field goal with 1:49 left in overtime for Minnesota after he missed two extra points and a 51-yard try with 13 seconds remaining in regulation.
The Jaguars (1-11) lost their 11th straight game. Harrison Smith set up Bailey’s redo with a diving interception at the Jacksonville 46, the fourth turnover of the game by the Jaguars. Jacksonville stayed one game ahead of the winless Jets in the overall standings, trailing New York for the top pick in the next draft.
New Orleans 21, Atlanta 16:
Making his third straight start in place of Drew Brees, Taysom Hill threw the first two touchdown passes of his career. But his fumble deep in Atlanta territory sparked a Falcons comeback.
Atlanta drove 85 yards against the Saints, capped by Matt Ryan’s 10-yard touchdown pass to Russell Gage with 7:43 remaining. New Orleans hadn’t allowed a touchdown since the opening drive of a game against San Francisco on Nov. 15, a span of 14 quarters without one.
The Falcons (4-8) got the ball back and again pushed deep into New Orleans territory. The Falcons threw incomplete into the end zone on fourth down.
Detroit 34, Chicago 30: The Lions won their first game under interim coach Darrell Bevell, rallying to beat the slumping Bears.
Adrian Peterson scored from the 5 after Romeo Okwara strip-sacked Mitchell Trubisky with about two minutes left, capping a big comeback. Matthew Stafford threw for 402 yards and three touchdowns for the Lions.
Detroit trailed 30-20 early in the fourth after Trubisky threw an 11-yard TDto Cole Kmet on a bootleg. Chicago’s Bilal Nichols then intercepted a short pass intended for Jesse James. But the Lions turned things around down the stretch, sending the Bears (5-7) to their sixth straight loss.
L.A. Rams 38, Arizona 28: Jared Goff threw for 351 yards, Darrell Henderson ran for a crucial
38-yard touchdown and the Rams moved into a tie for the NFCWest lead with Seattle.
Los Angeles had a 24-14 lead early in the fourth quarter and looked like it was going to pull away until NsimbaWebster fumbled on a punt return. The Cardinals quickly turned the mistake into a touchdown on Kenyan Drake’s 4-yard run that pulled Arizona within 24-21.
The Rams responded as Henderson sliced through Arizona’s defense untouched for the
38-yard score that pushed it to 31-21.