PACKERS TURN BACK LATE BEARS RALLY
Meanwhile, 49ers fall out of first place after loss to visiting Falcons
The Green Bay Packers rode the trio of Aaron Rodgers, Aaron Jones and Davante Adams to a 21-13 victory over the visiting Chicago Bears in the 200th edition of the rivalry on Sunday at frigid Lambeau Field.
Rodgers threw for 203 yards and one touchdown, Adams caught seven passes for 103 yards and the score, and Jones ran for 51 yards and two touchdowns.
Green Bay (11-3) has won three in a row and can clinch the NFC North title with a win at powerful Minnesota next Monday night. Chicago (7-7), the defending division champion, had won three in a row.
The Packers led 21-3 in the third quarter but had to withstand Chicago’s late rally. The Bears had two chances after closing within 21-13.
Matt Ryan found Julio Jones for a game-winning five-yard touchdown pass with two seconds left to lift the visiting Atlanta Falcons to a 29-22 upset win against the host San Francisco 49ers on Sunday afternoon at Santa Clara, Calif., in a wild finish that cost the 49ers the game but not a playoff berth.
San Francisco (11-3) clinched a spot in the NFC post-season with the Los Angeles Rams’ road loss to the Dallas Cowboys, but fell out of the top spot in the conference with its last-second defeat.
Back in the playoffs for the first time since 2013, San Francisco allowed a special teams touchdown as time expired. The Falcons recovered San Francisco’s attempt to lateral the final kickoff return and Olamide Zaccheaus scored to account for the final margin.
Ryan was 25-of-39 passing for 210 yards and two touchdowns to Jones. Jones initially was ruled to be short of the goal-line on the duo’s final connection, but a replay review showed that Jones had crossed the plane of the goalline, and the call was overturned as Atlanta (5-9) prevailed.
Jimmy Garoppolo passed for 200 yards and a touchdown for the 49ers. George Kittle had 13 receptions for 134 yards. A depleted San Francisco defence, which was missing five starters, was unable to hold on a final goal-line stand.
The 49ers took a 13-10 advantage on Robbie Gould’s 46-yard field goal with 5:14 to go in the third quarter before creating separation after an Atlanta special teams gaffe early in the fourth.
Atlanta’s Kenjon Barner fumbled a punt from San Francisco’s Mitch Wishnowsky, and 49ers fullback Kyle Jusczyk recovered on the Falcons’ 1-yard line. After a short loss on first down, the 49ers capitalized on the ensuing play, with Garoppolo finding Jusczyk for a two-yard touchdown pass with 10:12 to go.
Gould missed the point-after attempt following the TD, and Atlanta drew to within 19-17 on its next possession. Qadree Ollison punctuated the drive with a oneyard run with 5:20 to go, as a 32yard defensive pass interference penalty set up the score.
Gould capped the scoring for San Francisco with a 47-yard field goal with 1:48 to play.
Defensive end Ifeadi Odenigbo returned a fumble 56 yards for a touchdown and the Minnesota
Vikings withstood the loss of running back Dalvin Cook to injury in a 39-10 victory against the host Los Angeles Chargers.
Cook, who entered the game as the NFL’S fourth-leading rusher, exited after being tackled for a loss by linebacker Denzel Perryman little more than a minute into the third quarter. He left the game with nine carries for 27 yards.
Los Angeles had seven turnovers, with four lost fumbles leading to 20 Minnesota points. Melvin Gordon fumbled twice to set up Dan Bailey field goals. Tight end Hunter Henry’s fumble set up a Michael Boone TD run. Boone had 13 carries for 56 yards.
Bailey kicked four field goals for the Vikings (10-4), who remained a game behind NFC North-leading Green Bay, which defeated Chicago.
Gardner Minshew’s four-yard touchdown pass to Chris Conley with 31 seconds left gave the Jacksonville Jaguars a 20-16 win over the Oakland Raiders, ruining their last game in the Bay Area before their move to Las Vegas next year.
Oakland (6-8) led 16-3 at halftime, but coughed up the lead. Minshew led a seven-play, 65-yard drive — after Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson missed wide left from 45 yards out — to cut the Raiders’ lead to six. Minshew shrugged off a rough first half to finish 17 of 29 for 201 yards and two scores, including a six-yarder to Conley at the 5:15 mark of the fourth quarter.
David Carr was 22 of 36 for 267 yards and a score in Oakland’s fourth straight loss.
The Jaguars (5-9) snapped a fivegame losing streak, with all five defeats coming by at least 17 points.
Carlos Hyde had 26 carries for 104 yards and scored the go-ahead touchdown early in the fourth quarter, and the Houston Texans held on for a 24-21 win over the host Tennessee Titans.
Deshaun Watson completed 19 of 27 passes for 243 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions for Houston (9-5), which took sole possession of first place in the AFC South. Kenny Stills had both of the Texans’ touchdown catches.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes passed for 340 yards and two touchdowns in the snow Sunday as the Kansas City Chiefs won their fourth straight, stuffing the visiting Denver Broncos 23-3.
Snow began accumulating three hours before kickoff and persisted throughout the game. That didn’t prevent Mahomes from completing 27 of 34 passes, though he threw an interception, as the Chiefs (104) continued their quest for a firstround bye after already clinching the AFC West title.
The victory was the ninth straight for Kansas City over Denver (5-9), which generated just 251 yards (139 in the first three quarters) coming off back-to-back wins in the first two starts by rookie quarterback Drew Lock.
Travis Kelce became the first tight end in NFL history to record 1,000 yards receiving in four consecutive seasons. He snagged 11 catches for 142 yards. The Chiefs totalled 419 yards.