LATE TOUCHDOWN PROPELS RAIDERS PAST WINLESS JETS
The Las Vegas Raiders saved their season Sunday when Derek Carr hit Henry Ruggs III for a 46-yard touchdown pass with five seconds to play for a 31-28 win over the New York Jets.
The Jets came in with an 0-11 record and had overcome a 2413 deficit to lead 28-24.
The Raiders are 7-5, while the Jets fall to 0-12.
The Raiders scored on touchdown passes of 9 and 38 yards from Carr to Darren Waller, a 2-yard run by Carr and a 48-yard field goal by Daniel Carlson. Carr completed 28 of 47 passes for 381 yards and had one interception.
Darnold threw 3 and 6-yard touchdown passes to Jamison Crowder and ran for a 4-yard run. Ty Johnson’s 1-yard run put the Jets up 28-24 with 5:34 to play.
Waller caught 13 passes for 200 yards and the two touchdowns.
The Raiders got the ball back one last time with 35 seconds to play but Carr missed Nelson Agholor on a deep throw with 19 seconds left on a potential 54
yard score.
BROWNS 41, TITANS 35 >> Baker Mayfield and the Cleveland Browns can do more than just run the ball, and the NFL’s longest active playoff drought is moving closer to an end after 18 seasons.
Mayfield threw for a seasonhigh 334 yards with all four of his touchdown passes in the first half, and Cleveland scored the first 17 points before holding on to win their fourth straight over Tennessee.
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 first time since 1994. Cleveland has only won nine games in a season three times in its expansion era, which began in 1999.
DOLPHINS 19, BENGALS 7 >> Tua Tagovailoa returned from a thumb injury that forced him to miss one game, throwing for a seasonhigh 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 Shawn Williams and Miami receivers DeVante Parker and Mack Hollins were ejected. VIKINGS 27, JAGUARS 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.
SAINTS 21, FALCONS 16 >> The Saints finally gave up a touchdown but the defense stood tall at the end to preserve their ninth straight victory and clinch a playoff berth — the first team in the NFL to do so.
The Saints (10-2) clinched with Chicago’s 34-30 loss to Detroit.
Making his third straight start in place of Drew Brees, Taysom Hill threw the first two touchdown passes of his career. LIONS 34, BEARS 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 stripsacked Mitchell Trubisky with about two minutes left, capping a big comeback. Matthew Stafford threw for 402 yards and three touchdowns for the Lions (5-7), who came away with a wild win following a major shakeup after a Thanksgiving loss to Houston. They fired general manager Bob Quinn and coach Matt Patricia while elevating Bevell, their offensive coordinator.