Late touchdown lifts Bengals over Texans for 1st road win since 2018Video
HOUSTON — Samaje Perine ran for two touchdowns, including a 3-yard score late, to give the Cincinnati Bengals their first road win in more than two years with a 37-31 victory over the Houston Texans on Sunday. The Texans were driving after Perine’s second score when Deshaun Watson was sacked...
Dolphins stun Raiders to move step closer to playoffs
LAS VEGAS — With a defender dragging him down by his facemask, Ryan Fitzpatrick still managed to launch the pass that might have saved the Miami Dolphins’ season. Just a little more FitzMagic. Fitzpatrick’s desperation heave to Mack Hollins set up Jason Sanders’ 44-yard field goal as the Dolphins drove...
Third-string QB C.J. Beathard throws 3 TDs as 49ers stun CardinalsVideo
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Third-string quarterback C.J. Beathard threw three touchdown passes, Jeff Wilson ran for 183 yards and the San Francisco 49ers dealt a brutal blow to the Arizona Cardinals’ playoff hopes by defeating them 20-12 on Saturday. Beathard was making his first start since 2018 and was 1-9 as...
Tom Brady-led Bucs roll past Lions, end 13-year playoff droughtVideo
DETROIT — Tom Brady threw four touchdown passes in the only half he needed to play and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers went on to rout the Detroit Lions, 47-7, on Saturday, sealing a spot in the playoffs for the first time since 2007. The Bucs (10-5) set a franchise record...
Alvin Kamara’s 6 TDs ties NFL record as Saints beat VikingsVideo
NEW ORLEANS — Alvin Kamara tied an NFL record by running for six touchdowns in a game and finished with a career-high 155 yards rushing to help New Orleans beat the Minnesota Vikings, 52-33, on Friday and clinch a fourth straight NFC South title. Wearing different colored shoes — one...
Tom Brady-led Bucs can clinch playoff spot with win over LionsVideo
DETROIT — Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are rolling into the Motor City with a chance to clinch a spot in the playoffs. “This is why we play, to put your team in a place and give yourself an opportunity to compete for a championship,” Brady said. The...
Dolphins move past Raiders in rebuilding processVideo
Coach Brian Flores started the rebuilding process in Miami a year after Jon Gruden did the same in his return to the Raiders. Both coaches traded away big-name players for premium draft picks and reshaped the roster in hopes of reviving once-proud franchises. While Flores arrived a year later than...
Cardinals pushing for playoffs in home game vs. 49ersVideo
GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Arizona Cardinals are in the middle of the playoff race for the first time in years, while the San Francisco 49ers have been eliminated from the postseason a year after playing in the Super Bowl. Saturday’s game between the two teams is yet another example of...
Top-ranked Rams defense not bothered by only 2 Pro Bowl picksVideo
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Rams have the NFL’s No. 1 total defense, No. 1 pass defense and No. 2 rushing defense. Aaron Donald’s group is second in the NFL in sacks and third-down conversion percentage, third in points allowed and fifth in takeaways. By almost any collective measure,...
Behind the screen: How networks have adjusted to airing NFL
Fred Gaudelli wasn’t worried if NBC could successfully air “Sunday Night Football” games in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. His bigger concern was if the NFL could make it through the season. So far, both things have happened. Even though games may look the same, most of the processes...
Bengals get shot of confidence in stunning win over SteelersVideo
CINCINNATI — Few saw what the Cincinnati Bengals were capable of Monday night, least of all the playoff-bound Pittsburgh Steelers. The Bengals got their third win of the season, this one on a primetime stage against a hated divisional rival that was looking to stop a two-game skid and get...
Analysis: With Tom Brady on verge of playoffs with Bucs, Patriots doneVideo
Three AFC East teams won in Week 15 — yes, even the Jets. The one defeat, by the Patriots, was historic. For the first time since the 2008 season, New England will not make the playoffs, nor win the division. For the first time since 2000, the opening year of...
Packers, Seahawks, Ravens, Chiefs have 7 Pro Bowlers eachVideo
Led by their star quarterbacks, the Seattle Seahawks, Kansas City Chiefs and Green Bay Packers had seven players each selected to the Pro Bowl. The Baltimore Ravens also had seven players chosen. Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes joins Buffalo’s Josh Allen and Houston’s Deshaun Watson as the AFC quarterbacks. For the...
Streaking Ravens must win out and root for … wait for it … the SteelersVideo
BALTIMORE — The Baltimore Ravens have won three straight and are playing well enough to sweep their final two games and finish with an admirable 11-5 record. Unfortunately, that still might not be good enough to get them into the playoffs for the third year in a row. The Ravens...
Browns inch closer to ending playoff absence with road winVideo
CLEVELAND — Three years after losing all 16 games, the Cleveland Browns are on the cusp of the playoffs. An agonizing and often embarrassing wait is almost over. For the first time since 2002, when quarterback Baker Mayfield was 7, coach Kevin Stefanski was playing safety at Penn, and Cleveland...
Baker Mayfield, Browns move closer to playoffs, top Giants
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Baker Mayfield and the Cleveland Browns have their first 10-win season in a while, and they’re on the verge of ending the NFL’s longest playoff drought. They’re thinking much bigger than all that after a dominant 20-6 win over the New York Giants on Sunday night....
NFL roundup Week 15: Jets edge Rams to avoid winless seasonVideo
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Sam Darnold passed for 207 yards and the New York Jets finally earned the first victory of their miserable season Sunday, holding on for a 23-20 win that erased the possibility of the third winless 16-game season in NFL history. Frank Gore rushed for an early touchdown...
No more reign: Belichick’s Pats eliminated from playoff race
MIAMI — Some things with the New England Patriots haven’t changed, such as Bill Belichick’s impassive demeanor, win or lose. He wore a protective mask and offered only a few words as he stared into a camera Sunday and described his reaction to being left out of the playoffs for...
Lamar Jackson leads surging Ravens to rout of Jaguars
BALTIMORE — No drama, no comeback and, thankfully, no cramps. Instead, Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens enjoyed a feel-good, confidence-building blowout that boosted their chances of reaching the playoffs for the third consecutive year. Jackson threw three touchdown passes and ran for a score, and Baltimore built a 26-point...
Packers outlast Panthers for 4th straight victory
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Aaron Jones rushed for 145 yards and a touchdown as the Green Bay Packers reached the end zone on their first three series before hanging on to beat the Carolina Panthers, 24-16, on Saturday night. Aaron Rodgers threw for a season-low 143 yards but produced a...
Bills beat Broncos for first AFC East crown since 1995Video
DENVER — The Buffalo Bills captured their first AFC East title in a quarter-century Saturday when 24-year-old quarterback Josh Allen threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more in a 48-19 rout of the Denver Broncos. The Bills (11-3) scored twice in a 17-second span in the third quarter...
Saints All-Pro receiver Michael Thomas to miss rest of regular season
NEW ORLEANS — The New Orleans Saints placed receiver Michael Thomas on injured reserve Saturday, a move that allows the Saints to give a healthy player Thomas’ active roster spot for their final three regular-season games while resting their star receiver for the playoffs. Thomas, the 2019 AP Offensive Player...
Raiders lose QB Derek Carr to injury, fall in overtime to Chargers
LAS VEGAS — Justin Herbert scored on 1-yard plunge to give the Los Angeles Chargers a 30-27 overtime victory over the Las Vegas Raiders on Thursday night. The Chargers (5-9) snapped a nine-game losing streak against their AFC West counterparts. The Raiders (7-7) lost quarterback Derek Carr to a left...
Browns’ Landry calls Ravens CB Peters ‘coward’ for spittingVideo
CLEVELAND — Browns wide receiver Jarvis Landry called Ravens cornerback Marcus Peters “a coward” for appearing to spit at him during Monday night’s game. A video taken from the national TV broadcast shows Peters spitting in Landry’s direction at the end of the first quarter. Landry has his back turned...
Bengals sign Shurmur to practice squad to add QB depth
CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Bengals added some needed quarterback depth on Thursday by signing Kyle Shurmur to the practice squad. Brandon Allen, who had been starting for the Bengals in place of injured rookie quarterback Joe Burrow, hurt his knee in last week’s loss to Dallas. Allen didn’t practice Thursday,...
