NFL - NEWS & NOTES

Saints beat Falcons 21-16, clinch playoff spot



The Falcons found their way into the end zone in the second half this time, but the result of their game against the Saints was still a loss.

Matt Ryan threw an incompletion deep down the middle on the final play of regulation and the Saints held on for a 21-16 win in Atlanta. They shut the Falcons out in the second half of a 24-9 win in Week 11, so it’s a season sweep for the NFC South leaders.


The victory, coupled with the Bears’ loss to the Lions, makes the Saints the first NFL team to clinch a playoff berth.

It’s also nine straight wins for the Saints and three in a row with Taysom Hill as their starting quarterback. Hill went 27-of-37 for 232 yards and his first two passing touchdowns as an NFL player. He also ran 14 times for 83 yards and lost a fumble on a sack with Drew Brees looking on from the sideline for the first time since he suffered lung and rib injuries against the 49ers in Week 10.

Brees is now eligible to come off injured reserve at any point and his status will be a topic of conversation heading into the team’s Week 14 game in Philadelphia. A win in that game will clinch the divisional title for New Orleans.

Alvin Kamara ran 15 times for 88 yards and a touchdown while Michael Thomas paced the team’s receivers with nine catches for 105 yards. Tre'Quan Smith and Jared Cook caught Hill’s touchdown passes.

Ryan was able to get a touchdown on the board and only got sacked three times after being dropped eight times two weeks ago, but his 19-of-39 line shows it was another good day for the Saints Defense. The Falcons’ distant playoff hopes are all but extinguished at 4-8 and they’ll continue playing out the string against the Chargers next weekend.

NBC

 

Vikings need overtime to escape Jaguars, 27-24



Dan Bailey missed a 51-yard field goal wide left with 13 seconds remaining that would have given the Vikings a 27-24 victory in regulation. The Vikings got him 28 yards closer in overtime, and Bailey didn’t miss the chip-shot game-winner.

Bailey’s 23-yard field goal allowed the Vikings to escape with a 27-24 overtime win that kept whatever playoff hopes they have alive.


Minnesota moved to 6-6, while Jacksonville fell to 1-11.

The Vikings have won five of six, but this one wasn’t as easy as expected. James Robinson scored on a 1-yard touchdown run with 1:08 remaining and Mike Glennon completed a pass to Collin Johnson on the 2-point try to tie it. Bailey then missed the kick in regulation to win it.

Dalvin Cook finished with 120 yards on 32 carries and caught six passes for 59 yards.

Kirk Cousins completed 28 of 43 passes for 305 yards with three touchdowns and an interception that was returned for a 43-yard touchdown by Joe Schobert to open the second half and give Jacksonville a 16-6 lead. Rookie Justin Jefferson went over 1,000 yards for the season, catching nine passes for 121 yards and a touchdown. Adam Thielen caught eight passes for 75 yards and a score.

Glennon was 28-of-42 for 280 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. He also took a safety on a sack by Ifeadi Odenigbo.

NBC

 

Dolphins beat Bengals 19-7 in chippy, ejection-filled game



The Dolphins and Bengals did not combine for many points. They did combine for a lot of penalties, a lot of ejections and a lot of injuries.

It was not a dull game, which the Dolphins won 19-7. Miami moved to 8-4 for the first time since 2003, with Tua Tagovailoa going 4-1 as the team’s starter. The Bengals are 2-9-1.

Five players were ejected in two separate scuffles. Xavien Howard and Tyler Boyd left in the first half after trading punches, and DeVante Parker, Mack Hollins and Shawn Williams were kicked out in a brawl that involved both teams in the second half.

The Bengals had only 25 yards in the second half, with the Dolphins getting five of their six sacks in the second half. Cincinnati starting quarterback Brandon Allen was knocked out with a chest injury in the fourth quarter on a sack by Shaq Lawson.

Lawson had two sacks and Kyle Van Noy three (after a statistical change).

Miami outscored Cincinnati 13-0 in the second half. The Dolphins settled for three red-zone field goals after reaching the Bengals 7, 5 and 1. That was the only thing that kept it close.

Tagovailoa went 26-of-39 for a career-best 296 yards, with Mike Gesicki catching nine passes for 88 yards and a touchdown. Myles Gaskin had 21 carries for 90 yards and caught two passes for 51 yards in his return, but he lost a fumble late.

NBC

 

Eagles are back in the game in Green Bay... 23-16

 

The Seahawks are back in the game 17-12 driving in the giant’s territory with a minute left

 

Wilson nearly picked, but Seattle still alive.

 

Giants with the stop. NYG takes over with :37 to go and the lead, damn.

 

Owlszewski having a day.

 

That 1-11 record is very deceiving there a lot tougher there Defense is no joke

 

Sunday Night Football: Chiefs clinch playoff berth with 22-16 victory over Broncos



The Broncos held Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs out of the end zone for much of the night. But eventually the dam broke, as Kansas City scored a go-ahead touchdown and salted the clock away in the fourth quarter to win 22-16.

Denver had taken a 16-12 lead midway through the third quarter with quarterback Drew Lock’s 10-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Tim Patrick. But on the ensuing drive, Mahomes drew the Broncos’ defensive line offsides for a free play and cashed in by hitting tight end Travis Kelce with a 20-yard touchdown pass with 1:06 left in the third quarter.

To that point, the Chiefs had kicked field goals on their first four red zone possessions.

Denver did get out to a 10-3 lead in the second quarter after Kansas City head coach Andy Reid didn’t challenge what was ruled an incomplete pass to wide receiver Tyreek Hill in the end zone. Hill appeared to not know he caught the deflected pass before it hit the ground. Instead, the Chiefs punted and the Broncos went on a seven-play, 90-yard drive that ended with Patrick making his first of two touchdown receptions on the night.

Kansas City cut Denver’s lead to 10-9 with a 23-yard field goal as time expired on the second quarter. And kicker Harrison Butker made another 31-yard field goal to give Kansas City its first advantage of the night at 12-10.

The Broncos didn’t roll over, however, with Lock capping a 11-play, 72-yard drive with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Patrick with 3:50 left in the third quarter. Trying to get up by seven, Denver elected to go for two. But Lock’s pass failed.

Down by three at their own 49 with 6:13 left, the Broncos elected to punt on fourth-and-three. But their defense couldn’t get off the field soon enough. Butker’s fifth field goal sailed 48 yards through the uprights to put the Chiefs up 22-16.

Denver had a last-minute drive, but Tyrann Mathieu intercepted his second pass to seal the victory.

Mahomes finished 25-of-40 passing for 318 yards with a touchdown. Kelce became the first tight end to eclipse 1,000 yards receiving in five consecutive seasons, making eight receptions for 136 yards.

Though rookie running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire was active, he did not receive a touch. Le’Veon Bell finished as Kansas City’s leading rusher with 11 carries for 40 yards.

Led by running back Melvin Gordon’s 131 yards, the Broncos rushed for 179 yards in the loss — averaging 5.4 yards per carry. Lock completed 15 of his 28 passes for 151 yards with two touchdowns and a pair of interceptions.

The Chiefs clinched a playoff berth with the victory, marking their sixth consecutive trip to the postseason — their longest streak in team history. Kansas City has been to the playoffs in all but one season since Andy Reid took over as head coach in 2013. At 11-1, the Chiefs are currently second seed in the AFC behind the Steelers.

Denver is not mathematically eliminated from postseason contention at 4-8, but the club is nearly there.

NBC

 

NFL Playoff Picture: AFC & NFC standings after Week 13 (before SNF)

The NFL playoff picture is taking shape. Here’s how it looks after the latest slate of games:

AFC
1. Steelers (11-0) Still in the lead for home-field advantage.

2. Chiefs (10-1) Big lead in the AFC West.

3. Bills (8-3) One-game lead in the AFC East.

4. Titans (8-4) Owns the division record tiebreaker over Indianapolis.

5. Browns (9-3) Closing in on a return to the playoffs.

6. Dolphins (8-4) Still a chance in the AFC East.

7. Colts (8-4) Still a chance in AFC South.

***

8. Raiders (7-5) One game out in the wild card.

9. Ravens (6-5) Currently on the outside looking in.

10. Patriots (6-6) Tough road to a return to the playoffs.

11. Broncos (4-7) An extreme long shot to make the postseason.

12. Texans (4-8) Four games out of the wild card with four games to play.

13. Chargers (3-8) Mathematically eliminated.

14. Bengals (2-8-1) Mathematically eliminated.

15. Jaguars (1-10) Mathematically eliminated.

16. Jets (0-11) Mathematically eliminated.

NFC
1. Saints (10-2) First team to clinch a playoff berth

2. Packers (9-3) Big lead in the NFC North.

3. Rams (8-4) Head-to-head tiebreaker over Seahawks.

4. Giants (5-7) Lead the NFC East.

5. Seahawks (8-4) First in the wild card race.

6. Buccaneers (7-5) Three games behind the Saints in the NFC South.

7. Vikings (6-6) Tiebreaker advantage over the Cardinals.

***

8. Cardinals (6-6) Struggling as they head into the stretch run.

9. 49ers (5-6) Half a game behind for the wild card.

10. Bears (5-7) One game behind for the wild card.

11. Lions (5-7) One game behind for the wild card.

12. Washington (4-7) Still not out of it in the NFC East.

13. Falcons (4-8) Playing well too little, too late.

14. Panthers (4-8) No realistic chance in the wild card race.

15. Eagles (3-8-1) Still not out of it in the NFC East.

16. Cowboys (3-8) Still not out of it in the NFC East.

NBC

 

Jets fire Gregg Williams



After a disastrous play call in Sunday’s loss to the Raiders, Jets defensive coordinator Gregg Williams has been fired.

Williams was fired this morning, according to multiple reports.

The controversial Williams made a stunning decision to call an all-out blitz with the Jets leading by four points with 13 seconds to play and the Raiders having the ball at the 46-yard line. At a time when the Jets just needed to make a tackle inbounds and secure their first win of the season, Derek Carr saw the blitz coming, threw the ball deep, and connected with receiver Henry Ruggs for the game-winning touchdown.

That defensive play call was a fireable offense, and it didn’t take the Jets long to make the necessary call. The winless Jets are likely to fire their entire coaching staff after the season, but Williams is getting an early exit.

NBC

 

He was probably the 'Scapegoat' (Williams). Tanking is not always silent or illusive... it called for a dumb play, he made it, the rest is history.

 

They probably gave him a retirement parachute

 

My question is this... if the play call was so damn lame, where was Gase? If im the field general, im in tune to what is going on... Gase was a sleep at the helm i guess.