NFL - NEWS & NOTES

The Ravens rushed for 404 yards on Sunday, demolishing the Bengals 38-3 to clinch a playoff berth.

Baltimore was in total control from start to finish, winning time of possession 40:31 to 19:29. The club had 525 total yards, averaging 7.2 yards per play. The Ravens’ 404 yards rushing were the most in a game since 1950.

Rookie running back J.K. Dobbins led the charge with 160 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries, including a 72-yard touchdown late in the third quarter. Lamar Jackson also became the first quarterback in league history with multiple seasons of 1,000 yards rushing. He needed 92 yards to get there and ended up with 97.

Jackson ended the day 10-of-18 passing for 113 yards with three touchdowns and an interception. He was taken out of the game to start the fourth quarter with Baltimore up by 35.

Cincinnati was listless offensively and defensively throughout the contest. Quarterback Brandon Allen was 6-of-21 passing for 48 yards with a pair of interceptions. Tee Higgins had to exit with a hamstring injury and finished one-catch short of tying Cris Collinsworth’s rookie franchise record.

With the Browns winning and the Bills up big on the Dolphins, the Ravens will take on the winner of the AFC South next week as the No. 5 seed — either Tennessee or Indianapolis.

NBC

 

Bucs secure fifth seed as Antonio Brown, Chris Godwin star in 44-27 win



The Buccaneers hope Mike Evans can return for the postseason, but if he can’t, they still have plenty of weapons. They proved that after Evans left late in the first quarter with a left knee injury.

Chris Godwin caught five passes for 133 yards and two touchdowns, and Antonio Brown had his best game with his new team, with 11 catches for 138 yards and two touchdowns.

The Buccaneers clinched the fifth seed in the NFC, beating the Falcons 44-27 in a game that was a three-point game with 8:19 remaining. Tampa Bay (11-5) will open the playoffs at the NFC East winner.

The Falcons finish 4-12 and can move on with finding a new General Manager and likely a new head coach. Interim coach Raheem Morris has interviewed for the job.

Tom Brady threw for 399 yards and four touchdowns, completing 26 of 41 passes. His interception was a dropped ball by Scotty Miller that bounced into the air.

Godwin and Brown both had touchdowns after the Falcons closed to within a field goal, putting it away for the Bucs.

Matt Ryan went 29-of-44 for 265 yards and two touchdowns.

NBC

 

Dolphins playoff hopes on life support after blowout loss to Bills



The Dolphins are going to be the biggest Jaguars fans on the planet this afternoon.

Miami had a chance to make the playoffs by beating the Bills on Sunday, but they laid a major egg in Buffalo. Josh Allen threw three touchdowns, Tua Tagovailoa threw three interceptions, and the Bills beat the Dolphins in a 56-26 rout.

The win sews up the No. 2 seed in the AFC for the Bills, but the bigger playoff implications are on the other side. With the Browns and Ravens winning their games, the Dolphins now need the Jaguars to pull off a massive upset by beating the Colts in Indianapolis later on Sunday.

The Bills will know who they host in the first round after all of Sunday’s games are in the books. Miami’s loss also means that the Titans have clinched a playoff spot ahead of their game against the Texans.

The day got off to a good start for the Dolphins when head coach Brian Flores successfully challenged that cornerback Byron Jones picked off Allen before going out of bounds. Miami grabbed a 3-0 lead, but the second quarter belonged to the Bills.

Allen threw all three of his scores and Isaiah McKenzie added a punt return score to open up a big halftime lead. Allen departed at that point and the Dolphins closed within 15 points early in the third quarter, but Josh Norman‘s interception return for a touchdown a short time later put the game firmly in Buffalo’s control.

Tagovailoa’s next two interceptions were followed by Antonio Williams touchdown runs that eliminated any hope of a comeback for the Dolphins. Tagovailoa posted 361 passing yards thanks to some late stat padding, but it was a rough day for the rookie that started with a failure to score touchdowns on two first half trips into Buffalo territory

That set the tone for their flop with a playoff berth on the line and now the Dolphins will have to wait to see if their prayers get answered.

NBC

 

No. The Colts do not make me nervous.

Of course, I’m over in Portugal and won’t be playing.

If that’s who the Bills play it’ll be nice for the 6,700 to all say “hi” to Frank Reich. A lot of respect, but no nerves.

I buy it that the Bills are supremely confident; that’s not an act. I expect an epic replay of the 1966 AFL Championship game. (That was Buffalo vs. KC.)

 

Giants hold on for 23-19 win that eliminates Cowboys



The Giants beat the Cowboys 23-19 in an elimination game that was not without controversy.

The Giants (6-10) stay alive in the NFC East race. They need the Eagles to defeat Washington in Sunday Night Football to win the division.

The winner of the division hosts the Buccaneers next week.

It was a fast and furious final seven minutes in a game the Giants never trailed.

The Giants faced a third-and-16 at the Dallas 42 with 7:07 remaining when Daniel Jones completed a 10-yard pass to Dante Pettis. The ball, though, hit the ground without Pettis’ hands underneath.

Replay likely would have overturned the call on the field of a completion, but Mike McCarthy didn’t challenge it. Graham Gano kicked a 50-yard field goal with 6:27 left to give the Giants their final margin of victory.

The Cowboys got as close as the Giants 7-yard line on their final possession. But on first-and-goal, Leonard Williams sacked Andy Dalton for a 10-yard loss. Two plays later, with Williams pressuring Dalton again, Dalton threw the ball up for grabs in the end zone.

Xavier McKinney intercepted it with 1:15 left.

Still, the Cowboys had three timeouts. Wayne Gallman went 5 yards on first down, and then 8 yards on second down, which should have ended it. But Gallman inexplicably dropped the ball on the 8-yard carry.

He did manage to get on the ball, though the Cowboys came out of the pile with it.

Replay let Gallman’s fumble recovery stand, and the Giants ran out the clock.

Dalton had his left hand inadvertently stepped on by Williams in the second half. He put a glove on the hand, but it obviously bothered him, and a close-up of the hand showed blood coming out of the glove. He finished with seven carries for 48 yards and completed 29 of 47 passes for 243 yards and the pick.

Jones went 17-of-25 for 229 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Sterling Shepard caught eight passes for 112 yards and a touchdown and also ran for a touchdown.

Williams could win NFC defensive player of the week honors with seven tackles, three sacks and five quarterback hits. The Giants had three other sacks of Dalton.

 

My 9-team parlay is still alive. I dunno why I did a 9-teamer but 3 are clear and the next 5 are winning at half. I have Washington tonight.

 

Henry almost there... 22 yards shy.

 

Henry almost there... 22 yards shy.


It's only the 3rd Q Will..........there is time and Ryan is going to give him the ball.

31-15 Titans with 3 minutes to go in the 3rd.

 

Packers clinch home-field advantage, Bears back into playoffs



The road to the Super Bowl in the NFC goes through Green Bay.

The Packers have clinched home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs with a win today in Chicago. The victory gives the Packers a 13-3 record on the season, the best in the conference. They’ll get a first-round playoff bye and then host their first postseason game on either January 16 or January 17.

It was an impressive game from Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who may have wrapped up the league’s Most Valuable Player award. Rodgers threw three touchdown passes and no interceptions, and although he threw some passes in the second half that could have been picked, for the most part he was accurate and in control of the offense.

Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky did not play as well, although he was accurate while throwing mostly short passes in Matt Nagy’s conservative game plan. Unfortunately, once the Bears fell behind by two scores late in the fourth quarter, Trubisky took a shot downfield that was intercepted. Trubisky didn’t do enough to win, but he was far from the biggest reason the Bears lost. The Bears’ real problem was their defense just didn’t have a game plan for stopping Rodgers.

Fortunately for the Bears, the Rams beat the Cardinals. That means the Bears will make the playoffs as the NFC’s final wild card team, and they’ll be on the road against the Saints in the playoffs next weekend. And if the Bears pull the upset, they’ll be at Green Bay the next week.

NBC

 

Rams clinch postseason berth with 18-7 victory over Cardinals



The Rams were without their starting quarterback, one of their top receivers, and one of their top defensive linemen on Sunday.

They still defeated the Cardinals to clinch a postseason berth.

Los Angeles beat the Arizona 18-7 on Sunday to finish with a 10-6 record. The Rams have reached the postseason in three of Sean McVay’s first four seasons as head coach.

Playing his first NFL game, quarterback John Wolford threw an interception on his first pass. But Wake Forest product settled down from there, finishing the game 22-of-38 passing for 231 yards. He was also Los Angeles’ leading rusher with 56 yards on six carries.

Arizona took advantage of that early interception with a touchdown on the short field. But that was all the visitors’ offense could muster.

Kyler Murray left the game after the Cardinals’ first series with an ankle injury and didn’t return until the fourth quarter. Though Murray drove Arizona into L.A. territory, the Rams blocked the Cardinals’ field goal.

Murray finished 8-of-11 passing for 87 yards, plus two carries for three yards. His backup, Chris Streveler, was 11-of-16 passing for 105 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

The Rams scored nine points on defense by drawing a holding penalty in the end zone and Troy Hill‘s pick six late in the second quarter.

Matt Gay drilled two field goals in the second half to give L.A. the winning margin.

With the win, the Rams are the NFC’s No. 6 seed and will go back to Seattle to take on the No. 3 Seahawks next week. The two teams played at the same stadium in Week 16, with the Seahawks winning 20-9.

With the loss, the Cardinals finish 8-8 and were eliminated from the postseason.

NBC

 

Jonathan Taylor sets franchise record in Colts’ 28-14 win



Jonathan Taylor broke a 20-year-old franchise record, leading the Colts to a 28-14 victory over the Jaguars.

The Colts rookie running back had 30 carries for 253 yards and two touchdowns. Edgerrin James held the old franchise record with 219 yards.

The Colts needed every last yard in beating the Jaguars, who fell behind 20-0 only to come back with back-to-back touchdowns. The Jaguars’ only victory came in Week 1, a 27-20 win over the Colts.

The Colts now will watch the end of the Texans-Titans game to see if they advance to the postseason as the AFC South winner or a wild-card team. The Titans took a 38-35 lead over the Texans with 1:43 left.

Philip Rivers completed 17 of 27 passes for 164 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

Mike Glennon kept Jacksonville competitive in going 26-of-42 for 261 yards and two touchdowns. Laviska Shenault caught six passes for 68 yards and two touchdowns.

NBC

 

Justin Herbert throws three TDs in Chargers win



Justin Herbert‘s play this season has given rise to visions of future duels with Patrick Mahomes, but the Chargers rookie had to settle for Chad Henne on Sunday.

The Chiefs left Patrick Mahomes on the bench with the top seed in the AFC wrapped up and that gave him a chance to watch Herbert throw for three touchdowns in a 38-21 Chargers win. The victory gives the Chargers a 7-9 record for the season and they finished the year on a four-game winning streak.

Finishing like that should make it likelier that head coach Anthony Lynn will return for a fifth season and a second year with Herbert at the helm of the offense. Herbert had already set the record for touchdowns by a rookie quarterback and he ends the year with 31 of them.

He also ran for a score on Sunday and threw for 302 yards in the victory. Herbert and Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson will likely be the leading candidates for offensive rookie of the year.

With Mahomes, Tyreek Hill, Travis Kelce, and many other sitting for the Chiefs, there wasn’t much reason to think they could match the Chargers’ offensive output. Chad Henne led a couple of early touchdown drives, but the team only managed 268 yards for the game.

That probably won’t cause too many sleepless nights in Kansas City because the Chiefs know the path to the Super Bowl goes through Arrowhead Stadium.

NBC

 

Here we go. Hail to that Football Team.

 

They let us in because they have no respect.

....this is going to be so sweet.

 

I hedged my bet.
Washington wins, I win $1000.
Eagles win, I win $80.
This is after accounting for the bets themselves.

 

No respect for the Fins.

 

Clearly no respect for the Browns. They could have tried to knock us out, but they chose to rest their "players".... Burgh knew that there was a strong chance that if the Browns won the game that they could meet again the following week....

Game on mofo's!!!