NFL - NEWS & NOTES

Giants’ ugly season reaches its low point in blowout loss to Bears



The Giants and Bears are both eliminated for playoff contention and playing for nothing but pride.

At least the Bears have pride.

Today in Chicago the Bears humiliated the Giants, jumping out to a 14-0 lead just minutes into the first quarter and humiliating the Giants on the way to an easy win.

Giants starting quarterback Mike Glennon, who once signed a three-year, $45 million contract with the Bears in one of the worst moves of Ryan Pace’s tenure as general manager, was absolutely terrible today. The Bears’ defense dominated him, highlighted by Robert Quinn notching his 18th sack of the season, a Bears franchise record.

Andy Dalton was also not a good free agent signing for Pace, but he was good enough today to beat a terrible Giants team.

The 4-12 Giants and 6-10 Bears are both in for some major changes this offseason, but for today, the Bears look a whole lot better than the Giants do.

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Titans win division title with 34-3 win as Ryan Tannehill beats his former team



The Titans clinched a second consecutive AFC South title with a decisive 34-3 victory over the Dolphins on Sunday.

It is the first time the franchise has won consecutive division titles since the Houston Oilers won three in a row from 1960-62. Tennessee moved to 11-5 and ended Miami’s seven-game winning streak after a 1-7 start.

Ryan Tannehill, the eighth overall choice of the Dolphins in 2012 before a trade to the Titans in 2019, completed 13 of 18 passes for 120 yards and two touchdowns. He got plenty of help from D'Onta Foreman, who rushed for 132 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries.

Dontrell Hilliard scored on a 39-yard run with 1:53 left and finished with 45 yards on eight carries.

The Titans lost tight end MyCole Pruitt to a lower leg injury in the first half, but they got touchdowns from two other tight ends. Geoff Swaim scored on a 1-yard touchdown catch, and Antony Frisker caught a 15-yard touchdown.

Tua Tagovailoa did not have one of his better games, completing 18 of 38 passes for 205 yards. He lost a fumble.

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The Eagles are one step closer to clinching a playoff spot.

Though Washington had a chance to win it with a late drive, Philadelphia held on to defeat its division-rival 20-16 on Sunday.



The Eagles didn’t take their first lead until kicker Jake Elliott nailed a 2-yard field goal with 11:41 left in the fourth quarter. He then extended it with a 41-yard field goal with just 2:12 left in the contest.

But the Football Team didn’t go quietly. Quarterback Taylor Heinicke brought Washington into Philadelphia territory, and the club had first-and-10 at the 20-yard line with just 30 seconds left.

But that’s when Heinicke fired a pass to the end zone and safety Rodney McLeod made a diving interception. Though the play was reviewed, the ruling on the field stood as called. With no timeouts for Washington, the Eagles had effectively won the game.

Philadelphia had been aggressive throughout the game, going for it four times on fourth down. Though the Eagles missed their first conversion attempt on fourth-and-1 in Washington territory, they converted on their next three attempts. That helped the club, which was only 4-of-12 on third down.

Quarterback Jalen Hurts played well, going 17-of-26 passing for 214 yards. He added 44 yards on the ground. Running back Boston Scott had Philadelphia’s two touchdowns while taking 14 carries for 47 yards. He also caught four passes for 39 yards.

DeVonta Smith had three receptions for 54 yards.

On the other side, Heinicke was 27-of-36 passing for 247 yards with an interception.

The Eagles can now clinch a postseason berth with some help based on some later results. The easiest way would be for San Francisco to win and Minnesota to lose to the Packers. Or the Saints could lose to the Panthers paired with a Minnesota loss.

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Bills freeze out Falcons 29-15, clinch playoff berth



Josh Allen threw three interceptions in four passes, but the Bills were able to overcome it. On a snowy day in Buffalo, the Bills rallied for a 29-15 victory over Atlanta.

It clinched a playoff berth for the Bills (10-6) since the Ravens lost to the Rams.



Buffalo trailed 15-14 at halftime after Allen’s meltdown, which saw him throw two picks in back-to-back passes in the final two minutes of the half.

Allen finished 11-of-26 for 120 yards and three picks. His third pick came on his second pass of the third quarter. He also ran for 81 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries.

Devin Singletary ran for 110 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries.

The Falcons thought they had pulled within seven on Matt Ryan‘s 7-yard touchdown run. Replay overturned it, marking him down at the 1, but Ryan was penalized for taunting. The 15-yard penalty ended up keeping the Falcons out of the end zone with less than six minutes to play.

Ryan went 13-of-23 for 197 yards.

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Buccaneers will release Antonio Brown



If he screws up one time, he’s gone. OK, if he screws up two times, he’s gone.

For the Buccaners, two strikes were enough to move on from receiver Antonio Brown. During Sunday’s eventual win over the Jets, Brown angrily removed his jersey, shoulder pads, gloves, and undershirt before running off the field.



After the game, coach Bruce Arians — who contradicted his October 2020 vow after Brown was suspended three games for using a fake vaccination card — announced that Brown is no longer a member of the team.

If, as it appeared on Sunday, Brown needs some sort of help at this time in his life, here’s hoping the Buccaneers assist him. The entire organization benefited from his presence. Whether it’s Arians or Tom Brady or others, somerhing needs to be done to determine whether Brown needs assistance.

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Bucs overcome Antonio Brown outburst, Jets for 28-24 win



The Buccaneers had a harder time finishing off the Jets than anyone expected, but that’s not going to be the main storyline from Sunday’s game at MetLife Stadium.

Wide receiver Antonio Brown stripped off his jersey and shoulder pads while arguing with teammates on the Bucs sideline and then stormed off the field while the game was in progress in the third quarter. Brown did not return and his status with the Bucs was the top topic of head coach Bruce Arians’ postgame press conference.



Arians said many times that Brown had made progress as a person while explaining why he revoked his one strike and you’re out policy for the troubled wideout following his three-game suspension for faking a vaccination card. Sunday’s antics suggest Arians was just seeing what he wanted to see on a team short on healthy offensive weapons heading into the playoffs, but he drew a line this time and Brown is going to be released.

The Bucs didn’t need Brown to come back from a 24-10 deficit. They scored shortly after he took his exit and won the game when Tom Brady hit Cyril Grayson for a 33-yard score with 15 seconds left in the game. The Bucs got a two-point conversion and they hung on for a 28-24 win that keeps them in the hunt for the No. 1 seed in the NFC with a game against the Panthers left on their schedule.

The Jets had a chance to put the game away when they went for it on fourth-and-two from the Tampa seven-yard-line on the previous drive, but they made a questionable call to try to run quarterback Zach Wilson up the middle. He went nowhere and there was plenty of time for Brady to add another comeback win to his long list of them.

Brady finished 34-of-50 for 410 yards, three touchdowns, and an interception. They lost Ronald Jones to an ankle injury, which opened the door to more playing time for Le'Veon Bell but creates another injury issue on offense heading into the postseason.

Wilson was 19-of-33 for 234 yards and a touchdown as the Jets played as well on offense for most of the day as they have all year. The Bucs forced a pair of fourth quarter punts to slow their progress, however, and the final failure to convert left them with a tough loss on a day that probably deserved a better outcome.

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The Bengals have won the AFC North.

Not long after the Ravens dropped a heartbreaker to the Rams, the Bengals finished off the Chiefs in Cincinnati with a last-play, chip-shot field goal. The Bengals moved to 10-6, while the Chiefs failed to clinch the overall No. 1 seed in falling to 11-5.

Evan McPherson kicked a 20-yard field goal to give the Chiefs a dramatic 34-31 victory in one of the most entertaining games of the season.

McPherson’s kick finished off a 15-play, 74-yard drive that ate up the final 6:01 after the Chiefs tied the game at 31 on a Harrison Butker 34-yard field goal.

Coach Zac Taylor twice went for it on fourth-and-goal from the Kansas City 1 with less than a minute to play. Joe Mixon was stopped inches short of the goal line on a pass from Burrow on the first try, but offsetting penalties gave the Bengals another chance.

Burrow’s pass intended for Tyler Boyd was incomplete on the next try, but L'Jarius Sneed was called for illegal use of hands. It was one of 10 penalties called on the Chiefs for 83 yards. That allowed the Bengals to take a knee and spike the ball, running out all but two seconds before the field goal.

Burrow went 30-of-39 for 446 yards and four touchdowns, with rookie Ja'Marr Chase catching 11 passes for 266 yards and three touchdowns. Chase’s touchdowns covered 72, 18 and 69 yards.

Patrick Mahomes was 26-of-35 for 259 yards and two touchdowns, and Darrel Williams ran for 88 yards and two touchdowns.

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Surprising and terrible loss for the Colts at home...

 

Chargers blast Broncos 34-13



After a particularly disappointing loss to the Texans in Week 16, the Chargers took care of business on Sunday.

Los Angeles defeated Denver 34-13 at home.


With the Broncos missing several players due to either COVID-19 protocols or injury, the Chargers were able to control the game from cover to cover. Running back Austin Ekeler opened the scoring with a 3-yard touchdown on Los Angeles’ first drive. The Chargers added a field goal and a Keenan Allen touchdown reception to hold a 17-3 lead at halftime.

Los Angeles blew it open in the fourth quarter when Andre Roberts returned a kick 101 yards for a touchdown. Then quarterback Justin Herbert set the Chargers’ single-season record for passing touchdowns with a 45-yard strike to receiver Mike Williams down the left side.

That made the score 34-6 and the Chargers started to remove some of their starters — like safety Derwin James.

The Broncos added a cosmetic touchdown with Drew Lock’s 5-yard pass to tight end Noah Fant. But the Chargers didn’t give the ball back, sealing their 34-13 win.

Herbert finished the game 22-of-31 passing for 237 yards with two touchdowns. Williams caught three passes for 63 yards with a TD. Austin Ekeler had 58 yards rushing and a touchdown, plus three catches for 54 yards.

On the other side, Drew Lock finished 18-of-25 passing for 245 yards with a TD. Fant’s score was his first time in the end zone since Week Six.

With the victory, the Chargers will now make the postseason with a victory over the Raiders next week. That should make the matchup between L.A. and Las Vegas a candidate to be flexed either to Saturday or Sunday night.

Denver will finish its season hosting Kansas City next week.

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49ers beat Texans, move closer to playoffs



The 49ers haven’t clinched a playoff berth yet, but they took a step closer to that goal on Sunday.

Trey Lance threw a pair of touchdowns and the defense pitched a shutout after halftime to beat the Texans 23-7 at home. They’ll be in the playoffs if the Saints lose to the Panthers or with a win against the Rams in Week 18, although there will be other scenarios for them to back in with other results in the final week as well.


Lance made the second start of his rookie season with Jimmy Garoppolo sidelined by a right thumb injury and had a hard time generating points in the first half, but found more success after halftime. He hit Elijah Mitchell for a touchdown in the third quarter that put them up for the first time all afternoon and then found Deebo Samuel for a 45-yard score in the fourth quarter.

He finished 16-of-23 for 249 yards and the two touchdowns wound up looming much larger than his first half interception. Mitchell ran 21 times for 119 yards and Brandon Aiyuk put up 94 yards on four catches for the Niners.

The Texans only picked up 222 yards over the course of the afternoon and had their biggest second half gains on a pair of pass interference penalties that set up a Ka'imi Fairbairn missed field goal from 45 yards. Samuel scored his touchdown a few plays later and the game was effectively out of reach once he reached the end zone.

Houston will wrap up the season against the Titans, so they can play spoiler for Tennessee’s chances of being the top seed in the conference if they pull off a sweep of their AFC South. That will likely take a better offensive effort and such production may escape them until next season.

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Packers clinch NFC’s No. 1 seed with 37-10 victory over Vikings

 

The Eagles got a win in their own game on Sunday. And then they got another when the Packers beat the Vikings.

With Minnesota’s 37-10 loss to Green Bay, Philadelphia officially clinched a playoff berth in Nick Sirianni’s first season as head coach.


The Eagles had four ways to clinch a postseason slot on Sunday, and did it when their win, the 49ers victory over the Texans, and the Vikings’ loss to the Packers.

The 49ers were close to clinching, but New Orleans’ victory over Carolina prevented that from happening on Sunday.

Philadelphia will host Dallas for the regular-season finale next week. The Eagles won’t host a playoff game, but their ultimate seed from No. 5 to No. 7 will be determined by the Week 18 results.

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The NFL announced Sunday night the schedule for the Week 18 Saturday doubleheader, plus the participants in the final Sunday night game of the season.

All three games will be divisional tilts with playoff implications.

On Saturday, the Kansas City Chiefs will play at the Denver Broncos at 4:30 p.m. ET (on ESPN/ABC). and the Dallas Cowboys will play at the Philadelphia Eagles (on ESPN/ABC) at 8:15 p.m. ET.

In the Sunday Night Football regular-season finale, the Las Vegas Raiders will host the Los Angeles Chargers at 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC with the winner advancing to the playoffs.

The Chiefs (11-5) have already clinched the AFC West, but will be looking to possibly lock up the AFC's No 1 seed with a win over the Broncos (7-9).

While the Cowboys (11-5) have sewn up an NFC East title and the Eagles (9-7) are a wild-card entrant in the NFC playoffs, seeding is also on the line in that rivalry matchup.

Finally on Sunday night in the final regular season game, the Chargers (9-7) and Raiders (9-7) will square off in a play-in game as the winner will go to the playoffs.


The league also announced game times for the full Sunday schedule.

Saturday, Jan. 8

• Kansas City at Denver ESPN/ABC 4:30
• Dallas at Philadelphia ESPN/ABC 8:15

Sunday, Jan. 9

• Pittsburgh at Baltimore 1:00
• Cincinnati at Cleveland 1:00
• Green Bay at Detroit 1:00
• Tennessee at Houston 1:00
• Indianapolis at Jacksonville 1:00
• Chicago at Minnesota 1:00
• Washington at New York Giants 1:00
• Seattle at Arizona 4:25
• New Orleans at Atlanta 4:25
• New York Jets at Buffalo 4:25
• San Francisco at L.A. Rams 4:25
• New England at Miami 4:25
• Carolina at Tampa Bay 4:25
• L.A. Chargers at Las Vegas NBC 8:20

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Nearly tragic...

 

Somehow, I think these Eagles fans had that planned. I truly believe they would risk, life, limb, or at the very least a mild concussion, for the chance to touch a grown man in his sweaty uniform.

 

Tony Dungy said the rest of the NFL should not touch Antino Brown until he gets some help. If I'm the rest of the NFL, I'd listen to Mr. Dungy!

 

One of my favorite storylines from this season is the Bengals and their offense. I don't think they do much in the playoffs...but really good season from a team most didn't pick to compete within their own division.

 

Sorry this was TOO funny!!!

 

Eagles vs Bucs seems very likely as either a 2/7 or 3/6 matchup. Cardinals winning means the Rams need to try against the 49ers to win the division so the Saints are the fav to get in amd face the Rams while the Cardinals return to Dallas for a rematch.