SPORTS
Bill Murphy Sports Editor | 770-718-3415 | sports@gainesvilletimes.com
Unties
gainesvilletimes.com
Monday, November 12, 2018
MLS PG\YOFFS
Atlanta 3, New York 1
NFL I Browns 28, Falcons 16
Atlanta takes gut punch
Photos by RON SCHWANE I Associated Press
Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb (24) breaks a tackle against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday in Cleveland.
Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones runs after the catch against the Cleveland
Browns in the first half of Sunday’s game in Cleveland.
JOHN BAZEMORE I The Associated Press
Atlanta United’s Josef Martinez (7), left, Miguel
Almiron (10), and Julian Gressel (24) celebrate
after Martinez scored on a penalty shot during
the first half against New York in Sunday’s
playoff match in Atlanta.
Martinez
helps shape
win in the
semifinals
Associated Press
Josef Martinez scored two goals and Atlanta
United won the first playoff series in franchise
history, knocking off New York City FC 3-1
in the second leg of the Eastern Conference
semifinals Sunday.
Atlanta won the two-game series 4-1 on
aggregate, finishing off the visiting team with
Martinez’s second goal on a breakaway in
the 83rd minute . The game drew a crowd of
70,526 — another attendance record for the
2-year-old franchise that has quickly devel
oped one of the world’s most rabid soccer
followings.
The victory made up for the bitter disap
pointment of Atlanta United’s inaugural
season, when the expansion team made the
playoffs but lost a knockout-round game at
home to Columbus on penalties.
Atlanta claimed a big edge in the series by
winning the first leg, 1-0 at Yankee Stadium.
United, which finished two points behind
New York Red Bulls in the Supporters’ Shield
standings, returned home merely needing a
tie to go through to the Eastern Conference
final. They got more than that, earning a spot
in the conference final against either Colum
bus or the Red Bulls. Those teams met Sunday
night with the Crew holding an edge after win
ning the series opener 1-0.
With New York City pressing hard, know
ing it would need two goals to advance, United
wrapped up the series. Eric Remedi sent a
brilliantly timed pass to Martinez, who was
able to stay onside because Valentin Castel
lanos was lingering too deep in the zone out
on the wing. Martinez controlled the ball with
his shoulder, looked around for any signs of
a challenge and blasted a shot past helpless
keeper Sean Johnson.
From there, the celebration was on. The big
crowd pushed United past 1 million fans for
the season and broke the Major League Soc
cer playoff record of 67,221 for last season’s
loss to the Crew.
United went ahead in the 25th minute on
Martinez’s penalty kick, which was set up by
Darlington Nagbe’s long pass to Franco Esco
bar near the end line. Ismael Tajouri-Shradi
converged on the Atlanta player, taking him
down as he tried to spin away, prompting ref
eree Mark Geiger to point immediately to the
spot.
Martinez gave a little hesitation as he
approached the ball, slipping his shot inside
the right post while Johnson dove left.
Atlanta built a commanding 3-0 lead on
aggregate when Miguel Almiron scored off a
free kick in the 42nd. It began with a sloppy
pass from Yangel Herrera, which was picked
off by Almiron and sent him flying toward the
area.
Before he rolled out of bed, Baker
Mayfield had a premonition of near
perfection.
More than a hunch.
“When I woke up this morning, I was
feeling pretty dangerous,” the Browns
rookie quarterback said with a smile and
a hint of arrogance. “I just woke up feel
ing really dangerous.”
Someone should have warned the
Atlanta Falcons.
Mayfield threw a season-high three
touchdown passes and rookie Nick
Chubb streaked 92 yards for a TD as the
Cleveland Browns ended a four-game
losing streak with their best all-around
performance in years, a stunning 28-16
win over the Falcons on Sunday.
The Browns (3-6-1) played their most
complete game this season under interim
coach Gregg Williams, their defensive
coordinator who improved to 1-1 since
replacing the fired Hue Jackson.
Mayfield outplayed Falcons star quar
terback Matt Ryan with an excellent
outing that further justifies Cleveland’s
decision to take the former Oklahoma
QB with the No. 1 overall pick in this
year’s draft.
Earlier this week, Williams and offen
sive coordinator Freddie Kitchens urged
Mayfield to play loose and not worry
about any mistakes.
He took the message to heart.
“If you take a step back and watch how
he managed the game in the huddle, how
he managed the clock, how he managed
the check systems and how he managed
the overall communication on the offen
sive side of the ball,” Williams said. “A
good next step for him. ”
Mayfield completed his first 13 passes
and finished 17 of 20 for 216 yards. He
threw a 28-yard scoring pass to Rashard
Higgins, a 13-yarder to Chubb and
11-yarder to Duke Johnson. He went 12
of 12 for 165 yards and two TD passes in
the first half, and didn’t throw his first
incompletion until 11:14 remained in the
third quarter.
Two plays later, he connected with
Johnson to put the Browns ahead 21-10
“It comes down to just doing my
job,” said Mayfield, who appreciated
his coaches’ trust. “Them saying they
trust me enough to let the ball go, I was
brought here for a reason so just go do
my thing.
“That obviously makes me feel com
fortable when they say that. It comes
down to me doing my job, getting the ball
out of my hands. We did a good job of
having guys open, find
ing the holes in their
defense and getting
completions.”
Ryan threw two
touchdown passes but
the Falcons (4-5) had
their three-game win
ning streak — and any
playoff momentum —
stopped cold.
“It is disappointing
because we had been playing better than
this the last couple of weeks. We’re bet
ter than what we put out there today, but
you’re only as good as your last perfor
mance. Today was not good enough. ”
And while Mayfield did damage,
Chubb’s record run was the backbreaker.
With the Browns backed up at their
8, Chubb, who had 176 yards on 20 car
ries, took a handoff and headed right. He
cut toward Atlanta’s sideline, picked up
a block and then showed his surprising
breakaway speed while finishing the lon
gest run in team history.
Chubb’s run broke the previous team
mark held by Bobby Mitchell, who had
a 90-yard TD run against Washington
on Nov. 15,1959. It was also the second-
longest run by a rookie in league history,
behind only Bobby Gage’s 97-yard run
for Pittsburgh in 1949.
“A great handoff,” Mayfield joked.
“When I handed it off, it parted like the
Red Sea.”
The score put the Browns ahead 28-10,
an unexpected and unescapable hole
for the Falcons, who blew a chance to
get closer in the fourth when they were
■ Please see FALCONS, 3B
Ryan
Falcons defense gashed by Chubb, take big hit to playoff hopes
Associated Press
JOSHUA JONES I The Associated Press
Georgia tailback Elijah Holyfield (13) breaks loose for a big
gain against Auburn during the first half of Saturday’s game
in Athens.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Georgia remains No. 5 nationally
Associated Press
After a decisive 27-10 win against
Auburn, No. 5 Georgia (9-1) remains at
the same spot in the Associated Press
top 25.
The day after earning a spot in the
Big Ten championship game, North
western is ranked in The Associated
Press college football poll for the first
time this season.
The Wildcats (6-4) were No. 24 in the
Top 25 after beating Iowa to clinch the
Big Ten West with two games to play.
The rest of the Top 25 was fairly
stable, especially at the top where the
only difference in the first 11 teams
from last week was No. 8 Washington
State moving past No. 9 Ohio State and
No. 10 LSU.
Alabama is a unanimous No. 1, fol
lowed by Clemson, Notre Dame, Michi
gan and Georgia. Oklahoma is six and
West Virginia seventh. UCF is still No.
11. Northwestern was ranked 17th at
the end of last season, but lost three of
four to start 2018.
ADD
The Wildcats have had a strange
season, losing early to Duke and Akron
and late to Notre Dame, to become the
first team in FBS to win a division with
out winning a nonconference game,
according to ESPN Stats and Info. But
they are 6-1 in Big Ten play, with only a
20-17 loss against Michigan.
Northwestern has won four Big Ten
games by four points or less, and beat
Michigan State by 10.
POLL POINTS
The number of teams with at least
three losses increased from seven to 10
this week, including two teams (North
western and No. 25 Mississippi State)
■ Please see GEORGIA, 2B
