NFL
The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com
Monday, December 10, 2018 3B
SCOREBOARD
Dolphins win on wild finish
LYNNE SLADKYI The Associated Press
Miami Dolphins running back Kenyan Drake (32) runs for a touchdown during the second half of Sunday’s game
against the New England Patriots in Miami Gardens, Fla.
Miami used pair
of laterals on the
last play to beat
New England
Associated Press
Kenyan Drake ran the last
52 yards as the Miami Dolphins
scored on a pass and double lateral
on the wild 69-yard final play Sun
day to beat the New England Patri
ots 34-33.
It was the longest touchdown to
win a game with no time remaining
since the 1970 merger.
The Patriots were 16 seconds
from clinching their 10th con
secutive AFC East title when the
Dolphins pulled off their stunner.
Ryan Tannehill threw a 14-yard
pass to Kenny Stills, who lateraled
to DeVante Parker, who quickly
lateraled to Drake . He found a
seam and beat two Patriots to the
corner of the end zone — defen
sive back J.C. Jackson and tight
end Rob Gronkowski, who was on
the field as part of New England’s
prevent defense.
The Dolphins’ bench emptied as
teammates mobbed Drake. Coach
Adam Gase said his team had been
practicing the play all year for
such a situation.
“Those guys executed it as well
as you could,” Gase said. “When
you practice it, you don’t really
know how it’s going to turn out.
Kenyan realized he had a lane and
took it.”
Tom Brady threw for 358 yards
and three scores, but the stunned
Patriots (9-4) lost in Miami for
the fifth time in their past six vis
its. The Dolphins (7-6) came from
behind five times to help their slim
wild-card chances.
CHIEFS 27, RAVENS 24, OT:
Harrison Butker atoned for a
43-yard miss as time expired with
a 36-yard field goal in overtime,
and the Chiefs stopped the Ravens
on fourth down to clinch a playoff
spot.
The Chiefs (10-2) twice con
verted on fourth down before
Patrick Mahomes threw a tying
touchdown pass to Damien
Williams with 53 seconds left.
Moments later, Justin Houston
strip-sacked Lamar Jackson to give
Butker a chance to win the game
for Kansas City in regulation.
He missed that one. He didn’t
miss his second chance.
The Ravens (7-6) marched
across midfield as they tried to
answer in overtime, but Ronnie
Stanley’s holding penalty put them
in a bind. Jackson was sacked by
Houston and Dee Ford — and
wound up leaving the game —
and Robert Griffin III threw two
incompletions to end it.
Mahomes threw for 377 yards
with two touchdowns and an
interception. Tyreek Hill caught
eight passes for 139 yards, includ
ing three in overtime to set up the
eventual winning field goal.
SAINTS 28, BUCCANEERS 14:
Drew Brees threw for one touch
down and ran another to help the
Saints rally from an 11-point half
time deficit to clinch their second
straight NFC South title.
Brees shrugged off a pair of turn
overs to throw a 1-yard TD pass to
Zach Line, then scored on a 1-yard
sneak as the Saints (11-2) avenged
a season-opening loss to the Bucs
(5-8) and also rebounded from a
defeat last week at Dallas.
New Orleans’ defense did its
part after allowing two first-half
TDs, too, sacking Jameis Winston
four times and limiting the NFL’s
No. 1-ranked offense to 81 yards in
the second half — most of that on
the final drive.
Brees completed 24 of 31 passes
for 201 yards and one interception.
Michael Thomas had 11 receptions
for 98 yards.
COWBOYS 29, EAGLES 23, OT:
Dak Prescott threw his third touch
down pass to Amari Cooper on the
first possession of overtime, and
the Cowboys took a big step toward
the NFC East title.
On third down, Rasul Douglas
tipped the pass into the air, and
Cooper grabbed it and had a clear
path to the end zone from the
Philadelphia 7. The Cowboys used
almost all of the 10-minute over
time, scoring with 1:55 remaining.
By winning the third overtime
game in the past four seasons at
A&T Stadium between these divi
sion rivals, the Cowboys (8-5) won
their fifth straight game and took a
two-game lead over the defending
Super Bowl champion Eagles (6-7)
and Washington.
RAIDERS 23, STEELERS 21:
Derek Carr threw a 6-yard touch
down pass to Derek Carrier with 21
seconds left before Chris Boswell
slipped on a potential game-tying
40-yard field goal attempt on the
final play.
Ben Roethlisberger returned
from a rib injury to lead a go-
ahead touchdown drive that Carr
answered for the Raiders (3-10).
Big Ben then connected on a
48-yard hook-and-lateral pass play
that put Boswell in position for
the tying kick. But he lost his foot
ing and sent the kick into the line,
sending the Steelers (7-5-1) to their
third straight loss.
Carr threw two fourth-quarter
touchdown passes for the Raid
ers, leading his 16th career fourth-
quarter comeback. He threw for
322 yards, including a 3-yard TD
that put Oakland up 17-14 with 5:20
to play.
Roethlisberger then returned
after missing the first four drives
of the second half and drove the
Steelers to the go-ahead score on a
1-yard pass to JuJu Smith-Schuster
before once again ending up on the
losing end in a trip to Oakland.
He is 0-4 at the Coliseum and
the Raiders remain the only AFC
opponent he has never beaten on
the road.
CHARGERS 26, BENGALS
21: Philip Rivers threw for 220
yards and Michael Badgley
kicked four field goals, including
a team-record 59-yarder. Rivers
completed 19 of 29 and threw a
touchdown in what was not one of
the team’s best games. The Char
gers (10-3) had 160 yards of offense
on their first two drives but had 121
the remainder of the game.
Austin Ekeler rushed for 66
yards on 15 carries with Melvin
Gordon missing his second straight
game due to a knee injury. Keenan
Allen had five receptions for 78
yards.
Joe Mixon had 111 yards on 26
carries and a touchdown for the
Bengals (5-8), who have dropped
five straight games. Jeff Driskel,
making his second straight start
since Andy Dalton’s season-ending
thumb injury, was 18 of 27 for 170
yards and a touchdown.
LA trails Kansas City by one
game in the AFC West and plays at
the Chiefs on Thursday night.
49ERS 20, BRONCOS 14: George
Kittle caught an 85-yard touch
down pass on the way to 210 yards
receiving and became the 49ers’
first tight end to reach the 1,000-
yard milestone.
Kittle finished just shy of Shan
non Sharpe’s NFL record by a tight
end of 214 yards receiving, not hav
ing a catch nor as many chances in
the second half. Kittle had seven
receptions in all on nine targets.
His long TD reception on a pass
from Nick Mullens early in the sec
ond quarter put the Niners up 13-0
— and Denver (6-7) never found
a groove in seeing its three-game
winning streak snapped.
Broncos quarterback Case Kee-
num struggled to find any rhythm
after the Broncos lost top wideout
Emmanuel Sanders to a torn Achil
les tendon in practice during the
week.
Dante Pettis added a 1-yard
touchdown reception just before
halftime for the Niners (3-10).
LIONS 17, CARDINALS 3:
Darius Slay returned an intercep
tion 67 yards for a touchdown and
Detroit got its first win in Arizona
since 1993.
Slay stepped in front of intended
receiver Trent Sherfield, picked
off Josh Rosen’s pass and raced
down the left sideline for the third-
quarter score as the Lions (5-8)
ended an eight-game losing streak
in the desert.
Arizona (3-10) avoided being
shut out with Zane Gonzalez’s
22-yard field goal that cut the lead
to 10-3 with 8:14 to play.
COLTS 24, TEXANS 21: Andrew
Luck threw for 399 yards and two
touchdowns and T.Y. Hilton had
199 receiving yards. The Colts
(7-6) snapped a nine-game win
ning streak by the Texans (9-4),
trimming Houston’s lead over the
AFC South to two games with three
remaining.
Hilton entered the game as the
all-time leader in receiving yards
per game at NRG Stadium with
122.3 yards and finished just shy
of 200 yards on nine catches on 12
targets.
Houston cut Indianapolis’ lead
to 24-21 with a 7-yard touchdown
pass from Deshaun Watson to
DeAndre Hopkins with less than
three minutes remaining. With the
Colts facing a critical third-and-1
at midfield, Luck drew Jadeveon
Clowney offside to secure a first
down and the win.
BROWNS 26, PANTHERS 20:
Baker Mayfield outplayed Cam
Newton, Jarvis Landry caught
a touchdown pass and ran for
another score and the Browns
damaged Carolina’s playoff hopes.
The Panthers dropped their fifth
straight.
Mayfield bravely threw a
51-yard TD pass into traffic to
Landry, who had a 3-yard scor
ing run and added a long run —
on a similar call — early in the
fourth quarter to set up a go-ahead
touchdown.
Playing the spoiler role down
the stretch, the Browns (5-7-1)
improved to 3-2 under interim
coach Gregg Williams, who needed
just five games to match former
Browns coach Hue Jackson’s win
total over two-plus seasons.
The Panthers (6-7) suffered
a loss that could haunt them for
months and will increase the heat
on coach Ron Rivera.
GIANTS 40, REDSKINS 16:
Saquon Barkley rushed for 170
yards, including a 78-yard touch
down to surpass 1,000 for the sea
son, and Eli Manning threw for
three scores to effectively end
Washington’s already-slim playoff
hopes.
Barkley gashed the Redskins’
defense for 12.1 yards a carry to
become the first Giants rookie to
break 1,000, and set a single-sea-
son franchise rookie record with
his 13th touchdown. The second
overall pick also had four catches
for 27 yards against a Washington
defense that’s a shell of the unit
that led the league early in the
season.
JETS 27, BILLS 23: Sam Dar-
nold one-upped fellow rookie Josh
Allen, rallying the Jets.
Elijah McGuire scored on a
fourth-and-goal run from the 1
with 1:17 remaining to cap a drive
during which Darnold completed
three of five passes for 52 yards.
Standings
AMERICAN CONFERENCE
East
W
L T
Pet
PF
PA
New England
9
4 0
.692
364
293
Miami
7
6 0
.538
278
333
Buffalo
4
9 0
.308
201
320
N.Y. Jets
4
9 0
South
.308
270
330
W
L T
Pet
PF
PA
Houston
9
4 0
.692
323
259
Indianapolis
7
6 0
.538
349
300
Tennessee
7
6 0
.538
251
254
Jacksonville
4
9 0
North
.308
212
273
W
L T
Pet
PF
PA
Pittsburgh
7
5 1
.577
367
306
Baltimore
7
6 0
.538
321
241
Cleveland
5
7 1
.423
292
332
Cincinnati
5
8 0
West
.385
307
397
W
L T
Pet
PF
PA
x-Kansas City
11
2 0
.846
471
351
L.A. Chargers
10
3 0
.769
366
270
Denver
6
7 0
.462
290
282
Oakland 3 10 0 .231
NATIONAL CONFERENCE
East
244
388
W
L T
Pet
PF
PA
Dallas
8
5 0
.615
276
246
Philadelphia
6
7 0
.462
281
295
Washington
6
7 0
.462
249
297
N.Y Giants
5
8 0
South
.385
307
331
W
L T
Pet
PF
PA
y-New Orleans
11
2 0
.846
447
283
Carolina
6
7 0
.462
324
332
Tampa Bay
5
8 0
.385
332
383
Atlanta
4
9 0
North
.308
316
367
W
L T
Pet
PF
PA
Chicago
8
4 0
.667
344
241
Minnesota
6
5 1
.542
275
270
Green Bay
5
7 1
.423
315
307
Detroit
5
8 0
West
.385
271
319
W
L T
Pet
PF
PA
y-L.A. Rams
11
1 0
.917
419
298
Seattle
7
5 0
.583
319
259
Arizona
3
10 0
.231
178
327
San Francisco 3 10 0
x-clinched playoff spot
y-clinched division
.231
275
350
Thursday’s Games
Tennessee 30, Jacksonville 9
Sunday’s Games
N.Y. Giants 40, Washington 16
Miami 34, New England 33
Cleveland 26, Carolina 20
Indianapolis 24, Houston 21
Green Bay 34, Atlanta 20
New Orleans 28, Tampa Bay 14
N.Y. Jets 27, Buffalo 23
Kansas City 27, Baltimore 24, OT
L.A. Chargers 26, Cincinnati 21
San Francisco 20, Denver 14
Detroit 17, Arizona 3
Oakland 24, Pittsburgh 21
Dallas 29, Philadelphia 23, OT
L.A. Rams at Chicago, late
Today’s Games
Minnesota at Seattle, 8:15 p.m.
Thursday’s game
L.A. Chargers at Kansas City, 8:20 p.m.
Saturday’s games
Houston at N.Y. Jets, 4:30 p.m.
Cleveland at Denver, 8:20 p.m.
Associated Press
Chiefs owner was
‘shocked’ by video
of Kareem Hunt
Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt
said he was shocked by secu
rity camera footage showing
Kareem Hunt shoving and
kicking a woman in a Cleve
land hotel, and that it was a
collective decision by the orga
nization to cut their star run
ning back within hours.
In his first comments since
the incident nine days ago, the
team’s owner also said that the
Chiefs were aware of two other
offseason incidents involving
Hunt, but not the extent of them.
“We’d had some issues with
Kareem not being truthful with
what happened that night (in
Cleveland) and we really felt in
everybody’s interest we head in
another direction,” Clark Hunt
explained after Kansas City
clinched a playoff berth with a
27-24 overtime victory over the
Baltimore Ravens on Sunday.
The other two incidents
occurred in January at a down
town Kansas City nightclub and
in June at an Ohio resort.
No criminal charges were
filed in any of the cases, and
Clark Hunt said all of them
were referred to the NFL for
investigation. The league did
not hand down any punish
ment until TMZ Sports posted
the security footage from the
Cleveland hotel, at which point
Hunt was put on the NFL’s
exempt list. The Chiefs then
announced within minutes they
were releasing the NFL’s reign
ing rushing champion.
Clark Hunt said he was com
fortable in the background
work done on Kareem Hunt by
the Chiefs’ scouting staff under
then-general manager John
Dorsey, even though he’d had
disciplinary issues at Toledo.
“When anybody comes to
the Chiefs organization, part
of what we expect of them is
they’re going to be good citi
zens,” Clark Hunt said.
Associated Press
JEFFREY PHELPS I Associated Press
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan is sacked by Green Bay linebacker Clay
Matthews during Sunday’s game in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
FALCONS
■ Continued from 1B
in for the recovery.
“That was tough, but that’s
on me. The whole operation
starts and ends with me, so
I’ve got to do a better job of
that and making sure that we
don’t have things like that com
ing up,” Ryan said.
“I think if we score
on that drive it’s a
much different game
where you have a
better opportunity of
making a comeback.”
Instead, with three
games left on the
schedule, the Falcons
are stuck with their
first losing season
since going 6-10 in
2014, Mike Smith’s last season
as coach.
Quinn replaced him the fol
lowing season, when Atlanta
finished at .500 before taking
a giant leap forward in the
2016 season to reach the Super
Bowl. Atlanta beat Green Bay
in the NFC title game that year
in a contest between teams
that looked like they would be
contenders for season to come.
But both haven’t lived up
to expectations in 2018. The
Packers fired head coach
Mike McCarthy last week,
while Blank reaffirmed sup
port for his coach.
Green Bay snapped a three-
game skid, winning for the
first time under interim head
coach Joe Philbin.
The frustration con
tinues for Atlanta.
One bright spot for
the Falcons is that
Jones reached 1,400
yards receiving for
the fifth straight sea
son, an NFL first. He
finished with eight
catches on 11 targets
for 106 yards.
Otherwise, it was under
standable why the visiting
locker room cleared out so
quickly following an error-
filled afternoon. The prepa
ration and effort were there,
Quinn said. The execution
needed to improve.
Jones
Packers 34
Falcons 20
Atlanta 7 0 0 13—20
Green Bay 7 13 14 0—34
First Quarter
Atl—Ju.Jones 16 pass from Ryan (Bryant kick), 11:36.
GB—D.Adams 7 pass from Rodgers (Crosby kick),
7:11.
Second Quarter
GB—FG Crosby 50,7:45.
GB—Breeland 22 interception return (Crosby kick),
6:01.
GB—FG Crosby 48, :00.
Third Quarter
GB—Cobb 24 pass from Rodgers (Crosby kick), 12:44.
GB—A.Jones 29 run (Crosby kick), 5:51.
Fourth Quarter
Atl—Ju.Jones 12 pass from Ryan (Bryant kick), 13:34.
Atl—Hardy 19 pass from Ryan (kick failed), :14.
A—77,329.
Atl
GB
First downs
22
23
Total Net Yards
344
300
Rushes-yards
24-107
25-138
Passing
237
162
Punt Returns
1-14
2-0
Kickoff Returns
5-112
1-26
Interceptions Ret.
0-0
1-22
Comp-Att-Int
28-42-1
21-32-0
Sacked-Yards Lost
2-25
4-34
Punts
4-50.0
4-42.3
Fumbles-Lost 3-1
2-0
Penalties-Yards
13-101
6-37
Time of Possession
30:49
29:11
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Atlanta, Smith 11-60, Coleman 10-45, Hill
1-5, Ryan 1-0, Hall 1-(minus 3). Green Bay, A.Jones
17-78, Rodgers 3-44, J.Williams 4-17, Kizer 1-(minus 1).
PASSING—Atlanta, Ryan 28-42-1-262. Green Bay,
Rodgers 21-32-0-196.
RECEIVING—Atlanta, Ju.Jones 8-106, Sanu 6-54,
Hooper 4-37, Hardy 3-30, Smith 3-14, Saubert 2-15,
Ridley 1-10, Coleman 1-(minus 4). Green Bay, D.Adams
7-81, Cobb 5-43, A.Jones 3-28, Valdes-Scantling 2-19,
Graham 2-13, St. Brown 2-12.
MISSED FIELD GOALS—Atlanta, Bryant 53.
Associated Press
