NFL
The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com
Monday, December 17, 2018 3B
SCOREBOARD
Bears
Trubisky threw
2 touchdowns
for Chicago
Associated Press
Mitchell Trubisky threw for two
touchdowns, Eddie Jackson ended
Aaron Rodgers’ NFL-record
streak without an interception
and the Chicago Bears clinched
the NFC North with a 24-17 vic
tory over the Green Bay Packers
on Sunday.
The Bears (10-4) secured their
first playoff appearance since the
2010 team won the division, and
clinching with a rare victory over
their heated rivals made it all the
more sweet.
The loss, coupled with Minne
sota’s 41-17 victory over Miami,
keeps the Packers out of the post
season for the second year in a
row.
Chicago had dropped nine of 10
against Green Bay (5-8-1). But the
Bears secured their first trip to the
playoffs in eight years with their
seventh win in eight games.
For a team that came into the
season with four straight last-place
finishes, it’s quite a turnaround.
But with the hiring of coach Matt
Nagy and trade for Khalil Mack in
a busy offseason, the Bears made
a huge jump.
Trubisky gave them a 21-14 lead
early in the fourth quarter with a
13-yard pass to Trey Burton in
the left side of the end zone. After
stopping the Packers, Tarik Cohen
returned a punt 44 yards to the 15.
But he stepped out of bounds a
yard short on a third-and-5 at the
10 when he easily could have got
ten the first down.
That forced the Bears to settle
for a field goal by Cody Parkey,
making it 24-14. The Packers then
drove to the 9, but on third down,
Jackson picked off Rodgers, end
ing his streak at 402 passes.
STEELERS 17, PATRIOTS
10: Rookie running back Jaylen
Samuels, making his second start
in place of injured James Conner,
ran for a career-high 142 yards
and made a critical third-down
reception in the fourth quarter.
Pittsburgh snapped a three-
game losing streak as Ben Roeth-
lisberger threw for 235 yards with
two first-half touchdowns and two
interceptions. The Steelers (8-5-1)
remained in front of Baltimore in
the AFC North with two weeks to
go in the season.
Chris Boswell, who has strug
gled so badly this season the team
held open tryouts during the
week, atoned for a 32-yard miss
in the third quarter by drilling a
48-yarder with 2:30 remaining.
Pittsburgh’s defense, which let
fourth-quarter leads slip away
each of the last two games, made it
stand. The Patriots (9-5) missed a
chance to clinch their 10th straight
AFC East title when Tom Brady’s
pass into the end zone for Julian
Edelman was knocked down by
Pittsburgh’s Morgan Burnett.
Brady finished 25 of 36 for 279
yards with a touchdown and an
interception while losing to the
Steelers for the first time since
2011 and just the third time in 14
career meetings. The uncharac
teristically sloppy Patriots were
flagged 14 times for 106 yards.
COLTS 23, COWBOYS 0: Mar
lon Mack rushed for a career-high
139 yards and two scores and the
Colts shut out one of the league’s
hottest offenses. The Colts (8-6)
stayed in the AFC playoff hunt
with their seventh win in eight
games and their first shutout since
a 27-0 victory over Cincinnati on
Oct. 19,2014.
Dallas (8-6) failed to clinch the
NFC East as its five-game winning
streak ended.
Mack starred in Sunday’s big
show. He set the tone by running
through a tackle for a 19-yard
gain on his first carry, wound up
carrying 22 times and matching a
career high with the two scoring
runs — all against the league’s No.
3 rushing defense.
FALCONS
■ Continued from 1B
win at Green Bay two weeks ago.
The Cardinals were flat last
week at home against Detroit and
gave themselves almost no chance
at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Even
with so many injuries, the perfor
mance was so uninspiring that
Wilks might be wondering if he will
return for a second season.
Arizona showed why it began the
day with the league’s worst scoring
offense, worst passing attack and
second-worst ground game.
“Obviously on the road, you can’t
spot people points and turn the
football over like we did today,”
star receiver Larry Fitzgerald said.
“It was just an avalanche after the
start ”
KEY INJURIES: Julio Jones
win NFC North title
NAM Y. HUH I The Associated Press
Chicago Bears running back Jordan Howard (24) celebrates a
touchdown with running back Tarik Cohen (29) against the Green Bay
Packers on Sunday in Chicago.
It marked the first time since
Week 9 that Dallas allowed a team
to top the 100-yard mark, and the
Cowboys were shut out for the first
time in more than 15 years. New
England was the previous team to
achieve the feat with a 12-0 victory
on Nov. 16, 2003.
Mack even outperformed Eze
kiel Elliott, who came into the
weekend as the NFL’s leading
rusher. Elliott had 18 carries for
87 yards and caught seven passes
for 41 yards.
49ERS 26, SEAHAWKS 23: Rob
bie Gould kicked a 36-yard field
goal with 3:06 left in overtime and
the 49ers snapped a 10-game los
ing streak against Seattle.
Nick Mullens threw for 275
yards and a touchdown to help
the 49ers (4-10) win consecutive
games for the first time this sea
son. Richie James Jr. returned a
kick 97 yards for a touchdown and
Gould kicked four field goals to
give San Francisco its first win in
the rivalry since 2013, when Jim
Harbaugh was still coach.
The Seahawks (8-6) had their
four-game winning streak snapped
and missed a chance to clinch
a playoff berth. Russell Wilson
threw for 237 yards with two TD
passes to Doug Baldwin and Chris
Carson ran for 119 yards and a
score for Seattle. But Wilson was
unable to generate any points on
his final three drives.
VIKINGS 41, DOLPHINS 18:
Dalvin Cook had a career-high
136 yards and two touchdowns
on a season-high
19 carries as the
Vikings recom
mitted them
selves to running
the ball.
Latavius Mur
ray added 68
rushing yards
and a score on
15 of the team’s
season-high 40
attempts.
The Vikings (7-6-1) converted
each of their first three drives
under interim offensive coordi
nator Kevin Stefanski into touch
downs before turning the game
over to the defense.
Anthony Barr and Danielle
Hunter each had two of the nine
sacks of Ryan Tannehill, totaling
71 lost yards for the Dolphins (7-7).
Miami came crashing down from
the euphoria of defeating New
England with that double-lateral
69-yard score on the final play last
week.
Minkah Fitzpatrick returned
an interception 50 yards for a
touchdown in the second quarter
and Kalen Ballage scored on a
75-yard run on the first snap of the
second half to bring the Dolphins
within 21-17.
But on their next five posses
sions they netted a staggering
minus-27 yards on 16 plays.
Though Chicago won the NFC
North by beating Green Bay, the
Vikings moved a critical step
closer to returning to the postsea
son. With enough help, they could
clinch the second wild-card spot
next week.
TITANS 17, GIANTS 0: Bruis
ing halfback Derrick Henry had
his second straight big game
with a career-high 33 carries
for 170 yards rushing and two
touchdowns.
Henry, who had a franchise-
record 238 yards and four touch
downs in a win over Jacksonville
on Dec. 6, scored
on 1-yard runs
in the first and
third quarters.
That was
all the Titans’
defense needed
on a wet and
rainy day at
MetLife Stadium
as it shut down
Saquon Barkley (31 yards on 14
carries) in helping Tennessee win
its third straight game, matching
its season high.
The defense limited New York
to 260 yards, had three sacks, a
third-quarter interception that
stopped a New York drive inside
the red zone with the score 7-0,
and a forced fumble that set up
Henry’s second TD.
The shutout was the Titans’ first
since a 31-0 win over the Cow
boys on Christmas Day in 2000.
It needed a late stand to make it
happen. It was the first time New
York was blanked since Arizona
posted a 23-0 win last Dec. 24.
Eli Manning finished 21 of 44
for 229 yards as New York lost for
only the second time in six games
since the bye week.
Marcus Mariota hit 13 of 20
passes for 88 yards as the Titans
ground it out against New York,
rushing 42 times for 216 yards.
RAVENS 20, BUCCANEERS
12: Rookie quarterback Lamar
Jackson picked apart the Tampa
Bay defense on a soggy field, run
ning for 95 yards and throwing for
131.
Anointed the starter over
veteran Joe Flacco earlier in the
week, Jackson justified the deci
sion with a riveting performance.
Slipping between and sliding
around potential tacklers, the 2016
Heisman Trophy winner operated
the run-pass option in much the
same fashion as during his glory
days at Louisville.
Jackson directed two drives
that lasted more than seven min
utes, carried 18 times and com
pleted 14 of 23 passes, one of them
for a touchdown.
Baltimore (8-6) is 4-1 since
Jackson took over for the injured
Flacco, the only loss in overtime at
Kansas City. Jackson has rushed
for 427 yards in those five games.
Tampa Bay (5-9) simply couldn’t
find a way to stop Jackson and the
running game, which amassed 242
yards on 49 attempts. Baltimore is
the first team since the 1976 Steel
ers to rush for at least 190 yards in
five straight games, according to
the Ravens.
Baltimore’s second-ranked
defense did its part, holding the
Buccaneers to one touchdown and
241 yards.
REDSKINS 16, JAGUARS 13:
Josh Johnson’s first NFL start in
more than seven years ended with
a victory, snapping the Redskins’
four-game losing streak and keep
ing them on the fringe of the NFC
playoff picture.
Johnson and Adrian Peter
son drove the Redskins (7-7) into
field-goal range in the closing min
utes, and Dustin Hopkins made a
36-yarder on the final play to win
it.
Washington had lost every game
since quarterback Alex Smith sus
tained a season-ending leg injury.
The Jaguars (4-11) have
dropped nine of 10, raising more
questions about the future of
coach Doug Marrone, decision
maker Tom Coughlin and general
manager Dave Caldwell.
Jacksonville managed 192
yards, another anemic perfor
mance under Marrone.
Washington was better, espe
cially late.
Johnson, the team’s fourth start
ing quarterback in as many weeks,
threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to
Jeremy Sprinkle with 5:47 remain
ing that tied it. He completed 16 of
25 passes for 151 yards and the
score. He also ran for 49 yards.
Peterson edged him on the final
drive, finishing with 51 on the
ground.
BENGALS 30, RAIDERS 16:
Joe Mixon had another big game,
rushing for 129 yards and a pair
of touchdowns, and the Bengals
ended one of their longest los
ing streaks under coach Marvin
Lewis. The Bengals (6-8) had
dropped five straight — their
third-worst slump during Lewis’
16 seasons — before finding a
team struggling as much as them.
Mixon’s 15-yard touchdown with
4:04 left clinched the Bengals’ first
win since October and capped his
second straight 100-yard game.
Cincinnati wrapped up its home
season before another sparse
crowd, with 44,568 tickets distrib
uted. The Bengals had the second-
smallest season attendance in
Paul Brown Stadium’s 19 seasons
as fans showed frustration with
another disappointing season
under Lewis.
The Raiders (3-11) are already
in next-year mode. They fired gen
eral manager Reggie McKenzie
on Monday and had little on the
line against the Bengals.
BILLS 14, LIONS 13: Josh
Allen threw a 42-yard touchdown
pass to Robert Foster early in the
fourth quarter to rally Buffalo and
eliminate the Lions from playoff
contention.
Allen also scored on a 3-yard
run and finished 13 of 26 for 204
yards and no turnovers. Foster
had four catches for 108 yards to
top 100 for the third time in five
games since being promoted from
the practice squad.
With Buffalo (5-9) trailing 13-7,
Allen stayed patient in the pocket
and waited for Foster to complete
an up-and-out to the right side of
the field.
Foster was wide open as he
reached the right hash mark and
caught Allen’s pass in stride, and
then beat a defender to the pylon
with 10:56 remaining.
Cook
Standings
AMERICAN CONFERENCE
East
W
L T
Pet
PF
PA
New England
9
5 0
.643
374
310
Miami
7
7 0
.500
295
374
Buffalo
5
9 0
.357
215
333
N.Y. Jets
4
10 0
South
.286
292
359
W
L T
Pet
PF
PA
Houston
10
4 0
.714
352
281
Indianapolis
8
6 0
.571
372
300
Tennessee
8
6 0
.571
268
254
Jacksonville
4
10 0
North
.286
225
289
W
L T
Pet
PF
PA
Pittsburgh
8
5 1
.607
384
316
Baltimore
8
6 0
.571
341
253
Cleveland
6
7 1
.464
309
348
Cincinnati
6
8 0
West
.429
337
413
W
L T
Pet
PF
PA
x-Kansas City
11
3 0
.786
499
380
x-L.A. Chargers
11
3 0
.786
395
298
Denver
6
8 0
.429
306
299
Oakland 3 11 0 .214
NATIONAL CONFERENCE
East
260
418
W
L T
Pet
PF
PA
Dallas
8
6 0
.571
276
269
Washington
7
7 0
.500
265
310
Philadelphia
6
7 0
.462
281
295
N.Y. Giants
5
9 0
South
.357
307
348
W
L T
Pet
PF
PA
y-New Orleans
11
2 0
.846
447
283
Carolina
6
7 0
.462
324
332
Atlanta
5
9 0
.357
356
381
Tampa Bay
5
9 0
North
.357
344
403
W
L T
Pet
PF
PA
y-Chicago
10
4 0
.714
383
264
Minnesota
7
6 1
.536
323
308
Green Bay
5
8 1
.393
332
331
Detroit
5
9 0
West
.357
284
333
W
L T
Pet
PF
PA
y-L.A. Rams
11
2 0
.846
425
313
Seattle
8
6 0
.571
363
292
San Francisco
4
10 0
.286
301
373
Arizona
3
11 0
.214
192
367
x-clinched playoff spot
y-clinched division
Saturday’s Games
Houston 29, N.Y. Jets 22
Cleveland 17, Denver 16
Sunday’s Games
Baltimore 20, Tampa Bay 12
Washington 16, Jacksonville 13
Indianapolis 23, Dallas 0
Buffalo 14, Detroit 13
Chicago 24, Green Bay 17
Minnesota 41, Miami 17
Tennessee 17, N.Y. Giants 0
Atlanta 40, Arizona 14
Cincinnati 30, Oakland 16
Pittsburgh 17, New England 10
San Francisco 26, Seattle 23, OT
Philadelphia at L.A. Rams, 8:20 p.m.
Monday’s Games
New Orleans at Carolina, 8:15 p.m.
Associated Press
Miami RB Gore goes
out with hurt ankle
Miami’s Frank Gore hurt his
left ankle on the second-to-last
play of the first
quarter and
didn’t return to
the Dolphins’
loss at Minnesota
on Sunday.
Gore, the
NFL’s active
rushing leader,
had five carries
for 14 yards in
Miami’s 41-17 loss.
Backup defensive tackle Ziggy
Hood (hamstring) limped off
the field at the end of the third
quarter.
Bears safety Eddie Jackson was
injured during his interception in
the fourth quarter of the Bears’
win over the Packers. Jackson
had to be helped off the field with
a sprained right ankle after his
leg bent awkwardly as he tried to
slide on the return.
Linebacker Aaron Lynch left
with an elbow injury in the third
quarter. He walked off the field
clutching his right arm after he
was hurt fighting a block on a run
by Jamaal Williams.
Packers running back Aaron
Jones left with a knee injury in the
first quarter and wide receiver
Randall Cobb was evaluated for a
concussion following a hard hit by
Jackson late in the game.
Bengals receiver Tyler Boyd
reached 1,000 yards receiving for
the first time in his career before
hurting his right knee late in the
first half. He didn’t return and said
the injury isn’t serious after the
Bengals’ win over Oakland.
Raiders cornerback Gareon
Conley sustained a concussion in
the game.
Cardinals cornerback David
Amerson and left tackle Joe
Barksdale each left the game with
concussion symptoms and didn’t
return. Amerson collided with
Falcons receiver Mohamed Sanu.
Cowboys right guard Zack Mar
tin a game for the first time in his
career with an injured left knee.
Dallas improvised by moving left
guard Connor Williams to right
guard and inserting
Xavier Su’a-Filo at right guard.
But Su’a-Filo left early in the sec
ond quarter with an eye injury
and did not return to the loss to
the Colts. Indy defensive tackle
A1 Woods left in the third quarter
with an injured leg and did not
return.
Associated Press
Gore
injured his ribs on the TD catch
and only played a few snaps in
the third with the outcome all but
assured. Jones missed practice
one day this week with flu-like
symptoms.
Cardinals cornerback David
Amerson and left tackle Joe Barks
dale each left with
concussion symp
toms and didn’t
return. Amerson
collided with
Falcons receiver
Mohamed Sanu in
the first. It wasn’t
clear when Barks
dale was hurt.
Injured Atlanta
running back
Devonta Freeman likely won’t
return this season, but he was on
the sideline cheering on his team
mates. Tight end Austin Hooper
did not catch a pass and was only
targeted once as he played through
a sore knee he hurt last week at
Green Bay. Johnson, playing with
a sore quadriceps, ran 11 times for
33 yards and caught three passes
for 68.
EYES ON THE PRIZE: The Fal
cons had a respite from season-long
difficulty in creating takeaways.
Brian Poole had
an interception
and combined
with Jarrett on a
strip-sack fumble
recovery. Bruce
Irvin had his
best game with
Atlanta, finishing
with 1 y 2 sacks
and three QB
hits.
“It was good to come out and
have a good showing on defense
today, get a couple turnovers, a
couple forced fumbles,” Jarrett
Falcons 40
Cardinals 14
Arizona 7 0 0 7—14
Atlanta 10 16 7 7—40
First Quarter
Ari—Da.Johnson 1 run (Gonzalez kick), 8:25.
Atl—D.Jones 41 interception return (Bryant kick), 6:11.
Atl—FG Bryant 22, :37.
Second Quarter
Atl—Ryan 1 run (Bryant kick), 12:32.
Atl—FG Bryant 33,5:16.
Atl—J.Jones 21 pass from Ryan (pass failed), :13.
Third Quarter
Atl—T.Coleman 43 run (Bryant kick), 5:39.
Fourth Quarter
Atl—Hardy 5 pass from Ryan (Bryant kick), 11:14.
Ari—Sheffield 7 pass from Glennon (Gonzalez kick),
3:14.
A—72,084.
Ari
Atl
First downs
18
23
Total Net Yards
253
435
Rushes-yards
22-60
27-215
said. “Deion Jones got a touch
down. So it was good to come out
and make some stuff happen on
D.”
ALL DOUBT ERASED: Begin
ning the game with a less than
1 percent chance of making the
Passing
193
220
Punt Returns
3-31
2-10
Kickoff Returns
0-0
1-7
Interceptions Ret.
0-0
2-41
Comp-Att-Int
23-36-2
22-36-0
Sacked-Yards Lost
7-50
2-11
Punts
7-48.0
6-44.3
Fumbles-Lost
1-1
0-0
Penalties-Yards
8-75
6-50
Time of Possession
29:20
30:40
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Arizona, Da.Johnson 11-33, Edmonds 8-22,
Rosen 2-8, Logan 1-(minus 3). Atlanta, T.Coleman 11-145,
Smith 9-34, Ryan 3-18, Sanu 1-11, Hill 3-7.
PASSING—Arizona, Rosen 13-22-2-132, Glennon
10-14-0-111. Atlanta, Ryan 22-36-0-231.
RECEIVING—Arizona, Fitzgerald 7-82, Logan 4-18,
Da.Johnson 3-68, Seals-Jones 3-22, Sheffield 3-15,
Edmonds 2-22, Gresham 1-16. Atlanta, J.Jones 6-82,
Ridley 5-42, Sanu 3-30, Hardy 3-29, Gage 2-33, Smith
2-5, Hall 1-10.
MISSED FIELD GOALS—None.
Associated Press
playoffs, the Falcons were math
ematically eliminated.
“You make your bed throughout
the year, and today was a good day
for us as a team, but obviously not
playing in the postseason is disap
pointing,” Ryan said.
Freeman
Poole
