|
 And then it wasn't, stretching deep into overtime before New
England's biggest winning rally in franchise history gave it a 34-31
victory over Denver.
In a game of turnovers in frigid and windy conditions Sunday night,
Tom Brady brought the Patriots back from a 24-0 halftime hole
created mostly by three lost fumbles. But Peyton Manning and Denver
got sloppy in the second half, then Tony Carter had a punt hit him
late in OT. New England (8-3) recovered, leading to Stephen
Gostkowski's 31-yard field goal to win it with 1:56 remaining.
"We had some of those plays in the first half that didn't really go
our way," said Brady, who is 10-4 against Manning. "It was nice to
get a good bounce when we needed it.
"It was not our best night, glad we won."
The bitter defeat for the visiting Broncos (9-2) ruined a superb
night for running back Knowshon Moreno. He rushed for 224 yards on
37 carries and a touchdown.
"Hated the way that ended, not getting a chance to get our hands on
the ball," Manning said.
Week 12 began when New Orleans (9-2) beat Atlanta (2-9) 17-13 on
Thursday night. The Monday night game has San Francisco (6-4) at
Washington (3-7).
Idle this week are Seattle (10-1), Cincinnati (7-4), Philadelphia
(6-5) and Buffalo (4-7).
___
PATRIOTS 34, BRONCOS 31
Brady outdueled Manning, throwing for 344 yards and three TDs,
completing 34 of 50 passes. Manning was 19 for 36 for 150 yards with
two TD passes.
Denver took its big lead as Von Miller returned a fumble 60 yards,
and two more fumbles led to Moreno's TD and Matt Prater's 27-yard
field goal. Manning connected with Jacob Tamme for a 10-yard TD in
the second quarter.
Then the Patriots came back. Their TDs came on passes of 5 and 14
yards to Julian Edelman, 6 to Rob Gronkowski, and Brandon Boldin's
1-yard run.
"We calmed down and played each play one play at a time, we didn't
turn the ball over in the second half," Edelman said. "We had a lot
of turnovers (early), including putting the ball on the ground,
myself included.
"We have done this a few times, played the situations, had guys step
up."
___
CHARGERS 41, CHIEFS 38
At Kansas City, Philip Rivers threw for 392 yards and three
touchdowns, the winner a 26-yarder to Seyi Ajirotutu with 24 seconds
remaining to end a three-game slide. Kansas City (9-2) won its first
nine games, but has lost two in a row. It remained tied with Denver
atop the AFC West.
The Chiefs had taken the lead when Alex Smith hit Dwayne Bowe for a
go-ahead score with 1:22 left. But the Chargers (5-6) still had two
timeouts, and they used both as they quickly moved downfield.
Ajirotutu's TD in tight coverage was just his third catch of the
season.
It also represented the eighth and final lead change in the game.
"It's one of those you'll never forget, that's for sure," said
Rivers, who toyed with a defense that had been among the NFL's best,
but was missing injured pass rushers Tamba Hali and Justin Houston
for much of the game.
"It's kind of what our season's been about. Can you drive and score
at the end?"
San Diego could.
Jamaal Charles added 115 yards rushing and two touchdowns for the
Chiefs, who had their highest best point total of the season.
___
PACKERS 26, VIKINGS 26
At Green Bay, backup quarterback Matt Flynn threw for 218 yards to
help the Packers storm back from a 16-point deficit, but Minnesota
(2-8-1) and Green Bay (5-5-1) could only muster field goals in
overtime.
Mason Crosby hit from 20 yards at 10:28 of the extra period and
Blair Walsh connected from 35 with 3:54 left.
One last chance for the Vikings went nowhere with 1 second left, and
the teams walked off with the first tie in the NFL since the Rams
and 49ers ended 24-24 on Nov. 11, 2012. It was the first game under
the tiebreaking rules instituted in 2012 that ended in a tie after
both teams kicked field goals to begin the extra period. It was the
second time a game had each team make field goals to open overtime;
Houston won the other last November over Jacksonville.
"It's an empty feeling. You go out there and didn't lose the game,"
Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. "But you feel like you didn't
accomplish what you set out to do."
___
BUCCANEERS 24, LIONS 21
At Detroit, Matthew Stafford's fourth interception went in and out
of Calvin Johnson's hands to rookie Johnthan Banks inside the Tampa
Bay 5 in the final minute, allowing the Buccaneers to hold on. Tampa
Bay (3-8) has won three straight after losing its first eight,
joining the 1978 St. Louis Cardinals as the only team to do that.
Tampa Bay rookie Mike Glennon was 14 of 21 for 247 yards and threw
two touchdowns to Tiquan Underwood, whose second score was an
85-yarder early in the fourth quarter.
The Lions (6-5) have lost two straight for the first time this
season. They can blame five turnovers for throwing away a chance to
improve their playoff position because no one in the NFC North won
Sunday. They are tied with Chicago atop the division.
Johnson had seven receptions for 115 yards, but he and the Lions
didn't take advantage of the Bucs playing the second half without
cornerback Darrelle Revis (groin).
___
RAMS 42, BEARS 21
At St. Louis, Tavon Austin's 65-yard touchdown run — his fourth
straight this season from beyond midfield — jump-started a 21-point
first quarter. The Rams (5-6) followed a 30-point rout of
Indianapolis in front of their largest crowd of the season, about
half of them clad Bears orange, with another big win. Late scores by
rookie backup running back Benny Cunningham and defensive end Robert
Quinn helped finish off the Bears (6-5), who remained tied for the
NFC North lead with Detroit.
Josh McCown passed for 352 yards and two touchdowns with an
interception for Chicago, which had won four straight in the series.
[to top of second column] |
The Long brothers — Chicago guard Kyle and St. Louis defensive end
Chris — lined up close to each other all day and were the focal
point of one skirmish in the first half. After McCown threw an
incomplete pass to fullback Tony Fiammetta in the second half,
Fiammetta and Rams cornerback Trumaine Johnson squared off, causing
players from both teams to rumble. Kyle Long raced down the field get to Rams end
William Hayes, and had him down before his big brother
intervened. Chris Long, who had taken the play off, raced off
the sideline to corral Kyle Long and drag him from the fight to
the sideline.
___ PANTHERS 20, DOLPHINS 16
At Miami, the Panthers won their seventh in a row, with two
consecutive late drives led by Cam Newton.
The Panthers quarterback converted a fourth-and-10 at his 20
with a completion to keep alive the winning drive, and Carolina
scored a touchdown with 43 seconds left. Newton hit Greg Olsen
with a 1-yard pass to cap a 12-play drive.
Carolina also rallied past the New England Patriots with a late
drive last Monday night.
"We didn't play our best early on," Newton said. "We couldn't
get it going. But we just find ways to win."
The Panthers (8-3) overcame a 16-3 first-half deficit to extend
their longest winning streak since 2003. Miami (5-6) fell to 2-2
since tackle Jonathan Martin left the team and the Dolphins'
bullying scandal began to mushroom.
___
COWBOYS 24, GIANTS 21
Tony Romo came through with clutch plays to lift the visiting
Cowboys (6-5) into the NFC East lead, tied with Philadelphia.
Romo threw for two touchdowns and led a drive that set up Dan
Bailey' 35-yard field goal on the final play. Dallas ended the
Giants' four-game winning streak and most of their playoff
hopes.
Romo hit two crucial third-down passes on the 14-play drive that
covered the final 4:45 after New York (4-7) tied the game on a
4-yard pass from Eli Manning to Louis Murphy Jr. and a 2-point
conversion run by Andre Brown.
Romo hit Jason Witten on TDs of 20 and 2 yards, and Dallas got a
defensive touchdown on a 50-yard fumble return by Jeff Heath.
___
CARDINALS 40, COLTS 11
Carson Palmer threw two touchdown passes to Larry Fitzgerald,
Karlos Dansby returned an interception 22 yards for a score and
the Host Cardinals (7-4) won their fourth in a row to strengthen
their wild-card playoff chances.
Cardinals coach Bruce Arians beat the team that propelled him to
coaching prominence last season, when he took over as Colts
interim coach while Chuck Pagano fought leukemia. Arians was the
NFL's Coach of the Year for 2012.
"The emotions of this game were gone way before kickoff," Arians
said. "I saw a lot of friends, a lot of dear guys on that team.
But once the whistle blows, it's just you and your brother in
the backyard."
Fitzgerald caught five passes for 52 yards, becoming the
youngest player in NFL history to reach 11,000 yards receiving.
Arizona's Michael Floyd had his second straight 100-yard
receiving day with seven catches for 104 yards.
Andrew Luck threw for 163 yards, but had only 84 through three
quarters as the Colts (7-4) fell behind 34-3.
___
RAVENS 19, JETS 3
At Baltimore, Joe Flacco threw a 66-yard touchdown pass to
Jacoby Jones and Justin Tucker kicked four field goals. Jones
had four catches for 103 yards and returned five punts for 108
yards.
The defending Super Bowl champion Ravens (5-6) had lost four of
five before bouncing back to beat New York (5-6) and keep their
playoff hopes alive. Baltimore won on the strength of its
defense as the Jets committed three turnovers and went 1 for 12
on third-down conversions. Rookie Geno Smith completed nine of
22 passes for 127 yards and two interceptions, both by Corey
Graham.
___
STEELERS 27, BROWNS 11
At Cleveland, the Steelers (5-6) continued their climb back into
AFC wild-card contention as Ben Roethlisberger threw two
touchdown passes. Roethlisberger connected on a 41-yard TD pass
to Antonio Brown and hit Emmanuel Sanders on a 4-yarder for the
Steelers, who have turned their season around following an 0-4
start.
Roethlisberger finished 22 of 34 for 217 yards and improved to
16-1 against the Browns (4-7), who have lost five of six.
Browns quarterback Jason Campbell sustained a concussion in the
third quarter when he was sacked by cornerback William Gay.
Campbell was struck in the helmet by Gay and his head snapped
back and banged the turf.
Gay later picked off Brandon Weeden and returned it 21 yards for
a TD.
___
TITANS 23, RAIDERS 19
At Oakland, Ryan Fitzpatrick's 10-yard touchdown pass to Kendall
Wright with 10 seconds remaining capped a mistake-free
performance that put the Titans back in playoff contention.
Fitzpatrick also threw a 54-yard TD pass to Justin Hunter and
Rob Bironas added three field goals for Tennessee (5-6), which
is in a six-way tie for the sixth and final playoff spot in the
AFC with five weeks left in the regular season.
The Raiders (4-7) missed a chance to get into that group as
Sebastian Janikowski missed two field goals.
___
JAGUARS 13, TEXANS 6
At Houston, Maurice Jones-Drew ran for a season-high 84 yards
and a touchdown and the Jaguars extended the Texans' losing
streak to a franchise-record nine games. The two-time AFC South
champions haven't won since Sept. 15.
Jones-Drew's touchdown on Jacksonville's first drive put the
Jaguars (2-9) on top, and they never trailed against an inept
Texans offense.
Josh Scobee kicked field goals of 30 and 53 yards to help the
Jaguars win for the second time in three games.
Case Keenum had the worst performance in his five starts,
throwing for just 169 yards with an interception for Houston
(2-9). ___
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