RAVENS 24, BILLS 17
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Lamar Jackson threw three touchdown passes and the Baltimore Ravens became the AFC's first team to clinch a playoff berth following their victory over the Buffalo Bills.
Baltimore extended its franchise-best winning streak to nine and improved to 11-2, its best record through 13 games in team history.
Jackson finished 16 of 25 for 145 yards and appeared to blow open the game by putting the Ravens up 24-9 following a 4-yard touchdown pass to Willie Snead with 9:49 left.
Buffalo's Josh Allen responded with a seven-play, 78-yard touchdown drive capped by his 3-yard pass to Cole Beasley, who dived inside the left pylon. The same two then hooked up on a two-point conversion.
The outcome wasn't decided until there were 63 seconds remaining. Facing fourth-and-8 at the Baltimore 16, Allen's pass over the middle intended for John Brown was broken up by Marcus Peters at the goal line.
Jackson upped his record to 17-3 since being selected with the final pick of the first round in the 2018 draft. Allen, drafted with the seventh pick overall, dropped to 14-10.
Buffalo (9-4) had a three-game winning streak snapped, and fell short 10 days since grabbing national attention following a 26-15 victory at Dallas on Thanksgiving Day.
The game was played in balmy conditions for the second week of December in Buffalo, with temperatures in the mid-40s with winds gusting above 20 mph off nearby Lake Erie. It was much better conditions for the Ravens than last week, when Baltimore overcame rain and winds to eke out a 20-17 victory over San Francisco on Justin Tucker's 49-yard field goal as time expired.
The Bills' defense stymied one of the NFL's most dynamic offenses by limiting the Ravens to 257 yards and forcing a season-high seven punts. Punter Sam Koch entered the day with just 24 punts in Baltimore's first 12 games.
TITANS 42, RAIDERS 21
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Ryan Tannehill threw for 391 yards and three touchdowns, Derrick Henry ran for two scores and the Titans won their fourth consecutive game.
The Titans (8-5) bounced back from a deflected interception on the opening drive to score TDs on five of their next seven possessions to improve to 6-1 with Tannehill as the starting quarterback. The win moved them into a tie for first place in the AFC South with Houston, with the teams set to meet twice in the final three weeks.
Tennessee broke open a tight game with a three-touchdown barrage in a span of just over seven minutes of the second half that all but ended the playoff hopes for the Raiders (6-7) in their final season in Oakland.
Henry, who rushed for 103 yards, broke a 21-21 tie with a 10-yard TD run midway through the third quarter to cap an 89-yard drive.
What had been a promising season for the Raiders with a three-game win streak in November that improved them to 6-4 has gone off the rails the past three weeks. They lost by 31 points in successive road games against the Jets and Chiefs and then fell apart in the second half against Tennessee.
This marked just the second time in franchise history that Oakland dropped three in a row by at least 21 points, having also done it in 2012.
Tannehill threw two TD passes in the first half to rookie A.J. Brown, including a 91-yarder. Brown finished with five catches for 153 yards.
Tennessee finished with 552 yards, their second most since the merger in 1970.
STEELERS 23, CARDINALS 17
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Diontae Johnson ran for an 85-yard touchdown on a punt return and caught a pass for another score.
Pittsburgh's defense had three crucial interceptions in the second half -- two by Joe Haden and another by T.J. Watt -- to end Arizona drives, including two that had ventured into Steelers' territory.
Pittsburgh (8-5) won for the seventh time in eight games to stay in the AFC playoff race. Rookie free agent quarterback Devlin Hodges made his third career start, completing 16 of 19 passes for 152 yards and a touchdown.
Hodges didn't need to make many tough throws but came through with a good one in the third quarter, hitting Johnson in the front corner of the end zone for a 2-yard touchdown that gave the Steelers a 20-10 lead.
Hodges also finished with 34 yards rushing.
Arizona's Kyler Murray completed 20 of 30 passes for 194 yards and two touchdowns, but his three interceptions were very costly.
The Cardinals (3-9-1) lost their sixth consecutive game.
They pulled within 20-17 on Murray's 24-yard touchdown pass to David Johnson with 6:44 left, taking advantage of a short field after Steelers punter Jordan Berry fumbled. The Cardinals had a chance to win on the final drive, but Murray's desperation fourth-down heave was intercepted by Haden.
The Steelers never trailed, pulling ahead 10-0 late in the first quarter after Johnson's 85-yard touchdown. He caught Andy Lee's 60-yard punt, used a few blocks and then cut across the field to his right, where he found lots of room to run.
From that point, he was escorted down the sideline by a handful of teammates, running into the end zone untouched.
CHARGERS 45, JAGUARS 10
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Philip Rivers threw for 314 yards and three touchdowns, including an 84-yarder to Austin Ekeler that was the longest completion of the quarterback's 16-year NFL career.
It was Jacksonville's fifth consecutive lopsided loss, all by at least 17 points. The 1986 Tampa Bay Buccaneers were the last NFL team to drop five consecutive by at least 17.
Jacksonville's last two have been embarrassments at home -- both essentially settled before halftime.
The Chargers (5-8) scored on four of five possessions in the first half, picking apart Jacksonville's beleaguered defense and taking a 24-3 into the locker room. It was a welcome cushion for a team whose eight losses each came by seven points or fewer.
It was more of the same for the Jaguars (4-9), who trailed by as many as 25, 32, 24 and 23 in their previous four blowouts.
Rivers has now thrown for 2,668 yards and 24 touchdowns in nine career starts against the Jaguars. He has 17 TD passes and an interception in his last five against Jacksonville.
Ekeler finished with 213 total yards, including 101 rushing and 112 receiving. Melvin Gordon added 55 and a touchdown on the ground.
PACKERS 20, REDSKINS 15
GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Aaron Jones rushed for a season-high 134 yards and a touchdown on just 16 carries. Jones had his third 100-yard rushing game of the season and hauled in six catches for 58 yards. With fewer than three minutes left in the game, the third-year running back had more total yards (192) than the Redskins (187).
Dwayne Haskins completed 16 of 27 passes for 170 yards and a touchdown with an interception for Washington (3-10), which was officially eliminated from playoff contention. The rookie quarterback was sacked four times.
Adrian Peterson became the sixth back in NFL history to reach the 14,000-yard mark, running for 76 yards and a score. He now has 14,036 yards in a 13-year career. Curtis Martin is fifth all-time with 14,101 yards.
Derrius Guice exited after five carries with a knee injury.
Green Bay (10-3) leads the NFC North.
After Mason Crosby's field goal, Hopkins nailed a 52-yarder to cut it to 17-9 before the end of the third.
Crosby was good on a 33-yard attempt with 2:34 to go to seal the win.
BUCCANEERS 38, COLTS 35
TAMPA, Fla -- Jameis Winston threw for 456 yards and four touchdowns, helping the Buccaneers rally to beat the reeling Colts.
Winston overcame throwing three more interceptions and having one returned for a TD for the fifth time season to wipe out a 14-point second-half deficit. He led the Bucs (6-7) to their third consecutive victory and fourth in five games.
The Colts (6-7) have dropped five of six following a 5-2 start, falling from first place to third in the AFC South.
Winston threw for TDs of 61 yards to Mike Evans, 3 yards to Cameron Brate and 17 yards to Justin Watson before putting the Bucs ahead for good with a 12-yarder to Breshad Perriman with 3:51 remaining.
Jacoby Brissett completed 19 of 36 passes for 251 yards, 2 TDs and no interceptions for Indianapolis. Darius Leonard returned one of his two interceptions 80 yards for a second-quarter TD, and Marcus Johnson had a 46-yard scoring reception and finished with 105 yards on three catches for the Colts.
Chase McLaughlin, signed last week to fill in for injured kicker Adam Vinatieri, made field goals of 50 and 19 yards but a 47-yarder that would have given the Colts a 38-31 lead hit the right upright and bounced away midway through the fourth quarter.
Winston began the day ranked second in the NFL in passing yardage, but has thrown a league-leading 23 interceptions and turned the ball over 28 times overall.
FALCONS 40, PANTHERS 20
ATLANTA -- Matt Ryan threw the longest touchdown pass of his career and became the 10th quarterback in NFL history to reach 50,000 yards.
The Panthers (5-8) were officially eliminated from playoff contention with their fifth consecutive loss, which ruined the debut of interim coach Perry Fewell. He took over at the beginning of the week after longtime coach Ron Rivera was fired.
Atlanta (4-9) snapped a two-game losing streak and swept the season series with its I-85 rival. The Falcons won the first meeting 29-3 at Charlotte on Nov. 17.
Throwing from his end zone, Ryan finished off the Panthers with a 93-yard touchdown pass to little-used Olamide Zaccheaus in the third quarter. It was a milestone play for both: the longest TD of Ryan's 12-year career, and the first career reception for Zaccheaus, an undrafted rookie.
Fewell and the Panthers endured a thoroughly miserable game. Kyle Allen was picked off twice and lost a fumble. Carolina fumbled another one away on a kickoff return, the ball deflecting into the arms of kicker Younghoe Koo, setting off a wild celebration as Koo bounced toward the sideline.
Koo also booted four field goals, including a 35-yard field goal on the final play of the first half put the Falcons ahead to stay at 13-10. The home team thoroughly dominated the final two quarters, outscoring Carolina 27-10 while piling up a season high for points.
Ryan increased his passing total to 50,279 yards. His next target on the career list is John Elway, the NFL's ninth-leading passer with 51,475 yards.
BROWNS 27, BENGALS 19
CLEVELAND -- Nick Chubb ran for 106 yards -- 99 after halftime -- and Baker Mayfield and Kareem Hunt had rushing touchdowns.
The Bengals have lost 10 consecutive AFC North games.
Denzel Ward returned an interception 61 yards for Cleveland's first score and the Browns (6-7) got a huge late break. Mayfield's third interception was reversed with a rare interference call to bounce back after a discouraging loss at Pittsburgh last week.
Cleveland needs to run the table to have any chance of ending its 17-year postseason drought, the NFL's current longest.
The Bengals (1-12) couldn't build on their win last week over the Jets and have dropped 19 of 21 over the past two seasons. Cincinnati running back Joe Mixon rushed for a career-high 146 yards and scored a TD. Bengals kicker Randy Bullock had field goals of 34, 44, 28 and 46 yards, the last with 12 seconds to go.
Dalton, who returned from a three-game benching last week to lead Cincinnati to its first win, went 22 of 38 for 262 yards.
Mayfield threw two interceptions in the first half and finished 11 of 24 for 192 yards. But he did enough to help Cleveland keep its season ticking.
VIKINGS 20, LIONS 7
MINNEAPOLIS -- Danielle Hunter had three of Minnesota's five sacks to spearhead a resurgence by the defense to stick the Lions with their sixth consecutive loss.
Kirk Cousins passed for 242 yards and a touchdown in an efficient if unspectacular performance. Dalvin Cook had 75 yards from scrimmage and a rushing score on 20 touches over three quarters as the Vikings (9-4) took it easy on their star tailback after an injury to his collarbone area forced him out of the previous game.
The defense stole the show, even though the opponent was undrafted rookie quarterback David Blough. Detroit's Matthew Stafford was sidelined by hip and back injuries for the fifth consecutive game.
Blough went 24 for 40 for 205 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions in the second half, and the Vikings yielded their lowest score in 31 regular-season games since a 16-0 win at Green Bay on Dec. 23, 2017.
For the first time this season, the Lions (3-9-1) never held a lead.
They entered the game with 92 first-quarter points, the most in the NFC, but they netted only 70 total yards on 32 plays in the first half and trailed 20-0 until Kenny Golladay's 10-yard reception in the end zone with 2:09 left. That catch pushed the third-year wide receiver past the 1,000-yard mark for the second consecutive season.
The Lions fell to 9-19-1 under Coach Matt Patricia, including 2-5 against NFC North foes.
Sports on 12/09/2019