NFL Roundup
Vikings 23, Texans 6 HOUSTON - Adrian Peterson rushed for 86 yards, falling far short of the 2,000-yard mark, to help 9-6 Minnesota keep its playoff hopes alive with an upset of 12-3 Houston.
Vikings 23, Texans 6
HOUSTON - Adrian Peterson rushed for 86 yards, falling far short of the 2,000-yard mark, to help 9-6 Minnesota keep its playoff hopes alive with an upset of 12-3 Houston.
Peterson has 1,898 rushing yards and needs 208 to break the NFL single-season record of 2,105 set by the Los Angeles Rams' Eric Dickerson in 1984.
Minnesota 7 6 3 7 – 23
Houston 3 0 3 0 – 6
First quarter
Hou–FG S.Graham 51, 10:50.
Min–Rudolph 3 pass from Ponder (Walsh kick), 6:19.
Second quarter
Min–FG Walsh 56, 8:15.
Min–FG Walsh 41, :37.
Third quarter
Min–FG Walsh 39, 11:31.
Hou–FG S.Graham 33, :26.
Fourth quarter
Min–Gerhart 3 run (Walsh kick), 4:44.
A: 71,688.
Min Hou
First downs 22 11
Total Net Yards 345 187
Rushes-yards 42-174 16-34
Passing 171 153
Punt Returns 6-50 2-16
Kickoff Returns 2-54 4-84
Interceptions Ret. 0-0 0-0
Comp-Att-Int 16-30-0 18-33-0
Sacked-Yards Lost 1-3 4-25
Punts 4-45.5 7-50.4
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 3-2
Penalties-Yards 5-52 9-60
Time of Possession 34:46 25:14
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing: Minnesota, Peterson 25-86, Ponder 7-48, Gerhart 8-31, Wright 1-8, Asiata 1-1. Houston, Tate 4-17, Foster 10-15, Forsett 1-4, Yates 1-(minus 2).
Passing: Minnesota, Ponder 16-30-0-174. Houston, Schaub 18-32-0-178, Yates 0-1-0-0.
Receiving: Minnesota, Wright 5-53, Simpson 4-32, Rudolph 3-39, Jenkins 2-41, Gerhart 1-5, Peterson 1-4. Houston, Johnson 7-97, Daniels 3-27, Foster 2-14, G.Graham 2-14, Walter 1-12, Casey 1-6, Posey 1-6, Tate 1-2.
Missed Field Goals: None.
Panthers 17, Raiders 6
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Cam Newton threw for 171 yards and a touchdown and ran for 60 yards and another score in Carolina's win over Oakland.
The Panthers (6-9) held the Raiders (4-11) to 189 total yards in a game filled with shoving matches, plenty of heated exchanges, and six unnecessary roughness penalties. Carolina has won four of its last five under coach Ron Rivera.
Oakland 0 3 0 3 – 6
Carolina 7 7 0 3 – 17
First quarter
Car–S.Smith 23 pass from Newton (Gano kick), 3:12.
Second quarter
Oak–FG Janikowski 21, 6:25.
Car–Newton 3 run (Gano kick), :17.
Fourth quarter
Oak–FG Janikowski 31, 13:18.
Car–FG Gano 51, 2:46.
A: 73,026.
Oak Car
First downs 12 16
Total Net Yards 189 271
Rushes-yards 22-47 28-112
Passing 142 159
Punt Returns 4-2 1-14
Kickoff Returns 1-26 1-26
Interceptions Ret. 1-7 1-25
Comp-Att-Int 20-36-1 18-29-1
Sacked-Yards Lost 1-9 2-11
Punts 5-43.8 4-48.8
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 1-1
Penalties-Yards 6-70 10-97
Time of Possession 29:05 30:55
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing: Oakland, McFadden 17-33, Goodson 4-12, Pryor 1-2. Carolina, Newton 12-60, Tolbert 5-28, D.Williams 10-19, Adams 1-5.
Passing: Oakland, Leinart 16-32-1-115, Palmer 3-3-0-31, Pryor 1-1-0-5. Carolina, Newton 18-29-1-170.
Receiving: Oakland, Reece 4-18, McFadden 3-15, Moore 3-12, Myers 3-10, Heyward-Bey 2-31, Streater 2-16, Pryor 1-22, Hagan 1-19, Goodson 1-8. Carolina, Olsen 6-53, LaFell 5-38, S.Smith 4-45, D.Williams 2-29, Murphy 1-5.
Missed Field Goals: Carolina, Gano 48 (WR).
Packers 55, Titans 7
GREEN BAY, Wis. - Aaron Rodgers threw for three touchdowns and ran for another in 11-4 Green Bay's rout of Tennessee.
The Titans (5-10) needed until 1:39 left in the game to avoid the shutout.
Tennessee 0 0 0 7 – 7
Green Bay 14 6 14 21 – 55
First quarter
GB–Rodgers 6 run (Crosby kick), 6:54.
GB–Cobb 20 pass from Rodgers (Crosby kick), 4:28.
Second quarter
GB–FG Crosby 26, 14:36.
GB–FG Crosby 48, 4:40.
Third quarter
GB–Harris 7 run (Crosby kick), 12:04.
GB–G.Jennings 1 pass from Rodgers (Crosby kick), 5:47.
Fourth quarter
GB–J.Jones 12 pass from Rodgers (Crosby kick), 14:11.
GB–Grant 7 run (Crosby kick), 12:31.
GB–Grant 9 run (Crosby kick), 6:25.
Ten–Britt 2 pass from Locker (Bironas kick), 1:39.
A: 70,508.
Ten GB
First downs 10 28
Total Net Yards 180 460
Rushes-yards 22-79 35-117
Passing 101 343
Punt Returns 1-12 5-101
Kickoff Returns 9-176 0-0
Interceptions Ret. 0-0 2-20
Comp-Att-Int 13-30-2 28-40-0
Sacked-Yards Lost 7-39 1-8
Punts 8-47.0 3-39.7
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 0-0
Penalties-Yards 5-35 1-10
Time of Possession 25:36 34:24
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing: Tennessee, Locker 4-32, C.Johnson 11-28, Harper 6-19, Q.Johnson 1-0. Green Bay, Grant 20-80, Harris 8-29, Rodgers 4-11, Harrell 3-(minus 3).
Passing: Tennessee, Locker 13-30-2-140. Green Bay, Rodgers 27-38-0-342, Harrell 1-2-0-9.
Receiving: Tennessee, Williams 3-39, Britt 2-41, Preston 2-17, Washington 2-15, C.Johnson 2-13, Thompson 1-8, Stevens 1-7. Green Bay, J.Jones 7-100, G.Jennings 7-45, Finley 5-70, Cobb 3-62, D.Williams 3-20, Grant 1-34, Taylor 1-11, Kuhn 1-9.
Missed Field Goals: None.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The expectations placed upon Andrew Luck almost seemed unfair. Being the heir to Peyton Manning in Indianapolis is heady stuff for a rookie taking the reins of a club that won just two games last season.
Now, after guiding the Colts back to the playoffs - and breaking Cam Newton's single-season rookie passing record - it's safe to say Luck exceeded expectations.
He threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Reggie Wayne on third and goal late in the fourth quarter to give the Colts a 20-13 victory Sunday over the Kansas City Chiefs and put his team into the playoffs.
"Would we have done it without him?" Colts interim coach Bruce Arians asked. "No."
Luck broke Newton's record of 4,051 yards passing in the second quarter. But it was extending his own rookie record for fourth-quarter comebacks to seven that was more important.
The Chiefs had rallied behind Jamaal Charles' 226 yards rushing to tie the game, 13-13, heading into the fourth quarter. But the Colts' defense stuffed quarterback Brady Quinn on fourth and inches to give Luck a chance.
After a miserable stretch in which he connected on just 1 of 13 passes (he finished with 205 yards passing), the rookie led Indianapolis (10-5) downfield. He completed a key pass to T.Y. Hilton on third down and made two nice throws to Wayne before hitting the veteran in the back of the end zone.
"We had so many opportunities all game, especially on third down, that we squandered," Wayne said. "We wanted to get that done. That was the opportune time to do it."
Darius Butler returned an interception 32 yards for the Colts' other touchdown, helping them join the 2008 Miami Dolphins as the only teams to win at least 10 games after losing 14 or more the previous season.
Most of those wins have come under Arians, who has filled in admirably while Chuck Pagano underwent treatment for leukemia. Pagano is expected to rejoin the Colts this week.
Meanwhile, Peyton Hillis had 101 yards on the ground for the Chiefs (2-13), who had 352 yards rushing in a losing effort - the first time that's happened in NFL history.
Colts 20, Chiefs 13
Indianapolis 7 6 0 7 – 20
Kansas City 3 0 10 0 – 13
First quarter
Ind–Butler 32 interception return (Vinatieri kick), 10:08.
KC–FG Succop 47, 8:18.
Second quarter
Ind–FG Vinatieri 48, 13:27.
Ind–FG Vinatieri 36, :07.
Third quarter
KC–Charles 86 run (Succop kick), 14:40.
KC–FG Succop 47, 6:00.
Fourth quarter
Ind–Wayne 7 pass from Luck (Vinatieri kick), 4:08.
A: 62,938.
Ind KC
First downs 16 22
Total Net Yards 288 507
Rushes-yards 26-90 44-352
Passing 198 155
Punt Returns 0-0 3-2
Kickoff Returns 2-58 3-54
Interceptions Ret. 2-32 0-0
Comp-Att-Int 17-36-0 10-22-2
Sacked-Yards Lost 3-7 1-7
Punts 7-45.4 3-46.0
Fumbles-Lost 1-0 1-1
Penalties-Yards 4-48 9-75
Time of Possession 27:40 32:20
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing: Indianapolis, Ballard 20-69, Luck 6-21. Kansas City, Charles 22-226, Hillis 15-101, Quinn 5-11, McCluster 1-10, Draughn 1-4.
Passing: Indianapolis, Luck 17-35-0-205, Hilton 0-1-0-0. Kansas City, Quinn 10-22-2-162.
Receiving: Indianapolis, Wayne 5-81, Avery 5-38, Allen 3-18, Hilton 2-34, Moore 1-32, Fleener 1-2. Kansas City, Wylie 3-36, McCluster 3-30, Baldwin 2-64, Newsome 1-28, Charles 1-4.
Missed Field Goals: Kansas City, Succop 43 (WR).
PITTSBURGH - A.J. Green doesn't really care about the Cincinnati Bengals' sorry past. The wide receiver wasn't part of it and hasn't really taken the time to study it. The Bengals were bad. End of story. And now they're good. Beginning of story.
Andy Dalton hit Green for a 21-yard pass in the final minutes to set up Josh Brown's 43-yard field goal with four seconds left to lift the Bengals to a 13-10 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.
Cincinnati (9-6) clinched a second straight playoff berth after beating the Steelers (7-8) for the first time since 2009. Pittsburgh (7-8) was eliminated from the postseason.
The only other time the Bengals made the playoffs in consecutive seasons came in 1981-82, six years before Green was born.
"This has been our goal coming in at the beginning of the season," Green said. "A lot of people talked about we hadn't been in in back to back seasons in 30 years. I don't worry about that stuff. I've been here two years, and we made the playoffs all two years. That's all we can control."
Brown missed a 56-yarder earlier in the fourth quarter but earned a second chance when Reggie Nelson picked off Ben Roethlisberger and returned it to the Pittsburgh 46 with 14 seconds remaining. Dalton found Green down the right sideline on the next play, setting up Brown's winner.
Dalton completed 24 of 41 passes for 278 yards and two interceptions for the Bengals, who snapped a five-game losing streak to Pittsburgh. Green caught 10 passes for 116 yards, and Cincinnati's defense never let the Steelers get comfortable.
Bengals 13, Steelers 10
Cincinnati 7 3 0 3 – 13
Pittsburgh 0 7 3 0 – 10
First quarter
Cin–Hall 17 interception return (Brown kick), 2:15.
Second quarter
Cin–FG Brown 41, 1:53.
Pit–A.Brown 60 pass from Roethlisberger (Suisham kick), 1:09.
Third quarter
Pit–FG Suisham 40, 4:01.
Fourth quarter
Cin–FG Brown 43, :04.
A: 63,236.
Cin Pit
First downs 16 15
Total Net Yards 267 280
Rushes-yards 16-14 31-95
Passing 253 185
Punt Returns 3-(-2) 2-6
Kickoff Returns 0-0 3-67
Interceptions Ret. 2-27 2-6
Comp-Att-Int 24-41-2 14-28-2
Sacked-Yards Lost 6-25 4-35
Punts 6-52.7 7-45.3
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 2-1
Penalties-Yards 7-55 5-63
Time of Possession 28:15 31:45
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing: Cincinnati, Green-Ellis 15-14, M.Jones 1-0. Pittsburgh, Mendenhall 11-50, Dwyer 14-39, Redman 3-4, Roethlisberger 2-3, Wallace 1-(minus 1).
Passing: Cincinnati, Dalton 24-41-2-278. Pittsburgh, Roethlisberger 14-28-2-220.
Receiving: Cincinnati, Green 10-116, M.Jones 5-65, Gresham 3-38, Hawkins 3-30, Tate 1-23, Whalen 1-6, Green-Ellis 1-0. Pittsburgh, A.Brown 5-97, Miller 3-45, Redman 2-32, Cotchery 2-20, Sanders 1-13, Wallace 1-13.
Missed Field Goals: Cincinnati, Brown 56 (SH). Pittsburgh, Suisham 24 (WL), 53 (SH).
Rams 28, Buccaneers 13
TAMPA, Fla. - Sam Bradford tossed a pair of touchdown passes, and rookie cornerback Janoris Jenkins scored on a pick and 41-yard return in St. Louis' win over Tampa Bay.
St. Louis 0 14 14 0 – 28
Tampa Bay 3 3 7 0 – 13
First quarter
TB–FG Barth 29, 5:22.
Second quarter
StL–Jenkins 41 interception return (Zuerlein kick), 11:46.
TB–FG Barth 49, 5:56.
StL–Jackson 5 run (Zuerlein kick), :32.
Third quarter
StL–Kendricks 80 pass from Bradford (Zuerlein kick), 14:46.
StL–Pettis 5 pass from Bradford (Zuerlein kick), 10:47.
TB–Williams 61 pass from Freeman (Barth kick), 8:50.
A: 51,535.
StL TB
First downs 14 23
Total Net Yards 285 429
Rushes-yards 27-89 22-80
Passing 196 349
Punt Returns 0-0 3-7
Kickoff Returns 2-39 0-0
Interceptions Ret. 4-46 1-0
Comp-Att-Int 13-27-1 30-54-4
Sacked-Yards Lost 0-0 5-23
Punts 7-47.9 1-25.0
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 2-1
Penalties-Yards 9-64 1-5
Time of Possession 24:01 35:59
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing: St. Louis, Jackson 19-81, D.Richardson 5-9, Pead 1-0, Bradford 2-(minus 1). Tampa Bay, Martin 18-62, Freeman 4-18.
Passing: St. Louis, Bradford 13-27-1-196. Tampa Bay, Freeman 30-54-4-372.
Receiving: St. Louis, Kendricks 4-119, Givens 3-38, Gibson 2-33, Amendola 2-5, Pettis 1-5, Jackson 1-(minus 4). Tampa Bay, Williams 7-132, Jackson 7-108, Martin 7-57, Clark 4-33, Stocker 2-16, Lorig 2-8, Underwood 1-18.
Missed Field Goals: None.
Patriots 23, Jaguars 16
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - New England's Tom Brady overcame a rough start by throwing two touchdown passes to overcome woeful, 2-13 Jacksonville. The Jaguars led early but faded late to set a club record for losses in a season.
New England 3 10 3 7 – 23
Jacksonville 10 3 0 3 – 16
First quarter
Jac–Blackmon 3 pass from Henne (Scobee kick), 9:34.
Jac–FG Scobee 41, 5:43.
NE–FG Gostkowski 25, 3:15.
Second quarter
Jac–FG Scobee 35, 13:07.
NE–FG Gostkowski 49, 5:25.
NE–Woodhead 14 pass from Brady (Gostkowski kick), :18.
Third quarter
NE–FG Gostkowski 38, 11:44.
Fourth quarter
NE–Welker 2 pass from Brady (Gostkowski kick), 14:15.
Jac–FG Scobee 42, 8:42.
A: 70,251.
NE Jac
First downs 23 22
Total Net Yards 349 436
Rushes-yards 27-103 23-93
Passing 246 343
Punt Returns 3-42 4-36
Kickoff Returns 1-20 5-97
Interceptions Ret. 3-27 2-4
Comp-Att-Int 24-41-2 29-51-3
Sacked-Yards Lost 3-21 1-5
Punts 5-47.8 4-56.3
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 0-0
Penalties-Yards 4-39 5-47
Time of Possession 27:25 32:35
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing: New England, Ridley 18-84, Welker 1-9, Woodhead 3-7, Bolden 5-3. Jacksonville, Owens 10-42, Murphy 10-29, Henne 2-22, Jones 1-0.
Passing: New England, Brady 24-41-2-267. Jacksonville, Henne 29-51-3-348.
Receiving: New England, Welker 10-88, Lloyd 6-62, Hoomanawanui 2-46, Woodhead 2-38, Branch 2-12, Hernandez 1-13, Fells 1-8. Jacksonville, Blackmon 7-79, Shorts 6-54, Shipley 5-82, Owens 4-77, Lewis 4-27, Clemons 1-17, Jones 1-6, Stanback 1-6.
Missed Field Goals: Jacksonville, Scobee 43 (WL).
Dolphins 24, Bills 10
MIAMI - Reggie Bush caught two touchdown passes and scored on a short run to lead Miami over Buffalo.
The Dolphins (7-8) were eliminated from the playoffs when Cincinnati beat Pittsburgh, while the Bills (5-10) came into the game assured of missing the playoffs for the 13th consecutive year.
Buffalo 0 3 0 7 – 10
Miami 7 7 10 0 – 24
First quarter
Mia–Bush 17 pass from Tannehill (Kaeding kick), 2:54.
Second quarter
Buf–FG Lindell 42, 9:48.
Mia–Bush 1 run (Kaeding kick), :42.
Third quarter
Mia–Bush 12 pass from Tannehill (Kaeding kick), 8:32.
Mia–FG Kaeding 45, 4:17.
Fourth quarter
Buf–B.Smith 2 pass from Fitzpatrick (Lindell kick), 8:52.
A: 54,462.
Buf Mia
First downs 17 18
Total Net Yards 381 301
Rushes-yards 28-154 35-182
Passing 227 119
Punt Returns 1-14 2-26
Kickoff Returns 2-32 2-50
Interceptions Ret. 0-0 1-8
Comp-Att-Int 20-35-1 13-25-0
Sacked-Yards Lost 2-13 2-11
Punts 4-42.8 5-42.4
Fumbles-Lost 3-3 2-0
Penalties-Yards 11-93 3-25
Time of Possession 29:43 30:17
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing: Buffalo, Spiller 22-138, Fitzpatrick 4-18, B.Smith 1-1, Choice 1-(minus 3). Miami, L.Miller 10-73, Bush 19-65, Tannehill 6-44.
Passing: Buffalo, Fitzpatrick 20-35-1-240. Miami, Tannehill 13-25-0-130.
Receiving: Buffalo, Dickerson 4-54, St.Johnson 4-44, Spiller 4-35, Graham 3-49, Martin 2-22, B.Smith 2-11, Chandler 1-25. Miami, Bush 4-42, Binns 3-27, Matthews 2-37, Fasano 2-12, Hartline 2-12.
Missed Field Goals: Miami, Kaeding 46 (BK).
Chargers 27, Jets 17
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - San Diego sacked rookie quarterback Greg McElroy 11 times, ruining his first NFL start, as new York lost another game and assured itself of a losing season.
McElroy, the third-stringer who was starting for the benched Mark Sanchez, moved the offense for the Jets (6-9) early but faced pressure all game. With a chance to get New York back into it with less than five minutes remaining, McElroy was sacked by Shaun Phillips and lost the ball. Phillips recovered, and San Diego (6-9) sealed the win.
With most of the pregame drama centered around whether Sanchez or Tim Tebow would back up McElroy - it was both - quarterback Philip Rivers threw touchdown passes of 37 yards to Danario Alexander and 34 yards to Antonio Gates to lead the Chargers.
San Diego 7 3 14 3 – 27
N.Y. Jets 14 0 0 3 – 17
First quarter
SD–Spurlock 63 punt return (Novak kick), 13:01.
NYJ–Greene 1 run (Folk kick), 9:20.
NYJ–Greene 1 run (Folk kick), 4:13.
Second quarter
SD–FG Novak 51, 8:32.
Third quarter
SD–Alexander 37 pass from Rivers (Novak kick), 11:11.
SD–Gates 34 pass from Rivers (Novak kick), 1:34.
Fourth quarter
SD–FG Novak 27, 14:07.
NYJ–FG Folk 40, 11:08.
A: 79,088.
SD NYJ
First downs 15 18
Total Net Yards 223 225
Rushes-yards 30-87 23-69
Passing 136 156
Punt Returns 4-107 2-19
Kickoff Returns 4-66 4-122
Interceptions Ret. 1-30 0-0
Comp-Att-Int 11-22-0 15-25-1
Sacked-Yards Lost 4-29 11-71
Punts 6-42.0 6-44.3
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 1-1
Penalties-Yards 5-53 6-40
Time of Possession 30:09 29:51
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing: San Diego, Battle 19-49, Brown 5-31, Rivers 5-4, Brinkley 1-3. N.Y. Jets, Greene 14-38, McElroy 4-25, McKnight 1-7, Kerley 1-2, Powell 3-(minus 3).
Passing: San Diego, Rivers 11-22-0-165. N.Y. Jets, McElroy 14-24-1-185, Kerley 1-1-0-42.
Receiving: San Diego, Alexander 3-69, Royal 3-39, Gates 2-44, Brown 2-8, Battle 1-5. N.Y. Jets, Powell 4-37, Gates 3-65, Edwards 3-36, Greene 2-42, Schilens 2-31, H.Smith 1-16.
Missed Field Goals: None.