N.F.L. Scores: Dallas Cowboys Grab Lead Against Giants
Things started quietly for the Dallas Cowboys’ offense in the team’s rematch with the only N.F.L. team to ever beat Dak Prescott, but the phenom quarterback found Terrance Williams for an easy 31-yard touchdown on his team’s second offensive possession, and the Cowboys lead the Giants 7-0 early in the second quarter.
The touchdown throw was vintage Prescott, if such a thing can exist for a rookie quarterback. He remained patient after just missing a touchdown on the previous play, and rolled out on a bootleg that fooled the entire Giants defense, letting Williams get wide open in the middle of the field for an easy score.
The Giants looked to be threatening on the team’s next drive, getting all the way to the Dallas 24-yard line, but Eli Manning was sacked by Sean Lee and fumbled the ball, letting Prescott start the second quarter with the lead and the ball. But Prescott made a rare mistake, giving the ball back when Dez Bryant slipped with a ball headed his way and Janoris Jenkins coming up with the interception. It was just the third interception of the season by Prescott, who is up to 20 touchdowns.
In their last meeting, the Giants came back to win in the fourth quarter, with the score having been kept close thanks to Ezekiel Elliott, the Cowboys’ other star rookie, being limited to 51 yards on 20 carries. With 11 minutes left in the second quarter, Elliott is already up to 31yards.
Packers Rout Seahawks to Keep Playoff Hopes Alive
Life without Earl Thomas may be quite a learning experience for the Seattle Seahawks.
In Seattle’s first game without Thomas since 2009, the Packers exploited the absence of the All-Pro safety, who broke his leg last week. That, combined with an uncharacteristic five-interception game from Russell Wilson led to an easy 38-10 win for the Packers on a cold night at Lambeau Field.
Things for Seattle’s defense were bad from the start. On just the third play of the game, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers rolled slightly to his right before seeing Davante Adams in single-coverage against Jeremy Lane. Rodgers, relying on Adams’ ability to outrun the cornerback, launched the ball downfield with Adams catching it in stride as Lane hit the turf. Adams cruised into the end zone untouched for a 66-yard touchdown.
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Perhaps more important than Lane’s failure in coverage was Steven Terrell, the safety charged with filling in for Thomas, not being able to provide any help on the play, trailing hopelessly behind as Adams crossed the goal line.
Green Bay added to their lead with a 1-yard touchdown run from Ty Montgomery, the team’s wide receiver turned running back, and two touchdown receptions by Jordy Nelson, giving the receiver an N.F.L.-leading 12 for the season.
Rodgers, who set a goal for the Packers to “run the table” after a 4-6 start to the season, completed 18 of 23 passes for 246 yards and 3 touchdowns despite hobbling around for much of the game with an injury that may have been related to the hamstring issues he has been working through.
With the score out of reach, Rodgers sat out almost the entire fourth quarter, but finished the game with a stellar passer rating of 150.8, which was quite a contrast with Wilson’s 43.7, as the Seattle quarterback, who spent much of the game running away from a relentless Green Bay pass-rush, had perhaps the worst game of his career. The only other time Wilson had thrown four interceptions in a game was in the 2014 N.F.C. championship against the Packers, but the Seahawks went on to win that game in overtime.
It was the worst margin of defeat of Wilson’s career, as he had never lost by more than 10 points in a regular season or postseason game, but with an 8-4-1 record, the Seahawks still have a wide lead over the 5-7 Arizona Cardinals in the N.F.C. West. The road to the playoffs is far more complex for the Packers, who still trail the Giants, Buccaneers and Redskins in the hunt for one of the conference’s two wild card spots.
Redskins Keep Playoff Hopes Alive
The Washington Redskins had blown a nine-point lead in the fourth quarter and the Philadelphia Eagles, playing at home, seemed to have momentum on their side. But Washington kept pushing and Chris Thompson broke free for a go-ahead 25-yard touchdown run in what proved to be a 27-22 Redskins victory. The Redskins, having regained the team’s lost lead, held strong against Carson Wentz on Philadelphia’s final drive, forcing a fumble that secured the team’s seventh win of the season.
It was a wild second half, made even wilder as the Eagles resorted to sideline tryouts for a new longsnapper after a series of injuries. Brent Celek, a tight end, was sent out for one attempt but his snap was fumbled by Donnie Jones resulting in a turnover on downs that Washington converted into a touchdown. Trey Burton, also a tight end, then got a shot and found more success, with his snap being handled cleanly by Jones, who got it down for a 41-yard field goal by Caleb Sturgis.
It was not one of Kirk Cousins’ prettier games. The Washington quarterback completed 14 of 21 passes for 234 yards and 2 touchdowns, and his pick-six early in the fourth quarter initially appeared to be disastrous. But thanks to rushing touchdowns by Robert Kelly and Thompson, the game did not require Cousins to carry the entire offense.
Philadelphia, meanwhile, continued a season-long theme of looking great at times but ultimately falling short as Wentz continues to try to adjust to life in the N.F.L.
Steelers Ride Le’Veon Bell Against Bills
With the conditions in Buffalo getting brutal, and Ben Roethlisberger struggling with turnovers, the Pittsburgh Steelers put the ball in Le’Veon Bell’s hands and the star running back carried the team to a 27-20 victory over the Bills.
Snow fell steadily in the game, with the condition of the field causing a significant delay to start the second half, but the Steelers, after initially showing a commitment to the passing game, let the weather Roethlisberger’s three interceptions convince them to go back to basics.
Bell was more than up to the task, carrying the ball 38 times for a career-high 236 yards and 3 touchdowns, while also catching 4 passes for 62 yards. His 198 yards from scrimmage fell just short of Antonio Brown’s franchise record of 306.
Playing in just his tenth game of the season following a three-game suspension, Bell’s efforts put him over 1,000 rushing yards in a season for just the second time in his four-year career, with his average of 105.3 yards a game representing a career high. The three touchdowns doubled his output for the season.
With Bell shouldering the load for his team’s offense, Pittsburgh’s defense struggled some to contain the Buffalo offense in the second half, but ultimately did enough to secure the Steelers’ eighth win of the season while dropping Buffalo’s record below .500.
Here’s what else happened so far in N.F.L. Week 14:
■ Lions Hang On: Matthew Stafford scrambled for a 7-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter to give the Detroit Lions 20-17 victory over the Chicago Bears. On the Lions’ previous drive, Cre’Von LeBlanc intercepted Stafford and returned the pick for a touchdown to give the Bears a brief lead.
■ Jets Rally: Bilal Powell ran for 145 yards, including the game-winning 19-yard touchdown in overtime, to help Bryce Petty and the Jets rally from 14 points down on Sunday and beat the San Francisco 49ers, 23-17.
Petty threw an interception on his first pass of the game, and the Jets (4-9) trailed by 14-0 less than five minutes into the game. San Francisco (1-12) led, 17-3, at halftime but fell flat after that and lost a franchise-worst 12th straight game.
■ Texans Top Colts: Lamar Miller scored Houston’s only touchdown and the Texans defense stopped Andrew Luck on Indy’s final drive of the game to preserve a 22-17 victory on Sunday. Houston (7-6) retained a share of the AFC South lead with by ending its three-game losing streak.
The Texans won for the second straight year in Indy, have won nine straight against division foes and got their first sweep of the Colts in franchise history. — Associated Press
■ Tannehill Hurt as Dolphins Beat Cardinals: Ryan Tannehill threw three touchdown passes before being sidelined with a knee injury, and Andrew Franks kicked a 21-yard field goal as time expired to help the Miami Dolphins beat the Arizona Cardinals 26-23 Sunday.
Tannehill limped to the locker room late in the third quarter after being hit around the legs by defensive tackle Calais Campbell as he released a completion. The Dolphins led 21-9 when Tannehill departed, and backup Matt Moore failed to lead Miami to a first down in his first three series. — Associated Press
■ Winston Scoreless in Bucs’ Victory: Jameis Winston and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers came away with a 16-11 victory over the New Orleans Saints that helped them stay in position for a wild card berth, but the game saw an end to an incredible streak from the young quarterback. After throwing or rushing for a touchdown in each of 27 games in college and his first 28 games in the N.F.L., Winston was kept out of the end zone, with Tampa Bay’s scoring coming off of a Doug Martin run and three field goals.
■ Panthers Beat Chargers: Carolina’s defense forced a season-high five turnovers by Chargers’ quarterback Philip Rivers, recorded five sacks and a crucial fourth-quarter safety in a 28-16 win over San Diego. — Associated Press
■ Tickets for underwhelming matchup between the Bengals (4-7-1) and the Browns (0-12) were listed on Stubhub for as little as $6 before the game, with the cold weather, snow, and awful football all contributing to keeping fans away. Those who stayed home seem smart as Cleveland lost to Cincinnati, 23-10. It was an underwhelming return for Browns quarterback Robert Griffin III, who was 12-for-28 for just 104 yards.
Seahawks Face Packers Without Earl Thomas
For the first time since 2009, the Seattle Seahawks will take the field without Earl Thomas, the team’s All-Pro safety, who broke his leg in last week’s win over Carolina. Suddenly a team that had been thinking Super Bowl has to figure out how to replace one of its three or four most important players.
There is a tendency in the N.F.L. to give too much credit to individuals, but there are certain schemes that require key players and Thomas and his fellow safety Kam Chancellor have combined with Richard Sherman to form one of the greatest secondaries in N.F.L. history. Thomas and Chancellor eliminate the middle of the field, which allows Sherman and a rotating cast of other cornerbacks to thrive in coverage on the outside.
Seattle has clearly suffered in the times that Chancellor has been forced out of games, and now will have to go up against Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers without a player who has been a fixture in 107 consecutive games. Steven Terrill, a fourth-year player, filled in for Thomas after the injury last week and presumably would continue to do so for the remainder of the season.
The Packers had looked like a pushover just a few weeks ago when the team’s record dropped to 4-6, but with two consecutive wins, and Rodgers setting a goal to “run the table” and finish 10-6, they will try to take advantage of the cold and snowy conditions at Lambeau Field to give them a third straight win.
Here are the other key story lines for N.F.L. Week 14:
■ The Jets and Giants could not be facing more different opponents. The Giants have their hands full with the Dallas Cowboys, winners of 11 consecutive games, while the Jets offense should get a boost from a game against the woeful defense of the San Francisco 49ers, losers of 11 straight.
P.C: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/11/sports/nfl-scores-schedule.html
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