Bills end Dallas win streak but Cowboys reach NFL playoffs

Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen made NFL history to ignite the Bills' 31-10 rout of Dallas on Sunday to snap a five-game win streak even as the Cowboys clinched a playoff berth.

James Cook ran 25 times for 179 yards and a touchdown and Bills defenders dominated the Cowboys in improving Buffalo to 8-6, still out of a playoff spot with three games remaining, while Dallas slid to 10-4.

"That James Cook. What a game from him," Allen said. "He ran the ball so hard. Our offensive line gave him holes to run through. Our guys on the perimeter blocked their tails off... and our defense came out and played so well."

Despite wind and heavy rain, Cook was the first Bill with a rushing and reception touchdown and more than 200 total yards in a game since Thurman Thomas in 1991.

"Every opportunity that came my way, just had to make it count," Cook said. "Once you get the ball, you can't hesitate. You have to go."

After marching 75 yards on their first drive to grab the lead on Latavius Murray's 2-yard touchdown run, the Bills got an 18-yard Allen touchdown pass to Cook and a 1-yard Allen touchdown run to seize a 21-3 lead, the largest Dallas halftime deficit in three years.

That gave Allen an NFL-record 10th game this season with touchdowns rushing and passing.

"It wasn't a pretty passing game," Allen said. "We had the rain and wind and when in doubt, give it to our running backs to grind out some yards. We were smart with the ball."

The Cowboys, who haven't won the NFL crown since the 1995 season, secured a third consecutive playoff appearance before the start, thanks to losses by Atlanta and Green Bay, but lost ground in their quest to overtake San Francisco for the NFC top seed and first-round playoff bye.

Playoff-bound San Francisco, powered by Brock Purdy's four touchdown passes, captured the NFC West division crown and improved to 11-3 by beating host Arizona, 45-29.

Ravens reach playoffs 

The 49ers stretched their win streak to six games and that combined with Atlanta and Green Bay losses secured a playoff berth for the Philadelphia Eagles (10-3), who visit Seattle on Monday.

The Baltimore Ravens became the fourth team to qualify for the playoffs with a 23-7 victory at Jacksonville and stayed atop the AFC at 11-3.

The Los Angeles Rams kept Detroit from sealing a playoff spot by defeating Washington, 28-20.

Two-time NFL Most Valuable Player Patrick Mahomes threw for 305 yards and two touchdowns in defending champion Kansas City's 27-17 victory at New England.

"There's some stuff we've got to clean up, like all season long, but we're going to try and get better and keep it rolling," Mahomes said. "When we're executing well, we're hard to beat."

The Miami Dolphins, without top NFL receiver Tyreek Hill due to an ankle injury, blanked the New York Jets, 30-0, with Raheem Mostert rushing for two touchdowns and Tua Tagovailoa throwing for 224 yards and a touchdown.

"It's tough not having one of your star guys out there," Tagovailoa said. "We have a lot of other guys we believe in and that's what happened out there -- it's just the trust we have in each other."

The Dolphins reached 10-4 for the first time in 23 years but remain a game behind Baltimore for the AFC top seed with Kansas City next at 9-5.

Baker Mayfield completed 22-of-28 passes for 381 yards and four touchdowns to lead Tampa Bay's 34-20 victory at Green Bay.

New Orleans stayed level with Tampa Bay atop the NFC South by beating the New York Giants, 24-6, as Derek Carr threw for 218 yards and three touchdowns.

Carolina's Eddy Pineiro kicked his third field goal, a 23-yarder on the last play, to lift the host Panthers over Atlanta, 9-7.

Dustin Hopkins kicked a 34-yard field goal with 32 seconds to play to give Cleveland a 20-17 home win over Chicago.

Houston's Ka'imi Fairbairn kicked his fourth field goal, a 54-yarder on the final play, to give the Texans a 19-16 overtime triumph at Tennessee.

Agence France-Presse

NFL player in 'critical condition' after collapsing on field

WASHINGTON -- Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field during his Monday night game against the Bengals and was taken to a Cincinnati hospital where he is in "critical condition," the NFL said, adding that the match had been postponed.

Part-way through the first quarter, Hamlin took a hard hit during a tackle, stood up and then collapsed to the field.

He received medical attention for over 30 minutes, with ESPN reporting that he had received CPR.

Players from both NFL teams gathered around Hamlin during the treatment, with many of them kneeling to pray and some openly weeping.

The crowd in Cincinnati remained silent and television coverage broke away from the scene on the field.

ESPN said the 24-year-old Hamlin was provided with oxygen as he left after being placed on a stretcher and that his family, watching the game, joined him in the ambulance.

Reports said Hamlin had been taken to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, about four miles (six kilometers) away.

After the ambulance left the field, reports initially suggested the game was going to restart following a five minute warm-up.

But once the two team's coaches conferred with referees, players were told to head to the locker room, while the game was announced "temporarily suspended."

The NFL then issued a statement saying that league commissioner Roger Goodell had announced the game had been postponed and gave details of Hamlin's condition.

"Hamlin received immediate medical attention on the field by team and independent medical staff and local paramedics. He was then transported to a local hospital where he is in critical condition," the league said in a statement.

"Our thoughts are with Damar and the Buffalo Bills. We will provide more information as it becomes available," the NFL added.

"The NFL has been in constant communication with the NFL Players Association which is in agreement with postponing the game," the statement concluded.

ESPN analyst Booger McFarland, a former NFL player, had called for the league to abandon the game, during the wait for a decision.

"Nobody is concerned about football right now one... they are concerned about one thing, the health and safety of this young man," he said.

Video footage showed that Hamlin had been hit in the upper chest area.

The NFL, one of the most violent team sports, has been dealing with growing concerns in recent years over concussion injuries for players from hits to the head.

Agence France-Presse

NFL: Rookie sensation Edwards-Helaire uses his running magic to beat Bills

LOS ANGELES -- Rookie Clyde Edwards-Helaire rushed for 161 yards, and Patrick Mahomes threw for two touchdowns as the Kansas City Chiefs bounced back from their first loss of the season with a 26-17 victory over the Buffalo Bills on Monday.

Edwards-Helaire carried the ball 26 times for his second career 100-yard-plus game in front of a limited crowd of 14,000 at Bills Stadium in New York because of the coronavirus pandemic.

"When you have days like this, things just seem to part like the Red Sea,'' said Edwards-Helaire, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Mahomes completed 21 of 26 passes for 225 yards in his first career start against the Bills, and safety Daniel Sorensen helped seal the win with a late interception for the Chiefs, who improved to 5-1 on the season.

Playing in a steady rain on Monday, the Chiefs were eager to get rid of the sour taste in their mouths after a disappointing 40-32 defeat to the Las Vegas Raiders in week five.

Heading into week six, the Chiefs knew they had to make some adjustments in their passing game because of injuries. Then, the Bills poor run coverage made their decisions a lot easier.

"Once we saw how deep their linebackers and safeties and corners were playing, we knew that we had the run game," Mahomes said. "So we really just stayed with it, and if teams are going to play us like this, you're going to see us run the football, and we have the guys that can do it.''

Chiefs take the lead

With receiver Sammy Watkins sitting out due to a hamstring injury, Demarcus Robinson saw an increase in his workload, leading all receivers with five catches for 69 yards.

Trusty target Travis Kelce made five catches for 65 yards, and Byron Pringle got 46 yards of offence out of two grabs in the first game between the two AFC clubs since 2017.

Sorensen made a clutch defensive play with 71 seconds to go as the Bills were making a last ditch effort to come from behind.

He then picked off a stray Josh Allen toss and ran it back four yards, which ended Buffalo's final drive of the game.

Allen completed 14 of 27 passes for 122 yards and two scores for the Bills, who like the Chiefs were trying to bounce back from their first loss of the NFL season. Allen also led the Bills in rushing on Monday with 42 yards on eight carries.

"I was not good enough. I got to do a better job, it's plain and simple," Allen said. "This team can't afford to have me play poorly."

The Bills finished with just 84 yards rushing while losing their second straight game.

Buffalo committed three turnovers in a crushing 42-16 loss to the Tennessee Titans in their most recent game.

The teams traded the lead three times in the first half before the Chiefs seized a 13-10 lead at halftime.

The Chiefs-Bills game was originally scheduled for last Thursday but was moved due to a coronavirus-related league scheduling change.

In the late game, Kyler Murray and Christian Kirk connected on an 80-yard touchdown pass and run as the Arizona Cardinals clobbered the Dallas Cowboys 38-10.

Despite the loss, which dropped them to 2-4 on the season, the hapless Cowboys are still in first place in the NFC East Division, where all four teams have losing records.

Agence France-Presse

NFL: Patriots rally past Bills, clinch 11th straight division title

Rex Burkhead's 1-yard run with 5:06 remaining gave the New England Patriots a 24-17 victory against the visiting Buffalo Bills on Saturday, clinching another AFC East Division title.

The Patriots scored the game's final 11 points to defeat the Bills for the second time this season and the seventh time in a row. It's the 11th year in a row in which New England (12-3) has won its division, extending their post-merger (since 1970) NFL record.

Buffalo (10-5) surged ahead with a strong third quarter, but it couldn't put away the Patriots. It marked only the second road loss of the season for the Bills, who had won at Dallas and at Pittsburgh during the past month.

The Bills needed to win Saturday and then have a pair of games go in its favor on the final day of the regular season in order to secure the AFC East title.

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady completed 26 of 33 passes for 271 yards and one touchdown without an interception, with his rating of 111.0 snapping a career-long streak of nine games with a rating below 100. New England running back Sony Michel gained a season-high 96 rushing yards on 21 carries.

Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen threw for two touchdowns. He finished 13-for-26 for 208 yards without an interception, but his heave to Cole Beasley on fourth-and-goal from the 15 was knocked away by J.C. Jackson with 1:05 to play.

The Bills had only 268 yards of total offense compared to New England's 414.

Nick Folk's 51-yard field goal in the third quarter gave New England a 13-10 lead.

The Bills went back ahead at the 7:25 mark of the third on Allen's 53-yard pass play to John Brown, who snuck behind safety Devin McCourty on a corner-post route.

Folk's 20-yarder early in the fourth quarter closed the gap to 17-16.

After Burkhead, who had only five carries in the game, capped the seven-play, 59-yard winning drive, the Patriots tacked on a two-point conversion to Julian Edelman to go up seven.

The scoring began for Buffalo on Stephen Hauschka's 35-yard field goal in the first quarter.

The Patriots bounced back to score on Brady's 8-yard pass to Matt LaCosse.

New England went up 10-7 on Folk's 36-yard field goal in the second quarter.

Buffalo responded on Allen's 1-yard pass to left tackle Dion Dawkins -- who lined up at his normal position but reported as an eligible receiver on the play -- with one second left in the first half to forge a 10-10 halftime tie.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Brady, Pats, dismantle Bills for eighth straight win

LOS ANGELES -- A fired-up Tom Brady notched another milestone NFL win on Sunday as the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots powered past the Buffalo Bills 23-3.

Brady connected on 21 of 30 passes for 258 yards as he notched his 27th career victory over the Bills. He broke Brett Favre's league record for most quarterback wins against a single opponent.

Brady also joined Favre, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees as the only NFL quarterbacks with at least 65,000 career passing yards.

The Patriots improved to 10-2 -- their 15th straight seasons with at least 10 wins -- but it wasn't always pretty.

New England didn't score a touchdown in the first half for the first time this season and Brady's frustration boiled over with some choice words for offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels after the Pats' first field goal.

Rex Burkhead rushed for two touchdowns. Tight end Rob Gronkowski caught nine passes for 147 yards but delivered an ugly late hit on Bills cornerback Tre'Davious White with the game well in hand in the fourth quarter.

White was evaluated for a head injury after intercepting Brady late in the fourth. Gronkowski drove his shoulder into White as he lay face down on the turf after the whistle.

  
"There is no room in this league for that type of crap," Bills safety Jordan Poyer said, and Gronkowski himself was apologetic after the game.

"I was just really frustrated at that moment," Gronkowski said. "I don't really believe in those type of shots."

The Bills lost for the fourth time in five games. Making matters worse, Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor was carted to the locker room with a knee injury early in the fourth quarter.

The Minnesota Vikings also notched an eighth straight win, downing the Falcons 14-9 in Atlanta.

The Ravens notched a big win in Baltimore, where Joe Flacco threw two touchdown passes and Alex Collins ran for a two scores in a 44-20 victory over the Detroit Lions.

The Ravens boosted their playoff hopes with a third straight win, but will make their stretch run without cornerback Jimmy Smith, who suffered a season-ending Achilles tendon injury.

- Garoppolo pilots 49ers to win -

Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, making his third career start and first for the 49ers, came away with a 15-14 victory over the Chicago Bears after veteran kicker Robbie Gould booted his fifth field goal of the game with four seconds remaining.

The field goal capped a 14-play, 86-yard drive directed by Garoppolo and gave the 49ers their first away win of the season.

In Green Bay, Aaron Jones rushed for a 20-yard touchdown with 5:59 left in overtime to lift the Packers to a 26-20 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The New York Jets beat the Kansas City Chiefs 38-31 on Josh McCown's touchdown plunge from a yard out with 2:10 left to play.

The Chiefs lost for the sixth time in seven games and are now tied atop the AFC West with the surprising Los Angeles Chargers, who beat the Cleveland Browns 19-10.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Bills stun Falcons, Patriots stumble

LOS ANGELES -- The Atlanta Falcons saw their unbeaten start to the NFL season come to a shuddering halt with a 23-17 defeat to the Buffalo Bills on a day of upsets on Sunday.

The Falcons, last season's beaten Super Bowl finalists, saw their perfect start derailed after a gritty performance by the Bills.


Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan threw for 242 yards from 24 of 42 attempts but only connected for one touchdown.

Opposite number Tyrod Taylor finished with 182 yards but it was good enough to see the Bills improve to 3-1 to lead the AFC East.

The key moment at Atlanta's Mercedes Benz Stadium came in the third quarter when Tre'Davious White galloped 52 yards for a touchdown following a Falcons fumble.

A Stephen Hauschka field goal put the Bills 17-10 ahead only for Ryan to connect with Justin Hardy with a three-yard pass to level the scores.

Two monster Hauschka field goals -- from 56 and 55 yards -- put the Bills 23-17 up however and they held on to claim a deserved win.

"We knew coming into it that they had a very good defense," Falcons star Ryan said. "They have a lot of talent and we just made too many mistakes out there."

A good day for the Bills got better when AFC East rivals the New England Patriots suffered their second home defeat of the season as the Carolina Panthers closed out a thrilling 33-30 win at Gillette Stadium.

Scotland-born Panthers kicker Graham Gano sealed a pulsating win for Carolina with a 48-yard field goal with just four seconds remaining.

Gano's winner was the final act of a dramatic fourth quarter which had seen Tom Brady lead the Patriots back from a 30-16 deficit to level at 30-30.

Brady, who finished with 307 passing yards including two touchdowns with no interceptions, looked to have rescued the reigning Super Bowl champions again after finding Dion Lewis and Danny Amendola in quick succession to tie.

Newton decisive

But Panthers quarterback Cam Newton led his team upfield with a decisive 10-play drive to engineer Gano's winning kick with no time left on the clock.

Newton finished with 316 passing yards for three touchdowns and also rushed for one score as the Panthers improved to 3-1 in the NFC South.

"I feel like this was a breakthrough game for us offensively," said Newton.

The Patriots meanwhile fell to 2-2 in the AFC East, with Brady left admitting the team were way off their peak.

"There's no guarantees and every year is different," said Brady. "We just haven't done a good job at home."

In Dallas, the Los Angeles Rams maintained their impressive start to the season with a 35-30 upset over the Cowboys at the AT&T Stadium.

Rams quarterback Jared Goff finished with 255 passing yards and two touchdowns while the defense sacked Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott three times to help set up the win.

Rams running back Todd Gurley meanwhile outshone Cowboys counterpart Ezekiel Elliott, finishing with 121 rushing yards and a further 94 receiving yards.

The Rams, under the guidance of Sean McVay, the youngest head coach in the NFL at just 31, now lead the NFC West with a 3-1 record.

Elsewhere Sunday, Houston Texans rookie quarterback Deshaun Watson had another scintillating performance in a 57-14 thrashing of the Tennessee Titans.

Watson threw for four touchdowns, finishing with 283 yards after making 25 completions from 34 attempts.

In the early game in London, Drew Brees passed for 268 yards and two touchdowns to lead the New Orleans Saints to a 20-0 win over a lacklustre Miami Dolphins side.

The win saw the Saints improve to 2-2 after an 0-2 start to the season.

"Those first two weeks weren't what we aspired to be -- we played two really good football teams," Brees said.

"(Since then), basically we've had two road wins at Carolina and here against the Dolphins, who have a really good defense and are a really good football team."

source: news.abs-cbn.com