NFL roundup: 49ers clinch NFC West with 45-29 rout of Cardinals for 6th straight win
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Deebo Samuel was stunned to be so wide open for San Francisco’s first touchdown of the game. A few quarters later, Christian McCaffrey had enough time to catch a deep pass, fall to the turf, then scramble to his feet and run for a 41-yard touchdown.
Brock Purdy’s return to the desert as the 49ers quarterback was everything he ever dreamed — especially since Arizona’s defense was in a helpful mood.
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McCaffrey scored three touchdowns, Samuel added two scores, and the 49ers clinched the NFC West title by pushing their winning streak to six games with a 45-29 win over the Cardinals on Sunday.
“In high school, I’d come watch the Cardinals, and now I’m playing on the field,” Purdy said. “It’s so cool. Definitely something I’ll look back on in life and be thankful.”
Purdy — making his first NFL start at State Farm Stadium, which is about 45 miles from where he grew up — completed 16 of 25 passes for 242 yards and tied a career high with four touchdowns. He also shook off a hard hit in the second quarter that caused him to miss a few plays.
Charvarius Ward had two interceptions, including a pick-6 in the first quarter.
During their winning streak, the 49ers (11-3) have won all of their games by at least 12 points. They’ve also won 12 straight against divisional opponents in the NFC West.
San Francisco has won back-to-back division titles for the first time since the 2011-12 seasons.
“Winning the division is very important — it’s a big step for us,” McCaffrey said. “But everyone knows where we want to be. We know that each week, we have to play our best ball. We’re going to get everybody’s best shot, so the standard has to continue to rise.”
McCaffrey scored his second touchdown early in the third quarter, sneaking out of the backfield for a 41-yard score and a 28-13 lead. The running back was so wide open that he leaped for the catch, fell down, got to his feet and sprinted to the end zone.
“He does everything for us,” Purdy said. “Runs the ball well, catches the ball, everything. In my eyes, that’s an MVP.”
He made it there a third time later in the third quarter after plowing ahead 1-yard for the touchdown and a 35-16 advantage. Deebo Samuel followed with his second touchdown catch in the fourth, a 19-yard reception that made it 42-22.
The 27-year-old McCaffrey finished with five catches for 72 yards and two touchdowns while also running for 115 yards and a score.
Ward put the 49ers ahead for good when he stepped in front of Trey McBride to grab Kyler Murray’s pass after the Cardinals (3-11) decided to go for it on fourth-and-3. The cornerback ran 66 yards the other way for a 14-7 lead, pulling away from a pair of Arizona defenders.
The mistake ended Murray’s streak of 96 passes without an interception.
Arizona’s Matt Prater cut the margin to 14-13 by making two field goals in the second quarter, one from 58 yards and another from 43.
Purdy briefly left during the second quarter with a left shoulder stinger after a big hit from Arizona’s Dennis Gardeck, who was called for a 15-yard penalty. But the quarterback returned later in the drive and hit McCaffrey for a 5-yard touchdown with 1:14 left before halftime for a 21-13 lead.
“We’ve got to play cleaner than that to play a really good football team,” Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon said. “We hung in, it kind of got away from us at the end. I appreciate the effort.”
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DOLPHINS 30, JETS 0
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Raheem Mostert scored two touchdowns to set Miami’s single-season record with 20, Tua Tagovailoa threw for 224 yards and a score, and the Dolphins blanked New York without star receiver Tyreek Hill.
Mostert walked into the end zone untouched on a 2-yard run that put AFC East-leading Miami (10-4) ahead 7-0. His second TD was from 1 yard out and made it 24-0 late in the second quarter. He has 18 rushing TDs and two receiving.
Tagovailoa was 21 of 24 and threw a 60-yard touchdown pass to Jaylen Waddle. He was replaced by Mike White with 8:32 remaining and the Dolphins up by 30.
Jets quarterback Zach Wilson left late in the second quarter with a concussion. New York (5-9) was shut out for the first time since losing 26-0 at Denver in Week 3 of the 2021 season. The Jets were eliminated from playoff contention for the 13th straight season.
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BILLS 31, COWBOYS 10
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — James Cook had a career-best 179 yards rushing and scored twice as Buffalo dominated on the ground, and the Bills beat Dallas 31-10 on Sunday, ending the Cowboys’ five-game winning streak.
Josh Allen threw for just 94 yards for the Bills (8-6), who won consecutive games for the first time since a three-game winning streak ended on Oct. 1. Buffalo gained ground in the AFC playoff race, moving one game ahead of Denver and Pittsburgh.
The Cowboys (10-4) clinched their third playoff berth before kickoff thanks to other results around the league. But Dallas fell a game behind NFC-best San Francisco.
The Cowboys, who are 7-0 at home, dropped to 3-4 on the road, where they’ve been outscored 156-152.
Buffalo rushed for 266 yards, held the ball for 10 minutes more than Dallas and had 28 first downs to the Cowboys’ 14.
The Cowboys were held to a season-low 195 yards of offense. Dak Prescott finished 21 of 34 for 134 yards with an interception.
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RAVENS 23, JAGUARS 7
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Lamar Jackson threw a touchdown pass and made the play of night when he avoided a sack and threw to Isaiah Likely near the goal line, and Baltimore beat Jacksonville to clinch a playoff berth.
Gus Edwards ran for a touchdown for the Ravens (11-3), who won their fourth in a row and moved a step closer to securing the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs. Jackson threw for 171 yards — 70 of those to Likely — and ran for 97 more.
The Jaguars (8-6) lost their third straight — all against AFC North teams — and fell into a tie with Houston and Indianapolis atop the AFC South.
Trevor Lawrence fumbled twice, including one in the fourth quarter that essentially sealed Baltimore’s eighth victory in its last nine games.
The Ravens lost promising rookie running back Keaton Mitchell to a left knee injury early in the fourth quarter.
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BROWNS 20, BEARS 17
CLEVELAND (AP) — Joe Flacco passed for 374 yards and led Cleveland to 13 points in the fourth quarter, including Dustin Hopkins’ go-ahead 34-yard field goal with 32 seconds left, and the Browns withstood a Hail Mary on the final play to beat Chicago.
Flacco was intercepted three times but made some brilliant throws in the closing minutes to rally the Browns, including a 51-yard touchdown pass to Amari Cooper with 3:08 left that tied it at 17-all.
The Browns (9-5) got the ball back with 1:50 left and the 38-year-old Flacco, who was signed on Nov. 20 and made his third start for Cleveland, completed two passes to tight end David Njoku for 65 yards to set up Hopkins’ kick.
After blowing a 17-7, fourth-quarter lead, the Bears (5-9) nearly pulled off a stunning finish.
Justin Fields lofted a pass from the 45-yard line to the end zone on the game’s last play. The ball was deflected toward Bears receiver Darnell Mooney, who was lying on his back, but it bounced off his hands and Cleveland’s D’Anthony Bell made the interception.
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TEXANS 19, TITANS 16, OT
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Ka’imi Fairbairn kicked a 54-yard field goal as time expired in overtime, and Houston rallied from a 13-point deficit without C.J. Stroud to beat Tennessee.
The Texans (8-6) entered the day one spot outside of the AFC’s seven-team playoff field. They kept pace by winning without several key players, including Stroud — their standout rookie quarterback — and top receiver Nico Collins, right tackle George Fant and a pair of defensive starters.
Case Keenum made his first start since Week 17 of the 2021 season for Cleveland. Keenum threw for 229 yards and helped Houston outgain the Titans 340-204. Devin Singletary ran for 121 yards.
Titans rookie quarterback Will Levis left with 1:49 left in overtime after being sacked for the seventh time with his left leg caught underneath him in a pile. Tennessee (5-9) clinched a second consecutive losing season.
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RAMS 28, COMMANDERS 20
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Matthew Stafford passed for 258 yards and hit Cooper Kupp and Demarcus Robinson for touchdowns, leading Los Angeles past free-falling Washington.
Kupp’s eight receptions for 111 yards were highlighted by a 62-yard TD catch right after halftime for the Rams (7-7), who have won four of five to push their way into the playoff picture.
Kyren Williams overcame the first two lost fumbles of his two-year NFL career to rush for 152 yards and a touchdown while his Rams slid into one of the three NFC wild-card playoff positions alongside New Orleans and Minnesota.
The Rams’ defense largely shut down the Commanders (4-10) in the first three quarters before Washington backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett made things interesting.
Brissett relieved Sam Howell in the fourth quarter and immediately led two touchdown drives for the Commanders, who have lost five straight. Curtis Samuel caught two TD passes, including a 3-yard grab with 1:46 to play.
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BUCCANEERS 34, PACKERS 20
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Baker Mayfield threw for 381 yards and four touchdowns, and Tampa Bay beat Green Bay for its third straight win.
Mayfield went 22 of 28 and threw touchdown passes to Mike Evans, Rachaad White, Ko Kieft and David Moore to help the Buccaneers (7-7) keep pace with New Orleans atop the NFC North. Mayfield’s passer rating was a perfect 158.3.
Chris Godwin had 10 catches for 155 yards for the Bucs.
The Packers (6-8) lost their second straight to deal their playoff hopes a major blow. Jordan Love was 29 of 39 for 284 yards with touchdown passes to Tucker Kraft and Jayden Reed.
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SAINTS 24, GIANTS 6
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Derek Carr passed for 218 yards and three touchdowns, and New Orleans sacked Tommy DeVito seven times in a win over New York.
Carr connected on 23 of 28 passes without a turnover in one of the more efficient outings of his first season with New Orleans (7-7). His scoring passes went for 7 yards to Keith Kirkwood, 24 to Juwan Johnson and 1 to Jimmy Graham, who caught his third scoring pass in three games.
The Saints remained tied atop the NFC South with Tampa Bay.
DeVito and the Giants (5-9) had their three-game winning streak snapped. They are guaranteed of a losing record and have only a slight chance of making the playoffs. DeVito was 20 of 34 for 177 yards.
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CHIEFS 27, PATRIOTS 17
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Running back Jerick McKinnon threw for one touchdown and ran for another, and Patrick Mahomes passed for 305 yards and two scores to help Kansas City beat New England.
The Chiefs (9-5) snapped a two-game skid and maintained control of the AFC West race. With Taylor Swift again on hand to cheer him on, Travis Kelce caught five passes for 28 yards, but also had a potential touchdown bounce off his hands.
Bailey Zappe, making his third straight start in place of the benched Mac Jones, completed 23 of 31 passes for 180 yards for the Patriots. New England (3-11) lost for the sixth time in seven games and remains in contention for one of the top two picks in next year’s NFL draft.
In what could be the penultimate home game of coach Bill Belichick’s tenure, the six-time Super Bowl champions took a 10-7 lead before allowing 20 straight points.
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PANTHERS 9, FALCONS 7
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Eddy Pineiro kicked a 23-yard field goal as time expired, and Carolina dealt Atlanta’s playoff hopes a huge blow in a game played in a steady downpour.
The Falcons (6-8) entered the game tied with New Orleans and Tampa Bay for first place in the NFC South, but now need help to get into the postseason after the Saints and Buccaneers both won.
Bryce Young threw for 167 yards in his second NFL win and Chuba Hubbard ran for 87 yards for Carolina (2-12), which snapped a six-game skid.
The Falcons led 7-6 when Desmond Ridder threw into traffic and was intercepted at the Carolina 5 by safety Xavier Woods. Young, who had struggled all afternoon, led the Panthers on a 17-play, 90-yard drive that took all 7:35 off the clock.
