Eagles battle back, defeat Ravens for 8th straight win

Saquon Barkley ran for 107 yards and a touchdown and the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the host Baltimore Ravens 24-19 on Sunday for their eighth consecutive victory.

The Eagles (10-2) have not lost since Sept. 29. They improved to 6-1 in road games and maintained their NFC East lead over the second-place Washington Commanders (8-5).

ADVERTISING


Jalen Hurts passed for 118 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 29 yards and a score for the Eagles.

In a showdown between Philadelphia’s No. 1 defense and Baltimore’s No. 1 offense, the Eagles held the Ravens to their second-fewest points and second-fewest yards (372) this season.

The Ravens (8-5) head into their bye week after failing to keep pace with the AFC North-leading Pittsburgh Steelers (9-3), who outslugged the Cincinnati Bengals 44-38 earlier Sunday.

Lamar Jackson passed for 237 yards and two TDs but lost for just the second time in 25 career starts against NFC opponents. Justin Tucker’s struggles continued, as he missed two field goals and an extra point.

After a scoreless third quarter, Barkley broke free for a 25-yard touchdown run to extend the Eagles’ lead to 21-12 with 7:56 to play in the fourth.

Philadelphia forced a turnover on downs on Baltimore’s ensuing possession and then chewed up the clock with an 11-play drive, capped by Jake Elliott’s 35-yard field goal with 1:03 left to make it 24-12.

Jackson found Isaiah Likely for an 11-yard TD with three seconds left, but Philadelphia then recovered an onside kick.

Barkley (1,499 yards) increased his NFL rushing lead over the Ravens’ Derrick Henry (1,407), who finished with 82 yards on 19 carries.

Baltimore built a 9-0 lead in the first quarter, starting with Tucker’s 34-yard field goal. Jackson then fired a 14-yard pass to a leaping Mark Andrews in the end zone, but Tucker’s extra-point attempt struck the left upright.

After punting on its first four possessions, Philadelphia surged ahead 14-9 with back-to-back touchdown drives. Hurts tallied a TD pass — 17 yards to Dallas Goedert about midway through the second quarter — and a 1-yard TD run at the 2:00 mark.

Tucker’s 50-yard field goal trimmed the Ravens’ deficit to 14-12 with three seconds left before halftime.

Baltimore had two chances to retake the lead with long field goals in the third quarter, but Tucker couldn’t convert. He missed wide left from 47 yards out on the first drive of the second half and was wide right from 53 yards out with 1:21 remaining in the quarter.

Josh Allen makes TD history as Bills stomp on 49ers

Josh Allen became the first quarterback since 1970 to score a rushing touchdown, pass for a touchdown and have a scoring reception in the same game and the Buffalo Bills clinched the AFC East for the fifth consecutive season with a convincing 35-10 victory over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday night at Orchard Park, N.Y.

Allen threw two touchdown passes, including one to himself, while joining four other players in the touchdown hat trick category.

James Cook rushed for 107 yards and a touchdown as Buffalo (10-2) joined the Kansas City Chiefs as AFC teams to clinch postseason berths. Ray Davis rushed for a touchdown and Mack Hollins caught one for the Bills, who thrived in game-long snowy conditions.

Brock Purdy (shoulder) returned from a one-game absence and completed 11 of 18 passes for 94 yards for the 49ers (5-7). Isaac Guerendo rushed for a touchdown for San Francisco, which lost its third straight game.

The 49ers lost star running back Christian McCaffrey in the second quarter due to a knee injury. McCaffrey had 53 yards on seven carries and caught two passes for 14 yards before exiting.

The Bills were leading 21-3 in the third quarter and had first-and-goal at the San Francisco 7-yard line when Allen tossed a short pass to Amari Cooper, who was tied up by Renardo Green of the 49ers. Cooper then lateraled the ball to Allen, who ran toward the corner of the goal line and dove in to make it a 25-point margin with 5:58 left in the period.

Allen later tacked on an 8-yard TD run to make it 35-10 with 12:31 left in the game. He was 13-of-17 passing for 148 yards.

The other players to have a rushing, passing and receiving touchdown in the same game since 1970 are McCaffrey (2022), LaDainian Tomlinson (2005), David Patten (2001) and Walter Payton (1979).

Defensive lineman Nick Bosa (hip, oblique) missed his second straight game for the 49ers.

The Bills led 21-3 at halftime, as they scored three touchdowns on drives of 70, 65 and 97 yards in the slippery conditions.

San Francisco’s Jake Moody opened the scoring with a 33-yard field goal about midway through the first quarter.

Davis then capped a drive that erased 7:38 off the clock with a 5-yard touchdown run with three seconds left in the opening quarter.

Buffalo made it 14-3 with 8:38 left in the first half when Cook broke free and scored on a 65-yard run on the first play of a drive.

The Bills added to the lead with the 97-yard excursion that was capped by Allen’s 7-yard touchdown pass to Hollins with 41 seconds left in the half.

Rams shake off slow start, slide past Saints

Matthew Stafford threw two touchdown passes, Kyren Williams ran for a score and the visiting Los Angeles Rams held off the New Orleans Saints 21-14 on Sunday.

Stafford passed for 183 yards and Williams rushed for 104 yards on 15 carries for the Rams (6-6), who reached .500 for the third time this season.

Alvin Kamara rushed for 112 yards and Derek Carr passed for 184 and a touchdown for the Saints (4-8), who lost for the first time in three games under interim head coach Darren Rizzi.

The Rams, whose NFL-record streak of 129 consecutive games without being shut out in the first half ended, broke through on their first possession after the break. Williams capped a 70-yard drive with a 4-yard touchdown run, giving Los Angeles a 7-6 lead that held up through the end of the third quarter.

Stafford threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Demarcus Robinson on the first play of the fourth quarter to increase the lead to 14-6.

New Orleans responded on the ensuing drive, with Carr hitting Marquez Valdes-Scantling for a 28-yard score and connecting with Dante Pettis on the two-point conversion to pull the Saints even at 14 with 11:53 remaining.

Back came the Rams, who moved 56 yards on eight plays. Stafford found Puka Nacua for the go-ahead 7-yard score with 8:54 to play.

Carr drove New Orleans to the LA 9 but threw incomplete on fourth-and-3 with 1:09 left.

The first possession of the game ended with Blake Grupe kicking a 54-yard field goal to give New Orleans a 3-0 lead that held up through the end of the opening quarter. Grupe was wide left on a 36-yard attempt on the first snap of the second quarter.

The Rams, who ran just three plays for 4 yards in the first quarter, held the ball for 12 plays and drove to the Saints’ 25 on their first possession of the second. But they passed on a field-goal attempt, and Stafford misfired on fourth-and-4.

Grupe bounced back to make another 54-yard field goal with two seconds remaining in the first half, giving New Orleans a 6-0 lead.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

By participating in online discussions you acknowledge that you have agreed to the Star-Advertiser's TERMS OF SERVICE. An insightful discussion of ideas and viewpoints is encouraged, but comments must be civil and in good taste, with no personal attacks. If your comments are inappropriate, you may be banned from posting. To report comments that you believe do not follow our guidelines, email hawaiiwarriorworld@staradvertiser.com.