December 18, 2023 4:40 am
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 the Baltimore Ravens clinched a postseason berth with a 23-7 victory at Jacksonville. The Ravens 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. The Jaguars lost their third straight — all against AFC North teams — and are now tied with Houston and Indianapolis atop the AFC South. Self-inflicted mistakes were a common thread in Jacksonville’s skid.
December 18, 2023 4:45 am
CLEVELAND (AP) — Joe Flacco passed for 374 yards and led Cleveland to 13 points in the fourth quarter, and the Browns withstood a Hail Mary on the final play to beat the Chicago Bears 20-17. Dustin Hopkins kicked a 34-yard field goal with 32 seconds left to put the Browns ahead. Flacco was intercepted three times but made some brilliant throws in the closing minutes, including two passes to David Njoku for 65 yards to set up Hopkins’ kick. Bears receiver Darnell Mooney got his hands on a heave to the end zone by Justin Fields on the game’s final play, but he couldn’t hold on.
December 18, 2023 4:37 am
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts is questionable for Monday night’s game at Seattle because of an illness, a person familiar with his status told The Associated Press on Sunday. The person, speaking on condition of anonymity because the injury report hasn’t been released yet, said Hurts will travel separately from the team. The Eagles have lost two straight games but would secure the NFC East title if they beat the Seahawks and win their final three games.
December 17, 2023 6:37 am
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Gardner Minshew threw three touchdown passes and the Indianapolis Colts rushed for 170 yards, improving their playoff prospects with a 30-13 win over the sagging Pittsburgh Steelers. Minshew was 18 of 28 for 215 yards and matched his career high for TD passes while leading a Colts offense lacking its usual complement of playmakers. The Colts have won five of six to improve to 8-6 and temporarily moved a half-game ahead of three teams for the AFC’s seventh and final playoff spot. The Steelers dropped their third straight to fall to 7-7 and into last place in the rugged AFC North.
December 17, 2023 6:32 am
TORONTO (AP) — Martin Jones stopped 38 shots for his first shutout of the season, Max Domi had a goal and two assists, and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 7-0. Mitch Marner, William Nylander and Matthew Knies each had a goal and an assist, and John Tavares, Noah Gregor and Bobby McMann also scored for the Maple Leafs. Tyler Bertuzzi had three assists to help Toronto extend its point streak to nine games (6-0-3). Jones, making his third appearance and second start this season, got his 29th career shutout as the Maple Leafs spoiled former general manager Kyle Dubas’ return to Toronto. Tristan Jarry was pulled early in the second period by Pittsburgh after giving up four goals on 14 shots. Alec Nedeljkovic came on and finished with 18 saves.
December 17, 2023 6:34 am
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Mike Tomlin is tired of losing. The Pittsburgh Steelers dropped their third straight, 30-13 at Indianapolis on Saturday. And the Steelers’ longtime coach is promising changes, while not saying exactly what they might be. It looks like the Steelers will have a new starting quarterback next week, whether Kenny Pickett returns from an ankle sprain or not. Mitch Trubisky was benched late in the loss to the Colts and replaced by Mason Rudolph. The Steelers are averaging 15.9 points per game and they’re now in last place in the AFC North at 7-7.
December 17, 2023 6:41 am
Two people familiar with the league’s decision told The Associated Press the NFL has banned Eagles security chief Dom DiSandro from being on the sideline for the remainder of the regular season after he was ejected from a game for a scuffle with 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw. One of the people said Saturday that DiSandro is still allowed to travel with the team and perform all other work duties but he is not permitted on the sideline while the league is continuing its investigation. Both people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the league hasn’t announced its decision, said DiSandro can return to the sideline for the playoffs.
December 16, 2023 3:44 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Rowdy Tellez and the Pirates finalized their $3.2 million, one-year contract as Pittsburgh also acquired outfielder Edward Olivares from the Kansas City Royals for minor league outfielder Deivis Nadal. Tellez, a first baseman and designated hitter, can earn $800,000 in performance bonuses as part of the deal. Olivares, 27, hit .263 with 12 homers and 36 RBIs last season. He has a .261 average with 24 homers and 73 RBIs in parts of four seasons with San Diego and the Royals.
December 16, 2023 3:56 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Billy McKinney was traded from the Yankees to the Pittsburgh Pirates for $500,000 in 2023 international signing bonus pool allocation, six days after the outfielder agreed to a minor league contract with New York. New York had an excess of outfielders after acquiring Juan Soto from San Diego and Alex Verdugo from Boston last week. McKinney, 29, hit .227 with six homers and 14 RBIs in 48 games this season with the Yankees and batted .274 with nine homers and 25 RBIs in 40 games with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
December 16, 2023 4:01 am
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Tiger Woods jokingly refers to the PNC Championship as his fifth major. Maybe he’s not joking. It’s a chance to play a 36-hole tournament with his 14-year-old son Charlie. They’re part of the 20 teams of major champions and family members. They finished runner-up two years ago. Charlie is big enough now and hits it far enough that he’s been moved back to the same tees Steve Stricker and Jim Furyk are using. Justin Thomas jokes that Charlie is leading the tournament in inches grown. Woods chose to walk during the pro-am. He says it makes his back feel better.
