December 28, 2021 3:51 am
NEW ORLEANS (AP) – Rookie sensation Jaylen Waddle returned from the COVID-19 list to catch 10 passes for 92 yards and touchdown, and the Miami Dolphins beat the short-handed New Orleans Saints 20-3. Miami became the first NFL team to win seven straight after losing seven in a row. Nik Needham intercepted Saints rookie quarterback Ian Book and returned it 28 yards for a touchdown to help Miami become one of four 8-7 teams in contention for one of the final playoff spots in the AFC. The Saints started Book because of a COVID-19 outbreak that took 16 players off of the active roster, including starting QB Taysom Hill.
December 28, 2021 3:46 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – The Pittsburgh Steelers are struggling to score points, bringing first-year offensive coordinator Matt Canada’s long-term prospects into question. The Steelers failed to score a first-half touchdown for a fifth straight game in a 36-10 loss to Kansas City that dropped them to 7-7-1. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger says he doesn’t know why the team starts so slowly, particularly on the road. The Steelers are somehow still in the playoff race, but need to win their final two games against Cleveland and Baltimore to have any shot at the postseason.
December 28, 2021 3:48 am
ATLANTA (AP) – Nick Patti’s long wait for a second chance as Pittsburgh’s starting quarterback is finally ending. Following the decision by Kenny Pickett to opt out and prepare for the NFL draft, Patti has been named No. 13 Pitt’s starter in the Peach Bowl against No. 11 Michigan State. It will be the first start for Patti since September 28, 2019 when, as a redshirt freshman, he led the Panthers to a 17-14 win over Delaware. There’s another important change for Pitt. Tight ends coach Tim Salem is serving as interim offensive coordinator after Mark Whipple left for the same job at Nebraska.
December 27, 2021 3:52 am
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Patrick Mahomes threw for 258 yards and three touchdowns, Byron Pringle caught two of the TD passes, and the Chiefs beat the Steelers 36-10 on Sunday to clinch their sixth consecutive AFC West title. The Chiefs improved to 11-4 and remained a game ahead of Tennessee for first place in the AFC with their eighth straight win. That would give them the conference’s lone first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs. Already on the playoff bubble, the Steelers dropped to 7-7-1 and further behind the Bengals in the AFC North. Ben Roethlisberger threw for 159 yards and a touchdown, but he also threw an interception and lost a fumble on a lousy day for the Steelers.
December 27, 2021 3:53 am
Joe Burrow threw for a franchise-record 525 yards and four touchdowns, and the Cincinnati Bengals took sole possession of first place in the AFC North with a 41-21 win over the depleted Baltimore Ravens. Burrow broke Boomer Esiason’s team record of 522 yards. He was 37 of 46 and threw two touchdown passes to Tee Higgins and one each to Tyler Boyd and Joe Mixon. The Bengals swept the Ravens for the first time since 2015. Tee Higgins had 12 receptions for a career-high 194 yards. Josh Johnson started at quarterback for the Ravens with Lamar Jackson injured and backup Tyler Huntley sidelined by COVID-19.
December 27, 2021 3:58 am
UNDATED (AP) – The Penguins have had another game postponed because of COVID. Wednesday’s game against Toronto is the latest to be impacted. Monday’s game in Boston against the Bruins has also been postponed. The NHL will emerge from an extended holiday break with taxi squads and other roster revisions to guard against more disruptions to the season. Each team will be allowed to have a taxi squad of up to six players and to make emergency recalls from the minors if COVID-19 absences would cause anyone to play without a full lineup. The taxi squad is set to be in effect until at least the All-Star break in early February.
December 26, 2021 5:36 pm
BOSTON (AP) — The Military Bowl and Fenway Bowl have been canceled due to the pandemic as coronavirus outbreaks at Boston College and Virginia forced them to call off their postseason plans. The Military Bowl, scheduled for Monday at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium between Boston College and East Carolina, was canceled because of positive COVID-19 tests involving the Eagles. The Fenway Bowl, set for Wednesday at the home of the Boston Red Sox, was to pit the Cavaliers against SMU. It’s the second year in a row that the pandemic has spoiled bowl bids for Boston College and SMU.
December 26, 2021 3:46 am
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – The Steelers head to Kansas City on Sunday for an AFC showdown with plenty of playoff implications. Pittsburgh is trying to stay alive in the crowded AFC North where eight-win Cincinnati and Baltimore head into the weekend with a slight edge in the division race. The Chiefs are trying to win a sixth straight AFC West title while holding onto the No. 1 seed and lone first-round playoff bye. Much could depend on whether the teams get players back from COVID-19 protocols. Pittsburgh was down linebacker Devin Bush among others, while the Chiefs could be without such stars as Travis Kelce. and Chris Jones.
December 26, 2021 1:45 am
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Steelers coach Mike Tomlin was brutally honest about his decision to trade disgruntled linebacker Melvin Ingram to the Chiefs, saying “we prefer volunteers as opposed to hostages” in the Pittsburgh locker room. Well, perhaps Tomlin should have weighed Kansas City’s circumstances at least a little bit. Ingram’s trade last month for a sixth-round draft pick resulted in an about-face for the Chiefs defense, which had been historically awful through the first six weeks. The Chiefs ended their failed experiment of moving Chris Jones to end, putting him back at tackle, and that changed the entire complexion of their defense. It has been downright dominant the past six weeks, helping the first-place Chiefs (10-4) carry a seven-game win streak into their important game against — you guessed it — the Steelers on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium.
December 26, 2021 7:43 am
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Rasul Douglas and the Green Bay Packers’ pass defense didn’t let the Cleveland Browns spoil Aaron Rodgers’ milestone day. Rodgers surpassed Brett Favre to become Green Bay’s all-time leader in touchdown passes, and the Packers intercepted Baker Mayfield four times in a 24-22 victory over the Cleveland Browns on Saturday. Cleveland nearly came all the way back from a 12-point second-half deficit before Douglas’ second interception of the day sealed the game with 43 seconds left. Rodgers went 24 of 34 for 202 yards with three touchdown passes to increase his career total to 445. Favre threw 508 touchdown passes during his Hall of Fame career, 442 of them with Green Bay. But it was Green Bay’s defense that clinched this victory by sacking Mayfield five times and forcing him into his first career four-interception performance. All three touchdowns by the Packers (12-3) came after Mayfield interceptions.
