November 28, 2021 7:40 am
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi was worried about a letdown. Kenny Pickett wasn’t about to let that happen again. Pickett threw for four touchdowns to break the Pittsburgh school record for scoring passes in a season, and the 20th-ranked Panthers beat Syracuse 31-14 on Saturday night for their fourth straight win heading into next week’s Atlantic Coast Conference championship against Wake Forest. Pittsburgh (10-2, 6-1 Atlantic Coast Conference, CFP No. 20) finished the regular season 5-0 on the road. It’s the Panthers’ first 10-win season since 1981. Pickett connected with tailback Rodney Hammond Jr. and wideout Jordan Addison in the second quarter. He hit tight end Gavin Bartholomew and Addison again in the third to stake the Panthers to a 28-7 lead and boost his season total to 40 touchdown passes. That’s three more than the previous record set by Dan Marino in 1981 and matched by Rod Rutherford in 2003, and his career total is now at 79, equaling Marino’s school mark.
November 28, 2021 7:38 am
PITTSBURGH — The Montreal Canadiens scored five third-period goals, and the most important one came shortly after Pittsburgh tied the game. Christian Dvorak scored the first of those five, helping the Canadiens end a lengthy road drought by beating the Penguins 6-3 on Saturday night. Evan Rodrigues tied it at 1 with his power-play goal at 2:33 of the third period, but Dvorak scored 32 seconds later to help keep Montreal in front for good during a wild third period in which the teams combined for five goals in the final 2:37. Artturi Lehkonen also added to Montreal’s third-period fluffy, as well as Josh Anderson’s two empty-netters and an empty-netter from Tyler Toffoli. Jonathan Drouin scored his third goal in the second period for Montreal, which snapped a seven-game road slide and a two-game losing streak, and Jake Allen stopped a season-high 47 shots. Sidney Crosby scored a goal and had two assists for Pittsburgh, which saw its five-game winning streak end. Rodrigues and Jeff Carter also scored for Pittsburgh, which frantically tried to rally after falling behind 3-1 and 4-2 in the third period. Casey DeSmith stopped 27 shots in just his fourth start of the season. He hadn’t played since Nov. 13 at Ottawa.
November 27, 2021 4:28 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Tristan Jarry made 25 saves, Kasperi Kapanen scored in the second period and the Pittsburgh Penguins kept the depleted New York Islanders winless at their new arena with a 1-0 victory. Pittsburgh won its fifth straight, with Jarry driving the hot streak. His shaky play cost the Penguins in a six-game first-round playoff loss to the Islanders in May, but he’s allowed two goals over his last five starts and is 5-1-1 on the road this season. Kapanen took a pass from captain Sidney Crosby and rifled a high shot from the left faceoff circle past goalie Ilya Sorokin at 16:41 of the second period for his fifth of the season.
November 26, 2021 3:54 am
UNDATED (AP) – The Buffalo Bills were back in gear following Sunday’s 41-15 loss to visiting Indianapolis. Josh Allen threw for four touchdowns and the Bills allowed just 190 total yards in a 31-6 thrashing of the Saints in New Orleans. Allen shook off two interceptions to complete 23 of 28 passes for 260 yards. Dawson Knox grabbed two scoring passes for the Bills, who controlled the ball for more than 34 1/2 minutes and didn’t allow a point until Trevor Siemian’s scoring pass on the first play of the fourth quarter. Stefon Diggs and Matt Breida also had TD grabs for the 7-4 Bills, who are currently in a first-place tie with the Patriots in the AFC East. The 5-6 Saints suffered their fourth straight loss, all since Siemian replaced injured quarterback Jameis Winston. Siemian was 17 of 29 passing for 163 yards and one interception.
November 26, 2021 3:50 am
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) – The Las Vegas Raiders are back over .500 after surviving a wild finish against the Dallas Cowboys. Daniel Carlson drilled a 29-yard kick with 4:28 showing on the clock in overtime to give the Raiders a 36-33 victory over the Cowboys. Carlson’s fifth and final field goal of the game was set up by cornerback Anthony Brown’s fourth penalty of the day, a pass interference call on 3rd-and-18. Greg Zuerlein tied it for Dallas with a field goal in the final minute of regulation. The Raiders racked up over 500 yards of total offense, with quarterback Derek Carr completing 24 of 39 passes for 365 yards and a TD. Josh Jacobs carried 22 times for 87 yards and a score for the 6-5 Raiders, who hadn’t scored more than 16 points while dropping their previous three games.
Dak Prescott engineered a pair of fourth-quarter TD drives and threw for 209 yards in the period. Prescott was 32 of 47 for 375 yards and two touchdowns. Michael Gallup and Cedrick Wilson each had over 100 yards receiving, but Ezekiel Elliott carried just nine times for 25 yards and a score with Dallas trailing most of the game. The Cowboys have dropped three of their last four since a six-game winning streak. All three losses have been against AFC West teams.
November 26, 2021 3:52 am
DETROIT (AP) – The Detroit Lions were seconds away from their first win since last December. Instead, the Chicago Bears ended a five-game losing streak as Cairo Santos made a 28-yard game-ending field goal to complete their 16-14 victory at Detroit. Andy Dalton led the Bears on an 18-play, 69-yard drive that took the final 8:30 off the clock. Dalton finished 24 of 39 for 317 yards with a go-ahead, 17-yard touchdown pass to Jimmy Graham late in the first half. Jared Goff was 21 of 25 for 171 with two touchdowns. Goff threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to Josh Reynolds on his first drive and a 17-yard pass to T.J. Hockenson late in the third. The Lions are 0-10-1 this season and winless in their last 15 games. The Bears are 4-7.
November 25, 2021 4:13 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Tristan Jarry stopped 36 shots to lift the Pittsburgh Penguins past the Vancouver Canucks 4-1. The Penguins have won four straight behind Jarry, who has allowed just two goals during the surge. Bryan Rust, Evan Rodrigues, Zach-Aston Reese and Brock McGinn scored for Pittsburgh. Thatcher Demko made 33 saves for the Canucks. Bo Horvat’s late goal spoiled Jarry’s bid for a shutout but couldn’t stop Vancouver from losing for the sixth time in seven games.
November 25, 2021 4:14 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Trey Thomas scored 14 points, Scotty Pippen Jr. added 11 and Vanderbilt pulled away midway through the second half to beat Pittsburgh 68-52. It was Vanderbilt’s (4-1) first road game and Power Five opponent this season. Pitt (2-3) entered having won its last two. Jordan Wright and Tyrin Lawrence added nine points apiece for the Commodores. The Commodores took the lead for good with 2:05 remaining in the first half and pulled away in the second half with a 25-6 run. Femi Odukale scored 14 points to lead Pitt. Nate Santos added 11 points.
November 25, 2021 3:42 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – The Pittsburgh Steelers are hopeful to get some familiar faces back in the lineup before they visit Cincinnati. Coach Mike Tomlin says there’s a chance linebacker T.J. Watt, safety Minkah Fitzpatrick and defensive back Joe Haden will be available against the Bengals. All three sat out a 41-37 loss to the Chargers last week. Fitzpatrick is currently on the COVID-19 list. Watt is dealing with hip and knee injuries and Haden has a sprained foot. Without the three veterans, the Steelers gave up a whopping 533 yards. That’s the most they’ve allowed in a game in eight years.
November 25, 2021 4:15 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – The Pittsburgh Pirates are bringing back first baseman/outfielder Yoshi Tsutsugo. A person with direct knowledge of the deal tells The Associated Press that Pittsburgh has agreed to terms with Tsutsugo on a $4 million, 1-year deal. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because it had not been formally announced. The deal is pending a physical. Tsutsugo, 29, joined the Pirates in August after being released by the Los Angeles Dodgers. He played well over the final six weeks of the season, hitting .268 with eight home runs and 25 RBIs in 43 games while splitting time between first base, left field and right field.
