NFL-SCHEDULE

More wins: Lions dominate Vikes 29-27 for 1st W of week 13

WITHOUT DATE (AP) – Jared Goff threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown when time ran out, taking the previously winless Detroit Lions to a 29-27 win over the Vikings of Minnesota.

Goff led the Lions on a decisive 75-yard possession with no downtime after Kirk Cousins ​​threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Justin Jefferson with 1:50 left.

The Vikings failed on a 2 point conversion for the third time. These missed opportunities have turned out to be costly. Goff threw two touchdown passes in the first half to give Detroit a 14-point lead for their biggest lead this season.

In other NFL actions:

–Tom Brady threw for 368 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the brink of an NFC South title with a 30-17 victory over the Atlanta Falcons. The Bucs improved to 9-3 with their third straight win. They have a four-game lead over Atlanta, Carolina and New Orleans with five games to go. Brady has improved to 10-0 in his career against the Falcons, including four consecutive wins since moving to Tampa Bay. Two of his touchdown passes went to longtime favorite receiver Rob Gronkowski. They have now logged 90 TD regular season passes during their careers together.

–Tua Tagovailoa (tag-oh-vay-LOH’-ah) threw up a pair of short touchdown passes and the Miami Dolphins extended their winning streak to five games by passing the New York Giants 20-9. Isaiah Ford and Mack Hollins scored for Miami. Jaylen Waddle had nine catches for 90 yards for the Dolphins and rookie Jaelan Phillips had two more sacks to give him five in his last two games. Tagovailoa completed 30 of 41 passes for 244 yards and both scores. Substitute Mike Glennon completed 23 of 44 shots for 187 yards for New York. Saquon Barkley had 55 rushing yards on 11 carries for the Giants.

–Gardner Minshew started in place of injured Jalen Hurts and led the Philadelphia Eagles against the clock on their first seven possessions in a 33-18 victory over the New York Jets. Minshew scored 20 of 25 for 242 yards and two touchdowns at Dallas Goedert. Kenneth Gainwell ran for a score, Jake Elliott kicked four field goals and the Eagles improved to 12-0 against the Jets.

–Kyler Murray pitched for two touchdowns and ran for two more on his return from an ankle injury and the Arizona Cardinals beat the struggling Chicago Bears 33-22. The Cardinals recovered Murray and three-time All-Pro wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins after both players missed three games with injuries. NFC West officials have intercepted Andy Dalton four times.

– Jonathan Taylor ran for 143 yards and two touchdowns and the Indianapolis Colts took an easy 31-0 victory over the hapless Houston Texans. The Texans returned the ball twice in the first quarter and quarterback Tyrod Taylor was benched in the third quarter as Houston lost for the ninth time in 10 games. Jonathan Taylor, who leads the NFL in rushing yards, has 16 rushing touchdowns this season, matching the franchise record set by Lenny Moore in 1964.

college football playoffs

Playoffs: Alabama v Cincinnati, Michigan v Georgia

IRVING, TX (AP) – College football playoffs are set and it’s historic: Cincinnati will face Alabama in the Cotton Bowl and Michigan will face Georgia in the Orange Bowl on New Years Eve.

Fourth-seeded Cincinnati become the first team to break the glass ceiling of the CFP and place in the bottom four in college football at a non-Power Five conference. The Bearcats have won the American Athletic Conference and are heading to the playoffs as the only undefeated team in the country. Their reward will be a clash with the reigning national champions.

The Crimson Tide is in the playoffs for the seventh time in its eight-year history.

No. 2 seed Michigan and No. 3 Georgia, who will meet at the Orange Bowl, have only met twice before, and not since 1965. Georgia won that game 15-7. Michigan won 26-0 in 1957. Both were regular season games.

Michigan is making its first playoff appearance. Georgia is for the second time, and the first since the 2017 season.

BOWL SELECTION DAY

Notre Dame vs. Oklahoma at the Fiesta Bowl

NO DATE (AP) – Notre Dame, fifth overall, will face the Oklahoma State No.9 at the Fiesta Bowl in a clash between two teams that narrowly missed the college football playoffs.

The Fighting Irish (11-1) finished fifth in the final CFP standings after coach Brian Kelly left for LSU last week. Defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman was promoted to head coach on Friday.

The Cowboys (11-2) found themselves within inches of a possible place for the CFP when Dezmon Jackson was stopped just before the end zone pylon in the dying seconds of a 21-16 loss to Baylor in the Big 12 Championship game.

Oklahoma State finished ninth in the final CFP standings.

Among other bowl matches:

– No.6 Baylor and No.8 Mississippi will face off in the Sugar Bowl on New Years Day. Baylor just won a Big 12 football championship after hanging out against Oklahoma State for a 21-16 victory on Saturday in the match for the conference title. Ole Miss concluded her regular season with a 31-21 win over Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl on Thanksgiving night for her first 10-game regular season in program history.

– Utah will face Ohio State at the 108th Rose Bowl. The Utes will make their first appearance in All’s Grandpa on Jan. 1 after their 38-10 victory over Oregon in the Pac-12 Championship game. Utah (10-3) started the season losing two of its first three games before winning nine of its last 10. The Buckeyes (10-2) were in position for most of the season for their third straight trip to the college football playoffs, but were eliminated from the competition with a 42-27 loss to Michigan.

– Pittsburgh’s reward for its first ACC Championship is a date with Michigan State at the Peach Bowl. Pitt (11-2) defeated Wake Forest 45-21 in the ACC Championship game on Saturday night. The Peach Bowl on December 30 will be the Panthers’ first Six Bowl since 2004. Michigan State (10-2) closed out its regular season by beating Penn State 30-27.

– No.12 BYU attracts the new UAB as the Independence Bowl opponent.

– The Clemson, Iowa State Preseason Top 10 meets at the Cheez-It Bowl.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL SURVEY

Alabama reclaims first place in the polls

NO DATE (AP) – Alabama will head to the playoffs the same way they started the regular season – as the nation’s No.1.

The Crimson Tide reclaimed the top spot in the Associated Press’s college football poll after beating previously top-ranked Georgia. The reigning national champion Alabama, who was No.1 for the first six weeks of this season, jumped three spots after dominating the Southeastern Conference title game. The Bulldogs fell to No.3.

Meanwhile, Michigan was No.2 for a second straight week after winning the Big Ten Conference Championship for the first time since 2004. Cincinnati slipped a berth to No.4. The Bearcats are the only unbeaten FBS team. in the country.

FOOTBALL-OKLAHOMA-VENABLES COLLEGE

AP source: Oklahoma targets Clemson’s Venables as coach

NO DATE (AP) – Someone with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press that Oklahoma is targeting Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables as their new head coach. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal was not concluded. The person said a deal could be found later on Sunday.

Venables would replace Lincoln Riley, who left last week to take over at USC. Venables was Oklahoma’s defensive co-coordinator from 1999-2003 and defensive coordinator from 2004-2011. He was there when the Sooners won the 2000 national title.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL-ACC CHAMPIONSHIP-FAKE SLIDE

Wake Forest Coach: NCAA Should Review Fake Slide Rules

CHARLOTTE, NC (AP) – Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson has said the NCAA needs to review its rules to determine whether quarterbacks should be allowed to “pretend to slip” after escaping from the poached.

Clawson’s statement came after his team lost to Pittsburgh in the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship game in which Panthers quarterback Kenny Pickett used a false slip to freeze defenders and run for a 58-yard touchdown on the game’s first possession. After Pickett broke containment on a third descent, he briefly stuttered and pretended to slide after picking up the first descent. Two Wake Forest defenders froze, thinking Pickett was going to surrender. Instead, Pickett cut back and ran another 40 yards for a touchdown.

Clawson said it was “something the NCAA should look into.”

NFL-PANTHERS-BRADY

Offensive coordinator Brady dismissed by Panthers

CHARLOTTE, NC (AP) – The Carolina Panthers have relieved offensive coordinator Joe Brady of his duties. The team announced the change on Sunday, with the team in a week off. Offensive assistant Jeff Nixon will replace Brady for the remainder of the season.

Brady was considered a major hire by coach Matt Rhule heading into the 2020 season. He was LSU’s prolific offensive coordinator with quarterback Joe Burrow in 2019 when the Tigers won the national title. Then aged 30, Brady was the youngest coordinator in the NFL. But the offense flouted.

WORLD GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP

Hovland rallies to win from 6 and deny Morikawa # 1

NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) – Viktor Hovland is the winner of the Hero World Challenge and even he was amazed. Hovland started six strokes behind and regained some ground with back-to-back Eagles and a surprising collin Morikawa collapse.

Hovland shot a 66 with bogeys on his last two holes to win by one stroke over Sam Burns. Burns was tied for the lead until he pulled five shots to get his pitch on the 14th green.

Morikawa had to win the holiday event in the Bahamas to reach world number 1. Instead, he went from a five-stroke lead to a tie for the fifth.

TENNIS-DAVIS CUB FINALS

Russia led by Medvedev wins Davis Cup after 15 years of waiting

MADRID (AP) – Russia’s 15-year wait for a Davis Cup title has come to an end after another clutch performance from Daniil Medvedev. He beat Marin Cilic 7-6 (7), 6-2 in the second singles match to give Russia an insurmountable 2-0 lead over Croatia in the final on Sunday. This is Russia’s third Davis Cup title, and the first since 2006.

Andrey Rublev beat Borna Gojo in straight sets to put the Russians ahead at Madrid Arena.

Russia’s other Davis Cup title dates back to 2002. Croatia were also looking for their third title after triumphs in 2005 and 2018.