Falcons Rally Again and Leave Buccaneers Behind

mbt8c · Wysłany: Wto 5:10, 15 Mar 2011

Falcons Rally Again and Leave Buccaneers Behind
Eric Weems scored on a 102-yard kickoff return and Matt Ryan threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Michael Jenkins as the Atlanta Falcons rallied from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter Sunday to beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 28-24, on Sunday.
Ryan led his sixth fourth-quarter comeback of the season for the Falcons, the N.F.C. South leaders at 10-2. Ryan kept the final 10-play, 67-yard march alive with a 25-yard completion to Roddy White on third-and-20. The Falcons have won six in a row.
The rookie LeGarrette Blount rushed for 103 yards and Earnest Graham threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to John Gilmore for Tampa Bay (7-5), which is 0-5 against teams with winning records. Josh Freeman drove the Buccaneers into Falcons territory on the team’s final drive, but Brent Grimes’s interception ended the threat.
Contenders Stumble
Jason Campbell ran for one touchdown and threw for another as the visiting Raiders stunned the Chargers, 28-13. The loss put a serious crimp in the playoff hopes of the Chargers; instead of keeping up with the first-place Chiefs in the A.F.C. West, San Diego (6-6) is tied with Oakland, two games back.
¶Peyton Manning had two interceptions returned for touchdowns, then threw a fourth in overtime that set up David Buehler for a 38-yard field goal that gave the Cowboys a 38-35 victory over the Colts. Manning passed for 365 yards and 2 touchdowns but posted his second straight four-interception game. He has 11 interceptions in the past three games, with four returned for scores. The loss dropped the Colts (6-6) out of the A.F.C. South lead.
Saints Fool Bengals
Drew Brees rallied the Saints to their fifth straight win, 34-30 over the Bengals, by coaxing Cincinnati lineman Pat Sims into jumping offside in the final minute. Trailing by 30-27, the Saints (9-3) had a fourth-and-2 at the Cincinnati 7 with 34 seconds left. Instead of attempting a tying field goal, New Orleans called timeout and ran a play called “No-Brainer Freeze.” In it, the Saints line up as if they are going to snap the ball and Brees tries to draw the opponent offside. To the surprise of the 59,963 fans in Cincinnati, that was exactly what happened. Sims’s mistake gave the shocked Saints a first down, and Brees threw the winning 3-yard touchdown pass to Marques Colston on the next play. “What is that guy doing?” Saints defensive lineman [link widoczny dla zalogowanych] said. “You have to be smarter than that.” The Bengals (2-10) have lost nine in a row.
¶Maurice Jones-Drew turned in the N.F.L.’s second-best rushing effort of the season with 186 yards on 31 carries in the Jaguars’ 17-6 victory over the Titans. With their fourth win in five games, the visiting Jaguars (7-5) took over first place in the A.F.C. South, a game ahead of the Colts. Jones-Drew has run for at least 100 yards now in five straight games, but his latest might have been his easiest. Jacksonville ran on 15 of its first 17 plays, picking up 86 yards. “They ran it and we didn’t stop it,” Titans Coach Jeff Fisher said. Tennessee (5-7) has gone 13 quarters without an offensive touchdown.
Revenge for Chiefs
The Chiefs avenged a 20-point loss to Denver three weeks ago with a ragged 10-6 win over the Broncos. Jamaal Charles ran for 116 yards and Matt Cassel threw a 3-yard pass to Leonard Pope for the only touchdown as the Chiefs (8-4) improved to 6-0 at home and remained in first place in the A.F.C. West. Denver (3-9) has lost 17 of 22 under Coach Josh McDaniels. [link widoczny dla zalogowanych]
¶The Dolphins managed to look even more inept than the Browns, who stumbled to a 13-10 win when a last-minute turnover gave them the ball at the 2 and Phil Dawson kicked a 23-yard field goal on the final play. When Browns lineman David Bowens deflected Chad Henne’s final pass with a minute left and the score tied, Mike Adams snatched the ball — Henne’s third interception — and ran 25 yards to set up Dawson’s winning kick.
¶Jay Cutler threw a go-ahead touchdown pass to Brandon Manumaleuna one play after a questionable call midway through the fourth quarter, lifting the Bears to a 24-20 victory over the Lions. The referee Ed Hochuli flagged Ndamukong Suh for unnecessary roughness after he seemed to hit Cutler’s shoulder pads, jolting him to the turf from behind when he was running downfield. The Lions (2-10) were livid, perhaps because Detroit also lost its first meeting this season with Chicago (9-3) when Calvin Johnson appeared to catch a winning touchdown only to have the officials rule that he did not complete the play. [link widoczny dla zalogowanych]
In Other Games
Tarvaris Jackson threw two touchdown passes after replacing an injured Brett Favre on Minnesota’s first series, and the Vikings rolled over the visiting Bills, 38-14. The Vikings (5-7) will have to wait to see if Favre will be able to extend his record of 297 consecutive starts. Favre was leveled by linebacker Arthur Moats on his first pass play, spraining his throwing shoulder. “He’s played 15,000 games straight now, so he’ll probably play 15,001 next week,” said Jackson, who threw three interceptions. The Bills (2-10) had five turnovers. [link widoczny dla zalogowanych]
¶Donald Driver left a string of befuddled defenders in his dust on a rambling 61-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown in the third quarter, providing the most critical play in the Packers’ 34-16 victory over the 49ers. “I don’t know what happened,” Driver said. “All I know is when I caught it, I just started making moves.” As Driver and the team celebrated, the crowd counted out the tackles he broke as the play was replayed on Lambeau Field’s video screens. Greg Jennings caught 6 passes for 122 yards and 2 touchdowns for the Packers (8-4), who kept pace with the Bears in the N.F.C. North.
¶Marshawn Lynch rushed for a career-high 3 touchdowns, Lofa Tatupu returned an interception 26 yards for a score, and the Seahawks used a 21-point third quarter to rally past the visiting Panthers, 31-14. Seattle (6-6) stayed even with St. Louis in the N.F.C. West race. Carolina is 1-11. [link widoczny dla zalogowanych]
¶Steven Jackson rushed for 102 yards, including 27 on the game’s only touchdown, and the Rams ended an eight-game losing streak against Arizona with a 19-6 victory over the Cardinals. Arizona (3-9) failed to score a touchdown for the second game in a row.