Sunday in the NFL | Packers beat Bears to advance to playoffs

Jordan Love had 316 passing yards and two touchdown passes to Dontayvion Wicks to help the Green Bay Packers beat the Chicago Bears 17-9 on Sunday and book their spot in the playoffs.

The Packers (9-8) needed a win to secure a NL draft spot. The Packers have won three games in a row, in addition to defeating the Bears (7-10) for the 10^e consecutive times.

Love led his team to the playoffs in his first season as the Packers’ starting quarterback.

Love completed 27 of 32 passes against the Bears, while his team made no field goal attempts Sunday. The quarterback threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Wicks to give his team the lead midway through the second quarter. He spotted the rookie in the third quarter, this time in the end zone for a 12-yard touchdown pass.

Jayden Reed caught four balls for 112 yards for the Packers. It was the first 100-yard game for the first-year player.

Aaron Jones rushed for 111 yards on 22 carries for his third straight game with at least 100 yards.

Justin Fields completed 11 of 16 passes for 148 yards, but the Bears did not complete an offensive sequence in the end zone. Fields was the victim of five quarterback sacks. He ran the ball eight times for gains of 27 yards.

The Bears reached Packers territory on their first six offensive drives, but scored just nine points.

Cairo Santos completed his team’s first sequence with a 50-yard field goal. He also made a 39-yard field goal in the second quarter and another 35-yarder at the start of the fourth quarter.

Steve Megargee

Buccaneers secure playoff spot by shutting out Panthers

Chase McLaughlin made three field goals and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers blanked the Panthers 9-0 to secure a playoff spot on Sunday.

The Buccaneers (9-8) were facing a tough game, but they won the National Association South title for the third year in a row.

Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield was held to 137 air yards in his return to North Carolina, but the defense did enough to keep the Panthers from getting on the board.

The Panthers became the first NFL team since at least 1991 to not run a fourth-quarter lead play all season.

Bryce Young completed 11 of 18 passes for 94 yards and the Panthers (2-15) saw two potential touchdowns called back.

The North Carolina team became the first team since the Cleveland Browns in 2008 to be shut out in two games in a row. They lost 26-0 to the Jacksonville Jaguars last week.

The Panthers finished the season with the worst record in the NFL, but they won’t be able to cash in on the No. 1 overall pick because he was traded to the Chicago Bears to select Young.

Mayfield spent last season with the Panthers, but went 1-5 as a starter and was released. He played through sore ribs, completing 20 of his 32 attempts through the air.

Steve Reed, Associated Press

The Steelers in the playoffs thanks to the Titans’ victory

Left behind in mid-December, the Pittsburgh Steelers will finally be in the playoffs.

The Pennsylvania team earned its ticket by virtue of the Tennessee Titans’ 28-20 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday in Nashville.

Trevor Lawrence’s Jaguars are consequently eliminated.

The Steelers (10-7) had lost three games in a row, including two against the New England Patriots and the Arizona Cardinals, which placed them in a precarious situation a few weeks ago.

Head coach Mike Tomlin turned the offensive unit over to Mason Rudolph after a loss to the Indianapolis Colts on Dec. 16, and the quarterback responded by helping the club post three straight wins to close out the regular season.

The Steelers will finish sixth or seventh in the American depending on other results on Sunday. They could cross swords with the Miami Dolphins, the Kansas City Chiefs or the Buffalo Bills next week.

The Steelers last made the playoffs during the 2021 season. They have lost their last four playoff games.

Associated Press

The Saints win 48-17 against the Falcons, but are eliminated

The New Orleans Saints offensive unit produced when it needed to, but also when it didn’t. Ultimately, the team missed the playoffs and players were left to answer questions about a late touchdown that left a sour taste in the mouths of the Atlanta Falcons.

Derek Carr threw four touchdown passes and the Saints won 48-17 against the Falcons on Sunday, while both teams could clinch the National South Division title with a victory.

The winners, however, had to hope for a defeat of the Buccaneers against the Carolina Panthers.

However, the Tampa club won 9-0.

Then, the slim hopes of participating in the playoffs for the Saints (9-8) evaporated when the Green Bay Packers beat the Chicago Bears 17-9 late in the afternoon.

“Our record is what it is,” said head coach Dennis Allen. We deserve what we get. »

The Saints’ final touchdown – a one-yard run by Jamaal Williams as the team seemed to want to run out the clock by kneeling on the ground – upset the Falcons, but also Allen.

The Saints pilot explained that he had given the directive to run out the remaining time, but the players on the field decided to give Williams his only touchdown of the season.

Soon after, what was supposed to be a routine handshake instead gave way to a heated discussion. Visibly angry, Falcons coach Arthur Smith demanded an explanation from Allen, who was trying to apologize.

“It’s unacceptable,” Allen admitted, adding that Smith had a right to be upset.

But Smith had time to calm down before speaking to the media.

“We didn’t stop them in the second half,” he admitted. And they can do whatever they want. Hats off to them. They kicked the you-know-what out of us. »

Carr passed for 264 yards and freshman receiver AT Perry reached the end zone twice with aerial plays to double his touchdown total this season.

“It’s great because I think we’ve proven over the last couple of months that it’s not a fluke,” Carr said of the Saints’ offensive production, which has improved as the club Louisiana has won four of its last five games.

“We all wanted to produce earlier [dans la saison]. We all wanted it to look like this all the time. But I hope this second half of the season has shown that this is what we can do in the future. »

In the Falcons locker room after the game, speculation swirled around the future of head coach Arthur Smith, who suffered a third straight losing season since taking over the club.

Receiver Rashid Shaheed caught a 39-yard pass for the touchdown, while his teammate Chris Olave crossed the 26 yards separating him from the goal line. Kendre Miller scored the other major with a three-yard run.

With Taylor Heinicke out due to an ankle injury, Desmond Ridder got his 13^e start of the season. The highlight of his day was a 71-yard pass to Bijan Robinson for a touchdown in the first quarter.

Ridder, however, committed two turnovers which led to major blows from the Saints in the second half. Alontae Taylor had an interception at his expense in the third quarter, then the quarterback lost the ball in the fourth.

Ridder completed 22 of 30 passes for 291 yards and two touchdowns, Robinson caught seven balls for 103 yards.

Brett Martel, Associated Press