Read reports from Sunday’s NFL games.
Helped by three interceptions at 4e quarterback, Packers beat Dolphins
Defensive back Jaire Alexander knew the Green Bay Packers’ secondary league members needed to start playing better on Sunday against the Miami Dolphins after defensive backs coach Jerry Gray — to their surprise — raised his voice against them during halftime.
“It woke us up, that’s for sure,” admitted Alexander. “He’s not used to shouting, but he raised his voice. And you see the results. Maybe he should have yelled at us at the start of the game. »
Gray’s efforts to motivate his players worked. The Packers intercepted three passes from Tua Tagovailoa in the fourth quarter to complete their comeback for a 26-20 win.
The victory allowed the Packers to maintain their chances of making the National Conference playoffs.
The Packers had four turnovers, a game-high for them this season, including a loose fly ball they recovered. Alexander had one of the interceptions early in the fourth quarter.
” This is how. You get an interception, others will follow,” said cornerback Rasul Douglas, who had the interception that sealed the Dolphins’ fate.
Veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers had 238 yards through the air and completed a touchdown pass for the Packers (7-8), winners of their last three games. Rodgers had one of his passes intercepted.
After suffering a fourth straight loss, the Dolphins (8-7) now need two wins or a win at New England next Sunday and a loss to the New York Jets at Seattle, also the next week, to participate in the playoffs.
“I didn’t anticipate that,” Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel said of the final result.
“I had a very good feeling after the first half. I did not expect to find myself here in this situation. I know the team feels the same. It picks you up in the gut. »
After holding a 10-point lead, the Dolphins trailed by six, with the opportunity to regain the lead for the final two minutes of the fourth quarter. However, Tagovailoa suffered his third interception in as many series on offense, which ended the Dolphins’ hopes of a comeback.
The Dolphins quarterback had one of his passes intercepted with about six minutes remaining, which helped the Packers earn a field goal and increase their lead to six points.
Precision kicker Mason Crosby broke the 20-20 tie for the Packers with a field goal early in the fourth quarter after back-to-back turnovers from both offensive units.
Rookie Kader Kohou first stole a pass from Rodgers aimed at Allen Lazard. However, the Dolphins gave the ball back to the Packers the next play when Alexander successfully interposed a pass from Tagovailoa.
The Dolphins defense kept the team in the game by limiting the Packers to just six points following second-half turnovers.
The Packers managed to get inside the Dolphins 20-yard line on five occasions and were limited to two touchdowns and three field goals.
“It hasn’t been pretty, that’s for sure,” Packers head coach Matt LaFleur said. “When you get a lot of shots, that’s usually enough to get you beat. »
AJ Dillon led the Packers’ ground offense with 36 yards on 11 carries while Lazard had 61 yards through the air on five catches.
In the loss, Tyreek Hill caught four assists to bring his tally to 113 catches in 2022, a team record for most catches in a single season. The mark belonged to Jarvis Landry. Jaylen Waddle added five catches for 143 yards.
However, the Dolphins ruined those great stats with turnovers. Raheem Mostert had a first-half fumble, and Tagovailoa’s three interceptions were a season high for him.
“It’s tough,” Tagovailoa said. “You have an opportunity to play on Christmas Day against a team that is really good. I show up on the pitch and don’t give my best performance for our team. »
Alanis Thames, Associated Press
Baker Mayfield and Cam Akers lead Rams to 51-14 win over Broncos
PHOTO GARY A. VASQUEZ, USA TODAY SPORTS
Los Angeles Rams quarterback Baker Mayfield (17)
Baker Mayfield threw two touchdown passes to Tyler Higbee, Cam Akers rushed for 118 yards and added three majors and the Los Angeles Rams crushed the Denver Broncos 51-14 on Sunday.
For the Rams, it’s their second win since mid-October.
In another solid outing, Mayfield completed 24 of 28 passes for 230 yards. He picked up his second win in three starts for the Rams (5-10), leading them to their best game of their tough campaign on Christmas Day.
The Rams had their first game with at least 50 points under head coach Sean McVay since their famous 54-51 win over the Kansas City Chiefs in 2018.
For at least another week, the Rams were able to avoid becoming the first defending Super Bowl champions to lose 11 games the following year.
For the Broncos (4-11), quarterback Russell Wilson had six sacks and three interceptions. He finished the game with 214 yards through the air.
Returning from a game-long absence with a concussion, Wilson looked rusty and threw interceptions that ended the Broncos’ first two offensive streaks.
The second interception was made by Bobby Wagner, his former teammate with the Seattle Seahawks. Wagner also bagged Wilson in the first half.
The Broncos trailed 41-6 before Wilson joined Greg Dulcich in the end zone for their only touchdown of the game with 8:30 left in the fourth quarter.
Greg Beacham, Associated Press
Note to readers: An earlier version of this text stated that the Packers managed to get inside the Dolphins 20-yard line on five occasions while scoring runs only twice. It was a mistake. Our apologies.