The Latest on Week 12 in the NFL (all times EST):
7:50 p.m.
Frank Gore recalls the doubters suggesting he wasn’t supposed to last two years in the NFL after tearing both his knees at college.
Fifteen years later, Gore’s still going. With 65 yards rushing in a Buffalo’s 20-3 win over Denver on Sunday, the 36-year-old moved ahead of boyhood idol Barry Sanders and into third on the NFL list with 15,289 career yards rushing.
The milestone led to the Bills issuing a video featuring congratulatory messages from Sanders, all-time rushing leader Emmitt Smith and several of Gore’s former teammates.
“Congratulations on becoming the No. 3 all-time rusher in the NFL,” Sanders said. “Keep up the great work.”
Added Smith: “Job well done.”
The montage also included messages from Gore’s former University of Miami teammates Clinton Portis and Willis McGahee, as well as Ken Dorsey, now the Bills quarterbacks coach.
Gore’s son, Frank Jr., was also featured, saying: “I just want to say thank you for everything you’ve done for me.”
Gore credited his late mother, who raised him, as well as the San Francisco 49ers for believing enough to select him in the third round of the 2005 draft.
“I’ve been doubted my whole career, not just the NFL,” said Gore, who also passed Marshall Falk for fourth place with 19,155 career yards from scrimmage. “I’m still having fun. Still making plays, still helping a team win games. I’m blessed.”
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7:11 p.m.
The Dallas Cowboys held on defense, giving themselves a final chance to rally past New England.
The Cowboys trail 13-9 with 2:38 left in the fourth quarter, and they’ll have to drive 92 yards for a touchdown. Dallas kicked a 29-yard field goal on its previous possession, rather than going for it on fourth-and-7 with just over 6:00 remaining.
They were able to force a New England punt, however, so now they have a chance to win the game in regulation.
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5:55 p.m.
The Tennessee Titans are rolling over the Jacksonville Jaguars after scoring three touchdowns in the first 4:36 of the third quarter. Derrick Henry scored two in the span of 16 seconds.
The Titans opened the second half with a drive capped by Ryan Tannehill’s 1-yard TD pass to offensive lineman Dennis Kelly.
Tennessee forced the Jaguars into a three-and-out. On the Titans’ next play from scrimmage, Henry went through the line to the left sideline and ran 74 yards for a TD.
Then Daren Bates forced a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, and Henry ran 7 yards for a TD on the next play for a 28-3 lead.
— Teresa M. Walker reporting from Nashville, Tennessee
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5:25 p.m.
Ryan Tannehill went to the air to help the Tennessee Titans take a 7-3 halftime lead over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The quarterback who ran hurdles and long jumped in high school ran for a 21-yard touchdown in the second quarter. Tannehill finished off by leaping at the goal line in an attempt to jump past Jaguars cornerback Tre Herndon. Herndon made contact with Tannehill, but the Tennessee quarterback landed in the end zone.
The Jaguars managed a 49-yard field goal from Josh Lambo late in the first half.
— Teresa M. Walker reporting from Nashville, Tennessee
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5:15 p.m.
N’Keal Harry has joined a not-very-exclusive club.
The New England rookie caught a 10-yard touchdown pass from Tom Brady in the first quarter of Sunday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys. Harry is the 75th player to catch a TD pass from Brady, extending an NFL record. Vinny Testaverde was second, with 70 different TD targets.
A first-round draft choice from Arizona State, Harry made his NFL debut last week after spending 10 weeks on injured reserve with an ankle injury.
It was the 15th touchdown pass of the season for Brady. That’s a record for a player after his 42nd birthday.
The Patriots lead 10-0 in the second quarter.
— Jimmy Golen reporting from Foxborough, Massachusetts
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4:20 p.m.
A rare pass interference-related overturn gave Carolina a new set of downs, but the Panthers couldn’t take advantage late in their game at New Orleans.
Kyle Allen’s third-down pass was called incomplete, but after a review, a pass interference call was made against the Saints. That gave the Panthers a new set of downs at the New Orleans 3-yard line, but the Saints held defensively, and Joey Slye missed a 28-yard field goal attempt with 1:56 remaining, leaving the score tied at 31.
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3:50 p.m.
Kyle Allen threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to DJ Moore on fourth down to pull the Carolina Panthers into a 31-all tie with New Orleans with 9:23 remaining in the fourth quarter.
The Panthers trailed 31-18 in the third before rallying. The touchdown by Moore was his second of the game and the third TD pass by Allen.
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3:40 p.m.
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz went to the sideline medical tent and then jogged to the locker room to get an apparent injury checked out, but he ended up staying in the game.
There was no immediate word on the reason Wentz went to the locker room, but he appeared to injure his right hand and was shaking it for several series. He appeared to aggravate it on a muffed handoff that led to a Seattle fumble recovery.
The Eagles trail Seattle 17-3 in the fourth quarter.
— Dan Gelston reporting from Philadelphia
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3:30 p.m.
Derek Carr’s day appears to be over early against the New York Jets.
Coach Jon Gruden pulled the Oakland quarterback with less than two minutes left in the third quarter and the Raiders trailing 34-3.
Carr was 15 of 27 for 127 yards — and he threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown by Brian Poole.
Mike Glennon replaced Carr and immediately fumbled the first snap he got from center Rodney Hudson. The Jets recovered, but then fumbled away themselves.
It didn’t appear it was an injury for Carr, who stood on the Raiders’ sideline wearing a knit cap after being pulled.
— Dennis Waszak Jr. reporting from East Rutherford, New Jersey.
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3:25 p.m.
The Chicago Bears took a 19-7 lead by outscoring the New York Giants 16-0 in the third quarter.
Mitchell Trubisky threw for a touchdown and ran for another during the third — although he began the fourth quarter with an interception that gave the Giants the ball around midfield.
The Giants have lost six straight games.
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3:20 p.m.
The Philadelphia Eagles have turned the ball over three times and trail Seattle 10-3 after three quarters.
Carson Wentz has thrown for only 100 yards and was intercepted once. The Eagles have also lost two fumbles.
The Seahawks had only eight first downs through three quarters, but their defense was playing well enough to keep the lead.
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3:05 p.m.
The New York Jets have opened a 34-3 lead on Oakland after scoring three touchdowns in the first 8 ½ minutes of the third quarter.
Sam Darnold threw a pair of short touchdown passes, then Brian Poole intercepted a pass by Derek Carr and took it back 15 yards for another TD.
The Jets appear well on their way to a third straight victory after starting the season 1-7.
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3 p.m.
The Steelers turned to third-string quarterback Devlin Hodges in the second half against Cincinnati, benching struggling Mason Rudolph, and they got instant results. Hodges threw a 79-yard touchdown pass to James Washington for a 10-7 lead. Rudolph was only 8 of 16 for 85 yards with a tipped interception.
— Joe Kay reporting from Cincinnati
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2:50 p.m.
Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey cut New Orleans’ lead to 17-15 at halftime with a touchdown as time ran out in the second quarter, but only after an unnecessary roughness penalty by Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan wiped out a third-down sack.
Jordan appeared to be trying to punch the ball loose from quarterback Kyle Allen, who had been wrapped up by linebacker Demario Davis, but the whistle had already blown and Jordan missed the ball, instead appearing to smack his forearm into Allen’s head.
Instead of fourth-and-long, the Panthers had first down and continued the drive.
McCaffrey initially was ruled to have scored on a screen pass with 2 seconds left, but he was ruled down less than a yard short of the goal line after replay review.
Instead of kicking a field goal, the Panthers lined up as if they were intending to run McCaffrey to the right, and the blocking all went that way as the ball was snapped. But McCaffery leaked out to the left for another screen and no defender shadowed him. McCaffrey celebrated the easy touchdown by spiking the ball so hard it landed in the stands.
Carolina attempted to pass for a 2-point conversion, but that failed, allowing New Orleans to keep a slim lead at halftime.
— Brett Martel reporting from New Orleans
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2:35 p.m.
Mike Evans has joined Randy Moss as the only players to begin their careers with six straight seasons of at least 1,000 yards receiving.
Evans had a slow start in Tampa Bay’s game against Atlanta before making a 17-yard catch late in the first half to extend a drive. Evans began the day with 993 yards on 58 catches.
The Buccaneers lead the Falcons 19-10 at halftime.
—Charles Odum reporting from Atlanta
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2:25 p.m.
Cincinnati and Washington — who entered this weekend with a combined record of 1-19 — both have halftime leads.
The winless Bengals are up 7-3 on Pittsburgh. Cincinnati fumbled opening kickoff but recovered, Ryan Finley fumbled on a sack but the Bengals recovered. Also, the Bengals intercepted a pass at their own 3-yard line, so things have really gone their way — which is what they need to have a chance.
The Redskins hadn’t led at any point since beating Miami in Week 6, but they are ahead of Detroit 13-6. The Lions are playing their third straight game without injured quarterback Matthew Stafford.
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2:10 p.m.
Bills quarterback Josh Allen threw his first interception in his last 172 attempts in the second quarter when he was picked off by Broncos safety Justin Simmons.
It was his first interception since being picked off in the third quarter of a 14-7 win over Tennessee in Week 5. It was also Buffalo’s first turnover in three-plus games; Buffalo had never gone four games in a row without a turnover.
The Bills lead Denver 6-0.
— John Wawrow reporting from Orchard Park, New York
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2:05 p.m.
Jarvis Landry is getting revenge against his former team.
Landry caught two touchdown passes from Baker Mayfield as Cleveland opened a 21-0 lead over the Miami Dolphins.
Landry spent four seasons with the Dolphins, who traded him to Cleveland in 2018 after they decided not to give the three-time Pro Bowler a long-term contract. Landry said earlier this week that he had circled the matchup with Miami on his calendar.
He opened the scoring with a 7-yard TD reception and later scored on a 5-yard pass from Mayfield, who also threw a 35-yard TD to Odell Beckham Jr.
—Tom Withers reporting from Cleveland
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1:55 p.m.
The Buffalo Bills scored field goals on their opening two drives and lead the Denver Broncos 6-0 in the second quarter.
Buffalo opened the scoring on Stephen Hauschka’s 39-yard field goal that capped a 17-play, 69-yard drive in which the Bills converted three third-down opportunities.
The Bills followed with a 12-play, 87-yard drive that stalled at Denver’s 5, leading to Hauschka’s 23-yard field goal.
— John Wawrow reporting from Orchard Park, New York
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1:45 p.m.
New Orleans scored two touchdowns less than 10 minutes into its game against Carolina, in part because of a successful challenge by Saints coach Sean Payton.
Officials initially ruled a Saints punt was touched first by New Orleans and was not a fumble when the ball came down in a cluster of players. Replay showed the ball deflecting off of Panthers safety Rashaan Gaulden, and New Orleans, which had recovered the loose ball, took possession on the Carolina 27.
A couple plays later, Tre’Quan Smith had an easy touchdown reception when Carolina’s defense froze on a play fake in the backfield to running back Alvin Kamara. The Panthers’ wariness of the Saints’ ground game at that point was understandable, given that New Orleans had finished its first possession of the game with Latavius Murray’s 26-yard TD run.
Payton risked losing challenges for the rest of the game when he dropped the red flag after the muffed punt. Earlier, he challenged an offensive pass interference penalty called against Saints tight end Jared Cook on a big gain. Officials declined to overturn that call. Also on that play, left tackle Terron Armstead received treatment on the field for an apparent leg injury, then walked off gingerly before being carted to the locker room.
Carolina quickly responded to the Saints’ second score with a TD of their own on a 51-yard pass from Kyle Allen to DJ Moore that made it 14-6.
— Brett Martel reporting from New Orleans
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12:30 p.m.
Cleveland Browns owner Dee Haslam is showing her support for suspended defensive star Myles Garrett.
Haslam wore a stocking cap bearing Garrett’s No. 95 while on the sideline during pregame warmups. Garrett was suspended indefinitely by the NFL for ripping off Pittsburgh quarterback Mason Rudolph’s helmet and hitting him over the head with it. The suspension was upheld Thursday by an appeals officer.
Garrett will miss Cleveland’s final six games and the playoffs, should the 4-6 Browns make them. Team officials are hoping he can return in 2020. Garrett is required to meet with Commissioner Roger Goodell’s office before he can be reinstated.
The league fined Garrett $45,623 for his actions in the final seconds of Cleveland’s 21-7 win on Nov. 14. Thirty-two other players — 21 Steelers and 11 Browns — were disciplined for their involvement in the brawl.
The Browns visit the Steelers next Sunday.
— Tom Withers reporting from Cleveland
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11:45 a.m.
The Cincinnati Bengals have had some awful teams in their half-century of existence. The 2019 version is on the verge of one ugly franchise record.
If the Bengals fall to their archrivals, the Pittsburgh Steelers, on Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium, they will drop to 0-11, the only winless team in the NFL. The Bengals have matched their worst start in club history and longest losing streak. Cincinnati has dropped 12 straight overall from last season, a club mark, and 17 of 18, the worst such stretch in its history.
The Steelers have won nine straight in the series, 12 of 13 and 17 of 20, including a first-round playoff win at Cincinnati in 2015 season. These Bengals, under first-year coach, Zac Taylor, can only dream of postseason appearances. They have the worst overall defense and worst rushing defense in the NFL.
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