>SCOREBOARDMonday
Ty Montgomery Jersey Youth , Dec. 25Pittsburgh at Houston, 4:30 EST. The Steelers (11-3) have won three of their past four over the Texans. Pittsburgh QB Ben Roethlisberger has six touchdown passes and one interception in four games against the Texans. Houston (4-10) has lost four straight and seven of eight. QB T.J. Yates will make his second straight start with Tom Savage on IR with a concussion.Oakland at Philadelphia, 8:30 EST. The Eagles (12-2) can clinch home-field advantage throughout NFC playoffs with a win. The Eagles have a first-round bye for only the sixth time since 1970 and the first since 2004. Oakland’s Derek Carr joined Dan Marino, Peyton Manning, Russell Wilson, Andrew Luck as the only QBs with at least 100 TD passes in his first four seasons in the NFL. Pro Bowl defensive end Khalil Mack is trying for a sack in his sixth straight game for the Raiders (6-8).STARSPassing鈥擩ared Goff, Rams, was 22 for 38 for 301 yards and four touchdowns in Los Angeles’ 27-23 win over Tennessee.鈥擪irk Cousins, Redskins, was 19 for 37 for 299 yards and three touchdowns and an interception in Washington’s 27-11 win over Denver. Cousins is the first quarterback in Washington history with three seasons of 25 or more TD passes.鈥擩ameis Winston, Bucs, was 21 for 27 for 367 yards and a touchdown in Tampa Bay’s 22-19 loss to Carolina.鈥擜lex Smith, Chiefs, was 25 for 39 for 304 yards and a touchdown in Kansas City’s 29-13 win over MiamiRushing鈥擳odd Gurley, Rams, had 22 carries for 118 yards and added 10 receptions for 158 yards and two touchdowns, including an 80-yarder in Los Angeles’ 27-23 win over Tennessee. He became only the third player in NFL history to put together such a performance in the same game, joining Ollie Matson (1954) and Herschel Walker (1986).鈥擝ilal Powell
Jaire Alexander Jersey Elite , Jets, had 19 carries for 145 yards, including a 57-yard touchdown in New York’s 14-7 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.鈥擠ion Lewis, Patriots, had 24 carries for 129 yards and a touchdown in New England’s 37-16 win over Buffalo.鈥擥iovani Bernard, Bengals, had 23 carries for 116 yards and a touchdown in Cincinnati’s 26-17 win over Detroit.Receiving鈥擩ulio Jones, Falcons, had seven catches for 149 yards in Atlanta’s 23-13 loss to New Orleans.鈥擳yreek Hill, Chiefs, had six catches for 109 yards in Kansas City’s 29-13 win over Miami.鈥擫arry Fitzgerald, Cardinals had nine catches for 119 yards and a touchdown in Arizona’s 23-0 win over the New York Giants.鈥擪eelan Cole, Jaguars, had six catches for 108 yards in Jacksonville’s 44-33 loss to San Francisco.鈥擬ike Evans, Bucs, had six catches for 107 yards in Tampa’s 22-19 loss to Carolina.鈥擩akeem Grant, Dolphins, had four catches for 107 yards
Jim Kelly Jersey Youth , including a 65-yard touchdown in Miami’s 29-13 loss to Kansas City.Special Teams鈥擠amiere Byrd, Panthers, returned a kickoff 103 yards for a touchdown in Carolina’s 22-19 win over Tampa Bay. It was the longest kick return in Panthers history, surpassing Kealoha Pilares’ 101-yard kick return TD in Week 11 of the 2011 season against the Lions.鈥擧arrison Butker, Chiefs, was 5 for 6 on field goals and added two PATs in Kansas City’s 29-13 win over Miami.鈥擱andy Bullock, Bengals, was 4 for 4 on field goals and added two PATs in Cincinnati’s 26-17 win over Detroit.Defense鈥擠ontae Johnson, 49ers, returned an interception 50 yards for a touchdown in San Francisco’s 44-33 win over Jacksonville.鈥擩ustin Coleman, Seahawks, returned an interception 30 yards for a touchdown in Seattle’s 21-12 win over Dallas.鈥?Robert Nkemdiche, Cardinals, ran back a fumble 21 yards for a touchdown in Arizona’s 23-0 win over the New York Giants.鈥擩ordan Poyer, Bills, returned an interception 19 yards for a touchdown in Buffalo’s 37-16 loss to New England.鈥擶esley Woodyard, Titans returned a fumble 4 yards for a touchdown in Tennessee’s 27-23 loss to the LA Rams.鈥擡zekiel Ansah, Lions had three sacks in Detroit’s 26-17 loss to Cincinnati.鈥擜ntoine Bethea
Joe Thomas Jersey Elite , Cardinals, had two interceptions in Arizona’s 23-0 win over the New York Giants.鈥擱oss Cockrell, Giants, had two interceptions in New York’s 23-0 loss to Arizona.STREAKS & STATSDeShone Kizer threw two more interceptions and the winless Cleveland Browns committed two turnovers in the red zone on the way to a 20-3 loss to the Chicago Bears. One more loss and the Browns will join the 2008 Detroit Lions as the only teams to go 0-16. The Browns have clinched the first overall pick in the 2018 draft. They will be the fifth team in the common draft era to pick No. 1 overall in back-to-back drafts. The previous team to do so was the 1999-2000 Browns. … Jordan Poyer’s pick-6 of Tom Brady was the first against the Patriots superstar since Atlanta’s Robert Alford in the Super Bowl. The previous pick-6 of Brady in the regular season came in Week 13 in the 2015 season when the Eagles’ Malcolm Jenkins did it. Brady has thrown an interception in five straight games for the first time since Weeks 2-6 of the 2002 season. … Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen had five catches for 63 yards and added an interception in the team’s 14-7 win at the New York Jets. Allen, who has 93 catches for 1,260 yards this season, is the first player in NFL history to have at least 90 catches and an interception in the same season. He is also the third player in NFL history to have at least 1,000 receiving yards and an interception in the same season, joining Hall of Famer Don Hutson (1942) and Randy Moss (2009). … The 2017 season will mark the first time in the Super Bowl era that the Cowboys, Giants, Redskins, Packers, and 49ers all missed the playoffs. The previous time all five of those teams missed the postseason was in 1964. … Linebacker Ryan Kerrigan sacked Denver’s Brock Osweiler twice and has 11 this season, becoming the first Redskins player with 10 The Golden Knights had modest goals in their first season.
Put a credible team on the ice while attracting fans unused to a major pro league in Vegas, where gambling and big-name entertainers have ruled the desert city.
Nobody said anything the playoffs, let alone making noise in the postseason.
”It’s unreal,” coach Gerard Gallant said after the Knights beat the Los Angeles Kings 1-0 on Tuesday and became the first expansion team in NHL history to sweep their first playoff series. ”It all started when we went 8-2 in our first 10 games.”
Now, they’re playing with house money.
”We’re sky-high right now
Deion Sanders Jersey Limited ,” said Brayden McNabb, whose second-period goal proved the series-winner against his former team.
Next up is either Anaheim or San Jose. The Sharks are going for a sweep of their own with a 3-0 series lead.
”It doesn’t matter who we play,” Gallant said. ”We’ll have some time to get ready for them.”
Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury will get some much-needed rest after backstopping two shutouts in the series. He stopped 31 shots as the Knights finished off their fourth one-goal victory against the Kings.
”We’re still a few wins away from this being a great story,” Fleury said.
The Knights are the second team to win their first four playoff games, joining the 1970 Pittsburgh Penguins.
”We came in with a chip on our shoulder,” forward Jonathan Marchessault said. ”When we play the right way, I think we can go far, but we cannot look too far right now. We’ve got to look at the next game and be able to cash in the rest that we’re going to have here.”
Fleury survived a tense third period at Staples Center.
With their fans shouting encouragement, the desperate Kings put the pressure on. Having pulled goalie Jonathan Quick for an extra attacker late, Dustin Brown’s shot in the high slot was stopped by Fleury’s glove.
Brown also hit the left post with 10 minutes to go in the third, typical of the close calls that Fleury turned away with seeming ease. His goals-against average is a career-low 0.66 and he stopped 127 of 130 shots in the series.
Quick made 20 saves on Tuesday and gave up seven goals to Vegas, one of the league’s higher scoring teams.
”Both goaltenders were excellent,” Gallant said. ”We got a little bit more puck luck and we cashed in at the right time.”
Vegas is just the third expansion team since 1968-69 to clinch a playoff berth.
Suddenly, the Knights’ goals are unlimited.
”We didn’t to expect to do this at the beginning of the year,” left wing David Perron said, ”but it feels great and we’re going to enjoy it.”
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