The Latest on the 13th Sunday of the NFL regular season (all times Eastern):
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4:55 p.m.
That Week 17 matchup between the Titans and Jaguars keeps looking bigger and bigger.
Both teams won to remain tied atop the AFC South with matching 8-4 records: The Titans beat the Houston Texans 24-13 on a victory sealed by LeShaun Sims’ end-zone interception with about a minute left, while the Jaguars rolled past the Indianapolis Colts 30-10.
Tennessee hosts Jacksonville on New Year’s Eve.
In another result with playoff implications, the NFC North-leading Minnesota Vikings improved to 10-2 by defeating the Atlanta Falcons 14-9.
The Vikings still have a shot at catching the Philadelphia Eagles for the conference’s best record, while Atlanta tumbled to 7-5 and could soon be losing touch with the teams ahead of it in the NFC South, Carolina and New Orleans, who played later Sunday.
And the Chiefs have lost six of their past seven games to fall to .500 after letting the New York Jets to come back and win 38-31.
In other early games in Week 13:
– The Patriots beat the Bills 23-3;
– The Packers edged the Bucs 26-20 in OT;
– The Ravens routed the Lions 44-20;
– The Dolphins handed the Broncos an eighth consecutive loss 35-9;
– The 49ers got past the Bears 15-14.
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4:30
Raiders running back Marshawn Lynch sat and Giants defensive lineman Olivier Vernon knelt for the national anthem before their teams’ game, raising the total to 11 players around the NFL making some sort of statement during ”The Star-Spangled Banner.”
Both Lynch and Vernon have consistently made those gestures this season.
Earlier, safety Eric Reid was among three San Francisco 49ers players who knelt during the national anthem before facing the Chicago Bears on Sunday.
Reid recently left a group of players negotiating with the NFL about the protests, saying that Philadelphia Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins excluded Colin Kaepernick from meetings and asked about the possibility of ending demonstrations if the league made charitable donations.
On Sunday, Reid, receiver Marquise Goodwin and nose tackle Earl Mitchell each took a knee during the national anthem in Chicago, while everyone on the Bears’ sideline stood.
At the Browns-Chargers game, Los Angeles left tackle Russell Okung raised his right fist during the national anthem, as usual.
In Miami, a trio of Dolphins players knelt, as usual: Julius Thomas, Kenny Stills and Michael Thomas.
In Baltimore, Ravens rookie linebacker Tyus Bowser knelt in end zone for first few verses of anthem, then moved to the sideline and stood at attention for the rest, as he has done before.
The one Titans player who has been protesting by staying off the field, receiver Rishard Matthews, was inactive Sunday. He came onto the field after the anthem ended.
After the anthem ended, a trio of Titans players raised their fists overhead: Brian Orakpo, Jurrell Casey and Wesley Woodyard.
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4:10 p.m.
The Los Angeles Chargers are using their fourth kicker of the season.
Travis Coons is taking over for Nick Novak, who hurt his back last week in Dallas and couldn’t recover in time for Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns.
Novak was placed on injured reserve and Coons was signed to the active roster this weekend.
Coons gets the chance to kick against the Browns, his former employer. Coons hit 28 of his 32 field goal attempts for Cleveland in 2015, but was cut in August 2016.
Rookie Younghoe Koo won the Chargers’ kicking job at the start of this season, but was cut after four games. Novak returned for his third stint with the Chargers after kicking for the franchise from 2011-14, but got hurt during a blowout victory over the Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day, forcing punter Drew Kaser to attempt the extra points.
– Greg Beacham in Carson, California.
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4 p.m.
Frank Gore is now No. 5 on the NFL’s career rushing list.
The 34-year-old running back for the Indianapolis Colts moved up to that spot on a 16-yard run in the second half against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Gore began the day at No. 7.
First, he passed Jerome Bettis (who finished with 13,662 yards) for sixth place in the first half, then topped LaDainian Tomlinson (13,684).
Gore wound up with 61 yards on 13 carries in Indy’s 30-10 loss to the Jaguars, giving him a total of 13,697 yards in 13 seasons, the first 10 with San Francisco.
Next up for Gore to chase: Curtis Martin holds the fourth spot in league history with 14,101 yards.
– Mark Long reporting from Jacksonville, Florida.
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3:30 p.m.
Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor was carted away from the sideline with what the team said was a knee injury early in the fourth quarter against the New England Patriots.
The Bills said Taylor wouldn’t return to the game.
It wasn’t immediately clear when Taylor was hurt, although he came up limping and favoring his right leg after being sacked on the game’s opening play.
He continued until the second half, when he left the field after a possession and headed to the sideline tent where players can be evaluated for injuries. Then he was driven away.
Taylor finished 9 of 18 for 65 yards passing and an interception before giving way to rookie Nathan Peterman.
This was Peterman’s first appearance in a game since throwing five interceptions in the first half of a 54-24 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on Nov. 19.
– John Wawrow reporting from Orchard Park, New York.
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3:15 p.m.
The Houston Texans will have to finish their game against the Tennessee Titans without at least four injured players, including two with head injuries.
The Texans ruled out receiver Braxton Miller and tight end C.J. Fiedorowicz with concussions, cornerback Johnathan Joseph with a bad shoulder and receiver Bruce Ellington with a hurt hamstring.
– Teresa Walker reporting from Nashville, Tennessee.
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2:45 p.m.
Quite a rough start for Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.
The Buffalo Bills have found ways to contain and fluster Brady, who was only 8 of 14 for 96 yards while getting sacked three times during the first half.
The Patriots settled for three field goals while building a 9-3 halftime lead against their AFC East rival.
That’s New England’s fewest points in a first half since a 16-0 loss to Buffalo on Oct. 2, 2016. That was a game Jacoby Brissett started for the Patriots in place of Brady, who was serving the fourth and final game of his ”Deflategate” suspension.
New England is at least having success running the ball, with 130 yards rushing – the most by the Patriots through two quarters since they had 141 in a 42-20 win over the Indianapolis Colts on Nov. 16, 2014.
Brady entered Sunday 26-3 against Buffalo, one win short of breaking Brett Favre’s record for most wins by a quarterback against one opponent. Favre beat Detroit 26 times.
– John Wawrow reporting from Orchard Park, New York.
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2:35 p.m.
This is what the Green Bay Packers need to do if they want to win without an injured Aaron Rodgers: Get big plays from their defense and special teams.
That formula helped Green Bay take a 17-10 halftime lead against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Defensive lineman Dean Lowry returned Jameis Winston’s fumble 62 yards for a TD following a sack by Kenny Clark with a little under 4+ minutes left in the second quarter.
Earlier in that period, the Packers blocked a punt to set up a short drive that ended with Jamaal Williams’ touchdown run.
It’s exactly the kind of all-around game that coach Mike McCarthy was hoping for with backup QB Brett Hundley starting his sixth game in place of the injured Aaron Rodgers.
For the Buccaneers, Winston is 13 of 20 for 164 yards with a touchdown in his first action after missing three games with a shoulder injury.
– Genaro Armas reporting from Green Bay, Wisconsin.
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2:10 p.m.
Had to miss sometime, probably.
Kansas City Chiefs rookie kicker Harrison Butker’s team-record streak of making 23 consecutive field-goal attempts ended when he pushed a 38-yard try wide right against the New York Jets.
The kick grazed the right upright early in the second quarter, with the Chiefs and Jets tied at 14.
It was just the second NFL field goal missed by Butker – and the first since the initial attempt of his career, a 46-yarder against the Washington Redskins in Week 4.
– Dennis Waszak Jr. reporting from East Rutherford, New Jersey.
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1:55 p.m.
That didn’t take long: Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Calais Campbell owns the franchise record for sacks in a season.
Campbell got one in the first quarter against Indianapolis, giving him 12+. That breaks the previous team mark of 12, set by Tony Brackens in 1999.
The 6-foot-8, 300-pound Campbell has been solid all season, his first in Jacksonville.
The former Arizona Cardinals standout signed a four-year, $60 million contract in April that included $30 million guaranteed.
He’s one of the main reasons the Jaguars are in the playoff mix. The league’s best free-agent acquisition in 2017, Campbell sets the tone for the NFL’s top-ranked defense.
– Mark Long reporting from Jacksonville, Florida.
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12:30 p.m.
The most noteworthy development in Week 13 of the NFL season is not happening at a game with much significance in the standings: When the New York Giants face the Oakland Raiders, Eli Manning’s starting streak with end.
The two-time Super Bowl MVP has been benched by the Giants. He had started 210 consecutive games, a run that began all the way back in 2004.
Instead, the last-place Giants announced they will start New York Jets castoff Geno Smith at Oakland.
The biggest games Sunday involve NFC South teams, especially when the New Orleans Saints host the Carolina Panthers. Both enter the day atop the division with 8-3 records.
The third-place club, the reigning conference champion Atlanta Falcons, are 7-4 going into their game against NFC North leader Minnesota.
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