NFL: Brady caps milestone game with game-winning overtime TD pass

LOS ANGELES -- Tampa Bay's superstar quarterback Tom Brady nabbed yet another NFL passing record Sunday, but he saved his best for last in the Buccaneers' 33-27 overtime triumph over the Buffalo Bills.

Brady broke former New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees's record for career pass completions in the second quarter, with a 20-yard toss to wide receiver Mike Evans that took his total to 7,143.

But the individual achievement was in danger of being overshadowed by a furious Bills fightback as Buffalo erased a 21-point second half deficit to force overtime.

As he has so often, Brady came through, finding wide receiver Breshad Perriman for a 58-yard game-winning touchdown -- the 700th TD pass of his career.

Brady, a 22-year veteran and three-time NFL Most Valuable Player, completed 31 of 46 0asses for 363 yards and two touchdowns as the Bucs extended their lead over Buffalo atop the AFC East division.

The Bucs looked headed to a comfortable win when they took a 24-3 lead into halftime.

But Bills quarterback Josh Allen ran for a third-quarter touchdown and a Buccaneers field goal early in the fourth was followed by three scores by the Bills.

Allen connected with Dawson Knox and Gabriel Davis for touchdowns before Tyler Bass booted a field goal for the Bills that knotted score at 27-27 and forced overtime.

But Buffalo were unable to score on the first possession of overtime, opening the door for Brady and the Bucs who improved to 10-3 and remain in the hunt for the top seed in the AFC.

The San Francisco 49ers also won in overtime, breaking the Bengals' hearts in Cincinnati with a 26-23 victory.

The Bengals had opened the extra session with a field goal from Evan McPherson to take the lead, but San Francisco quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Aiyuk to clinch the victory.

Officials initially ruled that Aiyuk had come up short, but replay gave him the touchdown and gave the 7-6 49ers a needed victory.

The 49ers' Robbie Gould had missed a potential game-winning 47-yard field goal with four seconds left in regulation after Bengals quarterback threw two fourth-quarter touchdown passes to Ja-Marr Chase to erase a 20-6 deficit.

- Chiefs rout Raiders -

Elsewhere, the Kansas City Chiefs offered a reminder of just how dangerous they can be as the post-season approaches, routing the Las Vegas Raiders 48-9.

The Chiefs, who struggled early in the season and were in last place in the AFC West at one point, notched their sixth straight victory and lead the division.

Patrick Mahomes threw two touchdown passes as the Chiefs built a 35-0 first-half lead.

The Chiefs defense, which sparked plenty of doubts earlier this season, forced five Vegas turnovers.

"We faced a lot of adversity early in the year (that) people hadn't seen, and people kind of threw us down and acted like we were done," Mahomes said. "But you're seeing now that we have the guys to do it."

The New Orleans Saints kept themselves in the NFC Wild Card hunt with a 30-9 victory over the New York Jets.

New Orleans quarterback Taysom Hill was playing with an injured finger on his throwing hand, but the Saints used a strong ground game to end a five-game losing streak.

The Baltimore Ravens suffered an especially painful 24-22 loss to the Cleveland Browns as quarterback Lamar Jackson exited in the first half with what coach John Harbaugh said after the game was a right ankle sprain.

"We'll look at it more tomorrow and see where we're at," Harbaugh said of the injury, which came when Jackson was tackled from behind by Browns rookie line backer Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah.

Down 24-9 heading into the fourth quarter the Ravens, with backup quarterback Tyler Huntley at the helm, came up just short of a comeback victory.

Agence France-Presse

Peyton Manning, Broncos triumph in Super Bowl 50 with win over Panthers

Peyton Manning clinched a fairytale second Super Bowl victory as the Denver Broncos produced an astonishing defensive display to defeat the Carolina Panthers 24-10 on Sunday.

Denver running back C.J Anderson crashed over for the decisive touchdown late in the fourth quarter as the Broncos defense harried Panthers quarterback Cam Newton into a string of mistakes at the Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.

The much anticipated duel between Manning — the oldest starting quarterback in Super Bowl history — and NFL Most Valuable Player Newton never materialised.

Instead it was left to Denver’s suffocating defense to decide the contest, with Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware smothering the Panthers at every opportunity as the Broncos racked up a record-equalling seven sacks.

Miller ultimately set up the crucial Denver score, forcing Newton into a fumble which the Broncos recovered close to the Carolina goal line, handing Anderson the chance to barge over.

Manning, 39, was largely a peripheral figure throughout, struggling to make any impression with his passing game as defenses dominated.

The veteran quarterback is widely expected to call time on his career at the end of the season, and can now do so with a second Super Bowl ring to set alongside the one he earned with the Indianapolis Colts in 2007.

- Carolina rattled -

An absorbing first half saw defenses on top, with Denver’s vaunted unit rattling the free-scoring Carolina offense.

Denver drew first blood, Manning quickly into his rhythm to march the Broncos upfield in a 10-play 64-yard drive that culminated with Brandon McManus drilling over a 34-yard field goal.

After punting on their first possession the Panthers looked nervy on their second possession, unable to find any room for maneuver in the face of Denver defenders playing like men possessed.

Disaster struck on a long third down on the Carolina 15-yard line, when Miller swarmed through to smother Newton, stripping the ball loose and allowing Malik Jackson to recover for a dramatic touchdown for 10-0.

As the first quarter drew to a close there were signs that Newton was finally kicking into top gear.

A trademark 11-yard run and another 12-yard gallop upfield stretched Denver’s defense and helped propel Carolina deep into the red zone from where Jonathan Stewart barreled over from one yard for the touchdown.

Graham Gano duly added the extra point and suddenly the Panthers were on the front foot, forcing Denver to kick away three consecutive possessions.

- Chance spurned -

Denver went 13-7 up with another McManus field goal before Carolina spurned the chance to draw closer when Gano missed a 44-yard effort.

It was left for Denver to get the first points on the board in the second half, with Manning twice connecting with Emmanuel Sanders in a 54-yard drive to Carolina’s 12-yard line.

Once again though, the Broncos were unable to make a red zone visit pay with a touchdown, with McManus adding his third field goal to give Denver a nine-point lead.

Carolina looked to be building ominous momentum on the next drive, when Newton launched a long pass to find Corey Brown for a 42-yard gain.

But the drive ended when Newton’s long pass to Ginn was intercepted by Broncos safety T.J. Ward who fumbled only to see his team-mates recover.

Denver were unable to make any impression on the Carolina defense and seemed to be content to punt again knowing that the Panthers were getting little joy from the Broncos defense.

The tactic proved vindicated on the next Carolina drive, which stalled when Miller sacked Newton for the second time in the match forcing a punt.

But Denver’s own offense was always struggling to capitalize on their opponent’s problems, and they squandered a 1st and 10 situation on Carolina’s 37-yard line when Manning twice fumbled on successive plays to hand the ball back to the Panthers who reduced the deficit to 16-10 with a Gano field goal.

Yet once again Denver’s defense came through when it mattered, and when Miller forced Newton into his late fumble, Denver were home.

source: interaksyon.com

Openly gay Michael Sam ‘steps away’ from football

Michael Sam, who last year became the first openly gay player drafted by a National Football League team, said on Friday he was stepping away from football, citing concerns over his mental health.

The Canadian Football League’s Montreal Alouettes, with whom he signed a contract in May, said on its team website that Sam had left the team for personal reasons and as a result had been placed on the team’s suspended list.

“The last 12 months have been very difficult for me, to the point where I became concerned with my mental health,” Sam wrote on Twitter. “Because of this I am going to step away from the game at this time.”

“Thank you all for your understanding and support,” he added.

Sam also thanked the Alouettes, and said he hoped to be back on the field soon. The defensive lineman was suspended by the Alouettes in June after he left the team’s training camp for unexplained personal reasons.

The National Football League’s St. Louis Rams selected Sam in the seventh round of the 2014 draft but waived him in the final round of cuts. He was picked up by the Dallas Cowboys but they released him from their practice squad in October.

Sam was the Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Year as a senior at the University of Missouri before graduating in December 2013.

The following February, before the NFL Draft, he announced he was gay.

ESPN reported that Sam agreed to a two-year deal with the Alouettes this summer. It also reported that he sat out the team’s first five games and that he failed to record a tackle during his team debut on August 7.

Sam’s supporters have said that his sexuality is irrelevant to his performance and have dismissed suggestions that an openly gay player would be a distraction for a professional football team.

source: interaksyon.com

Katy Perry to headline NFL’s 2015 Super Bowl halftime show

LOS ANGELES | Pop singer Katy Perry will headline the halftime entertainment at February’s Super Bowl, the most-watched U.S. sporting and television event, according to an announcement by the National Football League on Sunday.

The 30-year-old “Roar” singer joins the likes of Madonna, Beyonce and Prince to perform at the NFL’s Super Bowl halftime show, which regularly attracts more viewers than the average for the championship game itself.

Sportscaster Bob Costas announced the performance at halftime of the Cowboys-Giants game on “Sunday Night Football.”

The Super Bowl will be played on Feb. 1 in Glendale, Arizona, and broadcast on Comcast Corp-owned network NBC.

Perry acknowledged the announcement on her Twitter feed while watching the game in Australia, where she is currently on her Prismatic World Tour.

“Yeppers!” she wrote. “And I’ve already started testing out ideas!”

A few minutes before the announcement was made, Perry hinted that she was looking forward to the performance.

“My band is in the other room screaming at the TV (and each other) over this Cowboys-Giants game. Can’t wait for February 1st,” she wrote on her Twitter feed, following the words with a picture of a microphone and a football.

The announcement came as Perry won favorite female pop/rock artist at Sunday’s American Music Awards.

This year’s Super Bowl averaged a record 112.2 million viewers on network Fox, while the halftime performance by singer Bruno Mars and rock group Red Hot Chili Peppers drew 115.3 million viewers, according to Nielsen.

The music industry considers the Super Bowl its top promotional venue because artists can expect a strong recording sales bump following the performance. It is also often used as a spring board to launch new music or tour announcements.

The NFL came under criticism from the music industry this year for reportedly asking performers to either help contribute financially to play the corporate-sponsored show or share some of their post-Super Bowl tour profits with America’s most popular sports league.

It is not known if Perry will contribute financially in any way to the performance but she hinted during a television appearance last month that she would not.

“I’m not the type of girl who would pay to play the Super Bowl,” Perry said on ESPN’s college football “College GameDay” program.

source: interaksyon.com