49ers survive Patriots rally, win wild one in New England

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Jim Harbaugh might have learned more about his San Francisco 49ers during 20 minutes of sleepwalking than at any other time in his two years as their coach.

His 49ers turned a nearly historic collapse into a stunning victory and a playoff berth. They withstood a 28-point comeback by the New England Patriots to win 41-34 on Sunday night in the rain.

"Our team has now hung in in a lot of big-time pressure games," Harbaugh said. "They've overcome adversity. They've shown they can do that."

Michael Crabtree took a short pass from Colin Kaepernick and sped around cornerback Kyle Arrington for a 38-yard touchdown with 6:25 to go, then David Akers made a 28-yard field goal to clinch it.

"We can win a shootout," Crabtree said. "Whatever it takes, that's our motto. ... We feel like we can do anything, sky's the limit."

The 49ers (10-3-1) own at least a wild-card spot and play at Seattle next week with a chance to win the NFC West. A loss would bring the division race down to the final weekend.

Kaepernick threw for four touchdowns, two to Crabtree, who had 107 yards receiving. The defense rattled Tom Brady at times, but also yielded 443 yards passing in a sloppy contest between two of the league's more precise teams.

AFC East champion New England (10-4), which had won seven in a row, trailed 31-3 in the third quarter and lost for the first time at home in December in 21 games. The Patriots also had won 21 in a row in the second half of the schedule before San Francisco somehow regrouped late in a game it seemingly had clinched long before.

"I used to live next to a train station in Chicago," Harbaugh said. "And it's like the more you hear the train, the less you hear it. I feel that way with our team in terms of pressure in big games. The more you feel it, the less you feel it."

San Francisco forced four turnovers, matching the number of giveaways New England had at home all season.

But then the Niners began collapsing, and back came Brady and the Patriots on a 6-yard TD run by Danny Woodhead and a 1-yard dive by Brady. A 5-yard pass to Aaron Hernandez and Woodhead's 1-yard run with 6:43 remaining tied it.

And just like that, San Francisco went in front again.

Rookie LaMichael James broke free for a 62-yard kickoff return. On the next snap -- the third time the Niners would have a one-play TD drive -- Crabtree took a pass on the left side, spun and headed into the end zone.

"We faced adversity," James said. "Nobody flinched."

New England turned over the ball on downs and Akers made his kick. Stephen Gostkowski added a 41-yarder for the Patriots with 38 seconds remaining, but they couldn't recover the onside kick.

San Francisco led 17-3 at the half. And they looked safe after Frank Gore picked up Kaepernick's third fumble and scored on a 9-yard run, followed by Crabtree's 27-yard score in a pinpoint pass from the second-year quarterback.

The defense set up both of San Francisco's TDs in the third.

Dashon Goldson returned Steven Ridley's fumble 66 yards to the New England 3 before Gore found the end zone. Defensive end Aldon Smith, known for his sacks, grabbed a pass out of Hernandez's hands for his first career interception. After he was tackled, Smith ran directly to the sideline and sat down on the 49ers' bench.

He was back up on his feet cheering the next play, when Crabtree broke free to make it 31-3.

"We just spotted them 28 points," Brady said. "We fought hard, but you can't play poorly against a good team and expect to win. We can't miss plays that we have opportunities with."

Still, no one can relax against the Patriots.

Unlike a week ago, when the Patriots routed Houston, they fell behind quickly in the rain and ran only 10 snaps on their opening three series. San Francisco's fearsome pass rush was sharp then, and Brady was hit on the arm twice while trying to pass.

Even worse, his long throw on their third possession for Wes Welker was picked off by Carlos Rogers, who then slalomed his way on the wet turf toward the New England end zone. Only Brady stood in his way at the 5, and Rogers fell trying to elude him.

It was a key stop because Delanie Walker fumbled two plays later.

Earlier, Kaepernick accounted for 60 yards through the air on the 49ers' first drive. Randy Moss showed the kind of elusiveness that made him a record-setter in New England from 2007 until he was traded early in the 2010 by getting behind the secondary for a 24-yard TD.

His short celebration as he faced the crowd drew loud hoots.

Brady preventing Rogers from scoring was about the only highlight for the Patriots in the opening quarter, but the 49ers weren't any more effective beyond their scoring drive and a 38-yard run by Goldson on a fake punt. The slopfest included Akers' being wide left on a 39-yard field goal.

All this from teams ranked 1-2 in fewest giveaways.

"We just didn't even give ourselves a chance," Brady said.

When the Patriots finally got their usually unstoppable offense going, they used 16 plays and converted a fourth down. But they stumbled inside the 10 when Brady was sacked by Ray McDonald. Gostkowski made a 32-yard field goal.

San Francisco answered quickly, helped by a 35-yard pass interference call on Aqib Talib. Walker slipped behind a zone defense for a 34-yard TD pass from Kaepernick, making it 14-3.

Akers made a 20-yard field goal as the half ended, finishing a 15-play, 76-yard drive. The three points were the Patriots' fewest in a half all season, and they were outgained 249-113.

Of course, that turned around in the second half.

Aside from the players' mistakes, the game also was slowed by officiating confusion that led to several lengthy conferences. One delay took about 10 minutes to decide whether 49ers punt returner Ted Ginn Jr., muffed a second-quarter kick.

Notes

Welker now has 100 catches this season, the fifth time he has reached that number, an NFL record. New England has 506 points, the fourth time it has reached 500, also a league mark. San Francisco had allowed only 184 points going into the game, lowest in the league. Andy Lee averaged 54 yards net on five punts for the 49ers. ... Brady's 65 throws are a career high. Brandon Lloyd had 10 catches for 190 yards for New England.

View the original article here

Rams rally, hold off late charge by RG3's Redskins

CBSSports.com wire reports
Sep. 16, 2012

ST. LOUIS -- Robert Griffin III had his moments. The St. Louis Rams, though, have what counts most of all - a win.

Sam Bradford threw for 310 yards and three touchdowns and Danny Amendola caught 15 passes for 160 yards as the Rams rallied for a 31-28 victory over RG3 and the Washington Redskins on Sunday in their home opener.

"The dome was rocking and it should be in a couple of weeks when we get back," Amendola said. "It was a good game, it came down to the wire, came down to the last kick."

Steven Jackson sat out most of the last three quarters after drawing an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for spiking the ball, but coach Jeff Fisher said it was because Jackson had a groin strain and not because he'd lost his cool.

"It had nothing to do with the spike," Fisher said. "His groin was real tight and we just didn't want to subject him to it. I didn't think he'd be 100 percent."

Jackson said he thought he'd be able to re-enter the game but said the groin tightened on him.

Griffin led the Redskins (1-1) to a 21-6 lead, but the Rams came back thanks to the pass-catching of Amendola. The receiver tied an NFL record 12 first-half receptions, and caught a 1-yard TD pass to cut the lead to 21-13 at the half.

Amendola was out virtually all of last season after dislocating his left elbow making a cut in the opener.

"Obviously it's nice to have him back out there on the field," Bradford said. "He's a tremendous player. We knew going into this game that we were going to try to get him the ball."

Bradford had second-half scoring passes of 34 yards to Brandon Gibson and 1 yard to Matthew Mulligan.

Griffin ran for two touchdowns and passed for a third for Washington (1-1).

The Redskins got a final shot after DeAngelo Hall recovered running back Daryl Richardson's fumble at the Washington 37 with 2:40 to go. Josh Morgan was called for unsportsmanlike conduct for throwing the ball Rams cornerback Cortland Finnegan after a 7-yard catch on 3rd-and-8 to the Rams 29, leaving the Redskins with 4th-and-16.

Shanahan called for a 62-yard field goal attempt, and Billy Cundiff was wide right and well short with 1:13 to go.

"It might have been the first down, it was close enough, it was inches," Shanahan said. "You can't lose your poise. You lose your poise, obviously good things don't happen."

Shanahan thought Cundiff had a shot, reasoning "he kicks the ball out of the end zone" on kickoffs form the 35. Griffin was disappointed, but he understood.

"I thought we were going for it," Griffin said. "But in a dome, 62 [yards] is far, but it's not that far. I was on a knee and I hoped that it would go through."

The Rams took the lead on Bradford's TD pass to Mulligan on the first play of the fourth quarter, and Richardson ran it in on a 2-point conversion for a 24-21 lead. Mulligan had partially blocked Sav Rocca's punt to give the Rams the ball at the Washington 24 four plays earlier.

Griffin, who looked like a veteran in his NFL debut last week in leading the Redskins to a win over New Orleans, scored on runs of 5 and 7 yards. He also threw a 68-yard touchdown pass to Leonard Hankerson.

Jackson spiked the ball after getting ruled short of the goal line on a third-down carry from the 1. It came a play after the Rams successfully challenged a lost fumble call on Jackson.

After that, the franchise's career leading rusher left, and spent most of the rest of the game by himself on the sideline with his helmet in hand.

Amendola had a rough start, fumbling after a 13-yard catch on the Rams' first snap, with Josh Wilson returning it 30 yards for his fifth career defensive touchdown. He recovered nicely, matching the first-half NFL record set by the Colts' Reggie Wayne in 2007, while tying his career best game total in the process and setting a personal game-best with 133 yards receiving.

The Redskins lost defensive end Adam Carriker and outside linebacker Brian Orakpo to injuries early in the first quarter, while Rams offensive tackle Rodger Saffold was helped off with a right knee injury.

Orakpo and Saffold were hurt on the same play. Orakpo stripped Bradford and Saffold recovered the fumble and carried it 7 yards, but crumpled to the turf on the tackle.

Notes

The game was chippy throughout with several skirmishes, especially in the first half with Redskins LB London Fletcher called for a personal foul on a sideline hit on Amendola and the Rams' Eugene Sims whistled for hitting Griffin, who appeared to be turning up the field and not running out of bounds. Amendola tied the franchise single-game record shared by Isaac Bruce and Flipper Anderson. Bradford passed for 300 or more yards for the fourth time in his career and threw for three TDs for the second time. Rams rookie punter Johnny Hekker averaged 54.3 yards on three attempts.

View the original article here

Bengals survive Cards rally to stay in playoff hunt

CBSSports.com wire reports
Dec. 24, 2011

CINCINNATI -- The stadium was only two-thirds full again. The Cardinals were on another one of their incredible comebacks, threatening to derail the Cincinnati Bengals surprising playoff surge.

A pair of tangled up feet made the difference.

The Bengals moved one win away from the playoffs Saturday, holding on for a 23-16 victory over Arizona that secured only their third winning record in the past 21 years.

Cincinnati (9-6) can clinch the final AFC wild card berth by beating Baltimore at Paul Brown Stadium next Sunday. The Bengals moved a game ahead of the Jets, who fell to 8-7 with a 29-14 loss to the Giants on Saturday.

"It's been a big year for me and for this team," rookie quarterback Andy Dalton said. "It's something we believed we had a chance to do. We weren't getting much credit from outside. We'll find out next week."

Dalton threw two more touchdown passes, becoming only the fourth rookie to have 20 in a season, and Cincinnati got a break when the NFL's top comeback team tripped itself up in the closing minutes.

Wide-open receiver Early Doucet tripped at the goal line and went down, letting a fourth-down pass fall incomplete with 1:12 left. The Cardinals (7-8) got the ball one more time, but the clock ran out after a completion.

A few minutes later, the Jets' loss put the Bengals in position to reach the playoffs. New York would have won the tiebreaker if both teams won out.

"We started this quite a while ago -- seems like just yesterday," coach Marvin Lewis said. "But now we're right where we want to be at the end."

Their rookie quarterback put them in position.

Dalton threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Jermaine Gresham and a 19-yarder to Jerome Simpson, who did a somersault over a defender and landed on both feet in the end zone.

Dalton joined Peyton Manning (26), Charlie Conerly (22) and Dan Marino (20) as the only NFL rookies to throw 20 touchdown passes.

D With slim playoff chances on the line, the Cards offense was brutal for three quarters. QB John Skelton threw three INTs, was sacked five times and completed fewer than half of his passes. RB Beanie Wells (53 yards) was held in check. The Cards tried to rally with 16 fourth-quarter points, but it was too little, too late. The defense was on the field far too long, gave up 165 rushing yards and enough big plays to help the Bengals open an insurmountable lead.
B- Cincinnati's first three quarters were so good, they overshadowed a near-epic meltdown in the final quarter vs. the Cardinals. In a must-win scenario, however, the final result was all that mattered. The Bengals must find a way to play with the lead, but at least for one more week, those plays will matter in the playoff chase.

Down 23-0 heading into the fourth quarter, the NFL's best comeback team nearly pulled off its most improbable one yet. Arizona took advantage of Cedric Benson's two fumbles, getting a pair of touchdown passes by John Skelton and Jay Feely's field goal with 3:16 left.

The Cardinals then had their chance to pull even. The Bengals ran an all-out blitz on fourth down from the Cincinnati 17-yard line, and Doucet wound up uncovered at the goal line. Skelton lofted the ball into the end zone, but Doucet tripped and fell.

"It was a blitz and nobody was there," Doucet said. "It was one of those deals where I hadn't hooked it up and my feet got tangled. It's a play I should've made. It was my fault. That's a play I normally make."

The Cardinals had their four-game winning streak snapped and were eliminated from playoff contention.

Cincinnati's defense dominated the first three quarters. Arizona didn't cross midfield until Skelton completed a pass with 13:25 to go, but piled up 208 yards in the final quarter.

Skelton started for the second consecutive week in place of Kevin Kolb, who hasn't fully recovered from a concussion. Skelton was 23 of 44 for 297 yards with three interceptions and five sacks that helped the Bengals get the 23-0 lead.

It could have been worse. Mike Nugent, the NFL's most accurate kicker, missed field goals of 35 and 48 yards in the first half.

Arizona has rallied from fourth-quarter deficits six times this season, one shy of the NFL record. The Cardinals have won three games in overtime, tying the league record.

They couldn't do it one more time.

"Yeah, we're a second-half team," Skelton said. "That's how it has been all year. But in the end, it was too little, too late."

Dalton was 18 of 31 for 154 yards and two touchdowns on a sunny, 39-degree afternoon in front of only 41,273 fans. The Bengals have sold out only one of their seven home games, when the Steelers brought thousands of fans.

Dalton's second touchdown pass had a highlight finish.

Simpson got open for a catch-and-run to the goal line. With Daryl Washington between him and the end zone, Simpson jumped and twirled past the linebacker, landing on both feet in the end zone and raising both arms like a triumphant gymnast.

"One of the key parts for me was I stuck the landing," Simpson said. "I stuck the landing like a gymnast. That was probably one of the most surprising of all the plays in my career. It was pretty awesome, I thought."

For most of the game, the Cardinals couldn't do anything right. Rookie cornerback Patrick Peterson picked off a Dalton pass in the third quarter, but the interception was nullified by Arizona's second roughing-the-passer penalty of the game.

Worse, Peterson hurt his left hamstring on the play, pulling up on the return. The first-round pick left the game and didn't return. He wore a protective boot after the game.

"He's got a strain, it's not a tear," coach Ken Whisenhunt said. "We're fortunate that it doesn't appear to anything long term."

Notes

Beanie Wells became the first Cardinal to run for 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns in a season. After the game, the Bengals made a buy-one, get-one-free offer to season ticket holders, trying to fill the stadium for the final game. A.J. Green, playing with a strained right shoulder, had two catches for 25 yards. He passed Cris Collinsworth's club record for a rookie with 1,013 yards on the season.

View the original article here