Vikings rout Giants to clinch playoff berth

To begin with, the Cardinals were playing the Packers in the last game knowing Green Bay would likely return a week later for a Wild Card playoff game.

-The Cardinals miss safety Tyrann Mathieu, lost for the season with a knee injury a week ago, but they aren’t dedicating the season to him or anything of that sort. “Any time you’re hitting that mark you’re giving yourself more opportunities, so that kind of stood out in how effective we were running the football, which obviously creates more opportunities in the passing game from a play-action standpoint, attacking the middle of the field, downfield throws”. In Sunday’s 38-8 blowout loss against the Arizona Cardinals, Rodgers completed 15-of-28 passes for 151 yards, one touchdown, one interception, and a rating of 66.2. So was Bryan Bulaga’s once he suffered an injury during the game. Freeney got three, Campbell got 2 ½, and a total of six players contributed for QB takedowns on the defensive side.

Green Bay dropped into a tie with Minnesota for the division lead when the Vikings cruised to a 49-17 victory over the New York Giants on Sunday night. McCarthy only said the team was aware of the story but has followed all National Football League policies in regard to banned or illegal substances.

Said coach Mike Zimmer: “If you would’ve told me in July that we’d have a chance the last game of the year to go January 3 and play for a division title, I would’ve been excited about it”.

The nine sacks were the most for the Red Birds since they had 10 against Philadelphia on December 7, 1986, two years before the franchise moved to Arizona. Green Bay will be the No. 5 seed and go to play in Washington against the Redskins. Green Bay converted several third-and-long situations and the Vikings struggled to get their offensive going early in their first meeting. “You don’t get rings for byes; you only get t-shirts and hats”.

SAINTS 38, JAGUARS 27: Drew Brees passed for 412 yards and three touchdowns despite his injured right foot. In the receiving end, Doug Baldwin had 118 yards and one touchdown in eight catches while Cooper Helfet added 43 yards in four catches. “After we got beat by Seattle and the Green Bay game, the mentality of our team has changed a little bit for the better in my opinion”.

Houston (8-7), which wraps up the regular season by hosting Jacksonville, couldn’t clinch outright when Indianapolis beat Miami 18-12. Gurley rushed for 85 yards on 19 carries. Last season he did not play in the team’s 42-10 loss at Lambeau due to injury-instead it was backup Christian Ponder-so his presence gives the Vikes a shot to cover, and possibly pull off the upset. “The obvious was the turnover ratio and the points off turnovers”. But, if they win, they know who they have, too.

The Dolphins had a first-and-goal at the 5 with 40 seconds left, but after three consecutive incompletions, rookie center Jamil Douglas appeared to snap the ball prematurely, and Tannehill was sacked by three Colts.

“We will approach this game as if it was Game 1 of the season and treat it like every game”, he said. The 49ers (4-11) have lost three straight and five of six under first-year coach Jim Tomsula. The Cardinals intercepted a pass in the end zone, and overwhelmed an overmatched offensive line. “We’ve put ourselves in position to take the title next week”, said Minnesota running back Adrian Peterson who finished the game with 104 rushing yards and a score. His 10.8 yards per catch is the lowest of his career.

Still, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers remains Aaron Rodgers, and that makes Green Bay risky. With Peterson relaxing on the sideline, Jerick McKinnon rushed for two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter, including a 68-yard romp through a disinterested defense with the temperature down to 11 degrees.