Miami Dolphins wide receiver Rishard Matthews is knocked to the ground by Buffalo Bills free safety Jairus Byrd on Sunday. (AP-Yonhap News)
KANSAS CITY, Missouri (AP) ― The expectations placed upon Andrew Luck almost seemed unfair.
Being the heir to Peyton Manning in Indianapolis is heady stuff for a rookie taking the reins of a franchise that won two games last season.
Now, after guiding the Colts back to the playoffs ― and breaking Cam Newton’s single-season passing record for a first-year player ― it’s safe to say Luck exceeded just about all of them.
Luck threw for 205 yards Sunday, and his 7-yard touchdown pass to Reggie Wayne on third-and-goal late in the fourth quarter gave the Colts a 20-13 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. That put them into the playoffs without worrying about anybody else.
“Would we have done it without him?” Colts interim coach Bruce Arians asked. “No.”
Luck broke Newton’s record of 4,051 yards passing in the second quarter. But it was extending his own rookie record for fourth-quarter comebacks to seven was more important.
The Chiefs had rallied behind Jamaal Charles’ 226 yards rushing to tie the game 13-13 heading into the fourth quarter. The Colts’ defense stuffed quarterback Brady Quinn on fourth-and-inches to give Luck a chance.
That’s all he needed.
After a miserable stretch in which he connected on 1 of 13 passes, the fabulous freshman calmly led Indianapolis (10-5) downfield. He completed a key pass to T.Y. Hilton on third down and made two nice throws to Wayne before hitting the veteran in the back of the end zone.
Bengals land playoff spot
PITTSBURGH (AP) ― A.J. Green doesn’t really care about the Cincinnati Bengals’ woeful past. The wide receiver wasn’t part of it and hasn’t really taken the time to study it.
The Bengals were bad. End of story.
And now they’re good. Beginning of story.
Andy Dalton hit Green for a 21-yard pass in the final minutes to set up Josh Brown’s 43-yard field goal with 4 seconds left to lift the Bengals to a 13-10 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. Cincinnati (9-6) clinched a second straight playoff berth after beating the Steelers (7-8) for the first time since 2009. Pittsburgh (7-8) was eliminated from postseason contention.
The only other time the Bengals made the playoffs in consecutive seasons came in 1981-82, six years before Green was born.
“This has been our goal coming in at the beginning of the season,” Green said. “A lot of people talked about we hadn’t been in in back-to-back seasons in 30 years. I don’t worry about that stuff. I’ve been here two years and we made the playoffs all two years. That’s all we can control.”
Shredding the label as erratic ― and sometimes comical ― losers one improbable victory at a time, the Bengals, their precocious duo of Green and Dalton and their quickly improving defense have Cincinnati in uncharted territory.
The Bengals have been around since 1968. This is the first time they’ll make the postseason in two straight non-strike years.
“I know they just think that there’s some complex; there’s no complex, you’ve just got to come play and win,” coach Marvin Lewis said. “This group in there has very little history of anything.”
Texans denied home field
HOUSTON (AP) ― The Minnesota Vikings don’t need record-setting days from Adrian Peterson to stay in the playoff race.
Peterson rushed for 86 yards, falling far short of the 2,000-yard mark, yet helping the Vikings (9-6) keep their postseason chances alive with a 23-6 upset of the Texans on Sunday. Christian Ponder threw a touchdown pass, Toby Gerhart added a score and Blair Walsh kicked three field goals as the Vikings won their third straight.
The win raises the stakes for the Vikings, who host Green Bay next Sunday in the regular-season finale.
“We obviously have a big one next week, and if we don’t win that one, this one doesn’t mean anything,” Ponder said. “Our No. 1 goal is to make the playoffs.”
The loss kept the Texans (12-3) from clinching home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs. They would still claim home-field advantage with a win next week at Indianapolis.
“Very disappointing because we had a chance to line up here and get something done today,” coach Gary Kubiak said. “That doesn’t mean we still can’t get it done. That’s the most important thing.”
New Orleans 34, Dallas 31
Green Bay 55, Tennessee 7
Miami 24, Buffalo 10
San Diego 27, NY Jets 17
Washington 27, Philadelphia 20
St. Louis 28, Tampa Bay 13
Carolina 17, Oakland 6
New England 23, Jacksonville 16
Denver 34, Cleveland 12
Chicago 28, Arizona 13
Baltimore 33, NY Giants 14
Seattle 42, San Francisco 13
koreaherald@heraldcorp.com
