NOTES: Cardinals S Rashad Johnson missed his second straight game with an ankle injury.
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Israeli military: 2 Palestinians stab soldiers, shot dead
The Palestinians say it is rooted in frustrations stemming from almost five decades of Israeli occupation. The soldier, 21, was in moderate but stable condition with a stab wound to his upper body.
“You want to play your best ball at the end of the season”, Arizona defensive lineman Calais Campbell said, “and I think this is the best game we’ve played”.
Pressure mounts on Van Gaal
Louis van Gaal insists he can deal with the scrutiny he will come under following his latest defeat as Manchester United manager. He does admit that working under Van Gaal was a “different learning process”, because he was “the complete opposite of me”.
If the Packers really wanted to stand and measure up against one of, if not the best team in the NFC, they left University of Phoenix Stadium flat on their back with a disastorous 38-8 defeat.
Bradley leads Celtics past Pistons 99-93
Anthony buried a 3-pointer to bring the Knicks within 90-85 with 3:48 left, but that’s when they fell apart. The Knicks are allowing 30.2 percent shooting from deep and are forcing 11.4 turnovers per game.
Maybe, but this one was a close second.
In a dominant 38-8 victory that clinched a first-round playoff bye for the streaking Cardinals, Arizona sacked Aaron Rodgers eight times and returned two of his fumbles for touchdowns on Sunday.
As I write this, the Minnesota Vikings lead the New York Giants by a score of 32-10 going into the fourth quarter, all but assuring them of a post-season berth and a crack at the NFC North division title in Week 17. We are professionals. We have to hold ourselves to a high standard and play better.
Taking advantage of Green Bay’s shoddy O-line, Arizona (13-2) had nine sacks, its most since 1986 and third-most in team history.
Without starting left tackle David Bakhtiari (ankle) to protect him, Rodgers was sacked three times in the first half and threw for 58 yards while under constant pressure.
“We’re professionals”, Rodgers said. Green Bay will host Minnesota next Sunday.
Dwight Freeney led the way with three sacks, earning $100,000 for each one of them in incentives.
Nearly nothing. Scoreless for more than 2 1/2 quarters, Rodgers dumped the ball off to tailback Eddie Lacy for a 28-yard touchdown that ended the drought.
Sure, the Packers aren’t what they used to be, but to absolutely dismantle the offense of Mike McCarthy (who resumed play-calling) without Pro Bowl cornerback Tyrann Mathieu is nothing short of impressive.
The game originally had been slated for a 1:00 pm ET.
FITZGERALD’S MARK: Arizona’s Larry Fitzgerald caught four passes to tie his career and Cardinals franchise single-season record of 103 receptions.
Marshall had two TD catches and also became the first National Football League player with 100 receptions in six seasons. The Lions (6-9) have won five of their last seven games, perhaps giving Coach Jim Caldwell a chance to keep his job for a third season.
REDDING’S RAMBLE: When Redding scooped up that fumble and headed for the end zone, he couldn’t help thinking about a similar situation earlier this season.
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Quarterback Ryan Mallet made his first appearance for the Ravens and completed 28 of 41 passes for 274 yards, including a touchdown and no interceptions. “Letting the quarterback tackle you – blah, blah, blah”.
