SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- On the same field that hosted Super Bowl 50, one of the greatest games in Denver Broncos history, the team collapsed on itself Sunday, like a dying star. For three weeks the Broncos had fought, scraped and clawed their way back to .500 and had put themselves on the fringe of the AFC's playoff race. And then, despite another scramble to the finish, they made quite the football mess at Levi's Stadium in a 20-14 loss to the San Francisco 49ers. "We didn't play well in the first half, obviously, defensively we gave [George] Kittle way too many opportunities ... and that's unacceptable, and offensively we had about 69 yards in the first seven drives; we did not play well in the first half at all," said Broncos coach Vance Joseph. " ... In the second half ... we tried, the guys played hard ... simply we didn't play well, no excuses." How bad was it? Start with Kittle, the 49ers tight end, being mentioned in the same sentence as Hall of Famer Jerry Rice in the single-game portion of the 49ers record book. Toss in more than a few penalties, including five defensive penalties on one San Francisco scoring drive alone. Add an offense that spent much of the day spinning its wheels, and finish it off with a general lack of desperation for a team that said it had plenty. Put it all together and the Broncos got what they deserved. This loss is on them, and if this doesn't prove just how valuable a player cornerback Chris Harris Jr. is, then you're just not looking. "We got outplayed," said Broncos defensive end Derek Wolfe. "They just outplayed us." The Broncos had opened the day with a sliver of a playoff chance and the old take-care-of-their-own-business opportunity, but they didn't take care of their business. Nowhere did it show up more than in how the Broncos handled Kittle, who came into the game with 33 more receptions and 576 more receiving yards than the next 49ers player. It sounds and looks like the Broncos had only one job, and yet the Broncos couldn't reel in Kittle until the second half, when the 49ers went into run mode to grind the clock. With Harris out after he suffered a fractured fibula against the Bengals, the Broncos have limited options, but there were times in the first half it looked like they were running things on defense they hadn't practiced. As a result, Kittle had 94 yards receiving at the end of the first quarter, 210 yards receiving at halftime -- the most receiving yards any Broncos defense had surrendered to any tight end in any full game. He did it against a defense trying to cover up the fact its best player in coverage -- Harris -- is recovering from a fractured fibula. "People don't have to talk about [Kittle] for us to know he's good, he's a thousand-yard receiver at tight end," said Broncos safety Su'a Cravens. " ... It's not frustrating, we're all professionals, he's going to make his plays, and we've got to make our plays. We just beat ourselves, plays we normally make, we weren't making them."

OAKLAND -- Yes, a million times, yes. With as many apologies to Herm Edwards: You play … to win … the game. But when is winning actually, gulp, losing? Well, from one perspective, when you are in full rebuild mode and in need of the No. 1 draft pick, you lose by winning, so to speak. And by beating the Pittsburgh Steelers 24-21 on Sunday at the Oakland Coliseum, the Oakland Raiders damaged those chances, even with the San Francisco 49ers also winning. Both the Raiders and Niners are 3-10 as are the Arizona Cardinals, though the Niners, due to a weaker strength of schedule, hold the tie-breaker advantage for an earlier pick. Hello? Yes, that is Edwards’ booming voice coming with the reminder: You play, to win, the game. With Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger missing most of the the second half with a rib injury, purportedly suffered on a sack by Clinton McDonald, the Raiders rolled to victory. The euphoria that came with a win in a long season far outweighed where the team will pick in the NFL draft come April. Just ask linebacker Tahir Whitehead about the notion that Oakland lost by winning -- at your own peril. “People don’t know what they’re talking about,” said Whitehead, who had an acrobatic interception near midfield on a tipped ball by cornerback Gareon Conley. “They need to shut up. Plain and simple. At the end of the day, we’re not going out here to lose football games. We work all week, you feel me? “We put it all on the line and for anyone to say that, they don’t understand or I don’t think they have ever played sports and know what goes into this because that’s a slap in the face to say, ‘Yeah, you need to just lay down and just lose the rest of the way so we can get a good draft pick.’ That’s stupid. Stupid.” Savoring victory was anything but stupid. For at least one afternoon. Against an ancient AFC rival. And to keep Roethlisberger winless in Oakland at 0-4. It is the lone AFC city in which he has not won a game. Taking over at their own 25-yard line with 2 minutes, 55 seconds to play and down 21-17, the Raiders drove 75 yards, Derek Carr hitting tight end Derek Carrier for a 6-yard, game-winning touchdown pass on fourth-and-goal with 25 seconds to play. “Man, this is my second-favorite win ever,” said Carr, who completed 25-of-34 passes for 322 yards and two TDs while getting sacked four times and extending his interception-less streak to 261 throws over 33 quarters in eight-plus games. “If they were in our division, it would be first. This is definitely my second.” Carr’s fave? Beating the Kansas City Chiefs on untimed downs last season in Oakland. Plus, this was Carr’s 16th career comeback win in the fourth quarter or overtime since his rookie season of 2014, which trails only the Lions’ Matthew Stafford for most such wins in that time frame. As expected, the Oakland Coliseum erupted with the score, a sense of pride and accomplishment that was missing most of the season. But it was not without drama. Because a pitch play to JuJu Smith-Schuster set the Steelers up at the Raiders’ 22-yard line for a potential game-winning field goal with five seconds to play. But Chris Boswell slipped and his 40-yard attempt never had a chance. While they may have blown their shot at the No. 1 draft pick -- the Niners’ strength of schedule is .488 while the Cardinals’ is .515 and the Raiders’ is .569 -- the momentary elation was worth it in showing actual progress in a rebuilding season under Jon Gruden, who took off to acknowledge the Black Hole section of fans after the win. “I saw some of my old friends growing up,” Gruden said. “I just wanted to thank them and it was an awesome scene today. I appreciate their support. They have been with us no matter what.” Besides, with three first-round picks (they own Chicago’s and Dallas’), the Raiders already control the draft. “Let’s not forget, Coach Gruden has a lot of capital to work with in the next few years,” said tight end Lee Smith, who caught a 3-yard touchdown pass. “We’ve got draft picks, we’ve got money, we’ve got a lot of things going in our favor. And if we can finish strong here and then transition and let him get a few new toys, it will be a lot of fun around here.”

GLENDALE, Ariz. – They hovered around the 30-yard line, a receiving line of sorts for the dignitary in red and black. There was Matt Cassel lurking behind Frank Ragnow, LeGarrette Blount and Don Muhlbach hanging on the periphery; Darius Slay and Quandre Diggs off to the side. Lion-by-Lion they waited for a couple of moments with Larry Fitzgerald. Some wanted to congratulate him. Others wanted to catch up. A rookie told him how much he looked up to him. Detroit beat Arizona 17-3, but the game’s seminal moment came with a fairly innocuous catch in the third quarter. It was Fitzgerald’s first against the Lions, a 14-yard haul that broke Jerry Rice’s mark for receptions with a single team. Rice had 1,281 catches with San Francisco. Fitzgerald now has 1,286 catches for Arizona and the moment – and the man – has a place in the minds of many Lions players even though he’s an opponent instead of a teammate. “I wish we would have stopped the game and gave him a round of applause,” Slay said. “But we didn’t. You know what I’m saying. I would have. That’s a special moment, man. He’s one of the greatest players to probably wear a Cardinals jersey. “So yeah, he’s amazing.” The Lions played Fitzgerald well, keeping the future Hall of Famer to five catches for 55 yards. It was the first catch that mattered, the one that gave State Farm Stadium its loudest cheer all day. It’s just the Aura of Larry. Fitzgerald is the same guy who congratulated Diggs on his contract extension – signed earlier this season – during the game. It’s why Diggs was comfortable congratulating Fitzgerald on his accomplishment in the course of play, too. Fitzgerald is the guy who actually prevented Nevin Lawson from possibly ending up in a situation that could have led to an injury Sunday – “he pulled me out of it.” When Fitzgerald did that, Lawson thought to himself, “that’s a good guy.” There’s a level of respect that seems different than other players. The NFL is full of prideful men. When it comes to Fitz, there’s no trash talk. There’s just the understanding Fitzgerald is going to try and outwork you and be as classy as he can doing it. “I wish they stopped the game. He needs that,” Diggs said. “Man, he’s the man. He’s the man, brother. Any time you can share the field with a Hall of Famer and anybody so humble as him, man, it’s a blessing. I’m just thankful to be here and to be able to compete against guys like that.” And that goes back to the line after the game. It wasn’t just the cornerbacks and safeties waiting on him. Ragnow, the rookie offensive lineman, told Fitzgerald he looked up to him growing up and that, like Fitzgerald, he was a Minnesotan. After Fitzgerald broke the mark, he couldn’t help but notice “it’s cool to see how much the fans freaking love that guy.” In their brief conversation, Ragnow said Fitzgerald told him “us Minnesota boys gotta represent.” Cassel, occasional offseason golf buddies with Fitzgerald, used it as time to congratulate him and to catch up briefly about families. “To be able to go up and congratulate him,” Cassel said. “Especially considering him one of my friends, was a pretty cool moment.” Muhlbach, who came out of college the same year as Fitzgerald, told him “congrats, old man.” Muhlbach said he laughed. The two of them have faced each other going back to college at Pitt and Texas A&M. Muhlbach recalls now “he tore us up and been watching him this whole time.” (Fitzgerald had seven catches for 135 yards and three touchdowns for Pitt in one of the games.) He’s also one of the few players who had been around Detroit when Calvin Johnson broke another Rice record – the single-season receiving yards mark. He understands what the gravity of the moment is, no matter what team you’re on. “Oh yeah, it’s super special,” Muhlbach said. “He’s been doing it at that high a level for that long. It’s something that should be celebrated.” A combination of Slay, Lawson and others matched up on the 35-year-old throughout the day. Lawson said Fitzgerald actually encouraged him throughout the game whenever they matched up on each other.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A few things to know about quarterback Patrick Mahomes on the biggest play of the Kansas City Chiefs' most improbable win of the season. According to the NFL's Next Gen stats: He was running almost 16 mph when he threw the pass. He scrambled 31.7 yards to get to his release point. He threw the ball more than 43 yards down the field. He had a completion probability of 15.8 percent. Those weren't even the most surprising aspects of the play, though. Instead, it was that the Chiefs were expecting Mahomes' 48-yard completion to Tyreek Hill in a do-or-die moment of the fourth quarter in a game Kansas City would go on to win 27-24 in overtime on Sunday. The win moved the Chiefs to 11-2 and clinched a playoff spot for the fifth time in six years. Losses by the New England Patriots and Houston Texans on Sunday put Kansas City in prime position for home-field advantage throughout the postseason if it can get a victory in Week 15 against the Los Angeles Chargers. "I kind of feel like we've been practicing that sometimes," said Hill, who made the catch despite a noticeable limp because of a foot injury he played through for most of the second half. "Coach [Andy] Reid, he puts us in these same moments in training camp against our own defense. It gets us ready." The Chiefs couldn't possibly practice the play the way it developed. Mahomes was running at full speed or something close after being chased from the pocket and heaved the ball back across his body to a waiting Hill downfield. "Just how we designed it," Reid said. It wasn't anything like what the Chiefs drew up, but Mahomes has made several similar throws in the past. Those passes taught the Chiefs never to give up on a play. In this case, the play taught the Chiefs to never give up on a game that seemed lost. The Chiefs trailed 24-17 at the time with less than 1:30 left. Little had been working for them offensively, and they needed at least nine yards on the play to avoid defeat. Until Damien Williams scored the tying touchdown four plays after Hill's catch, the Chiefs had been held scoreless in the second half. "We didn't flinch," guard Jeff Allen said. "That's a testament to Pat. ... He's fearless. He always believes he's going to win the game, and that makes everyone else believe." Mahomes, it seems, was the only Chiefs player or coach unsure of what might happen when the ball left his hand. "I knew it had a chance," Mahomes said. "It was kind of one he had to come back and get. I always say he'd be the best center fielder of all time because of the way he tracks the ball." It wasn't even Mahomes' only spectacular play on the day. The second-year quarterback also set the internet on fire during the field goal drive to end the first half. On the way to that score Mahomes completed a no-look pass to Demarcus Robinson for 17 yards.

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Bears have closed the gap on the NFC elite. The Bears served notice Sunday night that they're a serious threat in a conference long viewed as a two-team race between the Los Angeles Rams and New Orleans Saints. By virtue of knocking off the Rams 15-6 in a game that felt like a playoff preview, the Bears not only inched closer to wrapping up their first postseason berth since 2010, they also resembled a team capable of winning in January. Just qualifying for the playoffs is no longer good enough for Chicago -- not with a defense playing at a championship level. The Bears defense was so dominant that Rams quarterback Jared Goff, who prior to Week 14 was enjoying a splendid third season, had a measly 80 yards and two picks (21.0 passer rating) in the first half. Keep in mind, the Rams entered Sunday night averaging 300.5 passing yards per game. And Rams running back Todd Gurley II -- the league's leading rusher and arguably its best tailback -- had 11 yards on the ground in the opening 30 minutes, his fewest first-half rushing yards in the last two seasons. Goff finished the game 20-of-44 for 180 yards and four interceptions (19.1 rating). Gurley rushed for a total of 28 yards on 11 carries. Oh, the Rams also averaged 34.9 points per game through their first 12 games. The Bears held them almost 29 points below that. Even when the Bears tried to let the Rams back in the game, courtesy of quarterback Mitchell Trubisky, who struggled, Chicago's defense slammed the door shut. The Bears beating the high-powered Rams in spite of Trubisky throwing three interceptions and having a quarterback rating of 33.3 is remarkable. But it's reality. The Bears used to be a cute story. A team dormant for years, especially in the maddening coach John Fox era, started showing signs of life under first-year coach Matt Nagy as early as Week 1. Still, most predicted seven, eight or nine victories (max). It turns out that the Bears are capable of much, much more. Nagy handily won the playcalling battle against Rams counterpart Sean McVay, who couldn't dial up anything against the Bears' defense. Chicago star pass-rusher Khalil Mack was unstoppable up front. The Rams' star defensive tackle Aaron Donald was ... well ... stoppable, at least on Sunday night. Besides quarterback, where both teams experienced major issues, the Bears outclassed the Rams in virtually every category. The rest of the NFC better hope the Bears (9-4) don't somehow end up with a first-round bye. Who wants to come to Soldier Field next month and face that defense in the divisional round? The Bears have the look of a team that believes it can beat anyone. It was important to bounce back from a tough overtime loss last week in New York, but more importantly, Sunday night's victory is an extra confidence boost if the Bears, in fact, have to play on the road in Los Angeles or New Orleans in the playoffs.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Defining where Dak Prescott is in the NFL quarterback hierarchy is a difficult task. The Dallas Cowboys would rather he be defined by what he does when it matters most. Prescott threw touchdown passes of 28 and 75 yards to Amari Cooper in the fourth quarter Sunday and another for 15 yards in overtime to give the Cowboys a 29-23 victory that put their chances at winning the NFC East at 99 percent, according to ESPN Football Power Index. This game will not be remembered as one of Prescott’s best, even though he threw for a career-high 455 yards on 42-of-54 passing. But, it might be one of his finer moments. “You talk about mental toughness, that guy we’ve got playing quarterback for us, he’s a tough son of a b---- now,” coach Jason Garrett said. “You saw that today. You saw the physical toughness. You saw the mental toughness and you saw him throughout the game overcome adversity and make the critical plays at the critical moments.” Just as he did his rookie season when he beat the Eagles in overtime on a touchdown pass to Jason Witten at AT&T Stadium, Prescott maneuvered the Cowboys down the field and faced third-and-7 from the Eagles 15, knowing he would be blitzed. “We knew they were going all out,” Prescott said. “We knew they were bringing everybody. I made the protection call. The offensive line did a great job. I think a couple of guys made Superman blocks, blocking two guys at once. I just knew I had to get the ball out.” The blitz came and Prescott rifled a throw to Cooper that was popped in the air with Rasul Douglas in coverage. Cooper came down with the pass, danced into the end zone and led the Cowboys to their fifth straight win. In 2016 against the Eagles, Prescott completed all five of his passes for 56 yards before finding Witten. On Sunday, he completed all five of his overtime throws for 58 yards in the win. The Eagles were only in the game because of Prescott’s mistakes and the Cowboys’ woeful execution in the red zone, a season-long problem. In the second quarter, his string of passes without an interception ended at 165 when he tried to hit Cooper for a touchdown. In the third quarter, he overthrew a wide-open Michael Gallup on pass that was intercepted and set up the Eagles’ first touchdown drive. The Eagles tied the game in the fourth quarter after Prescott lost his sixth fumble of the season on a Michael Bennett sack. “I’ve got to stop fumbling in the pocket, point blank, period,” Prescott said. “That’s the one that’s going to bother me.” But in the fourth quarter and overtime, Prescott was magic, except for missing Gallup for what could have been a touchdown. He completed 17 of 20 passes for 243 yards and three touchdowns. He and Cooper were unstoppable, combining seven times for 163 yards and touchdowns of 28, 75 and 15 yards. “I’m never going to give up. I’m never going to stop,” Prescott said. “When you have teammates and coaches that support you and push you and believe in you, then no matter what goes on, no matter the interceptions and no matter the fumbles, they always got your back. It just allows me to keep my eyes forward and focus on my goal.” When the Cowboys got the ball to start of overtime, Prescott said he thought of the overtime game his rookie year. “Some things just kind of happen that way,” he said “and I said, ‘I guess we just have to go finish it off the right way.’” Somehow, he found a way. Somehow the Cowboys have gone from 3-5 to 8-5 and in control of winning the NFC East for the second time in Prescott’s three seasons. “Man, he’s a warrior,” Ezekiel Elliott said. “I don’t think there’s any other way to describe him. Just the way he bounced back from all the adversity he had in the game, three turnovers, and the fact that he still sat in the pocket and very confident and very confident in the receivers and made those big plays when we needed them.”

With the New England Patriots leading 33-28 with seven seconds remaining, the Miami Dolphins needed a miracle to win. Their prayers were answered in the form of a Ryan Tannehill pass up the middle, a pair of laterals and some shifty running from Kenyan Drake, as the Dolphins stunned the Pats 34-33 with a game-winning 69-yard trip to the end zone. It was the longest game-winning touchdown with no time left in regulation in the Super Bowl era, per the Elias Sports Bureau. Here's how the crazy play worked, how Drake found space, what happened on defense and more nuggets to know from NFL Next Gen Stats: The play: On first-and-10 at the Dolphins' own 31-yard line with mere seconds left, Tannehill took a shotgun snap and threw to Kenny Stills near midfield. Stills quickly lateraled to DeVante Parker on the right sideline, who promptly lateraled again to Drake. The Miami running back ran 52 yards down the sideline behind a few key blocks to score. The Dolphins won the game and postponed the Pats' AFC East title celebration for at least another week. What happened: The Patriots sat in extremely soft coverage, but by the time Tannehill's pass arrived in the hands of Stills, Jonathan Jones was just 0.8 yards from the Dolphins' receiver, per NFL Next Gen Stats. It could have ended right there, but it didn't. Stills eluded Jones before tossing to Parker, who rugby tossed it to Drake running up the right sideline. Some players force a panic lateral in that situation, but Drake relied on his own elusiveness and blocking from teammates to race toward the end zone. In the end it basically came down to a one-on-one between Drake and Rob Gronkowski, two players who stood more than 52 yards apart when the ball was snapped. Gronkowski, who had begun the play inside the Patriots' own 20-yard line, covered the least amount of ground (39.3 yards) of any player on the play, but turned on the jets at the end to try to catch Drake, hitting 17.04 miles per hour. But the Dolphins' RB, who reached 18.65 miles per hour on the play, was able to run around the veteran tight end. In fact, no one made contact with Drake beyond the Patriots' 44-yard line, despite four different defenders getting within three yards of Drake at some point, per NFL Next Gen Stats. Dolphins wide receiver Danny Amendola said after, "I've never seen anything like that in my entire life. It was f------ crazy." Why it worked: The Patriots lined up in their deep prevent defense, with Gronkowski in the game to defend a potential Hail Mary attempt. New England brought three pass-rushers with linebacker Kyle Van Noy playing a spy technique and eventually matching Drake coming out of the backfield. The playcall? A classic hook-and-lateral with Stills running the inside curl route and Parker trailing the play. This allowed Stills to make the catch and then pitch the ball to Parker when defensive back J.C. Jackson closed on the receiver. This is where the Dolphins took it another step, however, with Drake becoming the second trailer and working up the boundary. That put Parker in a position to pitch the ball outside to Drake, who had created 2.79 yards of separation from Van Noy after the LB worked back down the field. Now in the open field, with Amendola and guard Ted Larsen in position to block safety Patrick Chung, Drake cut the ball back to daylight. That left one defender -- Gronk -- alone in space on Drake. And sorry, Gronk, that matchup is going to favor Drake every time. Make one cut, erase the angle and get to the house for a miracle finish. Stat to know: The Patriots went extremely soft in prevent defense. Four New England defenders were at least 37 yards away from Miami center Travis Swanson at the time of snap. Win-probability swing: More than 99 percent. This play had the largest win-probability swing of any this season. Next up: The Dolphins had just a 1 percent chance to reach the postseason before this crazy play began. But the moment Drake crossed the goal line, that number jumped to 9 percent, according to live FPI probabilities. The Patriots had a 27 percent chance to earn the No. 1 seed in the AFC entering the day, but that number (as of 4:30 p.m. ET) was down to 14 percent. New England now has a 64 percent chance to earn a bye. The Dolphins get the Minnesota Vikings next Sunday, while the Patriots take another try at clinching the AFC East against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- It was a Miami miracle. With their playoff hopes hanging on by a slim thread, the Dolphins called a last-ditch hook-and-ladder play named "Boise." Two pitches, a cross-field zigzag and Kenyan Drake outrunning a stumbling Rob Gronkowski for a touchdown as time expired gave Miami a 34-33 victory over the New England Patriots. "That was the last part of the play that was scripted, when I got the pitch. It was sandlot football," Drake said. "It was just me and Gronk. I couldn't let Gronk tackle me in that situation. I said, 'Look, sorry Gronk,' he's a great player but I got somewhere to be." Ryan Tannehill, on his own 31-yard line, had dropped back for a pass to Kenny Stills. Multiple Patriots surrounded him, but Stills pitched the ball to receiver DeVante Parker as he was falling down. Stills' crucial role in the winning score came after he dropped a third-down pass that could have extended a comeback drive on the Dolphins' previous possession; he responded with a timely, heads-up play in the game's biggest moment. "The Miami miracle sounds nice," Stills said. Parker pitched to running back Drake, who broke a tackle and looked for another player to pitch to before deciding to turn it back upfield. He outran several Patriots, and the final man between him and the end zone was Gronkowski. "Drake runs a 4.3 [40-yard dash] and Gronk probably runs a 4.6 or 4.7, so I feel good about that matchup," Tannehill said. "There's no quit in me. There's no quit in this locker room." Tannehill noted that the 69 yards between the line of scrimmage and the end zone was too long for a Hail Mary attempt. Coach Adam Gase called for "Boise," and there wasn't a hesitation. Gronkowski was back there preparing for a jump-ball situation, but he was a liability as a tackler as Drake tightroped the sideline running right past him. Gronkowski lost his footing and tripped as Drake galloped into the end zone. "The way it ended sucked," Gronkowski said. "I've never been a part of anything like that. I feel like it's going to test our character big-time. I have to make that tackle." Hard Rock Stadium erupted in cheers. Drake was mobbed by a host of teammates. Two Dolphins offensive linemen lay on the field simulating snow angels. Patriots players, in shock, walked toward the locker room. "We have something for those type of situations. We work on it every Friday and Saturday," Gase said. "It's boring because you might go three years without calling one of them. But these guys stuck with it and they executed that one for sure." Several Dolphins players said they worked on "Boise" every week, and did so most recently on Friday. "Of course, we scored," Tannehill said. But that was against the scout team and this was against the Patriots. The 69-yard score was the longest winning touchdown with no time left in regulation during the Super Bowl era, according to Elias Sports research. Running back Brandon Bolden, primarily a special-teams player who spent his first six NFL seasons in New England, had two rushing touchdowns against his former team. Tannehill played through an ankle injury to finish 14-of-19 for 265 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions and a 155.1 passer rating in beating the Patriots for the fourth time at home. Frank Gore had 92 rushing yards and passed LaDainian Tomlinson for fifth on the career yards-from-scrimmage list. Stills had a season-high 135 receiving yards and a touchdown. But it's that one play that will be remembered in Dolphins history. After the game, the entire Dolphins locker room joined in a chant of "Ted, Ted, Ted!" It was a salute to guard Ted Larsen, who made a key block on the play to leave just one defender between Drake and the end zone: Gronk. "I was looking to make a block so they wouldn't throw me the ball," Larsen said. Miami has long been the Patriots' house of horrors, and Sunday might have the most horrifying loss of them all for New England. Miami has now won five of its past six homes games versus the Patriots; quarterback Tom Brady is 7-10 against the Dolphins in Miami. The Dolphins (7-6) prevented the Patriots (9-4) from clinching the AFC East for a 10th consecutive time on their home field. Miami also moved into a tie with Baltimore, Indianapolis and Tennessee for the No. 6 AFC playoff spot.

OAKLAND, Calif. -- After returning from a rib injury to orchestrate a late fourth-quarter touchdown drive, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said he assumes he'll be available for the Week 15 clash with the New England Patriots. But perhaps Roethlisberger could have prevented the 24-21 loss to the Raiders if he were on the field sooner. Roethlisberger, who left the field before halftime and didn't return until 5 minutes, 20 seconds were left in the fourth quarter, said he was waiting for coach Mike Tomlin to "tell me when to go" back into action. Tomlin explained why he waited to give that green light. "He got looked at at halftime. He got treatment, he came back out," Tomlin said of his quarterback. "We were waiting to see if he was gonna be able to come back in. He was. He probably could've come in a series or so sooner, but we were in the rhythm and flow of the game. He was ready to go when he got back out there." Roethlisberger left the Oakland-Alameda County Stadium field with 10 seconds left in the second quarter after a 1-yard touchdown pass to JuJu Smith-Schuster gave Pittsburgh a 14-10 lead. Backup Josh Dobbs started the second half, and Roethlisberger emerged from the tunnel early in the third quarter only to watch from the sidelines. But after the Steelers lost the lead, Roethlisberger returned and promptly restored it by driving the offense 75 yards downfield with another 1-yard touchdown to Smith-Schuster. The Raiders countered with quarterback Derek Carr's 6-yard touchdown pass to Derek Carrier with 25 seconds left. The Steelers' hook-and-ladder play for 43 yards set up a last-second field goal attempt from 40 yards that Chris Boswell missed as he slipped on the grass. Earlier in the game, Roethlisberger took a sack and another shot from the Raiders' defense. On one second-down throw in the red zone, Roethlisberger stayed down for a few seconds after a hit. The quarterback deferred to Tomlin on details of his injury.

Dallas Cowboys tailback Ezekiel Elliott became the first offensive player to be penalized under the NFL's new use-of-helmet rule Sunday. The rule, approved last spring, prohibits players from lowering their helmets to initiate contact with an opponent. League officials said at the time that it would apply to all players at every position, and noted specifically that running backs who lowered their heads to bowl over defenders would be called. But through the first 13 weeks of the season, only defensive or special-teams players had been penalized. The play occurred with 11 minutes, 32 seconds remaining in regulation of the Cowboys' overtime victory Sunday against the visiting Philadelphia Eagles. Elliott lowered his head and hit Eagles safety Corey Graham at the end of a 12-yard reception. NFL owners approved the rule because internal research showed that contact between players with lowered helmets, and linear backs, increased the possibility of head and neck injuries. "It applies to both offense and defense," referee Clete Blakeman said in a pool report after the game. "The ruling was basically that he lowered his head and initiated the contact against the defender with the helmet as it's defined in the rule book." Asked how difficult the rule was to apply to Elliott's veer into the defender, considering the speed of the play, Blakeman said, "It's hard. It's a hard game and what we do is hard, but we feel good about the call. A couple of us, actually two of us, had it as the same foul from different angles." After the penalty, Elliott was evaluated by medical personnel and missed five snaps before returning. Elliott said he suffered a stinger on the play, not a concussion, but he was able to return after missing five snaps. "I mean when you're on that sideline, I got to protect myself," Elliott said. "If the guy's going low, I got to go low too. The rules are for the betterment of the game, the rules are for our safety. If there was an illegal helmet-to-helmet contact, that's something I need to go look at and work on. It's not OK. I mean it's just a tough play." Through the first 13 weeks of the season, there were a total of 10 flags for use of helmet.

CARSON, Calif. -- Wearing a bulky leg brace to protect his sprained right knee, Los Angeles Chargers running back Melvin Gordon went through a 45-minute workout under the watchful eye of head athletic trainer Damon Mitchell before his team's contest against the Cincinnati Bengals. Gordon looked better than expected, keeping open the possibility for a return Thursday night. The Chargers travel to face the AFC West rival Chiefs in Kansas City (8:20 p.m. ET, Fox). With Gordon unavailable, his replacement, Austin Ekeler, carried the load for the Chargers on offense as they held off the Bengals 26-21 on Sunday at StubHub Center. The Chargers needed a Darius Philon sack of Cincinnati quarterback Jeff Driskel on a failed two-point conversion to avoid a tie game with 1 minute, 50 seconds to play. Rookie kicker Michael Badgley then added a 45-yard field goal for the final margin. Ekeler kept the chains moving with 94 total yards from scrimmage, including 66 rushing yards. He also had a five-yard run for a score. However, Ekeler suffered an unspecified injury while attempting to recover an onside kick at the end of the game, so his availability could be in question on a short week. Chargers coach Anthony Lynn said Ekeler was a little dizzy after the game, so he's not sure what his injury status will be this week. Ekeler said after the game in the locker room that he was fine. "It's important right now that we just get back to being healthy," Ekeler said. "We have to get back in there and do all of our recovery. It's a short week, so it will be a big mental week." Behind Ekeler and Gordon, the Chargers have rookie running backs Justin Jackson and Detrez Newsome, so the Bolts need their two frontline runners to get healthy on a short week. Badgley continued to impress, making a franchise-record 59-yard field goal at the end of the first half, one of four field goals he made on the day. "It's cool," Badgley said about the franchise record. "I was blessed with the opportunity to get a chance to come in here. My teammates and the organization welcomed me. It's awesome to be able to go out there and do something like that." A game behind Kansas City with the Chiefs currently holding the tiebreaker, the Chargers would have a tough time earning a top-two seed at his point. To win the division for the first time since 2009, the Chargers would need to win Thursday and have Kansas City lose one of their two remaining games (at the Seattle Seahawks or at home against the Oakland Raiders). The Chargers would also have to win out in that scenario. The Chargers can also clinch a playoff berth with a win over the Chiefs, which would be the franchise's first since 2013. It would end the longest Bolts' playoff drought since missing eight straight postseasons form 1996 to 2003. The Chargers have not defeated Kansas City since a 24-21 overtime victory in the final game of the 2013 season that propelled them to the playoffs that year. "It's a huge game," said defensive end Joey Bosa, who notched his fourth sack of the season against the Bengals. "… Obviously, it's one of the best teams in the NFL and it's a prime-time game Thursday night, so it's going to be a big atmosphere, just kind of how it was last week [vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers]. So we've been there." It will be Bosa's first shot at facing QB Patrick Mahomes, one of the MVP frontrunners. "He's a special talent, obviously," Bosa said. "Everybody's seen what he's doing, the amount of touchdown passes and the arm that he has. But it's another week."

TAMPA, Fla. -- The New Orleans Saints were desperate for a spark -- and Taysom Hill delivered. Their third-string quarterback/read-option specialist/WR/TE/RB/kickoff returner/special teams ace came up with the first blocked punt of his career. And it couldn't have come at a better time. The Saints were trailing 14-3 in the third quarter at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, staring their second straight loss in the face, when Hill's block finally woke them from their slumber. They outscored Tampa Bay 25-0 after that to run away with a 28-14 victory -- and officially secure their second straight division title for the first time in franchise history. The Saints (11-2) got to enjoy a proper celebration in Tampa's visiting locker room. More importantly, they have rediscovered their momentum after a 13-10 loss at Dallas last week and continued a battle with the Los Angeles Rams for the NFC's No. 1 seed. "You call those momentum-changing plays, right?" said Drew Brees, who had two turnovers in a game for the first time all season before the late surge (an interception in the second quarter and a sack/fumble in the third quarter). "We all recognize when you have those games where you're struggling to get something going, you just need one thing to just ignite the team, ignite the sideline, and get you going. "Obviously that was a huge play in the game. We go down and score a touchdown and score on every possession after that, I think. "It was the epitome of a great team win." The Saints did not bring any extra rushers on the punt block, but Hill said special teams coordinator Mike Westhoff gives players the freedom to attack when they see an opportunity. And Hill said both he and defensive end Alex Okafor saw the same opening. "And, man, [Okafor] draws so much attention that he took both the win and the tackle, and I got there pretty early," Hill said. "My whole thing was just, 'Don't miss the ball' because I got there so early." Hill, who had never blocked a punt at any level of football, also credited Westhoff for foreshadowing the game-changing play. "I remember sitting on the bench next to Coach Westhoff and he said something to me like, 'Man, I've been a part of football for a long time, and this is the type of game where we as a special teams unit need to make a big play to change the momentum here,'" Hill said. "That was our mindset as a special teams unit, and that's what we were hoping for." Hill has been a revelation for the Saints this season as his role has grown on offense and special teams. Brees recently called him Sean Payton's "new toy." But he went back to his "roots" for his biggest play of the season to date. Hill first got on the field last season as a special teams coverage specialist when the Saints wanted to find a way to get their athletic undrafted rookie onto the field. And he has had several nearly blocked punts in the meantime before he finally broke through up the middle Sunday. The 6-foot-2, 221-pounder, who was nicknamed a "Thor-terback" by former BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall, has now run for a TD, converted two fake punts (one throwing, one running) and caught two passes this season, among other achievements. "He wants to play hard because he loves the game, and you feel that," said Payton, who has long described Hill as having an "infectious" quality. "I think he's very unselfish, and that carries over because it's contagious. ... There's just some of those intangibles that he's willing to do anything -- but do it well. "So he's a very important part of our team." Before Hill woke them up, New Orleans' stunning offensive slump lasted more than six quarters -- starting in Dallas on Thursday night in Week 13 and continuing on a wet, sloppy field in Tampa. In the first 35 minutes, Brees had lost the two turnovers and running backs Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara had combined for a total of 2 rushing yards on nine carries. Then suddenly everything changed. Ingram ran for 11 yards on the very next play and finished with 13 carries for 52 rushing yards and a touchdown. Brees threw a TD pass to fullback Zach Line four plays later and later leaped for a 1-yard TD run when the Saints went for it on fourth-and-goal. Kamara finished with 87 yards from scrimmage. Michael Thomas caught 11 passes for 98 yards (giving him a whopping 27 catches against Tampa Bay this season). And the Saints' defense started to have its way with Tampa Bay with three sacks in the second half. Defensive end Cameron Jordan finished with two sacks for the third straight game. Linebacker A.J. Klein and defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins also got in on the fun with one sack each. Jordan called the 25-0 run a "tidal wave." "It was kind of two different games really," said Payton, who credited both the blocked punt and the way the defense played throughout the day to allow New Orleans to "hang in there." "To be able to win a game maybe where you didn't play your best in one certain area or another was significant," Payton said. The Saints added one last exclamation point when cornerback Marshon Lattimore made a fantastic toe-tapping interception in the end zone with one second left -- allowing him to one-up Buccaneers receiver Mike Evans in their growing rivalry. Evans caught a pass for 36 yards behind Lattimore on Tampa Bay's opening touchdown drive but was held mostly in check after that, finishing with four catches for 86 yards. The Saints will now shift to another division rival, playing at the slumping Carolina Panthers on Monday Night Football in Week 15, before playing host to the Pittsburgh Steelers and Carolina again to wrap up the regular season.

CLEVELAND -- A big smile spread across Cam Newton's face earlier this week when asked what it would mean if the Carolina Panthers walked away from Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns with a victory. “Is Santa listening?" the quarterback said. No, but the Grinch certainly must have been. The Panthers lost their fifth straight game in much the same way they did the previous four, failing to get off the field on third down, giving up big plays over the top and making mistakes offensively even when the opponent kept giving them second chances. The 26-20 setback to the Browns was a microcosm of everything that has gone wrong for a team that hasn’t won since a 6-2 start. Not even head coach Ron Rivera taking over the defensive playcalling and firing two assistants changed things. It has gotten to the point that Newton and other veteran leaders don’t have answers for why the team keeps making the same mistakes and failing to finish games. “I don’t have the answers," said 38-year-old Julius Peppers, who has seen just about everything during his Hall of Fame career. “I really don’t." One question was answered on Sunday: This team isn’t going to the playoffs. OK, there’s a mathematical chance. But with a 6-7 record a lot of things would have to happen, beginning with the Panthers winning their final three, two against the New Orleans Saints. The Saints (11-2), up next in a Monday Night game in Charlotte, are in a battle with the Los Angeles Rams (11-1) for the top seed in the NFC. So Santa would have to grant a lot of Christmas wishes for the Panthers to beat them twice. Unknown are the futures of Rivera and general manager Marty Hurney, both of whom got contract extensions from former owner Jerry Richardson before he sold the team to David Tepper during the offseason. While there is no indication Tepper wants to make a complete overhaul, he may feel there is no choice if this skid turns to 6-10 or 7-9. “I said it time and time again, it’s frustrating," outside linebacker Thomas Davis said. “To be in the position we are in, understanding and knowing the talent we have, understanding the time and effort and energy the coaches put in coming up with the game plan, for us to be in this position, it sucks." “Sucks" was a word used throughout the locker room on Sunday, from Davis to running back Christian McCaffrey to nickelback Captain Munnerlyn. The Panthers had high hopes at 6-2. They were playing with a swagger. Now they are fighting to hold their heads high. Peppers embodies that. He returned for a 17th season believing the talent was here not only to reach the Super Bowl but win one. Now he’s just hoping for a win. “Pretty much," the man who ranks fourth on the NFL’s all-time sack list said. Rivera admitted earlier in the week that he hoped his taking over the defensive playcalling would render results similar to those in 2014 when he made changes on the field to spark a 4-0 finish that secured a playoff spot. One could interpret this move as Rivera determining that if his ship is going to sink, he'll go down with it making decisions on a side of the ball where he has the most expertise. The first half showed not much had changed, though. The Browns struck for a 66-yard pass on their first offensive play, continuing the trend of the Panthers giving up big plays over the top. The Panthers allowed Cleveland to convert three of four third downs in the first half, and it would have been four had Rashard Higgins not dropped a pass inside the 5 in the final minute. At that point, over the Panthers' past four and half games on third-and-7 or longer opposing quarterbacks had completed 17 of 28 passes for 307 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions. One of those touchdowns was a 51-yarder by Baker Mayfield to Jarvis Landry on third-and-17. The third-down frustration continued early in the fourth quarter as Landry broke a 51-yard run on third-and-2, setting up a 4-yard go-ahead touchdown run by Nick Chubb. The offense had its share of typical mistakes as well. A Christian McCaffrey touchdown run was negated early in the third quarter by a holding penalty. That was followed by an illegal procedure on Newton that forced Carolina to settle for a field goal and a 20-17 lead. Late in the fourth quarter, with a first down at the Cleveland 9 and a chance to take the lead, the Panthers walked away with nothing when Newton missed his receiver twice in the end zone. Still with a chance in the final minute, Newton badly overthrew his receiver and was intercepted for the eighth time during this losing streak. He had only four picks in the first eight games. His arm strength after not throwing on Wednesday and Thursday because of a sore shoulder remains a concern. You get the picture. “We’re in the position where we’re done with the cliché sayings," Newton said. “It just comes down to us doing our job. ... We all put ourselves in this situation. There’s no one person to blame." Not even Santa.

CLEVELAND -- The year of the rookies continued for the Cleveland Browns on Sunday at First Energy Stadium. Baker Mayfield threw for 238 yards and a touchdown, while Nick Chubb provided the go-ahead score early in the fourth quarter to lead the Browns to a 26-20 win over the Carolina Panthers. Mayfield has a touchdown pass in 10 consecutive starts, making him the first Browns quarterback to do that since Bernie Kosar in 1987, according to ESPN Stats & Information research. “One of the things if you are close enough, if you are ever down there close enough, you can hear the ball come out of the quarterback’s hand with a ‘sst’ and you can hear how tight the ball was coming out of his hand,” interim head coach Gregg Williams said. “It was bringing a smile to my face when I saw him warm up, and really the entire game he was zipping it.” With his 4-yard touchdown run, Chubb now has a TD in five consecutive games, the longest streak by a Browns player since Greg Pruitt in 1975 (also per ESPN Stats & Information research). The win kept the Browns' barely flickering playoff hopes alive, as they improve to 5-7-1 with games left at Denver, against Cincinnati and at Baltimore. Those hopes remain a long shot, but Mayfield and Chubb are still providing the Browns and their fans plenty of hope for 2019. “I just feel like if we win out, everything else will take care of itself,” safety Damarious Randall said. “I mean, if it takes care of itself and we end up the sixth seed, somebody is going to be in trouble.” “Like we said earlier this week, we still are in that hunt,” Mayfield said, “but if we do not take it one game at a time, none of that matters. We have to take care of business one week at a time, and we did that today against a veteran defense and a good team. I do not care what anybody says, there are a lot of guys on that team that can make plays and play well. We are at a point right now that we have been building for this moment and we need to continue to build.” Those hopes remain a long shot, but Mayfield and Chubb are still providing the Browns and their fans plenty of hope for 2019. Mayfield completed 18 of 22 against the Panthers -- and three of his passes fell incomplete after bouncing off receivers’ hands. In his past six quarters, including the second half at Houston last Sunday, Mayfield has thrown for 589 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. Williams is now 3-2 as interim coach and with Freddie Kitchens running the offense. Kitchens had one interesting play ready for the Panthers that had the flow of the offense go left and Mayfield hand off inside to receiver Jarvis Landry. The first time Kitchens called it, Landry scored from the 3. The second time he called it, Landry scampered for 51 yards, setting up Chubb’s go-ahead score. Landry even threw an incomplete pass after taking a swing pass-lateral from Mayfield. “I’m sure he will be begging to kick it now,” Williams said. Five wins are a modest total, but for the Browns, they’re a benchmark of sorts. Cleveland has not won five games in a season since 2014. Mayfield is now 4-6 as the starting quarterback, giving him as many wins as the Browns had in total in 2015, '16 and '17. He started with a 66-yard completion on the Browns' first play, then threw a 51-yard laser of a touchdown pass to Landry, who became the first Browns player since Leroy Hoard in 1991 to have a 50-yard catch and a 50-yard run in the same game. “I guess waking up feeling dangerous is contagious, you know?” Landry said a reference to Mayfield’s statement during and after the win over Atlanta. The Browns improved to 4-2-1 at home this season, guaranteeing them a winning record at FirstEnergy Stadium. No matter what happens in the home finale Dec. 23 against the Bengals, the Browns will finish with second-best home record since 1999 and their best since they went 7-1 in 2007

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Joe Philbin for coach. As long as someone helps him keep the red challenge flag in his pocket, that is. Or maybe it was as one longtime NFL agent predicted this week: that after Mike McCarthy was fired, the Green Bay Packers players will "play their ass off (because) they want to show everyone, ‘Hey, we weren’t the problem.’" Either way, there weren’t many problems in Game 1 of the Philbin interim head-coaching era after Philbin’s almost unheard-of decision to unsuccessfully challenge two plays -- both catches by Julio Jones that were upheld by replay -- on the Falcons’ opening series. With merely 1:27 of elapsed game time, Philbin was out of challenges for the day. Luckily for him, the Packers didn’t need another one and cruised to a convincing 34-20 victory to improve to 5-7-1, keeping alive their chances at a avoiding a second straight losing season. As of the game’s end, they still weren’t eliminated from playoff contention, although ESPN’s Football Power Index had their chances at just 6 percent. All they needed was Aaron Rodgers to play like, well, Aaron Rodgers again. And it didn’t hurt that Davante Adams made his usual impact (seven catches for 81 yards and a touchdown), Randall Cobb caught his first touchdown pass since Week 1 and Aaron Jones (with a 29-yard third-quarter touchdown run) got the ball in the second half for a change. And then there was the defensive touchdown that came courtesy of cornerback Bashaud Breeland’s pick-6 -- a 22-yarder of Matt Ryan in the second quarter. "Like I said to them, this is a players game and they really stepped up," Philbin said. Not enough of those things happened during the first 12 games of the season, leading to McCarthy’s dismissal a week after an embarrassing home loss to the hapless Arizona Cardinals, a team that came into Lambeau Field with just two wins. To be sure, the Falcons aren’t exactly the Rams, Saints or even the NFC North-leading Bears -- where Philbin will take his team next Sunday. Atlanta, like Green Bay, had won only four of its first 12 games and barely resembled the team that less than two years ago won the NFC Championship over the Packers. Of course, the Packers weren’t the same team that made it to that NFC Championship Game in Atlanta. That Packers team ran the table from 4-6 to the conference title game without a loss in 2016. This team, which was 4-7-1 when the coaching change was made, can only hope to win its final four games under Philbin. "I don’t know if anything felt way different," Rodgers said. "I just was trying to have fun out there and lead and inspire. Had a little maybe extra message this week for the guys on game day and just a couple more reminders on just how special the opportunities are and let’s not let this one slip away regardless of what our record is. I’m not saying -- it probably has nothing to do with the way we played, but the guys knew basically by the way I was playing I was going to put my body on the line, took a couple shots, I’m dealing with a little bit of a sore back." Packers president Mark Murphy identified Philbin as a "legitimate candidate" to replace McCarthy, who said goodbye to his team with an emotional address on Wednesday and goodbye to Packers fans with a full-page ad in newspapers across the state. "I’ve been around here before," said Philbin, who is in his second stint with the Packers and in between went 24-28 as the Dolphins head coach for three-plus seasons (2012-15). "I’m a football coach. I love coaching the game. I love being in the team meeting, whether I’m the head coach, the offensive coordinator, the tight end coach. I love walking on the field, the practice field. I still do. This is smart leadership here and they should do whatever is the best thing for the Green Bay Packer organization, and I’m fine with that. I’m going to do the best job I possibly can and help our team win this game against Atlanta. Period. I’ve got enough to think about right now." It was Philbin’s first game as an offensive playcaller in the NFL. He said he last called plays in 1996, when he was Northeastern University’s offensive coordinator.

The Los Angeles Lakers are engaged in talks to try to acquire Phoenix Suns forward Trevor Ariza, league sources told ESPN. The teams have been working to reach an agreement with a third team that would take on Lakers guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope as part of a potentially larger deal, league sources said. The Suns want to land a playmaking guard and a draft asset as the price of unloading Ariza, sources said. Phoenix and Los Angeles have made progress in third-team scenarios, although no agreements are close and both teams remain active in multiple trade discussions throughout the league, sources said. No trade can be completed officially until Saturday, when players who, like Ariza, were signed in summer free agency become eligible to be traded. Ariza is one of the most important trade assets for the Suns -- losers of 22 of 26 games -- and their best chance to bolster their backcourt and gain assets. Most contending teams are interested in acquiring Ariza, 33, who was an important contributor to the Houston Rockets in recent seasons. Caldwell-Pope has veto power on a trade, but the Lakers have shown an ability to work with his agent, Rich Paul, if there's a deal that might increase his role and possibly get him signed to a deal this summer with a new team, league sources said. Caldwell-Pope is on a one-year, $12 million contract. Caldwell-Pope, 25, has seen his minutes drop along with his shooting percentages from last season. He's averaging 8.5 points in 21 minutes, including 38 percent overall shooting and 34 percent on 3-pointers. He signed a one-year, $12 million deal to return to the Lakers this season. Ariza signed a one-year, $15 million deal with Phoenix this summer. The Suns are in disarray amid a 4-22 start to the season, and remain in pursuit of a guard who would allow star shooting guard Devin Booker to play more consistently off the ball. Ariza's expiring contract would allow the Lakers to keep salary-cap flexibility into summer free agency. General manager Rob Pelinka represented Ariza in his career as an agent before he joined Los Angeles' front office. Ariza is averaging 9.7 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists this season.

TORONTO -- With 90 seconds to go in Sunday's showdown between the top two teams in the NBA's Eastern Conference, the Toronto Raptors and Milwaukee Bucks, the ball found its way to Kyle Lowry in the corner for a wide-open shot. As the Raptors clung to a 97-94 lead, it offered Toronto a chance to double its advantage, help finish off what had become a comeback from a double-digit fourth-quarter deficit and lead Toronto to a league-leading 22nd win of the season. But Lowry missed -- just as he had the prior four times he'd attempted a shot Sunday night. In doing so, he opened the door for the Bucks to get back into the game. Milwaukee did just that. Back-to-back 3-pointers on the ensuing two possessions by Malcolm Brogdon allowed the Bucks to retake the lead for good, and Milwaukee -- led by 19 points, 19 rebounds and 6 assists from Giannis Antetokounmpo -- would go on to claim a 104-99 victory at Scotiabank Arena, adding another level of scrutiny to Lowry's performance after he went scoreless and missed all five shots he took, continuing a prolonged shooting slump. "I've gotta look at the film, see where it was at," said Lowry, who went scoreless for the first time in his career when he played at least 30 minutes, and for the first time in any game since going scoreless in Miami on March 17, 2013. "I don't know. Just couldn't find the open ones tonight." At this point, though, it isn't a one-night thing. Over the past four games, Lowry has gone 4-for-28 from the field -- including 3-for-25 from 3-point range. That 4-for-28 mark from the floor is tied for the worst stretch of Lowry's career, according to ESPN Stats & Information research, matching a 2-for-14 stretch he had 10 years ago while he was playing for the Memphis Grizzlies in his second full season in the NBA. Lowry's struggles are reminiscent of the consistency issues he's shown during the postseason in the past. That is especially true considering the four most recent games have featured three teams -- the Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers and Denver Nuggets -- that should be playoff participants, with the Bucks and Sixers very likely to serve as potential foes in either the Eastern Conference semifinals or finals next spring. And, as Sunday's outcome showed, for the Raptors to be at their best, they will need more than this kind of showing from Lowry to get where they hope to go. "Our offense kind of allows everybody to be themselves and take their shots," Kawhi Leonard said. "[There is] a lot of freedom. With that said, he's gonna have some big games coming up. He's missing (inaudible) shots, that's why we play 82 games. "[It's] just a test for the playoffs. You just got to think down the road. If you have big games like this, just buy in and come into the next game. He's working here in practice with his shot. It's gonna fall for him. He'll probably hit seven in a row or something." One potential fix: getting much more aggressive -- a sentiment virtually every Raptor echoed postgame, and one Lowry agreed with. While he's become one of the NBA's biggest, and most effective, volume shooters in recent seasons, shooting 90 percent of his shots from behind the arc -- as he has the past few games -- is pushing too far in that direction. "Yeah, I've gotta ... I was thinking about that tonight," Lowry said. "I just didn't get an opportunity, or just didn't do it, rather. "I've gotta be a little bit more inside the paint, inside the arc. I definitely do." His teammates and coaches agree. "Just be there to support him," fellow Raptors point guard Fred VanVleet said. "He's got to shoot more. I don't know what he shot tonight, but it didn't feel like enough. ... He's got to shoot 0-for-20, that would be my only advice to him. "He's one of the best shooters in the league. There's ups and downs to being a shooter. You're not going to be hot all the time and he'll finish the year over 40 percent [from 3-point range] and this will seem like so long ago. Just want to stay on him and keep instilling confidence in him and just be there to support him." "I think we need some of his paint touches," Raptors coach Nick Nurse said. "I think some of that is both. He's driven in there and kicked it out to some open guys a lot because they're really giving him a lot of attention. "But, somehow, we have to get him to bulldoze his way in there and get to the rim and get some paint shots, or at-the-rim shots." In many ways, Lowry has taken to the egalitarian approach to the offense Nurse has espoused this season. He had a game-high seven assists Sunday and he's averaging 10 per game -- by far the most he's ever recorded, and the most in the NBA this season. It has also served to benefit Serge Ibaka and Pascal Siakam, both of whom are off to sensational starts and had strong performances against the Bucks (22 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists for Ibaka, 17 points and 7 rebounds for Siakam). Leonard, meanwhile, has been every bit the player he was before missing all but nine games last season with tendinopathy in his left quadriceps. But the Raptors need more from Lowry -- particularly with their vaunted "bench mob" struggling to come anywhere close to replicating what it did last season. In the five-point loss Sunday, OG Anunoby, CJ Miles and Delon Wright were all at least minus-14 in less than 15 minutes apiece. Had Lowry delivered a typical night, it might not have mattered. But he didn't, and the Raptors have dropped two games in a row as a result. Now Toronto heads out for a difficult four-game West Coast trip against the LA Clippers, Golden State Warriors, Portland Trail Blazers and the Nuggets -- a trip during which they'll likely be without Leonard for either the Clippers or Warriors game, assuming Toronto continues to stick with its policy of resting Leonard in one game of each of its back-to-back sets this season. "Shooting comes and goes," VanVleet said. "It's the other stuff that's non-negotiable, the defense, the leadership, the passing, playmaking. He's done a great job of doing everything else. His shot will come back."

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Monday will be the final two-step for two of the most successful teammates in NBA history, as Dwyane Wade's self-titled "Last Dance" season before retirement rolls through Los Angeles for a game against LeBron James and the Lakers. "It's bitter, and it's sweet," James said following the Lakers' 111-88 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday, as L.A. prepares for Monday's showdown with Wade and the Miami Heat. "It's sweet and sour. The sweet part about it is I've always loved being on the same floor with my brother. We struck up a relationship together at the combine in 2003, and it started from there. And the sour part about it is that this is our last time sharing the same court." James was the No. 1 pick straight out of high school in the heralded 2003 NBA draft class, going to his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers. Wade was selected No. 5 by Miami following an electric run to the Final Four with Marquette. The two were Eastern Conference rivals for years before pairing up in the summer of 2010 and leading the Heat to four straight NBA Finals appearances and two championships in four seasons together. They later paired up in Cleveland for the first half of last season before Wade was traded back to Miami amid a turbulent season for the Cavs. James' Lakers enter Monday's game having won 12 of their past 16 games to push their record to 16-10. Miami has won three of its past four but is just 10-14 overall. James, who turns 34 this month, entered Saturday averaging 28.7 points, 7.6 rebounds and 6.8 assists, still very much the player he was when he won four MVPs. Wade, who turns 37 next month, is averaging 14.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.5 assists. What made their bond so enduring? "I don't know," James said. "Sometimes it's just chemistry. Sometimes you can't even explain it. And I bonded with Carmelo [Anthony] when I was in the 10th grade. I bonded with CP3 [Chris Paul] when I was in the 12th, and I bonded with D-Wade when we were both coming into the combine. Some things you just can't explain, and that's why we have our brotherhood." Anthony was the No. 3 pick in the 2003 draft and is currently away from the Rockets as his representation and the team seek a trade. Paul, who was drafted in 2005, is navigating Houston through early season struggles. Lakers center Tyson Chandler, who entered the league in 2001 and beat James and Wade's Heat as a member of the Dallas Mavericks in the 2011 Finals, spoke wistfully of Wade's career. "Honestly, the older I get and the more I'm in the game, I gain even that much more respect for these guys -- the legends that we're starting to lose along the way," Chandler said. "Guys that mean so much to our generation. I had some crazy competitive games against Dwyane Wade over the years. He's a legend in our game. It's always tough when you know they're losing, but you just embrace the moment. You cherish every moment you get to compete against those type of competitors. "So I'm happy for him. I'm happy for where he's at in his life. He just welcomed a new baby. You give everything you've got to the game, and then you go on to live your life, so I'm happy for where he is right now." Wade's impending exit and Anthony's uncertain future serve to underscore the marvel that is James' career. He keeps dominating the game while others who came into the league alongside him retire. The Detroit Pistons' Zaza Pachulia and Utah Jazz's Kyle Korver are the other active members of the 2003 draft class, in addition to the James-Anthony-Wade trio. "I got to keep it going," James said. "I got to keep it going for the class of '03, that's for sure. So I love where I'm at right now, and D-Wade has definitely had a helluva career, obviously. A first-ballot Hall of Famer, a three-time champion and so on and so on. I mean, it speaks for itself. But what he's done for that franchise and what he's done for that community since he's been drafted has been a pretty good story." After Wade scored 25 points in the Heat's 121-98 win over the LA Clippers on Saturday -- the 1,000th game of Wade's career -- he said Monday's game will have a "different" feeling. "You're always excited to play the Lakers, and obviously, LeBron is there and [it's] our last time matching up, so it's definitely gonna be a little bit extra special than any normal game," Wade said. "I'm not going to sit here and tell you, 'Oh, it's another one of 82.' No, it's not. Not for me. It's a game where I get to play against not only one of my best friends but one of the game's greatest players for the last time. I want to win as a team, but I want to savor the opportunities."

Wall came into the game averaging 21.3 points, but his only point came on a free throw early in the third quarter with Cleveland holding a 74-48 lead. He missed all five shots and had six assists. Wall, who was taken out late in the third quarter, didn't need to analyze the statistics. "I didn't have to look at it," he said. "I already knew it without looking at it. First game of my life. One free throw. No field goals." Wall said he's been dealing with a bone spur in his left heel and received treatment in the locker room following the game. "I couldn't move," he said. "Couldn't run. Probably shouldn't have played. That's my fault....I've had it for a while." Sexton matched up against Wall for the second time this season. Wall scored eight points -- his career low before Saturday -- while Sexton had 24 on Nov. 14 "He didn't have it going tonight, but I know he'd going to get back on track by the next game, for sure," Sexton said. Sexton was 13 of 23 from the field and had six assists, including an alley-oop pass to Larry Nance Jr. for a one-handed dunk that brought the crowd to its feet late in the game. "That was nice," Sexton said. "I saw him cut from the corner and I just had to pick it up with my hand and toss it to him." Wall returned after missing Washington's victory Wednesday night over Atlanta because of personal reasons. He didn't participate in the shootaround Saturday because he was under the weather. Tristan Thompson had 23 points and 19 rebounds as Cleveland dominated, going ahead for good late in the first quarter and building a 29-point lead in the second half. Bradley Beal scored 27 points, but the Wizards turned in a flat performance after winning three straight. Cleveland (6-20) had only 10 available players because of injuries and Friday's three-team trade with the Wizards and Milwaukee Bucks, but didn't play like a short-handed team. The Cavaliers hit 15 of 31 3-pointers. Rodney Hood missed the game because of a sprained right toe that caused him to sit out the second half Friday against Sacramento. Matthew Dellavedova acquired in Friday's trade, watched from the bench in street clothes. The first quarter had seven lead changes before Cleveland ended the period with an 18-3 run. Jalen Jones, signed to a two-way contract last week, hit a 3-pointer on consecutive possessions and Jordan Clarkson made two 3-pointers, helping Cleveland to a 38-25 lead. TOUGH NIGHT The Wizards were displeased about their effort in the lopsided defeat. "This game was unacceptable on many fronts," Beal said. "We've got to be disciplined. We didn't come out with the same focus we had the last three games."

DALLAS -- The person least impressed by Dallas Mavericks rookie star Luka Doncic's performance in Saturday night's 107-104 comeback win over the Houston Rockets was probably the Slovenian teen himself. "I wasn't playing great," he said after scoring 21 points and taking over the game down the stretch. "My game wasn't good at all. I get confident at the end of the game, and obviously then I feel comfortable." That's one way to put it after Doncic scored 11 straight points during crunch time, capping the flurry with a step-back 3-pointer over Houston center Clint Capela to give the Mavs the lead for good with 57.8 seconds remaining. Doncic struggled for most of the night at American Airlines Center, changing his Nikes from a neon red pair to black after going 1-of-9 from the floor in the first half. He was 3-of-13 before knocking down an open corner 3 off a feed from Wesley Matthews to pull the Mavs within five points with 2:49 remaining. On the Mavs' next possession, Doncic took advantage of a switch by swishing a step-back over Capela from well behind the 3-point line. Doncic tied the score on the next trip when he calmly bodied PJ Tucker, one of the league's most physical defenders, on a pick-and-roll to create space for a floater in the lane. Then Doncic drilled the go-ahead step-back 3 over Capela, who bit so hard on the early Rookie of the Year favorite's hard dribble to the right that he had both feet in the paint before attempting to recover and challenge the shot. "It was special," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said of Doncic's clutch heroics. "It's pretty clear that he's got a flair for the moment. He's unafraid. You don't see that every day." According to Elias Sports Bureau, Doncic is only the fourth NBA player to go on an 11-0 run this season. The others: two-time MVP Stephen Curry, reigning Sixth Man of the Year Lou Williams and reigning MVP James Harden. Harden is the only other player to have such a run in the fourth quarter, scoring 11 straight in the Rockets' Nov. 3 win over the Chicago Bulls But Harden faded in the fourth quarter Saturday, scoring only four of his game-high 35 points and missing a pair of off-dribble 3s during Doncic's run, as the Rockets wrapped up a winless, three-game road trip. "We all go through tough times in life," Harden said after the Rockets fell to 11-14. "You just have to figure your way out of it. Obviously, we want to be perfect, we want things to go great. Sometimes they don't, and you hit a speed bump. We've got to figure it out. That's what makes you who you are." Doncic, 19, already has displayed the ability to figure things out on the fly even when he struggles for most of a game. His 11 consecutive points -- matching the longest run by a rookie since Kyrie Irving scored 12 straight points in 2012, per Elias -- is just the most recent and remarkable example. "He's not an ordinary 19-year-old, we'll say that," Mavs guard Devin Harris said. "He's got a next-play mentality, doesn't get hung up on what happened earlier in the game. With the way we play and our profession, you've got to have that quick amnesia. He has that, and he showed it tonight." Doncic downplayed his crunch-time dominance, saying it was "just a couple of good shots and that's it." He has consistently excelled down the stretch of close games. According to NBA.com statistics, Doncic has scored 40 points in 33 clutch minutes, defined as when the score is within five points in the final five minutes of regulation or overtime. He is 14-of-22 from the floor in those situations, matching Indiana Pacers All-Star guard Victor Oladipo for the best clutch field goal percentage among 53 players with at least 15 attempts this season. Carlisle attributes Doncic's rare cool in the clutch at such a young age to his extensive experience before arriving in the NBA. Doncic, the youngest MVP in Euroleague history last season, made a lot of clutch plays while winning titles with Real Madrid and the Slovenian national team.

CHICAGO -- "The worst defeat in Chicago Bulls franchise history" sounds bad, but it looked even worse. Boos rained down from the United Center crowd as the Boston Celtics slaughtered the Bulls 133-77, with the 56-point margin of defeat being the largest in the 53-year history of the franchise. Afterward, the Bulls didn't hide their embarrassment: Rookie center Wendell Carter Jr. went straight to the weight room to lift; Carter lost eight games at Duke, and has now lost 21 with the Bulls. A deflated Zach LaVine addressed reporters briefly, clearly chagrined about substitution patterns that saw Chicago's starters benched for long stretches. Lauri Markkanen, who made the final go-ahead field goal in Chicago's win Friday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder, flatly admitted that the Bulls starters "deserve" to be pulled given their slow start and poor shooting. Jim Boylen, coaching only his third game for the Bulls after Fred Hoiberg was fired, repeatedly told reporters that he was "disappointed" by the "embarrassing effort." "We don't have that internal toughness yet to play at this level consistently," Boylen said. It got ugly fast. Three-point attempts by Markkanen and Justin Holiday clanked off the front rim. Even after Boylen yanked all five of his starters the first time with 7:15 left in the first quarter, the Celtics continued to build a 17-0 lead. Jabari Parker, who came in with the Bulls' second unit, finally got Chicago on the board with a pair of made free throws with 5:42 left in the first quarter. That was the latest into a game this season before a team scored its first points. Chicago didn't make its first field goal until nearly seven minutes into the game and the Bulls trailed by 21 points at halftime. "I felt embarrassed," LaVine said of the group benching after the game. "I wish I was out there competing." Boston's lead only snowballed in the second half.

The Golden State Warriors are searching for one of the most elusive properties in sports. What they are looking for is not as tangible as a third consecutive Larry O'Brien Trophy. It's a feeling that has defined the high points of their dynasty but has been missing in recent weeks because of self-inflicted drama that has sapped the proud group of one of the most valuable commodities in basketball: Joy. "I feel like a lot of people confuse joy and happiness," Warriors forward Kevin Durant told ESPN. "I think happiness is a feeling that it's fleeting. It means you can go back and forth all the time. I feel like joy is something that you can stand on. And when you're enjoying what you do, you don't mind the adversity, the tough times, the challenges. The little obstacles you got to climb to get to where you want to go. I think joy is something that we can always hold onto." The Warriors have been able to maintain their edge over the past four years -- and were able to weather the storm that came in the wake of emotional words between Durant and Draymond Green during and following a loss to the LA Clippers last month -- in part because of the effort this group puts into both teaching and practicing the art of joy on a daily basis. "Every team that I've been on has an atmosphere, a culture," coach Steve Kerr said. "You walk into the building and how do you feel? And that's important. So our job as a coaching staff, and as an organization, is to make this a really great place to work. And the players' job is to come in and get their work in. And if we can all together make that a fun proposition, an enjoyable one, then you got an atmosphere that you enjoy every day." The Warriors came into the season filled with the kind of joy that has carried them to back-to-back titles. Kerr beamed at how different the group felt at the beginning of this season compared to the same point last year, when a long preseason trip to China led to a sluggish start to the regular season. "We feel fresher this year," Kerr said after a win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Oct. 31. "Last year I know a couple guys told us Game 1 felt like Game 41. This year Game 1 felt like Game 1. It felt like it was supposed to feel, and we're off to an excellent start. We know we can get better, but I think our guys are in a good place." Green echoed those sentiments, and smiles permeated the locker room as the Warriors rolled to a 10-1 start. "We came into this season excited about the season," Green said at the time. "Really looking forward to getting better each and every time we stepped on the floor. And I think, for the most part, we've done that. And it's a lot more enjoyable. We're embracing this process, getting better and trying to win a championship." But the Warriors' embrace of the season-long process -- one Green said the team skipped last season, before flipping the switch in the playoffs -- was derailed early. Star point guard Stephen Curry missed 11 games because of an injured left groin. More important, because of the injury, he was not in Los Angeles the night tempers flared between Durant and Green. Then, after a win over the Atlanta Hawks on Nov. 13, one which Green missed because he was suspended for "conduct detrimental to the team" after his feud with Durant, the Warriors proceeded to lose four straight games for the first time in the Kerr era. In the blink of an eye, all the joy the Warriors had built up to start the season was gone. "It's not guaranteed, that's for sure," said Kerr, while discussing the elusiveness of joy. "That's why we work on it, we try to. It's hard to work on joy, but it's the tone we've tried to set for the last five years. For the most part we've achieved that. We're going through kind of a perfect storm of injuries and scheduling and just the internal stuff. Right now, you don't take a lot of joy out of losing." In the midst of all the questions surrounding the present and future, Kerr remained confident his team could still win even if there wasn't a lot of happiness behind the scenes.

Brandon Ingram underwent an MRI that confirmed the Los Angeles Lakers forward has a left ankle sprain. The Lakers said Ingram will be re-evaluated in a week. He is expected to miss at least four more games with the Lakers playing Saturday at Memphis followed by a home game against Miami and then contests at Houston and Charlotte. Ingram is averaging 15.2 points and 4.0 rebounds per game this season. He suffered the injury in the first quarter of Wednesday's win over San Antonio when he landed on the foot of Spurs big man LaMarcus Aldridge after taking a jump shot. Aldridge was whistled for a flagrant foul 1 for sticking his foot where Ingram was going to land. Ingram did not join the Lakers on their two-game road trip to San Antonio and Memphis. On Thursday, coach Luke Walton said he plans to stagger LeBron James' and Lonzo Ball's minutes as much as possible so Los Angeles always has a steady ball handler on the court while Ingram is out. The already short-handed Lakers also will be without Michael Beasley, who was excused from Saturday's game at Memphis due to a family health matter.