Leodis McKelvin had a 79-yard punt return and Rian Lindell booted four field goals as the Buffalo Bills defeated Miami 19-14 on Thursday to kick off week 11 of the National Football League season.
Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick had 168 passing yards and C.J. Spiller compiled 91 rushing yards on 22 carries for Buffalo, who snapped a three-game losing streak.
The Bills also posted their first win against an AFC East division opponent in four attempts this season.
Photo: Reuters
Miami rookie quarterback Ryan Tannehill threw a fourth-quarter touchdown pass to Davone Bess at Ralph Wilson Stadium. However, Tannehill was intercepted twice in the game’s final two minutes, sealing the Dolphins’ third consecutive loss.
He came into the game needing 232 passing yards to surpass Dan Marino for the most by a rookie in Miami history.
The Dolphins have been very good defensively for most of the year, but they have slowed in recent weeks thanks to struggles in their defensive game.
Photo: Reuters
The win moves Buffalo into a tie with Miami for second place in the AFC East with a 4-2 record.
The Pittsburgh Steelers also hope to win this weekend to gain a share of first in the AFC North.
However, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger went down with a shoulder and rib injury in week 10, depriving one of the NFL’s most heated rivalries of a little of its grandeur.
The Steelers have decided to go with Byron Leftwich at quarterback in the divisional matchup against the first place Baltimore Ravens, one of several key NFL matchups tomorrow.
Pittsburgh are 0-4 against the Ravens without two-time Super Bowl winner Roethlisberger.
The Steelers enter tomorrow night’s contest trailing Baltimore by one game for first place as Leftwich will make his first NFL start since September 2009 with Tampa Bay.
The Ravens are coming off a 55-20 rout last Sunday of the Oakland Raiders.
Torrey Smith caught two touchdown passes for a total of 67 yards, while Dennis Pitta added five catches for 67 yards and a score for the Ravens, who established a new franchise record for the most points in one game.
Indianapolis rookie quarterback Andrew Luck will face veteran quarterback Tom Brady for the first time when the Colts battle the New England Patriots tomorrow.
Luck has guided the Colts to four consecutive wins and has won six of his first nine career starts, passing for 2,631 yards and 10 touchdowns, while running for 159 yards.
Last Sunday against Jacksonville, Luck rushed for two touchdowns in Indianapolis’ 27-10 win. Luck was the top pick in this year’s NFL draft.
The Philadelphia Eagles will be without their top quarterback Michael Vick when they face the Washington Redskins tomorrow.
Vick suffered a concussion in last week’s loss to the Dallas Cowboys.
Nick Foles is expected to make his first NFL start tomorrow against NFC East rivals the Redskins at FedEx Field.
Foles has his work cut out for him as the Eagles will be minus four starters because of injuries.
Foles made his debut in a 38-23 home loss to the Cowboys, in which he completed 22 of his 32 pass attempts for 219 yards.
“Preparation is very important,” Eagles coach Andy Reid said. “Going against a good football team in the Redskins, another NFC East rival, a loud place. It’s important that he has a silent countdown and understands that, and that he has his fundamentals down and knows his game plan.”
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Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
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