Sage Rosenfels scored two touchdowns and Ron Dayne rushed for 67 yards as the Houston Texans beat Denver 31-13 on Thursday to keep their post-season hopes alive.
Houston (7-7) are still alive in the AFC playoff race, one-and-a-half games behind the Cleveland Browns (8-5) for the final playoff spot.
The Tennessee Titans (7-6) and Buffalo Bills (7-6) also are in the running.
PHOTO: AP
The Bills are playing at the Browns while the Titans are at the Kansas City Chiefs tomorrow.
Rosenfels helped Houston build an early 7-0 lead with the first rushing score of his career.
He was a perfect four-of-four on the Texans' game-opening drive, which put Houston in position for its third consecutive touchdown drive to open a game.
Rosenfels completed 16-of-27 passes for 200 yards with an interception.
The Texans added their final score when fullback Vonta Leach drove through the heart of the Broncos' defense for a one-yard touchdown plunge that gave Houston a 31-13 advantage with 3 minutes, 20 seconds left in the game.
Much-maligned defensive end Mario Williams had his best game ever as a pro, recording a new franchise-high three-and-a-half sacks, the last with 8 minutes, 38 seconds left that effectively ended the Broncos' hopes for a victory.
A former No. 1 overall pick, Williams trails only Seattle's Patrick Kerney with 13 sacks this season.
The defense played a key role for the Texans, who sacked Denver quarterback Jay Cutler five times in all and held the vaunted Broncos' rushing attack to just 72 yards.
The Texans stopped the Broncos on fourth-down plays in the third quarter as Denver (6-8) were threatening to take the lead.
Cutler finished 27-of-39 for 254 yards and a touchdown for the Broncos.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
The Minnesota Timberwolves, with so many promising performances spoiled by late mistakes fresh in their memory bank, sure timed this strong finish well. Jaden McDaniels scored a career playoff-high 30 points and spearheaded Minnesota’s stifling defense on an ailing Luka Doncic, and the Timberwolves beat the Los Angeles Lakers 116-104 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Friday night. “Jaden never looks tired. He looks like he could play 48 minutes,” said teammate Anthony Edwards, who had 29 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Julius Randle added 22 points for the Wolves, who outscored
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
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