NFL
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — The Miami Dolphins’ defense stopped Josh Allen and the Bills at the goal line late, then held again after punter Thomas Morstead bizarrely kicked the ball off a teammate and out of bounds for a safety in a 21-19 win over Buffalo.
Tua Tagovailoa and the Dolphins improved to 3-0 in an AFC East thriller that ended with Allen and the Bills attempting to spike the ball near midfield, the clock just running out on their chance to try a long-distance, go-ahead field goal.
Tagovailoa briefly left the game in the second quarter, returning after halftime despite appearing to be disoriented by a head injury. Allen also may have been injured, heading to the X-ray room after the game. He had his throwing hand checked by trainers late.
Miami took the lead with about 10 minutes left in the game, scoring a touchdown to go up 21-17. It was the Bills’ first deficit of the season.
Allen was 42 of 63 and passed for 400 yards after completing his first 11 passes for the first time in his career. He had touchdown passes to running back Devin Singletary and receiver Isaiah McKenzie.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Aaron Rodgers threw for 255 yards and two touchdowns, and the Green Bay Packers withstood a late rally led by Tom Brady to hold off the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a 14-12 victory.
Rodgers tossed TD passes of 5 yards to Romeo Doubs and 6 yards to Allen Lazard on his team’s first two possessions, while the Bucs’ offense sputtered much of the day without star receivers Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Julio Jones.
For the second straight week, the Bucs (2-1) were held without a touchdown into the fourth quarter. Brady finally got them into the end zone on a 1-yard pass to Russell Gage, capping a 90-yard drive with 14 seconds remaining.
Tampa Bay’s bid to force overtime with a 2-point conversion was thwarted, first by a delay-of-game penalty and then an incomplete pass that allowed the Packers (2-1) to beat Brady for the first time in three tries since the seven-time Super Bowl champion joined the Bucs in 2020.
Rodgers completed 27 of 35 passes and was intercepted once in the first matchup in NFL history in which each starting quarterback has won at least three regular-season league MVP awards.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
NEW YORK (AP) — Tennessee and North Carolina State broke into the top 10 of The Associated Press college football poll, and Florida State is back in the rankings for the first time in four years.
Georgia remained No. 1 and received 55 of 63 first-place votes in the Top 25, presented by Regions Bank. No. 2 Alabama (four first-place votes), No. 3 Ohio State (four first-place votes), No. 4 Michigan and No. 5 Clemson all held their places.
Oklahoma’s upset loss to Kansas State created room for teams to move up, like Southern California to No. 6 and Kentucky to No. 7.
Tennessee moved up three spots to No. 8, its best ranking since 2006 and first top-10 appearance since a few weeks at ninth in the first half of 2016. The Vols knocked Florida out of the rankings by snapping a five-game losing streak in the rivalry.
Oklahoma State remained at nine and North Carolina State jumped two spots to No. 10. The Wolfpack have their best ranking since they were 10th in 2002.
BASEBALL
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Luis Castillo, fresh off signing a rich contract with Seattle, got chased as the Kansas City Royals erupted for 11 runs in the sixth inning and a wild, 13-12 win that cost the Mariners a chance to move up in the AL wild-card standings.
Mitch Haniger singled twice during an eight-run fifth for the Mariners, and they led 11-2 going into the bottom of the sixth. But Castillo struggled, and Michael Massey homered and drove in four runs during the Royals’ biggest inning since 2004.
The Mariners stayed in the third wild-card spot, a half-game behind Tampa Bay. Seattle remained four games ahead of Baltimore for that last AL playoff slot.
Holding a nine-run lead, Castillo struck out the first batter in the Royals sixth. After a walk and Massey’s homer, Castillo was pulled after another walk. The Royals wound up combining seven hits, including a two-run single by Massey, and five walks off four pitchers to take the lead. Matt Brash (3-5) faced four batters and failed to record an out.
MIAMI (AP) — Don Mattingly will not be back as manager of the Miami Marlins next season, announcing that he and team officials have decided a new voice is needed to lead the club going forward.
Mattingly’s contract expires when the season ends. He said he met with Marlins principal owner Bruce Sherman and general manager Kim Ng to talk about the future, and that “all parties agreed” that it’s time for a change.
Mattingly, the club’s all-time leader by a wide margin in managerial wins, is finishing his seventh season with the Marlins. He entered Sunday with a 437-583 record in Miami, with one winning season in those seven years — a 31-29 mark in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season when the team made its first playoff appearance since 2003.
And it means that a season that started with a big shakeup for Miami now ends with another. In February, Hall of Famer Derek Jeter — who had been Miami’s CEO, the first Black person in baseball history to hold that role with a franchise — announced a surprise departure after 4 1/2 mostly unsuccessful years that didn’t come remotely close to matching his success as a player for the New York Yankees.
Now comes the Mattingly move, which means someone else will be in charge when the team gathers for spring training.
GOLF
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Jordan Spieth capped off a perfect week at the Presidents Cup and the Americans made it nine straight victories against an International team depleted by defections to Saudi-funded LIV Golf.
The cup stays squarely in the hands of an American team that was coming off a record romp over Europe in the Ryder Cup last year.
Max Homa rallied from 3 down by winning four straight holes and then holding off Tom Kim for a 1-up victory that gave Homa a 4-0 week in his Presidents Cup debut.
Xander Schauffele delivered the clinching point when he made a 6-foot par putt on the 18th hole for a 1-up victory over Corey Conners. That off an hourlong celebration to wait only for the result.
The final score was 17 1/2-12 1/2, not quite the rout it was at Liberty National in 2017 the last time the Americans played before the home crowd. Unlike the Ryder Cup, which attracts thousands of flag-waving European fans, the International team doesn’t have a fan base to united behind a continental flag or even a tour.
Spieth made putts from all over Quail Hollow for a 4-and-3 win over Cameron Davis that kept the Internationals — in need of their greatest Sunday singles performance — from gaining any early momentum. Spieth became only the sixth player to win all five matches in the Presidents Cup, winning all four of his team matches with Justin Thomas.
ROGERS, Ark. (AP) — Atthaya Thitikul of Thailand closed with a 3-under 68 and birdied the second playoff hole to beat Danielle Kang and win the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship.
The victory made the 19-year-old the first LPGA player in five years to win twice in her rookie season. Sung Hyun Park posted multiple wins in 2017.
Thitikul and the 29-year-old Kang finished the 54-hole event at the Pinnacle Country Club tied at 17-under 196.
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Steve Flesch birdied the 18th hole at Pebble Beach to win the Pure Insurance Championship, his second PGA Tour Champions victory of the season.
Flesch birdied the first four holes and five on the front nine in a strong start, then stalled on the back. But he got the only birdie he needed on the par-5 finishing hole for a one-stroke victory over Ernie Els, Steven Alker and Paul Stankowski.
Flesch closed with a 4-under 68 for a three-round total of 11-under 205 and earned $330,000. The 55-year-old won the Mitsubishi Electric Classic in May.
AUTO RACING
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Tyler Reddick opened the round of 12 in NASCAR’s playoff with a victory at Texas, winning a week after being one of the first four Cup drivers knocked out of title contention.
After none of the contenders won the first three races of the playoffs — a first in any round in this postseason format — the trend continued with the eliminated Reddick leading 53 of the final 54 laps on a long race day that went into the night.
Reddick finished 1.19 seconds ahead of Joey Logano at the end of an extended race that had a track-record 16 cautions, a record 36 lead changes, a 56-minute red flag for lightning and multiple tire issues leading to crashes — including playoff contenders Chase Elliott, the points leader going into the second round, and Christopher Bell.
Logano took over the points lead, by 12 over Ross Chastain.
Elliott, who entered the round of 12 as the points leader, had a fiery finish after contact with the outside wall in Turn 4 when leading just past the halfway mark of the race.
