The Buffalo Bills have fortified their postseason chances by earning their first Thanksgiving Day victory in 44 years. Josh Allen threw for a touchdown and ran for another as the Bills knocked off the Dallas Cowboys, 26-15.
Allen also turned a fourth-down fumble into a first down before John Brown became the first Buffalo receiver to throw a touchdown pass. Brown's 28-yard scoring pass to Devin Singletary put Buffalo ahead to stay just after the two-minute warning in the first half. Cole Beasley had 110 yards receiving and a touchdown in his first game against his former team, helping the Bills improve to 9-3. It was Buffalo's first Thanksgiving Day appearance in 25 years. Dak Prescott threw a TD pass on the Cowboys' opening drive, but Dallas didn't score again until Prescott found Ventell Bryant for a touchdown with 4:01 remaining. Dallas is 6-6 following its sixth loss in nine games. The Eagles can catch the Cowboys for first place in the NFL East by defeating the Dolphins in Miami on Sunday.
In Detroit, the Chicago Bears have given their fading playoff hopes a big boost with a second-half comeback against the Lions. Mitchell Trubisky tossed a three-yard scoring pass to David Montgomery with 2:17 remaining to send the Bears to their third win in four games, 24-20 over the Lions. The nine-play, 90-yard drive left the Bears 6-6 and allowed Trubisky to finish with 338 yards and three touchdowns. The Lions got to the Chicago 26 on their final drive before Eddie Jackson intercepted a pass on fourth down in the closing seconds. David Blough didn't look bad in his first NFL start. The undrafted rookie from Purdue was 22 of 38 for 280 yards with two TDs and an interception for Detroit. The Lions are 3-8-1 following their fifth straight loss, eliminating them from postseason contention.
The New Orleans Saints are NFC South champions for the third consecutive year following a victory over the Falcons in Atlanta. Taysom Hill and the New Orleans defense highlighted a 26-18 victory against the Falcons. Hill blocked a punt to set up his 3-yard touchdown catch, and he later scored on a 30-yard run to put New Orleans ahead, 17-6 late in the first half. Cameron Jordan recorded four of the Saints' nine sacks of Matt Ryan, the last coming on fourth down in New Orleans territory with 38 seconds to play. Drew Brees passed for 184 yards and a TD to help the 10-2 Saints avenge their Nov. 10 loss to the Falcons in New Orleans. Ryan was picked off twice while completing 32 of his 50 passes for 312 yards and two touchdowns for the 3-9 Falcons.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
In women's college basketball, Syracuse topped Houston 86-63, and Washington ripped Iona 65-34.
In men's college basketball, North Carolina is the latest top-10 team to suffer its first loss of the season. Eli Brooks matched his career high with 24 points and Michigan advanced to the Battle 4 Atlantis championship game by surprising the sixth-ranked Tar Heels, 73-64. Isaiah Livers added 12 points for the 6-0 Wolverines, who led by five in the second half before a 19-0 run gave them a 60-36 lead with 11:18 remaining. Freshman Cole Anthony had 22 points and seven rebounds to lead the 6-1 Tar Heels. Five of the current top-10 teams in The Associated Press have at least one loss, and No. 3 Michigan State has two.
Myles Powell contributed 18 points to help No. 13 Seton Hall hammer Southern Miss, 81-56 in the Battle 4 Atlantis. The Pirates shot 51% and led by double figures throughout the second half. Seton Hall was in the losers' bracket after blowing a 19-point, second-half lead to Oregon on Wednesday.
Drew Timme hit a free throw with 20.6 seconds left in overtime to send eighth-ranked Gonzaga to a 73-72 win over No. 11 Oregon and a spot in the Battle 4 Atlantis championship game. Filip Petrusev had 22 points and 15 rebounds for the 8-0 Bulldogs, who blew a 17-point first-half lead. Payton Pritchard finished with 17 points but missed a potential game-winning basket.
Onyeka Okongwu had 14 points and 10 rebounds, and USC beat Fairfield 54-47 in a first-round game at the Orlando Invitational. Jonah Mathews scored 14 points and Elijah Weaver added 13 for the Trojans (6-1). Fairfield (1-5) got 16 points from Landon Taliaferro and 13 from Jesus Cruz.
Boogie Ellis scored 21 points to help No. 16 Memphis beat North Carolina State 83-78 in the Barclays Center Classic. Precious Achiuwa added 15 points and 11 rebounds for the 6-1 Tigers, while Tyler Harris had 14 points. Markell Johnson had a game-high 22 points for the Wolfpack, who cut a 16-point halftime deficit to 75-72 with 3:51 remaining.
Anthony Cowan Jr. scored five of his career-best 30 points in the final minutes to help fifth-ranked Maryland close out a 76-69 win over Temple in the opening game of the Orlando Invitational. Cowan put the Terrapins ahead for good with a long 3-pointer and added two free throws in the closing seconds for a five-point lead. Jalen Smith finished with 12 points and nine rebounds for the Terrapins, who trailed by as many as nine in the first half before improving to 6-0.
Iowa has pinned Texas Tech with its first loss of the season as Jordan Bohannon delivered 20 points in the Hawkeyes' 72-61 victory in the Las Vegas Invitational. Luka Garza had 17 points and 12 rebounds to help the 5-1 Hawkeyes earn their fourth straight win. Chris Clarke had 11 points and 10 rebounds for the 12th-ranked Red Raiders.
Nico Mannion scored 16 points, totaled 11 assists and hit a fast-break layup with four seconds left to help 14th-ranked Arizona escape with a 93-91 win over Pepperdine in the Wooden Legacy. Josh Green led the 7-0 Wildcats with 24 points and Zeke Nnaji added 16 with 11 boards. The game featured 24 ties and 13 lead changes as both teams shot 50 percent or better from the floor.
NHL
The New Jersey Devils have added to the Montreal Canadiens' losing streak. Blake Coleman scored twice and had two assists as the Devils dealt the Habs their sixth consecutive loss, 6-4. Damon Severson provided the game-winner 8:21 into the third period to give New Jersey at 5-3 lead. Travis Zajac added a goal and two assists to back Mackenzie Blackwood, who stopped 44 shots in the Devils' second win over the Canadiens in 12 days. Montreal has surrendered 20 goals in its last three games.
In NHL news, former NHL player Akim Aliu isn't happy with the apology Calgary Flames coach Bill Peters issued for a racial slur he allegedly used when both were in the minors 10 years ago. Aliu released his own statement Thursday on Twitter, saying he found Peters' statement acknowledging that he used offensive language to be "misleading, insincere and concerning." Aliu tweeted Monday that Peters directed racial slurs toward him when both were with the American Hockey League's Rockford IceHogs, the Chicago Blackhawks' top farm team, in 2009-10. Aliu says he has accepted an invitation from the NHL to discuss the situation and will not make any further comments until after the meeting. Peters issued a letter Wednesday night to multiple media outlets, apologizing to the Flames and general manager Brad Treliving. The letter did not mention the Nigerian-born Aliu or specify the words Peter used.
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