Local News

Packers Clinch NFC North; NFL Notes

 width=>>Packers Beat Lions, Clinch First Round Bye

(Green Bay, WI) -- The Packers clinched their fourth straight NFC North title and a first round bye by defeating the Lions 30-20 at Lambeau Field. After re-aggravating his calf injury in the second quarter Aaron Rodgers returned to throw for 226 yards and two touchdowns and ran in for a score as well. Eddie Lacy tallied 100 yards on 26 carries and Randall Cobb had 80 receiving yards and a pair of TDs. Green Bay finished the season 12-and-4 with its 24th straight home victory against Detroit. Matthew Stafford went 20-for-41 for 217 yards and three touchdowns for the Lions, who ended up 11-and-5 and will travel to Dallas in the Wild Card round. Calvin Johnson caught two TDs and Joique Bell ran for 60 yards in defeat.

>>Vikings Sink Bears

(Minneapolis, MN) -- Teddy Bridgewater threw for 209 yards with a touchdown and an interception for the Vikings in a 13-9 win over the Bears from TCF Bank Stadium. Matt Asiata rushed for 91 yards for Minnesota, which ends the season 7-and-9. Adam Thielen had 68 yards receiving and a TD in the win. Jay Cutler tossed for 172 yards on 23-of-36 passing for Chicago, which closes the year 5-and-11. Matt Forte ran for 51 yards to get over one-thousand for the season.

 width=>>Seahawks Drop Rams, Clinch Top Seed In NFC

(Seattle, WA) -- The Seahawks clinched the NFC West and home field advantage throughout the playoffs for the second year in-a-row by grinding out a 20-6 win over the Rams at CenturyLink Field. Marshawn Lynch rumbled for 60 yards and a touchdown while Bruce Irvin returned an interception 49 yards for a score to help Seattle finish the regular season 12-and-4. Russell Wilson threw for 239 yards and an interception in the victory. Shaun Hill went 26-for-37 for 243 yards and a pair of picks as St. Louis wrapped up the year 6-and-10. Greg Zuerlein's [[ ZER-line ]] two field goals provided the only points in a losing effort.

NFL
------
Baltimore Ravens 20, Cleveland Browns 10
Dallas Cowboys 44, Washington Redskins 17
Indianapolis Colts 27, Tennessee Titans 10
Houston Texans 23, Jacksonville Jaguars 17
Kansas City Chiefs 19, San Diego Chargers 7
New York Jets 37, Miami Dolphins 24
Philadelphia Eagles 34, New York Giants 26
New Orleans Saints 23, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20
Buffalo Bills 17, New England Patriots 9
Carolina Panthers 34, Atlanta Falcons 3
Denver Broncos 47, Oakland Raiders 14
San Francisco 49ers 20, Arizona Cardinals 17
Pittsburgh Steelers 27, Cincinnati Bengals 17

>>Top Of NFL Draft Set

(Undated) -- The top of the 2015 NFL Draft is set. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers locked up the number-one overall pick with a 23-20 loss to the Saints. Tampa finished 2-and-14, the same record as the Titans, but earned the top slot because of a strength of schedule tiebreaker. The Jaguars have the third pick followed by the Raiders at four, Redskins at five and Jets at six. New York cost itself the fourth pick by beating the Dolphins in their season finale. The top ten is rounded out with the Bears, Falcons, Giants and Rams in that order.

>>NFL Black Monday

(Undated) -- Black Monday has arrived in the NFL world and it's off to a fast start. The 49ers and head coach Jim Harbaugh have already mutually agreed to part ways. Harbaugh is expected to take over as the University of Michigan's head coach. Multiple outlets are reporting Jets head coach Rex Ryan and general manager John Idzik will receive their walking papers. Falcons head man Mike Smith will be fired after seven seasons with the team, according to NBC Sports. The Raiders will start their search for a head coach immediately. Interim head coach Tony Sparano will be apart of the process after they missed on their two top targets, Harbaugh and Jon Gruden. Chicago Bears head coach Marc Trestman's status is up in the air coming off a disappointing 5-and-11 season.

>>NFL Playoff Schedule Set

(Undated) -- With the NFL regular season now complete, the playoff schedule has been set. Wild Card Weekend kicks off Saturday with the Cardinals traveling to face the Panthers at Bank of America Stadium at 4:20 p.m. Eastern. It will be shown on ESPN. Later that night at 8:15, an AFC North rivalry is renewed with the Steelers hosting the Ravens from Heinz Field on NBC. On Sunday, the action starts with the Colts welcoming the Bengals to Lucas Oil Stadium at 1:05 p.m on CBS, followed by the Lions and Cowboys doing battle at AT&T Stadium at 4:40 p.m. on Fox.

>>Browns Fine QB Manziel

(Undated) -- The Cleveland Browns are fining rookie quarterback Johnny Manziel [[ man-zel ]]. He held a party on Friday night that ultimately led to wide receiver Josh Gordon getting suspended for the season finale. Manziel and Gordon both missed Saturday's walkthrough prior to Sunday's game against Baltimore. Manziel was placed on injured reserve due to a hamstring injury this past week. Gordon has now been suspended 11 games this season. Meanwhile, cornerback Justin Gilbert was deactivated for the Baltimore game for missing a team meeting.

>>Watt Sets NFL Record

(Houston, TX) -- J.J. Watt grabbed himself another NFL record in the Texans' final game on Sunday. Watt tallied three sacks in Houston's 23-17 win over the Jaguars to give him 20 for the year. He became the first player in NFL history to record 20 or more sacks in two different seasons. Watt compiled 20-and-a-half sacks in 2012. He had six games this season with multiple sacks.

Townhall Top of the Hour News

Local Weather - Sponsored By:

CLINTON WEATHER

Local News

DeWittDN on Facebook