Category: In The News

Falcons Crush Jaguars, 41-14, Improving Playoff Hopes

Matt Ryan threw three touchdown passes in less than three quarters of work, John Abraham had 3 ½ sacks and the Falcons clinched a fourth straight winning season with a 41-14 rout of the visiting on Thursday.

“Hopefully, we can play like we did tonight for the next couple weeks,” Ryan said.

This one was over by halftime. Atlanta (9-5) led by 27-0 when the teams trotted to the locker room. Blaine Gabbert and the shellshocked Jaguars (4-10) were saddled with a net passing total of minus-1 yard, and the Falcons were well on the way to strengthening their hold on an N.F.C. wild-card spot.

Gabbert had one of his worst games in a miserable rookie season, coughing up the ball twice on hits by Abraham. Both fumbles led to Atlanta scores, with defensive tackle Corey Peters scooping up the second one and trotting to the end zone early in the third quarter for a touchdown that ended any thought of the Jaguars getting back in the game.

“It wasn’t just me,” Abraham said. “The whole team was able to get to the quarterback.”

Ryan was 19 of 26 for 224 yards and 3 touchdowns, with a season-high quarterback rating of 137.3. Roddy White caught two of the scoring passes, Julio Jones the other.

Gabbert was 12 of 22 for 141 yards, also throwing an interception to cap a truly awful night of running for his life and making bad decisions. He got most of his yards on a meaningless final drive, hitting Chastin West on a 16-yard touchdown with 59 seconds to go. Jacksonville’s other touchdown came on a blocked punt after trailing, 41-0.

The injury-riddled Jaguars, playing out the season with an interim coach and a new owner, were coming off their best game of the season, having scored 41 straight points in a 41-14 victory over Tampa Bay. But, playing their third game in 11 days, they could not build any momentum toward closing out the season on a high note.

Michael Turner burst off left guard for 15 yards on the first play of the game, and the Falcons were off and running. Ryan capped the opening drive by stepping up to avoid the pressure, flipping a short pass to Jones, then watching the rookie turn on an impressive burst of speed for a 29-yard touchdown.

PLAN FOR TEBOW The New England Patriots say they are preparing for the ’ the way they do for any quarterback — by learning what he does well and what he does poorly and taking advantage of that knowledge.

There’s a big problem, though. Tebow is not like any other quarterback. “He’s a very unique person,” said Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez, who played with Tebow at Florida. “He’s a leader.”

Tebow has led the Broncos to a 7-1 record in his eight starts since they opened at 1-4. Their 8-5 mark going into Sunday’s home game against the Patriots leads the A.F.C. West.

New England has allowed the most yards in the N.F.L. despite a 10-3 record. The Patriots will have to be disciplined to deal with the scrambling Tebow.

“Anytime you have a quarterback that’s mobile, it definitely is a challenge for a defense,” said Patriots defensive back Nate Jones, a teammate of Tebow’s last season.

BROTHERLY ADVICE Before San Francisco 49ers Coach Jim Harbaugh started his preparation for Steelers week, he had an important phone call to make to learn the ins and outs of how to beat Pittsburgh: to Baltimore’s coach and his big brother, John.

The Ravens have won both of their meetings this season against the Steelers in what has evolved into one of the N.F.L.’s fiercest rivalries. And Monday night’s matchup between San Francisco and Pittsburgh has plenty of meaning to Baltimore, which is tied with the Steelers atop the A.F.C. North standings and trying to win the division.

John Harbaugh asked a team official to make sure he was allowed to help his brother with any insight. “I know for a fact a lot of coaches have spent a lot of time talking about us before they play us,” John Harbaugh said. “So I’m sure we’ll try to help him in some way if we can.”

Khan Unanimously Approved as Owner of Jaguars

While hanging out in the basement of his fraternity house, he began his American dream of owning an NFL team.

After building a multibillion-dollar company, Khan started working toward spending some of his fortune on fulfilling that college fantasy. He reached out to owners such as Wayne Weaver of the Jacksonville Jaguars to learn the business from the inside, and for them to get to know him.

Khan’s dream-turned-plan crossed the goal line Wednesday. He joined the fraternity of NFL owners as his purchase of the Jaguars from Weaver was unanimously approved by the other owners.

The deal is for an estimated $760 million. The ownership transfer will be complete Jan. 4.

“What I want to share with the Jacksonville fans is: Here I am, reporting for duty and ready to serve the fans. Let the fun begin,” Khan said with a smile that never left his face during a 20-minute news conference.

The 61-year-old Khan is the league’s first minority owner. But that’s not the only reason he stands out among his 31 peers. There’s also the prominent mustache he’s fancied since 1972, a trademark that he joked enables him to leap tall buildings and “do things I didn’t know I could do.”

Then again, what he’s done to get to this point is pretty remarkable.

Upon graduating from college in 1971, Khan went to work at Flex-N-Gate as an engineering manager. He left in 1978 to start his own company, Bumper Works, and two years later bought his former employer.

Now his privately held company is a major manufacturer of bumper systems for pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles built in North America. Revenue last year topped $3 billion, and Khan is believed to be a billionaire himself.

He tried buying the St. Louis Rams last year, coming close enough that the league had done its homework on him. That helped speed along this sale.

The deal was announced in late November and the league’s finance committee formally approved his bid last week. When the agenda item came up Wednesday, there wasn’t a single question or dissenting vote.

“I think that’s a good sign,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said. “It’s certainly an endorsement of his ownership.”

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones called the Jaguars sale bittersweet because the league is bidding farewell to Weaver. However, Jones praised Khan for his “commitment, his passion and his skill.”

“(Weaver) was a real asset to the league, but he did it right and he really brought a very qualified person to the table in Mr. Khan,” Jones said. “It takes some skill to come from where he came from to be where he is today. You add that to your (NFL) ownership group, and we’ve gotten better. … The more people we can have sitting around those tables in there that have wanted it real bad, that have a paid a high price to get in, and have a vision of how to grow the pie, the better the NFL will be. ”

To Jacksonville fans, the biggest questions are his commitment to keeping the team in their city and to turning around a franchise that’s struggling in the standings. He made it clear that he’s passionate about both.

“This is a partnership, really, with the fans,” Khan said. “I am committed obviously to the rebirth, the reinvigoration, doing whatever it takes to put a winner on the field to make Wayne and the other Jacksonvillians proud.”

He will be in Jacksonville this weekend to start meeting with fans and sponsors. He and Weaver also will discuss the process of hiring a new coach; Weaver fired Jack Del Rio on Nov. 29, the same day he announced the deal with Khan.

The Jaguars were chosen as an expansion team in 1993 and began playing in 1995. They were a win away from the in their second season, and have made the playoffs five times since, as recently as 2007. They also have hosted a Super Bowl.

“It’s been a great 18 years,” Weaver said. “But it was the right time. … I really feel great about handing over the stewardship to Shahid and to finishing the job of bringing a championship to Jacksonville. … I’m leaving it in good hands.”

In other news from Wednesday’s meetings:

Philip Rivers Helps Chargers End Six-Game Skid

Rivers threw for 294 yards and 3 touchdowns, burning Jacksonville’s depleted secondary early and often, and the beat the host Jaguars, 38-14, on Monday night to snap a six-game losing streak.

The Chargers (5-7) could have used Rivers’s turnaround sooner. Rivers, a three-time Pro Bowl selection, leads the in interceptions (17) and turnovers (21) and has been a key part of San Diego’s disappointing season.

Rivers completed 22 of 28 passes — hooking up with Vincent Brown, Vincent Jackson and Malcom Floyd for long scores — before sitting out the final few minutes.

The Chargers scored on five of their first six drives, then sent most of the crowd scrambling for the exits with Ryan Mathews’s 31-yard touchdown run in the fourth.

It was a much-needed victory for San Diego, which trails Denver and Oakland by two games in the A.F.C. West. And it was another blow to the Jaguars, who endured the most sweeping changes in the 17-year history of the franchise last week. The team owner Wayne Weaver fired Coach Jack Del Rio and announced he was selling the club to the Illinois businessman Shahid Khan.

FORTE IS EXPECTED BACK Coach Lovie Smith said he expected running back to return this season from a sprained medial collateral ligament in his right knee.

Smith said Forte “looked pretty good” on Monday, but he would not put a timetable on his return. Chances are Forte, who entered Sunday’s game leading the N.F.L. in yards from scrimmage, will miss a few games, although he played through a similar injury in 2009.

TEXANS INJURIES Receiver has what is being called a mild left hamstring injury, though Houston Coach Gary Kubiak could not say if Johnson would play at Cincinnati this weekend. Kubiak said the rookie punter was out for the season after tearing his left anterior cruciate ligament late in Sunday’s 17-10 win over Atlanta.

VICK BACK AT PRACTICE Michael Vick returned to practice after missing three games with two broken ribs and will play this weekend, when Philadelphia meets Miami.