Packers take control of playoff spot on Love's 4-touchdown night in 33-10 cruise past Vikings
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Jordan Love threw three touchdown passes and ran for a score to put the Green Bay Packers in control of a spot in the playoffs with a 33-10 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday night.
Aaron Jones rushed for 120 yards and Jayden Reed had two touchdown catches for the Packers (8-8), who can get the NFC's last wild-card spot by beating Chicago at home next week. Seattle's loss earlier in the day allowed them to climb above the cut.
Love went 24 for 33 for 256 yards in what was surely the finest game of his first year as the starter in the post-Aaron Rodgers era.
“He’s playing at an incredibly high level. I’m super happy for him, because he’s put in a ton of work to get to this point,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said. “I really think the sky is the limit for us. He’s just showing a glimpse of what he can ultimately be.”
Last season, Rodgers and the Packers lost a win-and-in finale at home to Detroit and missed the playoffs.
“It’s an awesome vibe in the locker room, but at the same time everyone’s focused on what we’ve got in front of us,” Love said.
The Vikings (7-9) benched another turnover-prone quarterback after an interception and a fumble by Jaren Hall in the first half were converted into touchdowns by the Packers. Nick Mullens took over for Hall for the second half, the fifth time the Vikings have switched quarterbacks since Kirk Cousins tore his Achilles tendon in the fourth quarter of a 24-10 win at Green Bay on Oct. 29.
Detroit clinched the NFC North by beating Minnesota here last week, marking just the second time in 13 seasons the division wasn't won by either the Packers or the Vikings, but a prime-time game between these border-state rivals always generates plenty of energy in the stadium.
Cousins got the party off to a rowdy start when he — wearing a thick gold chain around his neck — and his son ripped off their shirts to lead the crowd in the “Skol!” chant and blow the Gjallarhorn. The “Go Pack Go!” serenades quickly joined the soundtrack, though, and this became quite the New Year’s Eve blowout.
Love was flustered two months ago in Green Bay by the Vikings defense. But despite his penchant for overthrows, he has come a long way and given the Packers abundant optimism for the future at quarterback that is missing in Minnesota with Cousins set to become a free agent and no clarity about a potential return.
Hall, who was the first reliever for Cousins two months ago only to be forced out of his first start with a concussion, hardly had any time to throw. Green Bay's defense that was shredded over the last three games by the Giants, Buccaneers and Panthers — and now missing starting cornerbacks Jaire Alexander (suspension) and Eric Stokes (hamstring) — took full advantage of the rookie from BYU.
Hall’s off-target throw in the first quarter glanced off the hands of Johnny Mundt — in an elevated role after the season-ending knee injury to Pro Bowl tight end T.J. Hockenson — and in the air to Corey Ballentine for an interception. Love’s 33-yard touchdown pass to Reed came two plays later.
Preston Smith’s strip-sack of Hall with 26 seconds left before halftime sealed the deal. Karl Brooks recovered at the Minnesota 37, and the Love-to-Reed connection got Green Bay in the end zone three plays after that for a 23-3 lead.
REED IS BOOKING IT
Reed has 10 touchdown catches to lead the Packers. The second-round draft pick from Michigan State set the franchise rookie record with 60 receptions, passing Sterling Sharpe (1988).
Both of Reed’s scores belong on the season highlight reel. Love did the work on the first one with the prettiest pass of the game to hit Reed in stride on a post route. Reed did the heavy lifting on the second by running a crossing route, dodging two tacklers after the catch and dragging another defender into the end zone.
Reed hurt his chest on that play and didn’t return for the second half. With Christian Watson and Dontayvion Wicks already sidelined by injuries, the Packers have some depth concern at wide receiver after Samori Toure also left in the fourth quarter. Reed was taken for additional tests after he was hurt.
“Hopefully he'll be all right for next week,” LaFleur said. “I know if there's anybody who can get through it, it's him.”
INJURY REPORT
Packers: Smith and RB A.J. Dillon (neck) left with injuries in the third quarter. ... LB Isaiah McDuffie (concussion) was carted off in the second quarter when he collided with Lukas Van Ness and Colby Wooden during a sack. McDuffie started in place of De’Vondre Campbell (neck), who missed his second consecutive game.
Vikings: RG Ed Ingram (shoulder) left in the third quarter. ... CB Byron Murphy (knee) was sidelined for the second straight game.
UP NEXT
Packers: host Chicago next Sunday.
Vikings: play at Detroit next Sunday.
PODCAST: End of Year
Bowl Season & NIL (0:00)
Packers-Vikings (17:30)
More Packers Chatter (39:01)
Caller Awards (51:18)
Winners Take: NFL Week 17 & CFB Bowls 3 Free Picks
Nelson "Rowdy" Raisbeck and professional sports bettor, Dave Essler, breakdown five NFL and five NCAA games for the upcoming football weekend. They specifically look at a number of matchups from Thursday, December 28th through Monday, January 1st of college bowl season. They also look at big NFL games such as Thursday Night Football, Saturday night, and others. Additionally, the guys run through the market and other games that have caught their eye.
PODCAST: Take a Seat
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Jaire Alexander Suspended (0:00)
Sports Director Zach Heilprin (16:51)
Herb Kohl Passes Away (30:07)
Rob Reischel of Forbes.com on the Packers (35:34)
Russell Wilson Benched (53:42)
Antetokounmpo, Middleton help Bucks pull away from short-handed Nets for 144-122 win
NEW YORK (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo listed off the names he knew, the ones he was preparing to guard on the Brooklyn Nets.
If those guys were out there, it wasn't for long.
Eventually, Antetokounmpo and his Milwaukee teammates figured things out against opponents they had to learn about on the fly.
Antetokounmpo had 32 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, Khris Middleton added 27 points and 10 assists, and the Bucks pulled away for a 144-122 victory Wednesday night over a Brooklyn team that treated it like a preseason game.
The Nets rested three starters and barely played two others on the night after a victory at Detroit that extended the Pistons’ losing streak to 27, an NBA single-season record.
“They competed hard,” Antetokounmpo said. “I don’t know most of them but definitely I’ll learn them after today because they made it extremely, extremely tough for us.”
The Nets' rotation featuring a number of rookies and players on two-way contracts put up a good fight for three quarters before the Bucks put them away.
Afterward, coach Jacque Vaughn passionately denied treating the game like one played in mid-October.
“I have too much respect for the dudes that suit up and put their body on the line and the competition level to even mention the word exhibition,” he said. “Any guy could have ended their career tonight by one play and so I treat it as such. It is an honor, it is, I don’t know, a sense of gratitude that you do this for a living and you never, ever underestimate that. If you do, you’ll pay for it.”
Cameron Payne and Malik Beasley each made five 3-pointers for the Bucks, who improved to 10-2 in December. They bounced back from one of those losses, a defeat to the Knicks on Christmas, to finish with two wins in their three-game holiday stay in New York.
Payne scored 18 points off the bench and Beasley finished with 17. Bobby Portis had 14 and the Bucks finished 23 of 51 (45%) behind the arc.
Rookie Jalen Wilson had 21 points and 10 rebounds for the Nets. Trendon Watford scored 17 points and Dennis Smith Jr. and rookie Noah Clowney each had 14.
The Nets rested Spencer Dinwiddie, Nic Claxton and Cam Johnson, along with key reserve Dorian Finney-Smith, who played the whole fourth quarter Tuesday.
With the Nets returning from a five-game trip to the West a week before Christmas, finishing their second set of back-to-back games since and facing another four-game trip later this week, Vaughn cited the heavy workload for the decision to rest the players, saying he would be putting them “in harm's way” if they didn't get a break.
Mikal Bridges started to preserve his consecutive games streak that is now at 423 but didn't play after the first quarter. Nor did Cam Thomas, Brooklyn's leading scorer who had 45 points against Milwaukee last month.
Still, Milwaukee led by only one before a 9-2 spurt in the final 1:25 of the third quarter to make it 100-92. Another flurry early in the fourth extended it to 13 and the Bucks would eventually extend it beyond 20.
“They knew they were kind of undermanned but I think Jacque’s doing a phenomenal job there,” Bucks coach Adrian Griffin said. “But we took care of business and again, games like this, you’ve just got to find a way to win and get ready for Cleveland.”
The Bucks outscored the Nets 44-30 in the fourth.
UP NEXT
Bucks: Visit Cleveland on Friday.
Nets: Visit Washington on Friday.
Former Bucks owner and long-time senator Herb Kohl dies at 88
Herb Kohl, a former Democratic U.S. senator from Wisconsin and former owner of the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks, has died. He was 88.
His death Wednesday was announced by Herb Kohl Philanthropies, which did not give a cause but said he died after a brief illness.
“More than anything, Herb loved Milwaukee and Wisconsin, and that is where he chose to live out his days,” Kohl's foundation said in a statement. “He touched an incalculable number of lives, and those who love him would remark that he is among the most decent people to ever walk the earth.”
Kohl was a popular figure in Wisconsin, purchasing the Bucks to keep them from leaving town, and spending generously from his fortune on civic and educational causes throughout the state. He also used his money to fund his Senate races, allowing to him to portray himself as “nobody’s senator but yours.”
In the Senate, a body renowned for egos, Kohl was an unusual figure. He was quiet and not one to seek credit, yet effective on issues important to the state, especially dairy policy. He was one of the richest members of the Senate, and the Senate’s only professional sports team owner.
Kohl was born in Milwaukee, where he was a childhood friend of Bud Selig, who went on to become commissioner of Major League Baseball. The two roomed together at the University of Wisconsin and remained friends in adulthood.
After receiving his bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin in 1956, Kohl went on to earn a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard University in 1958, and he served in the Army Reserve from 1958-64. He helped grow the family-owned business, Kohl’s grocery and department stores, and served as company president in the 1970s. The corporation was sold in 1979.
Kohl also got into Wisconsin politics in the 1970s, serving as chair of the state Democratic Party from 1975 to 1977.
In 1985, Kohl bought the Bucks for $18 million.
“I am pleased, happy and delighted,” he said at a news conference. “The Milwaukee Bucks are in Milwaukee and they are going to stay in Milwaukee.”
The team was in the middle of its sixth straight winning season when Kohl bought it, and it went on to post winning records in the first six full seasons with Kohl as owner, before stumbling through most of the 1990s. The team improved in the late ’90s and early 2000s. In 2006, Kohl, owner of the small-market Bucks, was one of eight league owners to ask then-NBA Commissioner David Stern to implement revenue sharing.
“There was never any doubt about his extraordinary commitment to the franchise and city that he loved, and his vision and unparalleled financial contribution towards a new arena in Milwaukee will forever be remembered,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. “I send my deepest condolences to Senator Kohl’s family, friends and the Bucks organization. He will be deeply missed by his NBA family.”
He eventually sold the team in 2014 to New York billionaires Wes Edens and Marc Lasry. He contributed $100 million toward construction of a new arena, Fiserv Forum, to replace the aging Bradley Center, helping ensure the team would remain in Milwaukee. The arena opened in 2018. Three years later, Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks past the Phoenix Suns to claim the NBA championship, the team's first since 1971.
“He’s done so many things for the city of Milwaukee, so many things for the Milwaukee Bucks organization,” Antetokounmpo said of Kohl after the Bucks beat the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night. "He’s going to be definitely missed.”
Kohl’s civic commitments extended well beyond keeping professional basketball in Wisconsin. He donated $25 million to the University of Wisconsin to help fund construction of the Kohl Center, home to the school’s basketball and hockey teams. It was the single largest private donation in university history.
“I was very happy to be in a position to help build a first-rate, state-of-the-art sports arena,” Kohl once said. “I think it cements the university’s reputation as one of the premier athletic programs in the Big Ten and the country.”
He also used his own money to fund the Herb Kohl Educational Foundation, which donates money for scholarships and fellowships to students, teachers and schools in Wisconsin.
In 1988, Kohl decided to run for the Senate, following the announcement that Sen. William Proxmire was retiring, and defeated then-state Sen. Susan Engeleiter, the Republican candidate. He won reelection in 1994, 2000 and 2006. His considerable fortune helped scare away the Republican Party from mounting a serious challenge in 2006.
Kohl never accepted a pay raise in the Senate; he drew a salary of $89,500 every year, the same pay he got when he entered the Senate in 1989, returning the rest to the Treasury Department.
In the Senate, Kohl tended to home state interests. He opposed the Northeast Dairy Compact, a program opposed by Midwestern dairy farmers, and helped prevent it from being renewed in Congress. Kohl was instrumental in coming up with a replacement program, the Milk Income Loss Contract, which paid dairy farmers cash when prices fell below a certain level; the program especially helped Wisconsin dairy farmers.
As the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations agriculture subcommittee, which controls the budget of the Department of Agriculture, Kohl had a strong say on farm policy. He was also the top Democrat on the Senate Aging Committee and the Judiciary antitrust subcommittee. Kohl served as chair of all three panels when Democrats were in the majority.
Kohl didn’t mind doing things in the Senate without much credit. As Congress became more and more partisan, the diminutive Kohl almost seemed to be a throwback to another era.
“I am a person who does not believe in invective,” he once said. “I never go out and look to grab the mike or go in front of the TV camera. When I go to work everyday, I check my ego at the door.”
He was succeeded by Democrat Tammy Baldwin, Wisconsin's first female senator and the Senate's first openly gay member.
Kohl, who never married, said that being single gave him time to balance the demands of life as a senator and owner. A sign on his Senate office desk said: “The Bucks Stop Here.”
PODCAST: Holiday Feeling
Packers-Panthers (0:00)
College Bowl Season (17:00)
Packers Clips (37:25)
Jaire Alexander Saga (54:38)
Bucks' 7-game winning streak snapped in New York
NEW YORK (AP) — The Bucks hadn't just been beating them, they were beating them easily.
So in front of a sold-out home crowd and a national TV audience, the New York Knicks used the Christmas stage to make their stand against Milwaukee.
Jalen Brunson scored 38 points and the Knicks snapped Milwaukee's seven-game winning streak, ending their lengthy skid against the Bucks with a 129-122 victory Monday.
The Knicks had dropped nine straight meetings, including a 130-111 loss on Saturday in the opener of this two-game series. The Bucks had routed New York twice while rolling through their December schedule, but they haven't solved Brunson all season, and the point guard got plenty of help from his teammates this time.
“They’re a good team. We feel like we’re a good team as well, so just kind of taking that challenge, accepting that challenge that we hadn’t got them yet,” guard Immanuel Quickley said. “It had been a while, so this was a good one to get.”
Julius Randle added 24 points and nine rebounds, RJ Barrett bounced back from a poor game Saturday with 21 points and Quickley came off the bench for 20.
Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard each scored 32 points for the Bucks, who fell to 9-2 this month. Khris Middleton added 24.
The Bucks rang up 146 points against the Knicks in the quarterfinals of the In-Season Tournament on Dec. 5 and didn't cool off much Saturday. But they seemed short on energy Monday in the middle of an extended Christmas stay in New York, with still another game remaining in the city when they visit Brooklyn on Wednesday.
“We knew coming in everything that we were lined up for and it is what it is,” Lillard said. “We got the first one, we came in for this one, they got off to a good start, they played a great game and we just got outplayed.”
Milwaukee came in averaging 132.4 points in December but couldn’t even break 40 until there were less than four minutes remaining in the first half. The Bucks trailed by 16 with 4 1/2 minutes remaining in the game before a late flurry that made the score closer than the game felt.
“I thought they out-competed us today for the most part,” Bucks coach Adrian Griffin said. “I thought offensively we got some good looks, but we just couldn’t knock them down. And when you’re on the road, you get clean looks, you’ve got to knock them down.”
Brunson went 15 for 28 from the field, following up games of 45 and 36 points against the Bucks this season. Isaiah Hartenstein had 11 points and eight rebounds, and Josh Hart came off the bench for 10 points and nine rebounds.
Antetokounmpo had 13 rebounds and six assists, but the Bucks fell to 3-3 in their sixth straight Christmas appearance.
The overhead video board incorrectly listed his brother Thanasis as the starter when lineups were announced, but Giannis quickly reminded everyone who he is, slamming down a lob pass on the opening possession and then making a jumper on the next trip. But Brunson was the best player on the floor the remainder of the period, scoring 15 points to spark the Knicks to a 36-27 lead after one — the same lead the Bucks had Saturday.
“I just thought the energy level was back to where it needed to be,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said.
Lillard tried to help the Bucks chip away at a 13-point deficit in the second but didn't get much help, with Middleton going 1 for 7 and Antetokounmpo 1 for 6. Randle's 3-pointer made it 62-51 at the break.
Milwaukee cut it to 77-73 midway through the third quarter, but Hart had a good burst of three straight Knicks baskets later in the period as New York pushed it back to 98-87 after three.
UP NEXT
Bucks: Visit Brooklyn on Wednesday.
Knicks: Visit Oklahoma City on Wednesday.
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Jordan Love, Packers survive rally by Panthers, win 33-30 to keep playoff hopes alive
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Jordan Love threw for two touchdowns, ran for one and made two big completions to set up Anders Carlson's 32-yard field goal with 19 seconds left, and the Green Bay Packers survived a fourth-quarter rally by Carolina to beat the Panthers 33-30 on Sunday and keep their playoff hopes alive.
Love threw touchdown passes of 21 yards to rookie Dontayvion Wicks and 5 yards to Romeo Dobbs and scored on a quarterback sneak as the Packers snapped a two-game losing streak. Aaron Jones became the first Packers player this season to exceed 100 yards rushing or receiving in a game, rushing for 127 yards on 21 carries.
The Packers (7-8) remain one game behind the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams in the NFC wild-card race.
Bryce Young threw for a career-high 312 yards with two touchdown passes to DJ Chark for the Panthers (2-13), who failed to build on the momentum of last week's 9-7 win over the Atlanta Falcons.
For a brief stretch in the fourth quarter, it looked like Carolina might pull off an improbable rally.
The Panthers trailed by 14 when Young threw an 11-yard pass to Chark on a slant route to make it 30-22 with 7:14 remaining. Young appeared to scramble for the 2-point conversion, but the Panthers were called for holding and Eddy Pineiro missed his second extra point of the game.
After a defensive stand, the Panthers got the ball back and Young found Chark again in the right corner of the end zone for a diving 10-yard TD. Raheem Blackshear then tied the game at 30, scoring on a pitchout for the 2-point conversion.
But Love came through for the Packers. He completed a 36-yard strike on third-and-4 to Dobbs, who hauled in a catch near the sideline that Fox Sports rules analyst Dean Blandino said on television should have been overturned.
Love, who finished 17 of 28 for 219 yards, followed with a 20-yard completion to rookie tight end Tucker Kraft to reach the Carolina 13, setting up Carlson's kick.
Carolina had one last chance. Young completed a 22-yard pass to Chark on the sideline to stop the clock and then threw over the middle to Adam Thielen for 22 yards. But the Panthers, without any timeouts, were unable to spike the ball before time expired.
The Packers were efficient on offense in the first half, scoring on their first four possessions to build a 23-10 lead by halftime.
INJURIES
Packers: Wicks left the game with a chest injury.
Panthers: OLB Amare Barno was carted off the field with a knee injury early in the first quarter after getting injured while covering a punt.
UP NEXT
Packers: At Minnesota next Sunday.
Panthers: At Jacksonville next Sunday.
Bucks beat the Knicks again in a one-sided series, with the teams set to meet again on Christmas
NEW YORK (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo had 28 points, seven assists and seven rebounds, Bobby Portis added 23 points and 11 boards, and the Milwaukee Bucks beat the New York Knicks 130-111 on Saturday, opening a two-game series with their seventh straight victory.
Khris Middleton scored 20 points for the Bucks, who beat the Knicks for the ninth straight time and will try to do it again Monday in front of a national TV audience as the leadoff game to the NBA's Christmas schedule.
“No, it’s not going to be easy, but you do the things that go into winning, you’ve got a good chance,” Bucks coach Adrian Griffin said.
A great chance, if the Bucks keep rolling the way they have against the Knicks this month.
The Knicks don't have much time to find answers in what's been a one-sided matchup, though they were a little more competitive than when the Bucks blew them out 146-122 on Dec. 5 in the quarterfinals of the In-Season Tournament.
“They’ve just seen us at different stages of the season, as far as who we are as a team. I think right now we’re at our best as far as this season goes,” Damian Lillard said.
It rarely felt particularly close, with the Bucks starting fast and maintaining a comfortable lead most of the way. They blew it open for good early in the fourth quarter with an 11-0 run that turned an 11-point lead into a 114-92 cushion on Portis' 3-pointer with 6:29 to play.
“They’ve got a lot of weapons, so you’ve got to fly around and there’s times where we did it and times where we didn’t do it as well as we should have,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “But every aspect of the game we were a step behind.”
Milwaukee just missed having five 20-point scorers to open its lengthy holiday stay in New York. After the rematch Monday, the Bucks will play Wednesday in Brooklyn, with some players either bringing family or hoping to visit some to celebrate.
Lillard had 19 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for the Bucks, and Malik Beasley made five 3-pointers en route to his 19 points.
Jalen Brunson scored 36 points in another good game against Milwaukee, having poured in 45 in a Nov. 3 loss. Julius Randle added 26 points and seven rebounds as the Knicks had a two-game winning streak snapped.
These teams will have already met four times after the Christmas game, after their quarterfinal game in the In-Season Tournament was added to their four that were already scheduled.
The Bucks picked up right where they left off in that victory, when they shot 60% overall and 60.5% from 3-point range. Milwaukee went 5 for 7 behind the arc in the opening quarter, taking a 36-27 lead.
The Bucks extended that to 60-44 on Lillard's 3-pointer with 2:35 remaining in the half, but the Knicks closed with a 10-2 spurt to trim it to 62-54 when Brunson made a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
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