Saints clinch NFC South title, Bills dominate Cowboys on US Thanksgiving

LOS ANGELES — Wil Lutz booted four field goals and Taysom Hill scored two touchdowns as the New Orleans Saints beat the Atlanta Falcons 26-18 to clinch the NFC South Division title on US Thanksgiving Day.

The Saints won their third straight title on Thursday night and moved within one loss of National Football Conference leader San Francisco, who are 10-1.

The Saints improved to 10-2 on the season by avenging a 26-9 defeat to Atlanta just over two weeks ago. New Orleans clashes with the 49ers on Dec. 8.

"This is an incredible feeling," said Saints quarterback Drew Brees. "We had a chance to come here in front of America on Thanksgiving.

"Listen, we are going to enjoy this."

Hill, who also plays backup quarterback, deflected a punt to set up his touchdown reception from starter Brees, and he replaced him on a third-down play that resulted in his running score.

Brees completed 18 of 30 for 184 yards and he got help from the Saints's defense, which forced three turnovers and sacked Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan nine times.

Ryan completed 35 of 50 passes for 312 yards and two touchdowns, but threw interceptions to rookie defensive lineman Shy Tuttle and rookie defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson.

Ryan was playing without his top receiver Julio Jones, who is injured.

Brees reached 10,000 career passing attempts on Thursday, becoming just the second quarterback in league history to do it. He joined Brett Favre who finished his career with 10,169.

"Yes, 10,000 that is a crazy number. You play long enough those things add up," Brees said.

Elsewhere, the Buffalo Bills tightened their grip on an AFC playoff spot and moved a step closer to first place in their division with a 26-15 victory over the Dallas Cowboys.

The Cowboys scored a touchdown on their opening drive in front of the Dallas crowd of 76,000 but then the Bills's defense took charge.

Quarterback Josh Allen completed 12 consecutive passes at one point as Buffalo improved to 9-3 on the season. Allen finished with 231 passing yards and a touchdown. He completed 19 passes to seven different receivers and also ran in for another TD.

The win leaves Buffalo 1 1/2 games behind first place New England, who travel to Houston for a Sunday night game.

Bills receiver Cole Beasley caught six passes for 110 yards and a touchdown against his former Cowboys team.

Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott completed 32 of 49 passes for 355 yards and two touchdowns, but also tossed an interception and lost a fumble.

Elsewhere, Mitchell Trubisky hit David Montgomery for three touchdowns including a go-ahead score with 2:17 left in the fourth as the Chicago Bears beat the Detroit Lions 24-20.

Trubisky passed for 338 yards while Montgomery had 75 yards on 16 carries and caught two passes for 16 yards for the Bears, who improved to 6-6 on the season.

Anthony Miller caught nine passes for 140 yards, while Allen Robinson grabbed eight for 86 yards and a touchdown for the Bears, who have won two in a row.

Chicago also spoiled a strong NFL debut for Lions backup quarterback David Blough, who passed for two touchdowns and 280 total yards. Blough threw an interception on the final possession for the Lions.

Detroit's longtime starting quarterback Matthew Stafford missed his fourth straight game with a back injury. Second-stringer Jeff Driskel didn't start due to hamstring soreness.

Kenny Golladay had four receptions for 158 yards and a 75-yard touchdown for the Lions, who have lost five straight and eight of nine.

On Sunday, the best team in the NFC meets the hottest team in the league with some billing it as a possible Super Bowl sneak peak.

The Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco showdown in one of the most anticipated games of the year with five weeks left in the regular season.

Both teams are coming off huge victories including Baltimore's nearly flawless 45-6 rout of the Los Angeles Rams.

The 49ers embarrassed Green Bay 37-8 in one of the worst games of Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers's career on Sunday.

Lamar Jackson and the Ravens's offence looked untouchable against the Rams. They were the first team to score six touchdowns on its opening six possessions since 2008.

Also the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh meet Sunday just two weeks after Myles Garrett ripped off Mason Rudolph's helmet and clobbered the Steelers quarterback over the head with it.

The key players in that fiasco won't be on the field though. Garrett is suspended indefinitely and Rudolph, who threw four interceptions against the Browns, has been benched due to poor play.

His play did not improve last week against Cincinnati when Rudolph completed just eight of 16 passes for 85 yards. — AFP