09-01-2016, 04:43 AM
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Carson Palmer completed six passes to six receivers on the Arizona Cardinals opening drive that led to a touchdown. Three straight completions went for at least 20 yards on another drive. A simple slant turned into a 91-yard, catch-and-run touchdown. It was like that all game. Best of all, the nine players who caught Palmers passes Sunday all played for his team. For a team plagued by turnovers this year, including 15 interceptions, Palmer delivered a beauty Sunday in a 27-14 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars. He was 30 of 42 for 419 yards and two touchdowns, and he did not throw an interception for the first time this year. "Carson played by far his best game," Arizona coach Bruce Arians said. His one big mistake? Throwing a ball up for grabs late in the third quarter that linebacker Russell Allen easily grabbed for an interception. Just his luck, Arians had called a timeout and no one saw the official running from the sideline to stop the play. The Cardinals (6-4) couldnt afford to lose this game as they try to stay in the playoff mix. Palmers flawless play, and a defence that stiffened after surrendering two quick touchdowns, made sure they didnt. "We have talked about how the playoffs have already started. You lose, youre out," Arians said. "Were a game behind teams, so we have to keep winning. We have to take a playoff attitude every week, that this game is a playoff game and we have to win to catch up. The guys have done it." Arizona won its third straight, and it won twice in Florida in the same season for the first time in franchise history. The Cardinals had a 13-10 win over Tampa Bay in late September. This one was easier, thanks to the strong play of Palmer, a career game for Michael Floyd and a defence that allowed only 57 yards in the second half. Floyd, listed as questionable because of a shoulder injury, had six catches for a career-best 193 yards, including a 91-yard score that made the Jaguars secondary look silly. On third-and-10 from the 9, Floyd beat Will Blackmon on a slant. He shook off tackles by Allen and safety Winston Guy. When Blackmon caught up to him, the cornerbacks hands slid off his shoulder pads, he rolled into cornerback Alan Ball, and Floyd was on his way. "The safety bit down on the play-action and Carson made a heck of a throw," Floyd said. "I made a couple of guys miss and we scored a touchdown. You give me a little bit of a space and I just try to break tackles. With my big frame, I should be able to make catches that not all guys can." The Jaguars (1-9) at least scored a touchdown at home for the first time this year. On fourth-and-2 from the 38 on their opening drive, Chad Henne found tight end Danny Noble all alone behind the defence for an easy catch, and he rumbled 50 yards to the end zone with his first NFL reception. "There were many situations where I felt like we were bold, and I told our team that we need to take that personality on," Jaguars coach Gus Bradley said. Jacksonville scored another touchdown after a 59-yard kickoff return by Jordan Todman and a pair of Arizona mistakes -- none bigger than Yeremiah Bell getting called for unsportsmanlike conduct after Hennes pass on third-and-goal from the 3 was incomplete. Maurice Jones-Drew scored from the 1 for a 14-7 lead. But that was it for the Jaguars, who returned to their inept ways one week after getting their first win at Tennessee. Palmer was rarely under pressure and moved the ball at will, with six passes that went for at least 20 yards. His other TD was a 14-yard strike to Larry Fitzgerald that tied the game at 7 in the first quarter. "I had a really nice time in the pocket. I had a clean pocket for the most part and was able to step into a lot of throws," Palmer said. "Guys did a nice job of finding the voids in their zone. I thought guys came with the right attitude. It wasnt a letdown game for us. It was a must-win, and we did what it took." Rashard Mendenhall scored on a 5-yard run late in the second quarter to tie the game at 14. Otherwise, the running game didnt exist for either team. The Cardinals came into the game with the third-ranked run defence. It held the Jaguars to 32 yards. The Cardinals had 416 yards, only 14 on the ground. Jones-Drew finished with 23 yards on 14 carries. "Theyre a great defence. We knew that going in," Jones-Drew said. "They load the box and wanted to make sure that we couldnt run the ball." Henne rarely threw downfield, settling for bubble screens that didnt get the Jaguars very far. When he finally went vertical, he threw a pair of interceptions late in the game that sealed it for Arizona. Henne was 27 of 42 for 255 yards. Palmer was sacked three times, but for the most part, he had ample time to show. The Jaguars best player was punter Bryan Anger, who constantly pinned the Cardinals deep in a spot they couldnt afford any mistakes. They didnt make any. After spotting Jacksonville two scores, the defence took it from there. The Jaguars only once got beyond the Cardinals 40-yard line the rest of the way, and that was late in the game when it was too late. "Defensively, we came out in the second half like we have all year and shut them down," Arians said. BOSTON -- The regular season wasnt much of a struggle for the Boston Bruins, and neither was their first-round playoff series against the Detroit Red Wings. Tuukka Rask made 31 saves Saturday, and the defending Eastern Conference champions eliminated the Red Wings with a 4-2 victory in Game 5. After finishing the regular season with the best record in the NHL, the Bruins advanced to the conference semifinals against the Montreal Canadiens. "That series was much tougher than maybe the results showed," said Bruins captain Zdeno Chara, who gave Boston the lead for good with 4 seconds left in the second period. "I think that we handled it well, we came into this series ready and we got the job done." Loui Eriksson opened the scoring for Boston, and Charas goal on a 4-on-3 advantage snapped a 1-1 tie. Milan Lucic also scored, and Jarome Iginla added an empty-netter. Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg scored and Jonas Gustavsson stopped 29 shots for Detroit. The Red Wings scored only six goals in the five-game series. "Were not there yet," said Red Wings coach Mike Babcock, whose team failed to win a playoff series in two of the past three seasons. "The last two years, we battled to get into the playoffs. To me, thats a measure of where we are. Instead of battling for the Cup, were battling to make the playoffs." It was 1-1 when the Bruins gained a 4-on-3 power play thanks to a holding penalty on Johan Franzen just 22 seconds before Brendan Smith was called for cross-checking. On a faceoff in the Detroit zone, Patrice Bergeron lured two of the three Red Wings defenders toward the corner and then passed it across the ice to Chara, who one-timed it past Gustavsson. Not usually demonstrative, Chara felt this one was worth celebrating. "It was a big game and a big goal," he said. "So Im not afraid to show it." Lucics goal with 4:27 gone in the third made it a two-goal game. Detroit made it 3-2 with 3:52 left after Rask made two acrobatic saves but left the puck to the side of the nett for Zetterberg, the Red Wings captain who missed two months with back surgery and did not return until Game 4.dddddddddddd Less than a minute later, though the Wings were called for too many men on the ice, leaving them a man down while trying to finish the comeback. With 2 minutes left in the game, the Boston fans began chanting "We want the cup!" Next up: Montreal, which swept Tampa Bay. "Guys were never ever really talking about Montreal," Iginla said. "We know theyve won their series and theyre going to be next, but the only talk today was about thinking about Detroit and getting this series over." The Bruins won it all in 2011 and returned to the Stanley Cup finals last year before they were eliminated when the Chicago Blackhawks scored two goals in 17 seconds in the final 76 seconds of Game 6. Boston seems on its way for another long playoff run this year, finishing the regular season with the best record in the NHL. "We were playing a very good team, a team with a lot of experience, the President Trophy winners," Detroit forward Daniel Alfredsson said. "This is a team that was just playing better than us and we feel a little short." The Bruins scored a power-play goal 3:27 into the first period when Dougie Hamiltons pass bounced off a defenders skate to Eriksson in the slot. Rask earned an assist on the play -- his second career playoff point. It stayed that way until Datsyuk came in and scooped up a rebound 12 seconds into a second-period power play against Lucic for high-sticking. Notes: It was the first NHL playoff game for Red Wings D Xavier Oullette. ... Rask earned an assist on Bostons first goal, his second career playoff point. ... Jimmy Howard, who started in goal for Games 1-3 for Detroit, was the backup. ... Referee Steve Kozari took a puck in the face in the third period. He left the ice through the Bruins bench but returned after a delay of about 2 minutes. ... The Bruins killed off 14 of 15 power plays in the series before allowing a goal after Lucics high-sticking penalty in the second. ' ' ' Cheap NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping Cheap Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys supply authentic cheap Jerseys nba jerseys nfl jerseys wholesale jerseys NFL,NHL,NBA,MLB,soccer,NCAA jerseys Wholesale