NFL
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes connected with Travis Kelce for their third touchdown of the game with 31 seconds remaining, and the Kansas City Chiefs rallied past the Los Angeles Chargers 30-27 on Sunday night to stay atop the AFC.
Mahomes hit Kelce on a short crossing route that Kelce took to the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown, concluding a six-play, 75-yard drive that took just 1:15. The Chargers had pulled ahead 27-23 on Justin Herbert’s 6-yard touchdown pass to Joshua Palmer with 1:46 left.
Herbert and the Chargers had one final chance, but Nick Bolton intercepted a deflected pass to seal it for the Chiefs (8-2), who swept the season series from Los Angeles (5-5) and took a three-game lead in the AFC West.
Mahomes completed 20 of 34 passes for 329 yards without two of his top receivers. He still had Kelce, who had six catches for 115 yards. Rookie Isiah Pacheco rushed for a career-high 107 yards.
Herbert went 23 of 30 for 280 yards and two touchdowns, both to Palmer, who had eight receptions for 106 yards.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Tony Pollard had two touchdown catches for Dallas with a career-high 189 yards from scrimmage, and the Cowboys sacked Kirk Cousins a career-most seven times in a 40-3 victory over Minnesota that slammed the Vikings’ seven-game winning streak to a screeching halt.
Dak Prescott was flawless at quarterback, Ezekiel Elliott rushed for two scores in his return from injury and Brett Maher made four field goals — including a 60-yarder to end the first half. The Cowboys (7-3) didn’t punt until their eighth possession, and the defense was just as good.
Micah Parsons and Dorance Armstrong had two sacks apiece in the fifth-largest loss ever for the Vikings — and the biggest road win in Cowboys history.
Kirk Cousins went 12 for 23 for 105 yards and a lost fumble for the Vikings (8-2). Justin Jefferson, coming off a career-high 193 receiving yards against the Bills, had 33 yards on three catches.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
NEW YORK (AP) — Southern California moved into the top five of The Associated Press college football poll Sunday for the first time in five years.
Georgia received 62 of the 63 first-place votes in the AP Top 25 presented by Regions Bank as the top four teams held their places after playing varying degrees of close games Saturday.
No. 2 Ohio State received the other first-place vote. Michigan was No. 3 again, followed by TCU.
The fifth-ranked Trojans edged up two spots after a thrilling victory against rival UCLA. The last time USC was ranked in the top five was September of 2017, when it started at No. 4 but spent most of the season ranked in the teens before finishing 12th.
LSU stayed at No. 6, Clemson moved up two spots to No. 7., Alabama held at eighth and Tennessee dropped four spots to No. 9 after getting upset in a blowout at South Carolina. Oregon rounded out the top 10.
NBA
NEW YORK (AP) — Kyrie Irving apologized Sunday morning to anyone who felt threatened or hurt when he posted a link to a documentary with antisemitic material, clearing the way to finally play again for the Brooklyn Nets.
Once he did, Irving tried to keep the focus on basketball. Deeper conversations, such as about the demonstrators outside the arena or a possible appeal of his suspension without pay, would be left for another day.
Irving scored 14 points in helping the Nets to a 127-115 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies in his return. He had missed eight games since he was suspended by the team on Nov. 3, hours after he refused to say he had no antisemitic beliefs when meeting with reporters at the Nets’ practice facility.
Back at the building for the team’s morning shootaround, Irving said he should have handled that interview differently.
Fans arriving at Barclays Center for the game found the plaza area filled by dozens of members of the group Israel United in Christ, Black men chanting and handing out paraphernalia that contained antisemitic material. The organization’s website says its mission is to “wake up the 12 Tribes of Israel.”
Asked about having that group’s support, Irving said he hadn’t seen them, adding that it was “a conversation for another day.”
GOLF
NAPLES, Fla. (AP) — Lydia Ko never won more in one day than on Sunday in the CME Group Tour Championship, where she claimed the richest prize in women’s golf at $2 million with a victory that allowed her to win LPGA player of the year.
Ko outlasted Leona Maguire of Ireland in the final round, seizing control with a 7-foot birdie putt on the 16th hole and closing with 2-under 70 for a two-shot victory.
The $2 million prize took her season earnings to just over $4.3 million, leaving her $591 short of the Lorena Ochoa’s record for single-season earnings set in 2007.
Ko clinched the points-based award for LPGA player of the year for the second time, and she won the Vare Trophy for the second straight year for having the lowest scoring average. Player of the year and the Vare Trophy are each worth one point, along with the victory, giving her 25 points toward the 27 points needed for the LPGA Hall of Fame.
Ko finished at 17-under 271 and won the LPGA Tour finale for the second time.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Another year without a major was no less special for Rory McIlroy. He finished as Europe’s top-ranked golfer for the fourth time and became only the second player to capture season titles on the PGA Tour and European tour.
Jon Rahm opened with three straight birdies on his way to a 5-under 67 on Sunday to win the DP World Tour Championship for the third time, by two shots over Tyrrell Hatton and Alex Noren.
Rahm finished on 20-under 268 at Jumeirah Golf Estates. McIlroy could have tied Rahm with an eagle on the par-5 18th, but had to settle for par and a 68 to finish fourth.
McIlroy won the FedEx Cup and its $18 million bonus, along with the Canadian Open and the CJ Cup in South Carolina. He also is back at No. 1 in the world.
ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. (AP) — Adam Svensson handled the cold air and the heat of contention as if he had been there before, closing with a 6-under 64 to win the RSM Classic on Sunday at Sea Island for his first PGA Tour victory.
Svensson, a 28-year-old Canadian, was locked in a four-way tie for the lead on the closing stretch of the Seaside course when he poured in an 18-foot birdie putt on the 16th hole, and then hit a tee shot to 10 feet on the par-3 17th for a birdie that gave him a cushion.
Brian Harman (65) and Sahith Theegala (66) were in the group ahead of him and missed birdie chances from about 25 feet on the closing hole. Callum Tarren of England (64) was the first to post at 17-under par and was hopeful of a playoff. Svensson capped off his bogey-free final round with a par for a two-shot win.
He finished at 19-under 263 and played the tougher Seaside course in 20 under the final three rounds.
SOCCER
DOHA, Qatar (AP) — The first World Cup in the Middle East finally began Sunday night with a flashy opening ceremony and a match between Qatar and Ecuador without any beer for sale in the stadium.
The beer ban imposed two days before the start of the tournament was the latest controversial snag for a global event already under scrutiny for Qatar’s human rights record and the emirates’ push to ready the nation for the most compact World Cup in history.
And as Qatar was dropping its opening match 2-0 to Ecuador, the fan zone in central Doha became a chaotic scene as tens of thousands of fans were pushed against police lines to enter the venue. Fans were trying access the enclosed area that contained big screens for viewing matches and buy beer.
Qatar became the first host country to lose its opening game in 92 years of World Cup history.
Weekend Sports In Brief – The Associated Press – en Español
