Ravens hold on to edge Steelers; Dallas wins

Published 2:38 am Friday, November 29, 2013

BALTIMORE (AP) — Justin Tucker kicked five field goals, and the Baltimore Ravens stopped a 2-point conversion with 1:03 left to survive a comeback bid by the Pittsburgh Steelers and escape with a 22-20 victory Thursday night.

After Pittsburgh scored on a 1-yard touchdown pass from Ben Roethlisberger to Jerricho Cotchery to get within two points, Roethlisberger’s conversion pass slipped through the hands of Emmanuel Sanders, who was screened by Chykie Brown.

The victory provided the Ravens (6-6) with their first winning streak since September and pushed them ahead of the Steelers (5-7) and four other teams in the race for the final wild-card slot in the AFC. It also avenged a 19-16 loss to their division rivals last month.

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Tucker connected on kicks of 43, 34, 38, 45 and 48 yards after Joe Flacco threw a first-quarter touchdown pass to Torrey Smith.

COWBOYS 31, RAIDERS 24

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — DeMarco Murray ran for three touchdowns, backup Lance Dunbar had a career-high 82 yards rushing and Dallas overcame Oakland’s fumble return for a score on the opening kickoff.

Murray had 63 yards rushing but his highlight was the finishing work, including a 7-yard score to put Dallas ahead for good early in the fourth quarter.

Dunbar, who went out with a left knee sprain, sparked the tying and go-ahead touchdown drives in the second half, highlighted by a 45-yard run that led to a 4-yard scoring pass from Tony Romo to Dez Bryant.

The Cowboys (7-5) moved two games above .500 for the first time since late last season. The Raiders (4-8) guaranteed an 11th straight season without a winning record.

Matt McGloin had a strong first half for the Raiders, leading consecutive TD drives that put Oakland up 21-7.

LIONS 40, PACKERS 10

DETROIT (AP) — Matthew Stafford made up for some mistakes with three touchdown passes, including one to Calvin Johnson, to help Detroit score 37 straight points after an awful start and beat Green Bay.

The Lions (7-5) had lost their last two games, five consecutive against Green Bay and a franchise-record nine straight in their annual showcase on Thanksgiving.

The Packers (5-6-1) have a five-game winless streak for the first time since 2008, showing how valuable Aaron Rodgers is for the franchise. Rodgers has missed four-plus games since fracturing his left collarbone.

Matt Flynn became the fourth starting quarterback for Green Bay this year and was sacked seven times, once by Ndamukong Suh for a safety.