Recap Of Sports Over Thanksgiving Weekend

Streaks continued and streaks ended on a hectic NFL Sunday, and one of the best of those ongoing skeins of success belongs to Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers.

He tied the NFL record for consecutive completions and while also setting records for the most completions to start a game and the highest completion percentage in a game in a 45-10 win over the Arizona Cardinals. Rivers completed his first 25 passes and finished 28 of 29 for 259 yards and three touchdowns. He only played three quarters, but still racked up his 11th straight game with multiple TD passes.

Not to be outdone, Tom Brady threw two touchdown passes and became the NFL’s career leader in total yards passing in regular-season and playoff games, as the New England Patriots banged out a 27-13 victory over the New York Jets.

The Indianapolis Colts won their fifth straight, 27-24 over the Miami Dolphins, on Adam Vinateri’s 32-yard field goal on the final play. The Dolphins led 24-14 with less than nine minutes to play.

A couple of streaks ended. The Pittsburgh Steelers saw a six-game winning streak end with a 24-17 loss to the Denver Broncos. And the Cleveland Browns snapped a 25-game string of road losses that dated to 2015 as they trounced the Cincinnati Bengals 35-20. The NFL record is 26, by the Detroit Lions.

In the Sunday night game, the Minnesota Vikings beat the Green Bay Packers 24-17, leaving the Packers very close to a second consecutive playoff miss.

Oddity of the day: Baltimore Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs scored on a fumble return in his team’s 34-17 win over the Oakland Raiders, but Suggs did not have a single tackle or assist in the game.

Golf: Phil Mickelson defeated Tiger Woods on the fourth extra hole of their $9 million challenge match in Las Vegas, sinking a 4-foot putt for birdie. Woods had an 8-foot putt on the 19th hole to win. He missed. Mickelson missed a 20-footer to win on the 20th hole and an 8-foot putt on the 21st before collecting the win. Both players contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars in side bets to charity.

College football: Texas A&M defeated LSU 74-72 in a record-tying seven overtimes. Ohio State maintained its mastery over Michigan with a 62-39 win that could vault the Buckeyes back into contention for one of the four College Football Playoff spots. And, as their disappointing seasons concluded, Texas Tech fired coach Kliff Kingsbury and North Carolina dismissed Larry Fedora. Southern Cal issued a statement saying it would retain Clay Helton.

 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman