Vikings Beat Bears, Colts Edge Jarguars

By ESPN

Sam Bradford wrapped up his first season with Minnesota with three first-half touchdown passes and an NFL record, leading the Vikings to a 38-10 victory over the Chicago Bears on Sunday to finish on a winning note after tumbling out of contention over the last two months.

Bradford went 25 for 33 for 250 yards and one interception, posting a 71.6 percent completion rate to set the single-season record. Drew Brees (71.2 for New Orleans) last set the league mark in 2011.

"I would trade that for wins any day, but the fact that we were able to go out there and accomplish that as a group, everyone contributes to that, it's pretty cool," said Bradford.

He also established career bests for yards (3,877), interception percentage (0.9) and passer rating (99.3) after arriving in an emergency trade following the serious injury to original quarterback Teddy Bridgewater's left knee.

Kyle Rudolph caught 11 passes for 117 yards and a score for the Vikings (8-8), who started 5-0 before stumbling out of their bye week and never recovering.

"It's a good win, but it's tough that that's the end of it," coach Mike Zimmer said. "We did things today like we did early in the year."

The Bears (3-13) wound up with their most losses since 1969, looking as if they were more than ready for winter vacations while turning the ball over five times and allowing the Vikings to rush for a season-high 124 yards.

Everson Griffen returned one of their three lost fumbles for a touchdown, and Matt Barkley was picked off twice to total 10 interceptions over the past three games. Bradford was picked off just five times in 15 games.

Coach John Fox fell to 9-23 in two years with the Bears. He said he hasn't asked for, or received any, assurance from the front office that he'll return.

"I've been doing this for a long time," Fox said. "I've never worried about job security, and I'm not going to start now."

Jordan Howard, the lone bright spot for the Bears, rushed for 135 yards on 23 carries to break Matt Forte's franchise rookie record and finish with 1,313 yards for the season.

Howard's 202 yards from scrimmage in Chicago in the first meeting with Minnesota on Oct. 31 served as a breakout for the fifth-round draft pick and a bad omen for the Vikings in defeat.

"That's the point of the game, to win the game," Howard said. "If you're not winning, there's no point in celebrating."

Colts 24, Jaguars 20

Andrew Luck threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Jack Doyle with 9 seconds left Sunday to give the Indianapolis Colts a 24-20 victory over Jacksonville in their season finale.

Indy (8-8) went 75 yards in 84 seconds with no timeouts to avoid its first losing season since 2011, sending retiring linebacker Robert Mathis out with a win in his final NFL game.

Jacksonville (3-13) matched the second-worst record in franchise history after blocking a punt with 1:54 to go and breaking a 17-17 tie with 1:33 left.

Instead, Luck took the Colts right downfield for the score. He finished 24 of 40 with 321 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in a game full of milestones.

Mathis extended his league record of strip-sacks to 41 in the fourth quarter, two days after announcing he would retire.

Frank Gore ran 16 times for 62 yards, becoming the fourth player in league history to top 1,000 yards at age 33 or older. He's also the oldest to achieve the milestone since John Riggins in 1984 at age 35, and he's the first Colts to run for 1,000 since Joseph Addai in 2007 -- ending the second-longest active streak in the NFL.

Luck finished with than 4,000 yards passing for the third time in four years on a day Hall of Fame executive Bill Polian was inducted into the Colts' Ring of Honor at halftime.

That combination put this game, with no playoff implications, in a secondary role.

Jacksonville scored the first 17 points: a 47-yard field goal, a 14-yard touchdown pass from Blake Bortles to Ben Koyack and a 57-yard TD run by Corey Grant, who finished with 122 yards.

But the Colts finally got themselves righted late in the first half, cutting the halftime deficit to 17-3.

Indy opened the third quarter with Robert Turbin's 7-yard TD run and tied the score on a 15-yard TD pass from Luck to Dwayne Allen with 12 seconds to go.

Sunday, January 1 Scoreboard

Cincinnati 27, Baltimore 10

Tennessee 24, Houston 17

Tampa Bay 17, Carolina 16

Indianapolis 24, Jacksonville 20

New England 35, Miami 14

Minnesota 38, Chicago 10

New York Jets 30, Buffalo 10

Philadelphia 27, Dallas 13

Pittsburgh 27, Cleveland 24 (OT)

Atlanta 38, New Orleans 32

New York Giants 19, Washington 10

Arizona 44, Los Angeles 6

Denver 24, Oakland 6

Kansas City 37, San Diego 27

Seattle 25, San Francisco 23

Green Bay 31, Detroit 24

Saturday, January 7 Schedule (All Times Central)

Oakland at Houston, 3:35 p.m.

Detroit at Seattle, 7:15 p.m.

Sunday, January 8 Schedule (All Times Central)

Miami at Pittsburgh, 12:05 p.m.

New York Giants at Green Bay, 3:40 p.m.