Jack Hughes Scores Game Winner vs. Sabres Ends Devil Six-Game Skid

Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt each had a goal and two assists to help the New Jersey Devils end their six-game losing streak with a 4-3 win against the Buffalo Sabres.

Hughes’ sixth goal of the season gave New Jersey a 3-2 lead in the third period after a failed Sabres clearing attempt led to a rebound from a shot by Yegor Sharangovich, who scored 2:22 later to make it 4-2.

“You need your best players to make a difference for you and Jack made a difference for us,” Devils coach Lindy Ruff said.

Bratt’s goal gave the Devils a 2-0 edge in the first after a power-play goal from Dougie Hamilton opened the scoring.

“We want to be a leading line and every time we’re on the ice we want to create scoring chances. We want to be a line that brings a lot of energy to the team,” Bratt said about playing with Hughes and Sharangovich.

NY Jets Over Jacksonville Jaguars 26-21

The Jets prevailed 26-21 in this meeting between NFL cellar-dwellers at MetLife Stadium. The game might only be remembered for its effect on next April’s NFL draft. The Jets are now 4-11, meaning they are highly unlikely to get one of the top two picks. The Jaguars are 2-13 and in position to draft No. 1 overall.

Both teams had COVID-19 issues. The Jets had 20 players on the list, including defensive lineman Quinnen Williams, who landed on the list Sunday morning. They were missing five starters on defense and had two safeties making their first starts of the season.

The matchup between the quarterbacks taken No. 1 and No. 2 overall in this year’s draft was nothing special. The highlight of Zach Wilson’s day was the 52-yard touchdown run. He ran for 91 yards on four carries and threw for just 102 yards on 14 of 22 passing. He also threw for a touchdown to offensive lineman Conor McDermott that gave the Jets a 23-15 lead in the fourth quarter. Wilson did not throw any interceptions but had four passes that the Jaguars nearly picked.

Giants Keep Losing, Eagles Win Easily 34-10

The New York Giants fell, 34-10, to the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday afternoon. The Giants have now lost four straight games and, at 4-11, are officially eliminated from the postseason. The Eagles are now 8-7 on the season and improved their playoff chances.

The Eagles had a dominant second half against the Giants, scoring 31 unanswered points in cruising to the 34-10 victory — and grabbing hold of the No. 7 seed in the NFC playoffs thanks to the Minnesota Vikings falling to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.

Philadelphia and New York were tied 3-3 at halftime as the Eagles struggled to move the ball in the first half, but the Eagles capitalized off plenty of Giants miscues in the second half to make it a rout. The Eagles scored on four consecutive possessions to open the second half, highlighted by a 3-yard touchdown run by Boston Scott to give Philadelphia the lead for good at 10-3 and a 4-yard catch for DeVonta Smith that put Philadelphia up 20-3 and in full command of the game.

The Giants’ offense was abysmal against the Eagles, starting with QB Jake Fromm in his three quarters of action before being benched for Mike Glennon.

Fromm was abysmal in his first career start, finishing 6 of 17 for 25 yards with a touchdown and an interception in the loss. The Giants finished with under 200 yards of offense.