Shades of the Glory Years |

“Hats off to the offensive. Really everyone, probably except Mac, â€said Judon with a smile. “He really didn’t do anything other than hand the ball over.”

No offense taken. With 40 mph gusts of wind emphasizing running the ball, Jones was more than happy to be relegated to the transfer in New England’s 14-10 win over the Buffalo Bills on Monday night.

Jones completed just two of three 19-yard pass attempts by essentially staying behind and watching the Patriots backfield literally run away with their seventh straight win and solidify New England’s familiar place atop the AFC.

“Just a crazy game to play in,†Jones said.

“We knew it would be windy. You can’t control it. There is no on / off switch, â€he added. “You just have to go out there and do your job, and for us running the ball like we did was amazing.”

Damien Harris scored on a 64-yard rush on an outing, the Patriots beat Buffalo 222-99 in rushing yards. Nick Folk pulled off both field goal attempts at 34 and 41 yards with the wind blowing his back, and the Patriots’ defense limited the Bills to a season low 230-yard offense.

Defensive back Miles Bryant sealed the victory by pushing back Josh Allen’s pass to the goal line with Buffalo facing the New England fourth and -14 at the 18 with 1:55 to go. It came a series after Buffalo’s Tyler Bass missed a 34-yard-wide attempt into the wind in a game where the Bills scored 10 points on four drives inside the New England 20s.

Oregon defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux made it official Monday night and announced he would not be returning with the Ducks for his final year.

Thibodeaux is expected to be one of the top picks in the next NFL Draft, and the move to pro status was widely anticipated. He announced his decision on Twitter and Instagram, thanking Oregon for giving him “the opportunity to become a man ready to take on the world.”

“After a lot of thought, consideration and a life of preparation, I decided to give up my senior football season and enter the NFL Draft, pursuing my dreams,†he wrote.

Thibodeaux will not play for the No.15 Ducks in the Alamo Bowl against No.14 Oklahoma on December 29.

Oregon coach Mario Cristobal left the Ducks earlier Monday to become head coach in Miami. The Ducks on Monday named assistant Bryan McClendon, passing coordinator and wide receivers coach, as interim bowl coach.

• Minnesota rehired Kirk Ciarrocca as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach on Monday, after declining production in the two seasons he was elsewhere.

Coach PJ Fleck’s reunion with Ciarrocca began after Mike Sanford was fired when his contract expired. Sanford has held the dual role of the Gophers for the past two years.

Ciarrocca was Fleck’s offensive coordinator at Western Michigan from 2013-16 and Minnesota from 2017-19 until he held the same position at Penn State in 2020. He was fired after a season there and went on to do so. spent 2021 with West Virginia in a non-coaching role as an offensive analyst.

Coincidentally, Minnesota and West Virginia are twinned in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl in Phoenix on December 28. Ciarrocca has agreed to take the job before the bowl pairs are revealed on Sunday.

The Gophers have announced that Ciarrocca will not be coaching in the bowl game, after a conversation between Fleck and West Virginia coach Neal Brown. Wide receivers coach and offensive coordinator Matt Simon will be Minnesota’s caller in the bowl game.

• Alabama quarterback Bryce Young, Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett and Ohio State quarterback CJ Stroud have been announced as finalists for the Heisman Trophy.

The Heisman will premiere in New York on Saturday, returning to its usual routine and date – the second Saturday in December – after being forced to delay and go virtual last year due to the pandemic.