d for the Senators, who beat the Sharks for a fifth straight time. Theyve won three straight in San Jose for the first time ever.Sticks

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Colts coach Chuck Pagano returned home to Indianapolis in a good mood.A 31-26 win Sunday on the road over the Green Bay Packers should do wonders for his teams confidence going into a bye week.Jordan Todman had a 99-yard return for a touchdown on the opening kickoff, Frank Gore rushed for two touchdowns and Andrew Luck shook off two interceptions in the first quarter with two clutch third-down throws in the fourth quarter to hold off the Packers.This was about as close as a must-win game as it could get at midseason for Indianapolis (4-5).Everybody knew exactly where we were and what the stakes were. Its a whole different world today, right now. Tomorrow will be a totally different world, Pagano said. A 4-5 record is way different coming off this then going back home and being 3-6.The Colts survived after letting an 18-point lead with 9:35 left nearly disappear. They withstood Aaron Rodgers comeback attempt.Not an ideal start offensively ... from my game, the two interceptions. Like anything, youve got to move on, Luck said . The defense built up strong early, which was huge. Then made enough plays at the end to win.Rodgers 3-yard touchdown pass to Randall Cobb with 3:29 left got Green Bay (4-4) within five, capping a 14-point spurt in four-plus minutes. Rodgers finished 26 of 43 for 297 yards with three scores and an interception.Luck responded on the Colts next drive with what Pagano called two unbelievable plays.The quarterback dodged a potential sack by blitzing safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix to throw a 20-yard pass on third-and-10 with 3:07 left to tight end Jack Doyle.Luck also found T.Y. Hilton for a 27-yard completion on third-and-2 with 2 minutes left to put the game away. He finished 23 of 36, throwing both interceptions to Clinton-Dix.We didnt play good enough, Im disappointed, Im irritated, the fact that we were not sharp as a football team, Packers coach Mike McCarthy said.Other notes and takeaways from the game:PROTECTING LUCKThe Colts, who had allowed an NFL-worst 31 sacks coming into the game, gave their quarterback decent protection. Luck was sacked twice and maneuvered out of other tight spots, including a 7-yard scramble on a bootleg on third-and-1 with 37 seconds left in the second quarter.He deftly engineered a 15-play, 96-yard drive that ended with an 8-yard touchdown pass to Donte Moncrief with 11 seconds left to give Indianapolis a 21-10 halftime lead.LOW ENERGY?Familiar problems surfaced early for the Packers, who lost their second straight game. The offense had trouble getting going until the fourth quarter. But the defense gave up at least 30 points for a second straight game, and special teams also hurt them.Todmans kickoff return to open the game seemed to be a Green Bay buzz-killer.Weve all got to be a little mentally tougher. I dont understand the way the sideline was after that first play. We go down, lets get a field goal and well win the game. Its 7-3 early on. Weve got to be a little tougher. Thats the mark of a team, Rodgers said.INJURIESRodgers said he had his left foot stepped on pretty hard. I mean, thats a common frustration from time to time, just getting stepped on really badly. Its fine.Cobb finished with two catches for 14 yards. Questionable before the game with a hamstring injury, Cobb didnt play until the second half.I took a conservative approach with him. I was going to use him only when we needed him. Obviously, we needed him in the second half and he gave us everything hes got, McCarthy said.Safety Micah Hyde (shoulder) left in the fourth quarter. The Colts had no injuries to report.FURRY FRIENDA persistent squirrel livened up the crowd at Lambeau Field.The squirrel first made its appearance in the first half, then returned late in the third quarter. With the Packers driving at about the Colts 12, the squirrel dashed along the goal line, forcing the officials to call timeout. The squirrel finally went out of bounds, but not before causing a stir on social media .The Packers had to settle for a 27-yard field goal with 1:46 left to get within 24-13. No word on if the squirrel made the traditional Lambeau Leap to celebrate.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL---Follow Genaro Armas at: https://twitter.com/GArmasAP Custom Kansas City Royals Nike Jerseys . On Saturday night, the normally free throw-challenged centre did just that. Howard scored 18 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, including 13 of 19 free throws in a 2 1/2-minute stretch, and the Houston Rockets beat the Denver Nuggets 122-111. Custom Baltimore Orioles Nike Jerseys . Newcastle dominated in the early stages but City weathered the storm and then raised its game in extra time. Negredo broke the deadlock from close range after a simple move in the 99th minute before Dzeko took the ball round goalkeeper Tim Krul to seal the victory in the 105th. https://www.custombaseballnikejerseys.com/ . Didier Drogba gave away the penalty that put Senegal one goal away from a major upset, but the veteran striker will get another chance -- probably his last -- at the World Cup after Salomon Kalous injury-time strike sealed the Ivorians place in Brazil next year. Custom Toronto Blue Jays Nike Jerseys . From filmmaker Nanette Burstein (On the Ropes), The Price of Gold revisits the saga that rocked the figure skating world ahead of the 1994 Lillehammer Olympic Winter Games: the assault on Nancy Kerrigan, and the plot that led its way back to her rival Tonya Harding. Custom Colorado Rockies Nike Jerseys . Luis Suarezs double powered Liverpool to a 4-0 victory over Fulham, and Southampton easily overcame Hull 4-1 to continue the south coast clubs impressive start to the season. Liverpool and Southampton sent Chelsea down to fourth place as the west London club was held to 2-2 at home. SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Erik Karlsson enjoys getting a break every now and then, and Chris Kelly likes getting a lucky bounce every once in a while. It all worked to Ottawas advantage, which extended a nice streak.Kelly scored with 1:06 remaining and Jean-Gabriel Pageau added an empty-net goal, giving the Ottawa Senators a 4-2 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday night.It was just a safe play, Kelly said. The puck was bouncing around a lot. It bounced past the first defender and then got to the second defenders skate, and I just tried to tip it through and it was in.Mark Stone and Erik Karlsson also scored for the Senators, who beat the Sharks for a fifth straight time. Theyve won three straight in San Jose for the first time ever.Sticks hit, the puck pops up and its a weird goal, Sharks captain Joe Pavelski said. Sometimes it works like that. We had more than enough looks to get into it.Logan Couture and Brent Burns scored for the Sharks, who had a three-game winning streak snapped.Mike Condon stopped 35 of 37 shots for the Sens. The Sharks outshot Ottawa 18-4 in the third period, and Martin Jones allowed three goals on 16 shots overall.That was an emotional game, a lot of fun, the kind of game you like to play, Condon said. We wanted to play better with the lead but we kept them at bay and showed a lot of resilience there. Well take the two points and get out of here as quick as we can.The Senators struck quickly, recording a power-play goal less than four minutes into the contest. Mike Hoffman tossed the puck toward the net and it bounced off Burns skate. Burns lost sight of it and Stone picked it up, firing past everybody into the net.Hoffman has a point in six straight games and in eight of nine since missing a pair of contests with an injury.Karlssson made it 2-0 with a goal about four minutes later.dddddddddddd. Sharks defender Brendan Dillon tried clearing it from in front of the net, but Karlsson was right there to fire it to the high glove side.We caught a break there. Even down 2-0, I think they did a tremendous job in keeping us in our zone, Karlsson said. Condon made some big saves at the right time. We should be happy to be coming away with a late goal the way we did. We did all we could, and they played a terrific game, too.Couture got the Sharks on the board with a power-play goal midway through the second period. The Senators cleared the puck two straight possessions before Pavelski rushed to the net and then slipped the puck to an open Couture, who has six goals in his past eight games, about 10 feet away for the score.You take a penalty, they get a lucky bounce and theyre up two, Couture said. It was a disappointing loss. There were a lot of things we could have done better.Burns tied the score 6:30 into the third period, methodically working the puck to set up a shot that squeezed past Condon to the glove side.Game notes Senators D Marc Methot missed his fourth straight contest with a lower body injury. ... Stone has eight points in his last six games. ... Karlsson has nine points in his last five games. ... The Sharks recalled F Kevin LeBlanc and D Mirco Mueller. Mueller was a healthy scratch. ... Sharks D Paul Martin recorded his 300th NHL point with an assist on Burns goal.UP NEXT:Senators: Continue a four-game trip at the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday.Sharks: Travel to Anaheim for a game Friday night and then return home to face Carolina on Saturday night. ' ' '