OXFORD–Joel Bouagnon ran for 134 yards and three touchdowns and Northern Illinois routed Miami (Ohio), 45-12 on Saturday afternoon.Bouagnon had a pair of 22-yard runs for touchdowns in the first quarter and added a 53-yard scoring run in the third. With the Huskies (4-3, 2-1 Mid-American Conference) attempting to run out the clock in the fourth quarter, Marcus Jones broke loose for a 73-yard touchdown run with 2:19 left.NIU had 311 yards on the ground while Drew Hare passed for 203 yards and a touchdown. The Huskies punted only twice all game.The Northern Illinois kicking game helped Miami. Aregeros Turner fielded the kick-off to start the second half inside the 1, then took a knee in the end zone for a Red Hawks safety.Billy Bahl got Miami (1-6, 0-3) in the end zone in the fourth quarter, finding Fred McRae IV from 25 yards out.The Huskies (4-3, 2-1 Mid-American Conference) attempting to run out the clock in the fourth quarter, Marcus Jones broke loose for a 73-yard touchdown run with 2:19 left.Bouagnon had a pair of 22-yard runs for touchdowns in the first quarter and added a 53-yard scoring run in the third. With the Huskies (4-3, 2-1 Mid-American Conference) attempting to run out the clock in the fourth quarter, Marcus Jones broke loose for a 73-yard touchdown run with 2:19 left.

Artem Anisimov and Teuvo Teravainen scored 1:05 apart late in the second period to break a scoreless tie, and the Blackhawks beat Columbus 4-1 on Saturday night, handing the Blue Jackets their sixth straight loss. Marian Hossa added a power-play goal in the third and had an assist as the defending Stanley Cup champions rebounded after consecutive listless losses at Philadelphia and Washington, where they scored only once while giving up seven goals.Patrick Kane completed the scoring with with his fourth goal, shot into an empty net with 1:27 left.Columbus’ Jack Johnson scored on a shot from the left point with 3:39 left in the third period – and former Blackhawk forward Brandon Saad parked in front – to spoil Corey Crawford‘s shutout bid. Crawford finished with 22 saves.Veteran backup Curtis McElhinney started in goal for Columbus in place of struggling Sergei Bobrovsky and made 26 saves.

WASHINGTON—Braden Holtby stopped 26 shots, Alex Ovechkin scored a goal in his return to the Washington lineup and the Capitals beat the punchless Blackhawks 4-1 on Thursday night.John Carlson, T.J. Oshie and Matt Niskanen also scored the Capitals, who welcomed back Ovechkin following a one-game disciplinary absence.Coming off a 3-0 loss to Philadelphia one night earlier, the Blackhawks trailed by three goals in this one before Viktor Svedberg got his first goal of the season at 3:13 of the third period. That ended a scoreless drought of 107 minutes, 46 seconds for the defending Stanley Cup champions.Ovechkin sealed the victory at 14:18, scoring from the left side of the net after a back-and-forth with teammate Evgeny Kuznetsov.Ovechkin was benched Tuesday night in Washington’s 5-0 loss to San Jose after missing practice that morning. He said he overslept after accidentally setting his alarm for 8:30 p.m. instead of 8:30 a.m.The Hawks host Columbus and Brandon Saad Saturday night at the United Center.

PHILADELPHIA—Michal Neuvirth stopped 30 shots in his second straight shutout, leading the Philadelphia Flyers to a 3-0 win over the Blackhawks on Wednesday night.Sam Gagner, Claude Giroux and Matt Read scored to lead the Flyers to their 12th straight regular-season home victory over the Hawks. The Flyers have not lost to the Blackhawks in Philly during the regular season since Nov. 9, 1996.The Blackhawks beat the Flyers in the 2010 Stanley Cup Final and clinched with a Game 6 win in Philly.Filling in for Steve Mason, Neuvirth was sensational in his ninth career shutout. Mason missed a second straight game because of unspecified family reasons and there was no word when he would return.

Reggie Jackson had 20 points and Marcus Morris and Reggie Bullock added 17 apiece to lead the Detroit Pistons to a 114-91 victory over the Bulls on Wednesday night in a preseason game. Jackson was 7 for 15 from the field. Bullock, who was 7 of 8 from the field, had 12 points in the fourth quarter . Andre Drummond had 14 points and 10 rebounds. E’Twaun Moore had a Bulls team-high 16 points . Aaron Brooks had 13 points off the bench and rookie Bobby Portis had 11 points in 21 minutes . Taj Gibson (left ankle surgery) made his preseason debut, finishing with four points and two rebounds in 10 first-half minutes. Derrick Rose (surgery for left orbital fracture) was cleared to begin non-contact activity on Wednesday. ”He still won’t do any contact for at least the next several days,” coach Fred Hoiberg said. Rose’s status for the Oct. 27 opener remains uncertain. Detroit visits San Antonio on Sunday . The Bulls visit Charlotte on Monday.

AFC GAMES:
Den over CLEVE, JAX over Hou, Cin over BUF, TENN over Mia
NFC GAMES:
SEAT oover Car
INT CONF GAMES:
NYJ over Wash,Ariz over PITT,SF over Balt
PRIME TIME GAMES:
Thur Night: N.ORL over Atl
Sun Night: N.Eng over INDY
Mon Night: NY Giants over PHILA
NFC NORTH GAMES:
GB over S.Diego, MINN over K.City, Bears over DET
HOME teams in ALL CAPS.
Last Week: Les 9-5, Producers 9-5. Total: Les & Producers both 49-29

Anthony Davis, playing in his hometown, scored 26 points on 10-for-16 shooting to lead the New Orleans Pelicans to a 123-115 preseason win over the Bulls on Monday night.Rookie Bobby Portis led the Bulls with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Doug McDermott had 17 and Tony Snell added 15 points.Sean Kilpatrick had 23 points and Tyreke Evans and Ryan Anderson each had 18 for New Orleans. Anderson led the Pelicans with 10 rebounds.Derrick Rose (left orbital fracture) remains out, but coach Fred Hoiberg said Rose could be cleared to begin activity within a week, and be practicing shortly thereafter.New Orleans’ Eric Gordon, who had been starting for the Pelicans, sat out with back spasms.The Bulls hosts the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday. … New Orleans travels to Lexington, Ky. to play the Sacramento Kings at Rupp Arena on Saturday.

KANSAS CITY—Jay Cutler spent the afternoon dodging Chiefs defenders behind a patchwork offensive line, trying to find somewhere to throw the ball without his top two wide receivers.It just made his fourth-quarter comeback even more impressive.Cutler led the Bears to two touchdowns in the closing minutes Sunday, the second an alert toss to Matt Forte with 18 seconds remaining, giving the Visitors an 18-17 comeback win after Kansas City lost star running back Jamaal Charles to a potentially season-ending knee injury.

”I knew we needed to make some plays in the fourth quarter. I trust the guys around me,” said Cutler, who was making his second start after a hamstring injury. ”I know all I’ve got to do is get the ball out to them and they’ll do most of the hard work.”

Playing without wide receivers Alshon Jeffery and Eddie Royal because of injuries, along with three starting offensive linemen, the Bears (2-3) trailed 17-3 early in the third quarter.That’s when Charles went down while trying to make a cut, his right knee twisting at an ugly angle. The preliminary diagnosis was a torn ACL and Charles will have an MRI on Monday.With him out, the Bears quickly seized the momentum.After Robbie Gould’s second field goal got them going, Cutler led an 88-yard drive that he capped with a 22-yard pass to Marquess Wilson with 3:05 left. The 2-point conversion came up short, but the Bears defense responded by forcing a quick three-and-out.With help from a pass interference call on Chiefs rookie Marcus Peters, the Bears quickly moved down the field. That’s when Cutler took a snap from the shotgun, dropped the ball, picked it up and spotted Forte running past safety Husain Abdullah in the end zone for the go-ahead score.The Chiefs (1-4) tried a 66-yard field goal that came up short as time expired.It was the second heartbreaking defeat at home for Kansas City this season. AFC West rival Denver scored two touchdowns in the final 2:27 for a 31-24 victory last month.Making this one even worse was the injury to Charles, who was starting to get into a rhythm went he went down deep in Bears territory. He immediately grabbed his right knee – Charles tore the ACL in his left knee four years ago – and was helped straight to the locker room.

”It looks more like a torn ACL than anything else,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. ”We’ll have an MRI on it tomorrow and we’ll just see how that goes.”

That drive stalled, and Cairo Santos had his field-goal attempt blocked. The missed points wound up looming large in a game that Kansas City will remember for its missed opportunities.

”We had so many opportunities to win this game,” wide receiver Jeremy Maclin said, ”and we blew it. We don’t have anybody to blame but ourselves.”

Until Charles went down, everything was going splendidly for the Chiefs, who had jumped out to a comfortable lead thanks to a pair of surprising touchdowns.The first occurred on the third series of the game, when Cutler was sacked in the end zone by Jaye Howard and Allen Bailey. Cutler lost the ball before hitting the turf, and rookie linebacker Ramik Wilson jumped on it for a touchdown in his first NFL start.The Chiefs’ second TD came when Alex Smith connected with DeAnthony Thomas with a 14-yard pitch-and-catch midway through the second quarter. Why so surprising? It was the second scoring reception by a Kansas City wide receiver since December 2013.But things went haywire for the Chiefs once Charles left, and the Bears began to chip into the lead. Cutler ultimately led them all the way back with poise down the stretch.

”The passing game opened up for us a little bit,” Forte said, ”and our two-minute offense took over at the end for the second week in a row. It’s just a testament to the coaches and practice. We practice that all during the week.”

Notes: Smith was 16 of 30 for 181 yards without an interception, but was sacked three times. He’s been sacked 22 times already this season. … Bears coach John Fox improved to 8-1 against Kansas City. Most of those wins came with Denver. … Cutler needs three TD passes to surpass Sid Luckman (137) for most in franchise history.

WINNIPEG—E’Twaun Moore scored 18 points to lead the Bulls to a 114-105 preseason victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night.The big attraction, however was Canada native and reigning NBA rookie of the year Andrew Wiggins, who had nine points in 24 minutes for the Timberwolves.Wiggins received the loudest cheer when the No. 1 pick in the 2014 draft was introduced to the sold-out crowd of 15,294 at MTS Centre, many sporting shirts with his No. 22.Tyus Jones had 18 points for the Timberwolves.The last NBA game in Winnipeg in 2012 also drew a packed house.The teams crossed the border as part of this year’s Canada Series. Five NBA teams are playing four exhibition games in cities that don’t have teams – Vancouver, Winnipeg, Ottawa and Montreal.Wiggins, 20, is considered a role model for the next wave of aspiring Canadian professional basketball players. It’s a distinction the Vaughan, Ontario native doesn’t mind. ”I’m fine with that. I feel that I carry myself pretty well,” Wiggins said after the Saturday morning shootaround.I do things off the court, on the court, to help the people around me. I like to give hope, create opportunity for others.” The red jerseys of the Bulls were also peppered throughout the crowd, with fans loudly cheering as they took a 22-point lead with just over 9 minutes left in the second quarter.Minnesota closed the gap to 65-55 at halftime and made it a six-point deficit with just over 4 minutes left in the game before the Bulls pulled away.

Patrick Kane and rookie Artemi Panarin each had a goal and two assists, and the Blackhawks beat the New York Islanders 4-1 on Saturday night.Defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk added his first career NHL goal as the Blackhawks cruised to their first home win of the season. The Hawks also beat New York 3-2 in overtime on Friday night, spoiling the Islanders’ Brooklyn debut.Scott Darling made 28 saves for the Blackhawks in his first start of the season. He was working on a shutout before Cal Clutterbuck got a short-handed goal with 1:05 left in the third.