- Linebacker brings down namesake QB in surprise victory
- Browns win first game since departure of Odell Beckham
- Broncos get upset win over high-flying Cowboys
Agencies
Jacksonville had the better Josh Allen on Sunday, with the standout linebacker intercepting a pass, making a sack and recovering a fumble in a 9-6 upset of the Buffalo Bills.
His namesake, the Buffalo quarterback, turned over the ball three times, including twice in the second half. He didn’t have a second-half turnover in any previous game this season. The Bills (5-3) lost for the second time in seven games. The Jaguars (2-6) rebounded from a debacle at Seattle a week ago.
Buffalo’s Allen completed 31 of 47 passes for 264 yards, with the two interceptions and a fumble.
The first of two deciding moments came on a third-and-two play at the Jaguars 37 with just over five minutes remaining. Allen fumbled after getting pressured by Dawuane Smoot. The other Josh Allen recovered. Buffalo got the ball back in the waning minutes and advanced to the Jaguars’ 39. But Smoot sacked Allen on third down. It was Jacksonville’s fourth sack of the day. Allen got the first one.
It was the first time a player sacked a quarterback with the same name since the NFL started counting sacks in 1982.
Green Bay Packers 7-13 Kansas City Chiefs
Patrick Mahomes threw for 166 yards and a touchdown, Kansas City relentlessly blitzed the Packers’ Jordan Love in his highly anticipated first start in place of Aaron Rodgers, and the Chiefs held off Green Bay 13-7.
Rodgers tested positive for Covid-19 earlier this week, forcing the reigning MVP to miss his first game since the 2017 season. Love responded by going 19 of 34 for 190 yards with a touchdown and an interception, both of them coming in the fourth quarter when the Packers were trying to rally from a 13-0 deficit against the defending AFC champs.
Cleveland Browns 41-16 Cincinnati Bengals
Baker Mayfield threw two touchdown passes, Nick Chubb ran for 137 yards and the Cleveland Browns, sparked by cornerback Denzel Ward’s early 99-yard interception return for a TD, capped a chaotic week by smashing Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Browns (5-4) came in desperate for a win after dropping three of four. Their situation turned dramatic on Wednesday when star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr was exiled for poor behavior and the team decided to release him.
But like last year, when Mayfield played more freely after Beckham suffered a season-ending knee injury, Cleveland’s QB was on target and the Browns put together their most complete game this season to humble the Bengals (5-4), who hurt themselves with mistakes as they dropped their second straight.
Los Angeles Chargers 27–24 Philadelphia Eagles
Justin Herbert threw two touchdown passes and ran for a score, and Dustin Hopkins kicked a 29-yard field goal with two seconds remaining, leading the Los Angeles Chargers to a 27-24 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles.
Herbert threw for 356 yards, completing 32 of 38 passes. He got one-yard on a sneak on fourth-and-one from the Eagles 28 with 1:45 left, setting up Hopkins’ kick. The Chargers (5-3) snapped a two-game losing streak. The Eagles (3-6) still haven’t won a home game in four tries under rookie coach Nick Sirianni.
Arizona Cardinals 31–17 San Francisco 49ers
James Conner ran for two touchdowns and caught a 45-yard TD pass from backup quarterback Colt McCoy as the short-handed Arizona Cardinals beat the San Francisco 49ers.
The Cardinals (8-1) were playing without quarterback Kyler Murray and receivers DeAndre Hopkins and AJ Green but still had little trouble completing the season sweep against the 49ers (3-5). Conner scored on TD runs on back-to-back drives in the first quarter to stake the Cardinals to a big lead they never relinquished. Conner’s long catch-and-run TD on Arizona’s first drive of the second half helped put the game out of reach.
Denver Broncos 30–16 Dallas Cowboys
Teddy Bridgewater threw for a touchdown and had a sneak for another, and the Denver Broncos stymied the NFL’s No 1 offense when it mattered in a 30-16 victory over Dallas, ending the Cowboys’ six-game winning streak.
Dak Prescott returned after missing a game with a strained right calf but couldn’t get the Cowboys (6-2) moving until two meaningless late touchdowns that merely avoided what would have been their worst shutout loss at home since 1985.
New England Patriots 24–6 Carolina Panthers
Mac Jones overcame two early turnovers and threw for 139 yards and a touchdown, JC Jackson returned one of three Sam Darnold interceptions for an 88-yard touchdown and the New England Patriots defeated the Carolina Panthers for their fourth win in the past five games.
Rookie running back Rhamondre Stevenson had 106 yards from scrimmage before leaving the game with a head injury and Damien Harris and Hunter Henry scored touchdowns as the Patriots (5-4) improved to 4-0 on the road.
Darnold had another miserable outing for Carolina. He finished 16 of 33 for 172 yards with three picks, two of them by Jackson after the Panthers (4-5) reached the red zone. Darnold has been intercepted nine times and thrown only one touchdown in four career games against the Bill Belichick-coached Patriots.
Minnesota Vikings 31–34 Baltimore Ravens
Justin Tucker kicked a 36-yard field goal with 16 seconds left in overtime to give the Baltimore Ravens a 34-31 victory over the Minnesota Vikings.
The AFC North-leading Ravens (6-2) rallied from a 14-point third-quarter deficit and survived an acrobatic interception by Minnesota’s Anthony Barr on the first possession of overtime. Barr tipped Lamar Jackson’s pass and caught it out of the air, giving the Vikings the ball at their own 38, but Minnesota went three-and-out, and Baltimore drove into Tucker’s range again.
Las Vegas Raiders 16–23 New York Giants
Xavier McKinney returned an interception 41 yards for a touchdown early in the second half and picked off another errant throw by Derek Carr late as the New York Giants added to the Raiders’ post-bye woes with a 23-16 victory over Las Vegas.
Daniel Jones threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Evan Engram and Graham Gano added three field goals the last after McKinney’s second pick for New York (3-6). Filling in for the injured Saquon Barkley, former Raider Devontae Booker ran for 99 yards before leaving late with a hip injury.
Atlanta Falcons 27–25 New Orleans Saints
Matt Ryan hit Cordarrelle Patterson for a 64-yard gain with a minute to go, setting up Younghoe Koo’s 29-yard field goal as time expired, and the Atlanta Falcons defeated the mistake-prone New Orleans Saints.
Ryan passed for 343 yards, connected twice with Olamide Zaccheaus for touchdowns, and the veteran quarterback also ran for a score on a bootleg. Ryan’s second scoring pass gave the Falcons a 24-6 lead with 10:39 left in the fourth quarter. But the Saints rallied to briefly take the lead on Trevor Siemian’s eight-yard pass to Kenny Stills with 1:01 left. New Orleans then missed a two-point conversion try for the second time in the game, leaving the door open for the Falcons.
Houston Texans 9-17 Miami Dolphins
In the NFL’s most turnover-filled game in more than five seasons, the Miami Dolphins got 244 yards passing and a touchdown throw from surprise starter Jacoby Brissett on the way to beating the Houston Texans.
The game between two teams that entered with 1-7 records and both on seven-game losing streaks lived up or down to its billing. The Dolphins and Texans combined for nine turnovers. Miami had five, Houston four, and somehow the Dolphins (2-7) won anyway.
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