Jaguars 9, Bills 6
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.
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 Josh Allen completed 31 of 47 passes for 264 yards, with the two interceptions and a fumble.
The players with the same first and last name had never meet before Sunday even though they were both selected with the seventh pick in consecutive NFL drafts. They have exchanged messages via social media.
Falcons 27, Saints 25
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 27-25.
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 8-yard pass to Kenny Stills with 1:01 left.
New Orleans then missed a 2-point conversion try for the second time in the game, leaving the door open for the Falcons to win with a field goal.
Even with top Falcons receiver Calvin Ridley unavailable while addressing mental health issues, Ryan completed 23 of 30 passes without a turnover. Russell Gage caught seven passes for 64 yards, rookie tight end Kyle Pitts caught three for 62 yards and Zaccheaus caught three for 58 yards.
Saints coach Sean Payton started Siemian on the heels of Jameis Winston’s season-ending knee injury a week ago, and intermittently mixed in Taysom Hill behind center. Siemian passed for 249 yards and two touchdowns without an interception, and Hill completed both of his passes for 33 yards. But both quarterbacks were hindered by a combination of penalties, dropped passes and protection breakdowns.
Dolphins 17, Texans 9
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 17-9.
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.
It was the most turnovers in an NFL game since the New York Jets and Kansas City also combined for nine on Sept. 25, 2016.
Brissett filled in again for Tua Tagovailoa, who missed the game with a finger injury on his throwing hand.
Jaylen Waddle caught eight passes for 83 yards for Miami, which got a touchdown run from Myles Gaskin and a scoring catch from Mack Hollins.
Ka’imi Fairbairn had three field goals for Houston (1-8). Texans quarterback Tyrod Taylor returned after missing most of the season with a hamstring injury and was far from sharp.
Taylor completed 24 of 43 passes for 240 yards, with three interceptions. It added up to a miserable 42.8 rating.
Patriots 24, Panthers 6
Mac Jones overcame two early turnovers and threw for 139 yards and a touchdown, J.C. Jackson returned one of three Sam Darnold interceptions for an 88-yard touchdown and the New England Patriots defeated the Carolina Panthers 24-6 on Sunday 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.
Even the return of Christian McCaffrey from a five-game absence couldn’t help Carolina’s offense. Christian McCaffrey had 14 carries for 52 yards and caught four passes for 54 yards in his return to the starting lineup.
Giants 23, Raiders 16
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 defeated the Las Vegas Raiders 23-16.
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.
Carr threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Hunter Renfrow for the Raiders (5-3), who are an NFL-worst 3-16 after a week off over the last 19 years. The usually accurate quarterback also missed a wide-open Darren Waller for another score just before halftime as the Raiders settled for three short field goals by Daniel Carlson, who also missed a 25-yarder in the second half.
Carr, who was 30 of 46 for 296 yards, drove Las Vegas to the Giants 13 in the final minutes. On second-and-10, he was strip-sacked by Quincy Roche and Leonard Williams recovered the loose ball to ice the game.
Broncos 30, Cowboys 16
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.
The Broncos (5-4) sacked Prescott twice, both by rookie Jonathon Cooper for the first of his career, and generally made him uncomfortable in their first game since trading star pass rusher Von Miller — and with new team sacks leader Malik Reed (hip injury) inactive.
Prescott was 19 of 39 for 232 yards as his franchise-best, four-game run with at least three touchdown passes ended.
Bridgewater finished 19 of 28 for 249 yards with several big throws that helped the Broncos convert 8 of 15 third downs.
Javonte Williams had 17 carries for 111 yards, including a 20-yarder to kick-start Denver’s first scoring drive, which ended on Melvin Gordon’s 3-yard run. Gordon had 80 yards as the Broncos ran for 190 against the league’s sixth-best run defense.
Ravens 34, Vikings 31
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 interception by Minnesota’s Anthony Barr on the first possession of overtime. But Minnesota went three-and-out, and Baltimore drove into Tucker’s range again.
It was another agonizing loss for the Vikings (3-5), who have not dropped a game all season by more than seven points.
Jackson threw for 266 yards and three touchdowns with two interceptions. He also ran for 120 yards on 21 carries. It was his 10th career 100-yard rushing game, tying Michael Vick’s regular-season record for quarterbacks.
Browns 41, Bengals 16
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, trounced Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals, 41-16.
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.
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.
Burrow threw two interceptions and was sacked five times — three by blitzing cornerback Troy Hill — and Bengals rookie receiver Ja’Marr Chase dropped two passes, one in the end zone.
Mayfield, who suffered a cut on his left knee in the second half, finished 14 of 21 for 218 yards and a 132.6 passer rating.
Burrow went 28 of 40 for 282 yards and the two picks, raising his career total to 22.
Chargers 27, Eagles 24
Justin Herbert threw two touchdown passes and ran for a score, and Dustin Hopkins kicked a 29-yard field goal with 2 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 1 yard on a sneak on fourth-and-1 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.
Cardinals 31, 49ers 17
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 31-17.
The Cardinals (8-1) were playing without quarterback Kyler Murray and receivers DeAndre Hopkins and A.J. Green but still had little trouble completing the season sweep against the 49ers (3-5).
Conner finished with 173 yards from scrimmage and now leads the NFL in TDs with 11, all scored in the past seven games.
San Francisco lost a pair of fumbles in the first half and struggled defensively even against McCoy, a career backup who had won two starts in the past 10 seasons. McCoy went 22 for 26 for 249 yards.
The Niners are now winless in four home games this season and are just 1-8 at Levi’s Stadium the past two seasons.
Jimmy Garoppolo played well, throwing for 326 yards and two touchdowns, but the Niners never got the running game established and were gashed on defense. Garoppolo threw a late interception to end any chance at a comeback.
Chiefs 13, Packers 7
Patrick Mahomes threw for 166 yards and a touchdown, Kansas City relentlessly blitzed the Packers’ Jordan Love in his first start in place of Aaron Rodgers, and the Chiefs held off Green Bay 13-7.
Rodgers tested positive for COVID-19 last 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.
Love’s touchdown pass to Allen Lazard with 4:49 left gave Green Bay a chance. But Mahomes threw a dart to Tyreek Hill on third-and-10 near midfield with less than two minutes left for a first down that allowed the Chiefs to run out the clock.
Travis Kelce had five catches for 68 yards and a touchdown for the Chiefs (5-4), who have won their three of their last four games.
The Packers (7-2) only managed 301 yards off offense as their seven-game winning streak came to an end. Green Bay also fell to 6-12-1 without Rodgers since 2008.
SUNDAY NIGHT: Titans 28, Rams 16
Kevin Byard returned Matthew Stafford’s second consecutive interception 24 yards for a touchdown, and Tennessee’s defense carried the Titans to a 28-16 victory over the Los Angeles Rams in a showdown between conference co-leaders.
Jeffery Simmons had three of Tennessee’s five sacks of Stafford who crucially threw back-to-back interceptions that the Titans turned into 14 points in 11 seconds of the second quarter, sending them well on their way to their fifth consecutive victory.
Ryan Tannehill passed for 143 yards and a touchdown and rushed for another score for the Titans (7-2), who managed just 194 offensive yards in their first game without injured NFL rushing leader Derrick Henry.
Adrian Peterson rushed for just 21 yards, but the veteran running back made a 6-yard TD run with 3:00 left in the first game of his 15th NFL season.
Stafford passed for 294 yards and threw the 24th pick-6 of his career — most among active quarterbacks — during easily the worst game of his debut season with the Rams (7-2). Los Angeles’ four-game winning streak ended in just the fourth meeting in 15 years between two teams with their conferences’ top records.
TONIGHT on MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL:
The (3-5) Chicago Bears are in Pittsburgh to battle the (4-3) Steelers.
