Titans 45, Colts 26
Derrick Henry rushed for 140 yards and three touchdowns in the first half, finished with 178 yards and led the Tennessee Titans to a crucial 45-26 rout of the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.
The win gives Tennessee (8-3) sole possession of the AFC South lead, a split in the two-game season series and a tiebreaking edge based on current division records of the teams. Henry also padded his lead as he chases a second straight rushing crown.
He has three straight 100-yard games and eight consecutive road games with 100 or more yards, tying former Titans running back Chris Johnson for the second-longest streak since the 1970 merger. Only Hall of Famer Barry Sanders (10 in 1996-97) had a longer streak.
After the Colts (7-4) tied the score at 7 with an 11-yard pass from Philip Rivers to Trey Burton, Ryan Tannehill hooked up with A.J. Brown on a 69-yard scoring play. When the Colts tied it again on Jacoby Brissett’s 1-yard TD run, Henry went back to work.
He scored on a 1-yard run midway through the second quarter, added an 11-yard TD run to make it 28-14, and was used as a decoy on Tannehill’s 1-yard TD run that gave Tennessee an insurmountable 35-14 halftime lead.
Vikings 28, Panthers 27
Chad Beebe caught a 10-yard touchdown pass with 46 seconds left for Minnesota shortly after he muffed a punt that let Carolina pad its lead. Then Joey Slye missed a 54-yard field goal try with 1 second remaining that preserved the Vikings’ victory.
Kirk Cousins went 34 for 45 for 307 yards and three scores for the Vikings (5-6), hitting Justin Jefferson for his second touchdown grab with 5:38 to go and finding Beebe for the winner to punctuate a seven-play, 75-yard drive that took 65 seconds.
There were 38 points scored by both teams in an action-packed second half that started with Panthers rookie Jeremy Chinn turning fumble recoveries into touchdown returns on consecutive plays from scrimmage. Sixty-nine seconds into the third quarter, the Panthers (4-8) suddenly were up 21-10.
After Beebe dropped his fair catch and Myles Hartsfield recovered at the 9, shortly before the 2-minute warning, the Panthers played it safe with a pair of running plays. Bridgewater misfired for an open D.J. Moore on third down, and Slye — who had a short field goal blocked earlier — made a 21-yarder to push the lead to six points.
Cousins responded with the kind of late-game go-ahead drive that’s been mostly missing during his three seasons with Minnesota.
Bills 27, Chargers 17
L.A.’s Joey Bosa had eight tackles, three sacks, five quarterback hits, six tackles for loss, a pass defensed and a fumble recovery, but the Buffalo Bills won anyway, 27-17.
The Chargers ended the game on the Bills’ 1-yard line.
The Chargers fell to 3-8 with another frustrating loss, while the Bills improved to 8-3.
Josh Allen went 18-of-24 for 157 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Receiver Cole Beasley also threw a touchdown pass on a trick play.
Gabriel Davis caught three passes for 79 yards and the 20-yard touchdown pass from Beasley.
The Bills ran for 172 yards, with Devin Singletary gaining 82 yards on 11 carries and Zack Moss went for 59 yards on nine carries.
Buffalo turned the ball over on three consecutive drives in the second half, with two fumbles and an interception, to keep the Chargers in it.
Justin Herbert was 31-of-52 for 316 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Austin Ekeler caught 11 passes for 85 yards in his return and ran for 44 yards on 14 carries.
Patriots 20, Cardinals 17
Nick Folk kicked a 50-yard field goal as time expired and New England rallied in the second half to beat Arizona.
James White rushed for two touchdowns for the Patriots (5-6). It was the second time this month that Folk hit a last-second game-winning field goal. His 51-yarder beat the New York Jets 30-27 on Nov. 9.
Arizona (6-5) hasn’t beaten New England since 2012.
Cam Newton struggled, finishing 9 of 18 for 84 yards and two interceptions, and New England had only 179 yards of offense. But the Patriots took advantage of Cardinals mistakes.
New England’s defense was solid, holding Arizona’s top-ranked offense to 298 yards. Kenyan Drake rushed for 78 yards and two touchdowns for Arizona.
Kyler Murray finished 23 of 34 for 170 yards and an interception. Murray had 31 rushing yards and was held without a touchdown pass for the first time this season.
Falcons 43, Raiders 6
Deion Jones returned an interception 67 yards for a touchdown, Matt Ryan threw a pair of short scoring passes, and Atlanta Falcons thoroughly dominated Derek Carr and Las Vegas.
The Raiders (6-5) lost their second in a row and looked very much like a pretender in the AFC playoff race, delivering a mistake-filled performance against an Atlanta team that’s playing out the season under an interim coach.
Carr had a miserable day, fumbling the ball away three times in addition to delivering the pick that the Falcons linebacker returned for his fifth career TD.
Las Vegas had a season-worst five turnovers in all and was flagged 11 times for 141 yards, with one penalty wiping out an interception and another allowing the Falcons (4-7) to keep the ball after a missed field goal.
Carr was swarmed by the pass rush and threw behind running back Devontae Booker on a short pass over the middle. The ball went right to Jones, who streaked all the way to the end zone with no one even close.
Dolphins 20, Jets 3
Ryan Fitzpatrick threw two touchdown passes while starting in place of the injured Tua Tagovailoa and Miami kept New York winless.
Tagovailoa was inactive with a left thumb injury, so Fitzpatrick stepped in against one of his many former teams.
The veteran quarterback was 24 of 39 for 257 yards with TD throws to tight ends Mike Gesicki and Adam Shaheen, helping the Dolphins (7-4) bounce back after having a five-game winning streak end last week.
New York got its starting quarterback back as Sam Darnold played after missing the last two games with a shoulder injury. But he was unable to get much going for the offense.
Darnold was intercepted twice and the Jets (0-11) twice couldn’t take advantage of takeaways by the defense. Darnold was 16 of 27 for 197 yards.
Browns 27, Jaguars 25
Baker Mayfield took advantage of his best game-day weather in a month, throwing two touchdown passes as Cleveland beat Jacksonville to remain squarely in the AFC playoff picture.
Mayfield connected with Jarvis Landry and Austin Hooper for scores, ending a three-game drought without a passing TD. Mayfield nearly had two more, but he inexplicably missed wide-open Rashard Higgins in the end zone in the second quarter, then watched Harrison Bryant drop another early in the fourth.
Mayfield’s worst misfire was nearly costly. He threw behind Kareem Hunt in the flat on a third-and-1 play late, and Hunt failed to pick up the first down on the ensuing down.
Jacksonville ended up with a chance to tie. James Robinson’s 4-yard run made it 27-25, but Mike Glennon threw incomplete on a 2-point conversion attempt for the second time in the game.
The Browns improved to 8-3 for the first time since 1994, when they were 11-5 under Bill Belichick. It’s their most wins in 13 years.
Jacksonville (1-10) set a single-season franchise record by losing its 10th consecutive game.
Mayfield completed 19 of 29 passes for 258 yards. Nick Chubb ran for 144 yards and a touchdown.
Giants 19, Bengals 17
New York lost starting quarterback Daniel Jones to a hamstring injury in the second half but generated enough offense to beat Cincinnati.
Jones went down after completing a short pass in the third quarter with the game tied at 10. He returned for two plays on the next series but then was relieved by backup Colt McCoy, who played the rest of the game.
Wayne Gallman Jr. ran for a 2-yard touchdown on fourth-and-goal in the first quarter, and Graham Gano returned from the COVID-19 list to kick four field goals as the Giants (4-7) moved into a tie with Washington for first place in the woeful NFC East.
The Bengals (2-8-1) started quarterback Brandon Allen, a player who was promoted from the practice squad, in place of rookie Joe Burrow, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in last week’s loss to Washington.
Allen was 17 for 29 for 136 yards and Cincinnati mustered just 155 total yards of offense.
Nonetheless, the Bengals had a chance late. A 1-yard touchdown pass from Allen to Tee Higgins — set up by a pass-interference penalty in the end zone — got the Bengals within two points with 2:33 remaining.
Cincinnati got the ball back, but Allen fumbled while being sacked with 57 seconds left to seal it for the Giants.
Saints 31, Broncos 3
The Denver Broncos, with no quarterback available for the game, completed one pass, gained 112 yards of offense and got rolled over by the New Orleans Saints 31-3.
Drew Lock, Brett Rypien, and Blake Bortles were all ruled out because of their exposure to Jeff Driskel, who tested positive for COVID-19. The Broncos were left to run the Wildcat with running backs Phillip Lindsay, Royce Freeman, and Melvin Gordon while leaving the passing to practice squad call-up Kendall Hinton. Hinton was once a quarterback, but now plays receiver and went 1-of-9 for 13 yards and two interceptions.
Freeman, Gordon, and Lindsay ran 29 times for 101 yards, but Lindsay left with a knee injury and did not return. They’ll hope he and the quarterbacks are back next week, against the Chiefs.
The Saints weren’t too much more impressive in the passing game. Taysom Hill was 9-of-16 for 78 yards and an interception, but he ran for two scores and Latavius Murray ran for two others. Murray had 19 carries for 124 yards overall and the Saints remain in the top spot in the NFC with a 9-2 record.
49ers 23, Rams 20
The L.A. Rams scored 17 consecutive points in the second half and seemed to have grabbed control.
But 49ers kicker Robbie Gould kicked two field goals in the final 3:11 as San Francisco upset the Rams 23-20. The 49ers swept the season series, winning the first meeting 24-16 on Oct. 18.
L.A.’s Aaron Donald had five tackles, a sack, four quarterback hits, a pass breakup and a forced fumble.
Jared Goff, though, had three of the Rams’ four turnovers.
49ers receiver Deebo Samuel set career highs in receptions and yards with 11 catches for 134 yards.
Nick Mullens was 24-of-35 for 253 yards and the one pick, while Goff was 19-of-31 for 198 yards and the two picks.
The Rams fell to 7-4 on a day the Cardinals also lost to fall to 6-5. The Seahawks, who are 7-3 and now alone in first place in the NFC West, play the Eagles tonight. The 49ers are 5-6 after winning a fourth consecutive game against the Rams.
Chiefs 27, Buccaneers 24
Patrick Mahomes finished with 462 passing yards, Tyreek Hill had 269 yards and three touchdowns and the Kansas City Chiefs defeated Tampa Bay 27-24.
Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady struggled early but ended up with solid numbers, competing 27 of 41 passes for 345 yards, with three touchdowns and two interceptions.
The win improves the Chiefs’ record to 10-1, as they continue their march to the playoffs and an attempt to defend their Super Bowl title.
The Buccaneers drop to 7-5.
SUNDAY NIGHT: Packers 41, Bears 25
Aaron Rodgers threw four touchdown passes, and the Packers Defense forced three Mitchell Trubisky turnovers as Green Bay steamrolled the Bears 41-25.
Six different players scored for the Packers, who moved to 8-3 with the win.
Rodgers was 21-of-29 for 211 yards and touchdowns of 12, 5, 2 and 39 yards to Davante Adams, Marcedes Lewis, Allen Lazard and Robert Tonyan.
The Packers’ other touchdown came on a 14-yard fumble return by Preston Smith as Za’Darius Smith forced Trubisky to lose the football.
Packers safety Darnell Savage had two interceptions of Trubisky before injuring his back.
Trubisky, who returned to the starting lineup after Nick Foles‘ hip injury last week, went 26-of-46 for 242 yards with three touchdowns to go with the two interceptions and the lost fumble.
THANKSGIVING DAY:
Texans 41, Lions 25
Deshaun Watson tossed four touchdown passes to lead Houston over Detroit 41-25.
Watson finished 17 of 25 for 318 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions. He has thrown 15 touchdown passes without getting picked off once in the past six games.
Texans star defensive end J.J. Watt had an early pick-6 and Will Fuller had six receptions for 171 yards and two touchdowns, including a 40-yard touchdown catch in which it looked like he and Watson were all alone on a practice field.
The Texans (4-7) have won two straight for the first time this season and three of their past four games with Crennel.
Detroit (4-7) might end the season with interim leaders after losing consecutive games for the third time this season. Coach Matt Patricia and general manager Bob Quinn were later fired.
Washington 41, Cowboys 16
Antonio Gibson ran for three touchdowns, Alex Smith had a scoring pass and Washington pulled away in the fourth quarter of a 41-16 Thanksgiving victory over the Dallas Cowboys.
Smith was days away from a second career Thanksgiving start in a visit to Dallas two years ago when he was injured. Now he has a second straight victory in his improbable comeback.
Gibson’s second score was a 23-yard run on the first play after an ill-advised fake punt attempt by Dallas as Washington beat its division rival on Thanksgiving for just the second time in 10 tries, the most frequent visitor for the Cowboys in their annual holiday home game.
Washington (4-7) slides ahead of Philadelphia (3-6-1) in the NFC East and will stay in first place if the Eagles lose to Seattle on Monday night. It was the third win in five games since a five-game losing streak dropped Washington to 1-5.
Dallas (3-8) couldn’t build on a big win at Minnesota, losing for the fifth time in six games since star quarterback Dak Prescott’s season-ending ankle injury.
TONIGHT on MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL:
The (7-3) Seattle Seahawks take on the (3-6-1) Philadelphia Eagles.
TOMORROW (TUESDAY) NIGHT: COVID-19 Postponed Game
The (6-4) Baltimore Ravens battle the undefeated (10-0) Pittsburgh Steelers.
