Bills 26, Dolphins 11
Josh Allen shook off the rust from a bye week off and a shaky first half to throw touchdown passes on consecutive second-half drives in leading the Buffalo Bills to a 26-11 win over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.
After managing just 100 yards net offense through Buffalo’s first possession of the third quarter, Allen found his rhythm in overseeing a pair of scoring drives which combined for 22 plays and covered 151 yards.
The Bills (5-2) rebounded from a heart-breaking 34-31 loss to Tennessee on Oct. 18 by continuing their dominance over their AFC East rival. Buffalo beat Miami for a series-record seventh consecutive time.
The Dolphins (1-7) have lost seven straight overall to match their longest skid since losing their first seven games of the 2019 season.
Tua Tagovailoa finished 21 of 39 for 205 yards and an interception amid speculation on the Dolphins interest in acquiring Deshaun Watson from Houston before the NFL’s trade deadline on Tuesday. Tagovailoa’s career record dropped to 7-7.
Panthers 19, Falcons 13
Zane Gonzalez kicked four field goals and Chuba Hubbard scored on a 6-yard run with 6 1/2 minutes remaining to seal Carolina’s 19-13 win over the Atlanta Falcons, snapping a four-game skid for the Panthers.
Carolina’s defense totally stuffed Matt Ryan and the Falcons, who managed just 213 yards total offense.
Ryan had one of the worst games of his career, throwing for just 146 yards with two interceptions. He was sacked three times and sustained a bloody cut on his non-throwing hand when a Panthers defender stepped on it, though Ryan didn’t miss any plays.
Atlanta (3-4) had won two straight games, but the Falcons squandered a chance to climb above .500 for the first time since 2017.
With his job on the line, Sam Darnold bounced back from a benching in last week’s miserable 25-3 loss to the New York Giants with a performance that was just good enough to win for Carolina (4-4).
He threw for a mere 129 yards– and rushed for 66 yards — the second-highest total of his career — but the last of those runs knocked him out of the game with a concussion in the fourth quarter.
Steelers 15, Browns 10
Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers survived losing kicker Chris Boswell for the entire second half in a 15-10 win over the Cleveland Browns.
Roethlisberger threw a touchdown pass and rookie Najee Harris had an 8-yard TD run after halftime for the Steelers (4-3), who were handicapped by Boswell suffering a concussion on a blown trick play.
The Browns (4-4) had plenty of chances, but wide receiver Jarvis Landry had a costly fumble and then couldn’t handle two passes from Baker Mayfield in the final 6:04.
Roethlisberger improved to 24-3-1 in starts against the rival Browns, including 12-2-1 in Cleveland. The 38-year-old finished 22 of 34 for 266 yards — 193 in the second half when the Steelers had no margin for error.
Punter Pressley Harvin III is Pittsburgh’s backup kicker, but he was having enough trouble with kickoffs and never even attempted to kick the ball into the sideline net.
Rams 38, Texans 22
Matthew Stafford threw for 305 yards and three touchdowns in three quarters, and the Los Angeles Rams dominated the inept Houston Texans in every way in a 38-22 win.
It’s the fourth straight victory for the Rams (7-1) and the seventh loss in a row for the Texans (1-7), their longest skid since dropping the final 14 games of the 2013 season.
Stafford threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Cooper Kupp with about 9½ minutes left in the third, lifting Los Angeles to a 31-0 lead. That score was set up when Van Jefferson got free for a 68-yard reception two plays earlier.
Kupp caught seven balls for 115 yards and Darrell Henderson had 90 yards rushing and two TDs.
Eagles 44, Lions 6
Boston Scott and Jordan Howard each had two touchdowns on the ground, helping the Philadelphia Eagles run over the Detroit Lions in a 44-6 win.
The Eagles (3-5) ended a two-game losing streak while the Lions (0-8) go into their bye week as the NFL’s only winless team.
Jared Goff was sacked a season-high five times and finished 23 of 34 for 222 yards.
The Eagles didn’t need to pass much to beat Detroit, so they didn’t as Jalen Hurts was 9 of 14 for 103 yards. He ran seven times for 71 of his team’s 236 yards rushing.
Titans 34, Colts 31 OT
Randy Bullock made a 44-yard field goal with 4:03 left in overtime to cap a wild game, giving the Tennessee Titans a wild 34-31 victory and control of the AFC South.
The teams combined for two touchdowns in the final 86 seconds of regulation to set up overtime and Colts quarterback Carson Wentz threw two interceptions in the final 7 1/2 minutes after throwing only one all season.
Tennessee (6-2) has won four straight overall to take a three-game lead in the division and also has the third season sweep of the Colts in franchise history.
Indianapolis (3-5) has lost three straight in the series.
49ers 33, Bears 22
Jimmy Garoppolo threw for 322 yards and ran for two touchdowns, and the San Francisco 49ers beat the short-handed Chicago Bears 33-22 to snap a four-game losing streak.
Garoppolo led three touchdown drives in the second half and another possession that ended with a field goal. He scored from the 2 in the third quarter and ran it in from the 5 in the fourth to make it 30-22.
Deebo Samuel had six catches for 171 yards. That gave him 819 through seven games, breaking Hall of Famer Jerry Rice’s club record of 781 set in 1986.
Elijah Mitchell carried 18 times for 137 yards and a touchdown, helping San Francisco (3-4) win for the first time since beating both Detroit and Philadelphia on the road to start the season.
Chicago (3-5) faltered in the second half.
It didn’t help that top pass rusher Khalil Mack missed his first game since 2018 because of a foot injury. Coach Matt Nagy was away from the team after testing positive for covid-19, and special teams coordinator Chris Tabor filled in for him.
Justin Fields threw for 175 yards and a touchdown. The rookie also ran for 103 yards and a score, becoming the first Bears QB to rush for 100 yards in a game since Bobby Douglass in 1973.
Jets 34, Bengals 31
Mike White threw for 405 yards and three touchdowns in his first NFL start and caught a 2-point conversion pass, leading the New York Jets to a wild 34-31 comeback victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.
White, starting in place of injured rookie Zach Wilson, pulled off an improbable victory for the Jets (2-5) while going 37 of 45 — setting an NFL record for the most completions in a player’s first start. He joined Cam Newton (2011) as the only players since at least 1950 to throw for 400 or more yards in their first career start.
White overcame two early interceptions and also became the Jets’ first 400-yard passer since Vinny Testaverde on Christmas 2000, a span of 327 games. And he even left for a few plays with a neck injury.
The Bengals fell to (5-3) on the season.
Seahawks 31, Jaguars 7
Geno Smith ran for one score and threw a pair of touchdown passes to DK Metcalf, and the Seattle Seahawks snapped their three-game losing skid by thumping the Jacksonville Jaguars 31-7.
In what may be his final start while Russell Wilson recovers from finger surgery, Smith picked apart the Jaguars defense for one of the best performances of his career. Smith completed his first 14 passes the longest streak to start a game in the NFL this season. He finished 20 of 24 for 195 yards, and his 83.3% completion percentage was a career best with at least 20 pass attempts.
Tyler Lockett finished with 12 catches for 142 yards.
Seattle improved to (3-5).
Jacksonville (1-6) avoided being shut out for only the fourth time in franchise history in the regular season on a short touchdown pass from Trevor Lawrence to Jamal Agnew with 1:49 remaining. Lawrence finished 32 of 53 for 238 yards, and his ninth interception this season came when he clearly expected Tavon Austin to run a different route.
Patriots 27, Chargers 24
Adrian Phillips intercepted two passes, returning one for the go-ahead touchdown against his former team, Nick Folk kicked four field goals, and the New England Patriots rallied for a 27-24 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers.
New England (4-4) started the season 1/3 but has won two straight and three of its last four. Los Angeles (4-3) has dropped two straight.
Damien Harris, looking for his third straight 100-yard rushing game, had 19 carries for 76 yards.
Mac Jones, who had completed 70.4% of his passes in his first seven games, had one of his worst performances, completing 18 of 35 passes for 217 yards.
It was an equally bad game for Justin Herbert, who was 18 of 35 for 223 yards with two touchdown and two interceptions.
Austin Ekeler had 124 scrimmage yards (64 rushing, 60 receiving).
Broncos 17, Washington 10
The Denver Broncos blocked two field goals on their way to a 17-10 win over Washington, ending a four-game slide.
Melvin Gordon III caught a touchdown pass and ran for the go-ahead score from 7 yards out with 4:31 remaining. He also fumbled with 21 seconds to go, giving Washington the ball at the Denver 24-yard line.
The defense forced Taylor Heinicke to throw the ball out of the back of the end zone on the last play of the game.
It looked as if the game was over when Justin Simmons picked off a desperation Heinicke pass in the end zone with 37 seconds left. It was Simmons’ second interception of the game.
But Gordon’s fumble gave Washington one more chance.
The last defensive stand prevented the first winless October for the Broncos (4-4) since 1967.
Saints 36, Buccaneers 27
Tom Brady lost on Sunday for the third time in three regular-season tries against New Orleans, a 36-27 defeat sealed by a pick-six in the final two minutes that Saints safety P.J. Williams returned 40 yards for a touchdown.
On a day when Brady threw four touchdown passes, it was his three turnovers that sank Tampa Bay and snapped a four-game winning streak. Brady lost a fumble and threw an interception in the second quarter that led to 10 New Orleans points. After the Bucs (6-2) rallied from a 23-7 deficit to take the lead in the fourth quarter, they seemed poised to use a last-minute drive to claim the W.
The Saints (5-2) won despite losing quarterback Jameis Winston to a knee injury early in the second quarter. With backup quarterback Taysom Hill inactive due to lingering issues from a concussion, New Orleans was down to journeyman Trevor Siemian.
SUNDAY NIGHT: Cowboys 20, Vikings 16
Cooper Rush subbed for the injured Dak Prescott and passed for 325 yards and two second-half touchdowns, the last a 5-yard throw to Amari Cooper with 51 seconds left, leading the Dallas Cowboys to a 20-16 victory over the Minnesota Vikings.
Rush was handed the offense when Prescott was shelved in a game-time decision due to a strained right calf muscle. He directed an eight-play, 75-yard drive he finished with a perfect toss to Cooper on a fade in the corner of the end zone.
Cooper had eight catches for 122 yards, and CeeDee Lamb had six receptions for 112 yards for the Cowboys (6-1), whose only lead came in that final minute. Rush connected with Cedrick Wilson for a 73-yard score on the third play of the third quarter to tie the game at 10.
Kirk Cousins and the Vikings (3-4) struggled on offense after opening the game with 75-yard march for a touchdown pass to Adam Thielen. Greg Joseph kicked three field goals to keep them in front for most of the night, but the Vikings totaled only 278 yards against a defense that was allowing the second-highest yards-per-play average in the NFL entering the week.
Cousins finished 23 for 35 for 184 yards. Dalvin Cook had 18 carries for 78 yards.
TONIGHT on MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL:
The (2-5) New York Giants are in Kansas City to battle the (3-4) Chiefs
