PACKERS 24, TEXANS 22
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Brandon McManus kicked a 45-yard field goal as time expired in his debut performance with Green Bay, lifting the Packers past the Houston Texans 24-22 on Sunday.
Green Bay (5-2) overcame three turnovers to win its third straight and snap the Texans’ three-game winning streak.
Green Bay signed McManus because of his history of reliability from within 50 yards. And McManus delivered by making a winning kick on his first field-goal attempt with the Packers. He celebrated by doing a “Lambeau leap” into the corner of the end-zone stands.
Green Bay’s Jordan Love was 23 of 31 for 214 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions.
Houston’s Joe Mixon rushed for 115 yards and two touchdowns. Ka’imi Fairbairn was 3 of 3 on field-goal attempts and put the Texans (5-2) ahead by making a 35-yarder with 1:44 left.
C.J. Stroud was just 10 of 21 for a career-low 86 yards and was sacked four times.
On the game’s final drive, the Packers were at midfield when Love hit Romeo Doubs for a 13-yard gain. An offside penalty on Houston’s Will Anderson brought the Packers 5 yards closer. After a 6-yard completion from Love to Doubs got Green Bay to Houston’s 26, the Packers called a timeout with 3 seconds left to set things up for McManus.
LIONS 31, VIKINGS 29
MINNEAPOLIS — Jake Bates kicked a 44-yard field goal with 15 seconds left and the Detroit Lions beat Minnesota 31-29 on Sunday, handing the Vikings their first loss in a back-and-forth game befitting of the NFL's strongest division.
Jahmyr Gibbs rushed for 116 yards and two of Detroit's three second-quarter touchdowns. He also helped Jared Goff guide the Lions 48 yards in four plays to get in range for their rookie kicker while forcing the Vikings to burn their timeouts. Bates is 10 for 10 on field goals this season.
Goff went 22 for 25 for 280 yards with two touchdowns and no turnovers in his third straight game with a 140-plus passer rating, joining Aaron Rodgers (2011), Kurt Warner (1999) and Roger Staubach (1971) as the only quarterbacks in NFL history to accomplish the feat.
Gibbs had 150 total yards to spearhead a commanding performance by the Lions (5-1) at the line of scrimmage against the defence that entered the week with a rushing average per play (3.6) allowed that was the second-best in the league.
Ivan Pace Jr. returned David Montgomery’s fumble 35 yards for a touchdown with 5:50 remaining to give the Vikings (5-1) a one-point lead after they trailed 21-10 at halftime, but Sam Darnold's crucial 2-point conversion pass sailed past Justin Jefferson.
JAGUARS 32, PATRIOTS 13
LONDON — The Jacksonville Jaguars didn't show any quit this week after falling behind early on Sunday against the New England Patriots.
The Jaguars trailed 10-0 before rallying and overpowering the Patriots 32-16 at Wembley Stadium.
Tank Bigsby rushed for 118 yards and two touchdowns and Parker Washington returned a punt 96 yards for a score. Rookie receiver Brian Thomas Jr. caught a touchdown pass for the Jaguars (2-5).
In his second start, Patriots rookie quarterback Drake Maye led one fourth-quarter scoring drive but couldn’t muster a second one as New England (1-6) lost its sixth straight game for the first time since 1993.
Bigsby scored on a 4-yard run after the Patriots turned the ball over on downs after the two-minute warning.
BILLS 34, TITANS 10
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Amari Cooper scored the go-ahead touchdown in his debut with Buffalo and Josh Allen overcame a sluggish first half to throw two touchdown passes in his 100th career start to help the Bills rally from a 10-point deficit and beat the Tennessee Titans 34-10 on Sunday.
Cooper's 12-yard TD catch was his first reception for the Bills and came five days after being acquired in a trade with the Cleveland Browns. Ty Johnson also scored on a 4-yard catch, and James Cook and Ray Davis rounded out the rout with touchdown runs.
After being limited to 4 of 11 for 65 yards in the first half, Allen finished 21 of 33 for 323 yards. It marked his 26th career 300-yard game and first this season. And Allen did so against a Titans defence that entered ranked first against the pass and had yet to allow 200 yards passing this season.
Allen improved his career record to 68-32 as a starter, matching four players — Joe Montana, Terry Bradshaw, Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers — for the sixth-most wins in a quarterback’s first 100 starts.
The AFC East-leading Bills (5-2) broke it open by scoring points on each of their first four second-half possessions to overcome a 10-7 halftime deficit and after falling behind 10-0 to open the game.
BENGALS 21, BROWNS 14
CLEVELAND — Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson suffered a possible season-ending Achilles tendon injury in the first half of Cleveland's 21-14 loss to Cincinnati on Sunday as Joe Burrow got his first road win against the Bengals' in-state AFC North rival.
Watson's leg crumpled on a non-contact play as he dropped back to pass with 1:26 left before halftime. As he planted, Watson's calf appeared to quiver before he gave himself up and dropped to the turf.
The Browns only announced Watson injured his Achilles tendon and didn't provide any other specifics. There's a strong chance he won't play again this season, and it's possible Watson's days with Cleveland are over.
Burrow threw two touchdown passes in the third quarter as the Bengals (3-4) ended a six-game losing streak at Cleveland. While he has played well against every team in the NFL, Burrow had struggled against the Browns, coming in 1-5 overall and 0-3 on the road.
EAGLES 28, GIANTS 3
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Saquon Barkley made a memorable return to MetLife Stadium, rushing for 176 yards and a touchdown and turning early jeers to cheers as he led the Philadelphia Eagles to a 28-3 victory over the offensively inept New York Giants on Sunday.
Jalen Hurts scored on two tush-push quarterback sneaks and threw a 41-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Brown as the Eagles (4-2) beat the Giants (2-5) for the sixth time in seven games and 14th in 17. Philadelphia's defence was just as good, recording eight sacks and limiting New York to 119 yards.
What was different this time was Barkley was wearing an Eagles uniform. The second pick overall by New York in 2018, he left as a free agent after last season and signed a three-year, $37.5 million contract in March. He was greeted by boos but they didn't last.
Barkley was worth every penny on Sunday, waking up the Eagles with a 55-yard run around left end to set up his 3-yard TD that put Philadelphia ahead 7-0 in the second quarter. Hurts then connected with Brown on a go route on fourth down to increase the margin to 14-0.
Barkley's 38-yard scamper up the middle set up Hurts' first tush push in the third quarter and his 41-yarder in the fourth quarter led to the second. Barkley's 176 yards rushing on 17 carries — 10.4 yards per — was the second-highest total of his career, and he didn't play much late. His career-best was 189 yards against Washington on Dec. 22, 2019.
SEAHAWKS 34, FALCONS 14
ATLANTA — Geno Smith passed for two touchdowns and Derick Hall returned a fumble 36 yards for a clinching score as the Seattle Seahawks snapped a three-game losing streak with a 34-14 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.
The Seahawks (4-3) ended Atlanta's run of three straight victories, shutting down a Falcons offense that averaged 37 points the two previous weeks.
Smith completed 18 of 28 passes for 207 yards, his second-lowest output of the season but more than enough to throttle the Falcons. He connected with Kenneth Walker on a 17-yard touchdown and a huge 31-yard scoring play to DK Metcalf just before halftime.
After Walker's TD catch made it 24-14 late in the third quarter, Seattle's defence clinched the victory.
COLTS 16, TITANS 10
INDIANAPOLIS — Tyler Goodson ran for one touchdown and Anthony Richardson led the Indianapolis Colts on two fourth-quarter scoring drives to clinch a 16-10 victory over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.
Matt Gay’s 22-yard field goal with 8:41 left in the game gave Indy its first lead, and a defensive stop at the Indianapolis 33-yard line in the final minute sealed the victory over the NFL’s lowest-scoring team.
The Dolphins (2-4) had a chance to tie the score on a 54-yard field goal with 5:14 to go, but Jason Sanders’ kick hit the left upright and bounced harmlessly into the end zone.
Indy (4-3) has won four of its past five and three straight home games since a loss to Houston in its opener.
Miami has dropped four of five and lost yet another quarterback, Tyler Huntley, to injury Sunday. Huntley left midway through the third quarter with a right shoulder injury and did not return. Tim Boyle finished the game for the reeling Dolphins.
COMMANDERS 40, PANTHERS 7
LANDOVER, Md. — Marcus Mariota replaced injured rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels early in the second quarter, Dante Fowler returned an interception 67 yards for a touchdown and the Washington Commanders routed the Carolina Panthers 40-7 on Sunday.
Concern over Daniels' status overshadowed the victory after the No. 2 pick and offensive rookie of the year favourite left with a rib injury. His mother posted on social media that “he's fine,” and given the lopsided score, it would have been more surprising if Daniels returned, and the 2023 Heisman Trophy winner spent the second half on the bench chatting and laughing with teammates.
The Commanders (5-2) did just fine without him for a vast majority of the game after he had a 46-yard run and completed a couple of passes on their opening possession. They already led at that point thanks to Fowler's pick-6, Andy Dalton's first of two interceptions, the second by Emmanuel Forbes, who returned from being a healthy scratch last week.
The defence dominated, allowing 180 yards, stopping seven of 10 third-down chances and sacking Dalton twice.
RAMS 20, RAIDERS 15
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Kam Curl returned a fumble 33 yards for a touchdown and Kyren Williams rushed for 76 yards and two scores in the Los Angeles Rams' 20-15 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday.
Cobie Durant had an interception and later caused the fumble returned for a TD by Curl for the Rams (2-4), who forced four turnovers by Gardner Minshew. The Raiders' backup quarterback was forced into action by an early hand injury for Aidan O'Connell.
Jaylen McCollough had two more interceptions for Los Angeles, including the game-clinching pick with 1:18 to play.
Matthew Stafford passed for 154 yards for the Rams (2-4), who snapped a two-game skid during their worst start to a season in coach Sean McVay's eight years in charge.
Minshew passed for 154 yards for the Raiders (2-5) after replacing O'Connell, who didn't return after a hand-to-hand collision with Curl during the Raiders' second offensive series.
CHIEFS 28, 49ERS 18
Patrick Mahomes overcame two interceptions to deliver a few big plays with his feet and the Kansas City Chiefs remained the league's only undefeated team, beating the San Francisco 49ers 28-18 Sunday in a Super Bowl rematch.
The stakes and the quality of play weren't at the same level as eight months ago when Mahomes and the Chiefs (6-0) beat the 49ers (3-4) 25-22 in overtime for their Super Bowl title in five seasons.
But the result was the same with Kansas City winning its fifth straight over San Francisco, including two Super Bowls.
The game came with a potentially heavy price for San Francisco with star receiver Brandon Aiyuk getting carted off after getting hit on his right knee while making a catch late in the first half. There was no immediate word on the severity of the injury.
Aiyuk's absence proved crucial during a key point late in the third quarter when the 49ers were driving with a chance to erase a 14-12 deficit.
A miscommunication between backup receiver Ronnie Bell and Brock Purdy led to an interception by Chris Roland-Wallace. The Chiefs then turned that into a touchdown thanks in part to a 33-yard scramble by Mahomes that was his longest regular-season run ever.
Mahomes then scored on a 1-yard scramble on fourth-and-goal for his first rushing touchdown since the 2022 season.
STEELERS 37, JETS 15
PITTSBURGH — Russell Wilson threw two touchdown passes and ran for another in his Pittsburgh debut to lead the Steelers to a 37-15 win over Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets on Sunday night.
The 35-year-old Wilson, who spent the first six weeks watching from the sideline while recovering from a calf injury, validated head coach Mike Tomlin's decision to turn to the nine-time Pro Bowler over Justin Fields, who was steady if not always spectacular in Wilson's absence.
Though he's not quite in the “Let Russ Cook” era of his prime, Wilson looked more than capable while overcoming a sluggish start to pass for 264 yards, including scores to George Pickens and Van Jefferson as Pittsburgh (5-2) won its second straight in front of a packed Acrisure Stadium.
New York's retooled offence — which now includes Davante Adams, who was reunited with Rodgers earlier this week after being acquired in a trade with Las Vegas — couldn't keep up as the Jets (2-5) dropped their fourth consecutive game, including an 0-2 mark under interim coach Jeff Ulbrich.
Rodgers passed for 276 yards with a touchdown and connected with Adams three times for 30 yards, but was also intercepted twice by Pittsburgh rookie cornerback Beanie Bishop and the Steelers turned those into game-turning scores.
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