Texans 22, Titans 13
Tyrod Taylor ran for two touchdowns and threw for 107 yards and the Houston Texans snapped the NFL’s longest active skid by beating the Tennessee Titans 22-13 to end the league’s longest winning streak.
The Texans (2-8) came in having lost eight straight since winning their season opener and hadn’t scored a TD on the road since Sept. 19.
Desmond King had two of the Texans’ four interceptions — three in the fourth quarter to snuff out the Titans’ attempted rally. Houston turned those and a fumbled punt into 13 points. The Texans also had two sacks.
The Titans (8-3) snapped their six-game winning streak with their first loss since Oct. 3. The Texans also left defensive lineman Jonathan Greenard with his seven sacks in seven games back in Houston with an injured foot.
Eagles 40, Saints 29
Jalen Hurts ran for three touchdowns, Darius Slay returned an interception for a score and the Philadelphia Eagles beat the New Orleans Saints 40-29.
The Eagles (5-6) have won two in a row for the first time this season and rookie coach Nick Sirianni earned his first victory at home in five tries.
The Saints (5-5) dropped their third straight since losing quarterback Jameis Winston to a season-ending ACL injury during a 36-27 win over Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay.
Trevor Siemian threw three touchdown passes and two picks and ran for a score without several missing starters around him. Four-time Pro Bowl running back Alvin Kamara and tackles Terron Armstead and Ryan Ramczyk didn’t play.
Facing the NFL’s top-ranked defense, the Eagles racked up 242 yards on the ground.
Miles Sanders ran for 94 yards, Hurts had 69 and Jordan Howard added 63. The Eagles have surpassed 175 yards rushing in four straight games, including 200-plus in three victories in that span.
Hurts was 13 of 24 for 147 yards with no turnovers.
Dolphins 24, Jets 17
Tua Tagovailoa threw a go-ahead 5-yard touchdown pass to Myles Gaskin early in the fourth quarter and the Miami Dolphins hung on to beat the New York Jets 24-17 on Sunday for their third straight victory.
A week after an impressive win over Baltimore, the Dolphins (4-7) overcame some penalties to get their first three-game winning streak since winning five in a row in the middle of last season.
Tagovailoa finished 23 of 33 for 273 yards and touchdown passes to Gaskin and Mack Hollins with one interception. Receiver Jaylen Waddle had a 1-yard TD run for Miami.
The Jets (2-8) couldn’t make key stops late. And they couldn’t get anything going consistently on offense.
Joe Flacco made his first start in place of the injured Zach Wilson, who missed his fourth straight game.
Flacco was 24 of 39 for 291 yards and touchdowns to Elijah Moore and Jamison Crowder.
Washington 27, Panthers 21
Taylor Heinicke threw for 206 yards and three touchdowns against the league’s top-ranked pass defense, and Washington spoiled Cam Newton’s return to Bank of America Stadium with a 27-21 win over the Carolina Panthers.
Terry McLaurin had five catches for 103 yards and a touchdown against a Panthers defense that came in having allowed 173.3 yards passing per game.
Newton, making his first start since signing a one-year contract to return to the Panthers, threw for 189 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a 24-yard score. But Newton’s final two potential game-winning drives ended when the Panthers turned the ball over on downs. Daron Payne and James Smith-Williams sacked Newton with 1:11 left to seal the game for Washington (4-6) and Ron Rivera, the former Panthers coach in his first game back in Carolina.
Christian McCaffrey combined for 119 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown for the Panthers (5-6).
Browns 13, Lions 10
Nick Chubb caught a touchdown pass and ran for 130 yards as the Cleveland Browns held on to avoid a season-wrecking upset and keep Detroit winless with a sloppy 13-10 victory over the Lions.
Chubb returned to Cleveland’s lineup after a one-game absence because of covid-19. The star running back caught a 5-yard TD pass from Baker Mayfield and then helped the Browns (6-5) run out the clock.
Wide receiver Jarvis Landry ran for a score as the Browns barely bounced back after being blown out by 38 points last week at New England.
The Lions (0-9-1) couldn’t build off any momentum from their 16-16 tie a week ago in Pittsburgh and made some critical mistakes while growing their winless streak to 14 games. They are the league’s only winless team.
Detroit’s D’Andre Swift ran for a career-high 136 yards, breaking off a 57-yard TD run in the second half to keep the Lions close. Kicker Aldrick Rosas made a 43-yard field goal in the fourth quarter to pull the Lions within 13-10.
The Lions played without starting quarterback Jared Goff, who injured his oblique against the Steelers. Tim Boyle finished 15 of 23 for 77 yards with two interceptions in his first NFL start.
Vikings 34, Packers 31
Greg Joseph made a 29-yard field goal as time expired to give the Minnesota Vikings a 34-31 victory over the Green Bay Packers, finishing a classic back-and-forth with Aaron Rodgers by making sure the three-time NFL MVP didn’t get to touch the ball last.
Kirk Cousins passed for 341 yards and three touchdowns for the Vikings (5-5), who watched yet another game come down to the final play after Rodgers threw three of his four touchdown passes in the second half.
Rodgers finished 23 for 33 for a season-high 385 yards.
Green Bay (8-3) gave up just 34 points over the previous three games. Preston Smith had two sacks, but the Packers didn’t have the same pass rush with outside linebacker Rashan Gary (elbow) sidelined. Za’Darius Smith and Whitney Mercilus are also out with long-term injuries.
Colts 41, Bills 15
Jonathan Taylor set a franchise record by scoring five times, and took over the NFL lead in both yards rushing and touchdowns, in the Indianapolis Colts’ 41-15 rout of the unraveling Buffalo Bills.
Taylor scored three times in the first half, including a 23-yard catch, en route to becoming the NFL’s first player with five TDs in in one game since New Orleans’ Alvin Kamara had six TDs rushing in a 52-33 win over Minnesota last Christmas Day.
The Bills (6-4) ceded their lead atop the AFC East, falling a half-game behind — guess who? — New England, which Buffalo will play twice over the next five weeks.
Taylor finished with a season-high 185 yards rushing and four touchdowns and has 1,122 yards this season after beginning the day tied for the league lead with the injured Derrick Henry of Tennessee. Taylor has 14 touchdowns this season, moving ahead of Arizona’s James Conner, who began the day with 12.
Taylor topped 100 yards from scrimmage and scored a touchdown for the eighth consecutive game, matching the NFL’s longest run set by former Colts running back Lydell Mitchell, spanning the 1975-76 seasons, and LaDainian Tomlinson in 2006.
The Colts (6-5) continued their roll by improving to 5-1 in their past six games.
The Bills have dropped three of five — including a 9-6 loss at Jacksonville two weeks ago — and haven’t won consecutive games since a 4-0 run ended with a 34-31 loss at Tennessee on Oct. 18.
Josh Allen finished 21 of 35 for 200 yards with two touchdowns, both to Stefon Diggs, and two interceptions.
Ravens 16, Bears 13
Subbing for star quarterback Lamar Jackson, Tyler Huntley led a winning drive capped by Devonta Freeman’s 3-yard run with 22 seconds remaining, and the Baltimore Ravens beat the Chicago Bears, 16-13.
Jackson was sidelined by illness for the AFC North-leading Ravens (7-3), who ruled him out 90 minutes before kickoff after he took some throws on the field. Coach John Harbaugh said Wednesday the illness was not covid-19.
Justin Tucker kicked three field goals, and the Ravens came away with the win after losing the previous week at Miami.
Chicago’s Andy Dalton threw two touchdowns, including a 49-yarder to Marquise Goodwin in the closing minutes. Justin Fields had left the game with a rib injury in the third quarter.
The Bears (3-7) lost their fifth straight.
49ers 30, Jaguars 10
Jimmy Garoppolo threw two touchdown passes for the third consecutive game, and the San Francisco 49ers dominated Jacksonville 30-10 on Sunday for their third win in four weeks.
The 49ers (5-5) scored on their first five possessions, including opening the game with a 20-play field-goal drive that took more than 13 minutes, and set the tone for what would be another long day for the Jaguars (2-8).
The Niners ran 33 of the game’s first 37 plays and had more first downs (14) than Jacksonville had yards (12) midway through the second quarter.
The Jaguars finished with 200 yards on 44 plays, tied for the fifth fewest in franchise history.
Garoppolo completed 16 of 22 passes for 176 yards.
Bengals 32, Raiders 13
Joe Mixon rushed for 123 yards and scored two touchdowns and the Cincinnati Bengals defeated the Las Vegas Raiders 32-13.
The Bengals (6-4) came out of their bye week and snapped a two-game skid to climb back into the AFC North race, while the Raiders (5-5) lost their third straight since their bye week when they led the AFC West.
Joe Burrow was 20 of 29 for 148 yards and threw one touchdown for Cincinnati, while Offensive Rookie of the Year candidate Ja’Marr Chase hauled in three passes, including one TD. Chase leads all rookies with eight touchdowns this season.
Bengals kicker Evan McPherson became the 13th player with three field goals of 50 yards or more in a game. McPherson finished with four field goals.
Meanwhile, Cincinnati’s defense limited the Raiders to 278 yards, the second time the Bengals held an opponent to fewer than 300 yards in a game. It was the third-lowest tally for Las Vegas this season.
Raiders quarterback Derek Carr finished 19 of 27 for 215 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Tight end Darren Waller caught seven passes for 116 yards, while his backup Foster Moreau’s lone catch was a 19-yard touchdown.
Chiefs 19, Cowboys 9
Clyde Edwards-Helaire ran for 63 yards and a touchdown in his return from injured reserve, Chris Jones and the Kansas City defense made life miserable for Dak Prescott, and the Chiefs beat the Dallas Cowboys 19-9.
Patrick Mahomes was 23 of 37 for 260 yards with an interception and a fumble for Kansas City, but he was bailed out by a defense that played its best game of the year. Charvarius Ward picked off Prescott in the end zone near the end of the first half, and Chris Jones had 3 1/2 sacks while forcing and recovering a fumble.
The result: The Chiefs (7-4) improved to 4-0 against the NFC East with their fourth straight win overall.
Prescott was held to 216 yards passing and two interceptions for the Cowboys, though he was missing a whole lot of help. Left tackle Tyron Smith missed his third straight game with an ankle injury, Amari Cooper tested positive for COVID-19 and fellow wide receiver CeeDee Lamb sustained a concussion just before halftime.
Ezekiel Elliott, who appeared to tweak his ankle early in the game, finished with nine carries for 32 yards. Linebacker Micah Parsons was the biggest highlight for the Cowboys (7-3), forcing a fumble and piling up three more sacks.
Cardinals 23, Seahawks 13
Colt McCoy was outstanding filling in for Kyler Murray, throwing for 328 yards and two touchdowns, and the Arizona Cardinals beat the Seattle Seahawks 23-13.
McCoy went 35 of 44 and thoroughly outplayed Seattle’s Russell Wilson in his first home start since undergoing finger surgery. McCoy threw touchdown passes of 1 and 2 yards to Zach Ertz in the first half, got a bit of luck in the third quarter when a potential interception was overturned on replay, and had his first 300-yard passing game since 2014.
Arizona improved to (9-2) .
The Seahawks (3-7) lost their second straight and for the fifth time in the past six games.
SUNDAY NIGHT: Chargers 41, Steelers 37
Justin Herbert threw a 53-yard touchdown pass to Mike Williams with 2:17 remaining and the Los Angeles Chargers held off the Pittsburgh Steelers 41-37.
Los Angeles (6-4) had a 27-10 lead going into the fourth quarter before the Steelers (5-4-1) rallied to take a 37-34 lead on Chris Boswell’s 45-yard field goal with 3:24 left. Los Angeles took over at the 25 and scored four plays later when Williams was wide open and went untouched up the left sideline.
Herbert was 30 of 41 for 382 yards and three touchdowns. He had 90 yards rushing, which is the most by a Chargers quarterback in a game. Keenan Allen had nine receptions for 112 yards, and Williams had 97 yards on five catches.
Austin Ekeler had a career-high four touchdowns, 115 scrimmage yards (65 receiving, 50 rushing), and is the ninth player in the Super Bowl era with at least two rushing and two receiving scores in a game.
Ben Roethlisberger passed for 273 yards and three touchdowns for Pittsburgh after missing last week’s game against Detroit after testing positive for COVID-19. Najee Harris was held to 39 yards and a TD.
TONIGHT on MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL:
The (3-6) New York Giants are in Tampa Bay to battle the (6-3) Buccaneers.
Aaron Rodgers on the Packer’s 34-31 loss to the Vikings.
Dak Prescott on the loss to the Chiefs.
Saint’s coach Sean Payton on the loss to the Eagles.
Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton talks 27-21 loss to the Washington Football Team, and his return to the team.
Lion’s coach Dan Campbell on the loss to the Browns.
Bengals QB Joe Burrow on the win over the Raiders.
