Tom Brady threw for 369 yards and five touchdowns, all to different receivers, helping the Tampa Bay Buccaneers rally from a 17-point deficit on Sunday to beat the Los Angeles Chargers 38-31 for their third straight victory.
Brady shrugged off throwing an early interception returned for a touchdown to keep the Bucs (3-1) in first place in the NFC South.
Five players – Mike Evans, Scotty Miller, OJ Howard, Cameron Brate and rookie Ke’Shawn Vaughn – caught scoring passes from Brady, who threw four of them after falling behind 24-7 in the second quarter.
Rookie Justin Herbert looked promising once again as he completed 20 of 25 passes for 290 yards and three touchdowns for the Chargers (1-3), who have lost three straight. The sixth overall pick in this year’s draft has played earlier than expected because of injuries to Tyrod Taylor.
Baltimore Ravens 31-17 Washington
Lamar Jackson ran for a 50-yard touchdown and threw for two scores in a bounce-back performance by the reigning NFL MVP and the Baltimore Ravens, who took control early against Washington. Coming off a humbling loss to Kansas City on Monday night, the Ravens (3-1) built a 21-10 halftime lead before opening the third quarter with a drive that ended with Mark Andrews’ second touchdown catch. That was enough to hand Washington (1-3) their third straight defeat.
The game was tough to watch for Washington coach Ron Rivera, and not just because of the score. Weakened by treatment he received during the week for lymph node cancer, Rivera occasionally took a break by sitting on the bench.
Buffalo Bills 30-23 Las Vegas Raiders
Shaking off a banged-up left shoulder, Josh Allen threw for two touchdowns and rushed for another, leading the Buffalo Bills to a 30-23 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders.
Buffalo have opened consecutive seasons with 4-0 records, just the third time in team history and first since 1991 and ‘92, both seasons when the Bills lost in the Super Bowl.
New York Giants 9-17 Los Angeles Rams
Jared Goff hit Cooper Kupp for a 55-yard touchdown with 6:56 to play, and the Los Angeles Rams ground out a 17-9 victory over the New York Giants in a game marred by a postgame fight between Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey and Giants receiver Golden Tate.
Ramsey and Tate scuffled at midfield after the final whistle after a game filled with trash-talking between the two Nashville-area natives. Ramsey has two young children with Tate’s sister, and Tate was publicly upset last year when the couple went through a nasty public breakup.
Seattle Seahawks 31-23 Miami Dolphins
Russell Wilson threw for 360 yards and two touchdowns and Chris Carson rushed for a pair of one-yard scores as the Seattle Seahawks beat the Miami Dolphins.
Wilson, who completed 24 of 34 passes, found David Moore in the end zone for a 17-yard scoring strike with 5:30 remaining in the fourth quarter. The score for the Seahawks (4-0) came 1:30 after the Dolphins (1-3) had closed to within 17-15 on the fifth of Jason Sanders’ field goals.
Cleveland Browns 49-38 Dallas Cowboys
Odell Beckham Jr caught two touchdown passes and ran for a third that helped stave off a furious Dallas Cowboys comeback in the fourth quarter as the Cleveland Browns held on for victory.
In upping their record to 3-1 with a third straight victory, Cleveland ran roughshod over Dallas’ leaky defense, piling up 307 rushing yards despite losing leading rusher Nick Chubb in the first half to a knee injury.
Beckham accounted for 50 of those on the play that kept the Browns from blowing a 41-14 fourth quarter lead. With 3:25 remaining, Beckham went right on a reverse, skirted a tackle attempt and used some nice downfield blocking to race into the end zone after Dallas had closed to within 41-38.
Jacksonville Jaguars 25-33 Cincinnati Bengals
Joe Mixon ran for 151 yards and two touchdowns and caught Joe Burrow’s pass for another score as the Cincinnati Bengals rolled up 505 yards to beat the Jacksonville Jaguars for their first win of the season.
The Bengals (1-2-1) worked around their recent offensive line problems and Mixon broke through with his first big game of the season, which opened up the field for Burrow to hit some big passes. The Heisman Trophy-winning rookie was sharp again, throwing for 300 yards and the touchdown to Mixon, but also made significant mistakes.
New Orleans Saints 35-29 Detroit Lions
Drew Brees threw two touchdown passes to Tre’Quan Smith, Latavius Murray scored two rushing touchdowns and the New Orleans Saints held off the host Detroit Lions.
Brees passed for 246 yards while completing 19 of 25 attempts for the Saints (2-2). Alvin Kamara rushed for 83 yards and a touchdown and Murray gained 64 rushing yards Emmanuel Sanders caught six passes for 93 yards, while Smith hauled in four passes for 54 yards.
Matthew Stafford threw three touchdown passes for Detroit (1-3). The Lions were held to 90 rushing yards, with Adrian Peterson leading the way with 36 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries.
Indianapolis Colts 19-11 Chicago Bears
Philip Rivers threw a touchdown pass on Indianapolis’s first possession, and the Colts shut down Nick Foles and the Chicago Bears in a 19-11 victory. After Rivers connected with Mo Alie-Cox on a 13-yard score, the NFL’s top-ranked defense took over from there.
Arizona Cardinals 21-31 Carolina Panthers
Teddy Bridgewater threw for 276 yards and two touchdowns, ran for his first score since a devastating knee injury in 2016, and the Carolina Panthers solved their red zone woes in a 31-21 win over the Arizona Cardinals. The Panthers (2-2) scored touchdowns on their first four trips inside the Cardinals’ 20-yard line to build a 28-7 lead one week after settling for five short field goals in a 21-16 victory over the Chargers last week.
Minnesota Vikings 31-23 Houston Texans
Dalvin Cook ran for 130 yards and two touchdowns and the Minnesota Vikings withstood a late rally from the winless Houston Texans to get their first victory of the season.
The Texans cut the lead to eight when Deshaun Watson connected with Kenny Stills on a 24-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-10 with about six minutes remaining.
Houston’s defense got a stop and Will Fuller made an acrobatic one-handed catch on fourth down for what was initially ruled a touchdown with about a minute left. But after a review it was determined that the ball hit the ground before Fuller gained control, and Minnesota ran out the clock from there.