NFL round-up: Bills end seven-game skid against Pats to boost AFC East lead

Tyler Bass kicked a 28-yard field goal with 4:06 left and the Buffalo Bills recovered a late fumble to beat New England 24-21, sending the Patriots to their fourth consecutive loss on Sunday in Orchard Park, New York.

New England (2-5) were driving for at least the potential tying score, but Cam Newton fumbled on second-and-10 from the Buffalo 19. The Bills’ Dean Marlowe recovered the ball at the 13 with 31 seconds left.

Zack Moss rushed for two touchdowns for Buffalo (6-2), which leads the AFC East and expanded its advantage on third-place New England. The Patriots’ skid is their longest since 2002. They are 2-5 for the first time since 2000, coach Bill Belichick’s first season in New England.

Buffalo snapped a seven-game losing streak to New England, who have won the AFC East in each of the past 11 seasons.

The Bills ran for 190 yards, led by Devin Singletary (14 carries, 86 yards) and Moss, who rushed 14 times for 81 yards. He scored on runs of 8 and 4 yards.

Josh Allen completed 11 of 18 passes for 154 yards with one interception for Buffalo. Newton was 15 of 25 for 174 yards.

Pittsburgh Steelers 28-24 Baltimore Ravens

The Pittsburgh Steelers rallied behind Ben Roethlisberger to remain the lone unbeaten team in the NFL, beating error-prone Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens 28-24 Sunday in a duel for first place in the AFC North.

Roethlisberger threw a pair of second-half touchdown passes to bring Pittsburgh (7-0) back from a 10-point halftime deficit. After completing only four passes for 24 yards in the first half, the 38-year-old finished 21 for 32 for 182 yards.

Jackson threw two interceptions and lost two fumbles, turnovers that helped Pittsburgh stay within striking distance until its offense finally got on track.

The Steelers led 28-24 when the Ravens (5-2) faced a fourth-and-3 at the Pittsburgh 8 with 2 minutes left. Jackson ran a quarterback draw and lost the ball while being stopped short.

Baltimore got the ball back and moved to the Pittsburgh 23 before Jackson’s pass in the end zone was broken up on the final play.

Earlier, Robert Spillane took an interception back for a score to end Baltimore’s first possession; Jackson lost a fumble inside the Pittsburgh fve; and Alex Hightower set up a Steelers touchdown by picking off a pass on Baltimore’s initial offensive play of the second half.

Jackson went 13 for 28 for 208 yards and two interceptions, the most he’s had in a regular-season game since throwing three against Pittsburgh in October 2019.

Los Angeles Rams 17-28 Miami Dolphins

Tua Tagovailoa threw his first career touchdown pass and then let his teammates take over with a succession of big plays, and the Miami Dolphins stamped themselves as playoff contenders Sunday by earning their third consecutive win, 28-17 against the Los Angeles Rams.

The Dolphins struck for scores 75 seconds apart on Andrew Van Ginkel’s 78-yard fumble return and Jakeem Grant’s team-record 88-yard punt return. They came up with four takeaways in the first half and at halftime led 28-10 despite being outgained 224-54.

The big plays helped Tagovailoa overcome a costly early turnover in his first NFL start. The No 5 overall pick in this year’s draft finished 12 of 22 for 93 yards.

Los Angeles’ Jared Goff went 35 for 61 for 355 yards and one score with two interceptions and two lost fumbles.

The Rams ran 92 plays to the Dolphins’ 48, and Miami won while totaling eight first downs and 145 yards.

The Dolphins (4-3) have outscored opponents by a combined 95-34 in the past three games, and they’re above .500 for the first time in their 23 games under second-year coach Brian Flores.

Tua Tagovailoa



Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, the No 5 overall pick in this year’s draft, finished 12 of 22 for 93 yards in his first NFL start. Photograph: Wilfredo Lee/AP

Tennessee Titans 20-31 Cincinnati Bengals

Rookie quarterback Joe Burrow threw for 249 yards and two touchdowns Sunday as the Cincinnati Bengals pulled off one of the biggest upsets of Week 8, stopping the Tennessee Titans 31-20 at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati.

Burrow completed 26 of 37 passes with no interceptions, leading Cincinnati (2-5-1) to its best performance of the year in toppling the AFC South leaders. The Bengals were outgained 441-367, but committed no turnovers and came up with key stops defensively to frustrate Tennessee.

Derrick Henry rushed for 112 yards and a touchdown for the Titans (5-2), which lost their second straight game after a 5-0 start. Ryan Tannehill hit on 18 of 30 throws for 233 yards with two scores and an interception, while Corey Davis grabbed eight passes for 128 yards and a touchdown.

However, Tennessee fell into a first-place tie with Indianapolis in the South because its defense again struggled. The Titans have allowed at least 27 points in five of their seven games. That included Burrow’s 6-yard touchdown pass to Giovani Bernard with 7:30 left in the game that sandwiched Tannehill scoring strikes to A.J. Brown and Davis.

Las Vegas Raiders 16-6 Cleveland Browns

Derek Carr tossed the go-ahead touchdown pass in the fourth quarter and Josh Jacobs rushed for 128 yards to lead the visiting Las Vegas Raiders to a 16-6 defeat of the Cleveland Browns on a chilly and windy Sunday.

Daniel Carlson connected on field goals of 29, 33 and 24 yards in a contest that featured sleet and snow flurries and was played with steady winds of 35mph with gusts reaching 50mph.

Carr completed 15 of 24 passes for 112 yards and also rushed for 41 yards on six carries for Las Vegas (4-3). Jacobs had 31 carries in his first 100-yard game of the season.

Cody Parkey booted field goals of 41 and 38 yards for Cleveland (5-3). Baker Mayfield completed 12 of 25 passes for 122 yards while Kareem Hunt led the ground game with 66 yards on 14 carries. Jarvis Landry finished with four catches for 52 yards.

Minnesota Vikings 28-22 Green Bay Packers

Dalvin Cook ran for 163 yards and scored four touchdowns, including three on the ground, to lead the Minnesota Vikings to a 28-22 victory at NFC North-leading Green Bay on Sunday, snapping the Packers’ eight-game winning streak in the division.

Back in the lineup for the first time since suffering a groin injury in a Week 5 loss at Seattle, Cook scored on runs of 21, one and one yards and also took a screen pass 50 yards for a score. Cook had 226 yards from scrimmage on 32 touches as the Vikings (2-5) played effectively on both sides of the ball following their bye week.

The Packers (5-2) lost for the second time in three games, as they were unable to sustain much offensive momentum after the game was tied 14-14 at halftime.

Aaron Rodgers connected with Davante Adams for first-half touchdowns of 5 and 1 yards, as the rivals both capitalized on each of their two full drives in the first 30 minutes.

Adams caught a third scoring pass from Rodgers, a 7-yarder with 2:42 to go, before Green Bay was successful on a 2-point conversion to draw within the final margin. The Packers got the ball back in the final minute, but DJ Wonnum sacked Rodgers and forced a fumble on the final play.

Rodgers was 27-for-41 passing for 291 yards and three touchdowns. Robert Tonyan had five receptions for 79 yards, Adams had seven catches for 53 yards while Jamaal Williams gained 75 yards on 16 carries.

New York Jets 9-35 Kansas City Chiefs

Patrick Mahomes threw for 416 yards and five touchdowns, the Kansas City defense shut down Sam Darnold and the inept Jets offense, and the Chiefs romped to a 35-9 victory over winless New York on Sunday.

Tyreek Hill had 98 yards receiving and two touchdowns, Travis Kelce finished with 109 yards and another score, and Mecole Hardman and Demarcus Robinson also reached the end zone as the Chiefs (7-1) gave Andy Reid his 229th win to move into a tie with Hall of Fame coach Curly Lambeau for the fifth most in NFL history.

Le’Veon Bell, getting a crack at the Jets just a few weeks after they released him, was held to just seven yards rushing with three catches for another 31 yards – though it wasn’t as if Kansas City needed him.

Darnold, who was without top receivers Jamison Crowder and Breshad Perriman because of injuries, was just 18 of 30 for 133 yards as the Jets fell to 0-8 for the first time since the 1996 team of Rich Kotite.

New York went three-and-out on five of its first six second-half possessions and finished with 221 yards total offense.

Indianapolis Colts 41-21 Detroit Lions

Philip Rivers threw three touchdown passes in the second quarter to give the Indianapolis Colts a double-digit lead and they beat the Detroit Lions 41-21 on Sunday.

Rivers picked apart Detroit’s defense while completing 23 of 33 attempts, mostly short passes to the outside or over the middle. The 38-year-old quarterback also showed he still has some arm strength to go along with his savvy touch, perfectly throwing a 29-yard pass to Nyheim Hines late in the first half.

The Colts (5-2) were healthy and looked rested and ready to roll after being idle last week and improved to 3-0 after a bye under coach Frank Reich.

Hines had so much energy he celebrated each of his two touchdowns in the second quarter with moves that would make a gymnast proud, pulling off roundoffs into full twists in the end zone. The first acrobatic feat was particularly impressive because Hines went in motion to the left, reversed field to make a short catch, sprinted up the sideline and spun to break a tackle to score.

The Lions (3-4) lost a seventh straight home game, dating to last season, and missed an opportunity to win three in a row for the first time with coach Matt Patricia.

source: theguardian.com