Ben Roethlisberger handed Cleveland yet another loss as the Pittsburgh Steelers survived losing kicker Chris Boswell for the entire second half.
Roethlisberger threw a touchdown pass and rookie Najee Harris had an eight-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 six minutes.
The injury to Boswell, who got hurt when he was drilled by Browns tackle Jordan Elliott after throwing an incomplete pass, influenced Steelers coach Mike Tomlin’s play-calling throughout the second half. 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.
Los Angeles Rams 38–22 Houston Texans
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. It was 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.
Cincinnati Bengals 31-34 New York Jets
Shaq Lawson gave the Jets their first interception of the season and Mike White outdueled Joe Burrow as New York rallied late to pull an upset over the visiting Cincinnati Bengals.
Lawson deflected a screen pass and caught the carom for the interception with 4:32 to go. Two plays later, White hit Tyler Kroft with a 13-yard, go-head touchdown. White caught the two-point conversion pass from Jamison Crowder on a trick play and the Jets led 34-31 with 3:50 left.
Cincinnati (5-3) punted from their own 40 with 2:19 remaining and never got the ball back after a third-down personal foul penalty extended the Jets’ last possession. The Jets (2-5) snapped a two-game skid and won for the first time in the last four meetings against Cincinnati.
Tennessee Titans 34–31 Indianapolis Colts
Randy Bullock made a 45-yard field goal with 4:03 left in overtime to cap a wild game, giving the Tennessee Titans a 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 eight minutes after throwing only one all season.
Tennessee (6-2) have won four straight overall to take a three-game lead in the division and also have the third season sweep of the Colts in franchise history. Indianapolis (3-5) have lost three straight in the series this one coming in improbable fashion.
After the Colts forced a punt with less than two minutes left in regulation and taking over on their eight-yard line, Wentz was in danger of being sacked for a safety. He made an ill-advised, left-handed forward flick that rookie Elijah Molden snatched out of the air and scored on a two-yard return to break a 24-24 tie. It was Tennessee’s first interception return for a score in 38 games.
Miami Dolphins 11–26 Buffalo Bills
Josh Allen tossed a go-ahead touchdown pass to Gabriel Davis to lift the host Buffalo Bills over the Miami Dolphins. Davis’ score was the first touchdown of the game for Buffalo (5-2). Allen added a fourth-quarter touchdown pass to Stefon Diggs, and the Bills’ ferocious defense held on for the win. Miami (1-7) lost their seventh straight game overall and seventh consecutive contest in the series against Buffalo.
San Francisco 49ers 33–22 Chicago Bears
Jimmy Garoppolo passed for 322 yards and ran for two touchdowns and Elijah Mitchell rushed for a career-best 137 yards and a score to help the visiting San Francisco 49ers defeat the Chicago Bears to snap a four-game losing streak.
San Francisco (3-4) used an 18-point fourth quarter to surge ahead of Chicago (3-5), who have lost three straight. The 49ers scored on seven successive possessions before a series of kneel-downs to close the game.
Philadelphia Eagles 44–6 Detroit Lions
Boston Scott and Jordan Howard each had two touchdowns on the ground, helping the Philadelphia Eagles run over the Detroit Lions.
The Eagles (3-5) ended a two-game losing streak against a team that was very accommodating. The Lions (0-8) go into their bye week as the NFL’s only winless team. The break gives first-year coach Dan Campbell extra time to figure out how to avoid leading the league’s first 0-17 team after being a tight end on the first 0-16 team in Detroit 13 years ago.
Carolina Panthers 13-19 Atlanta Falcons
Zane Gonzalez kicked four field goals and Chuba Hubbard scored on a six-yard run to seal Carolina’s 19-13 win over the Atlanta Falcons, snapping a four-game skid for the Panthers. Carolina’s defense 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.