WEEK 9 RECAPS
EAGLES 51, BRONCOS 23
Carson Wentz tossed four touchdown passes and Corey Clement had three scores in the Eagles rout on Sunday. The Eagles dismantled the league’s top-ranked defense, racking up 419 yards, to win their seventh straight game and head into a bye week with the best record in the NFL. Brock Osweiler couldn’t get the Broncos on track in his first start since rejoining the team in September. He threw two interceptions. Denver has lost four in a row and five of six. Wentz was 15-of-27 for 199 yards before giving way to Nick Foles. Clement had two TD runs and one TD catch, and newcomer Jay Ajayi ran for 77 yards and one score.
REDSKINS 17, SEAHAWKS 14
Kirk Cousins drove Washington 70 yards in 35 seconds, capped by Rob Kelley’s 1-yard touchdown run with less than a minute remaining, to stun Seattle. Seattle took a 14-10 lead with 1:34 remaining after Russell Wilson found Doug Baldwin for a 30-yard touchdown pass after the Seahawks had scuffled on offense all day. But Cousins had an unexpected answer. Taking over at his 30-yard line, Cousins hit Brian Quick for 31 yards and Josh Doctson for 38 on consecutive throws to get to the Seattle 1 with 1:02 left. Doctson beat rookie Shaquill Griffin down the sideline and made an impressive diving catch. Kelley bulled his way in from the 1 on the next play. Kelley finished with two touchdown runs, while Cousins was 21-of-31 for 247 yards for the Redskins.
COWBOYS 28, CHIEFS 17
Ezekiel Elliott ran for the go-ahead touchdown after another reprieve from his six-game suspension, and Dallas overcame Tyreek Hill’s improbable last-play touchdown in the first half to beat Kansas City. Last year’s NFL rushing champion as a rookie, Elliott had 93 yards, ending a streak of three straight 100-yard games but outgaining Kareem Hunt, who entered the game as this year’s rushing leader in his first pro season. Hunt matched a season low with nine carries, finishing with 37 yards as a club record-tying nine-game road winning streak ended for the Chiefs in their third loss in four games since a 5-0 start.
CARDINALS 20, 49ERS 10
Adrian Peterson carried a career-high 37 times for 159 yards, and Drew Stanton threw two touchdown passes to lead Arizona past winless San Francisco. Peterson, 32, was a workhorse in his third game with the Cardinals. He posted the most carries ever for a player in his 30s and topped the 100-yard mark for the second time since being acquired in a trade from New Orleans last month. The 49ers’ newly acquired quarterback of the future, Jimmy Garoppolo, was mostly a spectator as rookie C.J. Beathard got battered once again behind a patchwork line missing injured left tackle Joe Staley. Beathard went 24-for- 51 for 294 yards and an interception and also ran for a touchdown.
JAGUARS 23, BENGALS 7
With A.J. Green and Jalen Ramsey ejected for fighting, Jaydon Mickens delivered the knockout blow by returning a punt 63 yards for a touchdown. Blake Bortles threw for 259 yards and a touchdown in another efficient performance. Marqise Lee had his first TD reception of the season and responded by punting the ball into the stands. But most of the talk will center on Green and Ramsey. The perennial Pro Bowl receiver retaliated against the trash-talking cornerback in a violent way late in the first half. After Ramsey knocked Green to the ground at the end of a running play, Green grabbed Ramsey around the neck and slammed him to the ground. Green then delivered numerous punches to Ramsey’s helmet — never the smartest idea — and put another MMA-style choke hold on Ramsey. It was the kind of aggressive attack that could lead to a suspension. Players from both sidelines rushed the field, pushing, pulling, shoving, screaming and looking like they would brawl. Coaches and officials stepped in and prevented a melee. Green and Ramsey were ejected.
SAINTS 30, BUCCANEERS 10
The Saints extended their winning streak to six when Drew Brees completed 81.2 percent of his passes for 263 yards and two touchdowns. Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston left with shoulder soreness after the first half. Starting defensive end William Gholston was carted off the field with a neck injury. Brees’ touchdowns went for 33 yards to Alvin Kamara and 36 yards to Ted Ginn. Kamara, who also scored on a 6-yard run, did most of the work on his TD reception, thrilling the Superdome crowd with a waving, tackle-slipping run after his short catch.
The Saints also scored on Justin Hardee’s blocked punt, which Hardee recovered in stride and returned for a touchdown.
RAMS 51, GIANTS 17
Jared Goff set career highs with four touchdown throws and 311 passing yards, and Todd Gurley ran for two more scores for the surprising Rams. The Rams’ high-powered offense showed no rust coming off the bye, scoring on eight of their first nine possessions. The defense forced three turnovers that the offense turned into 17 points and the special teams blocked a third-quarter punt that Gurley converted into his second TD. Greg Zuerlein added three field goals. Eli Manning (20-of-36 for 220) threw two touchdown passes and became the seventh NFL quarterback to reach the 50,000-mark with his completion of a garbage-time pass to Sterling Shepard in the fourth quarter.
COLTS 20, TEXANS 14
T.Y. Hilton had 175 yards receiving with two touchdowns to help the Colts halt a three-game skid by beating a Texans team that struggled without Deshaun Watson. Jacoby Brissett threw for 308 yards filling in for Andrew Luck, who was placed on injured reserve Thursday and will miss the season after having shoulder surgery in January. Watson’s stellar season ended that day, too, when the rookie tore the anterior cruciate ligament in one of his knees in practice. Tom Savage couldn’t move the offense for most of the game, but he threw a touchdown pass in the fourth quarter to get Houston within six. The Texans had a chance to win it late, but Savage was sacked by Jabaal Sheard and fumbled as time ran out.