Steelers top slumping Falcons
Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown connected on two second-half touchdowns, and the Pittsburgh Steelers pulled away from the visiting Atlanta Falcons for a 41-17 victory on Sunday.
Roethlisberger finished 19 of 29 for 250 yards and three scores in all, including a 9-yard strike to Brown in the third quarter and a 47-yard dart to the All-Pro wide receiver early in the fourth for Pittsburgh (2-2-1).
Brown caught six passes for 101 yards. His two touchdowns gave him 64 in his career, moving him past Hall of Famer John Stallworth and into second place on the franchise’s all-time TD reception list. James Conner ran for 110 yards and two scores and added 75 yards receiving for Pittsburgh, which improved to 7-0-1 all-time against the Falcons (1-4) at home.
Matt Ryan passed for 285 yards and a touchdown but was also sacked six times and spent the final minutes of Atlanta’s third straight loss on the sideline with the game out of reach.
Chiefs 30, Jaguars 14: The Chiefs’ beleaguered bunch forced Jacksonville quarterback Blake Bortles into five turnovers, including a pick-6 by defensive tackle Chris Jones, and Kansas City merely had to supplement with the NFL’s highest-scoring offense in a romp over the Jaguars.
Patrick Mahomes threw for 313 yards and ran for a touchdown, though he also threw his first two picks of the season, and Kareem Hunt added 87 yards and a touchdown on the ground as the Chiefs (5-0) marched all over the league’s top-ranked defense at soggy Arrowhead Stadium. Tyreek Hill, who was frequently matched up with the Jaguars’ Jalen Ramsey in an entertaining one-onone affair, had four catches for 61 yards in a game that grew testy on both sides. Jones was ejected in the second half after he dropped an elbow on a Jaguars lineman while both were on the ground following a point-after attempt. Pass rusher Dee Ford joined him in the locker room later in the half when he was whistled for his second unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
Hunt was flagged for head-butting linebacker Telvin Smith Jr. earlier in the game.
Nobody had a worse day than Bortles, though. He was 33 of 61 for 430 yards with a touchdown and four interceptions.
Lions 31, Packers 23: Matthew Stafford threw two touchdown passes and LeGarrette Blount ran for two scores, lifting Detroit (2-3) to a home win going into its bye week. Green Bay (2-2-1) could not overcome uncharacteristic mistakes by veteran kicker Mason Crosby and two-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers, who lost two fumbles for just the third time in his 14-year career. Crosby missed a career-high four field goals in one game and missed an extra point to boot.
Bills 13, Titans 12: Stephen Hauschka hit a 46-yard field goal as time expired, lifting Buffalo (2-3) over visiting Tennessee (3-2). Buffalo’s defense forced three turnovers, and LeSean McCoy broke from a slump with a season-best 85 yards rushing. McCoy sparked the decisive drive with a 13-yard catch on third-and-3.
Panthers 33, Giants 31: Graham Gano connected on a career-long 63-yard field goal with 1 second remaining to lift Carolina (3-1) over New York (1-4). Gano’s winning kick came after the Giants erased a 14-point deficit.
Jets 34, Broncos 16: Isaiah Crowell ran for a franchise-record 219 yards, including a 77-yard touchdown, and Sam Darnold threw two TD passes to Robby Anderson, including a 76-yarder, to help New York (2-3) snap a three-game losing streak.