Pats hang on to beat Bears
Tom Brady threw for three touchdowns and the New England Patriots hung on to beat the Chicago Bears 38-31 Sunday when Kevin White got stopped at the 1 on a 54-yard pass from Mitchell Trubisky.
About four or five defenders swarmed White after he leaped to haul in that long heave, preventing him from crossing the goal line while preserving the fourth straight win for New England. The Patriots (5-2) also got two special teams touchdowns and came out on top even though they were missing Rob Gronkowski.
The five-time Pro Bowl tight end missed the game because of ankle and back injuries, but New England squeezed past the Bears (3-3).
Brady improved to 5-0 against Chicago, one of five teams yet to beat him. He was 25 of 36 for 277 yards and an interception.
Cordarrelle Patterson ran a kickoff back 95 yards for his sixth career return TD. Kyle Van Noy became the first New England player in 22 years to return a blocked punt for a touchdown.
Josh Gordon caught four passes for 100 yards. James White had 57 yards receiving and two TDs. He also ran for a team-high 40 yards.
Chicago has lost two in a row after winning three straight to take sole possession of the division lead for the first time since 2013. Star pass rusher Khalil Mack was largely a non-factor after being listed as questionable because of an ankle injury he suffered last week at Miami, and Trubisky struggled with his accuracy. The second-year pro completed 26 of 50 passes for 333 yards, two TDs and two interceptions. He also ran for a careerhigh 81 yards and a score.
Panthers 21, Eagles 17: Cam Newton tossed a 1-yard TD pass to Greg Olsen with 1:22 left as Carolina overcame a 17-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat Philadelphia. Wes Horton sacked Carson Wentz, forcing a fumble on fourth down from the Panthers 14 to seal the victory.
The Panthers improved to 4-2 with the biggest comeback in franchise history. The defending Super Bowl champion Eagles fell to 3-4.
Newton finished 25 of 39 for 269 yards and ran for 49 yards.
Vikings 37, Jets 17: Kirk Cousins threw two touchdown passes, Latavius Murray ran for two scores, and the visiting Vikings pulled away in the second half for their third straight victory. Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen became the fifth player in NFL history to get at least 100 yards receiving in seven consecutive games, catching nine passes for 110 yards and a touchdown.
Murray, coming off careerhigh 155 yards rushing against Arizona, finished with 69 yards on 15 carries to help lift the Vikings (4-2-1) to their first win against the Jets on the road after losing the first five meetings away from home. In his first game against the Jets (3-4) since spurning their massive offer in free agency, Cousins was far from spectacular but made some big plays late.
With the game still hanging in the balance and the Vikings facing fourth-and-8 from the 34, he connected with Aldrick Robinson for a TD to seal it. Cousins was 25 of 40 for 241 yards.
Texans 20, Jaguars 7: Blake Bortles fumbled on Jacksonville’s third play of each half, leading to 10 points and his benching in a home loss. The Texans (4-3) won their fourth consecutive game thanks to those two turnovers and took a onegame lead in the AFC South.
Deshaun Watson, who reportedly made the 800mile road trip by bus instead of plane, had a TD pass despite playing with a bruised lung and injured ribs. Lamar Miller ran for a season-high 100 yards and a score.
Cody Kessler replaced Bortles in the third quarter and threw a short TD pass to T.J. Yeldon , creating speculation he might supplant Bortles in the starting lineup. The Jags (3-4) signed Bortles to a threeyear contract in February but he’s been awful in three straight losses, with two TD passes and eight turnovers.
Lions 32, Dolphins 21: Kerryon Johnson rushed for 158 yards and Detroit repeatedly mounted long scoring drives to win on the road. Matt Stafford was 18 for 22 for 217 yards and two touchdowns. Detroit had 457 total yards and 248 on the ground, with scoring drives covering 64, 85, 75, 65, 75, 63 and 44 yards.
The Lions (3-3) punted once and had no turnovers to win on the road for the first time. Injury-ravaged Miami (4-3) lost at home for the first time this season — and lost another key player. Receiver Albert Wilson was sidelined in the first half with a leg injury. Receiver Kenny Stills also limped to the locker room with a minute left.
Colts 37, Bills 5: Andrew Luck threw four TD passes and Marlon Mack had his first rushing scores of the season as Indianapolis blew out Buffalo. The Colts (2-5) snapped a four-game losing streak and won their 300th game since moving to Indianapolis from Baltimore in 1984. Adam Vinatieri scored five points to move within five of breaking Morten Andersen’s NFL career record (2,544).
The Bills (2-5) lost their second straight, playing this one without injured starting quarterback Josh Allen.
Luck was 17 of 23 with 156 yards and extended the league’s longest active streak of consecutive games with a TD pass to 30 — breaking a tie with Dan Marino, Ben Roethlisberger and Matt Ryan for No. 8 all-time. It’s the third time in four weeks he’s thrown four TDs in a game. Mack added 126 yards.
Derek Anderson made his first start since December 2016 and the 35-year-old quarterback was 20 of 31 with 175 yards, three interceptions and a lost fumble. The struggling Bills have scored two touchdowns and 31 points over the last four weeks.
Chargers 20, Titans 19: Tennessee went for a potential go-ahead 2-pointer with 31 seconds remaining, but it failed. The Chargers’ Adrian Phillips broke up Marcus Mariota’s pass attempt, the Titans’ second after a defensive penalty on the first attempt, and L.A. held on for a victory over Tennessee (3-4) at Wembley Stadium in London. It was the fourth consecutive victory for the Chargers (5-2), who weathered the absence of running back Melvin Gordon to a hamstring injury and relied upon their defense to pull out the win.