Bengals rout Steelers
Joe Mixon rushed for a career-high 165 yards and two touchdowns, Joe Burrow scrambled ran for a score and passed for another one and the Bengals crushed the Steelers 41-10 on Sunday in Cincinnati, sweeping the season series for the first time since 2009.
Mixon, coming off a rugged 123-yard, two-td performance in a win over the Raiders last week, pounded away for 117 yards in the first half and helped the Bengals cruise to a third straight win over their AFC North rival after losing 11 straight in the series.
The Steelers (5-5-1) are winless in their last three games. The Bengals (7-4), dominated by the Steelers for so many years, have stamped themselves as a legitimate playoff contender.
The Bengals scored on their first four drives, and ex-steeler Mike Hilton returned a Ben Roethlisberger pass for a 24-yard TD late in the first half to push the hosts’ lead to 31-3 at the intermission.
Burrow was 20 of 24 for 190 yards, throwing a 32-yard TD pass to Tee Higgins, and scrambling and diving for an 8-yard TD to open the scoring.
Higgins had six catches for 114 yards and a TD.
Buccaneers 38, Colts 31: Leonard Fournette capped a four-td game with a 28-yard scoring run with 20 seconds left, giving the defending Super Bowl champs the comeback win on the road. Fournette rushed 17 times for 100 yards and three scores. He also caught Brady’s only TD pass. Patriots 36, Titans 13: Mac Jones threw two TD passes and the Patriots defense forced four turnovers en route to a sixth straight victory. Kendrick Bourne had both of the host Patriots’ TD receptions.
Giants 13, Eagles 7: The Giants defense intercepted Jalen Hurts three times and held the visiting Eagles to a season-low in points.
Dolphins 33, Panthers 10: Jaylen Waddle had nine catches for a season-best 137 yards and a TD and the host Dolphins picked off Cam Newton twice. Myles Gaskin had two rushing scores and Tua Tagovailoa completed 27 of 31 passes for 230 yards and a score for the Dolphins, who became just the sixth team in league history to follow a 1-7 start with four consecutive victories.
Falcons 21, Jaguars 14: Cordarrelle Patterson scored twice in his return from an ankle injury, and the visiting Falcons found the end zone and the win column for the first time in three weeks.
Jets 21, Texans 14: Zach Wilson threw for 145 yards and ran for a TD in his return from injury, helping the Jets snap a threegame skid with the road win.
49ers 34, Vikings 26: Deebo Samuel ran for two TDS before leaving with an injury and Elijah Mitchell ran for 133 yards and a score, leading the host 49ers to their third win in a row.
Broncos 28, Chargers 13: Rookie Patrick Surtain II picked off Justin Herbert twice, returning the second one 70 yards for a TD and sparking the Broncos at home. Surtain’s first INT came in the end zone early in the fourth.
Packers 36, Rams 28: Aaron Rodgers threw two TD passes and ran for a score against the visiting Rams, who lost their third straight. Rams QB Matt Stafford had a pick-six in each of those losses.