Newton, Panthers top Packers to stay unbeaten
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Cam Newton threw three touchdown passes and ran for another score Sunday, and Carolina took an important step toward securing home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs with a 37-29 victory over Green Bay.
Newton completed 15 of 30 passes for 297 yards and ran for 57 yards on nine carries in one of the better games of his fiveyear NFL career.
The unbeaten Panthers extended their regularseason win streak to 12 and put themselves in terrific shape in the NFC standings. Every other team in the conference has at least two losses.
Aaron Rodgers threw for 369 yards and four touchdowns and led a furious fourth-quarter comeback from 23 points down but couldn’t complete it. Linebacker Thomas Davis intercepted Rodgers on a fourth-andgoal pass at the Carolina 3 with 1:54 left.
STEELERS 38, RAIDERS 35
Chris Boswell kicked an 18-yard field goal with two seconds left to lift Pittsburgh to a home win after Ben Roethlisberger left with a potentially serious left foot injury.
The Steelers survived after Roethlisberger exited midway through the fourth quarter after getting sacked by Aldon Smith. Replacement Landry Jones found Antonio Brown for a 57-yard reception on Pittsburgh’s final drive to set up Boswell’s winning kick.
Brown finished with 17 catches for 284 yards, both franchise records. DeAngelo Williams ran for 170 yards and two scores as the Steelers rolled up 597 yards of total offense.
Derek Carr threw for 301 yards with four touchdowns and an interception for the Raiders. Oakland running back Latavius Murray ran for 96 yards but left in the third quarter with a potential concussion.
Roethlisberger passed for 334 yards with two touchdowns and a pick as he moved past Hall of Famers Johnny Unitas and Joe Montana and into 13th on the NFL list for career yards passing.
PATRIOTS 27 WASHINGTON 10
Julian Edelman and LeGarrette Blount scored touchdowns for New England at Foxborough, Mass., before Washington ran its second play.
Tom Brady completed 26 of 39 passes for 299 yards and two TDs, including an 8-yarder to Edelman on the opening drive. The unbeaten Patriots then pulled off a surprise onside kick, but that drive stalled when Edelman fumbled.
Washington could manage only a single play: Kirk Cousins’ pass that bounced off Pierre Garçon and was intercepted by Logan Ryan. New England then marched downfield to make it 14-0 on Blount’s 5-yard score.
TITANS 34, SAINTS 28
Rookie Marcus Mariota came back from missing two games with a sprained knee to pass for 371 yards and four touchdowns, including a 5-yard scoring pass to Anthony Fasano in overtime, as Tennessee snapped a sixgame skid with a victory at New Orleans.
The Saints, who had won three in a row, led 2110 but could not put away the Titans, who turned in a feisty performance in their first game since coach Ken Whisenhunt was fired and replaced by Mike Mularkey.
Brees was 28-of-39 passing for 389 yards and three TDs. He also scored on a short keeper.
49ERS 17, FALCONS 16
Blaine Gabbert threw a pair of second-quarter TD passes to Garrett Celek for undermanned San Francisco, which won at Santa Clara, Calif.
Making his first start in more than two years, Gabbert didn’t take a sack behind an offensive line that has faced heavy scrutiny all year. Celek made TD catches of 1 and 11 yards to give him three on the year, and the 49ers’ defense flustered Matt Ryan despite the patchwork use of backups because of a rash of injuries.
VIKINGS 21, RAMS 18
Adrian Peterson rushed for 125 yards on 29 carries, helping set up Blair Walsh’s 40-yard field goal in overtime that gave Minnesota a victory at home after quarterback Teddy Bridgewater left with a concussion early in the fourth quarter.
The Vikings ended Todd Gurley’s streak of games with 125-plus yards rushing at four. Gurley gained 89 yards and a touchdown on 24 attempts for the Rams, who received the overtime kickoff but went threeand-out.
Marcus Sherels tiptoed along the sideline for a 26-yard return of Johnny Hekker’s 63-yard punt, and Peterson ran the ball well into Walsh’s range to give Minnesota its seventh consecutive home victory.
Greg Zuerlein kicked four field goals for the Rams, including a 53-yarder with 17 seconds left in regulation to make up for the 48-yarder that went wide right a few minutes before. Zuerlein had a career-long 61-yarder among three field goals in the second quarter.
BILLS 33, DOLPHINS 17
Sammy Watkins had eight catches for 168 yards and a 44-yard touchdown that broke open the game for Buffalo late in the third quarter at Orchard Park, N.Y.
Rookie running back Karlos Williams scored twice, and LeSean McCoy also scored on a 48-yard run for the Bills.
JETS 28, JAGUARS 23
Ryan Fitzpatrick threw two touchdown passes while playing with a torn ligament in his left thumb, and Chris Ivory ran for two scores in New York’s victory at East Rutherford, N.J.
Brandon Marshall had a 20-yard TD catch after the Jets recovered a muffed punt late in the fourth quarter.
Blake Bortles threw for 381 yards and two touchdowns for Jacksonville.
GIANTS 32, BUCCANEERS 18
Eli Manning threw for two touchdowns in New York’s victory at Tampa, Fla.
Josh Brown booted four field goals for the Giants, including fourth-quarter kicks of 53 and 44 yards that gave New York some breathing room after the Buccaneers pulled within two points.
The Giants’ defense, bolstered by the return of Jason Pierre-Paul, did its part by keeping the Jameis Winston-led Tampa Bay offense out of the end zone until the rookie scrambled 10 yards for a TD that made it 20-18 with 9:25 remaining.