Cowboys’ defense powers victory
LANDOVER, Md. — Micah Parsons sacked Taylor Heinicke twice and forced a fumble that was returned for a touchdown, helping the Dallas Cowboys make good on coach Mike McCarthy’s guarantee by holding on to beat Washington 27-20 on Sunday and snap their rival’s winning streak at four.
Dallas led 24-0 and 27-8 before Kyle Allen replaced Heinicke and led a 73-yard TD drive and Cole Holcomb intercepted Dak Prescott and ran it back for a pick-6. Washington’s comeback bid came to an end when Allen fumbled with 2:24 remaining.
Dallas (9-4) staked itself to such a big lead thanks to a big first-half showing by its defense against Washington (6-7). Dallas forced four turnovers and had five sacks.
Doran Armstrong recovered the fumble Parsons forced and returned it 37 yards for a touchdown, and Randy Gregory picked off Heinicke and forced Allen to fumble on a sack the day after he was activated off injured reserve.
BUCCANEERS 33 BILLS 27 (OT)
Tom Brady became the NFL’s all-time completions leader and threw his 700th touchdown pass for the winning score as defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay got an overtime win over visiting Buffalo.
Brady threw for 363 yards and two touchdowns, and scored on a quarterback sneak set up by the 7,143rd completion of an unmatched 22-year
career that includes seven Super Bowl titles.
Tampa Bay won it on Breshad Perriman’s 58yard catch-and-run with 5:31 left in OT — the 700th TD pass of Brady’s career, including playoffs. Despite blowing a 21-point halftime lead, the Bucs (10-3) won their fourth straight game and moved closer to clinching Tampa Bay’s first NFC South title since 2007.
Josh Allen shrugged off a slow start to throw for 308 yards and two touchdowns for Buffalo (7-6).
CHIEFS 48, RAIDERS 9
Patrick Mahomes threw his first two touchdown passes in nearly a month, Clyde Edwards-Helaire
added two more scores on the ground, and host Kansas City forced five turnovers in rolling to a recordsetting win over Las Vegas.
Derek Gore’s 51-yard TD run with 7:19 left in the fourth quarter allowed the Chiefs (9-4) to eclipse the largest margin of victory in a series that began in 1960 and has been played 126 times. The previous record was 35 points in 1964.
The Chiefs have won eight of their last nine against the Raiders (6-7), outscoring them 89-23 in two meetings this season.
PACKERS 45, BEARS 30
Aaron Rodgers threw for 341 yards and four touchdowns to continue his
mastery of the NFL’s oldest rivalry as Green Bay beat visiting Chicago.
The Packers scored the first 24 points of the second half to erase a 27-21 halftime deficit.
Green Bay (10-3) took a four-game lead over the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC North and moved closer to its third straight division title. Chicago (4-9) has lost seven of eight.
CHARGERS 37, GIANTS 21
Justin Herbert threw for three touchdowns, and Dustin Hopkins added three field goals for host Los Angeles, which improved to 8-5 and is a game behind Kansas City going into Thursday’s pivotal
AFC West matchup.
Mike Glennon, starting for the second straight week with Daniel Jones out with a neck injury, was 17-of-36 for 191 yards with two touchdowns and an interception for New York (4-9), which has dropped three of its last four. He also ran for a score.
BRONCOS 38, LIONS 10
Denver running backs Javonte Williams and Melvin Gordon each scored a pair of TDs, and Dre’Mont Jones had a monster game that included two sacks of Jared Goff as the Broncos routed visiting Detroit.
Several Broncos arrived at the stadium wearing No. 88 jerseys and kicker Brandon
McManus wore custom cleats featuring the late Demaryius Thomas’ famous mile-wide smile. The retired receiver died at his Georgia home on Thursday at age 33.
Then, the Broncos (7-6) took the field with just 10 men in honor of Thomas. The Lions (1-11-1) declined the delay-of-game penalty.
FALCONS 29, PANTHERS 21
Matt Ryan threw for 190 yards and a touchdown, Mykal Walker returned an interception of Cam Newton 66 yards for a TD, and Atlanta continued to play well on the road.
Cordarrelle Patterson ran for 58 yards and a score for the Falcons (6-7), who improved to 6-2 away from Mercedes-Benz Stadium and kept their playoff hopes alive while dealing a blow to Carolina (5-8).
SAINTS 30, JETS 9
Alvin Kamara ran for 120 yards and a touchdown in his return from a fourgame absence, and New Orleans (6-7) snapped a five-game skid with a win at New York (3-10).
Taysom Hill ran for two scores and shook off a banged-up finger on his throwing hand to pass for 175 yards for the Saints.
49ERS 26 BENGALS 23 (OT)
Jimmy Garoppolo threw a 12-yard TD pass to Brandon Aiyuk, and San Francisco (7-6) beat host Cincinnati (7-6) in overtime. On the final play, Aiyuk dove to the pylon and was initially ruled short, but a replay gave him the touchdown and San Francisco a critical win.