Bills top Chargers; Titans rout Colts to lead AFC South
Tre’Davious White’s fourth-quarter interception set up Tyler Bass’ 43-yard field goal, helping the host Buffalo Bills hold off the
Los Angeles Chargers 27-17.
Josh Allen threw for a touchdown and ran for another score for the AFC East-leading Bills (8-3), who hung on after nearly blowing an 18-point third-quarter lead. Receiver Cole Beasley also completed a touchdown pass.
Buffalo turned the ball over on three consecutive possessions, but its defense limited Los Angeles to Michael Badgley’s 27-yard field goal during the key stretch.
Buffalo’s three drives ended with running back Devin Singletary losing a fumble at midfield, Allen muffing a snap at the Chargers 22, and then Allen throwing an interception to Michael Davis.
Two plays after the Chargers (3-8) regained the ball at their 44, Justin Herbert faced third-and-6 when he forced a pass over the middle intended for tight end Hunter Henry, only to have White jump in front of the ball.
Titans 45, Colts 26:
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Derrick Henry battered the NFL’s second-stingiest defense for 140 yards and three touchdowns in the first half, finished with 178 yards and led Tennessee to a crucial rout of host Indianapolis. The win gives Tennessee (8-3) sole possession of the AFC South lead, a split in the two-game season series and a tiebreaking edge based on current division records of the teams. Henry also padded his lead as he chases a second straight rushing crown. He has three straight 100-yard games and eight consecutive road games with 100 or more yards, tying former Titans running back Chris Johnson for the second-longest streak since the 1970 merger. Only Hall of Famer
Barry Sanders (10 in 199697) had a longer streak.
49ers 23, Rams 20:
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Robbie Gould made a 42yard field goal as time expired, and San Francisco snapped its three-game losing streak with a victory over host Los Angeles, sweeping their season series for the second straight year. Nick Mullens passed for 253 yards and led two late scoring drives in his first victory as a starter since September for the defending NFC champion Niners (5-6), who stoked their flickering playoff hopes and became the first team to beat the Rams (7-4) at SoFi Stadium.
Vikings 28, Panthers
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27: Chad Beebe caught a 10-yard touchdown pass with 46 seconds left for host Minnesota shortly after he muffed a punt that let Carolina pad its lead. Then Joey Slye missed a 54-yard field goal try with 1 second remaining that preserved the Vikings’ victory. Kirk Cousins went 34 for 45 for 307 yards and three scores for the Vikings (5-6), hitting Justin Jefferson for his second touchdown grab with 5:38 to go and finding Beebe for the winner to punctuate a seven-play, 75-yard drive that took 65 seconds. There were 38 points scored by both teams in a dizzying second half that started with Panthers rookie Jeremy Chinn turning fumble recoveries into touchdown returns on consecutive plays from scrimmage.
●Patriots 20, Cardinals 17: Nick Folk kicked a 50yard field goal as time expired, and host New England rallied in the second half to beat Arizona. James White rushed for two touchdowns for the Patriots (5-6). It was the second time this month that Folk hit a last-second gamewinning field goal. His 51-yarder beat the New
York Jets 30-27 on Nov. 9. Arizona (6-5) hasn’t beaten New England since 2012. Cam Newton struggled, finishing 9 of 18 for 84 yards and two interceptions.
Falcons 43, Raiders 6:
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Deion Jones returned an interception 67 yards for a touchdown, Matt Ryan threw a pair of short scoring passes, and host Atlanta thoroughly dominated Derek Carr and bumbling Las Vegas.The Raiders (6-5) lost their second in a row and looked very much like a pretender in the AFC playoff race, producing a listless, mistake-filled performance against an Atlanta team that’s playing out the season under an interim coach. Carr had a miserable day, fumbling the ball away three times in addition to delivering the pick that the Falcons linebacker returned for his fifth career TD.
Browns 27, Jaguars 25:
Baker Mayfield took advantage of his best gameday weather in a month, throwing two touchdown passes as Cleveland beat host Jacksonville to remain squarely in the AFC playoff picture. Mayfield connected with Jarvis Landry and Austin Hooper for scores, ending a three-game drought without a passing TD. Mayfield nearly had two more, but he inexplicably missed wide-open Rashard Higgins in the end zone in the second quarter, then watched Harrison Bryant drop another early in the fourth. The Browns improved to 8-3 for the first time since 1994.
Giants 19, Bengals 17:
New York lost starting quarterback Daniel Jones to a hamstring injury in the second half but generated enough offense to beat host Cincinnati. Jones went down after completing a short pass in the third quarter with the game tied at 10. He returned for two plays on the next series but then was relieved by backup Colt McCoy, who played the rest of the game.