Comeback puts 3-0 Titans atop AFC South
MINNEAPOLIS — Ryan Tannehill and the Tennessee Titans have had little reason to sweat these tight finishes.
That shaky start with his new team now a distant memory, Stephen Gostkowski had this late-game part down a long time ago.
Gostkowski made his careerhigh sixth field goal of the game, a 55-yarder with 1:44 left that lifted undefeated Tennessee to a 31-30 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday after Tannehill directed another comeback.
“Every phase of our team has to improve and get better, but there’s no panic,” said coach Mike Vrabel, who took the Titans to the AFC championship game last season.
Derrick Henry rushed 26 times for 119 yards and two third-quarter touchdowns for the Titans, who improved to 3-0 for the first time since 2008 after trailing for a total of 32:07 in the game including a 12-point deficit until late in the third quarter.
Tannehill passed for 321 yards, guiding the Titans on a go-ahead drive in the fourth quarter or overtime for the sixth time in 16 games since becoming the starter. The Titans are 12-4 behind Tannehill, including the playoffs, and they’re 15-0 when Henry — the NFL rushing leader last year — hits the 100-yard mark.
PACKERS 37, SAINTS 30
Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers outdueled New Orleans’ Drew Brees with 283 yards passing and three touchdown passes to keep his team 3-0 with a road victory. Brees passed for 288 yards and also threw three touchdowns.
BEARS 30, FALCONS 26
Host Atlanta suffered its second straight fourth-quarter collapse after leading by two touchdowns, this time to Chicago backup quarterback Nick Foles, who rallied from a 16point deficit that could spell the end for Falcons coach Dan Quinn. Foles replaced Mitchell Trubisky and threw three TD passes in the fourth quarter for the Bears, who improved to 3-0 for the first time since 2013.
The Falcons (0-3) became the first team in NFL history lose back-to-back games in which it led by 15 or more points in the final period, according to STATS.
BILLS 35, RAMS 32
Josh Allen completed a 3-yard touchdown pass to tight Tyler Kroft with 15 seconds remaining, and host Buffalo survived to beat Los Angeles after squandering a 25-point lead.
The Rams (2-1) were poised to match the third-largest comeback in NFL regular season history after Jared Goff led the
team to touchdowns on four straight drives, capped by Darrell Henderson’s 1-yard run.
BENGALS 23, EAGLES 23
Joe Burrow tossed a pair of touchdown passes to Tee Higgins in regulation and Carson Wentz dove into the end zone for the tying score in the final minute as Cincinnati and host Philadelphia played to a tie.
BUCCANEERS 28, BRONCOS 10
Tom Brady threw three touchdown passes and Shaq Barrett
celebrated his homecoming with a pair of sacks, one for a safety, in Tampa Bay’s road victory over Denver.
With his first road win for the Bucs (2-1), Brady evened his career record against the Broncos at 9-9 with just his fifth win in a dozen trips to Denver.
49ERS 36, GIANTS 9
Nick Mullens threw for 343 yards and a touchdown to lead San Francisco to its second win at MetLife Stadium in as many weeks, this time over the errorprone and winless New York Giants.
PATRIOTS 36, RAIDERS 20
Bill Belichick became the third coach in NFL history to reach 275 regular-season victories and Rex Burkhead scored three touchdowns to lead host New England past Las Vegas. Belichick joined George Halas (318) and Don Shula (328) as the only coaches to reach 275.
LIONS 26, CARDINALS 23
Matt Prater made a 39-yard field goal as time expired, Matthew Stafford threw two touchdown passes and Detroit beat host Arizona to snap an 11-game losing streak dating to last season.
BROWNS 34, WASHINGTON 20
Baker Mayfield threw two touchdown passes, Nick Chubb ran for two more and host Cleveland beat the Washington Football Team to move over .500 for the first time since 2014. Washington lost rookie defensive end Chase Young to a groin injury.
COLTS 36, JETS 7
Xavier Rhodes and T.J. Carrie each returned an interception for a touchdown, host Indianapolis recorded its second safety in as many weeks and Philip Rivers added his 400th career TD pass.