Cowboys keep Eagles flailing
Ezekiel Elliott and Dak Prescott left the defending Super Bowl champions wondering how their season went wrong.
Elliott had 151 yards rushing and his go-ahead 1-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter helped Dallas Cowboys beat the Eagles 27-20 in Philadelphia on Sunday night.
The Eagles fell to 4-5 with their third straight loss at home. The Cowboys improved to 4-5. Washington leads the NFC East at 6-3.
“All of us need to look in the mirror,” Philadelphia head coach Doug Pederson said. “Are we doing enough? Are we giving enough? You have to strain yourself to make plays. We didn’t do it.”
The Cowboys gave their all to give embattled head coach Jason Garrett a week off from questions about his job security.
“You can imagine the way Jason Garrett, his resolve before the game,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said. “I asked him before the game, ‘You feeling any pressure?’ (Garrett replied) ‘It just makes me want to go out and do more to turn this thing.’ ”
Prescott had 270 yards passing, threw for one touchdown and ran for a score. Elliott also had a TD reception.
Carson Wentz threw two TD passes to Stanford alum Zach Ertz, but his pass to Ertz on fourth down fell a yard short of a first down at the Cowboys’ 29 with 1:09 left.
Saints Brees threw 51, Bengals three touchdown 14: In Cincinnati, passes Drew in the first half, moving ahead of Brett Favre for second place on the career list, and New Orleans rolled to its eighth straight victory. Brees led the Saints to touchdowns on all five first-half possessions, and his 17-yard TD to Michael Thomas with two seconds left in the half gave him 509 career touchdown passes, one more than Favre. The Bengals matched their most lopsided loss ever.
Browns 28, Falcons 16: Rookie Baker Mayfield threw a season-high three touchdown passes and rookie Nick Chubb streaked 92 yards for a TD as host Cleveland (3-6-1) ended a four-game losing streak. The Browns played their most complete game this season, and it came under interim head coach Gregg Williams, who improved to 1-1 since replacing the fired Hue Jackson. The Falcons (4-5) had their three-game winning streak stopped cold.
Chiefs 26, Cardinals 14: Patrick Mahomes threw for 249 yards and two touchdowns for Kansas City (9-1), outplaying Arizona (2-7) counterpart Josh Rosen in a matchup of two of the NFL’s bright young quarterbacks. Mahomes threw both TD passes to Tyreek Hill, the second giving the Chiefs’ first-year starter 31 for the season. That broke the franchise record set by Len Dawson in 1964 — with plenty of games to go. Rosen had 195 yards passing with a touchdown and two picks, taking several brutal hits in the fourth quarter. David Johnson ran for 98 yards, with TDs on the ground and through the air. Larry Fitzgerald passed Terrell Owens for No. 2 on the NFL’s career receiving yardage list late in the game. Fitzgerald finished with six catches for 50 yards to give him 15,952 yards.
Packers 31, Dolphins 12: Aaron Jones ran for career highs of 145 yards and two scores, and Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams connected for two touchdown passes for host Green Bay (4-4-1). The Packers took control in the second half, going ahead 28-12 on Adams’ 25-yard touchdown catch with 7:24 left in the third quarter. Rookie Jason Sanders tied a franchise record with four field goals for Miami (5-5).
Bills offense 41, Jets with 10: two Matt touchdown Barkley sparked passes, Buffalo’s one to usual offensive tackle Dion Dawkins, as the Bills (3-7) won at New York (3-7). LeSean McCoy broke out of a season-long slump with 113 yards rushing and two TD runs. Barkley made his first start in nearly two years, and looked the best of any of the four quarterbacks the Bills have used this season. The 28-year-old journeyman was 15-for-25 for 232 yards while helping Buffalo snap a fourgame losing streak as the Bills put up 451 yards of offense.
Bears 34, Lions 22: Mitchell Trubisky threw for 355 yards and three touchdowns, and NFC North-leading Chicago (6-3) snapped a 10-game losing streak against division opponents. The host Bears had dropped nine of 10 against Detroit (3-6) and were seeking their first victory over a division opponent since Oct. 31, 2016, against Minnesota. Trubisky completed 23 of 30 passes against a shorthanded secondary, with cornerback Darius Slay sidelined by a knee injury. Khalil Mack had two of Chicago’s six sacks against Matthew Stafford after missing back-to-back games with an injured right ankle.
Washington 16, Buccaneers 3: Alex Smith threw for 178 yards and one touchdown, and Dustin Hopkins kicked three field goals for visiting Washington (6-3), which forced four turnovers and rebounded from a loss to Atlanta. Smith, who was 19-for-27 with no interceptions, threw 6 yards to Josh Doctson for the only touchdown early in the fourth quarter. Hopkins kicked field goals of 43, 43 and 26 yards, the last set up by Greg Stroman’s fourth-quarter interception and 24yard return to the Bucs’ 14. Ryan Fitzpatrick threw for 403 yards for Tampa Bay (3-6) but was intercepted twice and lost a fumble inside the Washington 10.
Colts 29, Jaguars 26: Andrew Luck threw three touchdown passes in the first half and the Colts’ defense forced a late turnover. Host Indianapolis (4-5) has won three straight. Tight end Eric Ebron had a career-high three touchdowns, one on a 2-yard run, all in the first half. Blake Bortles threw for 319 yards and two TDs, but Jacksonville (3-6) came up short when Kenny Moore III stripped the ball from Rashad Greene Sr. and Malik Hooker recovered for the Colts with 1:24 to go. Jacksonville has lost five straight and six of seven.