Driven Broncos overwhelm Lions
The grieving Denver Broncos honored the late Demaryius Thomas by wearing his number on their helmets, his jersey on their backs and his memory in their hearts.
They knelt in tribute to his No. 88 painted on their sideline and didn’t fight back the tears during a moment of silence or the string of highlights shown on the scoreboard Sunday.
It was through their play that they best celebrated their fallen friend and retired receiver who died at his Georgia home Thursday at age 33.
“The best way to honor his legacy is to go out and play great football,” quarterback Teddy Bridgewater said after the Broncos routed Detroit 38-10, a thrashing capped appropriately with an 88-yard touchdown drive.
After the moment of silence and a video tribute, the Broncos (7-6) took the field with just 10 men in honor of Thomas. As the crowd chanted, “DT!” the Lions (1-11-1) declined the delay-ofgame penalty.
“That was for DT,” Detroit head coach Dan Campbell said. “That’s who I did that for.”
Denver head coach Vic Fangio, who called his counterpart Saturday to tell him about the planned missing-man formation, called it “a classy move on his part.”
Running backs Javonte Williams and Melvin Gordon each scored two touchdowns and Dre’Mont Jones had two sacks of Jared Goff.
The Lions were coming off their first win but were hit hard by COVID-19 last week — they had seven players on the virus list and called up a slew of practice-squad players to fill their roster.
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 Chicago at Lambeau Field. 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 Vikings in the NFC North and moved closer to its third straight division title. Chicago (4-9) has lost seven of eight. Chicago’s Justin Fields went
18-for-33 for 224 yards with two touchdown passes, but he also threw two interceptions and lost a fumble. Jakeem Grant scored twice, including a 97-yard punt return.
Cowboys 27, Washington 20: Micah Parsons sacked Washington’s Taylor Heinicke twice and forced a fumble that was returned for a touchdown, helping visiting Dallas make good on head coach Mike McCarthy’s guarantee of winning. Washington’s win streak was snapped at four. Dallas led 24-0 and 27-8 before Kyle Allen replaced Heinicke and led a 73-yard TD drive. Cole Holcomb then intercepted Dak Prescott and ran it back for a pick-6. The comeback bid came to an end for Washington (6-7) when Allen fumbled with 2:24 remaining. Dallas (9-4) forced
four turnovers and had five sacks.
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 touchdown and Atlanta continued to play well on the road. Cordarrelle Patterson ran for 58 yards and a touchdown for the Falcons (6-7), who are 6-2 away from Mercedes-Benz Stadium and kept their playoff hopes alive. Newton ran for a 12-yard score but committed two turnovers and was benched midway through the fourth quarter for P.J. Walker. The Panthers (5-8) committed three turnovers in all and have lost eight of their past 10 games.
Titans 20, Jaguars 0: Tennessee made four interceptions in its first home shutout in
more than two decades. Rashaan Evans, Jayon Brown, Kristian Fulton and Buster Skrine picked off passes from rookie Trevor Lawrence, who hadn’t thrown multiple interceptions in a game since his NFL debut. Tennessee (9-4) dominated Jacksonville’s offensive line, sacking Lawrence three times and prompting four holding calls and a false start. The Jaguars (2-11) finished with 192 yards, the third time this season they’ve been held under the 200-yard mark — a franchise first. Head coach Urban Meyer and team owner Shad Khan had a oneon-one meeting after the Jaguars’ fifth consecutive loss.
Saints 30, Jets 9: Alvin Kamara ran for 120 yards and a touchdown in his return from a four-game absence, and visiting New Orleans snapped a losing streak at five games. 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 (6-7), whose skid was their longest since Sean Payton became head coach in 2006. Brett Maher added three field goals and the defense stifled Zach Wilson and New York’s shorthanded offense as the Jets (3-10) were eliminated from playoff contention. They have missed the postseason 11 straight seasons, tying the franchise’s longest drought set from 1970 through ’80. It is also the longest active skid in the NFL.
Seahawks 33, Texans 13: Russell Wilson threw for 260 yards and two touchdowns and visiting Seattle won consecutive games for the first time this season. Seattle head coach Pete Carroll earned his 150th regular-season win a week after the Seahawks (5-8) beat the 49ers 30-23. He did it in front of a sparse crowd that appeared to have more Seattle fans than Houston followers. Rookie Davis Mills, from Stanford, threw for a personal-high 331 yards and a touchdown starting for Tyrod Taylor, who was benched after the Texans (2-11) lost 31-0 to the Colts the previous Sunday. Mills completed his first 14 passes to set a franchise record.
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 night’s AFC West matchup. The game was tied 7-7 after the first quarter before L.A. scored 30 straight points. Mike Glennon, starting for a second straight game with Daniel Jones out with a neck injury, was 17-for-36 for 191 yards with two touchdowns and an interception for the Giants (4-9).