Steelers stay unbeaten, cruise past Browns
James Conner ran for 101 yards and the Steelers battered the Browns in a 38-7 blowout victory.
PITTSBURGH >> Not yet Cleveland. At least, not in Pittsburgh.
James Conner ran for 101 yards and a touchdown and the Steelers battered the Browns in a 38-7 blowout victory on Sunday to improve to 5- 0 for the first time since 1978. Ben Roethlisberger added 162 yards passing and a score.
Pittsburgh emphatically ended Cleveland’s fourgame winning streak and extended the Browns’ skid at Heinz Field to 17 and counting.
The Browns (4-2) were unable to get anything going against a defense that sacked aching Baker Mayfield four times, picked him off twice and chased him late in the third quarter with the game out of reach. The NFL’s top rushing offense managed 75 yards on the ground — 113 below its season average — as the Steelers dominated both sides of the line of scrimmage in easily their best performance in 2020.
Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick stepped in front of a Mayfield pass and raced 33 yards to the end zone fors an early 10- 0 lead. The Browns, off to the franchise’s best start since 1994,
never really recovered in a stadium where they haven’t won since Mayfield was in elementary school.
RAVENS 30, EAGLES 28 >> Lamar Jackson threw for a touchdown and ran for a score and the Ravens held on.
The Eagles (1- 4-1) came in missing seven offensive starters, including four offensive linemen, and then lost two more when run
ning back Miles Sanders left in the third quarter and tight end Zach Ertz exited in the fourth.
BRONCOS 18, PATRIOTS 12 >> Brandon McManus kicked six field goals and linebacker Malik Reed came up with a big sack late in a game twice delayed following positive coronavirus tests for both teams.
Sunday’s game was originally scheduled for last
week but got postponed twice, first by a day, then by seven. The delay was caused after multiple Patriots players tested positive for COVID-19, including quarterback Cam Newton and reigning Defensive Player of the Year cornerback Stephon Gilmore.
TITANS 42, TEXANS 36, OT >> Derrick Henry took a direct snap and ran 5 yards for a touchdown 3:30 into overtime and the Titans remained undefeated.
The Titans (5- 0) overcame two turnovers, Stephen Gostkowski having a field goal blocked and missing another, and the defense giving up 335 yards passing and four touchdown passes to Deshaun Watson. GIANTS 20, WASHINGTON 19 >> Joe Judge and New York have finally won, and they have rookie Tae Crowder and a risky gamble by Washington coach Ron Rivera for making them relevant again.
Crowder, the last player taken in the NFL draft — Mr. Irrelevant — scooped up a fumble and ran 43 yards for a touchdown with 3:28 to play. That gave the Giants a victory over Washington in a battle of the two of the NFL’s worst teams. FALCONS 40, VIKINGS 23 >> Julio Jones returned from injury to catch two of Matt Ryan’s four touchdown passes, as Atlanta beat Minnesota for their first victory of the season — one week after the firing of head coach Dan Quinn.
Kirk Cousins threw three interceptions in the first half for the first time in his career, and the Falcons (15) turned those picks into 17 points to build a 20- 0 lead at the break that proved to be solid enough for even this falter-prone team. LIONS 34, JAGUARS 16 >> Matthew Stafford finally got his first touchdown pass against Jacksonville.
Rookie D’Andre Swift ran for a career-high 116 yards and two touchdowns, Stafford got an elusive TD pass against the only team he hadn’t thrown one against in 12 NFL seasons and the Lions hammered the Jaguars.
BEARS 23, PANTHERS 16 >> Nick Foles threw for one touchdown and ran for another, Chicago’s defense forced three turnovers and sacked Teddy Bridgewater four times and the Bears held on to beat Carolina.
Foles finished with 198 yards passing and a touchdown and David Montgomery added 58 yards on the ground as the Bears (5-1) opened the season 3- 0 on the road for the first time since 2006.
COLTS 31, BENGALS 27 >> After falling behind by 21 points, Indianapolis needed the biggest regular-season comeback in franchise history. Philip Rivers was up to the task.
DOLPHINS 24, JETS 0 >> Tua Tagovailoa played his first NFL snaps for Miami close to the end of its win over the New York Jets.