Eagles torch Broncos defense 51-23
PHILADELPHIA — Carson Wentz tossed four touchdown passes, Corey Clement had three scores, and the Philadelphia Eagles routed the Denver Broncos 51-23 on Sunday.
The Eagles (8-1) dismantled the league’s top-ranked defense, racking up 419 yards, to win their seventh straight game and head into a bye week with the best record in the NFL.
Brock Osweiler couldn’t get the Broncos (3-5) on track in his first start since rejoining the team in September. He threw two interceptions. Denver has lost four in a row and five of six.
Wentz was 15 of 27 for 199 yards before giving way to Nick Foles. He has three fourTD performances in the last five weeks.
Clement had two TD runs and one TD catch, and newcomer Jay Ajayi ran for 77 yards and one score.
The Eagles hadn’t scored 50 points since a 54-11 victory over the Bears on Dec. 22, 2013.
Saints 30, Buccaneers 10
NEW ORLEANS — The Saints extended their winning streak to six when Drew Brees completed 81.2 percent of his passes for 263 yards and two touchdowns.
The Buccaneers came in hoping to stem a four-game skid, but instead were not just beaten, but beaten up. Quarterback Jameis Winston left with shoulder soreness after the first half. Starting defensive end William Gholston was carted off the field with a neck injury. And tensions boiled over when Winston, after he had left the game, appeared to instigate a scuffle along the sideline.
Brees’ touchdowns went for 33 yards to Alvin Kamara and 36 yards to Ted Ginn. Kamara, who also scored on a 6-yard run, did most of the work on his TD reception, thrilling the Superdome crowd with a waving, tackle-slipping run after his short catch.
The Saints also scored on Justin Hardee’s blocked punt, which Hardee recovered in stride and returned for a touchdown.
The scuffle erupted in the third quarter and appeared to be ignited when Winston vigorously pressed his finger into the back of Lattimore’s helmet during a dead-ball period between a failed third-down pass and a punt. Lattimore turned and shoved Winston, after which receiver Mike Evans leveled Lattimore from behind. Saints defensive back De’Vante Harris then came charging into the melee to defend Lattimore. As the scuffle was broken up, Saints coach Sean Payton marched halfway across the field, gesturing angrily at the Tampa Bay bench before officials chased him back to the Saints’ sideline.
The score was 30-3 at the time. Evans was called for unnecessary roughness. There were no ejections.
Redskins 17, Seahawks 14
SEATTLE — Kirk Cousins drove Washington 70 yards in 35 seconds, capped by Rob Kelley’s 1-yard touchdown run with less than a minute remaining, to stun Seattle.
Seattle (5-3) took a 14-10 lead with 1:34 remaining after Russell Wilson found Doug Baldwin for a 30-yard touchdown pass after the Seahawks had scuffled on offense all day. But Cousins had an unexpected answer.
Taking over at his 30-yard line, Cousins hit Brian Quick for 31 yards and Josh Doctson for 38 on consecutive throws to get to the Seattle 1 with 1:02 left. Doctson beat rookie Shaquill Griffin down the sideline and made an impressive diving catch. Kelley bulled his way in from the 1 on the next play.
Cardinals 20, 49ers 10
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Adrian Peterson carried a career-high 37 times for 159 yards and Drew Stanton threw two touchdown passes to lead Arizona past winless San Francisco.
Peterson, 32, was a workhorse in his third game with the Cardinals (4-4). He posted the most carries ever for a player in his 30s and topped the 100-yard mark for the second time since being acquired in a trade from New Orleans last month.
Jaguars 23, Bengals 7
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — With A.J. Green and Jalen Ramsey ejected for fighting, Jaydon Mickens delivered the knockout blow by returning a punt 63 yards for a touchdown.
The Jaguars (5-3) won consecutive games for the first time in 13 months and were victorious at EverBank Field for the first time since last December.
Blake Bortles threw for 259 yards and a touchdown in another efficient performance.
Panthers 20, Falcons 17
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Cam Newton ran for 86 yards and a touchdown and the Panthers stormed back from an early 10-point deficit, then held on.
The Panthers spotted the Falcons 10 points before Newton and the ground game got rolling. Carolina ran for 201 yards, including a career-high 66 and a touchdown from rookie Christian McCaffrey.
The win kept the Panthers (6-3) a halfgame behind the Saints in the NFC South. Atlanta is 4-4.
Devin Funchess had 86 yards on five catches in his first game as Carolina’s No. 1 receiver after the team traded Kelvin Benjamin earlier in the week.
Rams 51, Giants 17
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Jared Goff set career highs with four touchdown throws and 311 yards passing and Todd Gurley ran for two more scores for the surprising Rams.
The win was the fifth in six games for the Rams, whose 6-2 start is the franchise’s best since 2001, when the club, then in St. Louis, went 14-2 in the regular season and eventually lost to the Patriots in the Super Bowl.
Titans 23, Ravens 20
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Marcus Mariota threw for 218 yards and two touchdowns, and the Titans got their third straight victory.
Derrick Henry ran for a 1-yard TD. Safety Kevin Byard also intercepted two passes , giving the second-year pro five picks over his past two games.
The Titans (5-3) sacked Joe Flacco twice and scored 13 points off Byard’s first interception and a shanked punt to stay atop the AFC South.
Colts 20, Texans 14
HOUSTON — T.Y. Hilton had 175 yards receiving with two touchdowns to help the Colts halt a three-game skid by beating a Texans team that struggled without Deshaun Watson.
Jacoby Brissett threw for 308 yards filling in for Andrew Luck, who was placed on injured reserve Thursday and will miss the season after having shoulder surgery in January. Watson’s stellar season ended that day, too, when the rookie tore the anterior cruciate ligament in one of his knees in practice.