Falcons extend winning streak
LANDOVER, Md.—Julio Jones ended his 12-game touchdown drought, Matt Ryan threw for 350 yards and four scores and the Atlanta Falcons flexed their offensive muscles with a 38-14 blowout of the Redskins that extended their winning streak to three games.
Jones caught seven passes for 121 yards with the biggest coming on a 35-yard screen pass with just under four minutes left that sealed the victory. After Jones twisted away from newest Washington defender Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and into the end zone, a swarm of teammates rushed over from the sideline to celebrate Jones’ first touchdown catch since Nov. 26, 2017.
Ryan completed 26 of his 38 passes, including touchdown passes of 39 and 10 yards to running back Tevin Coleman and 40 to rookie receiver Calvin Ridley. Coleman ran for 80 yards and Ito Smith had 66 yards and a rushing touchdown to give the Falcons (4-4) the balanced attack they’ve lacked in an injury-marred season that so far has failed to live up to expectations.
CHARGERS 25, SEAHAWKS 17
SEATTLE—Philip Rivers made his 200th consecutive start and kept Los Angeles surging at the midpoint of the season, surviving a late rally by Seattle’s Russell Wilson.
Rivers threw for 228 yards and two touchdowns, Melvin Gordon added 113 yards rushing and the Chargers won their fifth straight with a 25-17 win over the Seahawks on Sunday.
Rivers threw touchdown passes of 12 yards to Tyrell Williams and 30 yards to Mike Williams, and let the Chargers defense stymie Russell Wilson until the final minutes. Seattle had won four of five following a 0-2 start.
Desmond King provided the deciding points for Los Angeles (6-2) by stepping in front of Wilson’s pass for David Moore and returning it 42 yards for a touchdown with 6:44 remaining to give the Chargers a 25-10 lead.
STEELERS 23, RAVENS 16
BALTIMORE—James Conner rushed for 107 yards and caught a TD pass for the Steelers (5-2-1), who have won four straight since falling to the Ravens at home on Sept. 30.
Roethlisberger went 28 for 47 for 270 yards. His 1-yard run put Pittsburgh up 20-6 in the third quarter, and the 36-year-old showed his grit by missing only one play after being flattened during a sprint from the pocket with just over 13 minutes left.
The Ravens (4-5) scored only one touchdown in their third straight defeat. Joe Flacco was limited to 209 yards passing and sacked twice.
CHIEFS 37, BROWNS 21
CLEVELAND—Patrick Mahomes passed for 375 yards, threw three touchdown passes — two to Travis Kelce — and continued the best start by an NFL quarterback in 68 years as Kansas City’s impossible-to-handle offense kept rolling with a win over the Browns, who played their first game since coach Hue Jackson’s firing.
Kareem Hunt had two scoring runs and one receiving for the Chiefs (8-1), who came in averaging 36.3 points per game with an offense overloaded with weapons for Mahomes.
The 23-year-old used all of them in winning his first pro matchup against Baker Mayfield and the Browns (2-6-1).
VIKINGS 24, LIONS 9
MINNEAPOLIS—Danielle Hunter had 3½ of Minnesota’s franchise-record 10 sacks and a fourth-quarter fumble return for a touchdown, making for a miserable afternoon for Matthew Stafford and the Lions.
Hunter, the fourth-year defensive end, also was credited with nine tackles and four quarterback hits as the Vikings (5-3-1) limited the Lions to 214 total yards.
The Lions had a streak of 25 consecutive games with at least 14 points stopped in humbling fashion.
DOLPHINS 13, JETS 6
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla.—Rookie linebacker Jerome Baker intercepted Sam Darnold and scored the only touchdown on a 25-yard return with 11 minutes left, and a resilient defense helped the Dolphins beat the Jets.
Darnold threw four interceptions and took four sacks, and the Jets went 2 for 13 on third down.
The hobbled Dolphins (5-4) endured another wave of injuries, but their defense was much improved after three consecutive poor games, with the quality of the opposition certainly a factor.
Darnold tried to rally his sputtering team from a 6-3 deficit, but following a punt he took a high snap and made an ill-advised throw to tight end Eric Tomlinson. Baker stepped in front for his first career interception and scored untouched.
BEARS 41, BILLS 9
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y.—Jordan Howard scored two touchdowns and the Bears’ defense had two others in a win over the Bills in what proved to be another comedy of errors for Buffalo and its anemic offense.
Eddie Jackson scored on a 65-yard fumble return and Leonard Floyd returned a tipped pass 19 yards for another score some 3 1/2 minutes apart in the second quarter. Howard, set up by Tarik Cohen’s 38-yard punt return , then scored on an 18-yard scamper to cap a run in which the Bears scored four touchdowns over a span of 12 minutes, 20 seconds in the second quarter.
The Bears won their second in a row and improved to 5-3 to match their best start to a season through eight games since 2013. Chicago also matched its win total from last year.
PANTHERS 42, BUCCANEERS 28
CHARLOTTE, N.C.—Cam Newton completed 19 of 25 passes for 247 yards and two touchdowns, Christian McCaffrey racked up 157 yards from scrimmage and scored twice and the Panthers built an early lead and held on to beat the Buccaneers for their 10th straight home win.
Newton threw TD passes of 19 yards to Curtis Samuel and 17 yards to Greg Olsen, the seventh straight game he has thrown for at least two touchdowns. McCaffrey had 17 carries for 79 yards and five catches for 78 yards and turned in the play of the game when he leaped over a defender after a reception in the flat and kept going, turning it into a 32-yard gain.
The Panthers (6-2) scored touchdowns on five straight possessions during the first half to build a commanding 35-7 lead before the Buccaneers battled back to within a touchdown early in the fourth quarter behind Ryan Fitzpatrick.