The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Lawrence leads Jags to 24-21 win
Steelers, Colts, Titans and Giants also record one-score victories.
Trevor Lawrence threw for 364 yards and a touchdown, and the AFC South-leading Jacksonville Jaguars escaped with a 24-21 victory over the division rival Houston Texans on Sunday when Matt Ammendola’s 58-yard field goal attempt bounced off the crossbar with 34 seconds left.
The Jaguars (8-3) avenged their 37-17 home loss to Houston (6-5) in Week 3 and created some separation at the top of their division.
C.J. Stroud, the second overall pick in the draft, threw for 306 yards and two touchdowns as Houston’s three-game winning streak was snapped. He has 3,268 yards passing this season to move past Justin Herbert (3,224) for the most in NFL history by a rookie in his first 11 games.
The Texans led by one after a touchdown run by Stroud midway through the third quarter. Lawrence responded by throwing a 1-yard touchdown pass to Calvin Ridley and hitting Ridley for the 2-point conversion to make it 21-14.
Brandon Mcmanus tacked on a field goal early in the fourth quarter to pad the lead, and Jacksonville’s defense stopped Houston on fourth down.
But Mcmanus missed from 55 yards with seven minutes left. Stroud then orchestrated a 55-yard drive, capped by a 17-yard touchdown reception by Nico Collins, to cut the lead to 24-21 with just over five minutes to go.
The Texans got a stop but couldn’t move the ball and settled for the long field goal attempt on fourthand-12 instead of giving Stroud and the offense one more shot.
Steelers 16, (at) Bengals 10: Kenny Pickett threw for a season-high 278 yards and the Steelers showed new life on offense days after firing offensive coordinator Matt Canada, beating the Joe Burrow-less Bengals.
The Steelers (7-4) totaled 421 yards, snapping a streak of 58
games without gaining 400 yards. Pat Freiermuth had a career-high 120 yards receiving as the Steelers outgained their opponent for the first time this season under interim offensive coordinator Eddie Faulkner.
Chris Boswell kicked two fourth-quarter field goals to keep the Bengals (5-6) at bay. Cincinnati got a field goal from Evan Mcpherson just before the 2-minute warning, but the Steelers recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock.
Bengals backup QB Jake Browning threw a touchdown pass in his first start but had trouble keeping the chains moving. He finished 19 for 26 for 227 yards and threw an interception in the red zone. Browning got the start in place of Burrow, the franchise quarterback whose season ended when he tore a ligament in his right wrist in a loss to the Ravens Nov. 16.
(At) Colts 27, Buccaneers 20: Jonathan Taylor ran for two scores,
Gardner Minshew added another and the Indianapolis defense came up with a late turnover to preserve a victory. Indy (6-5) won its third straight and climbed above .500 for the first time since the end of September with its second home victory of the season. The two-time defending NFC South champion Bucs (4-7) have lost four straight road games, this one in uncharacteristic fashion.
Indy gashed the usually stingy Tampa Bay run defense for 155 yards and 5.7 yards per carry — numbers that would have been even higher if Taylor had not slid down inbounds to keep the clock running late before the Colts started kneeling down. Taylor had 15 carries for 91 yards and his first multiple-score game of the season. Zack Moss ran eight times for 55 yards.
The Colts took control early and never allowed the Bucs to completely recover after Baker Mayfield injured his right ankle on the game’s opening series, an injury that forced Tampa Bay to settle for a field goal after having first-and-goal from the Indy 1-yard line.
Mayfield was 20 of 30 with 199 yards, two TDS, one interception and a game-sealing fumble that he lost.
(At) Titans 17, Panthers 10:
Derrick Henry ran for two touchdowns and 76 yards, helping Tennessee snap a three-game skid. This was just the fourth game in Music City this season for the Titans (4-7), who played at home only once over the past seven weeks. Tennessee improved to 4-0 when playing at Nissan Stadium this season.
Arden Key had a sack and forced fumble recovered by two-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons, who also had one of four sacks by Tennessee. Denico Autry had two, the second just two plays before the Titans forced the Panthers to turn the ball over on downs with 1:55 left to seal the victory.
Carolina (1-10) started a threegame road swing by losing its fourth straight.
(At) Giants 10, Patriots 7:
Xavier Mckinney set up Randy Bullock’s go-ahead 42-yard field goal midway through the fourth quarter with New York’s third interception of New England’s woeful pair of quarterbacks, and the Giants won consecutive games for the first time this season.
New England had a chance to win in the final minute, but coach Bill Belichick played for a tie and Chad Ryland was wide left on a 35-yard field goal attempt with 3 seconds left. The Patriots got a first down at the Giants 22 with about a minute to play in regulation but didn’t take a shot at the end zone.
Tommy Devito threw a touchdown pass for New York (4-8), which did more than enough against quarterbacks Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe — despite playing without Pro Bowl tackle Dexter Lawrence — to send the Patriots (2-9) to their fourth straight loss.