Buccaneers streak into first place
Baker Mayfield threw for 283 yards and two touchdowns to help the NFC South-leading Buccaneers beat Trevor Lawrence and the reeling Jacksonville Jaguars, 30-12, Sunday in Tampa for their fourth straight victory.
The Jaguars (8-7) lost their fourth game in a row, this time with Lawrence starting but struggling to find a rhythm after spending the past week in the NFL’s concussion protocol. The third-year quarterback threw a second-half TD pass to Calvin Ridley before spending the fourth quarter on the bench with what the Jaguars announced was a shoulder injury.
A week after having a perfect passer rating of 158.3 in a road win at Green Bay, Mayfield threw a pair of TDs to Mike Evans in building a 20-0 halftime lead. In both cases, the Buccaneers (8-7) cashed in on interceptions Lawrence tossed on two of Jacksonville’s first three possessions.
Evans finished with seven receptions for 86 yards. The touchdown catches were his 12th and 13th of the season, and the 10thyear pro joined Hall of Famers Jerry Rice (8), Terrell Owens (7), Marvin Harrison (6), and Randy Moss (6) as the only players in NFL history to have at least 12 TD receptions in five different seasons.
Despite losing four straight, the Jaguars remain tied for first place in the AFC South with the Indianapolis Colts and Houston Texans, who also lost on Sunday.
Lawrence finished 17-of-29 passing for 211 yards, including a 18-yard TD throw to Ridley late in the third quarter. In addition to three turnovers, he was sacked three times. Backup C.J. Beathard played the fourth quarter and had a 1-yard TD pass to Ridley in the closing minutes.
Tampa Bay scored on its first four possessions, held the ball for more 18 minutes, and outgained the Jaguars 224 yards to 84 while building their 20-0 halftime lead. Seahawks 20, Titans 17 — Geno Smith threw his second touchdown pass of the fourth quarter on a 5-yarder to Colby Parkinson with 57 seconds left and Seattle (8-7) kept its playoff hopes alive by beating Tennessee (5-10) in Nashville. Smith, who missed the past two games with an injured groin, gave the Seahawks their first lead at 13-10 when he found DK Metcalf in the left corner for an 11yard touchdown with 12:10 left, but Derrick Henry put the Titans back up, 17-13, with a 2-yard TD run with 3:21 left. Seattle responded with Smith driving the offense 75 yards over 14 plays for the win. Henry threw a 12-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter and Tennessee outgained Seattle, 287-273, with Ryan Tannehill back at quarterback in place of injured Will Levis (ankle). Packers 33, Panthers 30 — Jordan Love threw for two touchdowns, ran for one, and made two big completions to set up Anders Carlson’s 32-yard field goal with 19 seconds left, and Green Bay (7-8) survived a rally by Carolina (2-13) to keep its playoff hopes alive with the win in Charlotte, N.C. The Packers (7-8) remain one game behind the Seahawks and Rams in the NFC wild-card race. Love threw TD passes of 21 yards to Dontayvion Wicks and 5 yards to Romeo Dobbs and scored on a sneak as Green Bay snapped a two-game skid. Aaron Jones became the first Packer this season to exceed 100 yards rushing or receiving in a game, rushing for 127 yards on 21 carries. Bryce Young threw for a career-high 312 yards with two TD passes to DJ Chark for the Panthers.
Falcons 29, Colts 10 — Taylor Heinicke provided the turnover-free leadership at quarterback Atlanta (7-8) has sought all season, passing for 229 yards and a touchdown to beat visiting Indianapolis (8-7). The Falcons benched Desmond Ridder for the second time this season following two straight losses, providing an opportunity for Heinicke to boost the team’s fading playoff hopes. Heinicke completed 23 of 33 passes, including a 24-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Pitts. Tyler Allgeier added a 31-yard TD run and Younghoe Koo kicked five field goals for Atlanta. The Colts had won five of six to move into a first-place tie in the AFC South but struggled offensively after opening up with a long drive capped by Jonathan Taylor’s 1-yard scoring run.
Jets 30, Commanders 28 — Greg Zuerlein kicked a 54-yard field goal with five seconds left, rescuing New York (6-9) against Washington (4-11) after it blew a 20point lead in the third quarter in East Rutherford, N.J. Jacoby Brissett replaced the benched Sam Howell in the third quarter and led the Commanders on three straight touchdown drives, including Antonio Gibson’s 1-yard run that put Washington ahead, 2827, with 4:52 remaining. After the Jets held Brissett to a three-andout, they got the ball back with 1:41 remaining and Trevor Siemian marched the offense into field goal range for Zuerlein to boot the game-winner. Siemian threw for 217 yards with a touchdown and an interception, and Breece Hall ran for 95 yards and two TDs, for New York.
Bears 27, Cardinals 16 — Justin Fields threw for a touchdown and ran for another score, Cole Kmet caught four passes for a careerhigh 107 yards despite missing the second half because of a knee injury, and host Chicago (6-9) beat Arizona (3-12). Khalil Herbert ran for a season-high 112 yards and a touchdown, and the Bears (6-9) got the bounce-back win they were seeking coming off a late collapse at Cleveland. Chicago scored touchdowns on three straight possessions in the first half to go up 21-0. The Cardinals cut it to 24-16 with 6:37 remaining on Kyler Murray’s 38-yard touchdown pass to Greg Dortch, but the 2-point conversion pass was incomplete. Chicago’s Cairo Santos added the final points on a 29-yard field goal with just over a minute to play.