The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Brees, Saints pin 45 points, loss on Rams
The Los Angeles Rams’ dreams of a perfect season are over.
After coming back from an 18-point halftime deficit, they could not overcome New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees.
Brees passed for 346 yards and four touchdowns, including a 72-yard strike to receiver Michael Thomas with less than four minutes left Sunday to defeat the Rams, 45-35, before 73,086 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
Despite giving up 313 yards and 24 first downs in the first half, the Rams managed to erase a 3517 halftime deficit.
But they could not get pressure on Brees, the NFL’s all-time passing leader and a future hall of famer, who completed 25 of 36 passes, including touchdowns to four different receivers.
Thomas caught 12 passes for a team-record 211 yards.
The Rams trailed, 35-17, at halftime.
Goff completed six of eight passes during a 77yard scoring drive that he ended with an 18-yard touchdown pass to Malcolm Brown, pulling the Rams to within 35-24.
A Rams defense that gave up 313 yards and 24 first downs in the first half, forced the Saints to punt on the ensuing possession. Goff led them to a Greg Zuerlein field goal that made it an eight-point lead.
Early in the fourth quarter, the Rams forced another punt.
Goff’s third-and-one pass to receiver Cooper Kupp turned into a 41-yard touchdown, and Goff connected with tight end Gerald Everett for a game-tying two-point conversion with 9 minutes 48 seconds left.
The Saints went ahead on Wil Lutz’s 54-yard field goal, and the Rams could not answer. They went three and out and gave the ball back to Brees.
On third and seven, Brees found Thomas behind Rams cornerback Marcus Peters. He hit him in stride for a 72-yard touchdown and a 45-35 lead.
The Rams’ chance for a possible comeback ended when Goff’s fourth-down pass to Brandin Cooks was broken up by the Saints with 3:30 left.
Chargers 25, Seahawks 17: 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 TDs, Melvin Gordon added 113 yards rushing and the Chargers won their fifth straight. Rivers threw scoring passes of 12 yards to Tyrell Williams and 30 yards to Mike Williams, and let the defense stymie Wilson until the final minutes.
Chiefs 37, Browns 21: 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. Kareem Hunt had two scoring runs and one receiving for the Chiefs, who came in averaging 36.3 points per game with an offense overloaded with weapons for Mahomes.
Steelers 23, Ravens 16: Ben Roethlisberger threw two TD passes, ran for a score and put up an unexpected left-footed punt to lead Pittsburgh. James Conner rushed for 107 yards and caught a TD pass for the Steelers, who have won four straight. Roethlisberger’s 1-yard run put Pittsburgh up 20-6 in the third quarter, and the 36-yearold showed his grit by missing only one play after being flattened during a run from the pocket with 13 minutes left.
Falcons 38, Redskins 14: Julio Jones ended his 12-game TD drought, Matt Ryan threw for 350 yards and four scores and Atlanta flexed its offensive muscles with a blowout. 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 win. The Redskins could blame poor tackling, ill-timed penalties and a series of injuries for the end of their three-game winning streak.
Texans 19, Broncos 17: Brandon McManus missed a 51-yard field goal as time expired, leaving Demaryius Thomas a winner in his homecoming as Houston escaped Denver. The Texans won their sixth straight and the Broncos lost for the sixth time in seven games. After Denver called a timeout with 3 seconds left, the Texans did the same, then rushed the field in relief after McManus’ kick drifted wide right.
Panthers 42, Buccaneers 28: Cam Newton hit on 19 of 25 passes for 247 yards and two TDs, Christian McCaffrey racked up 157 yards from scrimmage and scored twice and Carolina built an early lead and held on to beat Tampa Bay for its 10th straight home win. The Panthers scored on five straight first-half possessions to build a 35-7 lead before the Bucs battled back to within a touchdown early in the fourth quarter behind Ryan Fitzpatrick.
Vikings 24, Lions 9: Danielle Hunter had 31⁄2 of Minnesota’s franchise-record 10 sacks and a fourth-quarter fumble return for a TD, making for a miserable afternoon for Matthew Stafford and Detroit. Hunter, the fourth-year defensive end, also was credited with nine tackles and four quarterback hits as the Vikings 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.