The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Steelers stay unbeaten, edge rival Ravens
Ben Roethlisberger threw two secondhalf touchdowns, and the Steelers beat error-prone Lamar Jackson and the Ravens 28-24 Sunday to match the best start in franchise history.
Pittsburgh (7-0) trailed by 10 points at halftime before rallying behind Roethlisberger, a crafty 38-year-old who missed most of last year with an elbow injury. After completing only four passes for 24 yards in the first half, Big Ben finished 21 for 32 for 182 yards.
He was much more happy with the result than his numbers.
“Nothing about this game was pretty from an offensive perspective until the end and we looked at the scoreboard,“Roethlisberger said.
Jackson threw two interceptions and lost two fumbles, miscues that helped Pittsburgh stay within striking distance until its offense finally got on track.
“The turnovers, I feel, is the reason we lost the game,“Jackson said.
Beyond losing ground in the division, Baltimore lost All-Pro left tackle Ronnie Stanley for the season with a severe ankle injury. The mishap occurred in the first quarter after he was accidentally undercut by Pittsburgh’s T.J. Watt.
“That’s a tough loss,” coach John Harbaugh said. “I feel bad for Ronnie.”
The announced crowd was 4,345. It was the first time the Ravens had fans at a home game after previously making around seats available to team family members.
Miami 28, L.A. Rams17:
Tua Tagovailoa threw his first career touchdown pass and then let his teammates take over with a succession of big plays.
The Dolphins stamped themselves as playoff contenders by earning their third consecutive win. They struck for scores 75 seconds apart on Andrew Van Ginkel’s 78-yard fumble return and Jakeem Grant’s team-record 88-yard punt return. They came up with four takeaways in the first half and at halftime led 28-10 despite being outgained 224-54.
The big plays helped Tagovailoa overcome a costly early turnover in his first NFL start. The No. 5 overall pick in this year’s draft finished 12 of 22 for 93 yards.
Minnesota 28, Green Bay 22: Dalvin Cook gained 226 yards from scrimmage and became the first Viking in more than four decades to score four touchdowns in a single game.
The Vikings withstood a three-touchdown performance from receiver Davante Adams, who had seven catches for 53 yards.
Green Bay had the ball at Minnesota’s 41-yard line with 12 seconds and no timeouts left, but D.J. Wonnum sacked Aaron Rodgers and knocked the ball loose. Eric Wilson recovered at the 24 as time expired.
Las Vegas 16, Cleveland 6: Derek Carr threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Hunter Renfrow early in the fourth quarter and Daniel Carlson kicked three field goals in windy, wintry conditions along Lake Erie.
Carr’s strike to Renfrow with 14:53 to go was the game’s only TD and helped the Raiders (4-3) bounce back after they fell apart late in last week’s 45-20 loss to Tampa Bay.
Cincinnati 31, Tennessee 20: After watching Giovani Bernard and Samaje Perine run for early scores, Joe Burrow threw two fourth-quarter TD passes and closed it out with a time-consuming drive.
The Bengals (2-5-1) blew leads each of the previous two weeks, but Burrow would not allow it to happen again. Instead, he threw for 249 yards and the crucial late scores to snap a three-game losing streak.
Indianapolis 41, Detroit 21: Philip Rivers threw three touchdown passes in the second quarter to give Indianapolis a double-digit lead.
Rivers picked apart Detroit’s defense while completing 23 of 33 attempts, mostly short passes to the outside or over the middle.
Denver 31, L.A. Chargers 30:
Drew Lock hit rookie KJ Hamler from a yard out with no time on the clock and Brandon McManus nailed the extra point to give Denver a shocking win over the hard-luck Chargers on Sunday.
The Broncos got the ball at their 19 with 2:24 remaining and Lock drove them 81 yards in 14 plays, helped by two defensive flags.
On fourth-and-4 from the 18 with 7 seconds left, Lock’s pass to rookie tight end Albert Okwuegbunam was incomplete but defensive back Brandon Facyson was whistled for pass interference, giving the Broncos the ball at the 1 with 1 second remaining. Lock took the snap, rolled right and found Hamler in the back of the end zone.
Seattle 37, San Francisco 27: Russell Wilson threw four TD passes, two to DK Metcalf, and Seattle rebounded from its first loss of the season.
Wilson and Metcalf tormented San Francisco and its banged up secondary as the top-scoring offense in the league continued to pile up points.
Wilson finished 27 of 37 for 261 yards and has 26 TD passes on the season, one behind Tom Brady for the most in the first seven games of a season.
New Orleans 26, Chicago 23 (OT):
New Orleans Saints kicker Wil Lutz made a 35-yard field goal with 1:40 to play in overtime to lift the Saints to a 26-23 victory over the Chicago Bears on Sunday night at Soldier Field.
Saints quarterback Drew Brees completed a 14-yard pass to Tre’Quan Smith to get the Saints into Bears territory on the winning drive, and running back Alvin Kamara had a 20-yard run to get the Saints to the 11-yard line. After a Saints delay-of-game penalty, Lutz made his fourth field goal of the game.