Hill throws 2 TD passes, Saints hold off Falcons
ATLANTA — The New Orleans Saints finally gave up a touchdown but the defense stood tall at the end to preserve their ninth straight victory, 21-16 over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.
The Saints (10-2) also clinched a playoff berth with Chicago’s 34-30 loss to Detroit.
Making his third straight start in place of Drew Brees, Taysom Hill threw the first two touchdown passes of his career. But his fumble deep in Atlanta territory sparked a Falcons comeback.
Atlanta drove 85 yards against the Saints, capped by Matt Ryan’s 10-yard touchdown pass to Russell Gage with 7:43 remaining. New Orleans hadn’t allowed a touchdown since the opening drive of a game against San Francisco on Nov. 15, a span of 14 quarters without one.
The Falcons (4-8) got the ball back and again pushed deep into New Orleans territory. On second-and-2 at the Saints 13, Todd Gurley was stuffed for no gain. He got the ball again on third down, trying a sweep around the left end, but Demario Davis caught him for a 7-yard loss.
The Falcons threw into the end zone on fourth down, but the pass feel incomplete to finish off the home team’s best chance at pulling off an upset.
Atlanta got a desperation heave on the final play of the game, but the Saints batted it down.
Colts 26, Texans 20
HOUSTON — Philip Rivers threw two touchdown passes in the first half and the Indianapolis defense dominated in the second half.
The Texans had a chance to take the lead with about 90 seconds left. They were at the Colts 2 when Deshaun Watson fumbled a low snap and Anthony Walker pounced on it to seal Indy’s win.
The Colts (8-4) led 24-20 at the break after Rivers threw TD passes of 21 and 39 yards. Their offense didn’t score after that, but the defense held Houston (4-8) scoreless in the second half and Justin Houston added a safety.
The safety was Indy’s third this season and the fourth of Houston’s career, tying him for the most in NFL history. Houston also had three sacks, three QB hits and forced a fumble.
Watson threw for 341 yards and ran for a score in the first half. But he did not have a touchdown pass for the first time this season and threw an interception after not being picked off in the last six games.
Raiders 31, Jets 28
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Derek Carr threw a 46-yard
touchdown pass to Henry Ruggs III with 5 seconds left, lifting Las Vegas to a wild victory over the still-winless New York Jets.
The Jets took a 28-24 lead with 5:34 remaining on Ty Johnson’s 1-yard touchdown and the defense came up with a big fourth-down stop that appeared to end New York’s agonizing wait for its first win of the season.
But New York went three-and-out with a chance to seal it, and Carr and the Raiders had 35 seconds left for what appeared an unlikely comeback. Four plays later, Carr found Ruggs streaking downfield — beating rookie cornerback Lamar Jackson — and delivered the ball perfectly for the winning score.
The Raiders (7-5) celebrated wildly, and the deflated Jets (0-12) could only imagine what could — and maybe should — have been.
After a squib kick by Las Vegas, the Jets had one final chance but Sam Darnold’s Hail Mary throw was batted down in front of the end zone.
The lowly Jets lost their 12th straight and tied the team mark for longest overall skid, which spanned the 1995 and ‘96 seasons under Rich Kotite. New York remains on pace to join the 2008 Detroit Lions and 2017 Cleveland Browns as the only NFL teams to go 0-16.
Browns 41, Titans 35
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The NFL’s longest active playoff drought is moving closer to an end after 18 seasons.
Baker Mayfield threw for a season-high 334 yards with all four of his touchdown passes in the first half, and the Browns scored the first 17 points before holding on to win their fourth straight.
With both chasing AFC playoff berths, the Browns looked like the team leading a division — they are second in the AFC North behind the unbeaten Pittsburgh Steelers — as they improved to 9-3 for the third time in their expansion era.
The Titans (8-4) came in leading the AFC South and left tied after the Colts beat Houston 26-20, though Tennessee still has the better division record. The Titans fell apart after a bad fourth-down spot on their opening drive. NFL rushing leader Derrick Henry lost his first fumble this season on the next drive.
Mayfield kept the Browns from needing the NFL’s top rushing offense in what had been expected to be a run-game showdown against the Titans and Henry. The Browns had their best-scoring half ever, leading 38-7 at halftime, topping the 35 points scored in the second half at Cincinnati in 2004.