Browns trounce Cowboys
Mayfield, OBJ lead suddenly surging offense
— Baker Mayfield threw for two touchdowns, one of which was set up when Myles Garrett had a strip sack for the third straight game, and Cleveland held on for a 49-38 victory over Dallas to improve to 3-1 for the first time since 2001.
Jarvis Landry had his first career touchdown pass in the receiver’s 100th career game, a 37-yard toss to Odell Beckham Jr. in Beckham’s first multi-td game with the Browns.
Beckham finished with his first three-score game in nearly five years, capped by a 50-yard run on a reverse after the Cowboys had cut a 41-14 deficit to three points with less than four minutes remaining. He had five catches for 81 yards and two scores.
The Browns ran for 307 yards and three touchdowns despite losing lead back Nick Chubb to a knee injury in the first quarter.
Kareem Hunt, who has been battling a groin injury, had 71 yards and two touchdowns, and D’ernest Johnson doubled his career yardage of 26 yards in the first half alone, finishing with a team-high 95 yards. Beckham had 73 on two carries.
Dak Prescott had his first 500-yard game, finishing with 502 yards passing, and became the first NFL player to throw for at least 450 yards in three consecutive games.
Prescott set that record because the Cowboys (1-3) have played from way behind three straight weeks and now have lost the first of three straight home games.
Bucs 38, Chargers 31
Tom Brady threw for 369 yards and five touchdowns, all to different receivers, helping the Tampa Bay rally from a 17-point deficit to beat Los Angeles.
Brady shrugged off throwing an early interception returned for a touchdown and the Bucs (3-1) won their third straight to stay in first place in the NFC South.
Mike Evans, Scotty Miller, O. J. Howard, Cameron Brate and rookie Ke’shawn Vaughn caught scoring passes from Brady, who threw four of them after falling behind 24-7 in the second quarter.
Rookie Justin Herbert completed 20 of 25 passes for 290 yards and three touchdowns for the Chargers (1-3), who’ve lost three straight with the sixth overall pick in this year’s draft playing earlier than expected because of injuries to Tyrod Taylor.
Michael Davis intercepted Brady’s sideline throw intended for Justin Watson and returned the ball 73 yards for a first-quarter score and a 14-7 lead. LA extended the advantage to 17 with a 19-yard TD pass to Donald Parham Jr. and Michael Badgley’s 53-yard field goal.
The game swung dramatically in the final minute of the opening half. Ndamukong Suh forced a fumble inside the Los Angeles 10 with the Chargers attempting to run out at the clock. Linebacker Devin White recovered, setting up Brady’s 6-yard TD to Evans, who finished with seven catches for 122 yards.
Colts 19, Bears 11
Philip Rivers threw a touchdown pass on Indianapolis’ first possession and the Colts shut down Nick Foles and Chicago.
After Rivers connected with Mo Alie- Cox on a 13yard score, the NFL’S topranked defense took over.
The Colts (3-1) kept the Bears (3-1) out of the end zone until Allen Robinson caught a 16-yard pass with 1:35 remaining. Indianapolis recovered the onside kick and came away with its third straight win, its best streak since beating Kansas City, Houston and Denver last October.
Rams 17, Giants 9
Jared Goff hit Cooper Kupp for a 55-yard touchdown with 6:56 to play, and
Los Angeles beat New York in a game marred by a postgame fight between Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey and Giants receiver Golden Tate.
Ramsey and Tate scuffled at midfield after the final whistle after a game filled with trash-talking between the two Nashville-area natives. Ramsey has two young children with Tate’s sister, and Tate was publicly upset last year when the couple went through a nasty public breakup.
Bills 30, Raiders 23
Josh Allen threw for two touchdowns and rushed for another, leading Buffalo past Las Vegas.
Buffalo has opened consecutive seasons with 4- 0 records, just the third time in team history and first since 1991-92, both seasons when the Bills lost in the Super Bowl.
The Bills have scored 30 points in three consecutive games, and are averaging 30.75 points per game, third highest in the NFL.
Las Vegas (2-2) lost its second straight game after falling at New England last week.
Allen continued to mesh well with offseason acquisition Stefon Diggs, who finished with six receptions for 115 yards.
Ravens 31, Washington 17
Lamar Jackson ran for a 50-yard touchdown and threw for two scores in a bounce-back performance by the reigning NFL MVP and Baltimore, which took control early and beat Washington.
Coming off a humbling loss to Kansas City on Monday night, the Ravens (3-1) built a 21-10 halftime lead before opening the third quarter with a drive that ended with Mark Andrews’ second touchdown catch.
That was enough to hand Washington (1-3) its third straight defeat.
Washington coach Ron Rivera, weakened by treatment he received during the week for lymph node cancer, occasionally took a break by sitting on the bench.
Saints 35, Lions 29
Drew Brees threw two touchdown passes to Tre’quan Smith 2:19 apart in the second quarter, helping short-handed New Orleans overcome a 14-point deficit and beat Detroit.
New Orleans (2-2) started the game without six injured starters after a short night of rest. The Saints had a player test falsely positive for the coronavirus Saturday, according to a person familiar with the situation, leading to another round of tests for players and staff overnight in the Motor City.
Early in the game at fanfree Ford Field, the Lions (1-3) looked as though they might take advantage of facing a tired team without three starters on both sides of the ball as they led 14- 0 4:37 after kickoff.
New Orleans, though, responded by scoring 35 straight points from late in the first period to midway through the third.
Bengals 33, Jags 25
Joe Mixon ran for 151 yards and two touchdowns and caught Joe Burrow’s pass for another score as Cincinnati rolled up 505 yards to beat Jacksonville.
The Bengals (1-2-1) worked around their recent offensive line problems and Mixon broke through with his first big game of the season, which opened up the field for Burrow to hit some big passes. The Heisman Trophy-winning rookie was sharp again, throwing for 300 yards and the touchdown to Mixon.
The Bengals struggled early but started getting out of their own way on a drive late in the first half that ended with a 20-yard touchdown pass to Mixon on a wheel route. Mixon then got free and tore down the right side for a 34-yard score to cap the first drive of the second half, giving the Bengals their first lead, 17-13.
Seahawks 31, Dolphins 23
Russell Wilson threw for 360 yards and two touchdowns as Seattle beat Miami.
The Seahawks (4-0) have scored 30 or more points in four consecutive games for the first time since 2015.
Seattle forced Miami to settle for five field goals before the Dolphins finally reached the end zone in the final minutes.
Wilson connected with David Moore for 57 yards in the final seconds of the first half to set up a touchdown that gave Seattle a 17-9 lead.
Wilson, who went 24 for 34, tied Peyton Manning’s record of 15 touchdown passes in the first four games of a season. Manning did it 2013.
DK Metcalf had four catches for 106 yards, Moore had three for 95 yards, and Chris Carson rushed for 80 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Ryan Fitzpatrick was 29 for 45 and 315 yards but threw two interceptions for Miami (1-3). He also rushed for a touchdown and was the leading rusher for Miami with six carries for 47 yards.
Vikings 31, Texans 23
Dalvin Cook ran for 130 yards and two touchdowns and Minnesota withstood a late rally from winless Houston.
The Texans cut the lead to 8 when Deshaun Watson connected with Kenny Stills on a 24-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and10 with about six minutes remaining.
Houston’s defense got a stop and Will Fuller made an acrobatic one-handed catch on fourth down for what was initially ruled a touchdown with about a minute left. But after a review it was determined that the ball hit the ground before Fuller gained control, and Minnesota (1-3) ran out the clock from there.
Panthers 31, Cards 21
Teddy Bridgewater threw for 276 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a score, and Carolina beat Arizona.
The Panthers (2-2) scored touchdowns on their first four trips inside the Cardinals’ 20-yard line to build a 28-7 lead one week after settling for five short field goals in a 21-16 victory over the Chargers.
Bridgewater scored his first rushing touchdown since Dec. 20, 2015 on an 18-yard scramble, sidestepping several tacklers to reach the end zone and give Carolina a 14- 0 lead in the first quarter. It was his first TD rushing since tearing an ACL and suffering a dislocated left kneecap during a training camp practice with the Vikings.