Titans, Henry roll past Colts for first
Derrick Henry battered the NFL’s second-stingiest defense for 140 yards and three touchdowns in the first half, finished with 178 yards and led the Titans to a crucial 45-26 rout of the Colts on Sunday in Indianapolis.
The win gives Tennessee (8-3) sole possession of the AFC South lead, a split in the two-game season series and a tiebreaking edge based on current division records of the teams. Henry also padded his lead as he chases a second straight rushing crown.
He has three straight 100-yard games and eight consecutive road games with 100 or more yards, tying former Titans running back Chris Johnson for the second-longest streak since the 1970 merger. Only Hall of Famer Barry Sanders (10 in 1996-97) had a longer streak. Henry touched the ball on six of Tennessee’s first 10 plays and capped the opening drive with a 12-yard scoring run.
After the Colts (7-4) tied the score at 7 with an 11-yard pass from Philip Rivers to Trey Burton, Ryan Tannehill hooked up with A.J. Brown on a 69-yard scoring play.
When the Colts tied it again on Jacoby Brissett’s 1-yard TD run, Henry went back to work.
49ERS 23, RAMS 20: Robbie Gould made a 42-yard field goal as time expired and San Francisco snapped its three-game losing streak, sweeping the season series against Los Angeles for the second straight year. Nick Mullens passed for 253 yards and led two late scoring drives in his first victory as a starter since September for the defending NFC champion Niners (5-6), who stoked their flickering playoff hopes and became the first team to beat the Rams (7-4) at new SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. After a game largely dominated by defense, Gould hit a 44-yard field goal with 3:11 left before San Francisco stopped Los Angeles near midfield. Fullback Kyle Juszczyk converted a 4th-and-1 with 28 seconds to play during a 56-yard drive in the final 2:10 to set up Gould, who nailed his third field goal of the day. Rookie defensive lineman Javon Kinlaw returned an interception 27 yards for a touchdown as San Francisco forced four turnovers, including two interceptions and a fumble by Jared Goff
in his latest erratic performance. Goff passed for 198 yards in a rough offensive game from the Rams, who slipped out of first place in the NFC West.
SAINTS 31, BRONCOS 3: Taysom Hill’s two TD runs led New Orleans past Denver, which was thrust into a quarterback quandary when its passers failed to wear masks as mandated by the NFL’s COVID-19 protocols. In a grind-it-out slugfest reminiscent of pro football’s early days, the Saints (9-2) won their second straight game with Hill subbing for injured Drew Brees. Hill wasn’t nearly as sharp as a week earlier against the Falcons, when he completed 18 of 23 passes for 233 yards. This time, he was 9 of 16 for 78 yards, no touchdowns, an interception and a paltry passer rating of 43.2. He also ran 10 times for 44 yards. That was much better than the Broncos’ Kendall Hinton, a rookie receiver and former Wake Forest quarterback from their practice squad who made a shaky NFL debut by going 1 for 9 for 13 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions.
GIANTS 19, BENGALS 17: New York lost starting quarterback Daniel Jones to a hamstring injury in the second half Sunday but generated enough offense to beat host Cincinnati. Jones went down after completing a short pass in the third quarter with the score tied at 10. He returned for two plays on the next series but then was relieved by backup Colt McCoy, who played the rest of the game. Wayne Gallman Jr. ran for a 2
yard touchdown on 4th-and-goal in the first quarter, and Graham Gano returned from the COVID-19 list to kick four field goals as the Giants (4-7) moved into a tie with Washington for first place in the woeful NFC East. The Bengals (2-8-1) started quarterback Brandon Allen, a player who was promoted from the practice squad, in place of rookie Joe Burrow, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in last week’s loss to Washington. Allen was 17for-29 for 136 yards and Cincinnati mustered just 155 total yards of offense.
PATRIOTS 20, CARDINALS 17: Nick Folk kicked a 50-yard field goal as time expired and New England rallied in the second half to beat Arizona in Foxborough, Mass. James White rushed for two touchdowns for the Patriots (5-6). It was the second time this month that Folk hit a last-second game-winning field goal. His 51-yarder beat the Jets 3027 on Nov. 9. Arizona (6-5) hasn’t beaten New England since 2012. Cam Newton struggled, finishing 9 of 18 for 84 yards and two interceptions, and New England had only 179 yards of offense. But the Patriots took advantage of Cardinals mistakes. New England’s defense was solid, holding Arizona’s top-ranked offense to 298 yards.
FALCONS 43, RAIDERS 6: Deion Jones returned an interception 67 yards for a touchdown, Matt Ryan threw two short scoring passes and host Atlanta (4-7) thoroughly dominated Derek Carr and bumbling Las Vegas. The Raiders (6-5) lost their second in a row and looked very much like a pretender in the AFC playoff race, producing a listless, mistake-filled performance against an Atlanta team that’s playing out the season under an interim coach. Carr had a miserable day, fumbling the ball away three times in addition to delivering the pick that the Falcons’ linebacker returned for his fifth career TD.
DOLPHINS 20, JETS 3: Ryan Fitzpatrick threw two touchdown passes while starting in place of injured Tua Tagovailoa and Miami kept New York winless after 11 games. Tagovailoa was inactive with a left thumb injury, so Fitzpatrick stepped in East Rutherford, New Jersey, against one of his many former teams. The veteran quarterback was 24 of 39 for 257 yards with TD throws to tight ends Mike Gesicki and Adam Shaheen, helping the Dolphins (7-4) bounce back after having a five-game winning streak end last week.
BILLS 27, CHARGERS 17: Tre’ Davious White’s fourth-quarter interception set up Tyler Bass’ 43-yard field goal, helping host Buffalo hold off Los Angeles (3-8). Josh Allen threw for a touchdown and ran for another score for the AFC East-leading Bills (8-3), who hung on after nearly blowing an 18-point third-quarter lead. Receiver Cole Beasley also completed a touchdown pass.
BROWNS 27, JAGUARS 25: Baker Mayfield took advantage of his best game-day weather in a month, throwing two touchdown passes, as Cleveland (8-3) beat host Jacksonville (1-10) to remain squarely in the AFC playoff picture. Mayfield connected with Jarvis Landry and Austin Hooper for scores, ending a three-game drought without a passing After the game, the Jaguars fired general manager Dave Caldwell, sending a clear message that the smallmarket franchise is headed in a new direction.
VIKINGS 28, PANTHERS 27: Chad Beebe caught a 10-yard touchdown pass with 46 seconds left for Minnesota shortly after he muffed a punt that let Carolina (4-8) pad its lead. Then Joey Slye missed a 54-yard field goal try with 1 second remaining that preserved the Vikings’ victory in Minneapolis. Kirk Cousins went 34-for-45 for 307 yards and three scores for the Vikings (5-6).