Rodgers’ three TDS push Packers past Bears
Aaron Rodgers threw for two touchdowns and ran for another, leading the Green Bay Packers to a 24-14 victory over the Chicago Bears on Sunday.
The Packers beat the Bears for the 20th time in 23 games counting the playoffs and improved to 22-5 with Rodgers as the starter against Chicago. They also prevented Chicago from tying them for the NFC North lead.
Rodgers shook off a sluggish start, throwing a 1-yard TD to Allen Lazard in the second quarter and a 12-yarder to Aaron Jones in the third, making it 17-7.
Rodgers put away the Bears after Justin Fields threw a 5-yard touchdown to Darnell Mooney, cutting the lead to three with 8:44 left. He scored from the 6 to cap a 75-yard drive, bumping the lead back up to 10. He then turned toward the crowd and yelled, “I still own you! I still own you!”
It was hard to argue after Rodgers finished 17 of 23 for 195 yards and a 128 passer rating.
Davante Adams caught four passes for 89 yards. Aaron Jones ran for 76 yards and caught four passes for 34, helping the Packers remain unbeaten since a season-opening 38-3 loss to New Orleans in Jacksonville.
Mason Crosby made his lone field goal and all three extra points coming off a shaky outing. A week earlier against Cincinnati, he missed three field goals and an extra point before booting the winning 49-yarder in overtime.
Ravens 34, Chargers 6: Lamar Jackson threw for 167 yards and a touchdown, and Baltimore frustrated Justin Herbert and Los Angeles in a victory Sunday.
The Ravens completely controlled this matchup of division leaders. Each of Baltimore’s three veteran running backs — Latavius Murray, Le’veon Bell and Devonta Freeman — scored a touchdown.
Jackson went 19 of 27 with two interceptions. Herbert was 22 of 39 for 195 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
Jaguars 23, Dolphins 20: Jacksonville ended its 20-game losing streak when Matthew Wright kicked a 53-yard field goal as time expired.
Trevor Lawrence connected on a short slant pass to Laviska Shenault Jr. and the Jags called a timeout with 1 second left after Miami gambled on a fourth-and-1 from their 46 and came up short.
Lawrence threw for 319 yards and a touchdown as he and coach Urban Meyer finally earned their first NFL victories — even if it required a trip to Europe to get it done in a “home” game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Vikings 34, Panthers 28, OT: Kirk Cousins completed a 27-yard touchdown pass to K.J. Osborn on the first possession of overtime.
Cousins threw for 373 yards and three touchdowns against the league’s top-ranked pass defense, Dalvin Cook ran for 140 yards and a score and the Vikings finally solved their secondhalf offensive woes.
Adam Thielen had a number of big catches, finishing with 11 receptions for 126 yards and a touchdown.
Colts 31, Texans 3: Carson Wentz threw two touchdown passes, Jonathan Taylor ran for two more and the Indianapolis defense held up.
Indy rebounded from an embarrassing fourthquarter collapse at Baltimore by winning for the second time in three weeks. The Colts can now move within one game of the AFC South lead — if Buffalo beats Tennessee on Monday.
Chiefs 31, Washington 13: Patrick Mahomes threw for 397 yards and engineered three second half TD drives to compensate for two interceptions.
After throwing two picks before halftime, Mahomes connected with Tyreek Hill on a 2-yard TD pass late in the third quarter. He put the game out of reach with a 24-yarder to Demarcus Robinson with 3:14 left in the fourth period. In between, new starting running back Darrel Williams rushed for his second TD of the game to help Kansas City avoid what would have been an embarrassing loss.
Bengals 34, Lions 11: Joe Burrow tied a career high with three touchdown passes, helping Cinncinnati equal last year’s number of wins and double their victories from 2019 during coach Zac Taylor’s debut season.
Detroit could not rally as it did in closely contested setbacks against San Francisco, Baltimore and Minnesota, failing to score until Austin Seibert made a 35-yard field goal midway through the fourth quarter. The Lions are the NFL’S only winless team under first-year coach Dan Campbell. They have lost 10 straight going back to last season for the league’s longest active losing streak.
Cardinals 37, Browns 14: Kyler Murray threw four touchdown passes as Arizona remained the NFL’S only unbeaten team and continued with its best start since 1974 — without coach Kliff Kingsbury on Sunday.
The Cardinals built a 20-0 lead in the first half and kept their perfect record intact despite not having Kingsbury or star linebacker Chandler Jones, who both tested positive for COVID-19 this week.
Murray connected with Deandre Hopkins for two TDS, and Arizona’s shifty quarterback came up with a clutch play whenever the Cardinals needed one.
Raiders 34, Broncos 24: Derek Carr sliced up the Denver defense for 341 yards and two touchdowns, Maxx Crosby made three sacks and Las Vegas started the post-jon Gruden era with a thrashing of the bewildered Broncos on Sunday.
The Raiders gave longtime special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia a win in his debut as interim head coach and offensive coordinator Greg Olson was masterful in his first play-calling duties for Las Vegas since Carr’s rookie season in 2014.
The Raiders began by ending an 11-game streak without a score on their opening drive. They never let up, burning the Broncos’ beleaguered secondary that couldn’t keep up with Carr and his targets.