PANTHERS stop Kaepernick, 49ers on road.
SAN FRANCISCO — The Carolina Panthers can now say they have that signature victory everybody has been waiting to see: On the road, against the reigning NFC champions, in November.
While facing one of the NFL’s brightest young quarterbacks, to boot.
Carolina’s swarming, opportunistic defense stopped Colin Kaepernick in his tracks.
Drayton Florence intercepted a Kaepernick pass in the final minute to seal a 10-9 victory Sunday to snap the San Francisco 49ers’ fivegame winning streak and give the Panthers their fifth consecutive victory.
Graham Gano kicked a 53-yard field goal with 10:05 remaining that held up as the Panthers (6-3) twice shut down Kaepernick on lastditch drives with swarming defense.
DeAngelo Williams (Wynne) broke two tackles for a 27yard touchdown run late in the first half that pulled Carolina within 9-7. Gano missed wide left on a 48-yard field goal in the third period, but came through later.
San Francisco (6-3) got the ball back with 5:25 left at its 1, then again with 1:02 to go.
Phil Dawson kicked a season-best 52-yard field goal among his three for the 49ers, who lost tight end Vernon Davis and rookie safety Eric Reid to concussions.
Kaepernick went 11 for 22 for 91 yards with an interception and was sacked six times for a 42.0 passer rating. Newton was only slightly better, going 16 of 32 for 169 yards, an interception and four sacks for a 52.7 rating.
SEAHAWKS 33, FALCONS 10 In Atlanta, Russell Wilson threw a pair of touchdowns passes and Marshawn Lynch ran for 145 yards in a one-sided follow-up to last season’s NFC divisional playoffs. After struggling for victories the last two weeks, the first-place Seahawks (9-1) blew out a team that not so long ago was talking Super Bowl, but now is just two defeats away from its first losing season since 2007. The Falcons (2-7) trailed 23-3 at the half after the Seahawks scored a touchdown with 1 second remaining on a 6-yard touchdown pass from Wilson to Golden Tate. The Falcons finally scored a touchdown late in the third quarter on Matt Ryan’s 12-yard pass to rookie Darius Johnson on fourth down, but the Seahawks wrapped it up with a 12-play, 80-yard drive that took more than 7 minutes off the clock. Lynch, appropriately, finished the possession with a 1-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter.
JAGUARS 29, TITANS 27 Jacksonville is winless no more. Maurice Jones-Drew and Jordan Todman each ran for a touchdown, and the Jaguars held off Tennessee. The Jaguars (1-8) scored the most points in a game this season for first-year Coach Gus Bradley. They never trailed and forced four turnovers they turned into 17 points. The Titans scored twice in the final 4:15, the last on a 14-yard touchdown pass by Ryan Fitzpatrick to Delanie Walker with 40 seconds left. But Johnathan Cyprien recovered the onside kick to seal the victory, leaving Tampa Bay as the only winless team.
RAVENS 20, BENGALS 17, OT Justin Tucker kicked a 46-yard field goal with 5:27 left in overtime, and the host Ravens won after blowing a 17-point halftime lead and giving up a touchdown on the final play of regulation. The tense victory ended a three-game skid for the Ravens (4-5) and thrust them into a second-place tie in the division, just one game behind Cincinnati (6-4) in the loss column. It was the defending Super Bowl champions’ first victory since Oct. 6. The Bengals have lost two consecutive games in overtime. Cincinnati pulled even when A.J. Green caught a desperation pass from Andy Dalton for a 51-yard touchdown. Green positioned himself behind the pack and caught the ball after it flicked off the hand of Ravens safety James Ihedigbo, who earlier had the first two interceptions of his career.
CARDINALS 27, TEXANS 24 Carson Palmer threw two touchdown passes and the host Cardinals (5-4) sent the Texans to their franchise-record seventh consecutive loss. The Texans (2-7) were without Coach Gary Kubiak, who collapsed on the sidelines against Indianapolis last Sunday night with what was diagnosed as a mini-stroke. Defensive
coordinator Wade Phillips is filling in as interim coach.
RAMS 38, COLTS 8 Tavon Austin returned one punt 98 yards for a touchdown, caught touchdown passes of 57 and 81 yards and almost single-handedly ended the visiting Rams’ three-game losing streak. The touchdown catches were the only receptions Austin had on his biggest day of the season, and St. Louis (4-6) won for the first time since Kellen Clemens replaced the injured Sam Bradford. It was the Colts’ worst loss since a 55-point thrashing at New Orleans in 2011.
EAGLES 27, PACKERS 13 A week after tying the NFL record by passing for seven touchdowns, Nick Foles connected for three long touchdowns for the visiting against the injury-ravaged Packers. Foles connected with DeSean Jackson for a 55-yard score in the first half. Touchdown passes to Riley Cooper from 45 and 32 yards highlighted a 17-point second half for the up-tempo Eagles. The Eagles improved to 5-5, with all their victories coming away from Philly.
GIANTS 24, RAIDERS 20 Terrell Thomas returned an interception 65 yards to set up a go-ahead 1-yard touchdown run by fellow comebacker Andre Brown, and the host Giants won their third consecutive game. The error-prone Giants (3-6) handed the Raiders (3-6) their first 17 points on first-half turnovers. But they got 115 yards rushing by Brown in his first game this season — he’s had two broken left legs the last two years — and another big defensive game to keep their season alive.
STEELERS 23, BILLS 10 Host Pittsburgh shut down rookie quarterback E.J. Manuel in his return. A week after giving up 610 yards and 55 points in a loss to New England, Pittsburgh held the Bills (3-7) to 227 total yards, more than one-third coming on a meaningless drive in the final minutes. Manuel completed 22 of 39 passes for 155 yards with a touchdown and an interception. The Steelers limited Buffalo to 95 yards rushing, nearly 50 below its average, and sacked Manuel three times. Ben Roethlisberger passed for 204 yards and a touchdown, Le’Veon Bell added 52 yards rushing and a score as the Steelers (3-6) snapped a twogame losing streak.