Red-hot Rams stop sizzling Saints’ streak

Jared Goff passed for 354 yards and hit Sammy Watkins and rookie Josh Reynolds for touchdowns as the Rams beat New Orleans, 2620, to snap the eight-game winning streak of the Saints in a meeting of NFC division leaders in Los Angeles.

NFL scoring leader Greg Zuerlein kicked four field goals for the Rams, who earned their fifth victory in six games. For the first time since 2006, this revitalized franchise is guaranteed not to finish the regular season with a losing record.

Los Angeles turned in a gritty defensive effort against the high-scoring Saints, holding Drew Brees to 246 yards passing and sacking him three times.

Alvin Kamara made an early 74-yard TD run and a late TD reception for the Saints, who finally lost for the first time since Sept. 17.

One week after rallying from 15 points down late to beat Washington in overtime, the Saints fell behind on the opening drive and never caught up.

Bengals 30, Browns 16 — Rookie Joe Mixon ran for a career-high 114 yards in host Cincinnati’s best offensive showing since the last time it faced Cleveland.

The result sent the Browns into December still winless for the second year in a row.

The Bengals won backto-back games for the second time this season.

Falcons 34, Buccaneers 20 — Julio Jones hauled in 12 passes for 253 yards and two touchdowns in one of the best games of his career as host Atlanta held off Tampa Bay.

Rekindling memories of the Super Bowl, the Falcons nearly squandered a big lead to a team playing its third game without injured quarterback Jameis Winston. The Buccaneers rebounded from a 27-6 deficit behind backup Ryan Fitzpatrick and drove deep into Atlanta territory after forcing a fumble at the other end of the field.

But Keanu Neal battled down Fitzpatrick’s pass on fourth-and-1 at the Atlanta 18 with just over seven minutes remaining, and the Falcons drove for a clinching touchdown on Tevin Coleman’s 14-yard run with just under two minutes to go.

Panthers 35, Jets 27 — Luke Kuechly returned a fumble 34 yards for a touchdown and Kaelin Clay had a 60-yard punt return for a score, capping a stunning swing in the fourth quarter that lifted Carolina past New York in East Rutherford, N.J.

It was the fourth straight victory for the Panthers, who were trying to keep pace with the first-place Saints in the NFC South. The teams meet next Sunday at New Orleans.

This one turned in a span of 2 minutes, 11 seconds, on gaffes by the Jets — and the Panthers taking advantage.

First, Kuechly scooped up a fumble by Josh McCown and rumbled to the end zone for a touchdown.

Cam Newton then hurdled over linebacker Jordan Jenkins for the 2-point conversion to give the Panthers a 26-20 lead with 12:05 left.

Then Clay fielded Lachlan Edwards’ kick and spun out of a tackle attempt and sped into the end zone.

Titans 20, Colts 16 — Tennessee got its first win in 10 tries at Lucas Oil Stadium when DeMarco Murray scored on a 1-yard touchdown run with 5:59 left against host Indianapolis.

The Titans pulled off their first series sweep since 2002. And they did it by rallying from a 10-point third-quarter deficit again — just as they had six weeks earlier against the Colts.

Cardinals 27, Jaguars 24 — In Glendale, Ariz., Phil Dawson kicked a careerlong 57-yard field goal with 1 second to play as Arizona snapped Jacksonville’s four-game winning streak and dropped it into a tie with Tennessee for the AFC South lead.

The 42-year-old kicker, who had uncharacteristically missed six field goals this season, also was good from 34 and 42 yards as the Cardinals beat a team with a winning record for the first time this season.

Seahawks 24, 49ers 13 — Russell Wilson threw for two touchdowns to give him 150 career TDs passing and also ran for a short score as Seattle beat San Francisco in Santa Clara, Calif.

Jimmy Garoppolo made his 49ers debut with 1:07 remaining after starting quarterback C.J. Beathard went down on a hit by Michael Bennett. Garoppolo immediately scrambled to gain 4 yards and found Louis Murphy for a 10yard touchdown as time expired.

Raiders 21, Broncos 14 — Derek Carr threw two touchdown passes after losing starting receiver Michael Crabtree to an ejection for his role in a brawl, and host Oakland spoiled Paxton Lynch’s first start of the season for Denver.

The story coming into the game was about the upheaval for the two teams after Denver fired offensive coordinator Mike McCoy and made another QB change and Oakland fired defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr.

But the fight between Crabtree and cornerback Aqib Talib that led to three ejections ended up overshadowing the recent disarray. The Broncos lost seven games in a row for the first time in 50 years.