Ravens overcome elements, 49ers
Neither rain, wind nor the San Francisco 49ers’ topranked defense could prevent Lamar Jackson from guiding the Baltimore Ravens to their franchise-record eighth straight win, a 20-17 win over the 49ers on Sunday.
Jackson weathered miserable conditions to run for 101 yards and Justin Tucker kicked a tiebreaking 49-yard field goal as time expired in a possible Super Bowl preview. The combination of driving rain, a stiff wind and San Francisco’s rugged defense was difficult for Jackson to handle. He completed only 14 of 23 passes for 105 yards and lost a fumble.
But the double-threat quarterback was solid when it counted. He directed a clutch drive that lasted nearly 6-plus minutes before Tucker ended it with a kick that tore through the raindrops and between the uprights.
Baltimore (10-2) improved to 16-3 with Jackson as a starter and 12-0 when he rushes for at least 70 yards. I
Bengals 22, Jets 6 — Andy Dalton returned from his three-week exile and got a long-awaited win for the coach who benched him, throwing a touchdown pass during a victory over the New York Jets that ended the longest losing streak in Cincinnati Bengals history.
The Bengals (1-11) had lost 13 in a row since the end of last season, with newcomer Zac Taylor waiting until December to get his first head coaching win. Steelers 20, Browns 13 — Devlin “Duck” Hodges threw for 212 yards with a touchdown and an interception in his second career start. Rookie Benny Snell ran for 63 yards and his first NFL touchdown, and the banged-up Steelers exacted revenge for their whipping at the hands of the Browns two weeks ago with a win.
Titans 31, Colts 17 — Tye Smith returned a blocked field goal 63 yards for the goahead touchdown with 5:02 left to play.
The Titans (7-5) snapped a three-game losing streak in the series, winning for only the third time in the past 17 meetings. It also allowed Tennessee to leapfrog the Colts in the AFC South.
Packers 31, Giants 13 — Aaron Rodgers threw four touchdown passes in the snow and the Packers rebounded from a dismal West Coast performance.
The Packers sent the Giants to their eighth straight loss, their worst skid since 2004.
Rodgers finished 21 of 33 for 243 yards with no interceptions on a slippery, snowy day at MetLife Stadium.
Dolphins 37, Eagles 31 — DeVante Parker made two acrobatic touchdown receptions and kicker Jason Sanders also had a circus-like scoring catch.
Miami overcame a 14-point deficit in the second half with three touchdowns in less than 13 minutes — a remarkable achievement for one of the NFL’s lowest-scoring teams.
Redskins 29, Panthers 21 — Derrius Guice ran for 129 yards and two touchdowns and the Redskins made a late goal-line stand. Adrian Peterson added 99 yards and a score as the Redskins (3-9) piled up 248 yards on the ground and scored their most points this season.
Buccaneers 28, Jaguars 11 — Nick Foles ended his first three drives with turnovers that Tampa Bay turned into touchdowns. It was Jacksonville’s fourth consecutive loss by at least 17 points and could mean the end of coach Doug Marrone’s tenure with the team. At the very least, the skid will have owner Shad Khan considering changes over the final month of the season.
Chiefs 40, Raiders 9 — Patrick Mahomes threw for a touchdown and ran for a touchdown, while Juan Thornhill returned a pick 46 yards for another score.
LeSean McCoy and Darwin Thompson also had TD runs for the Chiefs (8-4), who took a two-game lead over the Raiders by finishing off a season sweep.
Rams 34, Cardinals 7 — Jared Goff threw for 424 yards and two touchdowns, and Robert Woods had 172 yards receiving.
The Rams (7-5) bounced back from an embarrassing 45-6 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Monday night by embarrassing the Cardinals and stayed in the hunt for a playoff berth.
Broncos 23, Chargers 20 — Brandon McManus’ 53-yard field goal as time expired, set up by a long interference call, capped a furious final 14 seconds and gave the Broncos a victory over the Los Angeles Chargers.
The winner by McManus, who stormed off the field just before halftime when coach Vic Fangio changed his mind about letting him attempt a record 65-yard field goal, was set up by a 38yard pass interference call.