Rams hold on to finish off Seattle sweep
Brandin Cooks rushed for a 9-yard touchdown with 5:49 to play on the first snap after Dante Fowler forced and recovered a fumble by Russell Wilson, and the Los Angeles Rams bounced back from their first loss of the season with a 36-31 victory over the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.
Jared Goff passed for 318 yards and two touchdowns, and Todd Gurley rushed for 120 yards and a score as the Rams (9-1) swept the season series with their division rivals.
Los Angeles moved into commanding position for its second consecutive NFC West title, but only after plenty of late drama in a rivalry that’s never lacking in excitement.
Wilson threw three touchdown passes, rushed for 92 yards and nearly rallied the Seahawks (4-5) all the way back after his fumble.
He hit Mike Davis for a short TD catch to cap a 90-yard drive with 1:56 to play. After the Seattle defense held, he got the Seahawks to the Los Angeles 35 before throwing four straight incompletions in the final minute.
Gerald Everett and Tyler Higbee caught TD passes for the Rams, who survived a topsy-turvy game with just enough big plays. Although the perfect season ended last week in New Orleans, Los Angeles still has never lost back-to-back games under coach Sean McVay.
Fowler, the pass-rush specialist acquired from Jacksonville late last month, made up for his costly unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in the third quarter by stripping Wilson of the ball and then recovering the fumble, setting up Cooks’ run for a 12-point lead.
Wilson also threw TD passes to Nick Vannett and Tyler Lockett while joining Peyton Manning and Dan Marino as the only quarterbacks to throw 20 touchdown passes in each of their first seven NFL seasons. But the Seahawks have lost two straight after winning four of five.
Rashaad Penny rushed for 108 yards and a touchdown in the injury absence of Chris Carson. The Seahawks had 273 yards rushing at the Coliseum after racking up 190 yards on the ground in their 33-31 loss to the Rams last month in Seattle.
Packers 31, Dolphins 12: Aaron Jones ran for career highs of 145 yards and two scores, Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams connected for two TD passes and Green Bay beat Miami. The Packers pulled away in the second half, sandwiching scoring drives around Bashaud Breeland’s interception deep in Miami territory. Rookie Jason Sanders tied a Dolphins franchise record with four field goals.
Redskins 16, Buccaneers 3: Alex Smith threw for 178 yards and one TD, and Dustin Hopkins kicked three field goals for Washington, which forced four turnovers and rebounded from a lopsided loss to Atlanta. Ryan Fitzpatrick threw for 406 yards for Tampa Bay, but was intercepted twice and lost a fumble on a sack inside the Washington 10. The Bucs have lost three in a row and six of seven.
Saints 51, Bengals 14: Drew Brees threw three TD passes in the first half, moving ahead of Brett Favre for second place on the career list and New Orleans won its eighth straight. Brees led the Saints to touchdowns on all five first-half possessions with only two incompletions. Cincinnati became the first team in the Super Bowl era to give up 500 yards in three consecutive games.
Bears 34, Lions 22: Mitchell Trubisky threw for 355 yards and three touchdowns, and the NFC North-leading Bears snapped a 10-game losing streak against division opponents. Chicago had dropped nine of 10 against Detroit and was seeking its first victory over a division opponent since Oct. 31, 2016, against Minnesota. Allen Robinson caught six passes for 133 yards and two TDs.
Chargers 20, Raiders 6: Philip Rivers threw two touchdown passes, Melvin Gordon gained 165 yards and Los Angeles won its sixth straight game. Rivers bounced back from a first quarter with no completions to throw an 11-yard TD pass to Keenan Allen in the second quarter to give the Chargers the lead for good. Oakland has lost five straight games by at least 14 points.
Chiefs 26, Cardinals 14: Patrick Mahomes threw for 249 yards and two TDs, outplaying Arizona counterpart Josh Rosen in a matchup of two of the NFL’s bright young quarterbacks. Mahomes threw both TD passes to Tyreek Hill, the second giving Kansas City’s first-year starter 31 for the season. That broke the franchise record set by Len Dawson in 1964 — with plenty of games to go.
Browns 28, Falcons 16: Rookie Baker Mayfield threw a season-high three touchdown passes and rookie Nick Chubb ran 92 yards for a TD as Cleveland ended a fourgame losing streak. Mayfield outplayed Falcons QB Matt Ryan completing his first 13 passes and finishing 17 of 20 for 216 yards. Ryan and the Falcons had their three-game winning streak — and any momentum — stopped cold.
Colts 29, Jaguars 26: Andrew Luck threw three touchdown passes in the first half and the Colts’ defense forced a late turnover. Tight end Eric Ebron had a careerhigh three TDs. Blake Bortles threw for 319 yards and two TDs, but Jacksonville came up short when Kenny Moore III stripped the ball from Rashad Greene Sr. and Malik Hooker recovered for the Colts with 1:24 to go.