Brady, Pats rebound in a bigway
New England’s Tom Brady finally looked like a quarterback who has 50,000 yards in his career, becoming the sixth to reach that milestone and throwing for two touchdowns as he rebounded from the second-worst loss of his career for a 43-17 victory over the visiting Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday night.
Six days after a 41-14 loss at Kansas City, the Patriots’ offense snapped its season-long slump. Brady threw for 292 yards and Stevan Ridley gained 117 of the team’s 221 yards rushing.
“Itwas a long week. We dug deep. (I’m) proud of everybody,” Brady said.
Cincinnati (3-1) entered the game allowing an NFL-low11 points per game, but the Patriots (3-2) surpassed that by scoring on their first two possessions on Ridley’s 1-yard run and Brady’s 17-yard pass to Tim Wright. Stephen Gostkowski added five field goals, the most in his nine-year career.
The Bengals lost three fumbles and failed to convert their seven third-down plays.
“If you turn the ball over and don’t make any third downs, you have a chance to have this happen to you,” Cincinnati head coach Marvin Lewis said.
Bills 17, Lions 14: Kicker Dan Carpenter split the goal posts from58 yards with four seconds left to give visiting Buffalo a come-from-behind victory. ... The Bills (3-2) snapped a two-game skid in Kyle Orton’s debut as Buffalo’s starting quarterback after EJ Manuel was benched lastweek. ... The Lions (3-2) were undone by placekicking. Alex Henery missed all three field-goal attempts, including a 50-yarder that sailed wide left with 21 seconds left. ... Detroit wide receiver Calvin Johnson and running back Reggie Bush left after ankle injuries.
Panthers 31, Bears 24: Cam Newton threw two touchdown passes to Greg Olsen and host Carolina’s defense forced four turnovers to overcome a 14-point deficit. ... With the game tied at 24-24, Carolina’s Antoine Cason stripped Matt Forte of the ball and Kawaan Short recovered at Chicago’s 23. Six plays later, Newton found Olsen on a slant route for a 6-yard touchdown with 2:18 left. ... Carolina (3-2) snapped a two-game skid and reclaimed first place in the NFC South. ... Cutler was 28-for-36 for 289 yards with two TDs, but committed three turnovers for Chicago (2-3).
Colts 20, Ravens 13: Andrew Luck threw one touchdown pass and ran for a score, and the defense stiffened late for host Indianapolis (3-2), which won its third straight. ... Luck was 32-for-49 for 312 yards with two interceptions and scored the decisive points on a nifty 13-yard run with 8:56 left. ... Baltimore (3-2) lost for the first time since Week 1.
Eagles 34, Rams 28: Nick Foles threw two touchdown passes, and the defense and special teams each scored for host Philadelphia. ... The Eagles (4-1) rebounded froma tough loss against the 49ers with a strong all-around performance until the end. ... Chris Maragos returned a blocked punt for a touchdown, and Cedric Thornton recovered a fumble for a score and nearly took another one the distance. ... Austin Davis rallied the Rams (1-3) froma 34-7 deficit with three straight scores, including a 5-yard pass to Brian Quick that cut the deficit to 34-28 with 4:41 left. ... The Rams had a chance to win when they got the ball at their 7 with 1:47 left. Davis threwa 43-yard pass to Quick on first down, but Philadelphia’s defense finally made a stop.
Giants 30, Falcons 20: First-round draft pick Odell Beckham Jr. made his NFL debut a memorable one, catching a go-ahead 15-yard touchdown pass from Eli Manning with 10:02 left for host New York. ... Rookie Andre Williams scored on a 3-yard run to ignite the second-half rally in which the Giants (3-2) came from 10 points down to win their third straight game. ... Matt Ryan threw for 316 yards and a touchdown behind a banged-up offensive line that held strong until the very end, but Atlanta (2-3) lost its second straight.
Chargers 31, Jets 0: Philip Rivers threw two touchdown passes to Antonio Gates and rookie running back Branden Oliver’s big day included his first two NFL touchdowns for host San Diego (4-1). New York (1-4) lost its fourth straight game and turned to Michael Vick, who replaced Geno Smith on the team’s first possession of the second half, but wasn’t any more effective. ... Itwas the first shutout in the NFL this season.
Steelers 17, Jaguars 9: Brice McCain returned an interception 22 yards for a touchdown as visiting Pittsburgh (3-2) overcame amediocre offensive performance. ... Rookie quarterback Blake Bortles, making his first home start, completed 22 of 36 passes for 191 yards for Jacksonville (0-5).