Colts end Texans’ 9-game run
Andrew Luck threw for 399 yards and two touchdowns and T.Y. Hilton had 199 receiving yards as the Colts snapped the Texans’ winning streak at nine games with a 24-21 victory in Houston on Sunday.
Houston (9-4) cut Indianapolis’ lead to 24-21 with a 7-yard touchdown pass from Deshaun Watson to DeAndre Hopkins with less than three minutes remaining. With the Colts (7-6) facing a 3rd-and-1 at midfield, Luck drew Jadeveon Clowney offside to secure a first down and the win.
The Colts entered Sunday having allowed just 14 sacks, second only to New Orleans. Houston’s tenacious pass rush was largely neutralized, managing a sack apiece from J.J. Watt and Christian Covington, after being held without a sack against Cleveland the previous Sunday.
Indianapolis’ defense, on the other hand, gave Houston fits both in the passing and running game. The Colts sacked Watson five times and held the Texans to 89 yards rushing.
Chiefs atoned the in overtime fourth 27, for quarter a Ravens as 43-yard host with Kansas 24: miss a Harrison 36-yard as City time (10-2) Butker field expired goal beat in Baltimore Chiefs twice (7-6) converted to clinch on a fourth playoff down spot. The before Patrick Mahomes threw a tying touchdown pass to Damien Williams with 53 seconds left in the fourth. Moments later, Justin Houston strip-sacked Lamar Jackson to give Butker a chance to win the game in regulation. The Ravens marched across midfield as they tried to answer in overtime, but Ronnie Stanley’s holding penalty put them in a bind. Jackson was sacked — and wound up leaving the game — and Robert Griffin III threw two incompletions to end it. Jackson had X-rays on his ankle afterward that came back negative.
Saints threw for 28, one Buccaneers touchdown 14: and Drew ran Brees another as visiting New Orleans (11-2) rallied from an 11-point halftime deficit to beat Tampa Bay (5-8) and clinch its second straight NFC South title. Brees shrugged off two turnovers to throw a 1-yard TD pass to Zach Line, then scored on a 1-yard sneak as the Saints rebounded from a loss at Dallas in their previous game. New Orleans’ defense did its part after allowing two first-half TDs, too, sacking Jameis Winston four times and limiting the NFL’s No. 1-ranked offense to 81 yards in the second half — most of that on the final drive of the game.
Chargers 26, Bengals 21: Philip Rivers threw for 220 yards and Michael Badgley kicked four field goals — including a teamrecord 59-yarder — for host Los Angeles. The Chargers (10-3) had 160 yards of offense on their first two drives but had 121 the remainder of the game. Joe Mixon had 26 carries for 111 yards and a touchdown for Cincinnati (5-8), which has dropped five straight.
Packers 34, Falcons 20: Aaron Rodgers threw two touchdown passes and set an NFL record for interception-free football as host Green Bay won its first game under interim head coach Joe Philbin. The Packers (5-7-1) regained some swagger with Philbin replacing fired Mike McCarthy as they snapped a three-game losing streak. Rodgers was 21-for-32 for 196 yards, including a 24-yard touchdown pass to Randall Cobb in the left side of the end zone for a 27-7 lead. That throw gave Rodgers 359 consecutive attempts without an interception, breaking the league record previously held by New England’s Tom Brady (358 in 2010-11). Atlanta (4-9) has lost five straight.
Giants 40, Washington 16: Rookie running back Saquon Barkley had a 78-yard touchdown run as part of a 170-yard afternoon as he surpassed 1,000 yards for the season and Eli Manning threw for three scores as visiting New York (5-8) routed Washington (6-7). Manning was 14-for-22 for 197 yards before giving way to rookie Kyle Lauletta early in the fourth quarter. Washington quarterback Mark Sanchez, making his first NFL start since 2015, was 6-for-14 for 38 yards and two interceptions before being replaced by Josh Johnson, who passed for 195 yards.
Jets 27, Bills 23: Elijah McGuire scored on a 4th-and-goal run from the 1 with 1:17 re- maining as visiting New York (4-9) beat Buffalo (4-9) to snap a six-game losing streak. Jets quarterback Sam Darnold was 3-for-5 for 52 yards on the winning drive, including a 37-yard pass to Robby Anderson. Darnold finished 16-for-24 for 170 yards with a touchdown. The Bills’ Josh Allen, who was 18-for-36 for 206 yards and two interceptions, ran for 101 yards to join Green Bay’s Tobin Rote (1951) as the second quarterback in NFL history to top 90 yards on the ground in three consecutive games.
Browns 26, Panthers 20: Jarvis Landry caught a touchdown pass and ran for another score as host Cleveland (5-7-1) dealt Carolina (6-7) its fifth consecutive loss. The Browns improved to 3-2 under interim head coach Gregg Williams, who needed just five games to match former Cleveland head coach Hue Jackson’s win total over two-plus seasons. The Panthers’ Cam Newton passed for 265 yards, but overthrew Jarius Wright on 4th-and-goal at the 3 with 2:35 left. Carolina got the ball back, but Newton, who has been playing with a sore right shoulder, badly missed Devin Funchess on a pass that was intercepted by Damarious Randall with 57 seconds left.
Lions 17, Cardinals 3: Darius Slay returned an interception 67 yards for a touchdown to help Detroit (5-8) claim its first win in Arizona since 1993. Slay stepped in front of intended receiver Trent Sherfield, picked off Josh Rosen’s pass and raced down the left sideline for the third-quarter score as the Lions ended an eight-game losing streak in the desert. Arizona (3-10) avoided being shut out with Zane Gonzalez’s 22-yard field goal that cut Detroit’s lead to 10-3 with 8:14 to play.