Colts beat Panthers to stop slide
Kenny Moore returned two Bryce Young interceptions for touchdowns, Jonathan Taylor caught a touchdown pass from Gardner Minshew, and the Colts defeated the Panthers, 27-13, Sunday in Charlotte, N.C., to snap a three-game losing streak.
Indianapolis’s much-maligned defense had allowed at least 37 points in each of its past three games and had allowed more points than any team in the league, but had no problem slowing down the No. 1 overall pick and a mostly listless Panthers offense.
Moore became the first Colts player in history with two pick-6s in a game and the first NFL player to accomplish the feat since Tampa Bay’s Mike Edwards did it against the Atlanta in Week 2 of the 2021 season.
Young finished 24 of 39 for 173 yards with three interceptions to fall to 1-6 as an NFL starter.
Minshew threw for 127 yards and Taylor ran for 47 yards for the Colts (4-5).
Adam Thielen, in the midst of a career season, was limited to 29 yards on five receptions for the Panthers (1-7), who matched their worst start in franchise history.
The Colts dominated the Panthers in the first half and took a 20-3 lead into the locker room after Moore stepped in front of Young’s pass in the flat and took it 49 yards for a score.
Carolina appeared to have regained momentum after cutting the Colts lead to 10 in the third quarter before Young overshot Miles Sanders and Moore grabbed it and raced 66 yards to end zoneto give the Colts a 27-10 lead early in the fourth quarter.
Indianapolis sacked Young four times and limited the Panthers to 62 total yards in the first half to take control. Young has now been sacked 26 in his seven NFL starts.
Moore’s second pick-6 late in the third quarter all but sealed the win as Panthers coach Frank Reich failed to beat the Colts, who fired him last season.
Next up for Indianapolis is a trip to Germany for a meeting with the Patriots in Frankfurt next Sunday.
Ravens 37, Seahawks 3 — Keaton Mitchell ran for 138 yards and his first NFL touchdown, Odell Beckham Jr. scored for the first time since the Super Bowl two seasons ago, and Baltimore (7-2) routed another first-place team, this time beating visiting Seattle (5-3). Gus Edwards ran for two touchdowns for the Ravens, who remained tied for the best record in the AFC after holding an opponent to 9 points or fewer for the fourth time. Lamar Jackson threw for 187 yards and ran for 60 for Baltimore before sitting out the fourth quarter, when Tyler Huntley guided a touchdown drive. The Seahawks managed only six first downs and were outgained, 515-151. The Ravens entered the game with a league-high 31 sacks and added to that total with four (all in the first half ).
Raiders 30, Giants 6 — Josh Jacobs rushed for 98 yards and two touchdowns, rookie Aidan O’Connell passed for 209 yards, and Antonio Pierce won in his debut as interim coach as Las Vegas routed visiting New York, which lost quarterback Daniel Jones early in his return to game action. Maxx Crosby had three of the Raiders’ eight sacks and the Giants were held to 275 yards. Jones left one play into the second quarter with a right knee injury. Tommy DeVito took over and passed for 175 yards and a touchdown, and Saquon Barkley rushed for 90 yards on 16 carries. This was the Raiders’ first game since coach Josh McDaniels, offensive coordinator Mick Lombardi, and general manager Dave Ziegler were fired and quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was benched.
Texans 39, Buccaneers 37 — Rookie C.J. Stroud threw for 470 yards and five touchdowns, and his 15-yard touchdown pass to Tank Dell with six seconds remaining allowed host Houston (4-4) to outlast Tampa Bay (3-5) in a wild back-and-forth game for the victory. Baker Mayfield put the Buccaneers on top with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Cade Otton with 46 seconds left, but the Texans drove down the field and Stroud found Dell in the end zone for the final points. Stroud kneeled instead of attempting the 2-point conversion with kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn (quad) out, then the Buccaneers fumbled on their final play to seal a fourth straight loss. Three Texans had over 100 yards receiving and a touchdown — Noah Brown (153), Dalton Schultz (130), and Dell (114). Browns 27, Cardinals 0 — Deshaun Watson threw two touchdown passes, one bouncing off a defender’s helmet, in his second start in five weeks because of a shoulder injury and Cleveland (5-3) held visiting Arizona (1-8) to only 58 yards of offense in its first shutout since 2007. Watson looked rusty and indecisive at times in his first full game since Sept. 24, when he sustained a strained rotator cuff in his throwing shoulder. He completed 19 of 30 passes for 219 yards, with 139 of those yards accumulated by Amari Cooper on five receptions. But while Watson and the offense struggled to establish a rhythm, the Browns leaned on their topranked defense to stifle the Cardinals, who started rookie quarterback Clayton Tune instead of activating Kyler Murray (knee).
Vikings 31, Falcons 28 — Joshua Dobbs threw two touchdown passes, including a go-ahead 6yarder to Brandon Powell with 22 seconds remaining, and also ran for a score, and Minnesota (5-4) rallied past host Atlanta (4-5) for its fourth straight win. The Vikings overcame the loss of rookie quarterback Jaren Hall to a concussion in the first quarter. Hall was the starter after Kirk Cousins was lost for the season to an Achilles’ injury. Dobbs, acquired from Arizona in a trade Tuesday after starting all eight games for the Cardinals, led the go-ahead drive after Tyler Allgeier’s 5-yard scoring run gave Atlanta the lead with 2:08 remaining. Only five days after the trade, Dobbs (20 of 30, 158 yards, 2 TDs; 7 carries, 66 yards) made his case to keep the starting job.
Saints 24, Bears 17 — Taysom Hill caught a touchdown pass and threw for another, Paulson Adebo intercepted two passes and also forced a fumble that he recovered, and New Orleans (5-4) knocked off visiting Chicago (2-7). The Saints forced five turnovers, intercepting Bears rookie QB Tyson Bagent three times and recovering two fumbles. Those plays tipped the balance of a game in which the undrafted Bagent and the Chicago offense often had the defense off balance, outgaining New Orleans 368-301 in total yards and possessing the ball for just more than half the game. The final turnover — a fumble caused by Demario Davis’s sack and recovered by Pete Werner — all but sealed it with 2:05 left. New Orleans needed only one first down to run out the clock.
Packers 20, Rams 3 — Aaron Jones scored his team’s first firsthalf touchdown since mid-September, and host Green Bay (3-5) snapped a four-game skid by beating Los Angeles (3-6), which dropped its third straight and whose only points came on a Lucas Havrisik’s 52-yard field goal late in the second quarter. Rookie Luke Musgrave scored his first career touchdown on a 20-yard reception from Jordan Love and Anders Carlson went 3 of 4 on field goal attempts for the Packers (3-5). Love went 20 of 26 for 228 yards despite getting sacked four times. With Brett Rypien starting at quarterback in place of Matthew Stafford, who injured a thumb a week earlier, the Rams failed to reach the end zone. Rypien went 13 of 28 for 130 yards with an interception, and the Rams lost one of his two fumbles.