NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE / WEEK 11 ROUNDUP
Titans 30, Ravens 24
Derrick Henry ran for a 29-yard touchdown with 5:21 left in overtime to cap another memorable performance against Baltimore, and Tennessee rallied for a victory Sunday.
Running against a patchwork Ravens defensive line, Henry finished with 133 yards on 28 carries. It was his sixth 100-yard game of the season and put him over 1,000 yards for the third consecutive year. It was reminiscent of Henry's outing last January, when he rambled for 195 yards to carry the Titans to a 28-12 upset of the top-seeded Ravens in the AFC divisional playoff.
After forcing a punt to begin overtime, Tennessee (7-3) moved 73 yards on six plays to get back on track after losing three of its previous four games. Baltimore (6-4) has lost two straight and three of four. Until the fourth quarter, the Ravens did a decent job of stopping Henry without injured defensive linemen Calais Campbell (calf) and Brandon Williams (ankle).
Tennessee trailed 21-10 early in the third quarter and 21-16 late in regulation before launching a 90yard drive featuring the running of Henry and some precise throws by Ryan Tannehill.
But Lamar Jackson drove the Ravens to Justin Tucker's 29-yard field goal with 15 seconds remaining to force overtime.
Steelers 27, Jaguars 3
Pittsburgh's most dominant defensive performance of the season kept the Steelers perfect. Terrell Edmunds and Minkah Fitzpatrick intercepted two passes each and the Steelers steamrolled their way to a 10-0 record.
Rookie quarterback Jake Luton looked lost most of the day against the Steelers, who allowed 206 yards and finished with two sacks. They celebrated each turnover by running into the end zone and posing for the cameras.
Ben Roethlisberger and Co. gladly shared the spotlight with one of the league's most disruptive defenses. Roethlisberger completed 32 of 46 passes for 267 yards and two touchdowns. He found Chris Claypool and Eric Ebron for scores. Diontae Johnson finished with 12 catches for 111 yards. James Conner ran 13 times for 89 yards, showing some life for a struggling ground game. Of course, it all came against one of the NFL's worst and most dysfunctional franchises. The Jaguars (1-9) tied a single-season record by losing a ninth straight game.
The Steelers extended their sack streak to 67 consecutive games.
Colts 34, Packers 31 (OT)
After allowing three touchdown passes and 28 first-half points, the Colts gave up only three second-half points. They also forced a game-changing fumble less than a minute into overtime. Rodrigo Blankenship won it with a 39-yard field goal with 7:10 remaining.
Indy (7-3) did it with an old-school combination: The offense that played keep-away, a defense that came up with two three-and-outs and a fourthdown stop late in the fourth quarter, and the key turnover in overtime.
Philip Rivers was 24 of 35 with 288 yards, three touchdowns and one interception in his 234th consecutive start, tying Eli Manning for the 10th-longest streak in league history. Jonathan Taylor had 22 carries for 90 yards in a wild game that included Green Bay scores in the final 10 seconds of each half; Indianapolis erasing a 14-point halftime deficit, then failing to seal the win because of five holding calls on its final drive in regulation.
Aaron Rodgers took full advantage of the second chance, hooking up with Marquez Valdes-Scantling on a 47-yard pass play. That took the Packers (7-3) from the 6-yard line to the Colts 47. Seven plays later, Mason Crosby tied the game at 31 with a 26-yard field goal with 3 seconds remaining.
But Green Bay won the coin toss, Valdes-Scantling lost a fumble when hit by Julian Blackmon on Green Bay's second play. DeForest Buckner recovered and four plays later, Blankenship won it.
Saints 24, Falcons 9
Taysom Hill rushed for two touchdowns and passed for 233 yards in his first NFL start at quarterback, and the Saints got their seventh straight victory. With 41-year-old quarterback Drew Brees sidelined at least three games with multiple rib fractures, Saints coach Sean Payton gave Hill the nod over offseason free agent acquisition Jameis Winston. Hill, who started his career as a utility player with the Saints in 2017, looked comfortable running the scheme Payton designed. He completed 18 of 23 passes (78.3%) without an interception and used his all-around athleticism to run intermittently on scrambles or designed read-option plays, finishing with a team-high 51 yards rushing.
He had a considerably better day than Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan, who was sacked eight times and finished 19 of 37 passing for 232 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions to defensive backs Marcus Williams and Janoris Jenkins. Cameron Jordan sacked Ryan three times, while Trey Hendrickson and David Onyemata each had two sacks.
Kamara, Hill and Latavius Murray powered a ground game that netted 168 yards, which helped the Saints (8-2) sustain drives that consumed a total of 33:41. The Falcons are 3-7.
Washington 20, Bengals 9
Top draft pick Joe Burrow was carted off with a left knee injury before Alex Smith rallied Washington. Burrow, Cincinnati's franchise quarterback, was injured early in the third quarter when he was hit high and low by two Washington linemen after throwing a pass. His left leg bent awkwardly, and he couldn't put any weight on it, ending his day at 22-of-34 passing for 203 yards and a touchdown.
His season appears over, too. Burrow tweeted: “Thanks for all the love. Can't get rid of me that easy. See ya next year.”
Burrow's departure allowed Smith and Washington (3-7) to take over and move a half-game back of Philadelphia for first place in the NFL's weakest division. Just after Burrow left, the 36-year-old Smith — who broke his right tibia and fibula on the same field just over two years ago — led a go-ahead, 55yard scoring drive that ended with a 3-yard TD pass to Steven Sims.
In his second start since that gruesome injury Nov. 18, 2018, Smith was 17 of 25 for 166 yards and had a pass intercepted after it was tipped late in the first half.
Washington rookie running back Antonio Gibson ran for 94 yards and a TD. against Cincinnati (2-7-1).
Browns 22, Eagles 17
Kareem Hunt hurdled Philadelphia's Jalen Mills on a touchdown run, Olivier Vernon stepped up with star Myles Garrett out with COVID-19 by getting three sacks and a safety for Cleveland.
Hunt's leaping 5-yard score came shortly after a dazzling 54-yard run by Nick Chubb as the Browns (7-3) finally found traction in their running game in a constant downpour.
Cleveland also got a 50-yard interception return TD in the first half by second-year linebacker Sione Takitaki. The Browns constantly harassed Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz despite playing without Garrett.
Broncos 20, Dolphins 13
Justin Simmons intercepted Ryan Fitzpatrick's pass in the end zone with 63 seconds left. The Broncos (4-6) not only prevented Tua Tagovailoa from becoming just the second rookie in the past 40 years to win his first four starts, but they sacked him a half-dozen times and knocked him from the game in the fourth quarter.
Although the Dolphins (6-4) didn't announce an injury to Tagovailoa before game's end, the lefty walked gingerly to the sideline after his final sack, by Bradley Chubb.
On the play, Tagovailoa's left leg bent awkwardly and guard Solomon Kindley stepped on Tagovailoa's right foot.
Fitzpatrick entered with the Dolphins down 10 points and drove them to a field goal that made it a one-score deficit. The Dolphins, who had won five in a row, had a chance to tie it after they turned away the Broncos at their 1. Melvin Gordon was just about to score his third touchdown of the game when linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel atoned for a pair of penalties on the previous play by punching the ball loose at the 1. Safety Eric Rowe recovered. But Simmons clinched it after a long Miami drive.
Panthers 20, Lions 0
P.J. Walker threw for 258 yards and a touchdown in his first NFL start, the much-maligned Carolina defense earned its first shutout since 2015 and the Panthers (4-7) snapped a five-game losing streak. Walker, a former XFL player, was made the starter less than two hours before kickoff when Teddy Bridgewater was officially ruled out with a knee injury.
Walker did plenty well, connecting on a perfect 52yard strike to D.J. Moore along with a well-placed 17-yard touchdown pass to Curtis Samuel. But he also had two terrible mistakes, twice throwing interceptions in the red zone, essentially hitting the defender right in the hands.
Still he did enough to win, as Moore had seven catches for 127 yards and Samuel had eight grabs for 70 yards. Mike Davis ran for 64 yards and a touchdown.
Cowboys 31, Vikings 28
Andy Dalton returned from a two-game absence to throw three touchdown passes, hitting Dalton Schultz for a 2-yard score with 1:37 left to stop the Cowboys' four-game losing streak.
Dalton went 22 for 32 for 203 yards and one interception after fill-ins Ben DiNucci and Garrett Gilbert started the previous two games. After missing games to a concussion and COVID-19, Dalton directed an 11-play, 66-yard drive down the stretch that was extended with a fourth-and-6 completion to Amari Cooper at the 19.
Kris Boyd stepped in front of Schultz and nearly picked off a first-and-goal pass in the end zone, but Dalton delivered to his wide open tight end two plays later.