Mahomes leads K.C. past defending champs
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Patrick Mahomes threw for 320 yards and a touchdown, Isiah Pacheco ran for a score, and the Kansas City Chiefs slogged their way to a 26-10 victory over the beat-up Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.
Mahomes eclipsed 300 yards passing for the sixth straight game, and he ran his streak with a TD pass to 16, but the Chiefs (9-2) also squandered plenty of scoring opportunities. Mahomes was intercepted in the end zone in the fourth quarter, and Harrison Butker was called upon to kick four chipshot field goals when drives stalled.
It didn’t matter against the Rams, who have lost five straight for the first time under Sean McVay.
Playing without Matthew Stafford, who remained in the concussion protocol, the Rams (3-8) struggled to move the chains behind Bryce Perkins, a career backup making his first start.
L.A.’s losing streak and its record through 11 games matches the 1987 Giants for the worst among defending Super Bowl champs, though New York’s dismal start came amid a strike resulting in the use of replacement players.
Browns 23, Buccaneers 17 (OT):
Nick Chubb ran for a 3-yard touchdown with 19 seconds left in overtime, and Cleveland rallied to stun Tom Brady and the Buccaneers in Browns quarterback Jacoby Brissett’s final start before Deshaun Watson returns from his suspension.
Chubb powered through a pile of bodies at the goal line as the Browns (4-7) sent Brissett off with a win. Watson, who was banned 11 games by the NFL for sexual misconduct allegations, will start next week in Houston.
Chubb’s short TD was set up when Brissett connected on a 45-yard pass to Amari Cooper, who found himself wide open when Bucs cornerback Carlton Davis III slipped and fell near midfield. The Browns forced OT on tight end David Njoku’s remarkable, one-handed TD catch with 32 seconds left in regulation. Njoku extended his left arm to haul in Brissett’s 12-yard scoring strike in the back of the end zone.
Brady threw two touchdown passes, but couldn’t get anything going in the 10-minute OT.
Jaguars 28, Ravens 27:
Trevor Lawrence connected with Marvin Jones for a 10-yard touchdown with 14 seconds remaining and hit Zay Jones for a gutsy 2-point conversion as Jacksonville held on to beat Baltimore.
The Ravens’ Justin Tucker missed a 67-yard field goal try on the last play. Tucker made four field goals in the game but came up just short on his attempt to break by 1 yard his own record for the longest field goal in NFL history.
Bengals 20, Titans 16:
Joe Burrow threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to Tee Higgins with 13:42 left and Cincinnati held off Tennessee for its third straight victory and fifth in six games.
The defending AFC champion Bengals (7-4) won the rematch of their divisional playoff victory over Tennessee despite not having running back Joe Mixon and receiver Ja’Marr Chase.
Dolphins 30, Texans 15:
Tua Tagovailoa threw for 299 yards as Miami built a 30-0 lead over Houston and held on for its fifth straight win.
Tagovailoa had his fourth straight game without an interception, Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill each had 85 yards receiving and the Dolphins’ defense had three takeaways.
Houston (1-9-1) managed just 32 yards through its first 25 plays with Kyle Allen starting at quarterback
in place of the benched Davis Mills.
Commanders 19, Falcons 13: Taylor Heinicke threw two touchdown passes in a run-heavy game in the rain, Kendall Fuller intercepted Marcus Mariota in the end zone with 58 seconds left and Washington beat Atlanta for its sixth win in seven games. Washington used five ball carriers and ran 37 times for 176 yards to Atlanta’s 29 for 167.
No one got it more for the Commanders (7-5) than rookie Brian Robinson Jr, who ran 18 times for a career-high 105 yards and averaged 5.8 yards per attempt.
Panthers 23, Broncos 10: Sam Darnold threw for a touchdown and recovered his own fumble for another score in his first game of the season, helping Carolina beat Denver.
Making his first start since Week 18 last year, Darnold completed 11-of-19 passes for 164 yards without a turnover. He is the third QB to start this season for the Panthers (4-8), joining Baker Mayfield and P.J. Walker.
Raiders 40, Seahawks 34 (OT): Josh Jacobs sprinted 86 yards for a game-ending touchdown and Las Vegas won in overtime for the second straight week, beating the Seattle.
Jacobs finished with a franchise-record 229 yards rushing and two scores. He also had six catches for 74 yards, and his 303 yards from scrimmage were the most in franchise history and the seventh-most in an NFL game in the Super Bowl era.
49ers 13, Saints 0: San Francisco forced two fumbles from Alvin Kamara to become the first team in nearly 21 years to hold New Orleans scoreless.
The Niners (7-4) set the tone on defense from the opening drive, when Fred Warner forced a fumble by Kamara that he recovered, and they didn’t let up from there. San Francisco took a one-game lead in the NFC West.
Chargers 25, Cardinals 24:
Justin Herbert threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Austin Ekeler with 15 seconds left, then hit Gerald Everett for a 2-point conversion to lift Los Angeles over Arizona. Ekeler just got into the end zone for the TD that moved the Chargers within one, capping a seven-play, 38-yard drive that lasted 1:33. The ball hit the pylon as he dived toward the corner.
That set up a bold call by coach Brandon Staley, who opted for the winning 2-pointer instead of a tying extra point.