The Sun (Lowell)

Josh Allen, Bills turn tables on high-powered Dolphins

- The Associated Press

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. >> Josh Allen threw four touchdown passes and ran for a score, and the Buffalo Bills brought Miami’s unbeaten start to an emphatic end, beating the division rival Dolphins 48-20 on Sunday.

A week after the Dolphins had one of the most impressive offensive performanc­es in NFL history in a 70-20 win over Denver, Buffalo (31) showed Miami (3-1) a thing or two about efficient offense, scoring on eight of its first nine possession­s while taking over first place in the AFC East.

Stefon Diggs caught three touchdowns and finished with six receptions for 120 yards. Allen went 21 of 25 for 320 yards and had his 10th game with four passing TDS.

Miami moved the ball reasonably well, finishing with 393 yards of offense, but the Bills forced two turnovers and sacked quarterbac­k Tua Tagovailoa four times.

The Bills suffered one major setback when cornerback Tre’davious White was carted off in the third quarter with what the team said was an Achilles tendon injury. White pulled up while covering Tyreek Hill and was unable to put any weight on his right leg.

TEXANS 30, STEELERS 6 Rookie C.J. Stroud had another big game, throwing for 306 yards and two touchdowns to lead Houston past Pittsburgh.

The Texans (2-2) won their second straight and first at home since beating the Los Angeles Chargers on Dec. 26, 2021. Houston’s 24-point win was its largest margin of victory in exactly six years.

Stroud, the second overall pick in the draft, threw a TD pass to get things going in a first half where the Texans built a 16-0 lead. It was his second 300-yard passing game, and he has thrown six touchdown passes with no intercepti­ons in his first four games.

Nico Collins had seven receptions for a career-high 168 yards and two touchdowns for

Houston, including a 52-yard score in the fourth quarter.

Kenny Pickett threw for 114 yards with an intercepti­on and struggled to move Pittsburgh’s offense before leaving late in the third quarter with a knee injury. Mitch Trubisky threw for 18 yards after Pickett left.

JAGUARS 23, FALCONS 7 >> Calvin Ridley caught a touchdown pass against his old team and Darious Williams returned an intercepti­on 61 yards for a score as Jacksonvil­le beat Atlanta at Wembley Stadium.

The Jags (2-2) halted a twogame skid with a series of big plays as the team celebrated playing for the 10th time in London.

Trevor Lawrence sidesteppe­d a blitzing Richie Grant and lofted a deep ball to a wide-open Ridley for a 30yard touchdown in the first quarter.

Williams stepped in front of Drake London, intercepte­d Desmond Ridder’s pass and outran the second-year QB into the end zone to make it 17-0.

The Falcons (2-2) have dropped two in a row and Ridder, making his eighth NFL start, was intercepte­d on back-to-back throws in the first half.

Bijan Robinson rushed for 105 yards on 14 carries for the Falcons.

RAMS 29, COLTS 23, OT >> Playing with a hip injury that left him limping at times, Matthew Stafford threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to rookie sensation Puka Nacua in overtime to give Los Angeles the win over Indianapol­is.

The Rams (2-2) blew a 23-point lead in the final 21 minutes of regulation but recovered to win their fourth straight in the series and third in a row at Indy.

Stafford was 27 of 40 with 319 yards, one touchdown and one intercepti­on. He was injured while being driven into the ground in the third quarter. Following an intercepti­on on the next play, he wore a heating wrap around his waist. He was limping when he returned to the game.

Nacua had nine receptions for 163 yards. He has 39 catches for 501 yards this season, surpassing Anquan Boldin for the most receptions by an NFL player in his first four games.

EAGLES 34, COMMANDERS 31, OT>> Jalen Hurts threw for 319 yards and two touchdowns, and Jake Elliott kicked a 54yard field goal in overtime to lift Philadelph­ia past Washington.

Elliott also kicked field goals of 41, 47 and 36 yards before booming the winner that kept the Eagles (4-0) unbeaten.

Hurts hit A.J. Brown for a 28-yard touchdown with 1:28 left in regulation for a 31-24 lead. Instead of killing the clock and trying for a winning field goal, the Eagles left enough time for Sam Howell to lead Washington (2-2) to the tying score.

Brown was flagged for taunting on his TD, giving the Commanders a boost. Washington started on the Eagles 36 and tied it when Howell hit Jahan Dotson for a 10yard touchdown as time expired. Coach Ron Rivera went for the extra point and the tie.

The Commanders did nothing with the ball in OT. Hurts then converted a fourth-down sneak that pushed the Eagles to Washington’s 48-yard line and helped set up the winner. BRONCOS 31, BEARS 28 >> Russell Wilson threw for three touchdowns, Wil Lutz kicked a tiebreakin­g 51-yard field goal with 1:46 remaining, and Denver rallied past Chicago.

The Broncos (1-3) won their first game under coach Sean Payton and bounced back from getting blown out 70-20 at Miami a week earlier.

Lutz’s kick capped a comeback from a 28-7 third-quarter deficit. Kareem Jackson put the game away when he intercepte­d Justin Fields with the Bears (0-4) near midfield.

Chicago dropped its 14th straight game dating to last season and ninth straight at home. Both skids are the longest in franchise history.

Fields went 28 of 35 for a career-high 335 yards and four touchdowns. He completed his first 16 passes.

Wilson threw a 4-yard TD to Brandon Johnson near the end of the third quarter and a 13-yarder to Courtland Sutton early in the fourth to make it a seven-point game.

TITANS 27, BENGALS 3 >> Ryan Tannehill threw for 240 yards and a touchdown and Tennessee routed Cincinnati.

The Titans (2-2), who managed only 94 yards in losing last week in Cleveland, led 24-3 at halftime and scored 27 unanswered points. Coach Mike Vrabel beat Cincinnati for the first time in four tries.

Derrick Henry ran 29 yards for a touchdown, and he also found rookie tight end Josh Whyle for a 2-yard TD on a jump pass from the wildcat formation just before halftime. Henry finished with 122 yards on 22 carries.

Tennessee’s defense sacked Joe Burrow three times and stripped him of the ball. Burrow, playing through a calf injury, led a 72-yard drive on the Bengals’ first possession, but Cincinnati had to settle for a 21-yard field goal by Evan Mcpherson.

The Bengals (1-3) remain one of two NFL teams not to score a first-half TD this season. Burrow finished 20 of 30 for 165 yards.

RAVENS 28, BROWNS 3 >> Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson ran for two touchdowns and threw for two more against Cleveland’s top-ranked defense.

The Ravens (3-1) took sole possession of first place in the AFC North. Their defense shut down the Browns and rookie quarterbac­k Dorian Thompson-robinson, who made his first career start in place of the injured Deshaun Watson.

Jackson scored untouched on runs of 10 yards and 2 yards and threaded a 7-yard scoring pass to tight end Mark Andrews with 11 seconds left before halftime as the Ravens opened a 21-3 lead.

Jackson added an 18-yard TD pass to Andrews in the fourth quarter.

The Browns (2-2) finished with 166 yards of offense — 53 on a meaningles­s final drive. Thompson-robinson threw three intercepti­ons and was sacked four times.

49ERS 35, CARDINALS 16 Christian Mccaffrey scored a career-high four touchdowns and San Francisco beat Arizona, its 14th straight regular-season win.

Mccaffrey gained 177 yards from scrimmage, scoring on three runs and one catch to help the 49ers get off to their fifth 4-0 start in franchise history. He also broke Jerry Rice’s franchise record by scoring a TD in his 13th straight game, including the playoffs.

Brock Purdy went 20 for 21 for 283 yards with a TD run and pass, setting a 49ers franchise record for completion percentage in a game. He won for the ninth time in nine career regular-season starts, leading the 49ers to their fourth straight game with at least 30 points.

Joshua Dobbs threw for 265 yards and two touchdowns to Michael Wilson for the Cardinals (1-3).

Mccaffrey became the first player in nine years to start the season with four straight games with at least 100 yards from scrimmage and a TD. He finished with 106 yards on the ground to go with seven catches for 71 yards. CHARGERS 24, RAIDERS 17 >> Khalil Mack set a franchise single-game record with six sacks, Justin Herbert accounted for three touchdowns and Los Angeles beat Las Vegas.

It was the sixth time since sacks became an official statistic in 1982 that a player had at least six in a game. The record is seven, by Kansas City’s Derrick Thomas in 1990.

The Chargers (2-2) scored on four of their first five drives to build a 24-7 halftime lead before the Raiders rallied to make it close. Las Vegas (13) was driving for the tying touchdown when Asante Samuel Jr. picked off Aidan O’connell’s pass at the Chargers 2-yard line with 2:33 remaining.

Herbert completed 13 of 24 passes for 167 yards with a touchdown and an intercepti­on. He also had 30 yards rushing and a pair of scores.

O’connell, who got the start with Jimmy Garoppolo in the concussion protocol, completed 24 of 38 passes for 238 yards and an intercepti­on. Josh Jacobs had 139 scrimmage yards, including 81 receiving, and a touchdown. BUCCANEERS 26, SAINTS 9 >> Baker Mayfield threw three touchdown passes and Tampa Bay beat New Orleans, which continued to struggle on offense even with Derek Carr returning from a shoulder injury.

Mayfield completed 25 of 32 for 246 yards including TDS to Cade Otten, Trey Palmer and Deven Thompkins as the Bucs (3-1) took over first place in the NFC South.

Starting one week after spraining his throwing shoulder at Green Bay, and after only limited work in practice the past week, Carr struggled to move New Orleans’ offense, which did not reach the end zone.

Carr finished 23 of 37 for 127 yards and was sacked three times in a second straight loss for the Saints (22). Alvin Kamara touched the ball 24 times with 11 carries and 13 receptions in his return from a three-game suspension, but finished with just 84 yards from scrimmage. VIKINGS 21, PANTHERS 13 >> Kirk Cousins threw two touchdown passes to Justin Jefferson, D.J. Wonnum returned Bryce Young’s fumble 51 yards for a momentum-changing touchdown, and Minnesota held on to beat Carolina.

Cousins overcame two intercepti­ons, including one that was returned 99 yards for a touchdown by Sam Franklin, and finished with 139 yards passing. Jefferson beat a Carolina secondary playing without three starters for 85 yards on six catches.

Alexander Mattison ran for 95 yards and Harrison Smith had three sacks for the Vikings (1-3), including the one that led to Wonnum’s score.

No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young was 25 of 32 for 204 yards for Carolina (0-4).

The momentum of the game turned on Wonnum’s scoop-and-score late in the third quarter. The Vikings sacked Young on third down on the ensuing series and Cousins found Jefferson along the left sideline for a 30-yard touchdown strike to give the Vikings a 21-13 lead.

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