Steelers tip Colts
PITTSBURGH – Not this time, Adam Vinatieri.
The Colts’ kicker missed a go-ahead 43-yard field goal with 1:14 remaining, helping the Steelers escape with a 26-24 victory Sunday.
Vinatieri, whose 55-yard kick last week against Denver gave the Colts their third straight victory, pulled his attempt left of the uprights as the Colts (5-3) fell out of first place in the AFC South.
Mason Rudolph threw for 191 yards with a touchdown and an interception for Pittsburgh and Minkah Fitzpatrick returned an interception 96 yards for a score as the Steelers (4-4) won their third consecutive game.
Colts quarterback Jacoby Brissett left in the second quarter with a left knee injury. Brian Hoyer came on and threw for three touchdowns and drove Indianapolis to well within field goal range in the final minutes.
Vinatieri, the NFL’s all-time leading scorer, had an extra point blocked in the third quarter and has been dealing with accuracy issues all season.
❚ Seahawks 40, Buccaneers 34: Russell Wilson hit Jacob Hollister on a 10-yard TD pass on the opening possession of overtime as Seattle (7-2) rallied to defeat Tampa Bay (2-6) at home. Wilson continued his brilliant season, tying his career high with five TD passes as Seattle overcame Jason Myers’ missed 40-yard field goal attempt on the final play of regulation and never gave Tampa Bay a chance in the extra session. Wilson was 5 of 8 for 70 yards in overtime, capping the winning drive by hitting the reserve tight end across the middle for his second touchdown of the game. Wilson finished 29 of 43 for 378 yards.
❚ Dolphins 26, Jets 18: Ryan Fitzpatrick threw three TD passes, two to rookie Preston Williams, and Miami got its first win of the season by beating former coach Adam Gase and New York. The Dolphins avoided what would have been the second 0-8 start in franchise history, joining 2007. The win leaves Cincinnati (0-8) as the NFL’s lone winless team this season. It was also Miami’s fourth straight win over the Jets (1-7) – the first three of those coming with Gase being the coach on the winning side.
❚ Chargers 26, Packers 11: Melvin Gordon scored two TDs,
Michael Badgley kicked four field goals and Los Angeles (4-5) dominated Green Bay (7-2) to end a three-game home losing streak. The offense moved the ball consistently in Shane Steichen’s first game as coordinator, and the defense kept Aaron Rodgers and the Packers out of the end zone until midway through the fourth quarter.
❚ Raiders 31, Lions 24: Derek Carr threw a 9-yard TD pass to rookie Hunter Renfrow with 2:04 remaining and Karl Joseph broke up a fourth-down pass in the end zone with 3 seconds left to give the Raiders (4-4) a victory. It was their first game in Oakland in seven weeks after surviving an odyssey that forced them to travel about 20,000 miles for four road games and a neutral site game in London. Detroit fell to 3-4-1.
❚ Broncos 24, Browns 19:
Fourth-year quarterback Brandon Allen sparked Denver’s stagnant offense, throwing for two TDs in his first career NFL start. In his first start in 1,402 days, Allen threw a 21-yard pass to Courtland Sutton and a 75-yarder to rookie tight end Noah Fant, and Phillip Lindsay ran nine times for 92 yards and a TD. The Broncos (3-6) didn’t truncate the playbook with Joe Flacco (neck) on injured reserve, and Allen threw for 193 yards on 12 of 20 passing. The Browns fell to 2-6.
❚ Panthers 30, Titans 20:
Christian McCaffrey had 166 yards from scrimmage and scored three touchdowns, and
Carolina (5-3) bounced back from an embarrassing defeat. Kyle Allen, who threw three interceptions in last week’s 51-13 loss to the 49ers, threw TD passes of 7 yards to McCaffrey and 12 yards to Curtis Samuel. Derrick Henry, who had just two carries in the first half, finished with 99 yards from scrimmage and two TDs for the Titans (4-5).
❚ Texans 26, Jaguars 3:
Deshaun Watson’s most impressive throw went backward – a flip under pressure to running back Carlos Hyde, whose 7-yard gain set up Houston’s first TD in a runaway win for the Texans (6-3). The rugby-style pitch was spot-on perfect for a game in London, where the locals are still recovering from England’s 20-point loss in the World Cup final on Saturday and now must deal with the added insult of watching their adopted home team, the Jaguars (4-5), getting hammered just as badly.
❚ Bills 24, Redskins 9:
Rookie Devin Singletary had 95 yards rushing, including a 2-yard TD, and Buffalo is off to its best start (6-2) since 1993. Their wins have come against teams that entered this weekend with a combined record of 7-31. And their latest came against a team that’s already fired its coach and was down to its third quarterback, with rookie first-round pick Dwayne Haskins making his first career start. Washington (1-8) matched its worst start since 1998.