Vikings shut down Falcons 14-9 for 8th straight victory
Atlanta • Case Keenum threw a pair of touchdown passes, and the Minnesota Vikings extended their winning streak to eight straight games, keeping the Atlanta Falcons out of the end zone in a 14-9 victory on Sunday.
Keenum, who was 25 of 30 for 227 yards, hooked up with Jerick McKinnon on a 2-yard scoring play in the second quarter and went to Kyle Rudolph for a 6-yard TD on the first play of the fourth quarter, capping an 89-yard drive that consumed more than 8 minutes.
Minnesota (10-2) turned in a stellar defensive effort against a Falcons team that led the league in scoring a year ago and seemed to be finding its stride during a three-game winning streak, averaging nearly 32 points.
The Falcons were held without a touchdown for the first time since Dec. 13, 2015, when they were blanked 38-0 by Carolina. Matt Ryan’s streak of 30 straight games with a touchdown pass also ended, going down as the eighth-longest in NFL history.
Gould kicks FG to life Garoppolo, 49ers over Bears 15-14
Chicago • Robbie Gould kicked a 24-yard field goal in the closing seconds, Jimmy Garoppolo threw for 293 yards in his first San Francisco start, and the 49ers beat the Chicago Bears 15-14 on Sunday.
Gould made five field goals in his first appearance at Soldier Field since Chicago cut him prior to the 2016 opener. The Bears’ all-time leader in points and field goals made, he shouted at their sideline after he nailed the winner.
Garoppolo was solid in his first start since the 49ers (2-10) acquired him from New England before the trade deadline in October. The suburban Chicago product completed 26 of 37 passes with an interception. And the 49ers picked up the win after losing their first five road games.
Chicago (3-9) dropped its fifth straight, and coach John Fox fell to 12-32 in three seasons with the Bears.
Aaron Jones’ TD run gives Packers 26-20 OT win over Bucs
Green Bay, Wis. • Aaron Jones’ 20-yard touchdown run on his only carry, with 5:59 left in overtime, gave the Green Bay Packers a 26-20 win Sunday over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
With the passing game struggling, Green Bay (6-6) wore down the Buccaneers on the ground. Brett Hundley had runs of 18 and 7 yards on the drive to start overtime.
The Packers grinded out a win to stay in the playoff race, though they trail NFC North leader Minnesota by four games. They hope to get starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers back from a collarbone injury in a couple weeks.
Jameis Winston threw two touchdown passes to Cameron Brate in the quarterback’s shaky return from a shoulder injury. But the defense couldn’t hold up in overtime for the last-place Buccaneers (4-8).
Jaguars thump Colts again, stay in thick of AFC playoff hunt
Jacksonville, Fla. • Blake Bortles threw two touchdown passes, Leonard Fournette scored for the first time in six weeks and the Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Indianapolis Colts 30-10 Sunday, sweeping the series for the second time since they joined the AFC South in 2002.
The Jaguars (8-4) bounced back from a last-second loss at Arizona, reached eight wins for the first time since 2010 and remained in the thick of the playoff picture.
Jacksonville’s top-ranked defense kept the Colts (3-9) at bay most of the game. The only blemish was a 40-yard touchdown pass from Jacoby Brissett to T.Y. Hilton on a fourth-and-2 play in the third quarter.
The Colts trailed 10-0 and 24-3 before Hilton got loose. They lost their third straight and sixth in seven games, and were eliminated in the division race.
Patriots win eighth straight with 23-3 victory over Bills
Orchard Park, N.Y. • Rex Burkhead scored twice and the New England Patriots won their eighth straight by beating the Buffalo Bills 23-3, continuing their dominance over their AFC East rival.
Tom Brady went 21 of 30 for 258 yards and an interception, while improving to 27-3 over Buffalo and breaking Brett Favre’s NFL record for most wins by a quarterback against any one opponent. Favre had 26 wins over Detroit.
New England (10-2) won its 14th consecutive road game — the second-longest streak in NFL history — and reached double-digits in victories for the 15th consecutive season. New England also improved to 30-5 against Buffalo since Patriots coach Bill Belichick was hired in 2000.
The Bills (6-6) not only lost the game, but also lost starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor, who was carted off the sideline with a left knee injury in the opening minute of the fourth quarter. It’s unclear when Taylor was hurt, though he began favoring his left leg after being sacked by David Harris on Buffalo’s first play from scrimmage.
McCown, Chiefs' poor discipline lead Jets to wild 38-31 win
East Rutherford, N.J. • Josh McCown scored on a 1-yard quarterback sneak with 2:15 left, and the New York Jets bounced back from a brutal start to hold on for a wild and wacky 38-31 win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.
Chandler Catanzaro kicked a 21-yard field goal to put the Jets (5-7) ahead with 3:55 left. But Kansas City’s Bennie Logan was called for a personal foul for hitting long snapper Thomas Hennessy on the play. That gave the Jets the ball at the 1 with a new set of downs.
The loss by the Chiefs (6-6) ruined the return of cornerback Darrelle Revis, who made his debut with Kansas City after signing a two-year deal last week. Revis, who played eight years over two stints with the Jets, started for the Chiefs, but spent the second half on the sideline.
Kansas City has dropped six of its last seven after opening the season 5-0. Meanwhile, New York kept its faint playoff hopes alive by snapping a two-game skid and holding on to a fourth-quarter lead. The Jets had blown leads in the fourth quarter of three of their last four losses.
Titans win 6th time in 7 games, beat battered Texans 24-13
Nashville, Tenn. • LeShaun Sims intercepted a pass intended for DeAndre Hopkins in the end zone with 1:02 left, and the Tennessee Titans beat the Houston Texans 24-13 on Sunday to stay atop the AFC South.
Marcus Mariota also ran for a touchdown and threw for another, but the Titans needed the interception to preserve the win with Tom Savage throwing for a career-high 365 yards despite the Texans losing four offensive players to injuries during the game.
Injuries have taken a toll on the Texans (4-8), but a rearranged offensive line gave up only four sacks. Savage even made up for three consecutive false starts by Jeff Allen, who slid over to left tackle, after having fourth-and-4. Savage found Stephen Anderson with a 22-yarder.
Sims beat Hopkins for the interception on the next play, and Derrick Henry ran 75 yards up the left sideline for a TD three plays later to seal the win. Henry finished with 109 yards rushing.
Flacco, Ravens crank up some offense in 44-20 win over Lions
Baltimore • The Baltimore Ravens got another ball-swiping performance from their opportunistic defense, and this time — for a change — the offense also contributed to a significant victory.
Joe Flacco threw for 269 yards and two touchdowns, and the Ravens forced three pivotal turnovers Sunday in a 44-20 win over the Detroit Lions.
Matthew Stafford completed a team-record 20 straight passes in the second half, twice cutting the deficit to a touchdown. But Detroit (6-6) lost a second straight following a three-game winning streak.
The Ravens came in with three shutouts and an NFL-best 26 takeaways.
They upped that total to 29 with three huge plays: A strip-sack of Stafford by Eric Weddle that led to a touchdown in the second quarter; a fourth-quarter interception that set up a game-clinching TD run by Collins with four minutes to go; and a 45-yard interception return for a touchdown by Weddle against Jake Rudock with 2:26 remaining.
Dolphins end 5-game losing streak by beating Broncos 35-9
Miami Gardens, Fla. • The Miami Dolphins took an early lead for a change, and it grew from there.
Xavien Howard returned an interception for the Dolphins’ second touchdown in a seven-second span during the first half, and they went on to snap a five-game losing streak by beating the reeling Denver Broncos, 35-9.
Thanks to a dominating defense, Miami (5-7) won for the first time since Week 7. The Broncos (3-9) went from bad to worse, losing their eighth game in a row to extend the franchise’s longest skid in 50 years.
Miami scored two safeties in a game for the first time in franchise history and held Denver to 1 for 13 on third-down conversions. Trevor Siemian, the Broncos’ third starting quarterback in as many weeks, went 20 for 42 for 219 yards with three interceptions and three sacks.
Rivers passes Chargers to victory over Browns, 19-10
Carson, Calif. • Philip Rivers passed for 344 yards and hit Keenan Allen for a touchdown, and the surging Chargers moved into a tie for first place in the AFC West with a victory over the winless Browns.
Allen had 10 catches for 105 yards in his third straight big game for the Chargers (6-6), who have won six of eight to pull even with Oakland and slumping Kansas City atop the division with four games to go.
New kicker Travis Coons hit four field goals as the Chargers grinded out a win over the Browns (0-12), whose only victory in their previous 30 games was a 20-17 win over the then-San Diego Chargers on Christmas Eve last season.
Cleveland trailed 19-7 entering the fourth quarter, and Zane Gonzalez hit an early field goal before the Browns mounted a long drive. But Joey Bosa forced a fumble with a vicious sack of DeShone Kizer deep in Chargers territory, and Denzel Perryman recovered with 4:48 to play. The Browns had another drive, but Adrian Phillips’ interception ended it.
Josh Gordon had four catches for 84 yards in his first NFL game since 2014 for the Browns. The talented receiver had been suspended for over 2½ seasons for numerous violations of the NFL’s substance abuse policies, but was reinstated last month.
Marshawn Lynch tops 100 yards as Raiders defeat Giants, 24-17
Oakland, Calif. • Oakland’s Marshawn Lynch had a 51-yard touchdown run and got his first 100-yard rushing game since coming out of retirement, in New York’s first game without Eli Manning starting in 13 years.
Oakland (6-6) overcame the absences of starting receivers Michael Crabtree (suspension) and Amari Cooper (injury) to win consecutive games for the first time since the opening two games of the season. The Raiders moved into a three-way tie for first place in the AFC West with Kansas City and the Chargers.
Geno Smith lost two fumbles before throwing a touchdown pass in the fourth quarter to Evan Engram for the Giants (2-10), while Manning spent the day on the sideline watching.
New York benched Manning earlier in the week, ending his streak of 210 straight regular-season starts, and he spent his first game as a spectator since Nov. 14, 2004, walking around the sideline with no helmet and listening to the play calls with an ear piece.
Smith finished 21 for 34 for 212 yards.
Rams clinch winning season with 32-16 victory over Cardinals
Glendale, Ariz. • Jared Goff passed for two touchdowns, Los Angeles took advantage of two early interceptions thrown by Blaine Gabbert, and the Rams solidified their grip on first place in the NFC West.
The Rams (9-3) won for the sixth time in seven games to clinch their first winning season since 2003 when they were in St. Louis. They took the season series with the Cardinals for only the second time in the last 14 years and first since 2012.
The Rams had routed the Cardinals in London 33-0 on Oct. 22 and were in the lead almost from the start of this one. Gabbert’s interceptions helped Los Angeles score 16 early points, including Alec Ogletree’s 41-yard interception return for a touchdown, and the Rams led the rest of the way.
The Cardinals (5-7) cut the lead to 16-13 in the second quarter and were down 19-13 at the break.
The Rams added an 11-yard touchdown pass from Goff to Sammy Watkins in the third quarter and got a blocked field goal from Michael Brockers in the fourth, when Arizona could have cut the lead to seven.
With Adrian Peterson sitting out with a neck injury, and despite playing with cracked ribs, Kerwynn Williams carried 16 times for 97 yards, three shy of his career best.
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