PANTHERS 41, SAINTS 38
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Cam Newton passed for five touchdowns, capped by a 15-yard scoring strike to Jerricho Cotchery with 1:05 to go, and the unbeaten Carolina Panthers wrapped up the NFC South title with a 41-38 victory over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.
Carolina, the only remaining unbeaten team in the NFL, has the ninth 12-0 start in league history.
Newton, who was 28 of 41 for 331 yards, twice had to lead the Panthers back from fourth-quarter deficits as the Saints (4-8) tried desperately to avoid a four-game losing streak. Jonathan Stewart had a 5-yard scoring run on a pitch from Newton.
Drew Brees passed for 282 yards and three touchdowns. Saints linebacker Stephone Anthony returned a fumble 31 yards for a score and also became the first NFL player to return a blocked extra-point kick for 2 points in NFL history.
EAGLES 35, PATRIOTS 28
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Najee Goode scored on a blocked punt, Malcolm Jenkins returned an interception 99 yards for another touchdown and Philadelphia held on for an improbable victory over New England.
Darren Sproles returned a punt 83 yards for the Eagles’ second special teams touchdown, giving Philadelphia a 21-point lead before the Patriots came charging back.
Tom Brady threw for a touchdown to make it a two-score game and then, after an onside kick, ran it in from the 1 yard-line to cut it to seven points with 3 minutes left.
New England’s second onside kick failed, but the Patriots (10-2) forced a third-down fumble to give Brady one more chance.
The comeback fell short when Brady’s passes bounced out of his receivers’ hands.
Losers of three in a row, the Eagles (5-7) had given up 45 points apiece in consecutive weeks heading into the game against the defending NFL champions and their Super Bowl MVP quarterback.
Now it’s the Patriots on a losing streak — their first back-to-back regular-season losses since 2012.
CARDINALS 27, RAMS 3
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Running backs David Johnson and Kerwynn Williams scored a touchdown apiece and Arizona stuffed St. Louis.
Johnson, a rookie, had 99 yards on 22 carries in his first start and caught one of two TD passes by Carson Palmer, who led an offense that rolled up 524 yards. Williams scored his first career TD on a 35-yard run.
Larry Fitzgerald made his 1,000th reception and topped 1,000 yards for the seventh time. The Cardinals (10-2) have won six in a row, and seven of eight since losing 24-22 at home to St. Louis in Week 4.
The Rams (4-8) have lost five in a row and have been outscored 58-10 the past two.
STEELERS 45, COLTS 10
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Ben Roethlisberger threw for 364 yards and four touchdowns and Pittsburgh overwhelmed Indianapolis.
Antonio Brown caught eight passes for 118 yards and two scores and also returned a punt 71 yards for a touchdown for the Steelers (7-5).
Martavis Bryant hauled in four passes for 114 yards and a score, and DeAngelo Williams added 134 yards rushing as Pittsburgh shook off a slow start to dominate the Colts (6-6) over the final three quarters.
Roethlisberger has 886 yards passing and 10 touchdowns in his last two starts against Indianapolis.
Matt Hasselbeck threw for 169 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions before leaving in the fourth quarter because of neck and shoulder pain. The Colts remain tied with Houston for the lead in the AFC North.
CHIEFS 34, RAIDERS 20
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Jeremy Maclin had two touchdowns catches after fourth-quarter interceptions and Tyvon Branch returned a third interception from Derek Carr for a game-clinching score against his former team and Kansas City rallied for its sixth straight win.
The Raiders (5-7) were leading by six points and driving for more when Carr’s mistakes changed the tide of the game and helped keep the Chiefs (7-5) in the lead in the AFC wild-card race.
Alex Smith threw two touchdown passes and ran for a third score and Maclin had 95 yards on nine catches to lead the Chiefs.
Carr threw for 283 yards and two touchdowns, but his three fourth-quarter interceptions sent Oakland to its fourth loss in five games.
BRONCOS 17, CHARGERS 3
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Brock Osweiler threw for one touchdown and Danny Trevathan intercepted Philip Rivers and returned it 25 yards for a score, leading the Denver Broncos to a victory against hapless San Diego.
Osweiler improved to 3-0 since taking over for the injured Peyton Manning. The AFC West-leading Broncos are 10-2. San Diego fell to 3-9.
Thousands of orange-clad Broncos fans cheered the visitors in what might have been the penultimate Chargers game in San Diego. Chairman Dean Spanos wants to move to an industrial suburb of Los Angeles, and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell last week warned San Diego that it had until the end of the month to come up with an acceptable plan for a new stadium.
The Chargers walked away from stadium talks in mid-June.
49ERS 26, BEARS 20, OT
CHICAGO (AP) — Blaine Gabbert threw a 71-yard touchdown pass to Torrey Smith in overtime after running for the tying TD late in regulation, lifting struggling San Francisco to a victory over Chicago.
The Bears (5-7) had just gone three-and-out after forcing a punt by San Francisco to start the extra period.
On the first play of the 49ers’ second possession, Gabbert found a wide-open Smith along the left sideline, giving San Francisco (4-8) a surprising win over a team that had jumped into playoff contention.
JETS 23, GIANTS 20, OT
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Randy Bullock kicked a 31-yard field goal on the first possession of overtime to give the Jets a stunning win that sent the reeling Giants to their third straight loss.
The Jets (7-5) didn’t seal the win until Josh Brown missed a 48-yard field goal field goal with 6:33 left in the extra session, his first miss in 26 attempts this season. That left many questioning Coughlin and wondering whether the Giants (5-7) are headed for a fourth straight season out of the playoffs.
Coughlin elected to go on a fourth-and-2 from the Jets 4 with his team ahead 20-10 with under nine minutes to play. The play failed.
Ryan Fitzpatrick rallied the Jets from a 10-point deficit in the final 4:24 of regulation. Fitzpatrick hit Brandon Marshall for a 9-yard touchdown with 27 seconds remaining to tie it and went 36 for 50 for 390 yards.
BILLS 30, TEXANS 21
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Tyrod Taylor threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to Charles Clay with 1:53 left to lead Buffalo over Houston.
Taylor finished 11 of 21 for 211 yards and three TDs and also scored on an 8-yard run. Buffalo (6-6) snapped a two-game skid and gained ground on the Texans (6-6) in the AFC playoff race. Sammy Watkins had three catches for 109 yards and a touchdown.
The Texans had a four-game winning streak snapped.
Houston’s Brian Hoyer finished 26 of 44 for 293 yards with three touchdowns but was unable to deliver in the clutch. Hoyer threw four consecutive incompletions on the Texans’ drive after Clay’s touchdown.
The Bills took over and Dan Carpenter secured the win with a 36-yard field goal with 33 seconds remaining. Carpenter otherwise struggled, missing a 50-yard field goal attempt and an extra point.
TITANS 42, JAGUARS 39
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Marcus Mariota scored the go-ahead touchdown on an 87-yard run midway through a wild fourth quarter, and Tennessee edged Jacksonville to snap its 11-game home losing streak.
The Titans (3-9) had not won on their own field since Oct. 12, 2014, when they needed a blocked field goal to beat these very same Jaguars 16-14. The teams combined for much more than that Sunday, scoring six touchdowns in the fourth quarter alone.
Mariota finished with 112 yards rushing, becoming the first Tennessee player to run for at least 100 yards since Chris Johnson on Dec. 29, 2013. The Heisman Trophy winner also threw for three touchdowns and 268 yards.
The Jaguars (4-8) failed at the chance to sweep Tennessee for the first time since 2005. Blake Bortles threw for 322 yards and five touchdowns.
BENGALS 37, BROWNS 3
CLEVELAND (AP) — Andy Dalton threw two touchdown passes and ran for a score and the Cincinnati Bengals moved closer to a playoff berth and the AFC North title with a win over woeful Cleveland, which dropped its seventh straight.
Dalton connected with A.J. Green for a 23-yard TD pass in the second quarter and the Bengals moved to 10-2 for just the second time in team history.
Cincinnati needed a complex scenario to clinch a playoff spot this week, and even if that doesn’t happen, the Bengals are still poised to make the postseason for the fifth season in a row.
Green finished with 128 yards on five catches.
The Browns (2-10) lost for the second time in six days and had two more starters go down with injuries in a season that can’t end soon enough.
Cleveland QB Austin Davis passed for 231 yards in his first start this season.
BUCCANEERS 23, FALCONS 19
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Jameis Winston threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Mike Evans with 1:39 remaining to give Tampa Bay a victory over Atlanta.
The No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft also scored on a 5-yard run and scrambled up the middle of the field 20 yards on third-and-19 to prolong the third game-winning drive of his young career.
Lavonte David sealed the fourth win in six games for the Bucs (6-6), intercepting Matt Ryan’s pass intended for Julio Jones on Atlanta’s final possession. The Falcons (6-6) have lost five straight, six of seven overall, after beginning the season 5-0.
Winston completed 18 of 27 passes for 227 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
But it was the rookie’s timely run and ability to gain another 10 yards after appearing to be stopped at the Atlanta 33 that typified what the 2013 Heisman Trophy winner has meant to Tampa Bay, which has overcome a slow start to contend for a playoff berth.
DOLPHINS 15, RAVENS 13
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Miami intercepted a pair of deflected passes from Matt Schaub to score two touchdowns 20 seconds apart late in the first half, and held on to beat Baltimore.
The score was 0-0 when Reshad Jones intercepted a pass batted by defensive tackle Jordan Phillips to set up the game’s first score. On the next play, Ryan Tannehill hit a leaping DeVante Parker at the goal line for a 38-yard touchdown.
Three plays later, defensive end Derrick Shelby slapped a pass in the air, caught it and ran 22 yards to the end zone, with Schaub giving chase in vain.
The Dolphins (5-7) improved to 4-4 under interim coach Dan Campbell and ended a streak of five consecutive losses to the Ravens (4-8).
