SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Tom Brady threw for 280 yards and four touchdowns and the New England Patriots beat San Francisco 30-17 on Sunday in Brady’s first road game against the 49ers team he rooted for as a boy. ADVERTISING
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Tom Brady threw for 280 yards and four touchdowns and the New England Patriots beat San Francisco 30-17 on Sunday in Brady’s first road game against the 49ers team he rooted for as a boy.
Brady found Danny Amendola for a 5-yard touchdown to start the fourth quarter then later hit Malcolm Mitchell on a 56-yard score for his fourth TD pass.
Brady also threw short touchdown passes to Julian Edelman and James White on his first two possessions and completed 24 of 40 passes. The AFC East-leading Patriots (8-2) bounced back from last week’s loss to the Seahawks on a rainy day at Levi’s Stadium.
With his 199th career victory, Brady tied Hall of Famer Brett Favre for second-most wins by a quarterback in NFL history. With his next win, Brady will match Peyton Manning for the top spot.
REDSKINS 42, PACKERS 24
LANDOVER, Md. (AP) — Kirk Cousins went deep late and often, throwing for 375 yards and three touchdowns to lead Washington past free-falling Green Bay.
Cousins and the Redskins (6-3-1) have won six of their past eight games going into a showdown with the NFC East-leading Dallas Cowboys, the winners of nine in a row. The Packers (4-6) have lost four consecutive games and five of six, allowing 30 or more points in all of those defeats.
Robert Kelley ran for a career-best 137 yards and three touchdowns against a Green Bay defense that allowed completions of 70, 53 and 44 yards. Cousins was 21 of 30, connecting with Pierre Garcon, DeSean Jackson and Jamison Crowder for touchdowns and becoming the franchise leader in 300-yard games.
Aaron Rodgers was 26 of 41 for 355 yards and three touchdowns, but he couldn’t keep up with what his defense gave up. Washington gained 517 yards and converted on 64 percent of third-down attempts.
SEAHAWKS 26, EAGLES 15
SEATTLE (AP) — Russell Wilson threw for 272 yards and a touchdown, and caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from Doug Baldwin and Seattle rolled past Philadelphia.
Wilson became the first quarterback in franchise history to catch a touchdown, a perfect end-around pass from Baldwin to Seattle’s athletic QB as he ran down the left sideline and dove into the end zone to give the Seahawks (6-2-1) a 23-7 lead.
Wilson was already causing headaches for the Eagles (5-4) well before his TD catch. He scrambled and threw across his body to find Jimmy Graham on a 35-yard catch-and-run touchdown in the second quarter as Seattle built a 16-7 halftime lead that was more than enough. Rookie C.J. Prosise had a 72-yard touchdown run on Seattle’s fifth offensive play — the longest run ever by a Seattle player since CenturyLink Field opened in 2002.
STEELERS 24, BROWNS 9
CLEVELAND (AP) — Le’Veon Bell scored on a 1-yard touchdown run long after time expired in the first half and Pittsburgh had eight sacks and snapped a four-game losing streak with a win over winless Cleveland.
The Steelers (5-5) scored eight points with zeroes showing on the clock before halftime after they were awarded two extra plays because of defensive penalties against the Browns (0-11). Three NFL teams previously went 0-11 before winning a game, while seven had even worse starts.
Steelers defensive tackle Javon Hargrave recovered a fumble by QB Josh McCown for a TD with 3:36 left to seal Pittsburgh’s win. The Steelers came in with a league-low 13 sacks before unloading on the Browns.
Bell finished with a season-high 146 yards rushing. Ben Roethlisberger improved to 20-2 in starts against Cleveland, still paying for not drafting the Ohio native in 2004.
COWBOYS 27, RAVENS 17
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Dak Prescott threw three touchdown passes, two to Dez Bryant, in the first game with Tony Romo as his backup, and the Cowboys set a franchise season record with their ninth straight win.
The Cowboys (9-1) punted on their first four possessions — a first this season — against the NFL’s No. 1 defense. They marched 92 and 88 yards on their first two drives of the second half to break a 10-10 tie. Both drives ended with TD passes to Bryant , who had six catches for 80 yards.
Romo, who broke a bone in his back in a preseason game, was active for the first time since Thanksgiving last year, and was the Dallas backup for the first time in 10 years.
The Ravens (5-5) lost to Dallas for the first time in five games in franchise history.
VIKINGS 30, CARDINALS 24
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Xavier Rhodes returned one of his two interceptions 100 yards for a touchdown and Cordarrelle Patterson took the second-half kickoff 104 yards for a score as the Vikings stopped their four-game losing streak.
The Vikings (6-4) used those momentum-shifting plays they’d been missing to hold onto a first-place tie with Detroit in the NFC North, with a rematch against the Lions looming in four days. After fueling a 5-0 start with four return touchdowns, the Vikings didn’t produce any over their last four games.
Danielle Hunter had two of the team’s four sacks, the most by the Vikings since their most recent victory six weeks ago.
David Johnson rushed for 103 yards and a score and tacked on 57 yards and a touchdown receiving, but the Cardinals (4-5-1) netted only 27 yards after halftime. They fell further into the background of the NFC playoff picture with four more road games remaining.
DOLPHINS 14, RAMS 10
LOS ANGELES (AP) — DeVante Parker caught a 9-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Tannehill with 36 seconds to play, and Miami rallied for two late scores to spoil Jared Goff’s NFL debut with a victory over Los Angeles.
Tannehill passed for 172 yards in the fifth straight victory for the Dolphins (6-4), who were dominated by the Rams’ defense until their final two drives on a rainy day at the Coliseum. Miami barely kept alive its longest winning streak since 2008.
After Jarvis Landry caught a 10-yard TD pass with 4:02 to play, the Dolphins got the ball right back and drove downfield for Parker’s diving TD reception in the corner.
Goff went 17 of 31 for 134 yards in a quiet debut by the NFL’s No. 1 pick in the Rams’ 10th game of the season.
Todd Gurley scored on a 24-yard run in the first quarter for Los Angeles (4-6), but neither team managed much offense until Miami’s late surge.
BUCCANEERS 19, CHIEFS 17
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Jameis Winston sliced up a Kansas City defense missing top cornerback Marcus Peters, and Tampa Bay snapped the Chiefs’ five-game winning streak.
Winston threw for 331 yards to help set up four field goals by Roberto Aguayo, and hit tight end Robert Cross for a touchdown with just over six minutes left to give the Buccaneers (5-5) a cushion.
The Chiefs (7-3) marched swiftly downfield, and Alex Smith hit Albert Wilson with a short touchdown pass with just over two minutes left. But their defense couldn’t stop Mike Evans on third-and-3 just moments later, and the big wide receiver’s sixth reception gave the Buccaneers a first down.
It was the Buccaneers’ fifth straight win over Kansas City dating to 1993.
BILLS 16, BENGALS 12
CINCINNATI (AP) — LeSean McCoy ran 7 yards for a touchdown before suffering a thumb injury, for the Bills (5-5), who had lost three straight heading into their bye week.
Playing their first game in nearly a month at Paul Brown Stadium, the Bengals (3-6-1) couldn’t move the ball consistently or make an extra point. They also lost receiver A.J. Green to an injured right hamstring on the first pass of the game; he was taken off on a cart.
Buffalo’s defense clinched it by knocking down Andy Dalton’s desperation pass into the end zone on the final play. The Bengals managed only five first downs while being shut out in the second half.
The Bills lost two of their top offensive players in the first half. Receiver Robert Woods suffered a knee injury as he was tackled after a catch. McCoy hurt his left thumb late in the half.
GIANTS 22, BEARS 16
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Eli Manning threw a go-ahead 15-yard touchdown pass to rookie Sterling Shepard in the third quarter as the Giants rallied for their fifth straight win.
Manning (21 of 36 for 227) also threw a third-quarter touchdown to Will Tye, Rashad Jennings scored on a 2-yard run and Robbie Gould kicked a 46-yard field goal on a day he missed two extra points in a gusty MetLife Stadium.
The Giants (7-3) got a second-half shutout from their defense and a clinching interception from Landon Collins as injuries on the offensive line finally caught up with the Bears (2-8) and left Jay Cutler under constant pressure.
The winning streak is New York’s longest in the regular season since 2010, while the Bears’ start matches their worst since 2002.
COLTS 24, TITANS 17
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Andrew Luck led the Indianapolis Colts to a big early lead, and the defense held on in the second half. Indianapolis (5-5) evened its record by winning back-to-back games for the first time this season.
And by earning their 11th straight victory in the series, the Colts climbed into second place in the AFC South.
For Tennessee (5-6), it was more frustration against an old nemesis.
Luck was 15 of 28 for 262 yards with two touchdowns and one interception as the Colts scored touchdowns on each of their first three possessions.
Tennessee came back with a 3-yard TD pass from Marcus Mariota to DeMarco Murray in the final minute of the first half and a 34-yard TD pass from Mariota to Tajae Sharpe midway through the third quarter. But the Titans never caught up.
LIONS 26, JAGUARS 19
DETROIT (AP) — Eric Ebron had a go-ahead 1-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter. Ebron’s first carry of his career, a handoff as he went from left to right after lining up as an off-the-line tight end, was set up by his career-long, 61-yard catch.
The Lions (6-4) have won five of six despite trailing in the fourth quarter of every game. For a change, Matthew Stafford didn’t have to lead a winning drive in the final minutes.
Jacksonville (2-8) has lost five straight.
