MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Ryan Fitzpatrick blocked on a running play, improvised a left-handed completion and led cheers for his replacement during mop-up time Sunday.
Least remarkably, he beat the New York Jets. Everybody is doing that.
Fitzpatrick threw three touchdown passes against one of his many former teams, and the Miami Dolphins held the winless Jets without a third-down conversion until the fourth quarter to get their first shutout in six years, 24-0.
“We’re still a work in progress, but we’re definitely heading in the right direction,” Fitzpatrick said. “
Rookie Tua Tagovailoa made his NFL debut as Fitzpatrick’s replacement with 2:27 left. The Dolphins’ potential franchise quarterback ran onto the field to a big roar from the crowd of 10,772, and a grinning Fitzpatrick waved to encourage more cheers.
The Dolphins (3-3) reached .500 for the first time under second-year coach Brian Flores and moved into second place in the AFC East behind Buffalo. The Jets (0-6) became the NFL’s only winless team and continued their worst start since 1996, increasing the heat on embattled second-year coach Adam Gase.
“We haven’t done anything well this year at all,” Gase said. “We just hurt ourselves so much.”
He said he wasn’t thinking about whether his job might be in jeopardy.
The Dolphins blanked the Jets for the first time since the January 1983 AFC championship game, which they won 14-0.
The teams were a combined 0 for 19 on third downs before the Jets finally converted with 11 minutes left. The Dolphins’ only third-down conversion came on a completion by Tagovailoa, who went 2 for 2 for 9 yards.
After the game, Tagovailoa spent about several minutes sitting alone on the field and on his phone with his parents.
“It was a very special moment for me because my parents weren’t here,” Tagovailoa said. “I sat close to where I think our last drive ended, and I FaceTimed my parents. It was exciting to get out there. It was really fun. My parents were happy to see me out there playing again.”
BUCCANEERS 38, PACKERS 10
TAMPA, Fla. — Tom Brady outplayed Aaron Rodgers in a rare meeting between the Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks.
It was the 43-year-old Brady’s first signature victory since signing with the Bucs (4-2) after a historic 20-year run with the New England Patriots, which included nine NFL title game appearances and six championships.
He got his favorite target from his days with the Patriots into the mix, throwing a 12-yard touchdown pass to Rob Gronkowski for a 28-10 halftime lead. It was Gronkowski’s first TD since December 2018 and the 79th for the quarterback/tight end tandem — tied for fourth on the all-time list with Miami’s Dan Marino and Mark Clayton.
Brady also threw a 7-yard TD pass to rookie Tyler Johnson and Ronald Jones had a pair of rushing TDs for Tampa Bay, which got an even more impressive performance from its defense.
Rodgers threw two interceptions — Green Bay’s first turnovers of the season — within a three-pass span of the second quarter to turn a 10-0 Packers lead into a 14-10 deficit.
49ERS 24, RAMS 16
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Jimmy Garoppolo threw three TD passes in the first half and Jason Verrett’s first interception in more than four years helped preserve the lead in San Francisco’s victory over Los Angeles.
Garoppolo bounced back after a rough performance last week in a loss to Miami when he got pulled at halftime after struggling on a bum ankle to help the defending NFC champion 49ers (3-3) snap a two-game skid.
He staked the Niners to a 21-6 halftime lead over the Rams (4-2) by relying mostly on short passes and connecting on TDs with Deebo Samuel, George Kittle and Brandon Aiyuk.
San Francisco’s defense stepped up with some key stops in the second half. Los Angeles got in the red zone on its first possession of the third quarter, but settled for a field goal after Andrew Whitworth committed a false start on third-and-1.
GIANTS 20, WASHINGTON 19
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Joe Judge and the New York Giants have finally won, and they have rookie Tae Crowder and a risky gamble by Washington coach Ron Rivera for making them relevant again.
Crowder, the last player taken in the NFL draft — Mr. Irrelevant — scooped up a fumble and ran 43 yards for a touchdown with 3:28 to play.
The game wasn’t decided until Rivera rolled the dice after a 22-yard touchdown pass from Kyle Allen to Cam Sims with :36 left in regulation to cap a 10-play, 75-yard march.
Instead of playing for overtime, Rivera had Washington (1-5) go for the win with a 2-point conversion in an attempt to get back in the mediocre NFC East race. Allen found no one open, scrambled to his left and had his pass under pressure fall incomplete.
It gave the 38-year-old Judge his first win as an NFL coach and allowed the Giants (1-5) to avoid a second 0-6 start since 2013.
STEELERS 38, BROWNS 7
PITTSBURGH — Not yet Cleveland. At least, not in Pittsburgh.
James Conner ran for 101 yards and a touchdown and the Steelers battered the Browns in a 38-7 blowout victory on Sunday to improve to 5-0 for the first time since 1978. Ben Roethlisberger added 162 yards passing and a score.
Pittsburgh emphatically ended Cleveland’s four-game winning streak and extended the Browns’ skid at Heinz Field to 17 and counting.