NFL: Mariota throws 4 TDs, Titans upset Packers
NEW ORLEANS — Tennessee rookie Marcus Mariota came back from his recent injury to pass for 371 yards and four touchdowns, including a 5-yard scoring pass to Anthony Fasano in overtime, and the Titans snapped a six-game skid.
The Saints (4-5), who had won three in a row, led 21-10 but could not put away the Titans (2-6), who turned in a feisty performance in their first game since coach Ken Whisenhunt was fired and replaced by Mike Mularkey.
Sunday also marked Mariota’s return from a knee sprain that sidelined him for two games. He completed 28 of 39 passes.
Brees was 28 of 39 for 389 yards and three touchdowns. He also scored on a short keeper.
Both teams missed go-ahead field goal attempts in the last two minutes of regulation. First, Tennessee’s Ryan Succop hit the cross bar on a 55-yard try that would have been a career long. Then, in the final minute, Kai Forbath, who a week earlier had kicked a winning field goal, had his 46-yard attempt partially blocked by Coty Sensabaugh.
PANTHERS 37,
PACKERS 29
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Cam Newton threw three touchdown passes and ran for another score Sunday, and the Carolina Panthers took an important step toward securing home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs with a 37-29 win over the Green Bay Packers.
Newton completed 15 of 30 passes for 297 yards and ran for 57 yards on nine carries in one of the better games of his five-year NFL career.
The Panthers (8-0) extended their regular-season win streak to 12 and put themselves in terrific shape in the NFC standings, where every other team has at least two losses.
Aaron Rodgers threw for 369 yards and four touchdowns and led a furious fourth-quarter comeback from 23 points down, but couldn’t complete it. Linebacker Thomas Davis intercepted Rodgers on a fourth-and-goal pass at the Carolina 3 with 1:54 left.
The Packers (6-2) have lost back-to-back games after starting 6-0.
STEELERS 38,
RAIDERS 35
PITTSBURGH — Chris Boswell hit an 18-yard field goal with 2 seconds left to lift the Steelers after Ben Roethlisberger left with a potentially serious left foot injury.
The Steelers (5-4) survived after Roethlisberger exited midway through the fourth quarter after getting sacked by Aldon Smith. Replacement Landry Jones found Antonio Brown for a 57-yard reception on Pittsburgh’s final drive to set up Boswell’s winning kick.
Brown finished with 17 catches for 284 yards, both franchise records. DeAngelo Williams ran for 170 yards and two scores as the Steelers rolled up 597 yards of total offense.
Derek Carr threw for 301 yards with four touchdowns and an interception for the Raiders (4-4). Carr found Michael Crabtree for a 38-yard score to tie it with 1:15 to go, more than enough time for the Steelers to get Boswell in range for a chip shot even without their franchise quarterback. Oakland running back Latavius Murray ran for 96 yards but left in the third quarter with a potential concussion.
Roethlisberger passed for 334 yards with two touchdowns and a pick as he moved past Hall of Famers Johnny Unitas and Joe Montana and into 13th on the NFL list for career yards passing. When he’ll get to add to that total is uncertain after he was taken from Heinz Field for further evaluation after Smith fell on his left foot.
COLTS 27,
BRONCOS 24
INDIANAPOLIS — Andrew Luck threw two touchdown passes and Adam Vinatieri made a tie-breaking 55-yard field goal with 6:13 to play. The Colts (4-5) ended a three-game losing streak and stayed atop the AFC South by ruining Peyton Manning’s return to Indy again. It was their first win outside the division.
Denver (7-1) was the only unbeaten team to lose this weekend.
Luck was brilliant, going 21 of 36 for 252 yards. He broke a 17-17 tie with a TD pass early in the fourth quarter, then helped snap a 24-24 tie by setting up Vinatieri for the field goal on the next drive. Indy ran out the final 5:57.
Manning was 21 of 36 for 281 yards with two TDs and two interceptions. He couldn’t break Brett Favre’s record for regular-season wins (186) by a quarterback and fell 3 yards short of becoming the NFL’s career passing leader.
PATRIOTS 27,
REDSKINS 10
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Julian Edelman and LeGarrette Blount scored touchdowns before the Redskins ran their second play.
Tom Brady completed 26 of 39 passes for 299 yards and two touchdowns, including an 8-yarder to Edelman on the opening drive. New England (8-0) then pulled off a surprise onside kick, but that drive stalled when Edelman fumbled.
Washington could manage only a single play: Kirk Cousins’ pass that bounced off Pierre Garcon and was intercepted by Logan Ryan. New England then marched downfield to make it 14-0 on Blount’s 5-yard score.
Washington (3-5) managed 15 total yards in the first quarter, and the Patriots continued to pull away. New England has scored in 31 straight quarters — every one this season except the first quarter of the first game.
Blount carried 29 times for 129 yards for New England, which won easily even though Brady threw his second interception of the season. The Patriots also lost a fumble at home for the first time since 2013.
EAGLES 33,
COWBOYS 27, OT
ARLINGTON, Texas — Sam Bradford threw a 41-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Matthews in overtime and Philadelphia handed Dallas its sixth straight loss, the Cowboys’ longest losing streak in 26 years.
Matthews broke away from Byron Jones and ran past safety J.J. Wilcox on the first possession of overtime. Matthews had nine catches for 133 yards.
Jordan Hicks had a 67-yard interception return for a touchdown for the Eagles (4-4).
DeMarco Murray had 161 total yards — 83 rushing and 78 receiving — in his first game on his old home field after winning the NFL rushing title with the Cowboys last season.
The Cowboys (2-6) have lost every game without quarterback Tony Romo, who will miss at least one more with a broken left collarbone.
VIKINGS 21,
RAMS 18, OT
MINNEAPOLIS — Adrian Peterson rushed for 125 yards on 29 carries, helping set up Blair Walsh’s 40-yard field goal in overtime after Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater left with a concussion early in the fourth quarter.
In a predictably grind-it-out game between similarly constructed teams, the Vikings (6-2) ended Todd Gurley’s streak of games with 125-plus yards rushing at four. Gurley gained 89 yards and a touchdown on 24 attempts for the Rams (4-4), who received the overtime kickoff but went three-and-out.
Marcus Sherels tiptoed along the sideline for a 26-yard return of Johnny Hekker’s 63-yard punt, and Peterson ran the ball well into Walsh’s range to give the Vikings their seventh straight win at home.
Greg Zuerlein made four field goals for the Rams, including a 53-yarder with 17 seconds left in regulation to make up for the 48-yarder that went wide right a few minutes before. Zuerlein had a career-long 61-yarder among three field goals in the second quarter, the first from 60-plus yards in the NFL in nearly two years. Zuerlein became the second kicker in NFL history with multiple field goals from 60-plus yards, joining Oakland’s Sebastian Janikowski.
BILLS 33,
DOLPHINS 17
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Sammy Watkins had a career-best performance in leading the Bills. He made eight catches for 168 yards and a 44-yard touchdown that broke open the game late in the third quarter. Rookie running back Karlos Williams scored twice and LeSean McCoy also scored on a 48-yard run.
Buffalo (4-4), coming out of its bye week, won for the first time in four home games.
The Dolphins (3-5) continued to regress. Coming off a 36-7 loss to New England, Miami has lost two straight since winning its first two games when interim coach Dan Campbell took over after Joe Philbin was fired.
The Dolphins also are 0-4 against AFC East rivals. Lamar Miller scored twice on 1-yard runs.
McCoy had 112 yards rushing before leaving the game in the fourth quarter with an injury to his right shoulder.
49ERS 17,
FALCONS 16
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Blaine Gabbert threw a pair of second-quarter touchdown passes to Garrett Celek for the undermanned 49ers.
The 49ers (3-6) head into the bye on a winning note after a week of change.
Making his first start in more than two years, Gabbert didn’t take a sack behind an offensive line that has faced heavy scrutiny all year. Celek made TD catches of 1 and 11 yards to give him three on the year and San Francisco’s stout defense flustered Matt Ryan despite the patchwork use of backups because of a rash of injuries.
Gabbert threw an interception midway through the fourth quarter, giving Atlanta (6-3) another chance with 7:14 to go. After an incompletion, Ryan hit six straight throws, but eventually missed Julio Jones in the end zone and Atlanta kicked a field goal and fell just short.
JETS 28,
JAGUARS 23
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Ryan Fitzpatrick threw two touchdown passes while playing with a torn ligament in his left thumb, Chris Ivory ran for two scores and the Jets took advantage of late mistakes by the Jaguars.
Brandon Marshall had a 20-yard TD catch after the Jets (5-3) recovered a muffed punt late in the fourth quarter, helping New York end a two-game skid in a messy performance by both sides.
Blake Bortles threw for 381 yards and two touchdowns, including a 20-yard pass to Bryan Walters with 2:16 left to keep Jacksonville in it. But Marcus Williams came up with his second interception of the game on Jacksonville’s next possession as the Jets sent the Jaguars (2-6) to their 13th straight road loss.
GIANTS 32,
BUCCANEERS 18
TAMPA, Fla. — Eli Manning threw for two touchdowns, helping the first-place New York Giants rebound from last week’s debacle at New Orleans.
Josh Brown booted four field goals for the Giants (5-4), including fourth-quarter kicks of 53 and 44 yards that gave New York some breathing room after the Bucs (3-5) pulled within two points.
Manning threw first-half TD passes of 8 yards to Reuben Randle and 4 yards to Shane Vereen. The Giants’ defense, bolstered by the return of Jason Pierre-Paul, did its part by keeping the Jameis Winston-led Tampa Bay offense out of the end zone until the rookie scrambled 10 yards for a TD that made it 20-18 with 9:25 remaining.
Winston’s 2-point conversion pass to the rear of the end zone was caught out of bounds. The Giants sealed the victory with Brown’s third and fourth field goals, plus Trevin Wade’s fumble recovery TD on the game’s final play.
