Browns battle back to win on field goal
Falcons free safety Dezmen Southward, left, and strong safety Kemal Ishmael hit Browns tight end Gary Barnidge during the second half of Sunday’s game.
Houston’s DeAndre Hopkins is hit by Cincinnati defenders Leon Hall (29) and Emmanuel Lamur during the second quarter Sunday.
Brian Hoyer shook off three interceptions, leading the Cleveland Browns down the field in the final minute to set up Billy Cundiff’s 37-yard field goal as time expired to beat the Atlanta Falcons.
Taking advantage of the last of Hoyer’s picks, the Falcons drove for Matt Bryant’s 53-yard field goal with 44 seconds remaining to seize the lead.
But Hoyer completed four straight passes, the last of them to the Falcons 19, and spiked the ball with 5 seconds left. Cundiff trotted on and made his fourth field goal of the game for the Browns (7-4).
Atlanta (4-7), coming in improbably tied for first in the woeful NFC South, dropped to 0-7 against teams outside the division.
Isaiah Crowell scored a pair of touchdowns for the Browns, who also were bolstered by the return of Josh Gordon. He had eight catches for 120 yards.
Seattle 19, Arizona 3: Russell Wilson found backup tight end Cooper Helfet for a 20-yard catch-and-run touchdown late in the third quarter, Steven Hauschka kicked four field goals and the Seattle Seahawks handed the Arizona Cardinals their second loss of the season, 19-3.
Wilson was sacked a season-high seven times by Arizona’s ultra-aggressive defense and the assortment of blitzes they called to confuse and fluster the Seahawks quarterback. But when Seattle (7-4) needed a scoring drive, after squandering advantageous field position throughout the game, Wilson delivered.
The victory was a must for Seattle if it had any hopes of getting back into the division race. The Seahawks entered the day trailing Arizona (9-2) by three games in the NFC West.
Denver 39, Miami 36: Peyton Manning threw three of his four TD passes to Demaryius Thomas and C.J. Anderson ran for 167 yards and the go-ahead score in the Denver Broncos’ win over the Miami Dolphins.
Anderson’s 6-yard run with 5:01 left gave the Broncos (8-3) their first lead of the game at 32-28. T.J. Ward’s 37-yard interception return of Ryan Tannehill’s pass set up Wes Welker’s insurance TD catch.
The Broncos needed it after Tannehill drove the Dolphins (6-5) on another scoring drive, hitting Jarvis Landry from a yard out with 1:34 left. Lamar Miller’s 2-point dive made it a 3-point game.
New England 34, Detroit 9: Tom Brady threw for 349 yards and two touchdowns in a pass-heavy offense against the NFL’s stingiest rushing defense and the New England Patriots stretched their winning streak to seven games with a victory over the Detroit Lions.
The Patriots led 24-6 at halftime as Brady repeatedly found wide-open receivers while the Lions struggled on offense. For the second straight game, Detroit failed to score a touchdown.
LeGarrette Blount rushed for 78 yards and two touchdowns three days after signing with New England after being cut by Pittsburgh.
Green Bay 24, Minnesota 21: Eddie Lacy rushed for 125 yards on 25 carries, both season highs, to help Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers hang on against the Minnesota Vikings.
Lacy scored twice, on a run in the first quarter and a catch in the fourth. Then, he rumbled through the line for two first downs to drain the clock after the Vikings (4-7) cut the lead to three with 3:23 remaining.
Philadelphia 43, Tennessee 24: Josh Huff returned the opening kickoff 107 yards, LeSean McCoy ran for 130 yards and the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Tennessee Titans.
Huff’s return was the longest in franchise history and the 10th non-offensive touchdown for Philadelphia this season.
Cincinnati 22, Houston 13: Andy Dalton threw for 233 yards and a touchdown and A.J. Green had 121 yards receiving on a career-high 12 receptions to give the Cincinnati Bengals a win over the Houston Texans.
The Bengals (7-3-1) led throughout, but Houston (5-6) cut the lead to three points late in the third quarter before Cincinnati tacked on two field goals in the fourth quarter to secure the win.
Rookie Jeremy Hill scored on a 2-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter after an interception by Ryan Mallett for Cincinnati’s only touchdown of the second half.
Indianapolis 23, Jacksonville 3: T.Y. Hilton celebrated the birth of his first child with a 73-yard TD catch, spurring a second-half turnaround that allowed Indianapolis to pull away from Jacksonville.
Andrew Luck was 21 of 32 for 253 yards with one score, but his streak of consecutive 300-yard games ended at eight – one short of Drew Brees’ NFL record.
Chicago 21, Tampa Bay 13: Matt Forte rushed for two touchdowns in the third quarter, and the Chicago Bears beat Lovie Smith and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Jay Cutler threw a 2-yard TD pass to Alshon Jeffery as the Bears (5-6) scored 21 straight points to erase a 10-0 halftime deficit. Forte had a 13-yard run that put Chicago ahead to stay, and then added a 1-yard plunge that made it 21-10.
San Diego 27, St. Louis 24: Marcus Gilchrist intercepted Shaun Hill at the goal line with 56 seconds left to preserve the San Diego Chargers’ victory against the St. Louis Rams that helped tighten the AFC West race.
Gilchrist jumped the route as Hill tried to force a pass to Kenny Britt, who also was covered by Shareece Wright, on second-and-goal from the 4. Hill had beaten Gilchrist on a 7-yard TD pass to Stedman Bailey with 2:04 left that pulled the Rams within three points.
San Francisco 17, Washington 13: Carlos Hyde ran for a go-ahead 4-yard touchdown with 2:59 remaining, and San Francisco barely squeaked by the lowly Washington Redskins with a win that kept them in the thick of the playoff chase.
A fourth-down conversion in their own territory away from losing, the Niners (7-4) finally capitalized with a rare touchdown in the final period on the way to their third straight victory.