Bengals regain AFC North lead
Andy Dalton made up for two second-half turnovers by scoring on a 1-yard sneak with 57 seconds left Sunday, rallying the Cincinnati Bengals to a 27-24 victory over the Baltimore Ravens that tightened the AFC North race.
After three bad weeks, the Bengals (4-2-1) were back atop the tightly bunched division.
The Bengals wasted an 11-point lead as Dalton’s fumble and interception helped the Ravens (5-3) pull ahead 24-20 with 3:59 left.
That’s when Dalton pulled it out against the NFL’s stingiest defense. He threw a 53-yard pass to Mohamed Sanu on third-and-10 and took it the final yard on fourth down, completing a 10-play, 80-yard drive.
The Ravens appeared to regain the lead when Steve Smith Sr. caught a pass and went 80 yards to the end zone with 32 seconds left, but the receiver was called for pushing off to get open.
Detroit 22, Atlanta 21: Matt Prater kicked a 48-yard field goal on the last play of the game, lifting the Lions after trailing by 21 points. Prater capped a second straight late winning drive for the Lions (6-2), who also rallied to beat the Saints last week.
It was the first field goal the Lions made from 40-49 yards all season.
Matthew Stafford threw for 325 yards and two touchdowns, giving him 120 TDs, breaking the Lions record of 118 held by Bobby Layne.
Arizona 24, Philadelphia 20: Carson Palmer lofted a 75-yard touchdown pass to rookie John Brown with 1:21 to play to give Arizona a stunning victory in a matchup of two of the NFL’s four one-loss teams entering this week.
The Cardinals (6-1) had a goal-line stand that forced the Eagles (5-2) to settle for a 20-yard field goal that put Philadelphia up 20-17 with 1:56 left.
Then on third-and-5, Palmer – who also had an 80-yard TD pass to Larry Fitzgerald – heaved the ball deep, where the speedy Brown gathered it in and crossed the goal line just as he was being tackled.
Seattle 13, Carolina 9: Russell Wilson threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Luke Willson with 47 seconds left. It’s the third straight year Wilson has brought the Seahawks (4-3) back from a second-half deficit to beat the Panthers on the road. In the previous two seasons, Wilson threw second-half TD passes to Jermaine Kearse and Golden Tate in tight defensive games.
New England 51, Chicago 23: Tom Brady threw five scoring passes and the streaking Patriots crammed three touchdowns into the last two minutes of the first half.
New England (6-2) scored on all five of its possessions in the half – and one of Chicago’s – on its way to its fourth straight win. The Bears (3-5) fell behind 45-7 early in the second half and lost for the fourth time in five games.
In one of the best statistical games of his brilliant career, Brady completed 30 of 35 passes for 354 yards. He threw three scoring passes to Rob Gronkowski and one each to Tim Wright and Brandon LaFell.
Minnesota 19, Tampa Bay 13, OT: Anthony Barr forced a fumble on the first play of overtime and returned it 27 yards to score. The stunning end came just 17 seconds after the Vikings (3-5) extended the game on Blair Walsh’s 38-yard field goal on the final play of regulation.
Kansas City 34, St. Louis 7: Jamaal Charles ran for two touchdowns, Knile Davis returned a kick 99 yards for another score and the Chiefs trounced their cross-state rival.
Cairo Santos added a pair of field goals for Kansas City (4-3), including a career-best 53-yarder. Alex Smith was 24 of 28 for 226 yards, while Davis capped a run of 34 unanswered points with a short touchdown run late in the fourth quarter.
Miami 27, Jacksonville 13: Rookie Blake Bortles had two interceptions returned for touchdowns, costly mistakes that helped the Dolphins win. Louis Delmas (81 yards) and Brent Grimes (22 yards) scored on the turnovers for the Dolphins (4-3), who won consecutive games for the first time this season.
Buffalo 43, N.Y. Jets 23: Kyle Orton threw four touchdown passes and the Bills forced six turnovers, three each by Geno Smith and Michael Vick.
Orton won for the third time in four games since replacing EJ Manuel as the starting quarterback for the Bills (5-3), tossing TD passes to Robert Woods, Lee Smith, Scott Chandler and Sammy Watkins against the listless Jets (1-7).
Cleveland 23, Oakland 13: Brian Hoyer threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Andrew Hawkins early in the fourth quarter and the Browns avoided a second straight embarrassing loss.
Hoyer’s TD to Hawkins put the Browns (4-3) ahead 16-6, shortly after Cleveland’s defense came to the rescue.
Safety Donte Whitner forced a fumble late in the third quarter with a huge hit on Oakland running back Darren McFadden as the Raiders (0-7) were driving deep into Cleveland territory.
Houston 30, Tennessee 16: Arian Foster ran for 151 yards and two touchdowns and also caught a pass for a score in the franchise’s 200th game.
The Texans (4-4) also snapped a three-game skid as Foster topped 100 yards rushing in his fourth straight game. J.J. Watt had two sacks and forced a fumble as the Texans beat the team they replaced in Houston for the fourth time in five games.