Brady, Patriots rally to stay undefeated
Tom Brady overcame New England’s shaky first three quarters by throwing for a pair of touchdowns in the fourth, and the Patriots beat the New York Jets 30-23 Sunday to remain unbeaten.
Brady completed 13 of 16 passes for 135 yards in the final quarter to overcome a 20-16 lead and give New England a two-game lead over the Jets in the AFC East. He was 34 of 54 for 355 yards overall – numbers that would have been even better if not for the 11 drops by his receivers, six by newly activated Brandon LaFell.
The Jets kicked a field goal on first down and then recovered the onside kick with 15 seconds left. But a false-start penalty on Brandon Marshall ended the game after a short pass from Ryan Fitzpatrick left the Jets 37 yards from the tying score.
N.Y. Giants 27, Dallas 20: Dwayne Harris sped 100 yards with a kickoff return against his former Dallas teammates seconds after the Cowboys had tied the game, and New York moved atop the NFC East with a victory.
New York (4-3) snapped a five-game slide against Dallas (2-4) thanks to big plays by its defense and special teams. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie had two interceptions, returning one 58 yards for a touchdown.
The Cowboys, losers of four in a row without injured offensive stars Tony Romo and Dez Bryant, got a big game from Darren McFadden. Starting running back Joseph Randle left early with a strained back, and McFadden rushed for 152 yards and a TD.
Miami 44, Houston 26: Miami became the first team since at least 1940 to score four offensive touchdowns of at least 50 yards in a half.
The Dolphins led 41-0 at halftime, making the drubbing even more emphatic than a 38-10 win at Tennessee a week earlier in Dan Campbell’s debut as head coach.
Now he’s the fifth interim coach of 26 since 2000 to win his first two games. Since the firing of Joe Philbin Oct. 5, the Dolphins (3-3) have gone from notorious underachievers to contending for their first playoff berth since 2008.
Washington 31, Tampa Bay 30: Kirk Cousins threw three second-half touchdown passes, including the go-ahead score with 24 seconds left, to lead Washington to the largest comeback in franchise history.
Tampa Bay (2-4) was up 24-0 in the second quarter, before Cousins ran for an 8-yard TD to get Washington (3-4) on the board.
Cousins hadn’t completed more than one TD pass in any game all season. But he got a pair of 3-yard scores in the third quarter, sandwiched around an onside kick, to make things interesting.
Then, trailing 30-24, Washington got the ball at its 20 with a little less than 2 1/2 minutes left in the fourth quarter. Cousins capped the drive with a 6-yard TD toss to Jordan Reed.
Oakland 37, San Diego 29: Derek Carr threw three touchdown passes, including a 52-yarder to Amari Cooper, and Oakland turned two interceptions of Philip Rivers into 10 points on their way to an easy victory over in what could be the last game of the AFC West rivalry played in San Diego.
It was the first meeting of the Raiders (3-3) and Chargers (2-5) since their owners announced plans to build a $1.7 billion stadium in an industrial Los Angeles suburb if they can’t get new stadiums in their home markets.
San Diego made it close with three fourth-quarter touchdowns.
Minnesota 28, Detroit 19: Teddy Bridgewater threw for a season-high 316 yards and two touchdowns for Minnesota.
Adrian Peterson rushed for 98 yards as the Vikings (4-2) won an NFC North game on the road for the first time in three years.
The Lions (1-6) had an 11-point lead after Matthew Stafford threw TDs on their first two drives, but they blew it because they couldn’t protect the quarterback.
Atlanta 10, Tennessee 7: Matt Ryan threw for 251 yards and a touchdown pass, and Devonta Freeman ran for 116 yards.
The Falcons (6-1) bounced back from their first loss by grinding out a road win and overcoming two interceptions. Freeman notched his third consecutive game with at least 100 yards, and Atlanta outgained Tennessee 378-256.
The banged-up Titans (1-5) lost their fifth straight.
Jacksonville 34, Buffalo 31: Blake Bortles threw a touchdown pass to Allen Hurns with 2:16 remaining and Jacksonville rallied in the game at Wembley Stadium.
Bortles’ second TD pass of the game came a short time after Buffalo safety Corey Graham intercepted a pass and returned it 44 yards to put the Bills ahead.
The Jaguars (2-5) won their first game in London after losing in each of the past two seasons at Wembley, the home of England’s national soccer team.
St. Louis 24, Cleveland 6: Rookie Todd Gurley rushed for 128 yards and his first two touchdowns, helping St. Louis to the win.
St. Louis (3-3) had four sacks and recovered four fumbles. The Rams scored 10 points off miscues on Cleveland’s first two series, a 17-yard fumble recovery by Rodney McLeod and a field goal after the first of William Hayes’ two sacks and strips of Josh McCown on the day.
Johnny Manziel got mop-up duty for the Browns (2-5) after McCown left favoring his right arm with about four minutes left.
New Orleans 27, Indianapolis 21: Drew Brees threw for 255 yards and one touchdown, Khiry Robinson ran for two scores and New Orleans held on for the victory.
New Orleans (3-4) has won three of its past four. Indy (3-4) still leads the AFC South despite losing its second straight.
Brees finished 28 of 44 and was helped by a running game led by Mark Ingram, who ran for 143 yards and one score as New Orleans took a 27-0 lead.