Dec 6, 2020 6 min read

Derek Carr threw a 46-yard touchdown pass to Henry Ruggs III with 5 seconds left, lifting the Las Vegas Raiders to a wild 31-28 victory over the still-winless New York Jets on Sunday.

The Jets took a 28-24 lead with 5:34 remaining on Ty Johnson’s 1-yard touchdown and the defense came up with a big fourth-down stop that appeared to end New York’s agonizing wait for its first win of the season.

But New York went three-and-out with a chance to seal it – and Carr and the Raiders had 35 seconds left to try for what appeared an unlikely comeback. Four plays later, Carr found Ruggs streaking downfield – beating rookie cornerback Lamar Jackson – and delivered the ball perfectly for the winning score.

The Raiders (7-5) celebrated wildly, and the deflated Jets (0-12) could only imagine what could – and maybe should – have been.

“Our players work way too hard to go through this (crap),” New York coach Adam Gase said.

Cleveland 41, Tennessee 35: Baker Mayfield and the Cleveland Browns can do more than just run the ball, and the NFL’s longest active playoff drought is moving closer to an end after 18 seasons.

Mayfield threw for a season-high 334 yards with all four of his touchdown passes in the first half, and the Browns scored the first 17 points before holding on to win their fourth straight, 41-35 over the Tennessee Titans.

With both chasing AFC playoff berths, the Browns looked like the team leading a division – they are second in the AFC North behind the unbeaten Pittsburgh Steelers – as they improved to 9-3 for the third time in their expansion era.

The Titans (8-4) came in leading the AFC South and left tied after the Colts beat Houston 26-20, though Tennessee still has the better division record. The Titans fell apart after a bad fourth-down spot on their opening drive. NFL rushing leader Derrick Henry lost his first fumble this season on the next drive.

Mayfield kept the Browns from needing the NFL’s top rushing offense in what had been expected to be a run-game showdown against the Titans and Henry. The Browns had their best-scoring half ever, leading 38-7 at halftime.

Miami 19, Cincinnati 7: Tua Tagovailoa returned from a thumb injury that forced him to miss one game, throwing for a season-high 296 yards and a score to help the Miami Dolphins rally past the Cincinnati Bengals 19-7 in a game that included five ejections and a benches-clearing confrontation.

The Dolphins lost their best defender when NFL interception leader Xavien Howard was thrown out late in the first half, but they limited Cincinnati to 25 yards after halftime and finished with six sacks.

New England 45, L.A. Chargers 0: Cam Newton ran for two touchdowns and the New England Patriots scored two TDs on special teams in a 45-0 rout of the Los Angeles Chargers.

Newton has four games this season with multiple rushing touchdowns, breaking the league record for a quarterback. He had three such games in 2011, an achievement he shared with five others, and has 10 in his career, three more than any other QB.

Indianapolis 26, Houston 20: Philip Rivers threw two touchdown passes in the first half and the Indianapolis defense dominated in the second half, lifting the Colts to a 26-20 victory over the Houston Texans.

The Texans had a chance to take the lead with about 90 seconds lef. They were at the Colts 2 when Deshaun Watson fumbled a low snap and Anthony Walker pounced on it to seal Indy’s win.

The Colts (8-4) led 24-20 at the break after Rivers threw TD passes of 21 and 39 yards. Their offense didn’t score after that, but the defense held Houston (4-8) scoreless in the second half and Justin Houston added a safety.

Green Bay 30, Philadelphia 16: Aaron Jones rushed for 130 yards and delivered a game-clinching 77-yard touchdown run with 2:36 left as the Green Bay Packers withstood a fourth-quarter comeback attempt to defeat the Philadelphia Eagles 30-16.

Aaron Rodgers connected with Davante Adams on two of his three touchdown passes and reached a couple of career milestones to help Green Bay (9-3) hand the Eagles (3-8-1) their fourth consecutive loss. Kingsley Keke had two of the Packers’ seven sacks.

N.Y. Giants 17, Seattle 12: Alfred Morris scored a pair of third-quarter touchdowns, the New York defense shut down Russell Wilson and one of the top offenses in the league, and the Giants stunned the Seattle Seahawks 17-12.

Double-digit underdogs, the Giants (5-7) handed Seattle its first home loss of the season.

L.A. Rams 38, Arizona 28: Jared Goff threw for 351 yards, Darrell Henderson ran for a crucial 38-yard touchdown and the Los Angeles Rams moved into a tie for the NFC West lead with a 38-28 win over the Arizona Cardinals.

The Rams (8-4) have won three of four and are tied with the Seahawks.

New Orleans 21, Atlanta 16: The New Orleans Saints finally gave up a touchdown but the defense stood tall at the end to preserve their ninth straight victory, 21-16 over the Atlanta Falcons.

The Saints (10-2) also clinched a playoff berth.

Detroit 34, Chicago 30: The Detroit Lions won their first game under interim coach Darrell Bevell, rallying to beat the slumping Chicago Bears 34-30.

Adrian Peterson scored from the 5 after Romeo Okwara strip-sacked Mitchell Trubisky with about two minutes left, capping a big comeback. Matthew Stafford threw for 402 yards and three touchdowns for the Lions (5-7), who came away with a wild win following a major shakeup after a Thanksgiving loss to Houston. They fired general manager Bob Quinn and coach Matt Patricia while elevating Bevell, their offensive coordinator.

Minnesota 25, Jacksonville 24: Dan Bailey kicked a 23-yard field goal with 1:49 left in overtime for Minnesota after he missed two extra points and a 51-yard try with 13 seconds remaining in regulation, lifting the Vikings to a 27-24 victory over Jacksonville.

The Jaguars (1-11) lost their 11th straight game.