NFL roundups

Atlanta Falcons head coach Dan Quinn watches play against the Chicago Bears during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2020, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Atlanta Falcons head coach Dan Quinn watches play against the Chicago Bears during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2020, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

BILLS 35, RAMS 32

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Josh Allen completed a 3-yard touchdown pass to tight Tyler Kroft with 15 seconds remaining, and Buffalo survived to beat Los Angeles after squandering a 25-point lead.

The Rams (2-1) were poised to match the third-largest comeback in NFL regular season history after Jared Goff led the team to touchdowns on four straight drives, capped by Darrell Henderson's 1-yard run with 4:30 remaining.

Allen responded by marching the Bills (3-0) on an 11-play, 75-yard drive, which was extended by a pass interference penalty against Darious Williams on fourth-and-7 from the Rams 12. Williams interfered with intended receiver Gabriel Davis at the 3.

One play later, Allen rolled to his left and lobbed a pass over a Rams defender. Kroft made a leaping catch and secured the ball before tumbling to the ground, his second TD of the game.

Allen finished with four touchdown passes and scored on a 1-yard run. The third-year starter, however, contributed to the Rams' comeback bid, with an interception and a lost fumble leading to Los Angeles touchdown drives.

Allen now has had a hand in 12 touchdowns, the most in team history through the first three games of the season. Hall of Famer Jim Kelly held the record of 10, set in 1991.

Buffalo has won its first three games in consecutive seasons, the first time the franchise has done that since 1991-92 and the third time overall.

BENGALS 23, EAGLES 23

PHILADELPHIA -- Joe Burrow tossed two touchdown passes to Tee Higgins in regulation and Carson Wentz dove into the end zone for the tying score in the final minute as Cincinnati and Philadelphia played to a tie.

Philadelphia's Jake Elliott lined up for a 59-yard field goal with 19 seconds left in overtime, but a false start on Matt Pryor forced the Eagles to punt it away and play for the tie.

Both teams are 0-2-1.

Facing an 0-3 start for the first time since 1999, Wentz drove the Eagles 75 yards in the final three minutes. He barreled 9 yards on third and 6 to the Bengals 19 and then ran in from 7 with a head-first dive into the end zone. Elliott's extra point tied it with 21 seconds left.

Neither team could do anything in overtime.

Burrow, the Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 overall pick, calmly picked apart the secondary in the second half, completing 31 of 44 for 312 yards. He's still seeking his first win since leading LSU to the national championship in January.

Wentz struggled again, tossing two more interceptions.

Philadelphia's opening series ended when Wentz's pass on third down was deflected at the line and picked by Logan Wilson at the Bengals 44.

Wentz has thrown multiple picks in three consecutive games. He hadn't done that in two straight games before this season. Wentz hasn't thrown more than seven interceptions since his rookie year but already has six in three games.

TITANS 31, VIKINGS 30

MINNEAPOLIS -- Stephen Gostkowski made his career-high sixth field goal of game, a 55-yarder with 1:48 left that lifted undefeated Tennessee past Minnesota.

Derrick Henry rushed for 119 yards and two third-quarter touchdowns for the Titans, who improved to 3-0 for the first time since 2008 after trailing for most of the game. Ryan Tannehill passed for 321 yards, guiding the Titans on a go-ahead drive in the fourth quarter or overtime for the sixth time in 16 games since becoming the starter.

The Titans are 12-4 behind Tannehill, including the playoffs, and they're 15-0 when Henry hits the 100-yard mark.

Dalvin Cook rushed for a career-high 181 yards and a score for the Vikings, who are 0-3 for the first time since 2013. Kirk Cousins threw for 251 yards and three touchdowns, hitting Kyle Rudolph for a one-handed, toe-tapping grab in the back of the end zone for a 30-25 lead with 10:22 left.

The depleted Vikings defense didn't do enough to hold it, though, as Tannehill moved the Titans just close enough for Gostkowski to go to work. The last three of his makes were all from 50-plus yards.

The Vikings, who were outscored 37-13 in the first half over their first two games, had 464 yards by an offense that finally got going.

49ERS 36, GIANTS 9

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Nick Mullens threw for 343 yards and a touchdown to lead San Francisco to its second win at MetLife Stadium in as many weeks, this time over the error-prone and winless New York Giants.

Jerick McKinnon, Brandon Aiyuk and Jeff Wilson scored on runs on a nearly flawless day for the Niners (2-1), who stayed in West Virginia to prep for the game. Robbie Gould added three field goals for San Francisco, which last week beat the Jets 31-13 and denied Giants Coach Joe Judge a chance for his first win this week.

The Niners had quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo (ankle), defensive linemen Nick Bosa and Solomon Thomas (knees) and running backs Raheem Mostert and Tevin Coleman hurt against the Jets. They complained about the stadium's new turf after the game, saying it was "sticky" and led to injuries.

The Niners' play on Sunday made it a non-issue as Mullens hit 25 for 36 passes and finished with a rating of 108.9. San Francisco outgained New York 420-231, held the ball for 39:44 and forced three turnovers without giving the ball up.

STEELERS 28, TEXANS 21

PITTSBURGH -- James Conner ran for 109 yards and the go-ahead touchdown midway through the fourth quarter as Pittsburgh rallied past Houston.

The Steelers improved to 3-0 for the first time in a decade by putting the clamps on the Texans (0-3) in the second half. Houston managed just 51 yards and two first downs after halftime as an early 11-point lead vanished.

Houston started with the same mark in 2018 and rallied to win the AFC South.

The game turned early in the fourth quarter when DeShaun Watson threw into double coverage deep in Pittsburgh territory with the Texans leading 21-20. Nickel back Mike Hilton picked it off. Pittsburgh put together a 12-play, 79-yard drive, with Conner covering the last 12 to give the Steelers the lead with 6:24 to go.

Pittsburgh's defense then forced its third three-and-out of the second half and Conner did most of the rest as the Steelers chewed up the last 4:47 to ice it.

Ben Roethlisberger threw for 237 yards and two touchdowns in his franchise-record 221st appearance.

BROWNS 34, WASHINGTON 20

CLEVELAND -- Baker Mayfield threw two touchdown passes, Nick Chubb ran for two more and Cleveland beat the Washington Football Team to move over .500 for the first time since 2014.

Washington lost rookie defensive end Chase Young to a groin injury.

With their second consecutive victory under first-year Coach Kevin Stefanski, the Browns are 2-1 for the first time since 2011. It's also the first time they've had a winning record since Week 14 in 2014.

Young, the No. 2 overall pick in this year's draft, left in the second quarter with his injury.

Led by Myles Garrett, the Browns' defense intercepted Dwayne Haskins three times.

Garrett's strip sack and fumble recovery midway through the fourth effectively sealed Cleveland's win.

Mayfield's 3-yard TD pass to rookie tight end Harrison Bryant with 11:14 left helped the Browns shake off a horrid third quarter, when Washington (1-2) scored two TDs to take the lead.

Chubb finished with 108 yards on 19 carries.

BUCCANEERS 28, BRONCOS 10

DENVER -- Tom Brady threw three touchdown passes and Shaq Barrett celebrated his homecoming with two sacks, one for a safety, in Tampa Bay's 28-10 victory over Denver.

With his first road win for the Bucs (2-1), Brady evened his career record against the Broncos at 9-9 with just his fifth win in a dozen trips to Denver.

The Broncos (0-3) completed a second consecutive winless September under Coach Vic Fangio, who donned a face shield after getting fined $100,000 for failing to wear a mask last week.

Barrett, who led the league last year with 19½ sacks in his first season in Tampa, picked up his first sacks of this season in the city where he played from 2014-18 after starring at Colorado State.

His second sack of Jeff Driskel, who started in place of Drew Lock, came in the end zone for a safety that pushed the Bucs' lead to 25-10.

With his full complement of receivers finally available, Brady looked like the methodical QB he was for two decades in New England, driving the Buccaneers to scores on four of five first-half possessions.

LIONS 26, CARDINALS 23

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Matt Prater made a 39-yard field goal as time expired, Matthew Stafford threw two touchdown passes and Detroit beat Arizona to snap an 11-game losing streak dating to last season.

Stafford had a deep completion called back by a holding penalty before he calmly led the Lions downfield, Prater connected on his fourth field goal of the afternoon and the Lions finally got to celebrate a victory.

Arizona's Kyler Murray threw for 270 yards and 2 touchdowns and ran for a score, but he also had 3 interceptions. DeAndre Hopkins caught 10 passes for 137 yards and Andy Isabella had 2 TD receptions.

Arizona (2-1) pushed ahead 23-20 near the end of the third quarter when Murray connected with Isabella from 4 yards out for the pair's second score.

Duron Harmon, Jamie Collins and rookie Jeff Okudah had Detroit's three interceptions.

COLTS 36, JETS 7

INDIANAPOLIS -- Xavier Rhodes and T.J. Carrie each returned an interception for a touchdown, Indianapolis recorded its second safety in as many weeks and Philip Rivers added his 400th career TD pass as Indianapolis routed New York.

Rivers played like his old self, getting rid of the ball quickly while avoiding mistakes on a milestone day.

The 38-year-old was 17 of 21 with 217 yards and played his first turnover-free game since joining Indy (2-1). He became the sixth player in league history to throw 400 career TD passes and the sixth to top 60,000 yards.

And with the help of a suddenly high-scoring defense, Rivers & Co. made it look easy against the winless Jets. New York is 0-3 for the second consecutive season under Coach Adam Gase.

Darnold was 17 of 27 with 168 yards, 1 TD and 3 interceptions.

PANTHERS 21, CHARGERS 16

INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- Carolina's defense forced three Los Angeles turnovers, Joey Slye kicked five field goals and the Panthers beat the Chargers 21-16 on Sunday, giving Coach Matt Rhule his first NFL victory.

The Panthers had not recorded a sack and allowed 65 points in their first two games but looked like a different unit. They sacked Justin Herbert twice and converted three turnovers into 12 points.

Teddy Bridgewater was 22 of 28 for 235 yards and a touchdown in his first win with Carolina (1-2). The seven-year veteran helped the Panthers snap a 10-game losing streak dating to last season.

Herbert became the third quarterback since the merger to throw for 300 yards in his first two starts. The rookie was 35 of 49 for 330 yards and a touchdown, but also had a fumble and an interception.

Keenan Allen had 13 receptions for 136 yards and a TD while Austin Ekeler had 159 scrimmage yards (59 rushing, 80 receiving) and a score.

After forcing Carolina to punt, the Chargers (1-2) took over on the LA 1 with 1:43 remaining. They drove to the Carolina 28 before the drive stalled. Herbert had Allen open in the end zone with 6 seconds left but Tre Boston broke it up.

On the final play, Allen caught the ball at the Carolina 15, but his pitch to Ekeler was too high.

Upcoming Events