Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger looks for a receiver in the second half of a game against the Baltimore Ravens, in Baltimore, on Nov. 4, 2018.Gail Burton/The Associated Press
STEELERS 23, RAVENS 16
Ben Roethlisberger threw two touchdown passes, ran for a score and put up an unexpected left-footed punt to help the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Baltimore Ravens 23-16 Sunday. James Conner rushed for 107 yards and caught a TD pass for the Steelers (5-2-1), who have won four straight since falling to the Ravens at home on Sept. 30. Roethlisberger went 28 for 47 for 270 yards. His one-yard run put Pittsburgh up 20-6 in the third quarter, and the 36-year-old showed his grit by missing only one play after being flattened during a sprint from the pocket with just more than 13 minutes left. The Ravens (4-5) scored only one touchdown in their third straight defeat. Joe Flacco was limited to 209 yards passing and sacked twice.
CHIEFS 37, BROWNS 21
Patrick Mahomes passed for 375 yards, threw three touchdown passes — two to Travis Kelce — and continued the best start by an NFL quarterback in 68 years as Kansas City’s impossible-to-handle offence kept rolling with a win over the Browns, who played their first game since coach Hue Jackson’s firing. Kareem Hunt had two scoring runs and one receiving for the Chiefs (8-1), who came in averaging 36.3 points a game with an offence overloaded with weapons for Mahomes. The 23-year-old used all of them in winning his first pro matchup against Baker Mayfield and the Browns (2-6-1). Mahomes and Mayfield didn’t match their epic college meeting in 2016, when they combined for more than 1,700 yards in offence. But the Chiefs put on another impressive offensive show with 499 total yards, averaging 8.6 a snap. In his second season, Mahomes, who made just one start as a rookie, already has 29 TD passes and 3,185 yards, the most by any QB through 10 games since 1950. He has passed for at least 300 yards in eight straight games.
VIKINGS 24, LIONS 9
Danielle Hunter had 3 1/2 of Minnesota’s franchise-record 10 sacks and a fourth-quarter fumble return for a touchdown, making for a miserable afternoon for Matthew Stafford and the Lions. Hunter, the fourth-year defensive end, also was credited with nine tackles and four quarterback hits as the Vikings (5-3-1) limited the Lions to 214 total yards. The Lions had a streak of 25 consecutive games with at least 14 points stopped in humbling fashion. Starting a stretch of three straight NFC North games with a badly needed win before their bye, the Vikings beat the Lions (3-5) at home for the first time in three matchups at U.S. Bank Stadium.
DOLPHINS 13, JETS 6
Rookie linebacker Jerome Baker intercepted Sam Darnold and scored the only touchdown on a 25-yard return with 11 minutes left, and a resilient defence helped the Dolphins beat the Jets. Darnold threw four interceptions and took four sacks, and the Jets went 2 for 13 on third down. The hobbled Dolphins (5-4) endured another wave of injuries, but their defence was much improved after three consecutive poor games, with the quality of the opposition certainly a factor.
BEARS 41, BILLS 9
Jordan Howard scored two touchdowns and the Bears’ defence had two others in a win over the Bills in what proved to be another comedy of errors for Buffalo and its anemic offence. Eddie Jackson scored on a 65-yard fumble return and Leonard Floyd returned a tipped pass 19 yards for another score some 3 1/2 minutes apart in the second quarter. Howard, set up by Tarik Cohen’s 38-yard punt return , then scored on an 18-yard scamper to cap a run in which the Bears scored four touchdowns over a span of 12 minutes, 20 seconds in the second quarter. The Bears won their second in a row and improved to 5-3 to match their best start to a season through eight games since 2013. Chicago also matched its win total from last year. Chicago’s defence forced four takeaways, and limited the Bills to 264 yards offence despite missing star linebacker Khalil Mack, who missed his second straight game with an injury to his right ankle. The Bills continued their bumbling ways in dropping to 2-7. It’s Buffalo’s worst start since winning one of its first nine games in 2010.
FALCONS 38, WASHINGTON 14
Julio Jones ended his 12-game touchdown drought, Matt Ryan threw for 350 yards and four scores and the Atlanta Falcons flexed their offensive muscles with a blowout of Washington that extended their winning streak to three games. Jones caught seven passes for 121 yards with the biggest coming on a 35-yard screen pass with just under four minutes left that sealed the victory. After Jones twisted away from newest Washington defender Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and into the end zone, a swarm of teammates rushed over from the sideline to celebrate Jones’ first touchdown catch since Nov. 26, 2017. Ryan completed 26 of his 38 passes, including touchdown passes of 39 and 10 yards to running back Tevin Coleman and 40 to rookie receiver Calvin Ridley.
PANTHERS 42, BUCCANEERS 28
Cam Newton completed 19 of 25 passes for 247 yards and two touchdowns, Christian McCaffrey racked up 157 yards from scrimmage and scored twice and the Panthers built an early lead and held on to beat the Buccaneers for their 10th straight home win. Newton threw TD passes of 19 yards to Curtis Samuel and 17 yards to Greg Olsen, the seventh straight game he has thrown for at least two touchdowns. McCaffrey had 17 carries for 79 yards and five catches for 78 yards and turned in the play of the game when he leaped over a defender after a reception in the flat and kept going, turning it into a 32-yard gain.
CHARGERS 25, SEAHAWKS 17
Philip Rivers made his 200th consecutive start and kept the Los Angeles Chargers surging at the midpoint of the season, surviving a late rally by Seattle’s Russell Wilson. Rivers threw for 228 yards and two touchdowns, Melvin Gordon added 113 yards rushing and the Chargers won their fifth straight with a win over the Seahawks. Rivers threw touchdown passes of 12 yards to Tyrell Williams and 30 yards to Mike Williams, and let the Chargers defence stymie Russell Wilson until the final minutes. Seattle had won four of five following a 0-2 start. Los Angeles improved to 6-2, Seattle fell to 4-4. Rivers became the fourth quarterback in league history to start 200 straight games, joining Brett Favre, Eli Manning and Peyton Manning. Favre started an NFL-record 297 straight times in the regular season.
TEXANS 19, BRONCOS 17
Brandon McManus missed a 51-yard field goal as time expired, leaving Demaryius Thomas a winner in his homecoming as the Houston Texans escaped Denver with a 19-17 win over the Broncos. The Texans (6-3) won their sixth straight and the Broncos (3-6) lost for the sixth time in seven games. Thomas finished with three receptions for 61 yards, but two of them were back-to-back for 31 and 18 yards on the Texans’ opening touchdown drive. Watson made his 36th career TD throw. The only other quarterbacks in NFL history to have 35 or more TD passes in their first 16 NFL games were Hall of Famers Kurt Warner and Dan Marino.