NFL Week 5: Panthers erase 17-point deficit in 27-24 win over Dolphins

CHARLOTTE N.C. — Bryce Young threw a go-ahead, 4-yard touchdown pass to Mitchell Evans with 1:59 remaining, Rico Dowdle ran for 206 yards and a score, and the Carolina Panthers overcame a 17-point first-half deficit to beat the Miami Dolphins 27-24 on Sunday.

Young completed 19 of 30 passes for 198 yards and two touchdowns after turning the ball over on Carolina’s first two possessions, leading to two touchdown passes by Tua Tagovailoa and a 17-0 Miami lead.

Making his first start for the Panthers, Dowdle matched the second-highest rushing total in franchise history.

The Panthers (2-3) remained unbeaten at home and equaled a franchise record with their 17-point comeback. Carolina improved to 4-117 (including playoffs) when trailing by 17 or more.

Tagovailoa finished 27 of 36 for 256 yards with TD passes to De’Von Achane, Darren Waller and Jaylen Waddle in Miami’s first game since Tyreek Hill sustained a season-ending knee injury.

The Panthers took the lead midway through the fourth quarter on a 1-yard TD run by Dowdle, but Tagovailoa answered quickly with a 46-yard touchdown pass to Waddle to put the Dolphins ahead 24-20 with 4:50 left.

The Panthers responded with an impressive drive sparked Young’s 17-yard pass to rookie Jimmy Horn on fourth-and-5. Evans’ TD catch was his second score in two games.

The Dolphins (1-4) had a chance to retake the lead, but Patrick Jones II sacked Tagovailoa for a 7-yard loss on third-and-10. Miami coach Mike McDaniel elected to punt with 1:10 left.

On Carolina’s ensuing drive, Miami’s Jack Jones was flagged for pass interference on Hunter Renfrow on a third-down play, giving Carolina a game-sealing first down.

The Dolphins were held to 19 yards rushing, and Tagovailoa was sacked three times.

The momentum changed late in the second quarter when Young found struggling wide receiver Xavier Legette for a 7-yard touchdown strike to cut the lead to 17-7. Legette had come into the game with just 8 yards receiving on four catches this season and had sat out the last two games with a hamstring injury.

A field goal by Ryan Fitzgerald on the final play of the half got Carolina within 17-10. Dowdle’s 53-yard burst set up another field goal to open the second half.

Dowdle, a free-agent pickup from Dallas, also had a 43-yard run. He came within 5 yards of breaking the franchise single-game rushing record held by DeAngelo Williams.

Colts 40, Raiders 6

INDIANAPOLIS — Jonathan Taylor ran for three touchdowns and a 2-point conversion, and Daniel Jones threw two touchdown passes as Indianapolis routed Las Vegas.

The 34-point margin was Indy’s largest since it won 37-3 at Jacksonville in 2013.

Jones finished 20 of 29 for 212 yards and moved to 4-1 as a starter this year, surpassing his combined victory total over the past two seasons with the New York Giants. Taylor rushed 17 times for 66 yards and caught three passes for 20 yards — ending a streak of nine straight games with 95 yards or more from scrimmage.

The Colts (4-1) took full advantage of the Raiders’ miscues. They converted a blocked punt, two interceptions and a turnover on downs into TDs.

Las Vegas (1-4) lost its fourth straight on another productive day for Ashton Jeanty. The rookie had 14 carries for 67 yards and five receptions for 42 yards. Geno Smith was 25 of 36 for 228 yards with the two picks.

Cowboys 37, Jets 22

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Dak Prescott threw two of his four touchdown passes to Jake Ferguson, Dallas scored on two 90-yard drives in the second quarter with a makeshift offensive line missing four starters and the Cowboys rolled past winless New York.

Javonte Williams ran for 135 yards and a touchdown and also caught a TD pass, George Pickens also had a TD reception and the Cowboys (2-2-1) bounced back from a disappointing 40-40 tie against Green Bay last week.

Prescott finished 18 of 29 for 237 yards behind a line that had left guard Tyler Smith (knee), left tackle Tyler Guyton (concussion), right guard Tyler Booker (ankle) and center Cooper Beebe (foot) all out. Right tackle Terence Steele was the only regular starter playing.

The Cowboys’ victory gave coach Brian Schottenheimer a win over the team for which he was the offensive coordinator from 2006-11. It also kept the Jets (0-5) winless under Aaron Glenn, who’s the first coach in franchise history to begin his tenure with five losses. It’s New York’s fourth 0-5 start and first since starting 0-13 in 2020 under Adam Gase.

Dallas’ defense, which has struggled without Micah Parsons, didn’t let Justin Fields and the Jets do much until the game was well in hand. The Cowboys had five sacks of Fields, who was 32 of 46 for 283 yards and late touchdown passes to Andrew Beck and Garrett Wilson, along with 2-point conversion tosses to Mason Taylor and Josh Reynolds.

Saints 26, Giants 14

NEW ORLEANS — Spencer Rattler passed for an 87-yard touchdown to Rashid Shaheed, safety Jordan Howden returned a fumble 86 yards for a score, and New Orleans defeated turnover-prone New York for the Saints’ first victory under rookie coach Kellen Moore.

Rattler earned his first victory in 11 career starts, passing for 225 yards without a turnover, while Shaheed finished with four catches for 114 yards for the Saints (1-4).

Giants rookie QB Jaxson Dart, who won his first career start last week, passed for 202 yards and two touchdowns, but also turned the ball over three times, the first when the ball slipped from his hand during a scramble in the third quarter. Defensive end Cameron Jordan recovered as Dart, laying across Jordan’s legs, disgustedly put both hands over his face.

Dart threw his first two career interceptions in the fourth quarter — both caught by Kool-Aid McKinstry for his first-career picks.

New York (1-4) turned the ball over five times in all, none more costly than when running back Cam Skattebo was stripped by defensive tackle Bryan Bresee at the Saints 12-yard line, giving Howden the chance to scoop up the loose ball on the 14 and sprint untouched the other way early in the fourth quarter.

Broncos 21, Eagles 17

PHILADELPHIA — Bo Nix threw an 11-yard touchdown pass and J.K. Dobbins rushed for a 2-yard score in the fourth quarter as Denver wiped out a 14-point deficit to hand Philadelphia its first loss of the season.

The Broncos batted down Jalen Hurts’ last-gasp pass on the final play of the game to send the Super Bowl champions to just their second loss in their last 22 games.

The Broncos (3-2) caught a huge break in their rally when the Eagles had a late fourth-down conversion called back on an illegal shift penalty whistled against running back Saquon Barkley. The Eagles (4-1) were forced to punt and Hurts could not lead one more comeback.

His final heave on second-and-10 from the 29 was knocked down as time expired to send the jubilant Broncos into the locker room with an improbable win. Nix waved his arms in celebration toward dozens of Broncos fans in orange that stood near the visitors tunnel.

Titans 22, Cardinals 21

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Cam Ward threw for a career-high 265 yards, Joey Slye made a 29-yard field goal as time expired and the Tennessee Titans snapped a 10-game skid with an improbable fourth-quarter comeback, beating the mistake-prone Arizona Cardinals 22-21 on Sunday.

The Titans (1-4) trailed 21-6 in the fourth quarter, but took advantage of two massive Cardinals blunders to win the game.

Emari Demercado looked as if he ran for a game-sealing 72-yard touchdown with 12:51 left, but the running back dropped the ball in celebration just before he ran into the end zone. Instead of giving the Cardinals a 28-6 lead, it was ruled a fumble out the back of the end zone, giving the Titans possession at their 20.

Tennessee took advantage of the blunder, driving 80 yards for its first touchdown in eight quarters. Calvin Ridley caught a pass for 47 yards during the scoring drive, which was capped by Tony Pollard’s 1-yard touchdown run, making it 21-12.

Slye missed the extra point, keeping it at a two-possession game.

Arizona (2-3) made another huge miscue later when Dadrion Taylor-Demerson intercepted Ward’s pass but immediately fumbled. Titans receiver Tyler Lockett fell on the ball in the end zone, cutting the Cardinals lead to 21-19 with 4:51 left.

The Cardinals had a chance to close the game on offense, but couldn’t make it happen. They punted to the Titans with two minutes left and Ward completed a 38-yard pass to Ridley on the game-winning drive, setting up Skye’s field goal.

Ridley finished with five catches for 131 yards.

Buccaneers 38, Seahawks 35

SEATTLE — Lavonte David intercepted Sam Darnold with 58 seconds left and Chase McLaughlin kicked a 39-yard field goal as time expired to give the Tampa Bay Buccaneers a thrilling 38-35 win over the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.

Baker Mayfield tied it for the Bucs (4-1) by throwing an 11-yard touchdown pass to Sterling Shepard with 1:08 left, and the Seahawks (3-2) took over with the chance to drive for the winning score.

After a short completion to Cooper Kupp, Darnold was intercepted while throwing off his back foot and toward the middle of the field. His pass deflected off defensive end Logan Hall’s helmet and into David’s hands.

Tampa Bay took over at the Seattle 36, making further heroics by Mayfield unnecessary. Rachaad White ran three times for 15 yards to get the Bucs well within McLaughlin’s range, Mayfield took a knee to run the clock down, and McLaughlin ended it with his third field goal of the day.

In a duel between quarterbacks who struggled with the teams that drafted them, then spent a season together in Carolina before reviving their careers elsewhere, Mayfield and Darnold combined to throw for 720 yards with just 10 incompletions. Mayfield finished 29 of 33 for 379 yards and two touchdowns, and Darnold was 28 of 34 for 341 yards, four TDs and the one, costly pick.

Two receivers out of Ohio State were the main beneficiaries of the high-level quarterback play. Tampa Bay’s Emeka Egbuka had seven catches for 163 yards and a touchdown, and Seattle’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba finished with eight receptions for 132 yards and a score.

Tampa Bay led 13-0 late in the second quarter. The Seahawks took their first lead at 14-13 early in the third, the Bucs pushed back ahead 28-21 near the end of the period, and Darnold threw two TD passes in the fourth quarter, the second a 21-yarder to Tory Horton that gave Seattle a 35-28 lead.

White had two rushing touchdowns for the Bucs, and Seahawks tight end AJ Barner had two TD catches.

Commanders 27, Chargers 10

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Jacory Croskey-Merritt scored two touchdowns, and the Washington Commanders rallied from a 10-point deficit after forcing a big fumble in the second quarter to score 27 straight points and beat the Los Angeles Chargers 27-10 on Sunday.

Washington’s Jayden Daniels was 15 of 26 for 231 yards and a touchdown in the game’s final minute in helping the Commanders (3-2) win for the first time on the road after missing two games with an injured left knee.

The Chargers (3-2) were one of the least penalized teams in the first three weeks of the season, when they were 3-0. But they were done in by sloppy play last week, with 15 penalties for 107 yards in a 21-18 loss at the New York Giants.

Back home at SoFi Stadium, it happened again. They had 10 penalties for 85 yards and three turnovers in Washington territory.

The Chargers dominated in building a 10-0 lead with five minutes left in the first half, limiting the Commanders to a single first down. That was after the Chargers’ illegal formation on the opening kickoff.

Quentin Johnston fumbled after catching a 19-yard pass from Justin Herbert and Marshon Lattimore snagged it for Washington’s first fumble recovery of the season in the second quarter.

That led to Crosley-Merritt’s first TD of the game, a 15-yard run into the left end. The Chargers were forced to punt on their next possession.

After Daniels was sacked and threw an incompletion, Tress Way punted 55 yards to the Chargers 43. Ladd McConkey took the return 57 yards for a touchdown that was nullified by Marlowe Wax’s penalty for roughing Way, leading to an automatic first down for the Commanders.

Matt Gay kicked a 29-yard field goal for a 10-10 tie with five seconds left before halftime.

The Commanders took the lead for good on their first possession of the third, when Crosley-Merritt ran 5 yards into the left end for a 17-10 lead.

The Chargers’ Trey Pipkins committed two consecutive penalties on the Chargers’ next possession that ended in a punt. They turned the ball over on downs in their only other possession of the third.

Gay’s 36-yard field goal extended the Commanders’ lead to 20-10. Deebo Samuel caught an 8-yard pass from Daniels late in the game.

Already the most-pressured quarterback in the league, Herbert was sacked four times behind an offensive line battered by injuries. He’s been sacked 16 times through five games. He was 22 of 29 for 166 yards, one TD and one interception.

Herbert was the Chargers’ leading rusher with four carries for 60 yards, including a career high-tying 41-yard scramble up the middle on the first scoring drive of the game.