JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jacksonville had the better Josh Allen on this Sunday, with the standout linebacker intercepting a pass, making a sack and recovering a fumble in a 9-6 upset of the Buffalo Bills.

Buffalo’s star quarterback with the same first and last names turned over the ball three times, including twice in the second half. He didn’t have a second-half turnover in any previous game this season.

The Bills (5-3) lost for the second time in seven games. The Jaguars (2-6) rebounded from a debacle at Seattle a week ago.

Buffalo’s Allen completed 31 of 47 passes for 264 yards, with the two interceptions and a fumble.

Unreal ????

Jaguars stun the Bills 9-6. pic.twitter.com/VwMrW0Tqwf

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 7, 2021

The first of two deciding moments came on a third-and-2 play at the Jaguars 37 with about 5 1-2 minutes remaining. Allen fumbled after getting pressured by Dawuane Smoot. The other Josh Allen recovered.

Buffalo got the ball back in the waning minutes and advanced to the Jaguars 39. But Smoot sacked Allen on third down. It was Jacksonville’s fourth sack of the day.

Allen got the first one. It was the first time a player sacked a quarterback with the same name since the NFL started counting sacks in 1982.

Allen and Allen had been looking forward to this meeting, although Buffalo’s Allen made it clear he didn’t want to get acquainted with Jacksonville’s Allen in the backfield. It nonetheless happened when Allen beat Dion Dawkins off the edge.

The players with the same first and last name had never meet before Sunday even though they were both selected with the seventh pick in consecutive NFL drafts. They have exchanged messages via social media.

Falcons 27, Saints 25

NEW ORLEANS — Matt Ryan hit Cordarrelle Patterson for a 64-yard gain with a minute to go, setting up Younghoe Koo’s 29-yard field goal as time expired, and the Atlanta Falcons defeated the mistake-prone New Orleans Saints 27-25 on Sunday.

Ryan passed for 343 yards, connected twice with Olamide Zaccheaus for touchdowns, and the veteran quarterback also ran for a score on a bootleg. Ryan’s second scoring pass gave the Falcons a 24-6 lead with 10:39 left in the fourth quarter. But the Saints rallied to briefly take the lead on Trevor Siemian’s 8-yard pass to Kenny Stills with 1:01 left.

New Orleans then missed a 2-point conversion try for the second time in the game, leaving the door open for the Falcons to win with a field goal.

Falcons win it with the field goal ????

(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/mgBL9Xifk1

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 7, 2021

Ryan needed just one play to burn the Saints’ defense for his fourth completion of more than 30 yards in the game — and his second long connection with Patterson. The versatile running back beat rookie Paulson Adebo down the right sideline to give him six catches for 126 yards on the day.

Even with top Falcons receiver Calvin Ridley unavailable while addressing mental health issues, Ryan completed 23 of 30 passes without a turnover. Russell Gage caught seven passes for 64 yards, rookie tight end Kyle Pitts caught three for 62 yards and Zaccheaus caught three for 58 yards.

Saints coach Sean Payton started Siemian on the heels of Jameis Winston’s season-ending knee injury a week ago, and intermittently mixed in Taysom Hill behind center. Siemian passed for 249 yards and two touchdowns without an interception, and Hill completed both of his passes for 33 yards. But both quarterbacks were hindered by a combination of penalties, dropped passes and protection breakdowns.

James Vaughters’ blind-side sack and strip of Siemian set up Atlanta’s final TD after linebacker Steven Means recovered and returned the fumble 32 yards to the New Orleans 6.

But New Orleans rallied for three straight TDs in the final eight minutes, starting with Siemian’s 5-yard pass to Marquez Callaway, then Alvin Kamara’s 2-yard scoring run with 4:35 to go.

The Saints failed on a 2-point try after Kamara’s touchdown, but New Orleans sacked Ryan for the first two times all game to force a punt and set up its late, go-ahead possession.

Cleats for the World Champs ⚾️ pic.twitter.com/zF1Kpf8LUn

— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) November 7, 2021

At that point, the crowd in the Superdome, which had been booing and grumbling earlier, was in a joyous frenzy — until Ryan silenced it with his deep throw to Patterson.

Ryan’s 39-yarder to Pitts set up the game’s opening score on Koo’s 32-yard field goal. The Saints looked poised to at tie it when they drove to the Atlanta 28, but then went backward 20 yards on three penalties and wound up punting.

Atlanta made it 10-0 on their final drive of the first half. Ryan converted three third downs — on a scramble and passes to Pitts and Gage — during a 92-yard drive that ended with Zaccheaus’ 3-yard catch.

Dolphins 17, Texans 9

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — In the NFL’s most turnover-filled game in more than five seasons, the Miami Dolphins got 244 yards passing and a touchdown throw from surprise starter Jacoby Brissett on the way to beating the Houston Texans 17-9 on Sunday

The game between two teams that entered with 1-7 records and both on seven-game losing streaks lived up — or down — to its billing.

The Dolphins and Texans combined for nine turnovers. Miami had five, Houston four, and somehow the Dolphins (2-7) won anyway.

It was Miami’s first win while committing at least five turnovers since Oct. 18, 1990. The Dolphins had been 0-21 in such games since. And it was the most turnovers in an NFL game since the New York Jets and Kansas City also combined for nine on Sept. 25, 2016.

Brissett filled in again for Tua Tagovailoa, who missed the game with a finger injury on his throwing hand. Tagovailoa had been limited in practice during the week, though Dolphins coach Brian Flores said Friday he was optimistic that the second-year QB would be able to play.

Jaylen Waddle caught eight passes for 83 yards for Miami, which got a touchdown run from Myles Gaskin and a scoring catch from Mack Hollins.

Ka’imi Fairbairn had three field goals for Houston (1-8). Texans quarterback Tyrod Taylor returned after missing most of the season with a hamstring injury and was far from sharp.

Taylor completed 24 of 43 passes for 240 yards, with three interceptions. It added up to a miserable 42.8 rating, after he entered the game with 10 touchdowns and no interceptions in 167 previous throws against the Dolphins.

Tagovailoa was active as Miami’s emergency quarterback, but wound up missing basically his fifth game of the season. Brissett has started four games and played all but two series of Miami’s Week 2 matchup against Buffalo when Tagovailoa left with fractured ribs.

Gaskin took a direct snap 6 yards for the game’s opening touchdown, putting Miami up 7-0 with 4:41 left in the opening quarter.

The Dolphins had managed a total of 10 points in 119 first-half minutes at home this season before a flurry at the end of the second quarter doubled that total — and sent them into the break with a 17-6 lead.

Jason Sanders’ 42-yard field goal with 1:12 remaining put the Dolphins up 10-6, and then Taylor gave Miami a short field with a careless interception. He was scrambling to his left, got near the Houston sideline and apparently thought he was tossing the ball away.

Instead, he wound up flipping the ball to Dolphins linebacker Jerome Baker, who just happened to be on the same sideline. He got two tippy-toed feet down like a receiver as the ball came his way, and Miami was in business again at the Houston 26.

It took four plays for Brissett to cash in that gift, finding a sliding Hollins with a 5-yard scoring throw and Miami’s biggest halftime lead at home in just over a year — since a 28-10 edge at the break over the Los Angeles Rams on Nov. 1, 2020.

Patriots 24, Panthers 6

CHARLOTTE. N.C. — Mac Jones overcame two early turnovers and threw for 139 yards and a touchdown, J.C. Jackson returned one of three Sam Darnold interceptions for an 88-yard touchdown and the New England Patriots defeated the Carolina Panthers 24-6 on Sunday for their fourth win in the past five games.

Rookie running back Rhamondre Stevenson had 106 yards from scrimmage before leaving the game with a head injury and Damien Harris and Hunter Henry scored touchdowns as the Patriots (5-4) improved to 4-0 on the road.

Darnold had another miserable outing for Carolina. He finished 16 of 33 for 172 yards with three picks, two of them by Jackson after the Panthers (4-5) reached the red zone. Darnold has been intercepted nine times and thrown only one touchdown in four career games against the Bill Belichick-coached Patriots.

Unlike two weeks ago, Panthers coach Matt Rhule didn’t bench Darnold despite interceptions on three straight possessions in the second half. As has been the case for most of the year, Darnold spent most of the game under heavy duress after losing starting center Matt Paradis and left tackle Cameron Erving to injuries in the first half.

Even the return of Christian McCaffrey from a five-game absence couldn’t help Carolina’s offense. Christian McCaffrey had 14 carries for 52 yards and caught four passes for 54 yards in his return to the starting lineup.

But Carolina’s only points came courtesy of its defense, which forced two Jones turnovers in New England territory in the first half — one off Brian Burns’ sack-fumble and another when former Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore had an interception.

The Panthers trailed 14-6 at halftime after gaining just 65 yards in the first half.

The game changed for good in the third quarter. The Panthers reached the Patriots 20, but Darnold rolled out of the pocket on a second down play and overthrew tight end Ian Thomas. Jackson intercepted the ball and raced 88 yards down the middle of the field for a touchdown.

Things continued to unravel from there with Darnold picked off on his next two possessions as well, including another by Jackson in the end zone. After that interception, wide receiver Robby Anderson followed Darnold off the field, threw his helmet toward the bench and proceeded to give the quarterback an earful as he passed by him twice on the sideline.

Giants 23, Raiders 16

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Xavier McKinney returned an interception 41 yards for a touchdown early in the second half and picked off another errant throw by Derek Carr late as the New York Giants added to the Raiders’ post-bye woes with a 23-16 victory over Las Vegas on Sunday.

Daniel Jones threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Evan Engram and Graham Gano added three field goals — the last after McKinney’s second pick — for New York (3-6). Filling in for the injured Saquon Barkley, former Raider Devontae Booker ran for 99 yards before leaving late with a hip injury.

The @Giants force a red zone fumble! Clutch play by Quincy Roche to win the game. #LVvsNYG pic.twitter.com/lFYm9JznK6

— NFL (@NFL) November 7, 2021

Carr threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Hunter Renfrow for the Raiders (5-3), who are an NFL-worst 3-16 after a week off over the last 19 years. The usually accurate quarterback also missed a wide-open Darren Waller for another score just before halftime as the Raiders settled for three short field goals by Daniel Carlson, who also missed a 25-yarder in the second half.

Carr, who was 30 of 46 for 296 yards, drove Las Vegas to the Giants 13 in the final minutes. On second-and-10, he was strip-sacked by Quincy Roche and Leonard Williams recovered the loose ball to ice the game.

The game was the first for Las Vegas since receiver Henry Ruggs III slammed his car into another vehicle early Tuesday morning, creating an inferno that killed a woman and her dog. The 22-year-old player was released by the team hours later.

Prosecutors say Ruggs was driving at 156 mph and had a blood-alcohol content twice Nevada’s legal limit. He faces felony charges that carry a potential decades-long prison sentence.

The loss was also the first for interim coach Rich Bisaccia, who last month replaced Jon Gruden, who resigned after it was revealed that he wrote homophobic and misogynistic emails between 2011 and 2018.

McKinney’s go-ahead score came on the third play of the second half with the Raiders facing a third-and-7 at their own 35. Renfrow ran an out pattern in front of the Las Vegas bench and McKinney undercut the route, caught the ball as the receiver fell and had a clear field to the end zone. The safety had missed practice this week while in the covid-19 protocol but was cleared to play on Friday.

The Raiders took a 13-10 halftime lead in a game in which each team scored a touchdown on its opening possession. Jones hit Engram to cap a seven-play, 75 yard drive to start the game and Carr and Renfrow combined from 2 yards out to cap a 73-yard Raiders march.

Carlson of Las Vegas sandwiched field goals of 25 and 32 yards around a 35-yarder by Gano for the other scoring. The 32-yard field goal came one play after Carr missed Waller alone at the back of the end zone.

Broncos 30, Cowboys 16

ARLINGTON, Texas — Teddy Bridgewater threw for a touchdown and had a sneak for another, and the Denver Broncos stymied the NFL’s No. 1 offense when it mattered in a 30-16 victory over Dallas on Sunday, ending the Cowboys’ six-game winning streak.

Dak Prescott returned after missing a game with a strained right calf but couldn’t get the Cowboys (6-2) moving until two meaningless late touchdowns that merely avoided what would have been their worst shutout loss at home since 1985.

The Broncos (5-4) sacked Prescott twice, both by rookie Jonathon Cooper for the first of his career, and generally made him uncomfortable in their first game since trading star pass rusher Von Miller — and with new team sacks leader Malik Reed (hip injury) inactive.

Denver also began without left tackle Garett Bowles (ankle) and lost right tackle Bobby Massie and right guard Graham Glasgow to ankle injuries. Glasgow was taken off on a cart with an air cast on his lower left leg on the final play of the first half.

Still, the Broncos got their offense moving with the running game. They handed Dallas its first double-digit deficit of the season at 13-0 on Bridgewater’s 41-yard touchdown pass to Tim Patrick, who beat NFL interceptions leader Trevon Diggs at the goal line.

The lead reached 30-0 in the Broncos’ seventh consecutive victory in the series, a streak that goes back to 1995. Prescott threw two touchdown passes to Malik Turner in the final five minutes.

Even when the Cowboys thought they did something going right, they didn’t. Dallas blocked a punt on the opening possession of the second half, but didn’t take over inside the Denver 20 because rookie Nahshon Wright touched the loose ball beyond the line of scrimmage and Denver recovered.

The Broncos got to start over at their 19 and drove to the third of four field goals from Brandon McManus, who bounced back from his first missed extra point of the season to nail a 53-yarder.

The Cowboys were 0 for 4 on fourth downs, including failures on their first two possessions. Receiver Amari Cooper had his first drop of the season to force one of those failed fourth downs and Dallas finished with a season-low 290 yards — about half with the game decided.

Prescott, the NFL leader in completion percentage at better than 73%, was 19 of 39 for 232 yards as his franchise-best, four-game run with at least three touchdown passes ended.

Bridgewater finished 19 of 28 for 249 yards with several big throws that helped the Broncos convert 8 of 15 third downs.

Javonte Williams had 17 carries for 111 yards, including a 20-yarder to kick-start Denver’s first scoring drive, which ended on Melvin Gordon’s 3-yard run. Gordon had 80 yards as the Broncos ran for 190 against the league’s sixth-best run defense.

Chiefs 13, Packers 7

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Patrick Mahomes threw for 166 yards and a touchdown, Kansas City relentlessly blitzed the Packers’ Jordan Love in his highly anticipated first start in place of Aaron Rodgers, and the Chiefs held off Green Bay 13-7 on Sunday.

Rodgers tested positive for covid-19 earlier this week, forcing the reigning MVP to miss his first game since the 2017 season. Love responded by going 19 of 34 for 190 yards with a touchdown and an interception, both of them coming in the fourth quarter when the Packers were trying to rally from a 13-0 deficit against the defending AFC champs.

Love’s touchdown pass to Allen Lazard with 4:49 left gave Green Bay a chance. But Mahomes threw a dart to Tyreek Hill on third-and-10 near midfield with less than two minutes left for a first down that allowed the Chiefs to run out the clock.

Travis Kelce had five catches for 68 yards and a touchdown for the Chiefs (5-4), who have won their three of their last four games despite a problematic offense. They finished with just 237 yards against Green Bay.

The Packers (7-2) only managed 301 yards off offense as their seven-game winning streak came to an end. Green Bay also fell to 6-12-1 without Rodgers since 2008.

More than any quarterback or offense, the difference in the first half was Green Bay’s special teams.

Mason Crosby yanked a 40-yard field-goal attempt in the first quarter. He had a 37-yarder blocked in the second period. And when the Packers punted later in the half, one of their downfield blockers accidentally touched the ball with his toe and the Chiefs recovered, eventually turning it into a chip-shot field-goal.

The Packers nearly did the same thing when Amari Rodgers muffed another punt early in the second half.

The officials weren’t a whole lot better. They whiffed on the first-half punt — it took the Chiefs challenging the call for it to be reversed — and referee Shawn Smith had to stop the game numerous times to adjust the clock.

It probably would have ruined any offensive flow had the Chiefs and Packers not done it on their own.

The Chiefs, whose high-flying offense has turned heads on the way to three straight AFC title games, went three-and-out on their first two drives of the second half. The Packers also went three-and-out to start the second half, then watched as Love got sacked by Tyrann Mathieu on third down to force a punt on their next possession.

Green Bay finally put together a solid drive early in the fourth quarter, when Love completed seven straight passes. But after back-to-back incompletions, Love threw a pass toward Davante Adams — who was back from his own positive covid-19 test last week — that was picked off by L’Jarius Sneed near the Kansas City goal line.

The Packers scored on their next drive, but the Chiefs made sure it happened too late to matter.

Cardinals 31, 49ers 17

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — James Conner ran for two touchdowns and caught a 45-yard TD pass from backup quarterback Colt McCoy as the short-handed Arizona Cardinals beat the San Francisco 49ers 31-17 on Sunday.

The Cardinals (8-1) were playing without quarterback Kyler Murray and receivers DeAndre Hopkins and A.J. Green but still had little trouble completing the season sweep against the 49ers (3-5).

Conner scored on TD runs on back-to-back drives in the first quarter to stake the Cardinals to a big lead they never relinquished. Conner’s long catch-and-run TD on Arizona’s first drive of the second half helped put the game out of reach.

Conner finished with 173 yards from scrimmage and now leads the NFL in TDs with 11, all scored in the past seven games.

San Francisco lost a pair of fumbles in the first half and struggled defensively even against McCoy, a career backup who had won two starts in the past 10 seasons. McCoy went 22 for 26 for 249 yards.

The Niners are now winless in four home games this season and are just 1-8 at Levi’s Stadium the past two seasons. San Francisco trails Arizona by four games in the NFC West and can afford few more slipups if the 49ers hope to make a wild-card push.

Jimmy Garoppolo played well, throwing for 326 yards and two touchdowns, but the Niners never got the running game established and were gashed on defense. Garoppolo threw a late interception to end any chance at a comeback.

Chargers 27, Eagles 24

PHILADELPHIA — Justin Herbert threw two touchdown passes and ran for a score, and Dustin Hopkins kicked a 29-yard field goal with 2 seconds remaining, leading the Los Angeles Chargers to a 27-24 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.

Herbert threw for 356 yards, completing 32 of 38 passes. He got 1 yard on a sneak on fourth-and-1 from the Eagles 28 with 1:45 left, setting up Hopkins’ kick.

The Chargers (5-3) snapped a two-game losing streak. The Eagles (3-6) still haven’t won a home game in four tries under rookie coach Nick Sirianni.

The teams traded touchdowns on four straight drives in the second half before the final series.

Los Angeles went ahead 16-10 on Herbert’s 8-yard TD pass to Donald Parham Jr., but Hopkins missed the extra point. The Eagles quickly answered with Kenneth Gainwell running in from the 1 to take a 17-16 lead. Hurts completed 3 of 4 passes on that drive for 63 yards. He was 4 of 9 for 54 yards to that point.

Herbert then ran in from the 8 and connected with Jared Cook on the 2-point conversion to make it 24-17.

But Hurts drove Philadelphia back down the field and fired a 28-yard TD pass to DeVonta Smith to tie at 24-24 with 6:07 left.

Smith had five catches for 116 yards. It was the second 100-yard game for the rookie and 10th overall draft pick.

Facing the NFL’s worst run defense, the Eagles took advantage. They had 176 yards rushing, including 62 from Hurts.

Herbert tossed a 2-yard TD pass to Stephen Anderson to give the Chargers a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter. Herbert drove the Chargers 98 yards on their first possession without scoring. His 1-yard pass to Keenan Allen on fourth down from the 2 turned it over on downs.

The Chargers again went on fourth-and-2 in the second quarter. Joshua Kelley was stopped after a 1-yard gain at the Eagles 26.

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