NFL Week 9: Ryan Fitzgerald's big kick gives Panthers upset win over Packers

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Rico Dowdle rushed for 130 yards and two touchdowns, and his big run in the final minute set up Ryan Fitzgerald’s last-second 49-yard field goal as the Carolina Panthers beat Green Bay 16-13 on Sunday to snap the Packers’ three-game win streak.

The loss could prove costly for Green Bay (5-2-1). Packers star tight end Tucker Kraft was carted off the field with a knee injury in the third quarter.

Carolina (5-4), a two-touchdown underdog according to BetMGM Sportsbook, bounced back from a 40-9 home loss to Buffalo to get back over .500.

THE PANTHERS WALK IT OFF VS. THE PACKERS IN GREEN BAY ????

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Dowdle had been splitting time with Chuba Hubbard, but Panthers coach Dave Canales said Dowdle would get the bulk of the carries, and the move paid off.

Running behind an injury-riddled offensive line, Dowdle responded with a brilliant 25-carry performance that included one big mistake.

His second touchdown of the day gave the Panthers a 13-6 lead late in the third quarter. But he celebrated that score by thrusting his hips twice, an apparent reference to a “Key & Peele” sketch, and was called for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Fitzgerald’s ensuing 48-yard extra-point attempt into a swirling wind was well short, keeping Carolina’s lead at 13-6.

Dowdle and Fitzgerald both redeemed themselves after Green Bay’s Josh Jacobs scored a tying touchdown from 2 yards out on third-and-goal with 2:01 left. Rather than having to go for 2 to tie the game, the Packers evened the score on Brandon McManus’ extra point.

After Carolina got the ball back, Dowdle’s 19-yard carry on second-and-10 from midfield got the Panthers in field-goal position, and the rookie kicker from Florida State came through as time expired.

Before Jacobs’ touchdown, the Packers had marched inside the Carolina 35 on five of their first six possessions but had only twe field goals to show for it.

Green Bay entered the day with just three turnovers all season, matching Philadelphia for the lowest total in the league. Savion Williams had a red-zone fumble that thwarted a scoring opportunity, and Jordan Love threw an interception that led to a Carolina touchdown Sunday.

McManus converted from 49 and 27 yards out but also missed a 43-yarder that would have put Green Bay ahead in the third quarter. Dowdle’s second touchdown came after Green Bay’s Keisean Nixon was called for pass interference on a third-and-goal incompletion.

Green Bay also passed up a short field-goal attempt while trailing 13-6 in the fourth quarter and went for it on fourth-and-8 from the Carolina 13. Love rolled to his right, couldn’t find anyone open, headed way to his left and then threw across the field. Carolina’s Mike Jackson dropped the ball in the end zone.

Love was 26 of 37 for 273 yards with one interception on his 27th birthday. Jacobs had 17 carries for 87 yards.

Broncos 18, Texans 15

HOUSTON — Bo Nix threw two touchdown passes and Wil Lutz made a 34-yard field goal as time expired and the Denver Broncos rallied to beat the Houston Texans 18-15 Sunday to extend their winning streak to six games.

They improved to 4-0 this season in games where they trailed entering the fourth quarter.

The Broncos (7-2) had punted three times in a row before a 25-yard scramble by Nix got them to their 39 with less than a minute to go. J.K. Dobbins followed with a 9-yard scamper and a 9-yard run by Nix two plays after that set up the game-winning field goal.

Nix couldn’t do much in the first three quarters against Houston’s top-ranked defense, but RJ Harvey’s 27-yard TD reception and Troy Franklin’s 2-point conversion grab tied it at 15-all early in the fourth quarter.

C.J. Stroud sustained a concussion when he was hit at the end of a slide early in the first quarter. Ka’imi Fairbairn tied a career-high with five field goals, but the Texans struggled to move the ball with Davis Mills at quarterback after Stroud’s injury.

They punted six consecutive times after a field goal made it 15-7 on their first possession of the second half.

Mills was 17 of 30 for 137 yards as the Texans fell to 3-5.

Nix 18 of 37 for 173 yards with an interception.

The Broncos were down by six when Courtland Sutton’s 30-yard touchdown grab gave them a 7-6 lead about five minutes before halftime.

Houston regained the lead with a 38-yard field goal with less than two minutes left in the first half.

Michael Bandy fumbled a punt with about 40 seconds left in the second quarter and it was recovered by Jaylin Smith. Houston cashed in on the error with a 40-yard field goal to push the lead to 12-7 at halftime.

Harvey had five catches for 51 yards and his score made him the first rookie to have a touchdown catch in three straight games in franchise history.

Nico Collins had seven catches for 75 yards for Houston after sitting out last week recovering from a concussion

The Texans had a first down on the 1 on their second drive. But Nick Chubb was stopped on first down and British Brooks was stuffed on the next two plays before a false start penalty on fourth down forced Houston to settle for a field goal to make it 3-0.

Stroud was injured on the next possession. He scrambled for 6 yards and was hit on the shoulder near the end of his slide by Kris Abrams-Draine and the back of his head violently bounced off the turf.

Calen Bullock intercepted Nix on Denver’s ensuing possession to give the Texans the ball near midfield. Collins had a 26-yard reception to get that drive going and a 10-yard catch a few plays later gave them a first down at the 2.

But the Texans couldn’t do anything after that and a sack of Mills on third down left them to settle for another field goal to push the lead to 6-0.

Fairbairn missed from 51 on Houston’s first drive.

Chargers 27, Titans 20

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Justin Herbert threw for 250 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another score and the Los Angeles Chargers beat the woeful Tennessee Titans 27-20 Sunday for their third win in four games.

Herbert, who came in leading the NFL with 2,140 yards passing, shook off an early pick-6 and losing both his tackles to injuries before halftime. Right tackle Bobby Hurt hurt a groin in the first quarter, and left tackle Joe Alt was carted off in the second after reinjuring his right ankle.

Odafe Oweh had two of Los Angeles’ four sacks.

The Chargers (6-3) took control midway through the third quarter, stopping the Titans and running back Tony Pollard on back-to-back plays at the 1 to protect a 20-17 lead.

Herbert then drove the Chargers 99 yards over 15 plays chewing up 9 minutes, 3 seconds off the clock. Herbert scored himself, running into the end zone for a 1-yard TD celebrating a 27-17 lead with a baseball slide.

After Joey Slye’s second field goal pulled the Titans within 27-20 with 4:19 left, Herbert helped the Chargers play keep-away to finish off the win. Herbert finished with a team-high 57 yards rushing.

The Titans (1-8) lost their fourth straight and third under interim coach Mike McCoy in his first game against the franchise he coached in San Diego between 2013 and 2016.

Tennessee sacked Herbert six times led by Jihad Ward who had 2 1/2. The Titans played without four defensive starters with cornerback L’Jarius Sneed on injured reserve and tackle Jeffery Simmons, outside linebacker Arden Key and safety Xavier Woods all sidelined by injuries.

Linebacker Cody Barton had a pick-6 off Herbert, stepping in front of Keenan Allen on the Chargers’ second offensive play for a 24-yard interception return for the Titans’ first defensive score this season.

Rookie Chimere Dike, who came in leading the NFL in all-purpose yards, returned a punt 67 yards for a touchdown giving Tennessee a 14-7 lead late in the first quarter. That gave the Titans two TDs on defense and special teams for the first time since Dec. 30, 2012, when they had four against the Jaguars.

The Chargers outgained the Titans 343-206 on offense. Titans rookie Cam Ward threw for 145 yards and snapped a six-game streak with an interception.

Vikings 27, Lions 24

DETROIT — J.J. McCarthy threw two touchdown passes and ran for a score in his return from an ankle injury, leading the Minnesota Vikings to a 27-24 win over the Detroit Lions on Sunday.

McCarthy sealed the victory by throwing a 16-yard pass to Jalen Nailor on third-and-5 from the Minnesota 28, a play that allowed Minnesota to run out the clock.

McCarthy, who led Michigan to the 2023 national championship, was 14 of 25 for 143 yards. He threw both of his scoring passes in the first quarter, connecting with Justin Jefferson from 10 yards out and T.J. Hockenson from 7 yards. He threw an interception on a ball that was ripped away from his intended receiver.

McCarthy ran for a 9-yard touchdown midway through the third quarter, giving the Vikings a 24-14 lead.

The Vikings (4-4) had lost two straight and three of four, but bounced back behind their second-year quarterback, who had missed the previous five games.

The Lions went 3 for 3 on fourth down, converting the third time with Jared Goff’s 17-yard pass to Sam LaPorta early in the fourth quarter. They lined up to go for it on fourth-and-5 on the same drive and got a first down on a neutral-zone infraction by Jonathan Greenard.

Detroit ended up settling for a field-goal attempt, and it got blocked by Levi Drake Rodriguez. Isaiah Rodgers returned it 33 yards to set up Will Reichard’s 20-yard field goal. That proved to be a critical score because Goff threw a 37-yard touchdown pass to Jameson Williams on the ensuing possession.

Lions coach Dan Campbell opted to kick off and use timeouts, hoping to get the ball back, but McCarthy’s clutch throw ended those hopes.

Goff was 25 of 37 for 284 yards with two touchdowns. LaPorta had 97 yards receiving and and a score, and St. Brown had 97 yards on nine catches. Jahmyr Gibbs was held to 25 yards rushing on nine carries and 3 yards on 3 receptions.

Patriots 24, Falcons 23

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Drake Maye threw two touchdown passes and had a pair of turnovers in an uneven performance, and the New England Patriots held on for their sixth straight victory, 24-23 over Atlanta on Sunday after Parker Romo missed a potential tying extra point for the Falcons.

Terrell Jennings had his first career rushing touchdown for the Patriots (7-2).

New England led 24-17 in the fourth quarter when Michael Penix Jr. connected with Drake London for a 40-yard gain along the sideline with Christian Gonzalez in coverage. Gonzalez was injured on the play after being landed on the play, leaving the Patriots without their best cornerback with the Falcons in the red zone.

The Patriots forced a fourth-and-goal on the 8, but London outstretched Carlton Davis III on a jump ball for a toe-tapping touchdown to get the Falcons within a point.

But Romo’s extra point attempt missed wide right.

New England went three-and-out on its next possession, giving the ball back to Atlanta with 3:30 remaining.

The Falcons drove to the Patriots 48 before an intentional grounding penalty on Penix pushed them back and forced them to punt.

New England faced another third down, but this time Maye completed a pass to Hunter Henry for a 17-yard gain that allowed the Patriots to run out the clock.

Maye finished 19 of 29 for 259 yards, but was sacked six times. He also had an interception and was strip-sacked just before halftime to set up a touchdown by Atlanta.

The Falcons have lost their last eight meetings with the Patriots. Atlanta hasn’t won in Foxborough since 1998.

Penix passed for three touchdowns and finished 22 of 37 for 222 yards. Bijan Robinson rushed 12 times for 46 yards as the Falcons dropped to 0-5 when he rushes for fewer than 75.

49ers 34, Giants 24

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Christian McCaffrey caught a touchdown pass from Mac Jones, rushed for another score and the San Francisco 49ers got back on track by running all over the New York Giants on the way to a 34-24 victory on Sunday.

McCaffrey accounted for 173 scrimmage yards — 106 on the ground on his 28 carries and 67 receiving on five catches. Many of the 49ers fans in attendance chanted “CMC! CMC!” after he got into the end zone past the midway point of the fourth quarter.

A week after a franchise-low 10 rushing attempts, Kyle Shanahan’s team ran the ball 39 times for 159 yards, including Brian Robinson Jr.’s 18-yard touchdown that sent a lot of the Giants crowd to the exits.

Jones completed his first 14 passes on the way to finishing 19 of 24 for 235 yards and TD passes to McCaffrey and Jauan Jennings. Jones bounced back from a fumble forced by Brian Burns and caught by Abdul Carter to improve to 5-2 as a starter this season.

Pounding the ball against the Giants with not much resistance and plenty of missed tackles, the 49ers (6-3) quickly moved past a clunker of a loss at Houston, even without starting quarterback Brock Purdy for a fifth consecutive game. Robinson — who torched the Giants (2-7) during his first three NFL seasons with Washington — averaged 10.6 yards a carry to show it was not just McCaffrey having success on the ground.

San Francisco’s defense bounced back from allowing a touchdown on its opponent’s opening drive for the first time this year. The pass rush that has struggled got going as Clelin Ferrell and Sam Okuayinonu each sacked Jaxson Dart, whose TD run and pass to Gunner Olszewski came in garbage time when the result had already been determined.

Dart was 24 of 33 for 191 yards with the TD passes to Theo Johnson and Olszewski. Johnson and Wan’Dale Robinson each had a drop on third down that cut short a couple of promising drives.

Combine those with blunders on defense and special teams and New York has lost three in a row, giving up at least 33 points in each of those games.

Avoiding what would have been their first back-to-back losses this season, the Niners are in the thick of the race for first place in the NFC West.

Bills 28, Chiefs 21

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Josh Allen threw a touchdown pass and ran for two scores to outduel Patrick Mahomes and the Buffalo Bills defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 28-21 on Sunday in a rematch of last season’s AFC championship game.

James Cook had 114 yards rushing and Buffalo’s defense did the rest in harassing Mahomes, who was sacked three times, hit 15 more and finished with the worst completion percentage of his career.

The game was decided in the final 17 seconds, when Mahomes threw three straight incompletions from Buffalo’s 40. The last throw fell short of the end zone and was batted down by rookie Maxwell Hairston. The drive began at Kansas City’s 42 after Matt Prater’s 52-yard field goal attempt for the Bills struck the right upright.

Buffalo improved to 6-2 and has won two straight since losing consecutive games. The Bills have defeated Kansas City in five straight regular-season meetings, but are 0-4 in playoff matchups dating to the 2020 postseason — including last season’s AFC title game.

The Chiefs (5-4) had a three-game win streak snapped after winning five of their last six.

Mahomes, who entered having passed for three touchdowns in each of his past three outings, finished 15 of 34 for 250 yards and no scores.

Rams 34, Saints 10

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Matthew Stafford threw for 281 yards and hit Davante Adams with two of his four touchdown passes in the Los Angeles Rams’ 34-10 victory over the struggling New Orleans Saints on Sunday.

Puka Nacua had seven catches for 95 yards and a touchdown in his return from an ankle injury, and the star receiver came back to the Rams’ sideline after briefly leaving with a chest injury in the second half.

Tyler Higbee also had a TD catch and Kyren Williams rushed for 114 yards and another score for the Rams (6-2), who returned from their bye with 438 yards in their third consecutive win.

Los Angeles also had another strong defensive effort, allowing only 224 yards. The Rams’ past three opponents have combined for only 20 points.

Tyler Shough passed for 176 yards in his first NFL start for the Saints (1-8), who are on their second four-game skid of the season. The second-round pick out of Louisville went 15 of 24, and he threw his first career TD pass to Juwan Johnson 7 seconds before halftime.

Stafford added another prolific performance to his standout 17th NFL season in his 230th start, going 24 of 32 while throwing at least four TD passes for the 19th time in his career. He has passed for 1,408 yards and 16 TDs with no interceptions in the Rams’ past five games.

Nacua missed the Rams’ blowout win over Jacksonville in London, but he returned with another series of big receptions — none prettier than his 39-yard TD grab in tight coverage on a spectacular throw by Stafford in the second quarter.

Nacua also passed former Saints star Michael Thomas for the most catches in a player’s first 35 regular-season games in NFL history.

Adams’ two TD catches gave him 111 in his career, pulling him even with Tony Gonzalez for eighth in league history.

Williams had the Rams’ first 100-yard rushing performance of the season, and he dived in for a score with 12:40 to play.

After Higbee caught his 26th career TD pass to cap an opening drive on which Stafford went 8 for 8, the Rams’ veteran tight end swung a phantom bat and did the Dragon Ball-inspired celebration used all season after big hits by the Los Angeles Dodgers, who secured their second straight World Series title Saturday.

Adams caught a 3-yard slant for his seventh TD of the season on the Rams’ third drive.

Los Angeles led 20-3 when Joshua Karty badly missed a 39-yard field goal, his fifth miss or blocked kick of the season to go with three unsuccessful extra points. Shough finally got the Saints going, driving 71 yards in 47 seconds for Johnson’s 11-yard TD catch.

But the Rams responded with a long TD drive after halftime ending in Adams’ second TD catch. Nacua got hurt on a jet sweep one play before Adams scored.

Jaguars 30, Raiders 29

LAS VEGAS — Trevor Lawrence scored on a quarterback sneak in overtime for his second rushing touchdown of the game, and the Jacksonville Jaguars held on to beat Las Vegas 30-29 on Sunday when nose tackle DaVon Hamilton batted down Geno Smith’s pass to deny the Raiders a winning 2-point conversion.

Jacksonville’s Cam Little broke an NFL record with a 68-yard field goal at the end of the first half, and his 48-yarder with 16 seconds left sent the game to OT.

With 3:24 left in the extra period, Lawrence jumped over the pile and stretched the ball just over the goal line for a 30-23 lead with 3:24 left. Smith responded by hitting Brock Bowers for a 2-yard TD, but his throw on the 2-point try never even reached the end zone because the 335-pound Hamilton got his hands up and swatted it away.

The Jaguars (5-3) ended a two-game skid and improved their playoff chances. Las Vegas (2-6) has lost six of seven.

Lawrence, who battled an illness, completed 23 of 34 passes for 220 yards, and his 7-yard run early in the fourth quarter put the Jags ahead 13-9. Travis Etienne rushed for 84 yards on 22 carries.

Bowers, who missed the previous three games because of a knee injury, caught 12 passes for 127 yards and three touchdowns. Smith passed for 284 yards and four TDs.