NASHVILLE — Derrick Henry took a direct snap and ran 5 yards for a touchdown 3:30 into overtime and the Tennessee Titans remained undefeated, rallying to beat the Houston Texans 42-36 on Sunday.
The Titans (5-0) overcame two turnovers, Stephen Gostkowski having a field goal blocked and missing another and the defense giving up 335 yards passing and four touchdown passes to Deshaun Watson.
Watson’s final TD pass put Houston (1-5) up 36-29 with 1:50 left, but a 2-point conversion attempt failed.
Ryan Tannehill, who had three of his 19 career game-winning drives to start this season, drove the Titans 76 yards before finding A.J. Brown on a 6-yard TD pass with 4 seconds left. Gostkowski made the extra point, and the Texans fielded a squib kick to send it into overtime.
Henry, last season’s rushing leader, ran for 202 yards in regulation, including a 94-yard TD run. In overtime, he took a screen pass 53 yards on the second play. He capped the six-play, 82-yard drive with a wildcat snap for his second TD of the game, finishing with 212 yards rushing and 52 yards receiving.
Titans have their second-best start in franchise history since this franchise won its first 10 games in 2008. Their win, combined with Pittsburgh’s victory over Cleveland, sets up a showdown between the AFC’s last two undefeated teams here in a week.
The Texans (1-5) came in as the two-time defending AFC South champs and nearly gave interim coach Romeo Crennel a second straight victory.
Tennessee led 21-10 at halftime. Houston safety Justin Reid blocked a 27-yard field goal attempt by Stephen Gostkowski, who later missed a 37-yarder wide left, in the third quarter to set up David Johnson’s 1-yard TD run.
The Titans lost left tackle Taylor Lewan to an injured knee on the next drive, and J. J. Watt sacked Tannehill two plays later, stripping him of the ball. Jacob Martin recovered for Houston at the Titans 4, and Watson found Randall Cobb at the right pylon for a 4-yard TD pass and a 23-21 lead.
That started a scoring spree.
Henry broke off a 94-yard TD run, racing to the other end zone in 14 seconds. Watson answered two plays later with a 53-yard TD pass to Will Fuller for a 30-29 lead with 8:37 left.
The Titans had fans in the stands for the second time this season with capacity bumped up to 15% or about 10,000.
Better yet, they had a handful of players back from the reserve/covid-19 list: defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons, receivers Adam Humphries and Cam Batson, cornerback Kristian Fulton and fullback Khari Blasingame. Only wide receiver Corey Davis and tight end MyCole Pruitt from the active roster remain on that list.
Giants 20, Washington 19
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Joe Judge and the New York Giants have finally won, and they have rookie Tae Crowder and a risky gamble by Washington coach Ron Rivera for making them relevant again.
Crowder, the last player taken in the NFL draft — Mr. Irrelevant — scooped up a fumble and ran 43 yards for a touchdown with 3:28 to play. That gave the Giants a 20-19 victory over Washington on Sunday in a battle of the two of the NFL’s worst teams.
The game wasn’t decided until Rivera rolled the dice after a 22-yard touchdown pass from Kyle Allen to Cam Sims with :36 left in regulation to cap a 10-play, 75-yard march.
Instead of playing for overtime, Rivera had Washington (1-5) go for the win with a 2-point conversion in an attempt to get back in the mediocre NFC East race. Allen found no one open, scrambled to his left and had his pass under pressure fall incomplete.
It gave the 38-year-old Judge his first win as an NFL coach and allowed the Giants (1-5) to avoid a second 0-6 start since 2013.
Washington rallied from a 10-point deficit to tie the game midway before a rare Giants quarterback pressure turned the game around.
On a third-and-9 from the Giants 45, linebacker Kyler Fackrell strip-sacked Allen for an 8-yard loss. Crowder chased down the bouncing ball, gained possession and ran untouched to the end zone — to the applause of teammates. No fans were allowed at the game at MetLife Stadium.
Daniel Jones, who wasted a long third-quarter drive with an awful interception, threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Darius Slayton and Graham Gano kicked two field goals.
Allen threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Logan Thomas, and Dustin Hopkins, who missed from 47 yards on the opening drive, hit two shorter field goals.
Jones, who rushed for a team-high 74 yards, was 12 of 19 for 112 yards and an interception by Kendall Fuller in the back of the end zone that ended a nine-minute-plus drive.
Allen was 31 of 42 for 280 yards and an interception by James Bradberry, which set up the Slayton score.
Washington used a pair of time-consuming 70-yard drives to tie the game at 13-all with 8:56 left in the fourth quarter.
Trailing 13-3 late in the second quarter, Rivera made a gutsy call on fourth-and-4 from the New York 40. Allen hit Dontrelle Inman for 15 yards after scrambling away from pressure. He capped the 13-play drive with a 5-yard rainbow toss to Thomas.
Bears 23, Panthers 16
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Nick Foles threw for one touchdown and ran for another, Chicago’s defense forced three turnovers and sacked Teddy Bridgewater four times and the Bears held on to beat the Carolina Panthers 23-16 on Sunday.
Foles finished with 198 yards passing and a touchdown and David Montgomery added 58 yards on the ground as the Bears (5-1) opened the season 3-0 on the road for the first time since 2006, when they reached the Super Bowl.
Bridgewater was under duress most of the game. He was held to a season-low 216 yards passing and was intercepted twice.
Chicago improved to 2-1 with Foles as the starter. The former Super Bowl MVP also rallied the Bears past the Falcons when coach Matt Nagy benched Mitchell Trubisky in Week 3.
The Panthers had two chances to tie it late but couldn’t convert.
On a fourth-and-2 from the Bears 36 with 2 minutes left, D.J, Moore couldn’t haul in a one-handed catch on a pass that was slightly overthrown. Carolina’s defense came up with a stop, but DeAndre Houston-Carson intercepted Bridgewater to seal the victory for Chicago.
The Panthers (3-3), who had their three-game winning streak snapped, ran 12 plays in the Bears red zone in the first half, but none gained more than 5 yards and Carolina entered the locker room trailing 13-6 at halftime.
Broncos 18, Patriots 12
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Denver kicker Brandon McManus had six field goals and linebacker Malik Reed came up with a big sack late to help the Broncos hold on for an 18-12 win over the New England Patriots Sunday in a game twice delayed following positive coronavirus tests for both teams.
Sunday’s game was originally scheduled for last week but got postponed twice, first by a day, then by seven. The delay was caused after multiple Patriots players tested positive for covid-19, including quarterback Cam Newton and reigning Defensive Player of the Year Stephon Gilmore.
New England (2-3) rallied from an 18-3 deficit and nearly pulled off the comeback, but had three turnovers.
Drew Lock finished 10 of 24 for 189 yards in his first start since injuring his shoulder in Denver’s Week 2 loss to Pittsburgh. He was steady early, but had back-to-back interceptions in the fourth quarter to let the Patriots back into the game.
Denver’s defense entered the game with two takeaways on the season. It forced three on Sunday, coming up with two interceptions and a fumble recovery.
It underscored a rough day for New England, which was held to 288 yards.
It was the first game back for Newton, who returned after missing New England’s Week 4 loss at Kansas City. He finished 17 of 25 for 157 yards. He also rushed 10 times for 76 yards and touchdown.
The Broncos’ win snapped a four-game losing streak in New England.
Denver (2-3) won despite being without leading rusher Melvin Gordon and top pass catcher Noah Fant, who was out with an ankle injury. Phillip Lindsay started in Gordon’s place and rushed 23 times for 101 yards. Tim Patrick had four catches for 101 yards.
McManus, who connected on field goals of 52 and 54 yards, now has six games with multiple 50-yard field goals. That is tied with Baltimore’s Justin Tucker for the most in NFL history.
Falcons 40, Vikings 23
MINNEAPOLIS — Julio Jones returned from injury to catch two of Matt Ryan’s four touchdown passes, as the Atlanta Falcons beat the Minnesota Vikings 40-23 on Sunday for their first victory of the season — one week after the firing of head coach Dan Quinn.
Kirk Cousins threw three interceptions in the first half for the first time in his career, and the Falcons (1-5) turned those picks into 17 points to build a 20-0 lead at the break that proved to be solid enough for even this falter-prone team.
The depleted Vikings (1-5) surrendered 40-plus points for the second time this year after going five straight seasons without any such games. After another injury left them with only rookies available at cornerback for more than half of the game, Ryan completed 30 of 40 passes for 371 yards to rebound from a three-week stretch during which he only found the end zone once.
Jones, who missed all but one half of the previous three games with hamstring trouble, had eight receptions for 137 yards. Calvin Ridley and Hayden Hurt each chipped in a touchdown catch, Younghoe Koo kicked four field goals, and the Falcons rewarded interim coach Raheem Morris with a win in his debut after Quinn and general manager Thomas Dimitroff were dismissed less than four years after the infamous blown 28-3 lead in the Super Bowl.
The Falcons held a 15-point lead over Dallas and a 16-point advantage on Chicago earlier this season, both times past the midpoint of the fourth quarter, and lost both.
With a fresh start, the Falcons had little to lose and played like it from the opening kickoff with an obvious energy embodying the upbeat Morris. Linebackers coach Jeff Ulbrich was promoted to fill Morris’ defensive coordinator role, and the strategy was superb for a group that entered the game in the bottom five in the league in most of the major statistical categories.
Deion Jones picked off a dangerous into-a-crowd pass by Cousins for Justin Jefferson on Minnesota’s first play from scrimmage. A.J. Terrell, who returned from a two-week absence on the covid-19 reserve list, snagged his first career interception, also intended for Jefferson. Foyesade Oluokun got one too in Atlanta’s first first-half shutout in 12 games since Nov. 17, 2019, against Carolina.
Cousins became the first Minnesota quarterback with three first-half interceptions since Daunte Culpepper on Dec. 1, 2002, also against Atlanta. With the NFL’s leading rusher, Dalvin Cook, out with a groin injury, the Vikings netted only 32 rushing yards after racking up 201 rushing yards in a 27-26 loss at Seattle the week before. Trailing 10-0 early in the second quarter, Mike Boone was stopped on fourth-and-goal from the 1.
Lions 34, Jaguars 16
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Matthew Stafford finally got his first touchdown pass against Jacksonville. It helped the Detroit Lions build a lead even they couldn’t squander.
Rookie D’Andre Swift ran for a career-high 116 yards and two touchdowns, Stafford got an elusive TD pass against the only team he hadn’t thrown one against in 12 NFL seasons and the Lions hammered the Jaguars 34-16 on Sunday.
Detroit (2-3) made this one look easy, somewhat surprising considering the Lions had lost six straight in which they led by double digits. They’ve already done it three times this season, collapsing in losses to Chicago, Green Bay and New Orleans.
It probably helped that this one came against hapless Jacksonville (1-5), which has now lost five straight and allowed at least 30 points in each. It’s the first time in franchise history the Jaguars have done that, putting the jobs of coach Doug Marrone and defensive coordinator Todd Wash in more jeopardy.
Lions coach Matt Patricia can breathe easy for a week. He had lost 15 of his previous 17 games, raising speculation about his future with the franchise.
But Detroit looked like a different team following its bye week.
Stafford completed 19 of 31 passes for 223 yards, with an interception on a tipped pass. His 1-yard TD toss to T.J. Hockenson came on fourth down; it looked like Patricia and Lions really wanted the long-awaited passing score against Jacksonville.
Kenny Golladay finished with four receptions for 105 yards.
Swift had a breakout performance. The rookie from Georgia showed power, speed and elusiveness while improving to 4-0 at EverBank Field. His Bulldogs have won three straight against rival Florida at the NFL venue.
It was the first time since 2013 that Detroit produced a 100-yard rusher and a 100-yard receiver in the same game.
The Lions set the tone with a touchdown on their opening possession, becoming the fourth opponent in six games to get six points on their first drive against Jacksonville.
They were even better on defense, with the league’s worst-ranked run defenders stuffing James Robinson and pressuring Gardner Minshew early and often.
Dolphins 24, Jets 0
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Ryan Fitzpatrick blocked on a running play, improvised a left-handed completion and led cheers for his replacement during mop-up time Sunday.
Least remarkably, he beat the New York Jets. Everybody is doing that.
Fitzpatrick threw three touchdown passes against one of his many former teams, and the Miami Dolphins held the winless Jets without a third-down conversion until the fourth quarter to get their first shutout in six years, 24-0.
“We’re still a work in progress, but we’re definitely heading in the right direction,” Fitzpatrick said. “
Rookie Tua Tagovailoa made his NFL debut as Fitzpatrick’s replacement with 2:27 left. The Dolphins’ potential franchise quarterback ran onto the field to a big roar from the crowd of 10,772, and a grinning Fitzpatrick waved to encourage more cheers.
The Dolphins (3-3) reached .500 for the first time under second-year coach Brian Flores and moved into second place in the AFC East behind Buffalo. The Jets (0-6) became the NFL’s only winless team and continued their worst start since 1996, increasing the heat on embattled second-year coach Adam Gase.
“We haven’t done anything well this year at all,” Gase said. “We just hurt ourselves so much.”
He said he wasn’t thinking about whether his job might be in jeopardy.
The Dolphins blanked the Jets for the first time since the January 1983 AFC championship game, which they won 14-0.
The teams were a combined 0 for 19 on third downs before the Jets finally converted with 11 minutes left. The Dolphins’ only third-down conversion came on a completion by Tagovailoa, who went 2 for 2 for 9 yards.
After the game, Tagovailoa spent about several minutes sitting alone on the field and on his phone with his parents.
“It was a very special moment for me because my parents weren’t here,” Tagovailoa said. “I sat close to where I think our last drive ended, and I FaceTimed my parents. It was exciting to get out there. It was really fun. My parents were happy to see me out there playing again.”
Buccaneers 38, Packers 10
TAMPA, Fla. — Tom Brady outplayed Aaron Rodgers in a rare meeting between the Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers erased an early double-digit deficit to rout the previously unbeaten Green Bay Packers 38-10 on Sunday.
It was the 43-year-old Brady’s first signature victory since signing with the Bucs (4-2) after a historic 20-year run with the New England Patriots, which included nine NFL title game appearances and six championships.
He got his favorite target from his days with the Patriots into the mix, throwing a 12-yard touchdown pass to Rob Gronkowski for a 28-10 halftime lead. It was Gronkowski’s first TD since December 2018 and the 79th for the quarterback/tight end tandem — tied for fourth on the all-time list with Miami’s Dan Marino and Mark Clayton.
Brady also threw a 7-yard TD pass to rookie Tyler Johnson and Ronald Jones had a pair of rushing TDs for Tampa Bay, which got an even more impressive performance from its defense.
Rodgers threw two interceptions — Green Bay’s first turnovers of the season — within a three-pass span of the second quarter to turn a 10-0 Packers lead into a 14-10 deficit.
Green Bay (4-1) never recovered.
Cornerback Jamel Dean broke on Rodgers’ sideline throw intended for Davante Adams and returned the pick 32 yards to get the Bucs rolling. Safety Mike Edwards returned a second interception on a throw also intended for Adams 38 yards to the Green Bay 2 to set up Jones’ rushing TD on the next play.
Rodgers finished 16 of 35 for 160 yards and no touchdowns after completing 70.5 percent of his passes and throwing for 13 TDs and no interceptions in Green Bay’s first four games.
Brady was 17 of 27 for 166 yards and two TDs without an interception. Jones rushed for 113 yards and Gronkowski led the Bucs with five receptions for 78 yards — his best game since ending a one-year retirement to join Brady in Tampa Bay.
It was just the third time the Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks have faced each other in their long successful careers.
And although both insisted it wasn’t Brady vs. Rodgers, the friends expressed mutual admiration for one another’s accomplishments while acknowledging it would be fun sharing the field with the Packers trying to remain unbeaten and the Bucs looking to gauge their progress against one of the NFL’s top teams.
Brady noted how important it would be to minimize mistakes, something no quarterback had done better through the first five weeks of the season.
In addition to becoming the first team in NFL history to score at least 150 points and commit no turnovers through the first four games of a season, the Packers had only allowed three sacks before Sunday.
The Bucs had two interceptions and two of their four sacks by halftime.
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