STEELERS 27, JAGUARS 3
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Pittsburgh's most dominant defensive performance of the season kept the Steelers perfect. Terrell Edmunds and Minkah Fitzpatrick intercepted two passes each and the Steelers steamrolled their way to a 10-0 record.
Rookie quarterback Jake Luton looked lost most of the day against the Steelers, who allowed 206 yards and finished with two sacks. They celebrated each turnover by running into the end zone and posing for the cameras.
Ben Roethlisberger and Co. gladly shared the spotlight with one of the league's most disruptive defenses. Roethlisberger completed 32 of 46 passes for 267 yards and 2 touchdowns. He found Chase Claypool and Eric Ebron for scores.
Diontae Johnson finished with 12 catches for 111 yards. James Conner ran 13 times for 89 yards, showing some life for a struggling ground game. It all came against one of the NFL's worst and most dysfunctional franchises. The Jaguars (1-9) tied a single-season record by losing a ninth consecutive game.
The Steelers extended their sack streak to 67 consecutive games.
COLTS 34, PACKERS 31, OT
INDIANAPOLIS -- After allowing three touchdown passes and 28 first-half points, the Colts allowed three second-half points. They also forced a game-changing fumble less than a minute into overtime.
Rodrigo Blankenship won it with a 39-yard field goal with 7:10 remaining.
Indianapolis (7-3) did it with an old-school combination: The offense that played keep-away, a defense that came up with two three-and-outs and a fourth-down stop late in the fourth quarter, and the key turnover in overtime.
Philip Rivers was 24 of 35 with 288 yards, 3 touchdowns and 1 interception in his 234th consecutive start, tying Eli Manning for the 10th-longest streak in league history. Jonathan Taylor had 22 carries for 90 yards in a wild game that included Green Bay scores in the final 10 seconds of each half; Indianapolis erasing a 14-point halftime deficit, then failing to seal the victory because of five holding calls on its final drive in regulation.
Aaron Rodgers took full advantage of the second chance, hooking up with Marquez Valdes-Scantling on a 47-yard pass play. That took the Packers (7-3) from the 6-yard line to the Colts 47. Seven plays later, Mason Crosby tied the game at 31-31 with a 26-yard field goal with three seconds remaining.
Green Bay won the coin toss, Valdes-Scantling lost a fumble when hit by Julian Blackmon on Green Bay's second play. DeForest Buckner recovered and four plays later, Blankenship won it.
SAINTS 24, FALCONS 9
NEW ORLEANS -- Taysom Hill rushed for two touchdowns and passed for 233 yards in his first NFL start at quarterback, and the Saints got their seventh consecutive victory.
With 41-year-old quarterback Drew Brees sidelined at least three games with multiple rib fractures, Saints Coach Sean Payton gave Hill the nod over offseason free-agent acquisition Jameis Winston.
Hill, who started his career as a utility player with the Saints in 2017, looked comfortable running the scheme Payton designed for him this week. He completed 18 of 23 passes (78.3%) without an interception and used his all-around athleticism to run intermittently on scrambles or designed read-option plays, finishing with a team-high 51 yards rushing.
He had a considerably better day than Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan, who was sacked 8 times and finished 19-of-37 passing for 232 yards, no touchdowns and 2 interceptions to defensive backs Marcus Williams and Janoris Jenkins. Cameron Jordan sacked Ryan three times, while Trey Hendrickson and David Onyemata each had two sacks.
Because of Hill's unconventional role, with duties ranging from change-of-pace option QB to tight end and special teams, he had played in 46 previous NFL games before finally getting his first start under center.
He entered having thrown just five passes with four completions for 86 yards this season, and was 10 of 18 for 205 yards in his career, leaving him relatively unproven as a passer.
All that was missing was a first-career scoring pass -- in part because of how effective the Saints were running the ball. Alvin Kamara scored New Orleans' first TD on a 3-yard run, Hill scored the second on a keeper on fourth down from the Atlanta 2, and Hill's second TD came on a 10-yard scramble.
Kamara, Hill and Latavius Murray powered a ground game that netted 168 yards, which helped the Saints (8-2) sustain drives that consumed a total of 33:41.
New Orleans' second-ranked run defense held Atlanta to 52 yards rushing, and the Saints defense did not allow a touchdown for the second time in three games -- with only one touchdown given up in between.
BROWNS 22, EAGLES 17
CLEVELAND -- Kareem Hunt hurdled Philadelphia's Jalen Mills on a touchdown run, Olivier Vernon stepped up with star Myles Garrett out with covid-19 by getting three sacks and a safety for Cleveland.
Hunt's leaping 5-yard score came shortly after a dazzling 54-yard run by Nick Chubb as the Browns (7-3) finally found traction in their running game in a constant downpour.
Cleveland also got a 50-yard interception return TD in the first half by second-year linebacker Sione Takitaki. The Browns constantly harassed Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz despite playing without Garrett.
Wentz's 4-yard TD pass to Dallas Goedert pulled the Eagles (3-6-1) within 22-17, but the Browns recovered an onside kick and secured victory No. 7 -- one more than they had in 2019 -- under first-year Coach Kevin Stefanski.
It was another tough day for Wentz and the Eagles, plagued by inconsistency and hurt by injuries all season. Wentz made a bad choice on his pick to Takitaki, threw a late interception -- his 14th this season -- and was sacked five times. Wentz has been sacked a league-leading 40 times.
Cody Parkey kicked two field goals as the Browns went 2-1 in three consecutive home games played in awful weather conditions.
Vernon, who plays on the opposite side from Garrett, gave the Browns a 12-7 lead in the third quarter when he brought down Wentz in the end zone.
BRONCOS 20, DOLPHINS 13
DENVER -- Justin Simmons intercepted Ryan Fitzpatrick's pass in the end zone with 63 seconds left to seal the victory.
The Broncos (4-6) not only prevented Tua Tagovailoa from becoming just the second rookie in the past 40 years to win his first four starts, but they sacked him a half-dozen times and knocked him from the game in the fourth quarter.
Although the Dolphins (6-4) didn't announce an injury to Tagovailoa before game's end, the lefty walked gingerly to the sideline after his final sack, by Bradley Chubb. On the play, Tagovailoa's left leg bent awkwardly and guard Solomon Kindley stepped on Tagovailoa's right foot.
Fitzpatrick entered with the Dolphins down 10 points and drove them to a field goal that made it a one-score deficit. The Dolphins, who had won five in a row, had a chance to tie it after they turned away the Broncos at their 1. Melvin Gordon was just about to score his third touchdown of the game when linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel atoned for a pair of penalties on the previous play by punching the ball loose at the 1. Safety Eric Rowe recovered.
Fitzpatrick completed 12 of 18 passes for 117 yards -- better than Tagovailoa's line of 11-for-20 for 83 -- but Simmons intercepted his underthrown pass in the end zone after he'd driven the Dolphins from their 1 to the Broncos 15-yard line.
The Broncos ran out the clock with Drew Lock completing a 61-yard pass to Tim Patrick on fourth-and-14 from his 16, a play that began with 4 seconds remaining.
TEXANS 27, PATRIOTS 20
HOUSTON -- Deshaun Watson threw for 344 yards and accounted for three touchdowns, and J.J. Watt defended a career-high four passes.
Watson's two touchdown passes and scoring run all came in the first half as the Texans (3-7) built a 21-10 halftime lead. Watson and Houston's offense slowed down after that to allow the Patriots (4-6) to get back into it. But a 46-yard field goal by Kaimi Fairbairn extended the lead to 27-20 with about 3½ minutes to go.
Houston's beleaguered defense sealed the victory with a stop after that. Watt swatted down Cam Newton's pass on third down and heavy pressure from Justin Reid forced him to throw the ball away on fourth down to give the Texans the ball back.
It is the first time since 2009 that the Patriots will have at least six losses in a regular season.
It's also the Texans' first win of the season against a team besides the division-rival Jacksonville Jaguars. And the Texans' win gave interim coach Romeo Crennel a rare victory by a former Bill Belichick assistant against his former boss.
Watt and Reid led the defense all game long with Watt knocking down multiple passes and Reid getting his first career sack and finishing with three tackles for losses and two quarterback hits.
The Texans' NFL-worst run defense did a good job of limiting New England's rushing. They held the Patriots to 86 yards rushing after they entered the game averaging 161.1 yards a game.
PANTHERS 20, LIONS 0
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- P.J. Walker threw for 258 yards and a touchdown in his first NFL start, the much-maligned Carolina defense earned its first shutout since 2015 and the Panthers (4-7) snapped a five-game losing streak.
Walker, a former XFL player, was made the starter less than two hours before kickoff when Teddy Bridgewater was officially ruled out with a knee injury.
Walker did plenty well, connecting on a perfect 52-yard strike to D.J. Moore along with a well-placed 17-yard touchdown pass to Curtis Samuel. But he also had two terrible mistakes, twice throwing interceptions in the red zone, essentially hitting the defender right in the hands.
Still he did enough to win, as Moore had seven catches for 127 yards and Samuel had eight grabs for 70 yards. Mike Davis ran for 64 yards and a touchdown.
Matthew Stafford, who played despite a thumb injury that prevented him from taking a snap under center all week in practice, finished 18 of 33 for 178 yards, He was sacked five times as the Lions (4-6) were blanked for the first time since Oct. 18, 2009, his rookie season -- although he didn't play in that game.
CHARGERS 34, JETS 28
LOS ANGELES -- Keenan Allen set a Chargers franchise record with 16 receptions and Justin Herbert threw for 366 yards and 3 touchdowns.
The prolific-catch day helped Allen tie Antonio Brown as the fastest to reach 600 receptions. Both reached the mark in their 96th career game. It is also Allen's sixth game with 13 or more receptions, the most by a player in NFL history.
Allen had 145 yards receiving and a 13-yard TD in the third quarter to extend the lead for the Chargers (3-7) to 31-13. New York would rally to get within 34-28 in the fourth quarter on Frank Gore's 1-yard run and Joe Flacco's 6-yard pass to Chris Herndon.
New York (0-10) -- off to the worst start in franchise history -- drove to the Chargers 32 with under a minute remaining before turning over the ball on downs.
