Packers’ new era prevails as Love outshines Rodgers 35-25
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Jordan Love passed for 360 yards and three touchdowns to outduel former mentor Aaron Rodgers as the Green Bay Packers raced past the Pittsburgh Steelers 35-25 on Sunday night.
The 41-year-old Rodgers, who won four MVPs and a Super Bowl in 18 seasons with the Packers before the team moved on to Love in 2023, completed 24 of 36 passes for 219 yards and two scores but did little in the second half as the Steelers (4-3) dropped their second straight.
Drafted in 2020 to be Rodgers’ eventual successor before being elevated to the starter three years later, Love put together a near-flawless second half as Green Bay (5-1-1) stayed atop the NFC North.
The 27-year-old Love, who credits Rodgers for playing a pivotal role in his development, did a solid impression of Rodgers in his prime, particularly after halftime. Love completed his first 16 passes after the break, two of them for scores, as the Packers erased a nine-point deficit to win at Pittsburgh for the first time since 1970.
BILLS 49, PANTHERS 9
James Cook ran for a career-high 216 yards and two touchdowns, Josh Allen accounted for three scores and Buffalo returned from their bye with a resounding win over Carolina.
Allen improved to 8-0 following the bye week and established an NFL record by becoming the first player to run and throw for a touchdown in 46 games, breaking the mark previously held by former Panthers QB Cam Newton.
Allen’s 77 career rushing touchdowns (including playoff games) tied Newton for the most all-time.
Allen finished 12 of 19 for 163 yards for the Bills (5-2), including a 54-yard toss to Khalil Shakir, and ran for two short touchdowns.
Cook had touchdown runs of 64 and 21 yards, becoming the third Bills running back to run for 200 yards and two touchdowns, joining Cookie Gilchrist and O.J. Simpson. Cook, who didn’t play in the fourth quarter, did it against a defense that had allowed just 131 yards on the ground over the past three weeks.
Buffalo’s defense sacked Andy Dalton seven times and forced the veteran quarterback into three turnovers to open a 40-3 lead in the third quarter. Dalton, who got the start for the injured Bryce Young, finished 16 of 24 for 175 yards with two fumbles and one interception as the Panthers’ three-game winning streak came to a screeching halt.
EAGLES 38, GIANTS 20
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Saquon Barkley ran for a 65-yard score on his first carry of the game and topped 100 yards rushing for the first time this season before he left with a groin injury, and Jalen Hurts threw four touchdown passes as Philadelphia beats New York.
The Eagles (6-2) evened the season series against their NFC East rivals after the Giants won 34-17 earlier this month.
Barkley also ripped off a 28-yard run on the final play of the third quarter but shook his head as he ran gingerly back to the sideline. He was checked out inside the medical tent, and later grabbed his helmet and jumped in celebration when backup Tank Bigsby ran for a 29-yard gain.
Hurts, who completed 15 of 20 passes for 179 yards, put the game away with a 17-yard touchdown pass to Dallas Goedert to finish that drive and make it 31-13. Barkley did not return to the game, finishing with 150 yards on 14 carries and four catches for 24 yards and a touchdown.
Hurts’ fourth TD pass of the game was a 40-yard strike to Jahan Dotson.
Barkley’s initial carry gave him more yards than he had in all but one game this season. He had just 44 yards last week against Minnesota and rushed for a low of 30 against Denver, a precipitous drop a season after he rushed for more than 2,500 total yards for the Super Bowl champions.
DOLPHINS 34, FALCONS 10
ATLANTA (AP) — Tua Tagovailoa threw a season-high four touchdown passes and the Miami ended its three-game losing streak by dominating short-handed Atlanta.
The Dolphins (2-6) outgained the Falcons (3-4) 338-213. Tagovailoa, who threw three interceptions in each of his last two games, was added to the injury report before the game with an illness but showed no signs of being limited.
Tagovailoa completed 20 of 26 passes for 205 yards with scoring passes to De’Von Achane, Malik Washington, Jaylen Waddle and Ollie Gordon II.
The Falcons were without quarterback Michael Penix Jr., top wide receiver Drake London and sacks leader Zach Harrison, among others, due to injuries.
Atlanta veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins made his first start since a Dec. 16, 2024, win at Las Vegas. Cousins, who appeared in only one game this season in a backup role, couldn’t rescue the offense against a Miami defense determined to contain running back Bijan Robinson.
RAVENS 30, BEARS 16
BALTIMORE (AP) — Derrick Henry ran for two touchdowns, Tyler Huntley made a big third-down throw late in the fourth quarter and Baltimore finally won without Lamar Jackson, beating Chicago.
The Ravens (2-5) snapped a four-game skid and ended Chicago’s four-game winning streak. The Bears (4-3) dominated the first quarter, but managed only two field goals in that period and didn’t score again until the fourth.
Although Jackson returned to practice this week, he was ruled out Saturday for a third straight game because of a hamstring injury. The Ravens had lost 11 of their previous 13 when their star quarterback didn’t play, but Huntley filled in capably this time after Cooper Rush started against the Texans and Rams.
Huntley completed his first nine passes and ultimately threw for 186 yards while running for 53. The Ravens led 16-13 in the fourth quarter when, with the Bears backed up near their own goal line, Caleb Williams was intercepted by Nate Wiggins, giving Baltimore the ball at the Chicago 9. Huntley threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Charlie Kolar two plays later.
The Bears kicked a field goal to pull within seven with 5:06 left, but Huntley threw a 14-yard pass to DeAndre Hopkins on third-and-7 and Henry’s 2-yard touchdown made it 30-16.
TEXANS 26, 49ERS 15
HOUSTON (AP) — C.J. Stroud threw for a season-high 318 yards with two touchdowns and Houston got off to a quick start and held on for a victory over San Francisco.
Stroud did a great job of distributing the ball, completing passes to nine different players with star receiver Nico Collins out after sustaining a concussion Monday night. Xavier Hutchinson led the group with 69 yards receiving and a score and rookie Jaylin Noel added 63 to help the Texans (3-4) bounce back after a loss to Seattle.
Hutchinson’s 30-yard touchdown grab extended Houston’s lead to 23-7 with about 7 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter.
A 2-yard touchdown reception by Jake Tonges and Demarcus Robinson’s 2-point conversion grab cut the lead to 23-15 late in the third quarter. Jauan Jennings made a 25-yard grab a play before the touchdown to set up the score.
Houston added a field goal after that, and the 49ers were driving late when Kamari Lassiter intercepted Mac Jones just outside of the end zone with a little under two minutes left to seal the victory.
PATRIOTS 32, BROWNS 13
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Drake Maye threw three second-half touchdown passes to help New England erase an early deficit and roll to its fifth straight victory over Cleveland.
Robert Spillane and Jaylinn Hawkins both added interceptions for New England, which has won six straight over Cleveland and 11 of the past 13 meetings since 1999.
Maye finished 18 of 24 for 282 yards and an interception. Hunter Henry, Stefon Diggs and Kayshon Boutte all had TD catches.
It came on a day where Browns star edge rusher Myles Garrett finished with a franchise-record and career-high five sacks, raising his season total to 10.
The loss extended Cleveland’s road losing streak to 12 games. The Browns haven’t won away from home since Week 2 of last season against Jacksonville.
A week after earning his first victory as an NFL starter, Browns rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel was 21 of 35 for 156 yards, with two touchdowns and the two picks.
Cleveland hasn’t won in six trips to the Patriots’ current home since it opened in 2002 and now has an eight-game skid in Foxborough.
JETS 39, BENGALS 38
CINCINNATI (AP) — Breece Hall rushed for two second-half touchdowns and threw a 4-yard TD pass to Mason Taylor with 1:54 left, helping New York edge Cincinnati for its first win of the season.
Justin Fields was 21 for 32 for 244 yards and a touchdown in his first game since Jets owner Woody Johnson sharply criticized his team’s quarterback play during its winless start. Hall finished with 18 carries for 133 yards.
The Jets (1-7), who trailed 31-16 after three quarters, rolled to 502 yards of offense in their highest scoring game of the season, including a season-high 254 on the ground.
Joe Flacco passed for two touchdowns and rushed for a 1-yard score, but the Bengals (3-5) lost for the fifth time in six games. Ja’Marr Chase had 12 catches for 91 yards in his third consecutive game with double-digit receptions.
BUCCANEERS 23, SAINTS 3
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Tampa Bay edge rusher Anthony Nelson had an interception for a touchdown to go with a forced fumble and two sacks, Sean Tucker ran for a 1-yard score on fourth down and the Buccaneers beat the hapless New Orleans.
Antoine Winfield Jr. recovered a fumble and intercepted a pass for the Buccaneers (6-2), who forced four turnovers and also played a role in forcing Saints second-year quarterback Spencer Rattler out of the game.
First-year Saints coach Kellen Moore inserted rookie QB Tyler Shough late in the third quarter, but the switch did little to improve matters for New Orleans (1-7), now tied for the worst record in the NFL with the New York Jets and Tennessee.
BRONCOS 44, COWBOYS 24
DENVER (AP) — Bo Nix threw for four touchdowns, rookie R.J. Harvey scored three times and Denver routed Dallas for their fifth consecutive victory.
J.K. Dobbins ran for 111 yards on 15 carries and the Broncos (6-2) also got big performances from rookies Pat Bryant and Jahdae Barron as they extended the NFL’s longest home winning streak to nine games.
Bryant scored his first touchdown and Barron picked off Dak Prescott for his first career interception.
Despite two TD runs from former Denver running back Javonte Williams, the Cowboys (3-4-1) lost for the eighth straight time to the Broncos, whom they haven’t beaten since the heyday of Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin in 1995.
The Broncos, who lost star cornerback Pat Surtain II to a shoulder injury just before halftime, won the toss and chose to receive, a decision that backfired when Nix threw right at cornerback Trikweze Bridges, whose interception set up Brandon Aubrey’s short field goal.
COLTS 38, TITANS 14
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Jonathan Taylor rushed for two touchdowns and caught another in a milestone game, and Daniel Jones threw for two more scores to help the Colts continue their surprising start with a rout over Tennessee.
Taylor also scored three TDs against the Titans in each of their previous two meetings, making him the first player in league history to have three touchdowns in three consecutive games against the same team.
He finished with 12 carries for 153 yards, the fourth 100-yard game this season for the league’s rushing leader.
Jones was 21 of 29 with 272 yards and no interceptions though he was sacked a season-high three times as Indy (7-1) stayed atop the AFC South with its fourth straight win. Michael Pittman Jr. caught eight passes for 95 yards and one TD.