ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Josh Allen threw for three touchdowns and rushed for three more, the last on a rugged nine-yard run with 2:35 left that secured the Buffalo Bills’ 44-32 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.
The eighth-year starter and reigning MVP became the first player with two games of three TDs passing and rushing. He did it last year in a 44-42 loss at the Los Angeles Rams.
This time, Allen outdueled fellow 2018 first-round draft pick Baker Mayfield in a shootout that featured nine lead changes.
The Bills benched struggling receiver Keon Coleman in a bid to spark their passing game, and each of Allen’s three touchdown passes went for 25 yards or more. Running back Ty Johnson scored on a 52-yard catch-and-run, Allen found Tyrell Shavers open deep for a 43-yard touchdown, and James Cook scored on a 25-yard reception.
Allen provided the go-ahead score, a five-yard TD run with 9:06 left. He finished 19 of 30 for 317 yards, and the Bills overcame his two first-half interceptions.
RAMS 21, SEAHAWKS 19
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Kamren Kinchens had two of the Rams’ four interceptions, Matthew Stafford threw two touchdown passes and Los Angeles hung on to beat the Seattle Seahawks 21-19 Sunday for its fifth consecutive victory.
Jason Myers was short on a 61-yard field goal attempt as time expired, allowing the Rams (8-2) to survive the Seahawks’ furious late rally.
Seattle’s defence got a quick stop after Kenneth Walker III dived in for the Seahawks’ first touchdown with 2:23 to play.
Ethan Evans’ superb punt went out of bounds at the Seattle 1 with 1:41 left, but Sam Darnold shook off his rough afternoon and got the Seahawks to midfield. Rashid Shaheed made a catch at the Los Angeles 43 before calling a timeout with 1 second on the clock.
Myers made four earlier field goals, but came up well short on the final kick, which would have matched his career long.
BRONCOS 22, CHIEFS 19
DENVER — Wil Lutz kicked five field goals, including a 35-yard game-winner as time expired Sunday, pushing the Denver Broncos past the Kansas City Chiefs 22-19 for their eighth straight victory.
The Broncos (9-2) all but buried the Chiefs (5-5) in the AFC West, which Kansas City has won every year since 2016. Chiefs coach Andy Reid fell to 27-5 following a bye week, counting the playoffs and his time with Philadelphia.
Bo Nix set up the game-winning kick with a 32-yard pass to Troy Franklin that got Denver to the Kansas City 15 with under a minute remaining.
Patrick Mahomes gave Kansas City its only lead on a 21-yard touchdown toss to Travis Kelce — the veteran tight end’s 84th career TD, one more than previous Chiefs franchise record-holder Priest Holmes. That put the Chiefs up 19-16, but Harrison Butker’s extra point was blocked by Frank Crum.
BEARS 19, VIKINGS 17
MINNEAPOLIS — Devin Duvernay’s 56-yard kickoff return in the final minute for Chicago set up Cairo Santos for his fourth field goal of the game, a 48-yarder as time expired, to push the Bears past Minnesota 19-17 after the Vikings scored the go-ahead touchdown with 50 seconds left.
After J.J. McCarthy ended another erratic performance with five straight completions that culminated with a 15-yard scoring strike to Jordan Addison, Duvernay delivered the clutch response for the Bears (7-3) after nearly blowing a 13-point lead they took into the fourth quarter.
Santos made up for his 45-yard miss with 8:08 remaining by drilling the winner after a critical seven-yard rush by D’Andre Swift, who had 21 carries for 90 yards, pushed the ball into a safer range.
McCarthy, who played with a wrap on his throwing hand after hurting it on a helmet after a follow-through in the previous game, ended consecutive second-quarter possessions with interceptions and had an alarming amount of off-target passes. He finished 16-for-32 for 150 yards and a 47.7 passer rating in his fifth career start.
PACKERS 27, GIANTS 20
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Jordan Love returned from a shoulder injury to throw two touchdown passes, backup Malik Willis had one of his own while filling in and the Green Bay Packers ended their losing streak at two by defeating the New York Giants 27-20 on Sunday.
Love provided some heroics on the go-ahead drive in the fourth quarter, connecting with rookie Savion Williams on a 32-yard gain under pressure on third-and-10 and finding Christian Watson in the end zone with 4:02 left to take the lead.
Many of the green-and-gold-clad fans in attendance at the Meadowlands chanted, “Go, Pack, Go!” following Love’s successful two-point conversion toss to Emanuel Wilson.
The victory came at a cost, though, with starting running back Josh Jacobs exiting early in the second quarter with a knee injury. Jacobs was ruled out just after halftime.
49ERS 41, CARDINALS 22
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Brock Purdy threw three touchdown passes in his return from a toe injury, Christian McCaffrey had two rushing touchdowns and a receiving score, and the San Francisco 49ers beat the sloppy Arizona Cardinals 41-22 on Sunday.
McCaffrey extended his NFL record with his 17th career game with at least one running touchdown and a touchdown catch. Purdy completed 19 of 26 passes for 200 yards.
Tight end George Kittle caught two touchdown passes.
Arizona lost for the sixth time in seven games. The Cardinals were called for a franchise-record 17 penalties, which was also the most for any team in the NFL this season. They had 11 penalties in the first half — tied for the most before halftime for any team over the past 20 years.
Arizona’s Jacoby Brissett started his fifth straight game for the injured Kyler Murray and completed 47 of 57 passes for 452 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. The 47 completions set an NFL record in the regular season.
JAGUARS 35, CHARGERS 6
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Jaguars bounced back from the worst collapse in franchise history by thumping the Los Angeles Chargers 35-6 on Sunday behind rushing touchdowns from Travis Etienne, Trevor Lawrence and rookie Bhaysul Tuten.
Coming off a 36-29 debacle at Houston during which they blew a 19-point lead in the fourth quarter, the Jaguars (6-4) showed no lingering effects from the crushing setback against a division rival.
It might have helped that they faced the Chargers (7-4), who travelled across the country for an early start while potentially looking ahead to their bye.
Coach Jim Harbaugh’s team was a complete no-show, finishing with 135 yards and just eight first downs.
PANTHERS 30, FALCONS 27 (OT)
ATLANTA — Bryce Young passed for a career-high and franchise-record 448 yards, and Ryan Fitzgerald kicked a 28-yard field goal in overtime to lift the Carolina Panthers to a 30-27 win over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.
Young’s 54-yard pass to Tommy Tremble set up the winning kick for Carolina (6-5), which completed its sweep of NFC South rival Atlanta.
The Falcons (3-7) suffered their fifth straight loss, including back-to-back overtime defeats.
Young completed 31 of 45 passes with three touchdowns. He threw a go-ahead 12-yard touchdown pass to Tetairoa McMillan with 1:08 remaining to give Carolina a 27-24 lead. But Zane Gonzalez kicked a 45-yard field goal for Atlanta with 16 seconds remaining to force overtime.
Bijan Robinson ran for 104 yards and two touchdowns, but the Falcons couldn’t overcome the loss of Michael Penix Jr. to a knee injury in the third quarter. Backup Kirk Cousins couldn’t move the offence in overtime.
TEXANS 16, TITANS 13
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Davis Mills threw for 274 yards and a touchdown, Matthew Wright kicked a 35-yard field goal as time expired, and the Houston Texans beat the Tennessee Titans 16-13 on Sunday to sweep the season series with their AFC South rivals.
Led by their backup quarterback, the Texans (5-5) reached .500 for the first time this season with their third win in four games. They also won their fifth straight over the Titans in Nashville despite playing without quarterback CJ Stroud, safety Jalen Pitre and kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn.
Houston had plenty of time to set Wright up for the winning field goal, his third of the day.
In a game pitting the NFL’s worst offence in Tennessee against the league’s stingiest defence in both yards and points, rookie Cam Ward drove the Titans 95 yards and threw a four-yard touchdown pass to Van Jefferson with 1:35 left. Interim coach Mike McCoy went for the tie as Joey Slye kicked the extra point.
STEELERS 34, BENGALS 12
PITTSBURGH — Mason Rudolph guided a pair of long second-half scoring drives after taking over for the injured Aaron Rodgers, and the Pittsburgh Steelers surged past the Cincinnati Bengals 34-12 on Sunday.
Rodgers, the NFL’s oldest active player at 41, injured his left hand during a Pittsburgh drive late in the first half. It was unclear exactly when the four-time MVP was hurt. Rodgers was hit illegally twice during the drive, both of which resulted in roughing-the-passer penalties against Cincinnati.
While the Steelers (6-4) initially listed Rodgers’ status as “questionable,” he did not return to the sideline for the second half.
Enter Rudolph, the longtime backup who led the Steelers on a late run to the playoffs in 2023. He returned to Pittsburgh last spring, though he quickly ceded the starting job after Rodgers signed in early June.
Rudolph picked up right where he left off, completing 12 of 16 throws for 127 yards, including a five-yard touchdown pass to running back Kenny Gainwell with 3:40 left that sealed it.
RAVENS 23, BROWNS 16
CLEVELAND — Tight end Mark Andrews ran 35 yards for the go-ahead touchdown with 2:31 remaining, and the Baltimore Ravens rallied for a 23-16 victory over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday to spoil Shedeur Sanders’ NFL debut.
On fourth-and-inches at the Browns 35, Baltimore (5-5) looked like it was going to run a tush push with Andrews lined up under center. Instead of going up the middle, Andrews ran left. Fullback Patrick Ricard got a kick-out block on Browns safety Grant Delpit, and Andrews was untouched as he scampered to the end zone for his first career rushing touchdown.
The Ravens have won four straight since their nightmarish 1-5 start.
BRONCOS 22, CHIEFS 19
DENVER — Wil Lutz lined up for a 35-yard field goal to beat the Chiefs on Sunday and couldn’t help but think back to last year at Kansas City, when his kick was blocked as time expired in the same situation.
Broncos coach Sean Payton said last November’s 16-14 heartbreaker at Arrowhead Stadium galvanized his team, which went on a 5-2 run to reach the playoffs, and Lutz concurred: “If you look back at the last year-and-a-half since that game, this team has come together and found ways to win close games.”
The Broncos (9-2) all but buried the Chiefs (5-5) in the AFC West, which Kansas City has won every year since 2016. Chiefs coach Andy Reid fell to 27-5 following a bye week, counting the playoffs and his time with Philadelphia.
Nix set up the game-winning kick with a 32-yard strike to Troy Franklin that got Denver to the Kansas City 15 with under a minute remaining.
DOLPHINS 16, COMMANDERS 13 (OT)
MADRID — Jack Jones had a fitting celebration after his overtime interception in the first NFL regular-season game in Spain.
The Miami Dolphins cornerback ran toward the sideline and stretched his arms wide after a twisting jump in front of his teammates. Jones was imitating Cristiano Ronaldo, the soccer great who used to celebrate like that at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium when he played for Real Madrid.
“I had to bring that out,” he said. “I was talking to my friend and I’m like, ‘When I make a play, be ready for that celebration.’”
Jones intercepted Marcus Mariota on the first offensive play of overtime and Riley Patterson kicked a 29-yard field goal to give the Dolphins a 16-13 victory over the Washington Commanders.
Jones cut in front of Commanders tight end Zach Ertz and came away with the ball.
