BALTIMORE — Saquon Barkley scored on a 25-yard run with 7:56 remaining, and Philadelphia’s stingy defence kept Lamar Jackson mostly under control in a 24-19 victory over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, the Eagles’ eighth win in a row.
Justin Tucker’s nightmarish season continued for Baltimore. The star kicker missed two field goals and an extra point as the Ravens (8-5) fell 1 1/2 games behind first-place Pittsburgh in the AFC North. The NFC East-leading Eagles (10-2) rallied from an early 9-0 deficit with two second-quarter touchdowns, and although Tucker did make a 50-yard kick shortly before halftime, the Ravens didn’t manage a point after that until the final seconds of the game.
The much-anticipated rushing matchup between Saquon Barkley of the Eagles and Derrick Henry of the Ravens didn’t quite live up to expectations. A good fourth quarter pushed Barkley up to 107 yards rushing. Henry produced 82 yards along with three catches for 29 yards.
Down 14-12, the Ravens had the ball for most of the third quarter but couldn’t score because Tucker — an all-time great at his position who has slipped badly this year — missed kicks of 47 and 53 yards.
Barkley’s touchdown finally put Philadelphia ahead 21-12. After a field goal pushed the lead to 12, Jackson threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Likely with 3 seconds left.
Jackson fell to 23-2 against the NFC as a starter. He threw for 237 yards and ran for 79.
VIKINGS 23, CARDINALS 22
MINNEAPOLIS — Sam Darnold’s second touchdown pass of the second half went to Aaron Jones for Minnesota’s first lead with 1:13 left, and the Vikings rallied from 13 points down to beat the Arizona Cardinals 23-22 on Sunday for their fifth straight victory.
Darnold went 21 for 31 for 235 yards while being sacked five times by the blitz-heavy Cardinals, who kept the Vikings (10-2) out of the end zone until Darnold hit Johnny Mundt with 1:17 remaining in the third quarter.
Kyler Murray threw two interceptions in the fourth quarter to spoil what had been a stellar performance by the Cardinals (6-6), who fell into second place in the NFC West behind Seattle.
Jonathan Greenard poked the ball out of Murray’s hand on second down for Minnesota’s first sack of the game with 48 seconds to go, and Greenard chased down Murray on the next play for a 3-yard gain in bounds to force Arizona to use its second timeout.
The Vikings then swarmed Murray in the pocket on fourth down, forcing a desperation heave that Shaquill Griffin picked off. Earlier, Murray’s risky fling on third down under pressure was intercepted by Byron Murphy at the Minnesota 32, setting up the Vikings for a third field goal by Parker Romo.
STEELERS 44, BENGALS 38
CINCINNATI — Russell Wilson threw for a season-high 414 yards and three touchdowns, and the Pittsburgh Steelers outlasted Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals 44-38 on Sunday.
Wilson logged the second-most passing yards and the third 400-yard game of his career. He threw for 452 yards for Seattle against Houston on Oct. 29, 2017.
Wilson finished 29 for 38 as the Steelers (9-3) rebounded from losing to the Browns 24-19 in a Nov. 21 game in the snow in Cleveland. He also threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown in the first quarter.
The Bengals (4-8) lost for the fourth time in five games. They also dropped to 1-5 at home, increasing the likelihood that they will miss the playoffs for the second straight year.
Najee Harris had a 10-yard touchdown run and Chris Boswell kicked two field goals to help Pittsburgh to a 27-21 halftime lead. It was the highest-scoring first half in the 110 meetings between the longtime rivals. Wilson had 257 yards passing for his best total in a first half in his career.
CHARGERS 17, FALCONS 13
ATLANTA — Rookie Tarheeb Still returned an interception 61 yards for a touchdown, his second pick of the game and one of four thrown by Atlanta quarterback Kirk Cousins as the Los Angeles Chargers handed the first-place Falcons their third straight loss, 17-13 on Sunday.
In a game that neither team seemed eager to win, the Chargers (8-4) overcame five sacks, a fumble deep in their own territory, a fake punt that didn’t work and a largely listless offence.
The 36-year-old Cousins looked like a rookie for the Falcons (6-6) on a fourth-and-5 pass at the Los Angeles 40 late in the third quarter.
Still read the play all the way, stepping in front of Darnell Mooney and sprinting untouched down the sideline in front of the Falcons bench for the touchdown that put the Chargers ahead to stay.
COLTS 25, PATRIOTS 24
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Anthony Richardson threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Alec Pierce with 12 seconds left and ran for the go-ahead 2-point conversion, and the Indianapolis Colts beat New England 25-24 on Sunday when the Patriots’ Joey Slye missed a 68-yard field goal attempt as time expired.
Richardson finished 12 of 24 for 109 yards, two touchdowns and an interception to help the Colts (6-7) keep their playoff hopes alive. Three of Indianapolis’ final four opponents have losing records.
The Patriots (3-10) have lost four of five. Drake Maye finished 24 of 30 for 238 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
Indianapolis capitalized on a pass-interference penalty to get into the red zone with just over a minute left. Then, facing fourth-and-goal on the 3, Richardson rolled out and hit Pierce to get Indy within a point, then converted the two-point attempt for the win.
SEAHAWKS 26, JETS 21
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Zach Charbonnet ran for a go-ahead eight-yard touchdown with 5:31 remaining, Leonard Williams returned an interception 92 yards for a momentum-turning score and the Seattle Seahawks held on to beat the New York Jets 26-21 on a chilly, windy Sunday for their third straight victory.
Geno Smith threw a touchdown pass to AJ Barner for the Seahawks (7-5), who were sloppy early but took over sole possession of first place in the NFC West with Arizona losing to Minnesota.
Aaron Rodgers and the Jets (3-9) led most of the way and appeared energized early in their first game coming out of their bye-week break. But they were held scoreless in the second half.
Charbonnet’s score came on a drive helped by four penalties on the Jets, who finished with 12 of them.
TEXANS 23, JAGUARS 20
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Joe Mixon ran for 101 yards and a touchdown, Nico Collins caught eight passes for 119 yards and the Houston Texans beat Jacksonville 23-20 Sunday after knocking quarterback Trevor Lawrence out of the game with a concussion.
The AFC South-leading Texans (8-5) won for just the second time in five weeks and staggered into their bye week with a little momentum.
Mixon became the third player in NFL history with at least 100 yards rushing and a rushing touchdown in six road games in the same season. He joined Tiki Barber of the New York Giants (2004) and Derrick Henry of Tennessee (2020) in accomplishing the feat. Mixon is the first to reach the marks in his first six road games of a season.
C.J. Stroud completed 22 of 34 passes for 242 yards, with a 22-yard TD pass to Dalton Schultz early in the fourth quarter that essentially iced the game. It was Houston’s 12th win in its past 14 meetings with the Jaguars (2-10) and sixth in a row in Jacksonville.
COMMANDERS 42, TITANS 19
LANDOVER, Md. — Jayden Daniels threw two of his three touchdown passes to Terry McLaurin and also scored one rushing, and the Washington Commanders got their groove back by beating the Tennessee Titans 42-19 on Sunday to end their losing streak at three.
Daniels completed 25 of 30 passes for 206 yards and the TD passes to McLaurin and Zach Ertz, offsetting his interception and bolstering his status as favourite for AP Offensive Rookie of the Year. Brian Robinson Jr. returned from a sprained ankle to run for 103 yards and a TD, and the defence and special teams each forced a fumble in a game the Commanders (8-5) had well in hand before halftime.
The Commanders went nine of 14 on third down and went up 28-0 just over 19 minutes into the game — the fastest lead by that margin since Baltimore did it in 16:11 against Miami in 2019. Washington scored 21 points in the first quarter for the first time since 2015.
Tennessee (3-9) didn’t score until Will Levis’ 27-yard TD pass to Nick Westbrook-Ikhine late in the second quarter, and the two connected on another with seven minutes remaining in the fourth.
BUCCANEERS 26, PANTHERS 23 (OT)
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Chase McLaughlin kicked a 30-yard field goal in overtime, Baker Mayfield overcame an ankle injury to lead four scoring drives in the fourth quarter and the extra period, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Carolina Panthers 26-23 on Sunday to move into a tie for first place in the NFC South.
Bucky Irving ran for a career-high 152 yards and a touchdown for the Bucs (6-6), who caught Atlanta atop the division. Mayfield finished 21 of 33 for 235 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions to improve to 4-0 against the Panthers, who cut him in 2022.
Mike Evans had five catches for 118 yards, including a one-handed grab on a 1-yard touchdown catch for Tampa Bay.
Bryce Young was 26 of 46 passing for 298 yards for the Panthers (3-9), who secured their seventh straight losing season.
McLaughlin converted a 51-yard kick on the final play of regulation, then missed a 55-yarder on the Bucs’ first possession of OT. After that miss, Adam Thielen made a one-handed catch that got Carolina to the Tampa Bay 34. But on the next play, Chuba Hubbard fumbled and the Bucs took over.
Mayfield connected with Evans for 21 yards, and Rashaad White broke free for a 38-yard run to reach the Carolina 10 and set up McLaughlin’s fourth field goal of the game.
RAMS 21, SAINTS 14
NEW ORLEANS — Matthew Stafford passed for two fourth-quarter touchdowns, Kyren Williams rushed for 104 yards and a score, and the Los Angeles Rams beat New Orleans 21-14 on Sunday to hand interim Saints coach Darren Rizzi his first loss.
The Saints drove inside the Rams 10-yard line in the final minutes, but Derek Carr’s pass on fourth-and-3 was deflected from behind by edge rusher Jared Verse and fell incomplete.
That allowed the Rams (6-6) to run out the clock on the Saints (4-8) and Rizzi, who had won his first two games since taking over after the firing of Dennis Allen.
Stafford passed for 183 yards without a turnover. His scoring passes went for 3 yards to Demarcus Robinson and 7 yards to Puca Nacua, the latter putting the Rams up for good with 8:54 left.
Versatile tight end Taysom Hill, coming off one of his best games for the Saints, injured his left knee and was carted off the field after converting a fourth-and-short run late in the fourth quarter.
Hill, a fan favorite in New Orleans, waved from the cart as the Superdome crowd chanted his name.
