CINCINNATI — Caleb Williams connected with Colston Loveland for a 58-yard touchdown with 17 seconds left, and the Chicago Bears beat the Cincinnati Bengals 47-42 on Sunday in a wild game that featured three touchdowns in the last two minutes and two lead changes in the final minute.
After Joe Flacco put the Bengals ahead 42-41 with a nine-yard touchdown pass to Andrei Iosivas, Chicago took over on its own 28 with 54 seconds left. Four plays later, on first down from the 42, Williams found Loveland down the middle. The rookie tight end caught it at the Bengals 36, bounced off Cincinnati defensive backs Jordan Battle and Geno Stone and ran to the end zone to give Chicago its fifth win in six games.
Williams passed for 280 yards and three touchdowns, and he also caught a TD pass from D.J. Moore on a trick play for the Bears’ first score. He later hauled in a 20-yard pass from Tyson Bagent, becoming the first starting QB in nearly 82 years with multiple receptions in a game.
The 40-year-old Flacco, who did not practice on Wednesday and Friday after injuring the AC joint in his right throwing shoulder in last week’s loss to the New York Jets, was 30 of 44 for a career-high 470 yards and four TDs. But the Bengals scored at least 30 points and lost for the second straight week and sixth time dating to last season.
Cincinnati had not scored 40 points or more in defeat since falling 51-45 to Cleveland on Sept. 16, 2007.
PANTHERS 16, PACKERS 13
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Rico Dowdle rushed for 130 yards and two touchdowns, and his big run in the final minute set up Ryan Fitzgerald’s last-second 49-yard field goal as the Carolina Panthers beat Green Bay 16-13 on Sunday to snap the Packers’ three-game win streak.
The loss could prove costly for Green Bay (5-2-1). Packers star tight end Tucker Kraft was carted off the field with a knee injury in the third quarter.
Carolina (5-4), a two-touchdown underdog according to BetMGM Sportsbook, bounced back from a 40-9 home loss to Buffalo to get back over .500.
Dowdle had been splitting time with Chuba Hubbard, but Panthers coach Dave Canales said Dowdle would get the bulk of the carries, and the move paid off.
STEELERS 27, COLTS 20
PITTSBURGH — Jaylen Warren ran for two touchdowns, and the Pittsburgh Steelers forced Indianapolis into six turnovers in a 27-20 victory on Sunday.
The Steelers (5-3) snapped a two-game losing streak by harassing Colts quarterback Daniel Jones into the kind of mistakes he’d largely avoided during Indianapolis’ scorching-hot start.
Jones threw three interceptions and fumbled twice, including a strip-sack by Pittsburgh’s T.J. Watt in the second quarter that seemed to shake the Steelers out of a weeks-long funk in which the NFL’s highest-paid defence gave up yards and points at an alarming rate.
Watt’s recovery, which came with the Steelers trailing by a touchdown and looking lifeless and on the receiving end of a smattering of boos from an uneasy Acrisure Stadium crowd, set up the first of Warren’s two touchdown runs and started a familiar pattern. Pittsburgh’s defence would take it away, then Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers’ offence would convert that turnover into points.
BRONCOS 18, TEXANS 15
HOUSTON — Bo Nix threw two touchdown passes and Wil Lutz made a 34-yard field goal as time expired and the Denver Broncos rallied to beat the Houston Texans 18-15 Sunday to extend their winning streak to six games.
They improved to 4-0 this season in games where they trailed entering the fourth quarter.
The Broncos (7-2) had punted three times in a row before a 25-yard scramble by Nix got them to their 39 with less than a minute to go. J.K. Dobbins followed with a nine-yard scamper and a nine-yard run by Nix two plays after that set up the game-winning field goal.
Nix couldn’t do much in the first three quarters against Houston’s top-ranked defence, but RJ Harvey’s 27-yard TD reception and Troy Franklin’s two-point conversion grab tied it at 15-all early in the fourth quarter.
VIKINGS 27, LIONS 24
DETROIT — J.J. McCarthy threw two touchdown passes and ran for a score in his return from an ankle injury, leading the Minnesota Vikings to a 27-24 win over the Detroit Lions on Sunday.
McCarthy sealed the victory by throwing a 16-yard pass to Jalen Nailor on third-and-5 from the Minnesota 28, a play that allowed Minnesota to run out the clock.
McCarthy, who led Michigan to the 2023 national championship, was 14 of 25 for 143 yards. He threw both of his scoring passes in the first quarter, connecting with Justin Jefferson from 10 yards out and T.J. Hockenson from seven yards. He threw an interception on a ball that was ripped away from his intended receiver.
McCarthy ran for a nine-yard touchdown midway through the third quarter, giving the Vikings a 24-14 lead.
CHARGERS 27, TITANS 20
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Justin Herbert threw for 250 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another score and the Los Angeles Chargers beat the woeful Tennessee Titans 27-20 Sunday for their third win in four games.
Herbert, who came in leading the NFL with 2,140 yards passing, shook off an early pick-six and losing both his tackles to injuries before halftime. Right tackle Bobby Hurt hurt a groin in the first quarter, and left tackle Joe Alt was carted off in the second after reinjuring his right ankle.
Odafe Oweh had two of Los Angeles’ four sacks.
The Chargers (6-3) took control midway through the third quarter, stopping the Titans and running back Tony Pollard on back-to-back plays at the 1 to protect a 20-17 lead.
PATRIOTS 24, FALCONS 23
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Drake Maye threw two touchdown passes and had a pair of turnovers in an uneven performance, and the New England Patriots held on for their sixth straight victory, 24-23 over Atlanta on Sunday after Parker Romo missed a potential tying extra point for the Falcons.
Terrell Jennings had his first career rushing touchdown for the Patriots (7-2).
New England led 24-17 in the fourth quarter when Michael Penix Jr. connected with Drake London for a 40-yard gain along the sideline with Christian Gonzalez in coverage. Gonzalez was injured on the play after being landed on the play, leaving the Patriots without their best cornerback with the Falcons in the red zone.
The Patriots forced a fourth-and-goal on the eight, but London outstretched Carlton Davis III on a jump ball for a toe-tapping touchdown to get the Falcons within a point.
49ERS 34, GIANTS 24
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Christian McCaffrey caught a touchdown pass from Mac Jones, rushed for another score and the San Francisco 49ers got back on track by running all over the New York Giants on the way to a 34-24 victory on Sunday.
McCaffrey accounted for 173 scrimmage yards — 106 on the ground on his 28 carries and 67 receiving on five catches. Many of the 49ers fans in attendance chanted “CMC! CMC!” after he got into the end zone past the midway point of the fourth quarter.
A week after a franchise-low 10 rushing attempts, Kyle Shanahan’s team ran the ball 39 times for 159 yards, including Brian Robinson Jr.’s 18-yard touchdown that sent a lot of the Giants crowd to the exits.
Jones completed his first 14 passes on the way to finishing 19 of 24 for 235 yards and TD passes to McCaffrey and Jauan Jennings. Jones bounced back from a fumble forced by Brian Burns and caught by Abdul Carter to improve to 5-2 as a starter this season.
RAMS 34, Saints 10
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Matthew Stafford threw for 281 yards and hit Davante Adams with two of his four touchdown passes in the Los Angeles Rams’ 34-10 victory over the struggling New Orleans Saints on Sunday.
Puka Nacua had seven catches for 95 yards and a touchdown in his return from an ankle injury, and the star receiver came back to the Rams’ sideline after briefly leaving with a chest injury in the second half.
Tyler Higbee also had a TD catch and Kyren Williams rushed for 114 yards and another score for the Rams (6-2), who returned from their bye with 438 yards in their third consecutive win.
Los Angeles also had another strong defensive effort, allowing only 224 yards. The Rams’ past three opponents have combined for only 20 points.
BILLS 28, CHIEFS 21
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Josh Allen threw a touchdown pass and ran for two scores to outduel Patrick Mahomes and the Buffalo Bills defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 28-21 on Sunday in a rematch of last season’s AFC championship game.
James Cook had 114 yards rushing and Buffalo’s defence did the rest in harassing Mahomes, who was sacked three times, hit 15 more and finished with the worst completion percentage of his career.
The game was decided in the final 17 seconds, when Mahomes threw three straight incompletions from Buffalo’s 40. The last throw fell short of the end zone and was batted down by rookie Maxwell Hairston. The drive began at Kansas City’s 42 after Matt Prater’s 52-yard field goal attempt for the Bills struck the right upright.
Buffalo improved to 6-2 and has won two straight since losing consecutive games. The Bills have defeated Kansas City in five straight regular-season meetings, but are 0-4 in playoff matchups dating to the 2020 postseason — including last season’s AFC title game.
JAGUARS 30, RAIDERS 29
LAS VEGAS — Trevor Lawrence scored on a quarterback sneak in overtime for his second rushing touchdown of the game, and the Jacksonville Jaguars held on to beat Las Vegas 30-29 on Sunday when nose tackle DaVon Hamilton batted down Geno Smith’s pass to deny the Raiders a winning 2-point conversion.
Jacksonville’s Cam Little broke an NFL record with a 68-yard field goal at the end of the first half, and his 48-yarder with 16 seconds left sent the game to OT.
With 3:24 left in the extra period, Lawrence jumped over the pile and stretched the ball just over the goal line for a 30-23 lead with 3:24 left. Smith responded by hitting Brock Bowers for a 2-yard TD, but his throw on the 2-point try never even reached the end zone because the 335-pound Hamilton got his hands up and swatted it away.
The Jaguars (5-3) ended a two-game skid and improved their playoff chances. Las Vegas (2-6) has lost six of seven.
