Patrick Mahomes threw for 462 yards and three touchdowns to outplay Tom Brady and lead the Kansas City Chiefs to a 27-24 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.
Tyreek Hill scored on receptions of 75, 44 and 20 yards, backflipping into the end zone on his second TD, and finishing with 13 catches for 269 yards the last an eight-yard catch on third-and-7 to give Mahomes an opportunity to run out the clock
The Chiefs (10-1) won their sixth straight game and clinched their seventh 10-win season in eight years under coach Andy Reid. The reigning Super Bowl champions improved to 6-0 on the road and have won nine straight away from home going back to last year
Brady was 27 of 41 for 345 yards, three touchdowns and a pair of second-half interceptions in falling to 2-2 in four career meetings against Mahomes, who built an early 17-0 lead and also had the Chiefs up by 17 entering the fourth quarter.
The Bucs made it close, with Brady throwing TD passes of 31 and seven yards to Mike Evans, the latter trimming Tampa Bay’s deficit to 27-24 with 4:10 remaining. The Bucs never got the ball back.
New Orleans Saints 31-3 Denver Broncos
Taysom Hill’s two touchdown runs led the New Orleans Saints to a 31-3 win over the Denver Broncos, who were thrust into a quarterback quandary when their passers failed to wear masks as mandated by the NFL’s Covid-19 protocols.
In a grind-it-out slugfest that resembled pro football’s early days, the Saints (9-2) won their second straight game with Hill subbing for the injured Drew Brees. Hill wasn’t nearly as sharp as a week earlier against the Falcons, when he completed 18 of 23 passes for 233 yards and a 108.9 passer rating. This time, he was nine of 16 for 78 yards, no touchdowns, an interception and a paltry passer rating of 43.2. He also ran 10 times for 44 yards. Broncos QB Kendall Hinton, a rookie receiver and former Wake Forest quarterback from their practice squad, had an understandably shaky NFL debut, going one for 9 for 13 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions.
Broncos starting quarterback Drew Lock, backup Brett Rypien and practice squad veteran Blake Bortles were disqualified over the weekend when the NFL discovered the three weren’t wearing masks Wednesday, the day before No3 QB Jeff Driskel tested positive for the coronavirus.
San Francisco 49ers 23-20 Los Angeles Rams
Robbie Gould made a 42-yard field goal as time expired, and the San Francisco 49ers snapped their three-game losing streak with a 23-20 victory over the Los Angeles Rams, sweeping their season series for the second straight year.
Nick Mullens passed for 253 yards and led two late scoring drives in his first victory as a starter since September for the defending NFC champion Niners (5-6), who stoked their flickering playoff hopes and became the first team to beat the Rams (7-4) at the new SoFi Stadium.
Las Vegas Raiders 6-43 Atlanta Falcons
Deion Jones returned an interception 67 yards for a touchdown, Matt Ryan threw a pair of short scoring passes, and the Atlanta Falcons thoroughly dominated Derek Carr and the bumbling Las Vegas Raiders.
The Raiders (6-5) lost their second in a row and looked very much like a pretender in the AFC playoff race, producing a listless, mistake-filled performance against an Atlanta team that’s playing out the season under an interim coach.
Carr had a miserable day, fumbling the ball away three times in addition to delivering the pick that the Falcons linebacker returned for his fifth career TD.
Arizona Cardinals 17-20 New England Patriots
Nick Folk kicked a 50-yard field goal as time expired, and the New England Patriots rallied in the second half to beat the Arizona Cardinals.
James White rushed for two touchdowns for the Patriots (5-6), who earned seventh victory in their past eight meetings with the Cardinals. It was the second time this month that Folk hit a last-second game-winning field goal. His 51-yarder beat the New York Jets 30-27 earlier this month. Arizona (6-5) haven’t beaten New England since 2012.
Cam Newton struggled, finishing nine of 18 for 84 yards and two interceptions. New England won the game despite finishing with 179 yards by taking advantage of Cardinals mistakes. But New England’s defense was solid, holding Arizona’s top-ranked offense, which entered the game averaging 414 yards, to 298 yards. Kenyan Drake rushed for 78 yards and two touchdowns for Arizona.
Los Angeles Chargers 17-27 Buffalo Bills
Tre’Davious White’s fourth-quarter interception set up Tyler Bass’ 43-yard field goal, helping the Buffalo Bills hold off the Los Angeles Chargers.
Josh Allen threw for a touchdown and ran for another score for the AFC East-leading Bills (8-3), who hung on after nearly blowing an 18-point third-quarter lead. Receiver Cole Beasley also completed a touchdown pass. Buffalo turned the ball over on three consecutive possessions, but the defense limited Los Angeles to Michael Badgley’s 27-yard field goal during the key stretch.
Cleveland Browns 27-25 Jacksonville Jaguars
Baker Mayfield took advantage of his best game-day weather in a month, throwing two touchdown passes in Cleveland’s 27-25 victory against Jacksonville on Sunday that kept the Browns squarely in the AFC playoff picture.
Mayfield connected with Jarvis Landry and Austin Hooper for scores, ending a three-game drought without a passing TD. Mayfield’s worst misfire was nearly costly. He threw behind Kareem Hunt in the flat on a third-and-one play late, and Hunt failed to pick up the first down on the ensuing down. Browns coach Kevin Stefanski probably should have kicked the field goal and gone up two scores.
Instead, Jacksonville ended up with a chance to tie. James Robinson’s four-yard run made it 27-25. That’s because Jaguars coach Doug Marrone took an extra point off the board in the third quarter and attempted a two-point conversion following an offside penalty. Mike Glennon, making his first start in more than three years, overthrew Keelan Cole on that one. Glennon failed again late for a conversion as his throw sailed out of the end zone.
Tennessee Titans 45-26 Indianapolis Colts
Derrick Henry carried the Tennessee Titans into the AFC South lead. Now the defending rushing champion wants to finish the job with a division title and another deep playoff run.
Henry battered the NFL’s second-stingiest defense for 140 yards and three touchdowns in the first half, finished with 178 yards and led the Titans to a crucial 45-26 rout at Indianapolis. The win gives Tennessee (8-3) sole possession of the division lead, a split in the two-game season series and a tie-breaking edge based on current division records of the teams. Henry also padded his lead as he chases a second straight rushing crown.
New York Giants 19-17 Cincinnati Bengals
The New York Giants lost starting quarterback Daniel Jones to a hamstring injury in the second half, but they generated enough offense to beat the Cincinnati Bengals.
Wayne Gallman Jr. ran for a two-yard touchdown on fourth-and-goal in the first quarter, and Graham Gano returned from the Covid-19 list to kick four field goals as the Giants (4-7) moved into a tie with Washington for first place in the woeful NFC East.
Miami Dolphins 20-3 New York Jets
Ryan Fitzpatrick threw two touchdown passes while starting in place of the injured Tua Tagovailoa and the Miami Dolphins kept the New York Jets winless with a 20-3 victory.
Tagovailoa was inactive with a left thumb injury, so Fitzpatrick stepped in against one of his many former teams. He didn’t need to do too much against the lowly Jets.
The veteran quarterback was 24 of 39 for 257 yards with TD throws to tight ends Mike Gesicki and Adam Shaheen, helping the Dolphins (7-4) bounce back after having a five-game winning streak end last week.
Carolina Panthers 27–28 Minnesota Vikings
Chad Beebe caught a 10-yard touchdown pass with 46 seconds left for Minnesota shortly after he muffed a punt that let Carolina pad their lead. Then Joey Slye missed a 54-yard field goal try with one second remaining that preserved a 28-27 victory by the Vikings over the Panthers.
Kirk Cousins went 34 for 45 for 307 yards and three scores for the Vikings (5-6), hitting Justin Jefferson his second touchdown grab with 5:38 to go and finding Beebe for the winner to punctuate a seven-play, 75-yard drive that took 65 seconds.
