Green Bay Packers' Karl Brooks blocks a field goal attempt of Chicago Bears' Cairo Santos during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Chicago. The Packers won 20-19. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)Charles Rex Arbogast/The Associated Press
PACKERS 20, BEARS 19
CHICAGO (AP) – Jordan Love ran for a go-ahead touchdown in the closing minutes, and Green Bay hung on to beat Chicago when Karl Brooks blocked Cairo Santos’ 46-yard field goal attempt as time expired.
The Packers (7-3) made just enough plays to avoid falling farther behind Detroit and Minnesota in the NFC North and beat the last-place Bears (4-6) for the 11th straight time, the longest streak by either team in the storied rivalry.
Love put Green Bay on top 20-19 when he scored from the 1 with 2:59 left. That touchdown was set up by a 60-yard pass to Christian Watson, who got up after making a lunging catch and ran all the way to the 14. The 2-point conversion failed.
Green Bay then sacked Caleb Williams on the first two plays of the next possession. The Bears regrouped and drove all the way to the 28, only to end a chaotic week with their fourth straight loss when Brooks got through the centre of the line and blocked Santos’ kick.
The Bears fired offensive co-ordinator Shane Waldron on Tuesday and replaced him with passing game co-ordinator Thomas Brown, hoping to spark a unit that ranks among the worst in the NFL.
BILLS 30, KANSAS CITY 21
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) – Josh Allen ran for a 26-yard touchdown on fourth down with 2:17 left, sealing the Buffalo Bills’ 30-21 win over Kansas City on Sunday and handing the two-time defending Super Bowl champions their first loss of the season.
James Cook rushed for two touchdowns and Allen threw a 12-yard TD pass to Curtis Samuel for Buffalo (9-2), which closed the gap on Kansas City (9-1) in the race for the AFC’s top seed.
Patrick Mahomes and KC were the NFL’s last undefeated team and finally ran out ways to eke out one-score victories and overcome second-half deficits. Kansas City had won 15 straight, including playoffs, since they fell 20-14 to the Las Vegas Raiders on Dec. 17, 2023.
The Bills have won six straight and moved closer to their sixth straight AFC East title.
STEELERS 18, RAVENS 16
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Chris Boswell tied a franchise record with six field goals and Pittsburgh limited Lamar Jackson and the NFL’s top-ranked offence in a victory over Baltimore.
The Steelers (8-2) won their fifth straight behind Boswell and a defence that never let Jackson, Derrick Henry or the rest of the offence get into a rhythm, opening up a little breathing room atop the AFC North.
Baltimore (7-4) was held to season lows in points and yards (329) while committing 12 penalties and turning the ball over three times – each miscue leading to a Boswell field goal – as Pittsburgh won for the seventh time in its last eight meetings in a rivalry that remains as chippy as ever.
Jackson completed just 16 of 33 for 207 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He hit Zay Flowers for a 16-yard score with 1:06 left to get the Ravens within two but the 2-point conversion attempt was a mess. Jackson rolled to his left, tried to run then pulled up and threw a prayer to no one in particular that fell incomplete.
LIONS 52, JAGUARS 6
DETROIT (AP) – Jared Goff threw two of his four touchdown passes to Amon-Ra St. Brown, David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs combined for three rushing touchdowns, as Detroit routs Jacksonville.
The NFC-leading Lions (9-1) have won eight straight and nine of their first 10 games in a season for the first time since 1934.
Detroit’s winning margin of 46 points was the largest in franchise history, and it handed Jacksonville its biggest-ever defeat. The Lions also set a franchise record in total yards with 644.
The Jaguars (2-9) have lost four consecutive games for the second time this season and 14 of 17 since last year, a series of slumps that may cost coach Doug Pederson his job.
SAINTS 35, BROWNS 14
NEW ORLEANS (AP) – Taysom Hill capped a 138-yard, three-touchdown performance on the ground with a 75-yard scoring run, and New Orleans improved to 2-0 under interim coach Darren Rizzi with a victory over Cleveland.
Hill’s two other touchdowns went for 10 and 33 yards – the second on fourth and short – to more than balance out his two turnovers on an interception and fumble. The 34-year-old Hill also moved into ninth place in franchise history with 44 total TDs, four behind receiver Eric Martin.
Hill also completed an 18-yard pass and returned a kickoff 42 yards.
Derek Carr passed for 248 yards and two touchdowns for New Orleans (4-7), highlighted by Marquez Valdes-Scantling’s 71-yard catch and run on a short crossing route.
Jameis Winston passed for 395 yards and two TDs for the Browns (2-8) in his return to the city he called home for the previous four NFL seasons.
RAMS 28, PATRIOTS 22
FOXBOROUGH, Mass (AP) – Matthew Stafford threw for 295 yards and four touchdowns, including a 69-yard score to Cooper Kupp on the second play of the second half to help Los Angeles pull away and beat New England.
New England trailed 14-10 after Rams kicker Joshua Karty’s 26-yard field-goal attempt at the end of the first half clanged off the right upright. Los Angeles received the kick to start the second half, and on second down Stafford found Kupp near midfield; Patriots cornerback Jonathan Jones dove for the pass and missed, leaving no one between Kupp and the end zone.
The Patriots drove into Los Angeles territory, with a first-and-goal from the Rams 5, but settled for a field goal. On the Rams’ next possession, Stafford found Colby Parkinson in the corner of the end zone to make it 28-13.
A missed extra point and a false start on fourth-and-1 doomed two Patriots’ attempts to come back. New England got the ball back at its own 10 with 2:14 left and one timeout for one last try, but Kamren Kinchens intercepted Drake Maye to ice it.
DOLPHINS 34, RAIDERS 19
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) – Tua Tagovailoa threw three touchdown passes, De’Von Achane ran for a score, and Miami beat Las Vegas to win their second straight game.
It was another strong victory for the Dolphins (4-6), who have not matched their offensive fireworks from last season but are coming off a gritty Monday night win over the Rams. The Raiders (2-8) lost their sixth straight game.
Tagovailoa led the Dolphins down the field with long, methodical drives – three of them more than seven minutes – that all ended in scores, as Miami scored 30 points for the first time this season.
Tagovailoa completed 28 of 36 passes for 288 yards with touchdowns of 1 and 57 yards to tight end Jonnu Smith, and an 8-yard TD to receiver Tyreek Hill. Hill caught seven passes for 61 yards and has scored in consecutive games for the first time this season. Smith had a season-high 101 yards receiving.
The Raiders trailed 24-14 in the fourth quarter after Achane ran for a 2-yard score that added to his 17 carries for 73 yards.
COLTS 28, JETS 27
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) – Anthony Richardson ran for a 4-yard touchdown, his second of the game, with 46 seconds left in his return to the starting role to lift Indianapolis to a victory over Aaron Rodgers and New York.
With the Jets leading 27-22 after Anders Carlson’s 35-yard field goal with 2:41 remaining, Richardson – benched for two games in favour of Joe Flacco – marched the Colts down the field.
He connected with Alec Pierce for 39 yards and then Josh Downs for 17 yards to put the ball at the 10. Three plays later, Richardson took off to the right and ran into the end zone for the go-ahead score. Jonathan Taylor was stuffed on the 2-point try – giving Rodgers and the Jets one last chance, but with no timeouts left.
Rodgers was sacked by Kwity Paye and fumbled on the first play, but the Jets recovered. After Hall had an 11-yard catch and a delay-of-game penalty was called on the Colts’ E.J. Speed, Rodgers was sacked again by Paye – sealing the win for the Colts (5-6), who snapped a three-game skid.
VIKINGS 23, TITANS 13
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Sam Darnold overcame an early fumble by throwing for 246 yards and two touchdowns and running for a score and Minnesota beats Tennessee.
Darnold had been picked off five times over the previous two games, matching his total over the first seven games of the season. Then his toss to Aaron Jones on the Vikings’ third offensive play was fumbled and recovered by Jeffery Simmons for the Titans.
The quarterback answered right back to help the Vikings (8-2) win their third straight and improve to 5-0 against AFC teams this season. He found Jordan Addison for a 47-yard catch-and-run touchdown as the Vikings didn’t trail again as they scored 16 straight for a 16-3 halftime lead.
Andrew Van Ginkel had his two sacks on back-to-back plays as Minnesota finished with five. Pat Jones II also had two. Harrison Smith clinched the win with an interception with 1:50 left, giving the Vikings’ fans that turned this into a near home game another reason to celebrate chanting “SKOL.”
BRONCOS 38, FALCONS 6
DENVER (AP) – Bo Nix threw for 307 yards and a season-best four touchdowns, Javonte Williams got a push across the goal line from a half-dozen of his teammates, and Denver rolled past Atlanta.
Nix, who was 28 for 33, joined Hall of Famer Peyton Manning as the only rookie QBs in NFL history to throw for 200-plus yards with two or more touchdowns in four consecutive home games.
The Broncos (6-5) snapped a two-game skid and made it an unhappy homecoming for safety Justin Simmons, who spent his first eight seasons in Denver before the Broncos unloaded his $18.5 million salary last winter. Simmons signed a one-year, $7.5 million deal with the Falcons (6-5), who have lost two in a row.
Simmons had five tackles and tried to stop Williams at the 5-yard line, holding his ground for a second or two as reinforcements arrived from both teams for a shoving match that resembled a rugby scrum. The Broncos won it when they shoved Williams into the end zone to complete his 14-yard scoring run that gave Denver an early 14-3 lead.
SEAHAWKS 20, 49ERS 17
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) – Geno Smith scored on a 13-yard scramble with 12 seconds remaining and Seattle snapped a six-game losing streak against San Francisco with a victory.
Smith completed seven of eight passes for 65 yards to get the Seahawks (5-5) in position to score after taking over at their 20 with 2:38 remaining. He then ran it in against a depleted defence for the 49ers (5-5) that sorely missed injured edge rusher Nick Bosa on the final drive.
The win moved Seattle into a three-way tie for second place in the NFC West with San Francisco and the Rams, a game behind Arizona. The Niners have lost three division games, blowing fourth-quarter leads in all of them after dropping games earlier this season to the Rams and Cardinals.
CHARGERS 34, BENGALS 27
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) – J.K. Dobbins rushed for a 29-yard touchdown with 18 seconds remaining, and Los Angeles beat Cincinnati after squandering a 21-point third-quarter lead.
Justin Herbert passed for 297 yards and two touchdowns, and rushed for 65 yards as the Chargers (7-3) won their fourth straight. Dobbins ran for two TDs.
Joe Burrow passed for 356 yards and three touchdowns, but the Bengals (4-7) suffered another excruciating loss. They have five defeats by seven points or fewer.
After its offence stalled for most of the second half, Los Angeles went 84 yards on four plays in 26 seconds on the decisive drive. Ladd McConkey, who had six receptions for a career-high 123 yards, had 28- and 27-yard grabs before Dobbins scored his eighth touchdown of the season.
Dobbins also scored from 1 yard out in the second quarter to extend Los Angeles’ lead to 21-6. He finished with 56 yards on 11 carries.
Burrow got Cincinnati to the Chargers 43 in the final seconds with a 27-yard completion, but his final two throws fell incomplete. Derwin James Jr. leaped at the goal line and batted down a Hail Mary headed right for Tee Higgins on the final play.