Associated Press
NFL roundup …
KANSAS CITY, Mo. ó The Miami Dolphins are no longer winless. Matt Moore threw for 244 yards and three touchdowns, Reggie Bush had 92 yards rushing and another score and the Dolphins walloped the Kansas City Chiefs 31-3 on Sunday.
Moore, who took over after Chad Henne had season-ending shoulder surgery, became the first Dolphins quarterback since Chad Pennington in 2008 to throw three TD passes. Two of them went to tight end Anthony Fasano and another to Brandon Marshall, who finished with eight catches for 106 yards.
The win by the Dolphins (1-7) leaves the Indianapolis Colts (0-9) as the NFLís only winless team.
Matt Cassel was 20 of 39 for 253 yards for Kansas City (4-4), which came into the game with a four-game winning streak.
Falcons 31, Colts 7
INDIANAPOLIS ó Julio Jones caught touchdown passes of 50 and 80 yards to keep Indianapolis winless.
The Falcons (5-3) won their third straight and earned their first road victory in a series that dates to 1966. The Colts have lost five straight home games for the first time since 2001, and this defeat was every bit as lopsided as the score.
Indianapolis gave up 14 points off two turnovers, failed to score on offense and did not produce a first down during a span of nearly 30 minutes.
Packers 45, Chargers 38
SAN DIEGO ó Aaron Rodgers threw touchdown passes to four receivers, Green Bay returned two Philip Rivers interceptions for scores and the Packers withstood a wild finish to remain the NFLís only undefeated team.
The Packers improved to 8-0 behind Rodgers, who completed 21 of 26 passes for 247 yards. He has an NFL-high 24 TD passes.
The Packers led by 21 points early in the fourth before Rivers threw two TD passes to Vincent Jackson in the span of 1:07 midway through the quarter. San Diego (4-4) had a final chance to tie it, but Charlie Peprah intercepted Rivers in the closing seconds and returned it 76 yards to seal the victory.
Rivers tied his career high with four TD passes but was picked off three times.
49ers 19, Redskins 11
LANDOVER, Md. ó Frank Gore ran for 107 yards, and the NFLís stingiest scoring defense forced three turnovers as San Francisco ran its winning streak to six games.
The 49ers improved to 7-1 and have their longest winning streak since 1997. They are also 4-0 on the road for the first time since 1992 and hold a commanding lead in the NFC West.
Alex Smith completed 17 of 24 passes for 200 yards.
The Redskins (3-5) lost their fourth straight.
Giants 24, Patriots 20
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. ó Eli Manning hit Jake Ballard for a 1-yard touchdown pass with 15 seconds left, repeating a Giantsí comeback victory similar to the 2008 Super Bowl between the teams.
It looked like the Patriots would win with a comeback of their own when Tom Brady threw a 14-yard scoring pass to Rob Gronkowski, making it 20-17 with 1:36 to go.
But the Giants (6-2) had enough time to move 80 yards on eight plays.
Jets 27, Bills 11
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. ó Mark Sanchez threw a touchdown to Santonio Holmes, and the Jetsí sturdy defense forced three turnovers in a key AFC East midseason showdown.
Sanchezís 8-yard pass to Holmes with 3:27 left in the third quarter helped blow open the game as the Jets (5-3) won their third straight ó and first on the road ó to move into a tie with the Bills (5-3).
Bengals 24, Titans 17
NASHVILLE, Tenn. ó Andy Dalton threw for three touchdowns and 217 yards, and Cincinnati rallied from a 10-point deficit for their fifth straight victory.
The Bengals (6-2) last won five in a row in 1988 when they won the AFC championship and went to their second Super Bowl. They also improved to 4-1 on the road with the rookie quarterback leading the Bengals to 17 unanswered points as he tossed TD passes to three different receivers.
Cardinals 19, Rams 13 OT
GLENDALE, Ariz. ó Rookie Patrick Peterson returned a punt 99 yards for a touchdown in overtime to lift Arizona.
Peterson, whose pass interference penalty moments earlier seemed to set up the Rams (1-7) for a game-winning field goal, fielded the ball at the 1. He evaded and bounced off tacklers over the next 30 yards or so, then outran everyone, striding the last few yards in celebration of his third punt return TD of the season as Arizona (2-6) snapped a six-game losing streak.
Arizonaís Calais Campbell blocked Josh Brownís 42-yard field goal attempt as regulation ended to force the overtime.
Broncos 38, Raiders 24
OAKLAND, Calif. ó Eddie Royal returned a punt 85 yards for the tiebreaking score, Willis McGahee ran for 163 yards and Tim Tebow threw two touchdown passes.
McGahee had a 60-yard touchdown run that tied the game on the first play after Carson Palmer threw his second of three interceptions for the Raiders (4-4). McGahee then added a 24-yarder to ice it.
Tebow did much of his damage with his legs, rushing for a career-high 117 yards on 12 carries. He did enough damage with his arm to keep the Raiders honest, throwing touchdowns to Eric Decker and Royal.
Saints 27, Buccaneers 16
NEW ORLEANS ó Drew Brees passed for 258 yards and two touchdowns, and New Orleans running backs combined for 195 yards rushing.
Breesí scoring passes went for 3 yards to Lance Moore and 21 yards to Darren Sproles. Pierre Thomas added a tackle-breaking 9-yard score for the Saints (6-3), who saw their running game bounce back after gaining only 56 yards in a humbling loss at St. Louis a week earlier.
Cowboys 23, Seahawks 13
ARLINGTON, Texas ó Tied at 6 coming out for the second half, Dallas pulled away behind Tony Romoís touchdown passes of 33 yards to Jason Witten and 6 yards to Laurent Robinson.
Texans 30, Browns 12
HOUSTON ó Arian Foster rushed for 124 yards, Ben Tate ran for 115 as Houston set a franchise record with 261 yards on the ground. The Texans (6-3), playing without injured receiver Andre Johnson for the fifth straight game, had a pair of 100-yard rushers for the second time in three weeks.
Colt McCoy was sacked four times and completed 14 passes for 146 yards with an interception.
Ravens 23, Steelers 20
PITTSBURGH ó Five plays after a sure scoring strike tipped off his fingers,Torrey Smith held onto a 26-yard touchdown pass from Joe Flacco with 8 seconds remaining.
Smith, also flagged for a costly penalty on the gameís first play, capped Baltimoreís game-winning 92-yard drive by beating William Gay down the right sideline as the Ravens (6-2) snapped Pittsburghís four-game winning streak.
Flacco finished with 300 yards passing and Baltimore swept the season series from the rival Steelers (6-3) for the first time since 2006.
The Steelers appeared to be in control after rallying from a 10-point deficit to take a 20-16 lead with less than 5 minutes to go when Ben Roethlisberger hit Mike Wallace for a 25-yard score.
Pittsburgh’s defense held once and the Steelers moved in range for Shaun Suisham to attempt a 47-yard field goal that could have pushed their lead to seven.
A delay of game penalty, however, pushed Pittsburgh back five yards and the Steelers opted to punt.
Flacco, who fumbled midway through the fourth quarter to set up Roethlisberger’s strike to Wallace, atoned during a brilliant 13-play drive.
He converted a fourth-and-1 at the Pittsburgh 49 with less than a minute to go to keep Baltimore’s hopes alive and Smith made up for a drop with the biggest play of his young career.
The Steelers got the ball back with 8 seconds left but Antonio Brown fumbled a lateral from Wallace and the Ravens poured onto the Heinz Field turf in celebration.
It was sweet vindication for the Ravens, who watched two of their three previous seasons end on the same field.
With one dramatic play, Baltimore ended Pittsburgh’s surge and moved into a tie with Cincinnati atop the AFC North.
Flacco, who had come under fire from his teammates for inconsistent play, completed 28 of 47 passes and kept his head late after spending much of the second half trying to avoid Pittsburgh linebacker James Harrison.
The All-Pro sacked Flacco three times in his first game back after missing a month with a fractured orbital bone around his right eye, but Pittsburgh’s pass rush disappeared on Baltimore’s final drive.