Packers cruise past Rams, remain unbeaten: NFL roundup
A recap of Sunday's Week 6 action in the NFL:
Packers 24, Rams 3
The Green Bay Packers remain perfect, thanks to the unmatched play of Aaron Rodgers.
Rodgers threw three touchdowns, including a career-long 93-yarder to Jordy Nelson, and the Packers rolled to a 24-3 victory over the St. Louis Rams on Sunday.
Rodgers threw for 310 yards for the Packers (6-0). James Jones and Donald Driver also caught touchdowns from Rodgers, although the Packers offence hit a lull and didn't score in the second half.
Sam Bradford was 28-of-44 for 321 yards with an interception for the Rams (0-5), who were coming off their bye week.
Rams running back Steven Jackson had 18 carries for 96 yards.
Rodgers did throw his third interception of the season, a tipped ball in the fourth quarter.
The Packers were wearing blue-and-gold uniforms designed to replicate a 1929 design, but Rodgers' ability to scramble out of trouble and make big plays was anything but a throwback to the days of leather helmets. Rodgers did offer a wholehearted endorsement of the third uniform earlier in the week, saying the pants were among the most comfortable football pants he'd ever worn.
As Rodgers kept rolling, the Packers continued to brush off a fresh batch of injuries.
Green Bay got right tackle Bryan Bulaga back from a knee injury after the 2010 first-round pick missed the Packers' previous two games. But the Packers will have to live without veteran left tackle Chad Clifton for awhile after he injured his hamstring in last Sunday's victory at Atlanta.
49ers 25, Lions 19
In Detroit, Alex Smith's fourth-down, six-yard pass to Delanie Walker gave San Francisco the go-ahead touchdown with 1:51 left, lifting the 49ers to a 25-19 win over the previously unbeaten Detroit Lions.
The play stood after video review.
Detroit had a chance to drive for a tying field goal or a go-ahead TD, but couldn't get a first down against a swarming defence that hit and confused quarterback Matthew Stafford from the start.
David Akers gave San Francisco (5-1) a six-point lead with 1:02 to go with a 37-yard field goal.
The Lions (5-1) had one last shot and came up woefully short. Then San Francisco coach Jim Harbaugh and Detroit coach Jim Schwartz had to be separated on the field after the game. Harbaugh seemed to say something that fired up Schwartz, and they bumped into each other on the field.
Eagles 20, Redskins 13
In Landover, Md., Michael Vick threw for 237 yards and a touchdown, Kurt Coleman had three interceptions, and the Philadelphia Eagles snapped a four-game losing streak Sunday with a 20-13 win over the Washington Redskins.
The Eagles raced to a 20-0 lead in the second quarter and held on to beat the Redskins for the 10th time in 12 tries at Washington.
LeSean McCoy rushed for 126 yards and a touchdown as Philadelphia improved to 2-4 and at last started to resemble — at least somewhat — the team picked to win the NFC East.
The Redskins dropped to 3-2.
Washington's Rex Grossman was benched after throwing his fourth interception late in the third quarter. He was replaced by John Beck, who made his first appearance since 2007 and led the Redskins' only touchdown drive.
Bengals 27, Colts 17
In Cincinnati, Nate Clements blocked a late field goal try that would have tied the game, and Carlos Dunlap returned a Colts fumble 35 yards for the clinching score Sunday, helping the Cincinnati Bengals hold on for a 27-17 victory that kept Indianapolis winless.
The Bengals (4-2) matched their victory total from last season and ended a seven-game losing streak against the Colts, who had never lost to Cincinnati with Peyton Manning at quarterback. Manning was on the sideline again Sunday, watching helplessly as the Colts fell to 0-6 for the fifth time in franchise history.
Curtis Painter rallied Indianapolis from a 20-7 deficit in the second half, getting the Colts in range for Adam Vinatieri's 52-yard field goal try to tie with 5:38 left. Clements swatted it away.
After the Bengals missed a field goal, Pierre Garcon was stripped of the ball after a reception and Dunlap ran it back to finish it off.
Falcons 31, Panthers 17
In Atlanta, Michael Turner ran for 139 yards and two touchdowns, Matt Ryan scored the tie-breaking TD with 7 minutes remaining, and Corey Peters came up with a huge interception, helping the Atlanta Falcons seal a 31-17 victory over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.
Cam Newton, who grew up just a few miles south of the Georgia Dome, wowed the crowd most of the day. He threw for 237 yards and ran for a 14-yard touchdown that put the Panthers (1-5) ahead 17-14 heading to the final quarter.
Atlanta (3-3) responded with Matt Bryant's tying field goal and Ryan's one-yard sneak. Then Newton made his biggest mistake of the day, throwing a screen pass that was picked off by Peters, a 305-pound defensive tackle. The Falcons drove for Turner's clinching touchdown with 1:56 left.
Steelers 17, Jaguars 13
In Pittsburgh, Rashard Mendenhall ran for a season-high 146 yards and a touchdown and the Steelers narrowly avoided a second-half collapse in a 17-13 over Jacksonville on Sunday.
Ben Roethlisberger passed for 200 yards and a score for the Steelers (4-2), who won for the fourth time in five games.
Maurice Jones-Drew rushed for 96 yards for the Jaguars (1-5), who have dropped five straight to match the franchise's longest losing streak in a decade.
Jacksonville rookie quarterback Blaine Gabbert remained winless as a starter, completing 12-of-26 passes for 109 yards and a touchdown on the day after his 22nd birthday. Gabbert's heave into the end zone on the game's final play was knocked down by Pittsburgh's William Gay.
The last-gasp attempt appeared to be a long shot after the Steelers rolled to a 17-3 halftime lead, but Pittsburgh struggled before putting Jacksonville away.
Raiders 24, Browns 17
In Oakland, Jacoby Ford returned a kickoff 101 yards and Kevin Boss caught a 35-yard touchdown pass on a fake field goal to lead the Oakland Raiders to a 24-17 victory over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday in the first home game since the death of longtime owner Al Davis.
It was an emotional day with many old-time Raiders coming back to honor Davis, the man who had been the face of the franchise for nearly a half-century before dying Oct. 8 of an undisclosed illness at age 82.
The most poignant moment came during a halftime ceremony with dozens of former players standing in a circle around the Raiders emblem at midfield. Super Bowl-winning coach John Madden lit a caldron on the plaza level in the corner of the stadium.
On a day full of tributes, the one Davis would have appreciated most is the one on the scoreboard as the Raiders (4-2) beat the Browns (2-3) .
Ravens 29, Texans 14
In Baltimore, Joe Flacco threw for 305 yards and ran for a score, Billy Cundiff kicked five field goals, and the Baltimore Ravens pulled away to a 29-14 victory over the short-handed Houston Texans on Sunday.
The Ravens (4-1) did just enough on defence to earn their third straight win. Baltimore held Houston scoreless over the final 21 minutes and limited standout running back Arian Foster to 49 yards on 15 attempts.
Flacco had two turnovers, but he also had completions of 51 yards and 56 yards to put Cundiff in position to score. Cundiff connected from 43, 48, 25, 33 and 40 yards to tie a Ravens record for field goals in a game.
Flacco completed 20 of 33 passes and Anquan Boldin had eight catches for 132 yards.
Even though the Texans (3-3) were without wide receiver Andre Johnson and linebacker Mario Williams, they led briefly in the third quarter and trailed only 19-14 until a four-yard touchdown run by Ricky Williams with 4:01 left.
Buccaneers 26, Saints 20
In Tampa Bay, Josh Freeman threw for 303 yards and two touchdowns, Earnest Graham rushed for 109 yards in place of injured starter LeGarrette Blount, and Tampa Bay outlasted New Orleans 26-20 Sunday.
The win pulled the Bucs (4-2) into a first place tie with the Saints in the NFC South and snapped New Orleans' four-game winning streak.
The Saints had a chance to take the lead late, but quarterback Drew Brees was intercepted in the end zone on a fourth-down pass.
Brees became the first passer ever with four consecutive 350-yard games, but also threw three interceptions.
The Saints had four turnovers in the game. Tampa's defence also held New Orleans under 30 points for only the second time this season and shut down New Orleans' rushing attack.
Giants 27, Bills 24
In New Jersey, Ahmad Bradshaw ran for 104 yards and a career-best three touchdowns and Lawrence Tynes kicked a go-ahead 23-yard field goal with 1:32 remaining to give the New York Giants a 27-24 victory over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.
Bradshaw scored on three one-yard runs and had a 30-yard run to help set up Tynes' winner as the Giants (4-2) rebounded from a bad loss to Seattle last weekend by limiting the high-scoring Bills (4-2) to seven second-half points.
Ryan Fitzpatrick (21-of-30 for 244 yards) threw touchdown passes of 60 yards to Naaman Roosevelt and nine yards to Stevie Johnson, but his final attempt was batted down by Jason Pierre-Paul on a fourth-and-five from the Bills 25 to preserve the win.
Fitzpatrick also was intercepted twice by Corey Webster, with the last starting the possession that led to the winning kick.
Patriots 20, Cowboys 16
In Foxborough, Mass., Tom Brady threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Aaron Hernandez with 22 seconds left and the New England Patriots rallied to beat the Dallas Cowboys 20-16 on Sunday.
David Bailey's 26-yard field goal had broken a 13-13 tie with 5:13 left. Each team ran one series before the Patriots got the ball after a punt with 2:30 remaining. Brady then completed eight of nine passes for 78 yards on an 80-play drive capped by his pass to Hernandez in the middle of the end zone.
New England (5-1) won despite its first two lost fumbles of the season and Brady's two interceptions.
Dallas (2-3) ended a five-game road winning streak after a bye despite coming back from a 13-3 deficit midway through the second quarter.
Bears 39, Vikings 10
In Chicago, Devin Hester set the tone with a 48-yard touchdown catch and scored on a career-best 98-yard kickoff return before leaving with a chest injury, and the Bears routed the Minnesota Vikings 39-10 in the Sunday nighter.
Jay Cutler threw for 267 yards and two touchdowns without an interception. Julius Peppers had two sacks, and the Bears held Vikings star Adrian Peterson to 39 yards rushing.
But Hester's injury dampened the mood on a night when they got a much-needed win.
That 48-yard TD pass from Cutler on Chicago's first possession got the Bears started quickly as they grabbed a 26-3 halftime lead. Hester's big kickoff return early in the third quarter erased any chance the Vikings had at a comeback.