NFL roundup: Titans stay unbeaten with OT win
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[October 22, 2020]
Derrick Henry rushed for 212 yards and two touchdowns, and
host Tennessee blew a two-touchdown lead Sunday, only to rally for a
42-36 overtime win over lowly Houston to remain undefeated.
The Titans (5-0) amassed 601 yards, with quarterback Ryan Tannehill
passing for 364 yards and four touchdowns to complement Henry.
Tannehill engineered a nine-play, 76-yard drive in the waning
moments, and his 7-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Brown with four
seconds left forced overtime.
In the extra period, Henry had a 53-yard reception before his 5-yard
run ended it.
Deshaun Watson passed for 335 yards and four touchdowns to lead the
comeback for Houston (1-5). But Texans interim coach Romeo Crennel
made a late dubious decision that proved fatal. When Watson threw a
1-yard touchdown to Brandin Cooks with 1:50 left, the Texans led
36-29. But a failed two-point conversion opened the door for the
Titans, and they kicked it in over their last two drives.
Giants 20, Washington 19
Linebacker Tae Crowder returned a fumble 43 yards for a go-ahead
touchdown late in the fourth quarter, and New York (1-5) held on for
a win over the Washington Football Team (1-5) in East Rutherford,
N.J.
Cam Sims scored a touchdown with 36 seconds left to pull Washington
within one point, and head coach Ron Rivera decided to go for a
two-point conversion rather than settling for an extra point to even
the score. The gamble failed as quarterback Kyle Allen threw an
incomplete pass on the two-point attempt.
The sequence preserved the game-winning score for Crowder, a rookie
from Georgia who received the "Mr. Irrelevant" designation as the
255th and final pick of the 2020 NFL Draft. He made headlines for a
much more positive reason as he quickly reacted to Allen's fumble in
the pocket to score with 3:29 remaining.
Buccaneers 38, Packers 10
Ronald Jones II rushed for 113 yards and two touchdowns as host
Tampa Bay (4-2) sent Green Bay crashing from the unbeaten ranks.
Bucs quarterback Tom Brady contributed an efficient 17-of-27
performance for 166 yards and two scores, including the 91st
touchdown pass of his career to tight end Rob Gronkowski. The
12-yard connection with 1:02 left in the first half capped a
28-point, second-quarter Bucs' outburst that shaped the game's
remainder.
Brady and Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers were standing on the
sidelines in baseball caps before the NFC battle ended. Rodgers was
battered after a sharp first two possessions, finishing 16 of 35 for
160 yards, with two interceptions, for the Packers (4-1).
Falcons 40, Vikings 23
Matt Ryan threw for 371 yards and four touchdowns, and the defense
secured three interceptions as visiting Atlanta recorded its first
victory of the season by beating Minnesota.
The Falcons (1-5) scored 23 unanswered points to open the game,
their first under the direction of interim coach Raheem Morris, who
replaced the fired Dan Quinn this week. Younghoe Koo kicked field
goals of 50, 21 and 47 yards during the run. Julio Jones had eight
catches -- two for touchdowns -- for 137 yards.
Minnesota (1-5) did much of its damage with 16 fourth-quarter
points. Quarterback Kirk Cousins completed 24 of 36 passes for 343
yards and three touchdowns, but also had three first-half
interceptions that Atlanta turned into 17 points for a 20-0 halftime
lead.
Ravens 30, Eagles 28
Lamar Jackson threw for one touchdown and ran for another as
Baltimore bolted to an early lead before holding on to beat host
Philadelphia.
Jackson completed 16 of 27 passes for 186 yards and added 108 yards
on just nine carries for the Ravens (5-1), who won their third in a
row. Kicker Justin Tucker contributed three field goals.
Carson Wentz hit on 21 of 40 throws for 213 yards with two
touchdowns for Philadelphia (1-4-1), which dropped its second
straight game. Wentz nearly pulled out a dramatic finish by leading
two touchdown drives in the last 3:48. He scored from 1 yard with
1:55 to pull the Eagles within two points, but his 2-point
conversion run to tie the game was snuffed out at the line of
scrimmage by Matthew Judon. The Eagles fell to 0-3 at home and were
booed for most of the day.
Steelers 38, Browns 7
James Conner rushed for 101 yards and a touchdown as host Pittsburgh
dominated AFC North rival Cleveland to improve to 5-0 for the first
time since 1978. Cleveland (4-2) had its four-game winning streak
snapped.
Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger was 14 of 22 passing for 162 yards,
including a 28-yard scoring pass to James Washington. Chase Claypool
and Benny Snell Jr. also each ran for a touchdown. Minkah
Fitzpatrick had an interception return for a touchdown.
The Steelers' defense dominated. The Browns, who entered as the
NFL's top rushing team, were held to 75 rushing yards, and Cleveland
was 1-of-12 on third-down conversions.
Bears 23, Panthers 16
Nick Foles threw for one touchdown and ran for another as Chicago
never trailed in defeating host Carolina.
The Bears (5-1) managed only 261 yards of total offense in picking
up their third road victory of the season. Foles completed 23 of 39
passes for 198 and also threw one interception. David Montgomery
added 58 yards rushing and Cairo Santos kicked three field goals.
Panthers quarterback Teddy Bridgewater was 16-for-29 for 216 yards
with two interceptions for the Panthers (3-3), who had 303 yards of
total offense as their three-game winning streak was snapped. Mike
Davis had 52 rushing yards and a score for Carolina, which played
its fourth game in a row without injured running back Christian
McCaffrey (ankle).
Lions 34, Jaguars 16
Rookie D'Andre Swift rushed for 116 yards and two touchdowns on 14
carries to lift visiting Detroit over Jacksonville.
Matthew Stafford passed for 223 yards and a touchdown for the Lions
(2-3), while Kenny Golladay caught four passes for 105 yards.
Stafford completed passes to 10 different receivers.
Gardner Minshew passed for 243 yards and a touchdown and also had a
rushing touchdown for the Jaguars (1-5), who have lost five
straight.
Colts 31, Bengals 27
Philip Rivers passed for 371 yards and three touchdowns and Julian
Blackmon came up with a critical late interception to lift
Indianapolis over visiting Cincinnati.
Rivers completed 29 of 44 passes and put the Colts (4-2) ahead to
stay with a 14-yard touchdown to Jack Doyle with 14:55 remaining.
Indianapolis pushed the lead to 31-27 with 4:03 left on a 40-yard
field goal from Rodrigo Blankenship.
The Bengals (1-4-1) had a chance to steal the win late, but Blackmon
intercepted Cincinnati rookie quarterback Joe Burrow at the Colts
19-yard line with 46 seconds left to seal it. Burrow passed for 313
yards and scored on a one-yard touchdown run, posting his fourth
300-yard passing day in six games. But it wasn't enough at the
Bengals saw their winless road streak extend to 17 games.
Broncos 18, Patriots 12
Brandon McManus kicked a franchise-record six field goals -- the
longest from 54 yards -- to lift visiting Denver over New England in
a game originally scheduled for Oct. 11 due to several COVID-19
cases in the Patriots' organization.
Phillip Lindsay rushed for 101 yards in his return to the lineup
from a toe injury, and Drew Lock completed 10 of 24 passes for 189
yards and two interceptions in his first game since suffering a
right-shoulder injury on Sept. 20. Tim Patrick had four catches for
101 yards for Denver (2-3).
Quarterback Cam Newton ran for 76 yards and a touchdown and went
17-for-25 passing for 157 yards, with two interceptions, for the
Patriots (2-3). James White finished with eight receptions for 65
yards.
Dolphins 24, Jets 0
Ryan Fitzpatrick threw three touchdown passes as host Miami won its
second straight game, defeating winless New York.
It was Miami's first shutout over New York since the 1982
postseason, and the game also marked the NFL debut of rookie
first-round pick Tua Tagovailoa, who went 2-for-2 for 9 yards in
garbage time for Miami (3-3).
New York (0-6) is the only winless team in the NFL, and Sunday's
loss amped up the pressure on Jets coach Adam Gase -- formerly of
the Dolphins -- who is considered on the hot seat to be fired.
49ers 24, Rams 16
Jimmy Garoppolo threw three first-half touchdown passes and Jason
Verrett stalled a Los Angeles rally with an end-zone interception as
host San Francisco ended a two-game losing streak in a matchup of
the last two NFC champions.
George Kittle caught seven passes for 109 yards and one touchdown to
spark a 49ers offense that did most of its damage in the first half
en route to a 21-6 lead. Garoppolo's big first half featured TD
throws to Deebo Samuel for six yards, Kittle for 44 and Brandon
Aiyuk for two. He went 17-for-21 for 215 yards in the half without
an interception.
The San Francisco defense, which was last seen serving up 436 yards
and 43 points in a blowout home loss to the Miami Dolphins last
week, slowed the Rams in large part by limiting Jared Goff, who
finished with 198 passing yards on 19 of 38 completions. The 49ers
improved to 3-3, while the Rams fell to 4-2.
--Field Level Media
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Tennessee Titans running
back Derrick Henry (22) and his teammates celebrate the overtime win
on a five yard touchdown run during the over time period at Nissan
Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-USA TODAY Sports
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