NFL Week 7: Joe Burrow leads Bengals past Ravens; Titans defeat Chiefs
BALTIMORE — Joe Burrow threw for a career-high 416 yards and three touchdowns, including a pivotal 82-yarder to rookie Ja’Marr Chase in the third quarter, and the Cincinnati Bengals won their AFC North showdown against the Baltimore Ravens in style, pulling away in the second half for a 41-17 victory Sunday.
The Bengals (5-2) drew even with the Ravens (5-2) atop the division, a sign that Burrow and Chase might be ahead of schedule in turning around this struggling franchise. The former LSU teammates were too much for Baltimore to handle, and Cincinnati’s offense moved the ball pretty easily from the middle of the second quarter on.
Chase had eight catches for 201 yards, easily the most productive performance of his impressive debut season. He broke Speedy Thomas’ franchise rookie record of 177 yards receiving, set in a 1969 game at Denver.
Lamar Jackson threw for 257 yards and ran for 88, but he was sacked five times as the Ravens had their five-game winning streak snapped. Jackson found Marquise Brown for a 39-yard touchdown in the third quarter that put Baltimore up 17-13, but the Ravens’ only lead of the game was brief.
The Rams struggled to gain momentum on offense throughout the game, leaning on a late interception by Jalen Ramsey to defeat the winless Detroit Lions.
Burrow needed only four plays to put Cincinnati back in front on a 32-yard strike to C.J. Uzomah. After a Baltimore punt, he connected with Chase on his long TD to make it a 10-point lead. Chase came into the week with a league-best five catches of 40 yards or longer. On this one, he spun past a couple potential tacklers in the middle of the field, and then nobody was going to catch him.
The Bengals snapped a five-game losing streak against the Ravens. Baltimore’s three most recent wins in the series were by a combined score of 114-19.
The Ravens have started a season 5-1 four times, but never 6-1.
Tennessee Titans 27, Kansas City Chiefs 3
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Ryan Tannehill threw for 270 yards and a touchdown, and he also ran for a score in the second victory in six days for the Titans (5-2) over teams that played for the AFC championship in January.
They edged Buffalo 34-31 on Monday night and followed that by simply dominating the two-time defending AFC champs as they jumped to a 27-0 halftime lead.
The Chiefs (3-4) have lost two of three and dropped to 1-4 in the AFC this season. They also were held to their fewest points since a 38-3 loss to Denver on Dec. 30, 2012.
This was the first time Patrick Mahomes had trailed by 27 at halftime and the third-largest halftime deficit for the Chiefs since 1991. It was the worst since the Chiefs trailed Pittsburgh 29-0 at the half on Oct. 2, 2016, and only the eighth time in franchise history that Kansas City had trailed by 27 or more at the half.
The Titans forced three turnovers — two by Mahomes — that they turned into 10 points. Denico Autry had two of the Titans’ four sacks.
Mahomes was slow to get up after taking a knee to his head on the fourth sack by Autry. He went to the medical tent and didn’t return with Chad Henne replacing him late. He finished with 206 yards passing and 35 yards rushing.
Mahomes has been intercepted in six straight games, the longest stretch of his career. He had 11 interceptions combined over 2019 and 2020 and has nine this season. His fumble with 1:46 left in the first half was his second this season, giving him 11 turnovers for the season. That’s the most Mahomes has ever had in a single season even counting the playoffs. He had only nine in 17 games in 2019 and 10 in 18 games in 2020.
Las Vegas Raiders 33, Philadelphia Eagles 22
LAS VEGAS — Derek Carr threw for 323 yards, completing 31 of 34 pass attempts with one touchdown. The Raiders (5-2) outgained Philadelphia 443-358 in a dominating performance that saw Las Vegas score on five straight possessions after its first series ended with Carr being intercepted inside the Eagles 5-yard line.
It was Las Vegas’ second straight win since former coach Jon Gruden resigned Oct. 11 because of offensive emails he sent before being hired in 2018.
Under interim coach Rich Bisaccia, the Raiders have outscored Denver and Philadelphia 67-46 collectively, and outgained both 869-779.
The Eagles (2-5) lost their second straight and for the fifth time in six games.
The Raiders were without Carr’s top target, tight end Darren Waller, who was inactive. Las Vegas lost running back Josh Jacobs to a chest injury after he ran for 29 yards on six attempts, including one touchdown.
Stepping up in the Pro Bowlers’ places were tight end Foster Moreau, who had a career-high six receptions for 60 yards, and running back Kenyan Drake, who rushed for 69 yards on 14 attempts, including one touchdown.
Indianapolis Colts 30, San Francisco 49ers 18
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Carson Wentz threw TD passes to Mo Alie-Cox and Michael Pittman Jr. and ran for another score to lead Indianapolis to a rain-soaked victory over San Francisco.
The Colts (3-4) overcame the wet conditions and an early nine-point deficit to win for the third time in four games following an 0-3 start to the season.
The 49ers (2-4) dropped their fourth straight game and remained winless at home for more than a year since beating the Rams last Oct. 18, 2020, as the return of starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo failed to provide any spark. Garoppolo threw for 181 yards, lost a fumble, threw two interceptions and struggled to push the ball downfield in his first game back after missing one game with a calf injury.
Wentz and the Colts were able to do just enough on offense thanks to three pass interference penalties for 97 yards and a productive game on the ground from Jonathan Taylor, who ran for 107 yards and a score.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 38, Chicago Bears 3
TAMPA, Fla. — Tom Brady became the first player to throw 600 career touchdown passes, and the Buccaneers have the best seven-game start in franchise history.
The defending Super Bowl champions won their fourth straight game, improving to 6-1 and avenging one of their five regular-season losses from a year ago, with Brady completing 20 of 36 passes for 211 yards and four TDs.
The Tampa Bay defense did its job, too, limiting the offensively challenged Bears (3-4) to Cairo Santos’ second-quarter field goal and sacking rookie Justin Fields four times, forcing two fumbles. Dee Delaney had one of the Bucs’ three interceptions, a first-quarter pick that led to Brady’s 599th career TD pass.
With Antonio Brown and Rob Gronkowski sidelined by injuries, Mike Evans had a big day receiving for the Bucs, finishing with six catches for 76 yards and three TDs, including a 9-yarder that gave Brady No. 600 with 6 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
Evans also had scoring receptions of 2 and 8 yards as the Bucs built the lead to 35-3 at halftime. Chris Godwin had eight catches for 111 yards and a 5-yard reception set up by Delaney’s interception.
Fields, meanwhile, fell to 2-3 as the Bears starter. The first-round draft pick finished 22 of 32 for 184 yards and three interceptions. He also lost two fumbles and has now been sacked a league-leading 22 times.
Arizona Cardinals 31, Houston Texans 5
GLENDALE, Ariz. — DeAndre Hopkins caught a touchdown pass against his former team, Zach Ertz caught a touchdown pass for his new team and the Cardinals scored 31 unanswered points.
The Cardinals remained the NFL’s only undefeated team and improved to 7-0 for the first time since 1974. The Texans (1-6) — who looked totally overmatched for three quarters — have lost six straight games.
Arizona fell into an early 5-0 hole after a slow offensive start, but recovered to win easily. The Cardinals were a 20 1-2-point favorite, according to FanDuel, a massive spread for an NFL game.
Kyler Murray completed 20 of 28 passes for 261 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. The interception was his first since Week 3, but it was one of the rare bad moments in another solid day. James Conner added an 18-yard touchdown run and Ertz had a 47-yard touchdown reception, which was the longest of his career.
It was the first time Hopkins and J.J. Watt had played against Houston, which is where both grew into stars before coming to the Cardinals. Watt signed with Arizona during the past offseason while Hopkins was acquired by the Cardinals in a trade in 2020.
Green Bay Packers 24, Washington 10
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Aaron Rodgers threw three touchdown passes and Green Bay earned a sixth consecutive victory.
Washington outgained Green Bay 430-304 but had had five scoreless trips inside the Packers 30-yard line, including back-to-back series that ended inside the 5. Before Sunday, Packers opponents had scored touchdowns every time they reached the red zone.
The Packers (6-1) haven’t lost since falling 38-3 to New Orleans on the season’s opening Sunday. Green Bay now enters the toughest stretch of its schedule with games at Arizona on Thursday night and at Kansas City on Nov. 7.
Washington (2-5) has lost three straight.
Rodgers went 27 of 35 for 274 yards with touchdown passes to Davante Adams, Allen Lazard and Robert Tonyan.
Washington’s Taylor Heinicke was 25 of 36 for 268 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He also ran for a game-high 95 yards on 10 carries.
New England Patriots 54, New York Jets 13
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Mac Jones threw two touchdown passes in his first 300-yard game, Damien Harris and J.J. Taylor ran for two TDs each and the Patriots won for the first time at home this season.
The 54 points are the most allowed by the Jets since losing 55-21 at New England on Oct. 29, 1978. It is the fourth-most points ever allowed by New York.
The Patriots earned their 12th straight victory and sixth consecutive season sweep over the Jets, who played most of the game without rookie quarterback Zach Wilson after the second overall draft pick left in the second quarter with a knee injury.
Wilson was hit by Patriots linebacker Matt Judon, who fell on the back of Wilson’s legs after he released a pass. Wilson did not return and was replaced by Mike White — who hadn’t previously taken an NFL regular-season snap.
Rookie Jones finished 24 of 36 for 307 yards, and Harris rushed 14 times for 106 yards to lead a Patriots offense that gained a season-high 551 yards. Safety Kyle Dugger and J.C. Jackson both added interceptions.
Atlanta Falcons 30, Miami Dolphins 28
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Matt Ryan passed for 336 yards, nearly half of them going to rookie tight end Kyle Pitts, and Younghoe Koo made a 36-yard field goal as time expired.
Pitts had seven catches for 163 yards, the last 28 of those on a sideline route with just under 2:00 left to get the Falcons into field goal range. Koo’s third field goal of the game saved Atlanta after the Falcons wasted a 13-point fourth-quarter lead.
Calvin Ridley and Russell Gage caught touchdown passes for the Falcons (3-3). Ryan completed 25 of 40 passes.
Tua Tagovailoa threw for 291 yards and a career-high four touchdowns, the last of them going to Mack Hollins with 2:27 left for Miami, which has dropped six straight. Tagovailoa completed 32 of 40 passes and had two interceptions — both of which led to Atlanta scores.
Mike Gesicki, Myles Gaskin and Isaiah Ford had the other touchdown receptions for Miami (1-6).
New York Giants 25, Carolina Panthers 3
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Daniel Jones threw a 5-yard touchdown pass and made a spectacular one-handed 16-yard catch on the game’s only meaningful touchdown drive.
Jones’ touchdown pass went to Dante Pettis and survived a very long replay review in helping the Giants (2-5) hand Carolina (3-4) its fourth straight loss with star running back Christian McCaffrey sidelined.
Pettis coincidently threw the slightly overthrown pass on the flea flicker which Jones caught with the finger tips of his throwing hand. Jones finished 23 of 33 for 203 yards and had six carries for 30 yards.
Graham Gano kicked field goals of 49, 53 and 44 yards against his former team as the Giants struggled to score touchdowns with wide receivers Kenny Golladay (knee), Kadarius Toney (ankle) and Sterling Shepard (hamstring) and running back Saquon Barkley (ankle) all inactive. Devontae Booker added a 19-yard TD run with under five minutes to play.
New York’s much-maligned defense had its best game of the season, limiting Carolina to 173 yards, forcing a safety on an intentional grounding, and getting an interception from James Bradberry, another former Panther. Rookie linebacker Azeez Ojulari had 2 1/2 of New York’s six sacks. Carolina was 2 of 15 on third downs.
The three points and 173 total yards are team lows since coach Matt Rhule took over last year.
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