CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Jimmy Garoppolo threw for 253 yards and two touchdowns, Emmanuel Moseley returned an interception 41 yards for a score and the San Francisco 49ers beat the Carolina Panthers 37-15 on Sunday for their first road victory of the season.
Jeff Wilson ran for 120 yards and a touchdown and Tevin Coleman scored twice for the 49ers (3-2) after being elevated to the active roster this week.
Christian McCaffrey had 104 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown for the Panthers, who fell to 1-4 on the season and 11-27 under embattled coach Matt Rhule.
San Francisco’s defense came in having allowed an NFL-best 37 points through four games, and has now held all five opponents to fewer than 20. San Francisco sacked Carolina quarterbacks six times and allowed just 308 yards of offense.
The 49ers flustered Baker Mayfield all day despite losing top pass rusher Nick Bosa to a groin injury. Mayfield completed 20 of 36 passes for 215 yards.
Tevin Coleman, who had four touchdowns for the 49ers in a 51-13 win over Carolina in 2019, was a big factor early. He scored on a 9-yard screen play before outjumping a Carolina defender to haul in 30-yard reception, leading to a Robbie Gould’s 49-yard field goal.
The Panthers trailed 10-3 late in the the second quarter and appeared to gain some some life after Yetur Gross-Matos blocked Gould’s field goal try.
But the game turned on the ensuing possession when Mayfield badly overthrew McCaffrey and Moseley went to his knees to make the interception, got up and raced to the end zone to give the 49ers a 17-3 lead with 55 seconds left in the first half.
Carolina got within 17-9 on a 19-yard TD run by McCaffrey on a pitchout, but the 49ers answered with a 4-yard touchdown pass from Garoppolo to Deebo Samuel and a 1-yard TD run by Wilson to put the game away.
Cowboys 22, Rams 10
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — DeMarcus Lawrence returned a fumble 19 yards for a touchdown on the Rams’ opening drive, and Cooper Rush remained unbeaten as the Dallas Cowboys’ fill-in starter despite passing for just 102 yards in a 22-10 victory over Los Angeles on Sunday.
Tony Pollard made an outstanding 57-yard TD run for the Cowboys, who are off to a 4-1 start for the second consecutive season after racking up four consecutive wins without injured QB Dak Prescott.
Dorance Armstrong forced the fumble returned by Lawrence and later blocked a punt during a huge first quarter for Dallas, which got 86 yards rushing from Pollard and 78 more from Ezekiel Elliott. With Rush going 10 for 16, the running game and the Cowboys’ impressive defense took charge in yet another strong game.
Cooper Kupp made a 75-yard touchdown reception for the Rams (2-3), who fell below .500 for only the second time in coach Sean McVay’s six seasons while getting shut out in the second half.
With three missing starters, the offensive line for the defending Super Bowl champions struggled to provide any support for the Rams’ inert running game or for Matthew Stafford, who passed for 308 yards and was sacked five times.
N.Y. Giants 27, Green Bay 22
LONDON (AP) — Saquon Barkley took a direct snap and ran for a 2-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter to cap the New York Giants’ 27-22 comeback victory over the Packers on Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, spoiling Green Bay’s international debut.
Aaron Rodgers drove the Packers to the 6-yard line, but his pass on fourth-and-1 was swatted down at the line of scrimmage by safety Xavier McKinney with just over a minute left.
After Giants punter Jamie Gillan ran out of the end zone for a safety, the Packers (3-2) got the ball back and set up a desperation pass, but Rodgers was sacked by Oshane Ximines at the Green Bay 29, fumbling as the clock ran out.
The Giants (4-1) scored 17 unanswered points in the second half as Daniel Jones, playing on a sprained ankle, led three scoring drives to erase a 20-10 deficit. It’s the Giants’ best start since 5-0 in 2009 and matches their win total from last season (4-13).
Gary Brightwell’s 2-yard touchdown tied the score at 20-20 to complete a 15-play, 91-yard drive with just over 10 minutes to play. On the drive, Jones scrambled for two first downs — after carrying just once in the first half for 3 yards.
Rodgers threw for 222 yards and two touchdowns, but couldn’t get any points on the board in the second half. Rodgers connected with Allen Lazard and Marcedes Lewis for first-half scoring strikes.
Buccaneers 21, Falcons 15
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Tom Brady threw for 351 yards and a touchdown as Tampa Bay beat Atlanta to end a two-game skid.
Brady completed 35 of 52 passes without an interception, avoiding his first three-game losing streak since 2002, when he was with the New England Patriots. Leonard Fournette scored two TDs for the Bucs (3-2) on a 1-yard run and a 1-yard reception.
A boy ran onto the field after Fournette’s first TD and was tackled hard by a security guard at the opposite end of the field. Police said there would be no charges and no arrest was made.
The Falcons (2-3) trimmed a 21-0 deficit to six on Marcus Mariota’s 19-yard TD throw to Olamide Zaccheaus and subsequent 2-point conversion pass to KhaDarel Hodge with 4:38 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Atlanta did not get the ball back as Brady, aided by a disputed roughing-the-passer penalty against defensive lineman Grady Jarrett on a third-down sack, led a game-clinching drive deep into Falcons territory.
Chargers 30, Browns 28
CLEVELAND (AP) — Rookie Cade York missed a 54-yard field goal with 11 seconds left, and Los Angeles held on to beat Detroit after coach Brandon Staley inexplicably gambled on a fourth down.
York’s kick sailed right and allowed the Chargers (3-2) to escape with a win.
With his team at its own 46 and leading by two, Staley called a timeout and then had Justin Herbert attempt a short pass on fourth-and-2 that fell incomplete, giving the ball back to the Browns with 1:10 left.
Cleveland had no timeouts and drove to the Chargers 35 to set up a shot for York, but the big-legged draft pick from LSU, couldn’t convert. He earlier missed a 45-yard attempt.
Austin Ekeler rushed for a career-high 173 yards and scored twice as San Diego, which came in last in the NFL in rushing, leaned on its ground game to win its second shootout in two seasons with the Browns (2-3).
Cleveland’s Nick Chubb ran for 134 yards and had a 2-yard TD run. Chargers wide receiver Mike Williams had 10 catches for 134 yards.
Jets 40, Dolphins 17
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Michael Carter scored on a pair of 1-yard touchdown runs and New York ran past Miami to snap a 12-game skid against AFC East opponents.
Quarterback Zach Wilson, Breece Hall and Braxton Berrios also rushed for scores to help the Jets to their first 3-2 start since 2017. It was the franchise’s first win against a division rival since topping Buffalo in Week 17 of the 2019 season.
The Dolphins lost another quarterback to injury when Teddy Bridgewater — starting for Tua Tagovailoa — was hit by rookie cornerback Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner on a blitz as he was about to throw on Miami’s first play from scrimmage. Bridgewater was called for intentional grounding in the end zone on the play, resulting in a safety.
Bridgewater injured an elbow and was examined for a concussion before being ruled out. He was replaced by rookie Skylar Thompson, who had a few efficient drives for the Dolphins (3-2).
Thompson was 19 of 33 for 166 yards and an interception, and Raheem Mostert had 113 yards rushing and a TD for Miami, which dropped its second in a row.
Wilson threw for 210 yards without an interception and improved to 2-0 as a starter.
Vikings 29, Bears 22
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Kirk Cousins scored on a 1-yard quarterback sneak with 2:26 remaining and Minnesota snapped out of its mid-game slump in time to beat Chicago.
Cameron Dantzler sealed the victory that put the Vikings (4-1) alone in first place in the NFC North by ripping the ball away from former teammate Ihmir Smith-Marsette near the one-minute mark.
Justin Fields went 15 for 21 for a season-high 208 yards and his first touchdown pass in 15 quarters and rushed eight times for 47 yards, but the Bears (2-3) didn’t have enough defense to pull it out.
Justin Jefferson finished with a career-high 12 catches for 154 yards and caught a 2-point conversion pass from Cousins to push the lead to seven, and Dalvin Cook rushed for 94 yards and two scores.
Cousins set a franchise record with 17 consecutive completions to start the game, and the Vikings reached the end zone on their first three possessions for a 21-3 lead midway through the second quarter.
Minnesota stalled after that but put together a 17-play, 80-yard drive to seal the game.
Bills 38, Steelers 3
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Josh Allen picked apart a flimsy and injury-depleted Steelers secondary by throwing four touchdown passes in the first half as Buffalo routed Pittsburgh.
After hitting Gabe Davis for a 98-yard TD on Buffalo’s third play from scrimmage, Allen all but sealed the win by hitting Davis for a 62-yard touchdown catch and Stefon Diggs for a 15-yard score a little over two minutes apart to put the Bills ahead 24-3 with 7:20 left in the second quarter.
Allen’s 348 yards passing in the first half were tied for the second most over the opening two quarters in an NFL game since 1991. The Bills scored 31 points before halftime.
Pulled in favor of Case Keenum early in the fourth quarter, Allen finished 20 of 31 for 424 yards, the second most in team history, and most in a game ending in regulation.
Davis became the fifth NFL player since 2000 to have two touchdown catches of 60 or more yards in the same game.
The Steelers (1-4) lost their fourth straight, their longest skid since opening the 2013 season with four losses. Rookie Kenny Pickett finished 34 of 52 for 327 yards and an interception in his first start.
PATRIOTS 29, LIONS 0
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Rookie Bailey Zappe threw a touchdown pass in his first career start and Rhamondre Stevenson rushed for a career-high 161 yards as New England blanked Detroit.
Kyle Dugger returned a fumble 59 yards for a touchdown for the Patriots, whose defense and ground game gave Zappe plenty of support. The rookie completed 17 of 21 passes for 188 yards with Mac Jones out for the second straight week with an ankle injury and backup Brian Hoyer on injured reserve following a concussion.
Zappe had miscues, including a fumble after a botched exchange with Stevenson and an interception on a tipped ball.
Matt Judon had a pair of sacks for New England (2-3), which held Detroit’s top-ranked offense without a touchdown for the first time this season. The Lions (1-4) were shut out for the first time since 2020.
Stevenson carried the ball 25 times and had a 49-yard run to set up New England’s second field goal of the game. Jakobi Meyers had seven catches for 111 yards and a touchdown.
Detroit’s Jared Goff was 19 of 35 for 229 yards with an interception and a fumble.
Titans 21, Commanders 17
LANDOVER, Md. (AP) — Derrick Henry rushed for 102 yards and a touchdown and Tennessee made a last-minute goal-line stand to beat Washington.
David Long Jr. intercepted Carson Wentz at the 1-yard line with 6 seconds left as the Titans (3-2) won their third straight.
Henry also had two catches for 30 yards, including a screen pass that set up Dontrell Hilliard’s 13-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter. He surpassed 100 yards on the ground for the second consecutive game, and the Titans improved to 24-3 when Henry reaches that mark.
When Henry got into the end zone in the third quarter, it was Tennessee’s first second-half touchdown since the season opener. It also tied him with Earl Campbell for second on the franchise TD list with 73, one back of Eddie George.
Tennessee’s Ryan Tannehill was sacked five times and went 15 of 25 for 181 yards and the TD pass to Hilliard.
Washington (1-4) lost its fourth straight. Carson Wentz was 25 of 38 for 359 yards with two TD passes to Dyami Brown, but the Commanders were 1 of 11 on third down, including the interception.
Texans 13, Jaguars 6
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Dameon Pierce ran for 99 yards and a touchdown, a score set up by the rookie’s 20-yard gain in which he broke six tackles, and Houston extended its winning streak over Jacksonville to nine.
Houston picked up its first win of the season and fifth straight at Jacksonville despite finishing with 248 yards of offense.
The Texans (1-3-1) got a huge assist from rookie Jaguars linebacker Travon Walker, who rag-dolled quarterback Davis Mills after whistles stopped a third-and-20 play. The mistake by the No. 1 overall draft pick gave Houston 15 yards and an automatic first down.
Pierce then made Jaguars (2-3) look silly on his longest run of the day. He slipped through the line of scrimmage and then wiggled and willed his way through half the defense. Pierce scored up the middle two plays later.
Trevor Lawrence delivered a second straight stinker. The second-year starter completed 25 of 47 passes for 286 yards and two interceptions, one that was picked in the end zone by rookie Derek Stingley Jr.
Mills completed 16 of 24 passes for 140 yards. He was sacked once.
