Lamar Jackson tied a career high with five touchdown passes as the rolling Baltimore Ravens earned a fifth consecutive win with Monday's 41-31 victory over the injury-riddled Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Baltimore (5-2) overcame a 10-0 deficit after one quarter to extend its streak behind big performances once again from Jackson and running back Derrick Henry. Jackson completed 17 of 22 passes for 281 yards without an interception, while Henry had one of the Ravens' five touchdown grabs while adding 169 rushing yards on just 15 attempts.
Mark Andrews hauled in two of Jackson's touchdown throws and Rashod Bateman accounted for another receiving score while finishing with a career-high 121 yards on four catches.
The Ravens amassed 508 total yards against Tampa Bay (4-3), which lost its top two receivers in addition to its defensive woes with both Mike Evans and Chris Godwin exiting with injuries.
Evans aggravated a previous hamstring injury while attempting to make a touchdown catch in the second quarter, while Godwin was carted off in the final minute after suffering a likely season-ending injury to his left leg.
Baker Mayfield threw for 370 yards and three touchdowns - two to running back Rachaad White - but was intercepted twice by Marlon Humphrey in the first half. The first of those picks occurred in the end zone with the Bucs looking to extend a 10-7 lead.
Evans had a 25-yard touchdown catch before exiting for the game's first points, while Cade Otton topped Tampa Bay with 100 receiving yards on eight catches.
Baltimore scored on all six of its possessions in the second and third quarters - four Jackson touchdown passes and two Justin Tucker field goals - to erase its early deficit and make head coach John Harbaugh a winner in the opener of a Monday night doubleheader that also featured the Los Angeles Chargers, coached by his brother Jim.
Ryland's final-play field goal lifts Cardinals over Chargers
The Arizona Cardinals prevented a Harbaugh family sweep, however, as Chad Ryland's 32-yard field goal as time expired dealt the Chargers a 17-15 loss.
After Cameron Dicker's fifth field goal of the game gave the Chargers a 15-14 lead with 1:54 remaining, Kyler Murray quickly got the Cardinals in scoring range with a 33-yard completion to running back James Conner that put the ball on Los Angeles' 22-yard line.
Arizona (3-4) ultimately got to the Chargers' 14 while bleeding the clock to set up Ryland's kick that split the uprights as time ran out.
Murray ripped off a 44-yard touchdown run earlier in the fourth quarter to give the Cardinals a 14-9 advantage, and added a touchdown pass to Greg Dortch in the first half while finishing 14 of 26 for 145 yards with one interception.
Conner accounted for 101 rushing yards in addition to his key catch as Arizona piled up 181 yards on the ground.
Los Angeles (3-3) lost for the third time in four games following a 2-0 start after failing to score a touchdown and losing two fumbles, one of which landed out of Arizona's end zone for a touch-back after Jalen Reagor was stripped of the ball just short of the goal line on a 41-yard reception in the first quarter.
Justin Herbert completed 27 of 39 passes for 349 yards in the loss, while Will Dissly recorded 81 yards on eight catches for the Chargers.
Dicker converted two field goals of 50 or more yards in the second quarter, including a 59-yarder that matched the longest in franchise history.
Giants releasing embattled quarterback Daniel Jones
The Daniel Jones era in New York has officially ended.
The Giants agreed to Jones’ request to be released Friday morning, ending a rocky partnership that lasted nearly six seasons.
Giants president John Mara said in a statement that Jones’ release “would be best for him and for the team.”
“Daniel has been a great representative of our organisation, first class in every way,” Mara said in the statement. “His handling of this situation yesterday exemplifies just that. We are all disappointed in how things have worked out.”
The Giants benched Jones in favour of Tommy DeVito during their bye week. On Thursday, Jones told reporters he takes “full responsibility” for not winning more as the captain of one of the NFL’s signature franchises.
After learning of his new role, however, Jones asked the team to be released.
Jones signed a four-year, $160million contract extension before the 2023 season. Jones will go through the waivers process, but teams are likely unwilling to pay the rest of that contract. If he clears waivers, he will become an unrestricted free agent.
The Giants will absorb a salary cap hit of around $20million by releasing Jones.
Jones was the sixth overall pick in the 2019 draft and has started 69 games over the last six seasons.
The former Duke quarterback had his best season in a contract year in 2022, throwing 15 touchdowns to just five interceptions and adding 708 yards and seven scores on the ground.
Jones has thrown eight touchdown passes and seven interceptions this season for the 2-8 Giants and ranks 32nd among qualified quarterbacks with a 79.4 passer rating.
Browns score late touchdown to end Steelers' streak in snowy contest
Nick Chubb ran for a 2-yard touchdown in heavy snow with 57 seconds left, and the Cleveland Browns stunned division rival Pittsburgh 24-19 on Thursday night, ending the Steelers' five-game winning streak.
Chubb's score came in his first game against the AFC North-leading Steelers (8-3) since the running back sustained a season-ending left knee injury on a carry last year at Pittsburgh.
The Browns (3-8) had blown a 12-point lead in the fourth quarter and were down 19-18 before getting the ball back with 3:22 remaining after Pittsburgh punter Corliss Waitman shanked a 16-yarder.
With snow piling up and covering the yard lines on the field, Cleveland's Jameis Winston completed a third-down pass to Jerry Jeudy to the Pittsburgh 9. Two plays later, Chubb barrelled into the end zone.
The Steelers had one last chance, but quarterback Russell Wilson's Hail Mary on the final play was knocked down by Browns safety Grant Delpit in the end zone, touching off a wild celebration at Huntington Bank Field.
NFL: Texans bounce back, extend Cowboys' woes
Joe Mixon's 109 rushing yards and three touchdowns helped get the Houston Texans back on track with Monday's 34-10 win over the floundering Dallas Cowboys.
Houston (7-4) snapped a two-game losing streak behind Mixon's powerful running and a defence that sacked Cowboys' fill-in quarterback Cooper Rush five times and forced two turnovers, including a fumble Derek Barnett returned 28 yards for a touchdown that gave the Texans a 27-10 lead in the fourth quarter.
Dallas (3-7) has now lost five straight, its longest skid since dropping seven in a row in 2015, and fell to 0-5 at home. The Cowboys have been outscored by 118 points (187-69) at AT&T Stadium, the third-largest negative differential through five home games in a season in NFL history.
Rush did throw a 64-yard touchdown pass to KaVontae Turpin in his second straight start subbing for an injured Dak Prescott, and finished with a career-high 354 passing yards with one interception while completing 32 of 55 attempts.
C.J. Stroud threw for 257 yards with an interception for Houston, which extended its lead over the second-place Indianapolis Colts to two games in the AFC South.
The Texans never trailed after Mixon ripped off a 45-yard touchdown run on the game's opening drive, and the veteran running back added a 1-yard scoring plunge late in the first quarter to give Houston a 14-0 lead.
Turpin got Dallas on the board by taking a short pass from Rush and breaking free from the Houston defence nine seconds into the second quarter, but the Cowboys were shut out in the second half after pulling to within 17-10 on Brandon Aubrey's 53-yard field goal with just under six minutes left before half-time.
Burnett's strip sack of Rush and return of the resulting fumble helped put the game away with 12:31 left, and Mixon tacked on his final touchdown of the night with 3:16 remaining to cap a 35-yard drive that began after the Texans stopped the Cowboys on downs.
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