Jameis Winston threw three second-half touchdown passes in his first start in over two years, including a 38-yard strike to Cedric Tillman with 59 seconds left that lifted the Cleveland Browns to a stunning 29-24 win over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday.
Playing its first game since starting quarterback Deshaun Watson tore his Achilles tendon last week, Cleveland (2-6) halted a five-game skid and ended the Ravens' five-game winning streak behind a superb effort from Winston. The former No. 1 overall pick completed 27 of 41 passes for 334 yards and no interceptions in his first start since Week 3 of the 2022 season while then with the New Orleans Saints.
Tillman had another touchdown catch in the third quarter and compiled a career-high 99 yards on seven receptions. David Njoku hauled in Winston's first touchdown pass of the day and finished with five catches for 61 yards.
Baltimore (5-3) had taken a 24-23 lead on Derrick Henry's 2-yard touchdown run with 2:36 remaining to cap a six-play, 91-yard drive highlighted by two Lamar Jackson completions to Zay Flowers for 29 and 23 yards.
Flowers ended with 115 yards on seven catches, while Jackson threw for 289 yards on 23-of-38 passing with touchdowns to Nelson Agholor and Mark Andrews. Henry led all players with 73 rushing yards on 11 attempts.
Daniels' Hail Mary touchdown pass lifts Commanders over Bears, Williams
Jayden Daniels won his head-to-head meeting with Caleb Williams in spectacular fashion, as the Washington Commanders' rookie quarterback threw a 52-yard Hail Mary touchdown pass to Noah Brown as time expired to give the NFC East leaders a shocking 18-15 win over the Chicago Bears.
Daniels, taken one spot behind Williams with the No. 2 pick in this year's draft, evaded pressure before heaving the ball from his own 35-yard line into a crowd of players near the goal line. The pass was tipped by the Commanders' Zach Ertz and landed right into the arms of Brown to give Washington (6-2) its fifth win in six games.
The reigning Heisman Trophy winner shook off a rib injury that had him questionable coming into the game to throw for 326 yards on 21-of-38 passing. Terry McLaurin recorded 125 yards on five catches for Washington, while Ertz had seven receptions for 77 yards.
Williams led Chicago (4-3) on a 10-play, 62-yard drive late that Rochon Johnson capped with a 1-yard touchdown run that briefly put the Bears ahead with 25 seconds left. The 2022 Heisman recipient then found Cole Kmet in the end zone for the ensuing 2-point try and a 15-12 lead.
Williams struggled for much of the day, however, completing just 10 of 24 passes for 131 yards as the Bears fell behind 12-0 until late in the third quarter, when D'Andre Swift's 56-yard touchdown run got Chicago on the board.
Swift finished with a season-high 129 yards on 18 carries.
Patriots score late touchdown to extend Jets' woes
The No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 draft also helped his team to a win Sunday, though Drake Maye exited the New England Patriots' 25-22 comeback victory over the still-reeling New York Jets with a concussion early in the second quarter.
Jacoby Brissett replaced Maye, who departed following a helmet-to-helmet hit by New York linebacker Jamien Sherwood, and engineered a 12-play, 70-yard drive capped by Rhamondre Stevenson's 1-yard touchdown run on fourth down with 22 seconds left.
Stevenson then caught Brissett's short pass for the ensuing two-point conversion to put the Patriots up by a field goal, and New England (2-6) held on the rest of the way to end a six-game losing streak.
New York (2-6) has now lost five in a row and dropped to 0-3 since firing head coach Robert Saleh on Oct. 8 and replacing him with defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich.
Brissett went 15 of 24 for 132 yards and no interceptions in place of Maye, who recorded his first career touchdown run before leaving when his 17-yard scramble gave the Patriots a 7-0 lead in the first quarter.
Stevenson also had a touchdown run in the third quarter and registered 48 yards on 20 rush attempts.
Aaron Rodgers threw first-half touchdown passes to Tyler Conklin and Xavier Gipson to send the Jets into half-time with a 13-7 lead. New England rallied to go up 17-16 on Joey Slye's field goal midway through the fourth quarter, but New York went back in front on Braelon Allen's 2-yard touchdown run that made the score 22-17 with 2:57 left.
Rodgers completed 17 of 28 passes for 233 yards, while Garrett Wilson led the Jets' receivers with 113 yards on five catches.
Packers edge Jaguars late despite injury to Love
The Green Bay Packers also overcame an injury to their quarterback to pull out a last-second win, a 30-27 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Brandon McManus' 24-yard field goal as time expired.
Malik Willis led the deciding late drive after taking over for Jordan Love, who injured his groin on Green Bay's first possession and eventually left the contest early in the second half.
Willis threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Tucker Kraft early in the fourth quarter to give the Packers a 27-17 lead, but Jacksonville (2-6) countered with Cam Little's 47-yard field goal before tying the game on Trevor Lawrence's 14-yard touchdown delivery to Evan Engram with 1:48 remaining.
Two plays later, Willis connected with Jayden Reed for a 51-yard gain to set up McManus' third field goal of the day, which lifted Green Bay (6-2) to a fourth consecutive win.
Willis completed 4 of 5 passes for 56 yards in place of Love, who was 14 of 22 for 196 yards and one interception before departing.
The Packers also got a big lift from running back Josh Jacobs, who amassed 127 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries.
Lawrence also threw a touchdown pass to Brian Thomas in the third quarter and finished with 308 yards and one interception while completing 21 of 32 throws. The quarterback also had a 6-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.
Cardinals rally late to shock Dolphins, spoil Tagovailoa's return
In another game that came down to the final play, the Arizona Cardinals seized a 28-27 win over the Miami Dolphins on Chad Ryland's 34-yard field goal with no time remaining.
Sparked by quarterback Tua Tagovailoa's return from a concussion that sidelined him four games, Miami (2-5) held a 27-18 fourth-quarter lead before the Cardinals scored 10 unanswered points in the final nine minutes.
Arizona (4-4) closed the gap on James Conner's 2-yard touchdown run with 8:48 left that ended an eight-play, 70-yard drive. Kyler Murray then marched the Cardinals 73 yards on 13 plays on their next possession to put his team in range for Ryland's winning kick.
Murray completed 26 of 36 attempts for 307 yards with touchdown passes to Michael Wilson and Marvin Harrison Jr., who put up 111 yards on six catches. Trey McBride added 124 yards on nine grabs in Arizona's second straight win.
Tagovailoa finished with 234 yards on 28-of-38 passing and connected with De'Von Achane for a 12-yard touchdown in the third quarter in his first appearance since Week 2.
Achane had 50 receiving yards on six catches along with 97 rushing yards for Miami, which lost for the fifth time in six games despite two short rushing touchdowns from Raheem Mostert.
49ers bounce back, continue Cowboys' struggles with big second half
Brock Purdy had both a passing and rushing touchdown during a dominant third quarter that propelled the San Francisco 49ers to a 30-24 win over the slumping Dallas Cowboys.
Down 10-6 at half-time, San Francisco (4-4) scored touchdowns on each of their third-quarter drives to take a 27-10 lead before holding on and rebounding from last week's loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in a rematch of last season's Super Bowl participants.
Isaac Guerendo put the 49ers ahead with a 4-yard touchdown run, a score set up by Purdy's 43-yard completion to George Kittle. Deommodore Lenoir then intercepted Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott on the following possession, with the turnover leading to Purdy's 2-yard touchdown pass to Kittle that staked San Francisco to a 20-10 advantage midway through the period.
The 49ers moved 75 yards on nine plays on their next series to extend the margin on Purdy's 2-yard touchdown run.
Purdy ended 18 for 26 for 260 yards. Kittle compiled 128 yards on six receptions, while Guerendo added 85 rushing yards on 14 attempts.
Dallas (3-4) made the final score more competitive with two Prescott touchdown passes to CeeDee Lamb in the fourth quarter in its first outing since a 47-9 home loss to the Detroit Lions in Week 6.
Lamb had a monster night in defeat with 146 yards on 13 catches. Prescott threw for 243 yards on 25-of-38 passing but was intercepted twice.
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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