(Nashville) Derrick Henry accepted the center handover and rushed five yards to register the touchdown at 3:30 in overtime on Sunday to keep the Tennessee Titans undefeated this season following an irresistible comeback which gave them a 42-36 victory over the Houston Texans.
The Titans (5-0) ignored two turnovers - Stephen Gostkowski saw one of his kicks blocked, then another missed the mark - and their defense allowed 335 yards in the air and four passes. hit to Deshaun Watson.
Watson's final touchdown allowed the Texans (1-5) to take control 36-29 with 1:50 to go in the game, but their two-point conversion attempt failed.
Ryan Tannehill, who had three of his last 19 career winning NFL possessions early in the season, allowed the Titans to pass 76 yards. He then joined AJ Brown with a six-yard pass with four seconds left on the clock, and Gostkowski pulled off the transformation to tie it up and go into overtime.
Henry, the NFL rushing yard leader last season, capped off the comeback by accepting the center handover, while the Titans were in “wildcat” formation, to register his second major of the game. He finished the game with 212 yards on the ground, and another 52 from the air.
The Titans are enjoying their second-best start to a season in history, after their 10-game winning streak to start the 2010 campaign. Their victory, combined with the loss of the Cleveland Browns to the Pittsburgh Steelers, set the stage for a duel between. the last two undefeated American Association teams in Nashville, in a week's time.
Lions 34 Jaguars 16
PHOTO REINHOLD MATAY, USA TODAY SPORTS
By Andre Swift (32)
Matthew Stafford finally landed his first touchdown pass against the Jacksonville Jaguars. And that allowed the Detroit Lions to forge a lead that they themselves could not have let slip.
Rookie D'Andre Swift amassed a personal-best 116 yards and scored two rushing touchdowns, Stafford landed a touchdown pass against the only team he had never been able to do so in 12 career seasons. in the NFL and the Lions pulverized the Jaguars 34-16.
The Lions (2-3) looked like they got an easy win, even though they had lost six straight games as they led at one point by 10 points or more. They have already suffered three such losses this season, against the Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers and New Orleans Saints.
It probably helped to face the Jags (1-5), who suffered five straight losses and conceded at least 30 points in each of those games.
Broncos 18 Patriots 12
PHOTO STEVEN SENNE, AP
Brandon McManus (8)
Kicker Brandon McManus had six field goals, linebacker Malik Reed had a deciding late-game quarterback sack and the Denver Broncos defeated the New England Patriots 18-12, in a game that was postponed twice due to positive coronavirus diagnoses in both camps.
Sunday's game was scheduled to take place last week, but was postponed twice, first for a day, then for seven. The postponement was prompted by an outbreak of COVID-19 among the Patriots, which included touched all-star quarterback Cam Newton and NFL MVP Stephon Gilmore.
The Pats (2-3) erased an 18-3 deficit and almost caused a surprise, but committed three costly turnovers.
Ravens 30 Eagles 28
PHOTO ERIC HARTLINE, USA TODAY SPORTS
Lamar Jackson (8)
Lamar Jackson threw a touchdown pass and scored another on the ground to allow the Baltimore Ravens to hang on and snatch a 30-28 victory from the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Eagles (1-4-1) opened the game with seven offensive starters, including four linemen, and lost two more when running back Miles Sanders fell in battle in the third quarter and that tight end Zach Ertz suffered the same fate in the fourth.
Nevertheless, the Ravens (5-1) had to prevent a two-point transformation attempt with 1: 55 remaining on the clock to confirm their victory. Carson Wentz was held back by LJ Fort and Matthew Judon as he tried to reach the pay zone.
Bengals 27 Colts 31
PHOTO TREVOR RUSZKOWSKI, USA TODAY SPORTS
Philip Rivers (17)
After trailing by 21 points, the Indianapolis Colts had to orchestrate the biggest winning comeback in franchise history during the regular season. And quarterback Philip Rivers rose to the challenge.
After widening a 21-0 ditch, Rivers sprang up and threw three touchdown passes, including the winning one on the opening play of the fourth quarter, en route to a spectacular 31-27 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.
It was the biggest winning run in the history of the dealership. The previous four had not occurred at the Colts' home (4-2), and their last victorious comeback of 21 points was achieved in the regular season in 2003 against the Buccaneers in Tampa Bay. The Colts, however, closed a 28-point deficit to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2013 NFL playoffs.
The Bengals (1-4-1) let slip a 21-point lead for the fifth time in franchise history - and it's also their second worst, overall.
Falcons 40 - Vikings 23
PHOTO BRUCE KLUCKHOHN, AP
Julio Jones (11) and Cameron Dantzler (27)
Julio Jones caught two of Matt Ryan's four touchdown passes and the Atlanta Falcons beat the Minnesota Vikings 40-23.
The Falcons (1-5) signed their first victory of the season, a week after firing head coach Dan Quinn.
Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins suffered three first-half interceptions for the first time in his NFL career. The Falcons turned those three thefts into 17 points to give themselves a 20-0 lead at the half.
The Vikings (1-5) have allowed 40 or more points for a second time this year after spending five consecutive seasons without allowing so many points in a game.
Ryan sliced the defense to pieces, completing 30 of his 40 passes for overhead gains of 371 yards. He hadn't threw a touchdown pass since September 27, against the Chicago Bears.
Jones, who had only taken part in one half in the past three weeks with a hamstring injury, ended the game with eight receptions for 137 yards.
Calvin Ridley and Hayden Hurt also caught a touchdown pass for the Falcons.
Bears 23-Panthers 16
PHOTO MIKE MCCARN, AP
Nick Foles (9)
Nick Foles threw a touchdown pass and landed a middle finger, leading the Chicago Bears to a 23-16 victory over the Carolina Panthers.
Foles tallied 198 yards through the air. David Montgomery added 58 rushing yards for the Bears (5-1), who started the season with a 3-0 road record for the first time since 2006.
The Bears' defense caused three turnovers and sacked four quarterbacks over Teddy Bridgewater.
Bridgewater only had 216 passing yards, his lowest total of the campaign, and he suffered two interceptions.
The Chicago team increased their record to 2-1 when Foles started.
The former Super Bowl MVP helped the Bears come from behind to defeat the Falcons in Week 3 of operations, when head coach Matt Nagy left Mitchell Trubisky at the end of the bench.
The Panthers (3-3) had two chances to tie the game late in the game, but they were unable to do so. On the fourth down and two yards to go at the Bears 36-line, with two minutes left in the game, DJ Moore couldn't grab the ball with one hand. The Panthers' defense stopped the Bears, but DeAndre Houston-Carson sealed the outcome of the game by intercepting a pass from Bridgewater.
Washington 19 - Giants 20
PHOTO ROBERT DEUTSCH, USA TODAY SPORTS
Tae Crowder (48) and Terry McLaurin (17)
Rookie Tae Crowder recovered a fumble and brought it back 43 yards for a touchdown, allowing the New York Giants to win 20-19 against Team Washington.
Crowder, the last player to be drafted, contributed to the Giants' first win of the season (1-5) and head coach Joe Judge's first in the NFL.
The game was decided after head coach Ron Rivera decided to take a risky bet following a 22-yard touchdown pass from Kyle Allen to Cam Sims with 36 seconds remaining. .
Rather than trying to convert one point to force overtime, Rivera went for two points. No one broke free for Allen, who ran to his left before throwing an incomplete pass.
Washington Soccer Team (1-5) erased a 10-point delay to tie the game in the fourth quarter, but Giants linebacker Kyler Fackrell fumbled and Crowder grabbed it to register a major.
