NFL Week 8: Saints defeat Tom Brady and Bucs in dramatic fashion; Jets top Bengals

NEW ORLEANS — P.J. Williams intercepted Tom Brady and returned it 40 yards for a touchdown with 1:24 left, helping New Orleans seal a dramatic but potentially costly 36-27 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.

Saints quarterback Jameis Winston injured his left knee during a scramble early in the second quarter when he was pulled down from behind by Devin White, who was flagged for a horse-collar tackle.

Saints coach Sean Payton said he thinks the injury is “significant.”

Backup Trevor Siemian took over for Winston and completed 16 of 29 throws for 159 yards and a touchdown without a turnover. New Orleans (5-2) earned its third straight victory.

Brady passed for four touchdowns, but also turned the ball over three times on a pair of interceptions and a fumble. Tampa Bay (6-2) had won four in a row.

Rams

Rams extend winning streak with dominant performance against Texans

After uneven performances against the New York Giants and Detroit Lions, the Rams defeated the Houston Texans 38-22 behind a dominant, offensive showing.

Oct. 31, 2021

New York Jets quarterback Mike White throws against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.

(Noah K. Murray / Associated Press)

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Mike White threw for 405 yards and three touchdowns in his first NFL start, leading the Jets to a wild comeback victory.

White, starting in place of injured rookie Zach Wilson, pulled off an improbable victory for the Jets (2-5) while going 37 of 45 — setting an NFL record for the most completions in a player’s first start. He joined Cam Newton (2011) as the only players since at least 1950 to throw for 400 or more yards in their first career start.

White overcame two early interceptions and also became the Jets’ first 400-yard passer since Vinny Testaverde on Dec. 24, 2000, a span of 327 games. And he even left for a few plays with a neck injury.

Joe Burrow threw for 259 yards and three touchdowns for the Bengals (5-3), who led 31-20 midway through the fourth quarter. Rookie Ja’Marr Chase finished with just three receptions for 32 yards, including a two-yard touchdown in the second quarter.

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger passes against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.

(Kirk Irwin / Associated Press)

CLEVELAND — Ben Roethlisberger handed Cleveland yet another loss as Pittsburgh survived losing kicker Chris Boswell for the entire second half.

Roethlisberger threw a touchdown pass and rookie Najee Harris had an eight-yard touchdown run after halftime for the Steelers (4-3), who were handicapped by Boswell suffering a concussion on a blown trick play.

The Browns (4-4) had plenty of chances, but wide receiver Jarvis Landry had a costly fumble and then couldn’t handle two passes from Baker Mayfield in the final 6:04.

Roethlisberger improved to 24-3-1 in starts against the rival Browns, including 12-2-1 in Cleveland. The 38-year-old finished 22 of 34 for 266 yards — 193 in the second half when the Steelers had no margin for error.

Roethlisberger’s two-yard touchdown pass — on fourth down — to tight end Pat Freiermuth put the Steelers up 15-10 with 11:04 left.

Chargers

Justin Herbert and Chargers struggle in crunch time of 27-24 loss to Patriots

Former Chargers defensive back Adrian Phillips scores a touchdown off a fourth-quarter interception to help spur the Patriots to a comeback victory.

Oct. 31, 2021

Philadelphia Eagles running back Kenneth Gainwell carries the ball against the Detroit Lions.

(Duane Burleson / Associated Press)

DETROIT — Boston Scott and Jordan Howard each had two touchdowns on the ground, helping Philadelphia run over winless Detroit.

The Eagles (3-5) ended a two-game losing streak against a team that was very accommodating.

The Lions (0-8) go into their bye week as the NFL’s only winless team. The break gives first-year coach Dan Campbell extra time to figure out how to avoid leading the league’s first 0-17 team after being a tight end on the first 0-16 team in Detroit 13 years ago.

Just to make the setback sting a little more for the Lions and their fans, former Detroit cornerback Darius Slay scooped up D’Andre Swift’s fumble and returned it 33 yards make it 38-0 late in the third.

The offensively challenged Lions avoided a shutout midway through the fourth quarter when rookie Jermar Jefferson scored on an eight-yard run for his first NFL touchdown.

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen leaps over Miami Dolphins defensive end Christian Wilkins during the second half Sunday.

(Jeffrey T. Barnes / Associated Press)

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Buffalo’s Josh Allen shook off the rust from a bye week and a shaky first half to throw touchdown passes on consecutive second-half drives.

After managing just 100 yards net offense through Buffalo’s first possession of the third quarter, Allen found his rhythm in overseeing a pair of scoring drives which combined for 22 plays and covered 151 yards.

The Bills went ahead 10-3 in the third when Allen found a wide-open Gabriel Davis for an eight-yard touchdown reception. He then capped a 69-yard drive by hitting Stefon Diggs for a 19-yard touchdown.

Jordan Poyer sealed the victory by intercepting a pass Tua Tagovailoa sailed over the middle while facing third-and-26 from his 19 with 2:21 remaining.

The Bills (5-2) rebounded from a heartbreaking 34-31 loss to Tennessee on Oct. 18. Buffalo beat Miami for a series-record seventh consecutive time.

The Dolphins (1-7) have lost seven straight overall to match their longest skid since losing their first seven games of the 2019 season.

Tennessee’s Randy Bullock kicks a field goal against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.

(Darron Cummings / Associated Press)

INDIANAPOLIS — Randy Bullock made a 44-yard field goal with 4:03 left in overtime, lifting Tennessee to the wild road win and control of the AFC South.

The teams combined for two touchdowns in the final 86 seconds of regulation. Colts quarterback Carson Wentz threw two interceptions in the final 7 1/2 minutes after throwing only one all season.

Tennessee (6-2) has won four straight overall to take a three-game lead in the division. Indianapolis (3-5) has lost three straight in the series — this one coming in improbable fashion.

Wentz passed for 231 yards and three touchdowns, but he was picked off by Kevin Byard with 5:48 left in overtime — setting up Bullock’s winning field goal.

A.J. Brown had 10 receptions for 155 yards and a touchdown for Tennessee. Derrick Henry finished with 68 yards rushing on 28 attempts.

Carolina Panthers kicker Zane Gonzalez celebrates after kicking a second-half field goal against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.

(Mark Humphrey / Associated Press)

ATLANTA — Zane Gonzalez kicked four field goals and Chuba Hubbard scored on a six-yard run with 6 1/2 minutes remaining, helping the Panthers stop a four-game skid.

Carolina’s defense totally stuffed Matt Ryan and the Falcons, who managed just 213 yards total offense.

Ryan had one of the worst games of his career, throwing for just 146 yards with two interceptions. He was sacked three times and sustained a bloody cut on his non-throwing hand when a Panthers defender stepped on it, though Ryan didn’t miss any plays.

Atlanta (3-4) had won two straight games, but the Falcons squandered a chance to climb above .500 for the first time since 2017.

With his job on the line, Sam Darnold turned in a performance that was just good enough to win for Carolina (4-4). He threw for a mere 129 yards yards but made none of the glaring miscues that prompted speculation about how long he would remain the starter.

Darnold also rushed for 66 yards, but the last of those runs knocked him out of the game with a concussion in the fourth quarter.

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo passes against the Chicago Bears on Sunday.

(Nam Y. Huh / Associated Press)

CHICAGO — Jimmy Garoppolo threw for 322 yards and ran for two touchdowns, and San Francisco snapped a four-game losing streak.

Garoppolo led three touchdown drives in the second half and another possession that ended with a field goal. He scored from the two in the third quarter and ran it in from the five in the fourth to make it 30-22.

Deebo Samuel had six catches for 171 yards. That gave him 819 through seven games, breaking Hall of Famer Jerry Rice’s club record of 781 set in 1986.

Elijah Mitchell carried 18 times for 137 yards and a touchdown, helping San Francisco (3-4) win for the first time since beating Detroit and Philadelphia on the road to start the season.

Chicago (3-5) played without top pass rusher Khalil Mack, who missed his first game since 2018 because of a foot injury. Coach Matt Nagy was away from the team after testing positive for COVID-19, and special teams coordinator Chris Tabor filled in for him.

Justin Fields threw for 175 yards and a touchdown. The rookie also ran for 103 yards and a score, becoming the first Bears quarterback to rush for 100 yards in a game since Bobby Douglass in 1973.

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith leaps over the line to score a touchdown against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

(John Froschauer / Associated Press)

SEATTLE — Geno Smith ran for one score and threw a pair of touchdown passes to DK Metcalf, and the Seahawks stopped a three-game slide.

In what may be his final start while Russell Wilson recovers from finger surgery, Smith was terrific while picking apart the Jaguars defense for one of the best performances of his career.

Smith completed his first 14 passes in the longest streak to start a game in the NFL this season. He finished 20 of 24 for 195 yards, and his 83.3% completion percentage was a career best with at least 20 pass attempts.

Tyler Lockett had 12 catches for 142 yards for Seattle (3-5).

Jacksonville (1-6) avoided being shut out for only the fourth time in franchise history in the regular season on a short touchdown pass from Trevor Lawrence to Jamal Agnew with 1:49 remaining.

Denver Broncos free safety Justin Simmons celebrates after intercepting a pass against Washington.

(Jack Dempsey / Associated Press)

DENVER — Justin Simmons and Denver’s defense held after a fumble gave Washington the ball back, and the Broncos blocked two field goals while stopping a four-game slide.

Melvin Gordon III caught a touchdown pass and ran for the go-ahead score from seven yards out with 4:27 remaining. He also fumbled with 21 seconds to go, giving Washington the ball at the Denver 24-yard line.

The defense forced Taylor Heinicke to throw the ball out of the back of the end zone on the last play of the game.

It looked as if the game was over when Simmons picked off a desperation Heinicke pass in the end zone with around 37 seconds left. It was Simmons’ second interception of the game.

The last defensive stand prevented the first winless October for the Broncos (4-4) since 1967.

Heinicke passed for 270 yards and a touchdown for Washington (2-6).