NFL Wrap: Colts school Giants, Pittsburgh pummel Ravens, Pats humble Peyton, Dolphins smash Chargers
ANDREW Luck threw for four touchdowns and the Colts’ defence kept Eli Manning and the Giants off balance. Check out the action from week nine.
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PITTSBURGH score big win over Baltimore, Peyton Manning’s Broncos humbled and Miami smash San Diego. Check out the action from week nine of the NFL.
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS 40 — NEW YORK GIANTS 24
Andrew Luck threw for four touchdowns and the Colts’ defence kept Eli Manning and the Giants off balance in Indianapolis’ 40-24 romp on Monday night.
With his franchise-record seventh consecutive 300-yard game, Luck led the Colts (6-3) to a lopsided win one week after a 51-34 loss to Pittsburgh. Unlike the way Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger toyed with their defence in that game, the Colts didn’t let Manning get going in handing New York (3-5) its third straight defeat.
Luck hit Coby Fleener for a 32-yard TD in the first half. He had scoring throws of 31 yards to T.Y. Hilton, 40 yards to Reggie Wayne and 2 yards to Dwayne Allen in the third period.
Adam Vinatieri added four field goals and is perfect on 20 tries this year.
PITTSBURGH STEELERS 43 — BALTIMORE RAVENS 23
Ben Roethlisberger threw for 340 yards and six scores to set an NFL record for most touchdown passes in consecutive games.
A week after passing for a franchise-record six touchdowns against Indianapolis, Roethlisberger duplicated the feat as Pittsburgh (6-3) earned its third consecutive win. Roethlisberger’s 12 touchdown passes over the last two games broke the mark of 11 set by Tom Flores for Oakland in 1963 and matched by New England’s Tom Brady in 2007.
Antonio Brown caught 10 passes for 138 yards and a score. Rookie Martavis Bryant hauled in two scoring receptions and has five touchdowns in three games.
Joe Flacco passed for 303 yards with two touchdowns and an interception, but the Ravens (5-4) were undone by a sloppy second quarter.
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS 43 — DENVER BRONCOS 21
Tom Brady outdueled Peyton Manning, throwing for four touchdowns, and Julian Edelman returned a punt 84 yards for a score in leading the New England Patriots past the Denver Broncos 43-21 Sunday.
The 16th matchup between the all-time great quarterbacks wasn’t particularly competitive after the first quarter.
New England (7-2) won its fifth straight, halting the four-game winning streak for Denver (6-2) in emphatic fashion. Brady has 18 TD passes and one interception in those five victories.
Manning fell to 2-7 at Gillette Stadium and 5-11 overall against Brady, even though he threw for 438 yards and two touchdowns. He has at least two TD passes in 14 consecutive games, an NFL record.
In his 200th career start, Brady passed for 333 yards. He has won 155 of those, the most for any quarterback in that many starts.
ST LOUIS RAMS 13 — SAN FRANCISCO 49ers 10
Colin Kaepernick fumbled at the goal line with 2 seconds remaining as St. Louis sacked the San Francisco quarterback eight times on the way to an upset over the 49ers.
The Rams recovered, and the play was reviewed and upheld. The 49ers (4-4) had first-and-goal at the 1, but struggled in the red zone and failed to capitalise on consecutive penalties by Trumaine Johnson as he defended Michael Crabtree.
Greg Zuerlein kicked a go-ahead 39-yard field goal for the Rams (3-5) with 5:25 left.
San Francisco got the ball back at its 12 with 3:11 remaining. Kaepernick completed long passes to Stevie Johnson and Anquan Boldin in the final drive.
SEATTLE SEAHAWKS 30 — OAKLAND RAIDERS 24
Marshawn Lynch rushed for two first-half touchdowns, and Bruce Irvin tipped and intercepted Derek Carr’s pass and returned it 35 yards for another score as Seattle beat Oakland.
After a tumultuous previous month, the Seahawks (5-3) won their second straight behind a strong first half, three field goals from Steven Hauschka and a defence that made Carr look like a rookie much of the afternoon.
Not all was perfect for Seattle. Russell Wilson struggled through one of his worst passing games and the Seahawks failed to capitalise on numerous chances to rout the winless Raiders.
Seattle led 24-3 at half-time only to see the Raiders score on a blocked punt for a touchdown and two Mychal Rivera TD catches to pull within six in the final minutes.
Lynch finished with 67 yards rushing and another 76 receiving as the Seahawks handed Oakland (0-8) its 14th straight loss dating to last season.
ARIZONA CARDINALS 28 — DALLAS COWBOYS 17
Carson Palmer had three touchdown passes after an early interception the Cowboys returned for a score, and the Dallas offense struggled without the injured Tony Romo in a 28-17 loss to Arizona on Sunday.
The Cardinals (7-1), who have sole possession of the best record in the NFC for the first time since 1974, won their fourth straight. They have beaten all five conference opponents.
Romo was out with his third back injury in 18 months, and backup Brandon Weeden threw two interceptions as the Cowboys (6-3) dropped their second straight after a six-game winning streak.
NFL rushing leader DeMarco Murray’s record streak of eight straight 100-yard games to start the season for Dallas ended against a defence that didn’t allow a back over the century mark for the 18th consecutive time. He rushed for 79 yards on 19 carries.
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES 31 — HOUSTON TEXANS 21
Mark Sanchez replaced the injured Nick Foles and threw for 202 yards and two touchdowns to lead Philadelphia over Houston.
Foles injured his left shoulder late in the first quarter, forcing Sanchez into his first action since 2012 with the Jets. He threw two interceptions in three quarters, but made throws when he had to.
The Eagles (6-2) led by 3 when Jeremy Maclin grabbed a low throw from Sanchez for an 8-yard touchdown to make it 31-21 with about four minutes remaining.
Maclin finished with two touchdowns and 158 yards receiving and LeSean McCoy had 117 yards rushing.
Ryan Fitzpatrick threw for 203 yards with two touchdowns and an interception for Houston (4-5).
CINCINNATI BENGALS 33 — JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS 23
Jeremy Hill ran for a career-high 154 yards and a pair of touchdowns, including a 60-yarder in the fourth quarter that helped Cincinnati hold on for a victory over Jacksonville.
Andy Dalton threw a pair of touchdown passes, one of them to A.J. Green in the Pro Bowl receiver’s return from a toe injury, but also had a pair of interceptions that kept it close.
The Jaguars (1-8) turned Dalton’s second interception into Denard Robinson’s 5-yard touchdown run, cutting it to 26-23. Hill broke his 60-yard touchdown run on Cincinnati’s next play from scrimmage.
Rookie Blake Bortles, who leads the NFL in interceptions, helped the Bengals (5-2-1) seal it by throwing an interception to George Iloka in the end zone with 3:55 left.
Bortles was 22 of 33 for 247 yards with a pair of touchdown passes to Allen Hurns.
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS 24 — NEW YORK JETS 10
Alex Smith threw for 199 yards and two touchdowns, Jamaal Charles ran for another score and Kansas City sent New York to its eighth straight loss.
Tight ends Travis Kelce and Anthony Fasano each caught touchdown passes, and the Chiefs (5-3) won their third straight and fifth in six games on the same day former running back Priest Holmes was inducted into their ring of honour.
Making his first start with the Jets (1-8), Michael Vick was 21 of 27 for 196 yards and a touchdown. He briefly left in the fourth quarter after taking a massive hit from the Chiefs’ Josh Mauga and walking unsteadily off the field, but eventually returned later in the quarter.
MINNESOTA VIKINGS 29 — WASHINGTON 26
Teddy Bridgewater outplayed Robert Griffin III down the stretch after a rough start, Matt Asiata ran for three scores and the Vikings spoiled Griffin’s return with a victory.
Bridgewater completed 26 of 42 passes for 268 yards for the Vikings (4-5), who sacked Griffin five times.
Griffin went 18 for 28 for 251 yards, one touchdown and one interception for Washington (3-6), who lost three leads despite 92 yards and two touchdowns rushing by Alfred Morris and 120 yards receiving from DeSean Jackson.
This was a rough day for Washington, starting with a crash between their two buses on the way to the stadium.
CLEVELAND BROWNS 22 — TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS 17
Brian Hoyer threw a 34-yard TD pass to Taylor Gabriel with 8:59 remaining, helping Cleveland complete a favourable stretch of its schedule with a win over Tampa Bay.
Cleveland was trailing 17-16 when Hoyer completed his second TD pass. Hoyer finished 21 of 34 for 300 yards, two TDs and two interceptions. He improved to 8-3 as Cleveland’s starter.
The Browns (5-3) have their best record at the midway point since 2007 when they won 10 and barely missed the playoffs.
Cleveland went 2-1 the past three weeks against Jacksonville, Oakland and Tampa Bay, who entered a combined 2-19.
Tampa Bay’s Mike Glennon threw a pair of 24-yard TDs to rookie Mike Evans for the Buccaneers (1-7), who have lost four in a row and five this season by six points or less.
MIAMI DOLPHINS 37 — SAN DIEGO CHARGERS 0
Ryan Tannehill threw for 288 yards and three scores, and Miami forced four turnovers to rout San Diego.
Tannehill went 24 for 34 and threw touchdown passes to Charles Clay, Rishard Matthews and Jarvis Landry. San Diego’s Philip Rivers threw three interceptions, two to Brent Grimes, and was sacked three times.
The Dolphins (5-3) earned their third consecutive victory. The Chargers (5-4) lost their third game in a row and remain winless in South Florida since January 1982.
Every Miami victory this season has been by double digits, and this was the most lopsided yet. San Diego was shut-out for the first time since 1999, and the Dolphins earned their first shutout since 2006.
Originally published as NFL Wrap: Colts school Giants, Pittsburgh pummel Ravens, Pats humble Peyton, Dolphins smash Chargers
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