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NFL Capsules: Burrow puts on masterclass in Spain

By Associated Press 10 min read

MADRID (AP) -- Joe Burrow threw for three touchdowns and rushed for another and the Cincinnati Bengals’ offense kept rolling to defeat the Atlanta Falcons 34-17 in Madrid on Sunday for their fourth straight win.

Ja’Marr Chase had eight receptions for 142 yards in the first half, and Tee Higgins added two touchdown catches at Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. Chase finished with 10 catches for 155 yards and a touchdown.

After his 47-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter, Chase celebrated with Higgins in bullfighting style, with Higgins mimicking a bull by putting his hands on his head and Chase playing the matador with an imaginary cape.

The Bengals (6-2) have scored 30 points or more in four straight games for the first time since 1997. It was the second consecutive defeat for the Falcons (3-6).

Burrow, who completed 24 of 29 passes for 271 yards Sunday, had thrown five touchdown passes and rushed for another in overtime in the team’s 43-36 win over the Tennessee Titans last week.

LIONS 19, DOLPHINS 9

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) -- Jahmyr Gibbs had a rushing touchdown, Jared Goff threw for 170 yards and Detroit beat Miami for its fourth straight victory.

Jake Bates made four field goals on a day that was a bit underwhelming for Goff and the Lions’ top-ranked offense, which entered averaging 29 points and 395.4 yards per game but finished with 271 yards.

Goff completed 17 of 25 passes while being sacked three times as Miami’s defense pressured him throughout. Goff was intercepted by rookie cornerback Chris Johnson on a tipped pass in the first quarter -- just the second pick he has thrown this season.

Gibbs averaged just 3.7 yards per carry, finishing with 74 yards on 20 attempts and an 8-yard rushing score that put the Lions ahead 16-6 entering the fourth. All-Pro Amon-Ra St. Brown had 86 yards receiving for the Lions, who are trying to keep pace in a tough NFC North.

BRONCOS 26, PANTHERS 21

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Bo Nix threw for 237 yards and two touchdowns and Denver benefitted from a momentum-turning coach’s challenge to beat Carolina for its fifth straight win.

Jonah Coleman ran for 57 yards and a score and Courtland Sutton and Pat Bryant each caught TD passes for the Broncos.

Denver (7-2) got a late defensive stop as Nik Bonitto came up with a strip-sack on Bryce Young and recovered the ball near midfield with 1:24 left. The Broncos picked up one first down to seal the win.

Young finished 28 of 39 for 276 yards with three touchdown passes and an interception for Carolina. He was sacked three times after being sacked six times in a loss last week to Green Bay.

Darren Waller had eight catches for 90 yards and a touchdown for the Panthers (3-5), who have lost three straight.

CHIEFS 35, JETS 12

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Patrick Mahomes threw for 242 yards with a pair of touchdown passes to Kenneth Walker, who added 102 yards and a score on the ground, and Kansas City got back on track with a rout of hapless New York.

Walker finished with 143 yards from scrimmage and the Chiefs sacked Geno Smith five times while keeping the Jets out of the end zone, allowing Kansas City (6-2) to erase the stink of consecutive losses to the Seahawks and Broncos.

Smith finished with 165 yards passing for the Jets (2-7), who lost their fourth straight. They were credited with minus-9 yards of offense in the third quarter, when Kansas City scored a pair of touchdowns that turned a 14-12 halftime lead into a comfortable victory.

The Chiefs have beaten New York in each of their last three meetings.

The Jets, missing star wide receiver Garrett Wilson to a concussion, were reduced to running the ball with Braelon Allen or Breece Hall -- back from a quadriceps injury for the first time in five games -- or having Smith throw short passes to rookie Omar Cooper Jr.

They were able to move the ball that way for a while. They just couldn’t get into the end zone.

RAMS 20, COMMANDERS 13

LANDOVER, Md. (AP) -- Matt Stafford found star receiver Puka Nacua early and often, Myles Garrett had three sacks and a forced fumble in his return and Los Angeles held on for its third straight victory over Washington.

Seemingly open all afternoon, Nacua was targeted 19 times by Stafford and finished with 14 catches for 150 yards and a touchdown as the Rams (5-4) moved above .500 for the first time this season. Stafford threw for 219 yards with an interception on 26-of-43 passing.

Nacua made a leaping, contested catch in the corner of the end zone for a 7-yard touchdown that broke a 13-all tie early in the fourth quarter.

Garrett gave a lift to the Rams’ defense in his first action since Los Angeles’ season-opening loss to the 49ers in Australia. The All-Pro defensive end had missed seven games with a knee injury.

Jayden Daniels went 21 of 28 for 204 yards and a touchdown and had 15 yards rushing for the Commanders (2-5-1), who couldn’t generate enough offense to keep up with the Rams. Absent Treylon Burks, and with top wideout Terry McLaurin out for the season, the Commanders’ passing game was inconsistent.

GIANTS 19, EAGLES 11

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Jameis Winston replaced the injured J.J. McCarthy long enough to throw a go-ahead touchdown pass and help New York keep its grip on the NFC East and beat Philadelphia to hand the Eagles their seventh straight loss.

The Eagles (2-7) are on their longest losing streak since they lost eight straight games in Andy Reid’s final season in 2012.

With Jalen Hurts likely out for the season with blood clots and a playoff berth all but gone, the Eagles could get a roster makeover at Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline.

The Giants (5-2-1) are the only team in the division with a winning record.

The Eagles had beaten the Giants 13 straight times at home -- including one playoff win -- since New York last won on Oct. 27, 2013.

COWBOYS 27, COLTS 23

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Javonte Williams scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 1-yard run with 1:08 remaining to cap a 101-yard rushing day, and Dallas rallied to beat Indianapolis.

The short-handed Cowboys (4-5) blew a fourth-quarter lead for the second straight week, but this time Dak Prescott led them on a four-play, 65-yard drive that took only 29 seconds and was helped by two Indy penalties. Williams punched it in on a play where it looked like the Colts (2-6) let him score, leaving time on the clock and two timeouts.

But Daniel Jones, who had driven the Colts into field-goal range on each of Indy’s previous two series, was picked off by Caleb Downs with 35 seconds left to seal Indy’s fifth consecutive loss.

Prescott was 21 of 34 for 335 yards with two touchdowns and lost a fumble that set up the Colts’ first touchdown. Williams was the workhorse, carrying 20 times after Tyler Goodson left in the first half with a knee injury. CeeDee Lamb finished with 10 catches for 195 yards and a touchdown, though he lost a fumble.

SEAHAWKS 17, CARDINALS 3

SEATTLE (AP) -- AJ Barner caught a touchdown pass and ran for a score, and Seattle beat Arizona without starting quarterback Sam Darnold.

Backup Drew Lock completed 19 of 28 passes for 175 yards and a touchdown for the Seahawks (5-4), who rebounded from a 34-17 loss at home Monday night to Chicago.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba caught seven passes for 51 yards in just his second game this season with fewer than 100 yards. But he surpassed 1,000 yards on the season, becoming the third player in franchise history -- along with Hall of Famer Steve Largent and Tyler Lockett -- with three consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons. Smith-Njigba is the first NFL receiver to reach 1,000 yards this year.

Gardner Minshew, known to fans in the Pacific Northwest because of his stellar 2018 season at Washington State, took over as the Cardinals’ starting quarterback this week after leading Arizona to a come-from-behind overtime victory over Dallas. He unseated Jacoby Brissett, who was then traded to Baltimore.

There was no Minshew Magic in Seattle, however. He completed 21 of 30 passes for 166 yards as the Cardinals (3-6) dropped their 11th straight game to the Seahawks.

49ERS 38, RAIDERS 17

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) -- Brock Purdy threw two touchdown passes and ran for another TD and San Francisco had five takeaways in the second half to beat Las Vegas.

The 49ers (7-1) broke the game open in the third quarter thanks to the opportunistic defense starting on the first play from scrimmage when rookie Jaden Dugger returned a pass from Kirk Cousins 35 yards for the score.

Las Vegas (4-5) answered on the next drive with a touchdown pass from Cousins to Brock Bowers before the giveaways took over the game.

The Raiders were set up with good field position after Treydan Stukes intercepted Purdy but Fred Warner forced a fumble from Bowers.

Las Vegas stopped Purdy on a fourth down sneak but couldn’t capitalize when Michael Mayer lost a fumble just before crossing the goal line.

Purdy responded with a 37-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Watkins to make it 35-17.

Cousins then threw two interceptions in the fourth, including one that was picked off by Renardo Green in the end zone.

San Francisco had five takeaways in the second half for the first time since doing it 20 years ago against the Raiders at Candlestick Park.

TEXANS 44, CHARGERS 22

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) -- C.J. Stroud threw five touchdown passes, including a pair of season-best 63-yarders to Tank Dell and Kayshon Boutte, and Houston routed the winless Los Angeles for its eighth straight defeat in front of booing fans at SoFi Stadium.

Stroud completed 21 of 35 passes for 384 yards with one interception and one sack. Houston (3-5) has won three of four after starting the season 0-4.

The Chargers ended a 37-drive touchdown drought -- second-longest in NFL history -- when Quentin Johnston caught Justin Herbert’s 58-yard scoring pass in the fourth quarter. It was their first TD since Oct. 11 against Denver. Their 22 points were the second-most they’ve scored in a game this season.

Soon after, Herbert was wearing a large white glove on his left hand to protect a finger taped by trainers. He was replaced by DJ Uiagalelei, who threw his first career TD, a 15-yarder to Derius Davis, his first scoring catch since December 2024.

The Chargers had scored 24 points on field goals during their TD drought. Cameron Dicker had three, including a season-best 52-yarder, on Sunday.

PACKERS 45, PATRIOTS 27

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) -- Jordan Love threw for 372 yards and three touchdowns and ran for a score, and Green Bay scored 21 points off four New England turnovers to roll to a win.

Green Bay’s receivers had a huge day, with Christian Watson catching seven passes for 171 yards and a TD and Matthew Golden finishing with 10 catches for 164 yards and a score. Kaleb Johnson ran for a touchdown and Savion Williams had a TD catch as Green Bay finished with 478 total yards. The Packers hadn’t scored 45 or more points and had 450 or more yards since Nov. 11, 1962 at Philadelphia.

Packers safety Xavier McKinney had a pair of interceptions and Evan Williams also had a pick.

Green Bay entered the day last in the NFL in rushing, averaging 60.6 yards per game, but finished with 129 yards on the ground.

The Packers (6-3) got plenty of help from the Patriots (5-4) as they built a 24-7 lead en route to their fifth win in six games.

New England’s Drake Maye took a step backward after weeks of steady play, throwing three interceptions while completing 21 of 38 passes for 299 yards and three touchdowns. Maye had thrown just one pick in his previous four games.

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