The San Francisco 49ers’ defense held Aaron Rodgers to just 104 yards passing while sacking him five times en route to a 37-8 rout of the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night in Santa Clara, Calif.
The 49ers solidified their spot atop the NFC pecking order with a 10-1 record, while sending the Packers back to Green Bay at 8-3.
Jimmy Garoppolo threw for 253 yards and two touchdowns on just 20 attempts, completing 14. His 145.8 passer rating was about double that of his counterpart, Rodgers, who had too little time and too few open receivers.
Rodgers finished 20 of 33 with a touchdown, posting the lowest yards-per-attempt (3.15) in any start in his career and his second-lowest yardage total in a start in which he wasn’t injured. He was pulled for the final five minutes of the game. San Francisco didn’t allow a single third-down conversion until the final seconds of the game, as the Packers opened 0-for-15.
Patriots 13, Cowboys 9
Tom Brady completed 17 of 37 passes for 190 yards and one touchdown, and New England held on to clip visiting Dallas on a cold, wet and windy afternoon in Foxborough, Mass.
N’Keal Harry scored the lone touchdown for New England (10-1), which notched double-digit victories for the 17th straight season while beating the current NFC East leader. Julian Edelman led all receivers with eight catches for 93 yards, and Sony Michel led the ground attack with 20 carries for 85 yards.
Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott struggled in the inclement weather, completing 19 of 33 passes for 212 yards and an interception. Dallas (6-5) lost for the second time in the past three weeks.
Saints 34, Panthers 31
Wil Lutz kicked a 33-yard field goal as time expired to give host New Orleans the win over struggling Carolina.
Drew Brees passed for 311 yards and three touchdowns and drove the Saints (9-2) 65 yards in less than two minutes to set up Lutz’s kick. New Orleans took over possession after kicker Joey Slye missed a 28-yard field-goal attempt with 1:56 to play for Carolina (5-6), which has lost four of five.
Michael Thomas, the NFL’s leading receiver, caught 10 of Brees’ passes for 101 yards and a touchdown. He reached 100 pass receptions for the third consecutive season on a first-quarter catch. He later surpassed 1,200 receiving yards for the season, making him the fifth player in NFL history to reach that total and 100 catches in three consecutive seasons.
Seahawks 17, Eagles 9
Rashaad Penny rushed for a career-high 129 yards and a touchdown as Seattle defeated host Philadelphia on a windy afternoon.
Seattle’s defense, without All-Pro defensive end Jadeveon Clowney because of a hip injury, forced five turnovers — four by Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz (two interceptions, two fumbles). The Eagles (5-6) had four starters on offense sidelined by injury — running back Jordan Howard (shoulder), wide receivers Alshon Jeffery (ankle) and Nelson Agholor (knee) and All-Pro right tackle Lane Johnson (concussion).
Russell Wilson was 13 of 25 for 200 yards and a touchdown for the Seahawks (9-2), who remained unbeaten in six road games this season and kept pace with first-place San Francisco in the NFC West.
Bills 20, Broncos 3
Josh Allen passed for 185 yards and two touchdowns while adding 56 yards on the ground, Cole Beasley and John Brown had a touchdown catch each, and host Buffalo’s defense took care of the rest against Denver.
Frank Gore rushed for 65 yards to pass Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders for third in career rushing yards with 15,289. He came into the game needing 46 yards to surpass Sanders. Devin Singletary added 106 yards on the ground to lead Buffalo.
Buffalo (8-3) solidified its position as the first wild-card team in the AFC with the win. The Bills have a two-game lead on Indianapolis, Oakland and Pittsburgh. Denver (3-8) has lost four of five.
Browns 41, Dolphins 24
Baker Mayfield threw a season-high three touchdown passes as host Cleveland scored the first 28 points of the game en route to a blowout over Miami, the Browns’ third straight win.
Mayfield threw all three of his touchdowns in the first half. He finished 24 of 34 for 327 yards with one interception. Browns wide receiver Jarvis Landry had a monster game for Cleveland, reeling in 10 catches for 148 yards and two touchdowns.
The Browns (5-6) worked past a shaky third quarter to put away the Dolphins (2-9) and keep their playoff hopes alive. They sacked Dolphins quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick four times and intercepted him twice — both by linebacker Joe Schobert, who also had two interceptions in Week 11.
Steelers 16, Bengals 10
Devlin Hodges replaced Mason Rudolph at quarterback in the second half and rallied Pittsburgh, keeping host Cincinnati winless on the season.
Hodges was 5 of 11 for 118 yards and hit James Washington on a 79-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter with his second throw of the game as the Steelers (6-5) extended their winning streak over the Bengals to 10, including playoffs, going back to 2015.
Chris Boswell kicked a 47-yard field goal with 11:59 remaining to break a 10-10 tie and added a 26-yard kick with 3:18 remaining. Bengals quarterback Ryan Finley was 12 of 26 for 192 yards for the Bengals, while Tyler Boyd caught five passes for 101 yards and a touchdown. The Bengals (0-11) are off to their worst start in franchise history.
Titans 42, Jaguars 20
Tennessee exploded for 28 third-quarter points and kept its playoff hopes alive with a runaway victory over Jacksonville in Nashville, Tenn.
Derrick Henry rushed for 159 yards and two touchdowns and quarterback Ryan Tannehill accounted for four touchdowns as Tennessee (6-5) moved into a second-place tie with Indianapolis in the AFC South, one game behind division-leading Houston. Jacksonville (4-7) is now firmly entrenched in last place.
Tannehill hit Dennis Kelly for a 1-yard touchdown pass with 13:13 left in the third quarter to give the Titans a 14-3 lead, then Henry scored on 74- and 7-yard touchdown runs just 16 seconds apart to give the Titans a 28-3 lead. The Titans scored their fourth touchdown of the third on a 65-yard touchdown pass from Tannehill to A.J. Brown.
Jets 34, Raiders 3
Sam Darnold threw for 315 yards and two short touchdown passes, and added a third score on the ground, as New York extended its winning streak to three games with a drubbing of Oakland in East Rutherford, N.J.
Brian Poole returned a Derek Carr interception 15 yards for the final points of the game for the Jets (4-7), who had beaten the New York Giants and Washington Redskins in their previous two games.
Carr was benched late in the third quarter after having thrown for just 127 yards for the Raiders (6-5), who needed a win to tie idle Kansas City (7-4) atop the AFC West.
Buccaneers 35, Falcons 22
Jameis Winston shrugged off two first-quarter interceptions to throw for 313 yards and three touchdowns as Tampa Bay dumped host Atlanta.
Chris Godwin enjoyed a monster game for Tampa Bay (4-7), catching seven passes for 184 yards and two scores. The Buccaneers’ much-maligned defense, last in the league against the pass, applied the clinching blow when Ndamukong Suh recovered a fumble and rumbled 6 yards for a touchdown with 3:06 left in the game.
Matt Ryan went 23 of 46 for 271 yards with an interception for the Falcons (3-8), who fell into last place in the NFC South. They were coming off consecutive road routs of division rivals New Orleans and Carolina, but weren’t able to bring that form back home.
Bears 19, Giants 14
In a battle of units that have been quite inept in recent weeks, Chicago’s offense got rolling in the third quarter as the host Bears handed the Giants their seventh straight loss.
It was just the second time this season the Bears managed 300 yards of total offense (335). Wide receiver Allen Robinson II hauled in six receptions for 131 yards and a touchdown. But it was Khalil Mack and a solid defensive effort that gave Chicago (5-6) its second win in the past three games and kept the New York offense stuck in “inept” mode.
Midway through the second quarter, the Giants (2-9) ended a scoreless contest on a 3-yard Daniel Jones-to-Kaden Smith TD. But the Bears would score the next 13 points while keeping the Giants off the board before Jones lost his 10th fumble of the season on a strip-sack deep in Giants territory by Mack midway through the third quarter. The Bears would score the ultimate difference-making touchdown three plays later.
Redskins 19, Lions 16
Dustin Hopkins kicked four field goals, including a go-ahead 39-yarder with 16 seconds remaining, and Washington edged visiting Detroit to snap a four-game losing streak.
The game-winning kick was set up by a Quinton Dunbar interception in the final minute. Steven Sims returned a kickoff 91 yards for Washington’s lone touchdown. Rookie quarterback Dwayne Haskins recorded his first career win, completing 13 of 29 passes for 156 yards for Washington (2-9).
Rookie Bo Scarbrough rushed for 98 yards on 18 carries for the Lions (3-7-1), who have lost four straight. Jeff Driskel completed 20 of 33 passes for 207 yards and a touchdown but also was picked off three times and sacked six times. First-string quarterback Matthew Stafford missed his third consecutive game due to a back injury.
–Field Level Media
Source: Football - nytimes.com
