Carolina outlasts Dallas 30-27 as rookie Fitzgerald nails game-winner

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Rico Dowdle went over 200 yards from scrimmage for the second straight week — this time against his former team — and rookie Ryan Fitzgerald kicked a 33-yard field goal as time expired as the Carolina Panthers defeated the Dallas Cowboys 30-27 in a wild back-and-forth game on Sunday.

Bryce Young completed 17 of 25 passes for 199 yards and threw two of his three touchdown passes to rookie Tetairoa McMillan to help the Panthers (3-3) improve to 3-0 at home.

Dowdle ran for 183 yards on 30 carries and caught four passes for 56 yards and a touchdown for the Panthers, who beat the Cowboys for the first time in three years at home. Dowdle spent five years with the Cowboys before signing with Carolina as an unrestricted free agent. He has 473 yards from scrimmage over the past two weeks, a franchise record.

McMillan hadn’t caught a touchdown pass in the NFL before Sunday after catching 26 over his three seasons at the University of Arizona, but broke through with TD catches of 19 and 2 yards.

Dak Prescott finished 25 of 34 for 261 yards and three touchdowns for the Cowboys (2-3-1). Dallas wasted a career-best game from George Pickens, who caught nine passes for 168 yards and a touchdown.

After the Cowboys tied the game with a field goal, Young drove the Panthers 71 yards in 15 plays in a drive that took up more than six minutes to finish the game. At one point, the Cowboys were trying to let the Panthers to score to get the ball back, but running back Trevor Etienne wisely went down after a first down before the end zone.

Young took a knee twice to set up Fitzgerald’s game-winning kick.

BRONCOS 13, JETS 11

LONDON (AP) — Bo Nix threw an early touchdown pass, Wil Lutz kicked a late go-ahead field goal and Denver sacked Justin Fields nine times, with the final one sealing an ugly victory over winless New York.

The Broncos (4-2) won their third in a row, but found themselves trailing 11-10 after conceding a safety in the third quarter against a Jets team that managed just 82 total net yards on offense.

Nix, who was 19 of 30 for 174 yards, led Denver on a 12-play, 65-yard drive that ended with Lutz’s 27-yard field with just over five minutes left.

Despite a horrendous offensive display, the Jets (0-6) still had the ball with a chance to drive for a potential winning score.

But Fields was sacked by Jonathon Cooper and Justin Strnad on fourth-and-8 from the Denver 44 after Aaron Glenn opted to go for it rather than send out Nick Folk for a long field-goal attempt. Folk was 3 for 3 on the day.

RAMS 17, RAVENS 3

OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — The Los Angeles Rams finished the first half with a goal-line stand and then Matthew Stafford guided them to a pair of touchdowns to begin the third quarter in a victory over Baltimore.

The Rams (4-2) weren’t at their best, but they didn’t have to be against a spiraling Baltimore team that was without injured quarterback Lamar Jackson for a second straight weekend. The Ravens (1-5) managed a field goal on their first drive and nothing more.

It was tied at 3 late in the first half when the Ravens had first-and-goal from the 4. After Derrick Henry ran to the 1, Baltimore tried back-to-back tush push plays with tight end Mark Andrews lining up at quarterback and sneaking. Neither worked and then Henry was stopped on fourth down.

Kyren Williams put Los Angeles ahead with a 3-yard scoring run in the third. After Baltimore’s Zay Flowers fumbled, the Rams quickly made it 17-3 on an 8-yard touchdown pass from Stafford to Tyler Higbee.

With Jackson sidelined by a hamstring injury, Cooper Rush went 11 for 19 for 72 yards with an interception and a lost fumble before being pulled in favor of Tyler Huntley in the fourth. Huntley managed to drive Baltimore from deep in its own territory to the red zone before the Ravens turned the ball over on downs with 3:44 left.

SEAHAWKS 20, JAGUARS 12

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Sam Darnold threw touchdown passes to Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Cooper Kupp, and Seattle dominated both lines of scrimmage on its way to a victory at Jacksonville.

Smith-Njigba finished with eight receptions for 162 yards as the Seahawks (4-2) rebounded from a last-second loss to Tampa Bay at home. They had few issues traveling cross-country for an early start, controlled most of the way and improved to 22-6 over the last decade in 1 p.m. kickoffs on the East Coast.

The Jaguars (4-2), meanwhile, looked every bit like a team that spent the week reveling in a Monday night victory against three-time AFC champion Kansas City. Jacksonville’s first three snaps set the tone: a sack, a holding penalty and a 3-yard loss.

Trevor Lawrence was sacked six more times. Travis Etienne was held to 27 yards on 12 carries. And the Jaguars had a 54-yard TD pass from Lawrence to Brian Thomas Jr. nullified because rookie Travis Hunter lined up offsides.

Jacksonville still made it close in the fourth quarter following Lawrence’s 26-yard TD pass to Tim Patrick. It helped that Seattle went 1 for 11 on third downs.

CHARGERS 29, DOLPHINS 27

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Justin Herbert escaped the Dolphins’ pass rush and connected with Ladd McConkey for a 42-yard catch-and-run in the final minute, setting up Cameron Dicker’s fifth field goal of the game, and Los Angeles rallied to beat Miami.

The Dolphins overcame a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter and took the lead when Tua Tagovailoa threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Darren Waller with 46 seconds remaining.

Nyheim Hines set the Chargers up at Miami’s 35 with a 40-yard return of the ensuing kickoff. On second-and-10, Herbert stepped up in the pocket, got free from the grasp of Jaelan Phillips and threw a short pass to McConkey, who broke a tackle and ran out of bounds at the Miami 17. Dicker’s 33-yard kick won it for Los Angeles (4-2), which snapped a two-game skid.

Herbert completed 29 of 38 passes for 264 yards and two touchdowns. Kimani Vidal, getting the bulk of carries for Los Angeles’ banged-up backfield, finished with 18 rushes for 124 yards and had a 7-yard touchdown catch. McConkey had seven catches for 100 yards and a TD.

Tagovailoa, who finished with 205 yards passing, threw his third interception of the day on Miami’s final possession, and the Dolphins (1-5) were booed off the field at Hard Rock Stadium.

STEELERS 23, BROWNS 9

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Aaron Rodgers passed for 235 yards and two touchdowns, and Pittsburgh had little trouble with Cleveland.

The Steelers (4-1) strengthened their early grip on the AFC North by continuing their home mastery of the Browns (1-5). Cleveland’s regular-season losing streak at Acrisure Stadium hit 22 games after another lifeless performance by its offense.

Browns rookie Dillon Gabriel passed for 221 yards but couldn’t lead the league’s second-lowest scoring offense to the end zone as Cleveland failed to crack the 17-point barrier for the 11th consecutive game.

Pittsburgh didn’t exactly tear through the NFL’s second-ranked defense. Still, Rodgers kept the chains moving by spreading his 21 completions among eight players. He threw a 12-yard TD pass to Connor Heyward and, early in the fourth quarter, found DK Metcalf on a pretty lob to the right corner of the end zone for a 25-yard score that put the game out of reach.

PATRIOTS 25, SAINTS 19

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Drake Maye passed for three touchdowns of 25 or more yards, including two to Kayshon Boutte, and New England outlasted New Orleans.

Maye completed 18 of 26 passes for 261 yards without a turnover and also connected with DeMario Douglas for a 53-yard score as the Patriots (4-2) won for a third straight week.

Boutte, a Louisiana native who played collegiately at LSU, caught five passes for 93 yards.

The Saints (1-5) were driving for a possible go-ahead score in the fourth quarter when tight end Juwan Johnson was ruled on video review to have fumbled what initially was ruled a first-down catch across midfield.

Linebacker Christian Ellis was credited with the forced fumble and safety Craig Woodson recovered on the New England 49.

While the Patriots were unable to convert the turnover into points, they forced the Saints to punt with 3:55 to go and never gave the ball back, sealing the victory when Maye hit Boutte along the left sideline for a 21-yard gain on third-and-11 with just more than two minutes left.

COLTS 31, CARDINALS 27

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Daniel Jones threw two touchdown passes and Jonathan Taylor ran 1 yard for the go-ahead score with 4:32 left, giving Indianapolis a victory over Arizona.

Jones finished 22 of 30 for 212 yards with one interception. He also ran for a score. Taylor had 21 carries for 123 yards, and rookie tight end Tyler Warren caught six passes for 63 yards and a touchdown.

Indy (5-1) remained perfect at home by winning its sixth straight over the past two seasons at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Arizona (2-4) lost its fourth straight, blowing a fourth-quarter lead for the second consecutive week. This time, they had a chance to rally after driving to the Indianapolis 9-yard line with just over one minute to go, but the Colts forced a turnover on downs — despite Trey McBride’s contention he was held in the end zone on the fourth-down play.

Taylor’s first-down run on the ensuing possession sealed the win.

RAIDERS 20, TITANS 10

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Geno Smith passed for 174 yards and a touchdown, and Devin White led a suffocating Raiders defense as Las Vegas defeated Tennessee.

The Raiders (2-4) ended a four-game skid, and the Titans (1-5) missed an opportunity to win consecutive games for the first time since November of 2022, a 47-game stretch.

Neither of the struggling teams did much on offense. They combined for 451 yards.

Las Vegas won fairly easily despite pedestrian numbers from Smith and Ashton Jeanty, who rushed for 75 yards and a touchdown on a 3.3-yards-per-play average.

Titans rookie quarterback Cam Ward, the top overall pick in the NFL draft, was 26 of 38 for 222 yards. He connected with David Martin-Robinson for the second-year tight end’s first career TD.

BUCCANEERS 30, 49ers 19

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Baker Mayfield’s heroics came early in the fourth quarter instead of the final minutes.

Mayfield threw two touchdown passes and had a spectacular scramble to help Tampa Bay beat San Francisco.

After winning four games with scores in the last minute, the Buccaneers (5-1) didn’t need a late comeback.

Up 20-19 early in the fourth, the Buccaneers faced a third-and-14 at their 41. Mayfield ducked away from a sack in the pocket, escaped another defender, scrambled out of trouble, eluded more tackles and dove headfirst, stretching the ball to get a first down on third-and-14.

A few plays later, Mayfield connected with Tez Johnson on a 45-yard TD pass down the middle to give the 49ers a 27-19 lead. Johnson made an outstretched leaping catch and the rookie celebrated his first career TD with an acrobatic flip.

The 49ers were driving for a potential tying score when Mac Jones threw an interception to Jamel Dean on fourth-and-5 from the Buccaneers 33 with just under six minutes left.

PACKERS 27, BENGALS 18

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Josh Jacobs rushed for two touchdowns and Green Bay held off Cincinnati for a victory in Joe Flacco’s Bengals debut.

Jacobs had a 3-yard touchdown run in the second quarter and opened the fourth by scoring on a 14-yard burst up the middle. Jordan Love went 19 of 26 for 259 yards with an interception and a 19-yard touchdown pass to Tucker Kraft.

Lucas Havrisik sealed the win by making the second of his two field goals, a 39-yarder with 1:52 remaining. Havrisik also kicked a 43-yarder a day after signing with the Packers because usual kicker Brandon McManus had injured his quadriceps.

Cincinnati’s final hope vanished when Evan McPherson was wide right on a 56-yard attempt with 41 seconds left. McPherson also made a 45-yard field goal and was well short on what would have been an NFL-record 67-yarder to end the first half.