Browns rally to stun Ravens behind Watson's passing, pick-6 by Newsome, field goal by Hopkins

BALTIMORE (AP) — Dustin Hopkins kicked a 40-yard field goal as time expired to cap a furious Cleveland rally in the fourth quarter, and the Browns edged the Baltimore Ravens 33-31 on Sunday.

Cleveland (6-3) trailed 31-17 before Deshaun Watson delivered the type of victory the Browns have been waiting for from their high-priced quarterback.

Watson threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Elijah Moore with 8:57 remaining. Then one of Lamar Jackson’s passes caromed high into the air and was picked off by Greg Newsome II, and he returned the interception 34 yards for a TD just 41 seconds later.

The Ravens stayed ahead 31-30 because Hopkins missed the extra point, but Cleveland got the ball back and drove 58 yards for the winning kick.

Baltimore (7-3) had a four-game winning streak snapped, and the victory by Cleveland tightened the race in the AFC North significantly.

Watson got off to a terrible start — his first pass of the game was picked off and returned for a touchdown by Kyle Hamilton — but he finished with 213 yards passing and 37 rushing.

The Ravens led 14-0 less than five minutes into the game, 24-9 early in the fourth quarter and 31-17 early in the fourth, but couldn't hold on. Lamar Jackson threw for 223 yards and a touchdown but was intercepted twice.

TEXANS 30, BENGALS 27

CINCINNATI (AP) — Rookie C.J. Stroud directed a last-minute, game-winning drive for the second straight week, finishing with 356 yards passing and leading Houston past Cincinnati.

With the game tied at 27-all and 1:33 remaining, Stroud moved the Texans 55 yards in six plays to set up a 38-yard field goal by Matt Ammendola as time expired. Ammendola had just been signed on Tuesday because Ka’imi Fairbairn suffered a quadriceps injury a week earlier.

Stroud connected with Dalton Schultz for 25 yards and Noah Brown for 22 yards on the decisive drive. Brown finished with seven catches for a season-high 172 yards, and Devin Singletary rushed for 150 yards and a touchdown on 30 carries.

Stroud threw for a touchdown and ran for a score.

Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow threw for 357 yards and two touchdowns but was intercepted twice in the fourth quarter. Still, he rallied the Bengals from a 20-7 third-quarter deficit and kept them in striking distance late.

Cam Taylor-Britt intercepted Stroud with 3:41 remaining in the fourth quarter, and two plays later, Joe Mixon rushed for a 1-yard touchdown to cut Houston’s lead to 27-24.

Evan McPherson tied the game with a 31-yard field goal, but Burrow didn’t get another opportunity.

49ERS 34, JAGUARS 3

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Brock Purdy threw three touchdown passes, including a 66-yarder to George Kittle, and San Francisco drubbed Jacksonville to end a three-game skid.

Deebo Samuel returned from a three-game absence and had a 23-yard scoring run for the 49ers (6-3), who stopped Jacksonville’s five-game winning streak and reestablished themselves as a Super Bowl contender following a bye week.

San Francisco dominated both lines of scrimmage and controlled the game from the opening drive. The Niners ran for 147 yards against one of the league’s top run defenses and sacked Trevor Lawrence five times. Nick Bosa was a menace all game, and newly acquired defensive end Chase Young got in on one of the sacks.

The Jaguars (6-3), meanwhile, embarrassed themselves at every turn. They had a five-possession stretch in which they fumbled, kicked a field goal, threw an interception, fumbled and threw another interception. Lawrence was responsible for three of the team’s four turnovers.

It was Jacksonville’s worst home loss since a 45-10 blowout by the Los Angeles Chargers in 2019.

Kittle finished with three catches for 116 yards. Christian McCaffrey finished with 142 total yards, but his streak of consecutive games with a TD ended at 17 games, including the playoffs.

Purdy completed 19 of 26 passes for 296 yards, giving way to Sam Darnold in the fourth with a 148.9 QB rating.

VIKINGS 27, SAINTS 19

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Joshua Dobbs kept Minnesota’s offense on track in his first start, throwing for a career-high 268 yards as Minnesota beat New Orleans for its fifth straight victory.

T.J. Hockenson outgained the Saints by himself in the first half with 10 catches for 128 yards and a score for the Vikings (6-4), who took a 24-3 lead into the break but stalled from there.

Saints quarterback Derek Carr exited the game in the third quarter with a concussion and a shoulder injury. Jameis Winston replaced him with the Saints trailing 27-3 and delivered touchdown passes to Chris Olave and A.T. Perry.

But Winston was intercepted by Mekhi Blackmon and Byron Murphy on downfield heaves to end consecutive fourth-quarter possessions.

New Orleans (5-5) saw its two-game winning streak end.

Dobbs threw for a touchdown and ran for another in his second game for the Vikings after being pressed into action against Atlanta last week. Hockenson played through a painful rib injury and finished with 11 catches for 134 yards.

COLTS 10, PATRIOTS 6

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Jonathan Taylor ran for a first-quarter touchdown, Mac Jones threw a crucial interception in the fourth quarter, and Indianapolis held on to beat New England.

Jones was sacked five times in the first half and was picked off by Julian Blackmon at the 1-yard line after leading the Patriots into position for a go-ahead score. Jones has a league-worst 10 interceptions this season.

Bailey Zappe replaced Jones on the New England's final possession. The Patriots fell to 2-8, their worst record since Bill Belichick's first year as their coach in 2000.

Gardner Minshew threw for 194 yards for the Colts (5-5), who won an international game for the first time. Taylor had 69 yards on 23 carries, and Michael Pittman had eight receptions for 84 yards.

Rhamondre Stevenson had 20 carries for 88 yards, and Ezekiel Elliott added 13 carries for 54 yards for the Patriots.

STEELERS 23, PACKERS 19

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Jaylen Warren and Najee Harris combined for 183 yards rushing and two touchdowns, and Pittsburgh beat Green Bay.

Chris Boswell kicked three field goals for the Steelers (6-3), who relied on big plays by their defense and special teams to win their ninth straight game decided by eight points or fewer.

Patrick Peterson blocked an extra point and later tipped a ball that turned into Keanu Neal’s interception in the end zone with 3:20 remaining.

Green Bay got the ball back with 59 seconds to go and drove deep into Pittsburgh territory, but Damontae Kazee picked off Jordan Love’s last-gasp throw to the end zone. Kazee returned it 30 yards before stepping out of bounds with time expired.

Love completed 21 of 40 for 289 yards and two touchdowns for the Packers (3-6), who outgained the Steelers 399 yards to 324. Pittsburgh has been outgained in every game this season.

Warren finished with 101 yards on 15 carries and Harris had 16 rushes for 82 yards.

BUCCANEERS 20, TITANS 6

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Baker Mayfield threw for 278 yards and two touchdowns, and Tampa bay beat Tennessee to stop a four-game skid.

Rachaad White turned a first-quarter screen pass into a 43-yard TD. Mike Evans redeemed himself from dropping a pass in the end zone with a 22-yard scoring catch and finished with six receptions for 143 yards for the Bucs (4-5).

A week after yielding five TD passes and an NFL rookie record 470 yards through the air to Houston’s C.J. Stroud, the Bucs’ defense fared much better against another first-year quarterback, Will Levis, who was sacked four times and intercepted once while failing to get his team into the end zone.

Mayfield completed 18 of 29 passes and shrugged off a first-quarter interception to end Tampa Bay’s longest skid since 2019.

Tennessee (3-6) lost for the fourth time in five games. The Titans have dropped eight straight on the road dating to last season.

Levis led a field goal drive on Tennessee’s first possession but finished 19 of 39 for 199 yards in his third pro start. An injury-weakened offensive line struggled to protect the rookie, and Levis got little help from a running game that produced 42 yards on 16 carries.

___

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

The Associated Press