Chiefs survive Broncos scare to stay undefeated

The Kansas City Chiefs survived a big scare against the Denver Broncos, securing a dramatic late win via a blocked field goal as time expired to stay undefeated, while the San Francisco and Pittsburgh Steelers also earned thrilling victories…

Denver Broncos 14-16 Kansas City Chiefs

The Kansas City Chiefs blocked Denver Broncos kicker Wil Lutz’s 35-yard field goal attempt as time expired, seeing the Super Bowl champions stay unbeaten on the season and move to 9-0.

The Chiefs had taken the lead on a Harrison Butker field goal with six minutes remaining, but Bo Nix and the Broncos converted on a trio of third downs while marching right back down the field. They proceeded to set up Lutz for the winner, but Leo Chenal was given credit for the dramatic, game-clinching block.

Patrick Mahomes finished with 266 yards passing and a touchdown for Kansas City, which became only the fifth team to follow up a Super Bowl triumph by winning its first nine games. That also matches the best start to a season in franchise history.

The Chiefs’ 15-game winning streak dating to last season is the longest in the NFL since the Green Bay Packers won 19 in a row from 2010-11.

Nix finished with 215 yards passing and two touchdowns for the Broncos (5-5).

Pittsburgh Steelers 28-27 Washington Commanders

Russell Wilson hit trade-deadline pickup Mike Williams for a 32-yard go-ahead touchdown with less than two and a half minutes left that earned the Pittsburgh Steelers a 28-27 comeback win over the Washington Commanders.

Coming off a bye, the AFC North-leading Steelers (7-2) won their fourth game in a row, including all three since Wilson took over from Justin Fields as the starting QB. Wilson’s stats were not the prettiest, but he got the job done: 14 for 28 for 195 yards, three TDs and one interception.

George Pickens delivered an acrobatic catch in the end zone on a 16-yarder in the first quarter, while tight end Pat Freiermuth scored on a pass from three yards out in the second.

Washington (7-3) led 24-14 but couldn’t hold on when attempting to move to 8-2 overall for the first time since 1986 and 5-0 at home for the first time since 1991, when the team went on to win the Super Bowl under coach Joe Gibbs.

Daniels, the No 2 overall draft pick who has so impressed this year, was 17 for 34 for 202 yards without a touchdown or interception and had three carries for five yards, his lowest output as a pro.

Austin Ekeler ran for two short touchdowns for Washington, which had won three games in a row as part of a swift turnaround from last season’s 4-13 record under Ron Rivera.

San Francisco 49ers 23-20 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Jake Moody redeemed himself after missing three earlier field goals by booting a 44-yarder as time expired to give the San Francisco 49ers a 23-20 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Moody, in his first game back after being sidelined for three weeks with a sprained ankle, also kicked field goals of 28 and 33 yards for the defending NFC champion 49ers (5-4), who have won consecutive games for the first time this season.

But the usually reliable kicker, who was 13 of 14 entering Sunday, also missed wide left from 49 and 50 yards before missing wide right on a 44-yard attempt that would have given San Francisco a six-point lead with three minutes remaining.

Instead, Baker Mayfield led a drive to set up a tying field goal for the Bucs (4-6). Mayfield completed 18 of 29 passes for 116 yards and one TD for the Bucs, who have lost four in a row.

Brock Purdy threw for 353 yards without an interception, and had touchdowns of 46 yards to rookie Ricky Pearsall – the wide receiver’s first NFL score, nearly three months on from being shot in the chest after an autograph session in downtown San Francisco – and 11 yards to George Kittle, who hauled in a stunning toe-tap TD in the end zone.

San Francisco running back Christian McCaffrey made his season debut, having been sidelined since early September due to Achilles tendinitis. He finished with 39 yards rushing on 13 attempts, plus six receptions for 68 yards.

Buffalo Bills 30-20 Indianapolis Colts

Taron Johnson returned Joe Flacco’s first pass 23 yards for a touchdown to set the Buffalo Bills on their way to a 30-20 road win over the Indianapolis Colts.

Josh Allen and James Cook also scored on TD runs to see the Bills (8-2) extend their winning streak to five with their first victory in Indianapolis since 1998.

Allen was 22 of 37 for 280 yards with two interceptions, while running eight times for 50 yards. Cook had 19 carries for 80 yards.

Flacco had four turnovers – three interceptions and a fumble – in his second start since replacing the benched Anthony Richardson at QB for the Colts. He was 26 of 35 for 272 yards and two TDs as the Indianapolis (4-6) lost their third straight.

Jonathan Taylor rushed 21 times for 114 yards and rookie receiver Adonai Mitchell had his biggest game of the season with six catches for 71 yards.

Atlanta Falcons 17-20 New Orleans Saints

Darren Rizzi began his tenure as New Orleans Saints interim head coach by snapping a seven-game losing streak with a hard-fought 20-17 victory over the Atlanta Falcons.

Marquez Valdes-Scantling caught three passes for 109 yards and two touchdowns in his second game for the Saints (3-7) to help secure the win.

Tyrann Mathieu thwarted a promising Atlanta drive with an interception of Kirk Cousins with two minutes to go. But the Falcons got the ball back once more after Alvin Kamara, who had 109 yards from scrimmage and became the Saints’ all-time rushing leader, dropped Derek Carr’s accurate third-down pass that would have been a game-clincher.

But just as Atlanta crossed midfield, Chase Young’s strip-sack of Cousins caused a 19-yard loss back to the Falcons 32-yard line with 34 seconds remaining, and they’d fail to threaten New Orleans’ lead as time ultimately expired.

The Falcons (6-4) missed opportunities to score at least 13 more points than they did, with Younghoe Koo having three failed field-goal attempts for the first time in his career. One missed wide, another was partially blocked and a third hit the upright.

Cousins completed 23 of 38 passes for 306 yards and was intercepted once. Falcons running back Bijan Robinson rushed for 116 yards and two touchdowns, including a tackle-breaking, 37-yard run in the third quarter that pulled Atlanta to within a field goal. Saints QB Carr finished with 269 yards and two TDs passing without a turnover.

New England Patriots 19-3 Chicago Bears

Drake Maye got the better of Caleb Williams in a matchup between top rookie quarterbacks as the New England Patriots beat the struggling Chicago Bears.

Maye led five scoring drives and the Patriots sacked this year’s No 1 overall pick in the draft, Williams, a season-high nine times, helping New England (3-7) come away with the win after losing seven of eight.

As if losing at Washington on a Hail Mary pass by Jayden Daniels two weeks ago and then falling flat at Arizona last week wasn’t enough, things took another bad turn for the Bears (4-5).

They managed just 142 yards on offense and were 1 of 14 on third downs facing a team that came in tied with six others for the worst record in the NFL.

It got so bad that fans started calling for coach Matt Eberflus’ dismissal in the closing minutes, chanting “Fire ‘Flus!”

Maye didn’t exactly light it up for the Patriots. The No 3 overall draft pick was 15 of 25 for 184 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

Minnesota Vikings 12-7 Jacksonville Jaguars

The Minnesota Vikings’ stingy defense held the Jacksonville Jaguars to only 143 yards on their way to a 12-7 road victory.

The Vikings also managed to overcome three interceptions from their quarterback Sam Darnold, all of them coming when targeting All-Pro receiver Justin Jefferson, who finished with just five catches for 48 yards.

The Vikings (7-2) trailed most of the day, but took the lead on the third of John Parker Romo’s four field goals. Romo hit from 29, 34, 33 and 45 yards in his NFL debut.

Former New England Patriots QB Mac Jones made his first start in nearly a year for the Jaguars (2-8), filling in for the injured Trevor Lawrence (shoulder), but was mostly ineffective barring a rushing touchdown scored in the first quarter.

Minnesota looked as though they would have to punt the ball away in the final minute, but Travon Walker was flagged for unnecessary roughness on third down for trying to punch the ball out of running back Aaron Jones’ hands. The Vikings were able to take a knee from there and run out the rest of the clock for the win.

New York Jets 6-31 Arizona Cardinals

Kyler Murray threw for 266 yards and a touchdown and also ran for two scores as the Arizona Cardinals won their fourth-straight game when beating the New York Jets 31-6.

The Cardinals (6-4) scored touchdowns on four of their first five drives and never trailed once in the contest. Murray completed 22 of 24 passes, including a franchise-record 17 in a row during one stretch

James Conner had five catches for 80 yards, Marvin Harrison caught the sixth touchdown pass of his rookie season and the Cardinals defense didn’t allow a touchdown for the third-straight home game.

New York (3-7) has lost six of its last seven, failing to build off the momentum of last week’s win over the Houston Texans. Aaron Rodgers completed 22 of 35 passes for 151 yards and Breece Hall ran for 52 yards.

Tennessee Titans 17-27 Los Angeles Chargers

Justin Herbert threw for a touchdown and ran for one as the Los Angeles Chargers won their third-straight game, pulling away in the second half to beat the Tennessee Titans 27-17.

The Chargers (6-3) have won four of five and are the fourth team since 1990 and the first since the 2013 Kansas City Chiefs to allow 20 or fewer points in each of their first nine games.

The Titans (2-7) came in with the NFL’s top-ranked defense overall against the pass but forced Los Angeles to go three-and-out only twice in nine possessions.

Calvin Ridley scored both of Tennessee’s touchdowns and had five catches for 84 yards. Will Levis, who missed the last three games with a shoulder injury, was 18 of 23 for 175 yards but was sacked seven times. Herbert completed 14 of 18 passes for 164 yards and had 32 yards rushing.

The game turned with 21 seconds remaining in the first half. The Titans appeared to tie things up at 13-13 when Roger McCreary ran back Herbert’s fumble 20 yards into the end zone. But a replay review overturned the call to an incomplete pass when it was determined Herbert’s arm was going forward, leaving Titans coach Brian Callahan incensed.

Week 10 in the NFL concludes on Monday night when the Los Angeles Rams host the Miami Dolphins, live on Sky Sports NFL from 1.15am in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Also stream with NOW

Source : Sky Sports