NFL roundup: Texans and Ravens grab thrilling wins over Bills and Bengals
Buffalo Bills 20-23 Houston Texans
CJ Stroud threw for 331 yards and a touchdown and Ka′imi Fairbairn’s tiebreaking 59-yard field goal as time expired lifted the Houston Texans to a 23-20 win over the Buffalo Bills. The Texans (4-1) led 20-3 after a field goal early in the third quarter before the Bills scored 17 straight points to tie the score with just under four minutes remaining. Stroud was called for an intentional grounding on fourth-and-15, putting the Texans out of field goal range with less than a minute remaining. A punt backed the Bills up on their three and they punted after three straight incomplete passes to give Houston one last chance. Dare Ogunbowale had a 5-metre run to set up Fairbairn’s game winner.
Baltimore Ravens 41-38 Cincinnati Bengals
Justin Tucker kicked a 24-yard field goal to lift the Baltimore Ravens to a wild victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. After Evan McPherson missed a 53-yard attempt for Cincinnati on a fumbled snap, Baltimore took it on its own at 43. On the next play, Derrick Henry rumbled 51 yards to the Bengals 6 to set up Tucker’s chip shot for the victory. . Tucker tied it with a 56-yarder with 1:35 left to force overtime. The Ravens and Bengals traded punches on offense all day, with Lamar Jackson having the upper hand despite Joe Burrow throwing a career-high five touchdown passes.
Carolina Panthers 10-36 Chicago Bears
Caleb Williams threw for 304 yards and two touchdowns in his best performance yet, DJ Moore added 105 yards and two scores against his former team and the Chicago Bears (3-2) defeated the Carolina Panthers (1-4). The Bears won their second straight after dropping two in a row, with the two key pieces they acquired as a result of a blockbuster trade with Carolina in 2023 leading the way. Chicago also got a big performance from D’Andre Swift. He had 120 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown. Williams picked apart a broken defense that ranks among the worst in the NFL. The No. 1 overall draft pick completed 20 of 29 passes with no interceptions and a 126.2 rating, which was his best.
Cleveland Browns 13–34 Washington Commanders
Jayden Daniels rebounded from an early interception with the longest touchdown pass of his young NFL career as he and the Washington Commanders routed the Cleveland Browns for their fourth straight victory. Washington is 4-1 for the first time since 2008. Cleveland has lost three in a row and drops to 1-4. Daniels, Brian Robinson Jr., Austin Ekeler and Jeremy McNichols combined for 211 yards rushing. Deshaun Watson and the Browns’ offense was once again sloppy and disjointed.
Indianapolis Colts 34-37 Jacksonville Jaguars
Trevor Lawrence threw for 371 yards and two touchdowns on his 25th birthday and put Jacksonville in position for a 49-yard field goal with 17 seconds left, giving the Jaguars their first win of the season, over the short-handed Indianapolis Colts. Tank Bigsby ran for 101 yards and two scores for Jacksonville (1-4), which won for the first time since December and extended its home series against division rival Indianapolis (2-3) to double figures. The Jaguars did this while wearing period uniforms on a day the franchise inducted retired coach Tom Coughlin into the Ring of Honor.
New York Jets 17-23 Minnesota Vikings
Andrew Van Ginkel returned the first of Aaron Rodgers’ three interceptions 63 yards for a touchdown and Minnesota remained undefeated by holding on for a victory over the New York Jets at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The Jets (2-3) trailed 17-0 early, but had a chance to drive for a potential winning score in the closing minutes. But Stephon Gilmore intercepted Rodgers’ pass intended for Mike Williams and the Vikings improved to 5-0 for the first time since 2016.
Miami Dolphins 15-10 New England Patriots
Alec Ingold scored the go-ahead touchdown on a three-yard run with four minutes remaining and Miami defeated the New England Patriots. Jason Sanders made three field goals to make up for three failed kicks by Miami’s special teams in a game full of penalties, missed kicks and clock management errors. Miami took the lead when Ingold plunged into the end zone on his only carry of the game.