Game roundup: Rams stun Seahawks 28-26
By THE SPORTS XCHANGE
ST. LOUIS -- In the first game after their bombshell trade of wide receiver Percy Harvin to the New York Jets Friday, the Seattle Seahawks continued their unsuccessful search for answers.
Falling behind 21-3 midway through the second quarter, the defending Super Bowl champions slipped to 3-3 with a 28-26 loss to the St. Louis Rams on Sunday at the Edward Jones Dome.
Seattle drew within 21-19 when quarterback Russell Wilson hit tight end Cooper Helfet with a 19-yard touchdown pass with 9:44 remaining in the game.
But the Rams (2-4) promptly drove 80 yards for the eventual winning touchdown when quarterback Austin Davis found tight end Lance Kendricks for a 4-yard scoring strike at the 5:36 mark. Davis completed 18 of 21 passes for 152 yards and two touchdowns.
Wilson, who had 313 yards on 23-of-36 passing and ran for 106 yards, connected with wide receiver Doug Baldwin on a 9-yard touchdown pass with 3:18 left.
However, St. Louis melted away the remaining time, keeping the ball on a fake punt when punter Johnny Hekker completed an 18-yard pass to running back Benny Cunningham on fourth-and-3 at the Rams 18. Running back Tre Mason then ran for 9 yards on a third-and-1 play for the first down that ended the Seahawks' hopes of a comeback win.
"Gutty call by (Rams coach) Jeff (Fisher)," Seattle coach Pete Carroll said. "We've seen him do that before, but I didn't think he'd do that from that spot on the field. If he drops the ball, we have it at their 18. We can kick a field goal and get out of here with a win."
Stedman Bailey returned a punt 90 yards with 7:05 left in the half as Seattle fell for a fake from Tavon Austin on the other side of the field. That left Bailey with just two defenders to elude on the right side.
Wilson became the first quarterback in NFL history to throw for 300 yards and rush for 100 yards in the same game.
Cowboys 31, Giants 21
ARLINGTON, Texas -- Tony Romo threw three touchdown passes, DeMarco Murray made history and Dallas won its sixth in a row by beating the New York Giants.
Dallas (6-1) hasn't lost since Week 1 and is alone atop the NFC East. Philadelphia (5-1) had a bye week, but joins the Cowboys as one of the NFL's four remaining one-loss teams.
The Giants (3-4) dropped their second straight after a three-game winning streak.
Romo threw for 279 yards and of his three scores, a pair went to backup tight end Gavin Escobar. Murray added 128 yards on the ground, his seventh consecutive game in triple digits to open the season to set a new league record previously held by Hall of Famer Jim Brown.
Giants quarterback Eli Manning had three touchdowns and two were caught by rookie first-round pick Odell Beckham. His fourth-down scoring pass to Beckham pulled the Giants within 28-21 with just over five minutes left.
Dallas sealed the win on Dan Bailey's 49-yard field goal with 59 seconds left.
Lions 24, Saints 23
DETROIT -- Matthew Stafford threw two touchdown passes in the final 3:38 to erase a 13-point deficit and lift Detroit over New Orleans.
Stafford had a 73-yard scoring pass to wide receiver Golden Tate, then found wide receiver Corey Fuller for a 5-yard score with 1:48 remaining.
Stafford completed 27 of 40 passes for 299 yards and was intercepted twice. Running back Joique Bell rushed for 48 yards on 18 carries and a touchdown for Detroit (5-2).
Quarterback Drew Brees threw for 342 yards and two touchdowns but had a costly late interception for New Orleans (2-4).
Colts 27, Bengals 0
INDIANAPOLIS -- Andrew Luck and the offense have generated the headlines during Indianapolis' surge toward the top of the AFC, but the defense made a statement of its own.
The Colts limited Cincinnati to 135 total yards and one third-down conversion in a thumping that kept both teams heading on their present courses.
Indianapolis (5-2) won its fifth in a row with its first shutout since 2008 while the Bengals (3-2-1) failed to win for the third game in a row.
Luck completed 27 of 42 passes for 344 yards and two touchdowns, his fifth consecutive game of at least 300 yards.
Dolphins 27, Bears 14
CHICAGO -- Ryan Tannehill completed his first 14 passes of the game, connecting with Charles Clay and Mike Wallace for touchdowns, and threw for 277 yards as Miami handed Chicago its third consecutive home field defeat.
Tannehill, the league's 25th-rated passer, finished with 25 completions in 32 attempts and a passer rating of 123.6.
Miami (3-3) nearly doubled the Bears (3-4) in first downs, 24-14, and in yardage, 393-224, in a game that was not as close as the score indicated.
Bills 17, Vikings 16
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Kyle Orton threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Sammy Watkins with one second left in the game to lead Buffalo to a comeback victory over Minnesota.
Orton completed passes on fourth-and-20, third-and-12 and second-and-20 on the 15-play, 80-yard winning driving for Buffalo (4-3). Orton is 2-1 since replacing EJ Manuel as Buffalo's starting quarterback, but has led a total of five seconds in the fourth quarter of those victories.
Orton was 30-of-42 passing for 282 yards and two touchdowns. He threw one interception and lost a fumble. Watkins caught nine passes for 122 yards and both touchdowns.
Defensive end Everson Griffen had a career-high four sacks and a forced fumble for Minnesota (2-5).
Packers 38, Panthers 17
GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Green Bay scored the first 28 points and crushed Carolina in a battle of first-place teams and NFC contenders.
For the second consecutive home game, Aaron Rodgers got to enjoy the end of the game from the bench. In three quarters, he completed 19 of 22 passes for 255 yards and three touchdowns, with his passer rating of 154.5 falling just short of the NFL's measure of perfection, 158.3.
Wide receiver Randall Cobb had six catches for 121 yards and a touchdown, and wide receiver Jordy Nelson had four catches for 80 yards and a touchdown -- all in the first quarter for Green Bay (5-2).
Cam Newton passed for 205 yards and added 41 yards rushing for Carolina (3-3-1).
Ravens 29, Falcons 7
BALTIMORE -- Baltimore's defense dominated Matt Ryan and the rest of Atlanta's offense, holding the Falcons' scoreless until midway through the fourth quarter.
The Ravens (5-2) have won five of their past six games and travel to Cincinnati next week for supremacy in the AFC North. The Falcons (2-5) are headed in the other direction, having lost four consecutive games.
Baltimore linebackers Pernell McPhee and Elvis Dumervil each had two sacks.
Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco completed 16 of 25 passes for 258 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
Jaguars 24, Browns 6
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Denard Robinson rushed for a career-high 127 yards and scored his first NFL touchdown late in the game to help Jacksonville break a nine-game losing streak with a win over Cleveland.
Robinson started in place of injured Toby Gerhart and bettered his previous career best in the first quarter when he rushed for 62 yards. His most important yards came with just under six minutes left when he went around end from 8 yards out to give Jacksonville a 17-6 lead.
Jacksonville (1-6) won for the first time since beating Houston on Dec. 15, 2013.
Cleveland (3-3) ran 30 times for just 69 yards.
Redskins 19, Titans 17
LANDOVER, Md. -- Washington turned to third-string quarterback Colt McCoy in the third quarter and rallied over Tennessee on a game-winning, 22-yard field goal as time expired.
McCoy's first pass in the third quarter went for a 70-yard touchdown to Pierre Garcon, pushing the Redskins ahead 13-10.
On the final make-or-break possession in the fourth quarter, a pass interference penalty on Titans cornerback Jason McCourty, who grabbed the arms of Redskins wide receiver DeSean Jackson, put the Redskins in position for Kai Forbath's 22-yard game-winning kick.
Both teams are now 2-5.
Chiefs 23, Chargers 20
SAN DIEGO -- Cairo Santos kicked a 48-yard field goal with 21 seconds remaining to lift Kansas City over San Diego.
The Chargers (5-2) saw their five-game winning streak end. The Chiefs (3-3) earned their first AFC West victory of the season.
Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith completed 19 of 28 attempts for 221 yards and a touchdown.
Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers went 17 of 31 for 205 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
Cardinals 24, Raiders 13
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Carson Palmer passed for 253 yards and two touchdowns, Andre Ellington had a combined 160 yards rushing and receiving as Arizona beat Oakland.
Palmer, who faced the Raiders for the first time since they traded him to Arizona following the 2012 season, completed 22 of 31 passes and had a passer rating of 103.3.
Ellington carried 24 times for 88 yards and caught six passes for 72 yards for Arizona, which improved to 5-1 and remained atop the NFC West.
The Raiders fell to 0-6 and are the NFL's lone remaining team without a victory.
