Steelers bulldoze Browns to take AFC North lead
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PITTSBURGH (AP) -- The Pittsburgh Steelers spent all week hearing the chatter coming from Cleveland, then spent all Sunday emphatically and repeatedly putting their longtime rivals in their place.
Maybe better days are coming for Deshaun Watson, Jared Verse and company. They’re just not here yet.
At least not in Pittsburgh, where the Browns remain the Browns.
Jaylen Warren tied a career high with 143 yards rushing and a touchdown on his 28th birthday, and the Steelers (6-2) moved into first place in the AFC North with a dominant 27-6 victory.
The Steelers sacked Watson eight times, and Pittsburgh piled up 200 yards on the ground to beat the Browns (5-3) for the 23rd straight time in the regular season at Acrisure Stadium, tying the NFL record for consecutive home victories over an opponent. Green Bay won 23 in a row against Detroit from 1992 to 2014.
“It kind of sends a message to the rest of the division, like we’re here to play,” Steelers right guard Brock Hoffman said. “We’re here to be physical. We play the game the right way on both sides of the ball up front, and that’s what we want as our identity.”
It’s an identity Cleveland (5-3) is trying to build, too. The Browns believe they’re on their way, and Verse raised eyebrows in the run-up by saying it was time for Cleveland to take the two-hour drive southeast and “make Pittsburgh ours.”
It didn’t quite turn out like that. It rarely does when the Browns play the Steelers on the road.
BENGALS 43, TITANS 36, OT
CINCINNATI -- Joe Burrow threw five touchdown passes in regulation and then scrambled untouched for a 9-yard score in overtime as Cincinnati rallied for a victory over Tennessee.
Cincinnati -- which has won three straight and is 5-2 for the first time since 2021 -- got the ball first in OT and went 70 yards in five plays. Tennessee took over but could not get a first down. Cam Ward, who had the first 300-yard passing game of his two-year career, threw an incomplete pass to Elic Ayomanor on fourth-and-3 at the Tennessee 35.
Tennessee (1-7), which entered as a 13 1/2-point underdog, gave Cincinnati all it could handle while playing without injured wide receiver Carnell Tate and standout pass rusher Jeffery Simmons, who was traded to the Chicago Bears on Thursday.
There were three lead changes and a tie in the fourth quarter alone. The Bengals tied it at 36-all with 1:17 remaining when Burrow connected with Tee Higgins for an 18-yard touchdown.
Burrow completed 33 of 48 passes for 462 yards. It wasn’t a clean game for the seventh-year franchise quarterback, who was picked off three times by Titans safety Amari Hooker.
BRONCOS 28, CHIEFS 24
DENVER -- Malcolm Roach sacked Patrick Mahomes on fourth-and-goal on the final play, preserving Denver’s come-from-behind win over Kansas City that vaulted Broncos into first place in the AFC West.
The Broncos (6-2) trailed 24-13 in the third quarter, but Bo Nix threw a 2-yard TD pass to tight end Nate Adkins and found Jaylen Waddle for the 2-point conversion to pull Denver to 24-21.
After Kansas City’s scuffling kicker Harrison Butker missed wide right on a 54-yard field goal attempt in a steady rain -- one play after Alex Singleton sacked Mahomes for a 6-yard loss -- the Broncos needed just two plays and 35 seconds to take the lead.
Nix hit rookie running back Jonah Coleman for a 51-yard gain and Coleman scored from the 5 yards out on the next snap, putting Denver ahead 28-24 but leaving Mahomes 1 minutes, 56 seconds.
A 32-yard catch by Travis Kelce and several big runs by Kenneth Walker III helped the Chiefs (5-2) get inside the Denver 5-yard line with less than a minute remaining.
Walker’s 3-yard run on first-and-goal put the ball at the 1. Mahomes threw incomplete on second down, Walker was stuffed on third-and-goal and on fourth down, Mahomes was sacked.
LIONS 19, VIKINGS 15
DETROIT -- Jared Goff threw a go-ahead, 7-yard touchdown pass to Jameson Williams with 4:35 left and the Detroit beat Minnesota, handing the NFL’s last undefeated team its first loss.
The Lions (5-2) have won three straight, including their first two division games in the tight NFC North.
The Vikings (6-1) had a chance to stay unbeaten, but the league’s stingiest defense couldn’t hold onto a late lead, and they lost for the first time since Nov. 30, 2025, at Seattle.
Detroit’s Jahmyr Gibbs ran for 153 yards, including a 30-yard, tackle-breaking touchdown in the third quarter. Goff was 18 of 25 for 176 yards with a touchdown and his first interception of the season.
Kyler Murray was 17 of 29 for 210 yards with two touchdown and an interception, leading an offensively challenged team that had just 81 yards rushing.
BUCCANEERS 16, FALCONS 10
TAMPA, Fla. -- Baker Mayfield didn’t complete a pass but Tampa Bay beat Atlanta behind Bucky Irving and Kenny Gainwell’s rushing on a wet, sloppy field.
The Buccaneers (3-5) set a team record for yards rushing in a game with 324, and became the first team to have zero completions since Buffalo on Sept. 29, 1974. The Bills beat the Jets 16-12 in that one, and that had been the only time a team didn’t complete a pass in the Super Bowl era.
Irving ran for 170 yards and one touchdown on 27 carries, Gainwell ran for 140 on 25 carries and Chase McLaughlin kicked three field goals to stay perfect this season at 19 for 19.
Playing in a driving rain for most of the afternoon, Mayfield was 0 for 3 in his second game back after missing three weeks with a fractured thumb.
JAGUARS 42, COLTS 7
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Trevor Lawrence threw three touchdown passes, including one to recently benched receiver Brian Thomas Jr., and Jacksonville dominated Indianapolis in the rain to extend its home winning streak in the series to 12.
Lawrence also connected with Bhayshul Tuten on a screen in the third quarter and found rookie Nate Boerkircher on a 31-yarder in an opening half filled with big plays for the Jaguars (5-2).
Tuten added a 39-yard scoring scamper in which he broke three tackles, and Rayuan Lane returned an interception 92 yards for a touchdown with 10 seconds to play in the second quarter.
Jacksonville’s 28-0 lead was the third-largest advantage at halftime in franchise history. It came five days after the Colts (2-6) traded two of their best players, defensive tackle DeForest Buckner and longtime guard Quenton Nelson, to kick-start a rebuilding effort.
RAIDERS 38, JETS 33
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Kirk Cousins threw three touchdown passes, including a go-ahead 2-yard toss to Jalen Nailor in the fourth quarter, and ran for another score and Las Vegas snapped a four-game skid with a comeback victory over New York.
Jeremy Chinn sealed it with a toe-tapping interception in the end zone on a desperation heave by Geno Smith in the closing seconds.
Brock Bowers had two TD catches for the Raiders (4-4), who trailed the Jets (2-6) by nine at halftime and allowed New York to score on its first six possessions. Dylan Laube returned a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown.
Cousins was 19 of 26 for 247 yards and rookie Mike Washington Jr. ran for 83 yards on 25 carries for the Raiders’ struggling backfield. Ashton Jeanty, who earlier in the week said it seemed like the Jets’ defense has players who don’t like to tackle, ran for 9 yards on just two carries but caught three passes for 64 yards -- including a big play on the go-ahead scoring drive.
CARDINALS 33, COWBOYS 30, OT
ARLINGTON, Texas -- Chad Ryland kicked a winning 42-yard field goal in overtime after missing a PAT that would have won the game with 6 seconds left in regulation, and Arizona rallied for a wild victory over Dallas.
The Cardinals beat Dallas for the fifth consecutive time and improved to 5-0 at AT&T Stadium, the home of the Cowboys that opened in 2009.
This was by far the most crushing of those for the Cowboys (3-5), who didn’t trail until the final kick and led by two touchdowns early in the fourth quarter.
Arizona (3-5) was still in the game because Tyler Allgeier had a 63-yard touchdown run, a career long, followed by a 50-yarder to set up his second touchdown on a 5-yard catch, all in the second half. He had 191 scrimmage yards (147 yards rushing, 44 receiving), all but 7 coming after halftime.
The Dallas defense was having its best showing of the season before buckling in the last 16 minutes, particularly the final minute.
RAMS 24, CHARGERS 9
INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- Matthew Stafford passed for 157 yards and a touchdown, Blake Corum and Kyren Williams rushed for scores and Los Angeles overcame a slow start for a victory over the winless Los Angeles.
Puka Nacua had 11 catches for 80 yards and a TD for the Rams (4-4), who won back-to-back games for the first time this season after rallying past their SoFi Stadium roommates.
The Rams have won two of the three editions of this Los Angeles derby since both teams relocated a decade ago.
The Rams didn’t even manage a first down until they trailed 9-3 in the waning moments of the first half, but they made three touchdown drives to take control. Corum, who rushed for 73 yards, made a 23-yard TD run before Nacua caught an 18-yard TD pass late in the third quarter.
Justin Herbert passed for 257 yards and threw two interceptions for the Chargers (0-7), who returned from their bye week and extended their worst start to a season since 2000. Although the offense led by Mike McDaniel showed signs of life with 295 yards, the Bolts are still the NFL’s only winless team after their defense couldn’t stop a Rams offense missing injured Davante Adams.
PATRIOTS 24, DOLPHINS 19
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- Drake Maye threw two touchdown passes and rushed for a score as New England came back to beat Miami.
With star receiver AJ Brown inactive because of lingering injuries, Maye completed 16 of 20 passes for 199 yards and the Patriots (5-3) rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to take a 17-13 lead entering the fourth, then held on after a late Miami rally.
DeMario Douglas caught a pass and weaved through the Dolphins secondary for a 48-yard touchdown catch that put the Patriots up two scores early in the fourth.
The Patriots hadn’t had a clean operation in the first half, but they took advantage of the young Dolphins’ mistakes in the second, outscoring Miami 21-0 until Malik Willis threw a 35-yard touchdown to rookie Kevin Coleman Jr. with two minutes left.
After an unsuccessful two-point try by Miami, Stevenson recovered Bradley Pinion’s onside kick, and New England kept the ball from there.