Mayfield, Garrett, Beckham lead surging Browns past Cowboys

Updated Oct. 4, 2020 11:44 p.m. ET

Associated Press

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Baker Mayfield threw for two touchdowns, one of which was set up when Myles Garrett had a strip sack for the third straight game, and Cleveland held on for a 49-38 victory over Dallas to improve to 3-1 for the first time since 2001.

Jarvis Landry had his first career touchdown pass in the receiver’s 100th career game, a 37-yard toss to Odell Beckham Jr. in Beckham’s first multi-TD game with the Browns.

Beckham finished with his first three-score game in nearly five years, capped by a 50-yard run on a reverse after the Cowboys had cut a 41-14 deficit to three points with less than four minutes remaining. He had five catches for 81 yards and two scores.

The Browns ran for 307 yards and three touchdowns despite losing lead back Nick Chubb to a knee injury in the first quarter.

Kareem Hunt, who has been battling a groin injury, had 71 yards and two touchdowns, and D’Ernest Johnson doubled his career yardage of 26 yards in the first half alone, finishing with a team-high 95 yards. Beckham had 73 on two carries.

Dak Prescott had his first 500-yard game, finishing with 502 yards passing, and became the first NFL player to throw for at least 450 yards in three consecutive games.

Prescott set that record because the Cowboys (1-3) have played from way behind three straight weeks and now have lost the first of three straight home games.

BUCCANEERS 38, CHARGERS 31

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Tom Brady threw for 369 yards and five touchdowns, all to different receivers, helping the Tampa Bay rally from a 17-point deficit to beat Los Angeles.

Brady shrugged off throwing an early interception returned for a touchdown and the Bucs (3-1) won their third straight to stay in first place in the NFC South.

Mike Evans, Scotty Miller, O.J. Howard, Cameron Brate and rookie Ke’Shawn Vaughn caught scoring passes from Brady, who threw four of them after falling behind 24-7 in the second quarter.

Rookie Justin Herbert completed 20 of 25 passes for 290 yards and three touchdowns for the Chargers (1-3), who’ve lost three straight with the sixth overall pick in this year’s draft playing earlier than expected because of injuries to Tyrod Taylor.

Michael Davis intercepted Brady’s sideline throw intended for Justin Watson and returned the ball 73 yards for a first-quarter score and a 14-7 lead. LA extended the advantage to 17 with a 19-yard TD pass to Donald Parham Jr. and Michael Badgley’s 53-yard field goal.

The game swung dramatically in the final minute of the opening half. Ndamukong Suh forced a fumble inside the Los Angeles 10 with the Chargers attempting to run out at the clock. Linebacker Devin White recovered, setting up Brady’s 6-yard TD to Evans, who finished with seven catches for 122 yards.

COLTS 19, BEARS 11

CHICAGO (AP) — Philip Rivers threw a touchdown pass on Indianapolis’ first possession and the Colts shut down Nick Foles and Chicago.

After Rivers connected with Mo Alie-Cox on a 13-yard score, the NFL’s top-ranked defense took over.

The Colts (3-1) kept the Bears (3-1) out of the end zone until Allen Robinson caught a 16-yard pass with 1:35 remaining. Indianapolis recovered the onside kick and came away with its third straight win, its best streak since beating Kansas City, Houston and Denver last October.

As for the Bears, their offense didn’t look much better with Foles starting instead of Mitchell Trubisky. The Bears managed just 269 yards — only 28 on the ground.

The Colts’ offense didn’t exactly light up Chicago, either.

Rivers was 16 of 29 for 190 yards and a TD.

Julian Blackmon intercepted Foles at the Indianapolis 7 early in the fourth quarter with the Colts leading by 13. Rodrigo Blankenship kicked four field goals for Indy.

RAMS 17, GIANTS 9

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Jared Goff hit Cooper Kupp for a 55-yard touchdown with 6:56 to play, and Los Angeles beat New York in a game marred by a postgame fight between Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey and Giants receiver Golden Tate.

Ramsey and Tate scuffled at midfield after the final whistle after a game filled with trash-talking between the two Nashville-area natives. Ramsey has two young children with Tate’s sister, and Tate was publicly upset last year when the couple went through a nasty public breakup.

Darious Williams made a redemptive, diving interception at the Los Angeles 7 with 52 seconds to play as the Rams (3-1) barely stayed unbeaten at new SoFi Stadium and kept first-year Giants coach Joe Judge winless.

After a dominant opening drive, Los Angeles struggled to get free from the Giants (0-4) until the speedy Kupp caught a pass behind New York’s linebackers and sprinted through the secondary for the Rams’ first touchdown since their opening drive. That was the only TD pass for Goff, who went 25 of 32 for 200 yards.

Daniel Jones passed for 190 yards and rushed for 45 for the Giants, who haven’t scored a touchdown in their last two games.

BILLS 30, RAIDERS 23

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Josh Allen threw for two touchdowns and rushed for another, leading Buffalo past Las Vegas.

Buffalo is 4-0 for the first time in 12 years. The BIlls were 3-1 in 2019, when they made the playoffs, and they lead the AFC East now.

The Bills have scored 30 points in three consecutive games, and are averaging 30.75 points per game, third highest in the NFL.

Las Vegas (2-2) lost its second straight game after falling at New England last week.

Allen continued to mesh well with offseason acquisition Stefon Diggs, who finished with six receptions for 115 yards.

Derek Carr had a strong performance for the Raiders, going 32 for 44 for 311 yards and two touchdowns. Carr, who has yet to throw an interception this season, surpassed Ken Stabler and set a franchise record with 151 career touchdown passes.

Allen was taken to the locker room late in the first half with a left shoulder injury. He was back on the bench moments later, knelt on the final play of the half, and returned in the second half — to pick up where he left off.

RAVENS 31, WASHINGTON 17

LANDOVER, Md. (AP) — Lamar Jackson ran for a 50-yard touchdown and threw for two scores in a bounce-back performance by the reigning NFL MVP and Baltimore, which took control early and beat Washington.

Coming off a humbling loss to Kansas City on Monday night, the Ravens (3-1) built a 21-10 halftime lead before opening the third quarter with a drive that ended with Mark Andrews’ second touchdown catch.

That was enough to hand Washington (1-3) its third straight defeat.

Washington coach Ron Rivera, weakened by treatment he received during the week for lymph node cancer, occasionally took a break by sitting on the bench.

After throwing three interceptions last week, Washington’s Dwayne Haskins Jr. went 32 for 45 for a career-high 314 yards. He was sacked three times, twice by Matthew Judon.

Jackson’s numbers weren’t as big, but he managed the Baltimore offense as required while completing 14 of 21 passes for 193 yards. His 50-yard TD dash in the second quarter was the longest of his career, topping a 47-yarder last year against Cincinnati.

SAINTS 35, LIONS 29

DETROIT (AP) — Drew Brees threw two touchdown passes to Tre’Quan Smith 2:19 apart in the second quarter, helping short-handed New Orleans overcome a 14-point deficit and beat Detroit.

New Orleans (2-2) started the game without six injured starters after a short night of rest. The Saints had a player test falsely positive for the coronavirus Saturday, according to a person familiar with the situation, leading to another round of tests for players and staff overnight in the Motor City.

Early in the game at fan-free Ford Field, the Lions (1-3) looked as though they might take advantage of facing a tired team without three starters on both sides of the ball as they led 14-0 4:37 after kickoff.

New Orleans, though, responded by scoring 35 straight points from late in the first period to midway through the third.

Matthew Stafford ended the Saints’ run with a 1-yard TD pass to T.J. Hockenson late in the third quarter. The Lions pulled within six points with 3:36 left in the fourth on Adrian Peterson’s 5-yard run and Hockenson’s 2-point conversion catch.

The Saints sealed the win with Brees converting a third-and-5 from his 27 with a 19-yard pass to Smith and Alvin Kamara running for 5 yards on third-and-3 from midfield.

Detroit has gotten off to a strong start in every game this season, but only has one victory to show for it.

BENGALS 33, JAGUARS 25

CINCINNATI (AP) — Joe Mixon ran for 151 yards and two touchdowns and caught Joe Burrow’s pass for another score as Cincinnati rolled up 505 yards to beat Jacksonville.

The Bengals (1-2-1) worked around their recent offensive line problems and Mixon broke through with his first big game of the season, which opened up the field for Burrow to hit some big passes. The Heisman Trophy-winning rookie was sharp again, throwing for 300 yards and the touchdown to Mixon.

The Bengals struggled early but started getting out of their own way on a drive late in the first half that ended with a 20-yard touchdown pass to Mixon on a wheel route. Mixon then got free and tore down the right side for a 34-yard score to cap the first drive of the second half, giving the Bengals their first lead, 17-13.

Mixon scored his third TD of the day on a run right up the middle of the defense.

The Jaguars (1-3) cut it to 30-22 with 6:14 left, but their 2-point conversion attempt failed. Bullock kicked his fourth field goal with under two minutes left.

The Jags added a field goal with 8 seconds left, but the ensuing onside kick was unsuccessful.

SEAHAWKS 31, DOLPHINS 23

MIAMI (AP) — Russell Wilson threw for 360 yards and two touchdowns as Seattle beat Miami.

The Seahawks (4-0) have scored 30 or more points in four consecutive games for the first time since 2015.

Seattle forced Miami to settle for five field goals before the Dolphins finally reached the end zone in the final minutes.

Wilson connected with David Moore for 57 yards in the final seconds of the first half to set up a touchdown that gave Seattle a 17-9 lead.

Wilson, who went 24 for 34, tied Peyton Manning’s record of 15 touchdown passes in the first four games of a season. Manning did it 2013.

DK Metcalf had four catches for 106 yards, Moore had three for 95 yards, and Chris Carson rushed for 80 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Ryan Fitzpatrick was 29 for 45 and 315 yards but threw two interceptions for Miami (1-3). He also rushed for a touchdown and was the leading rusher for Miami with six carries for 47 yards.

VIKINGS 31, TEXANS 23

HOUSTON (AP) — Dalvin Cook ran for 130 yards and two touchdowns and Minnesota withstood a late rally from winless Houston.

The Texans cut the lead to 8 when Deshaun Watson connected with Kenny Stills on a 24-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-10 with about six minutes remaining.

Houston’s defense got a stop and Will Fuller made an acrobatic one-handed catch on fourth down for what was initially ruled a touchdown with about a minute left. But after a review it was determined that the ball hit the ground before Fuller gained control, and Minnesota (1-3) ran out the clock from there.

Alexander Mattison added a rushing touchdown and Kirk Cousins threw for 260 yards and a touchdown for the Vikings.

Houston’s NFL-worst run defense continued to struggle, giving up 162 yards as the Texans dropped to 0-4 for the first time since 2008.

Watson threw for 300 yards and two touchdowns and Fuller had 108 yards receiving and a touchdown.

Minnesota’s Harrison Smith was ejected from the game for a leaping helmet-to-helmet hit on Houston’s Jordan Akins late in the first half.

PANTHERS 31, CARDINALS 21

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Teddy Bridgewater threw for 276 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a score, and Carolina beat Arizona.

The Panthers (2-2) scored touchdowns on their first four trips inside the Cardinals’ 20-yard line to build a 28-7 lead one week after settling for five short field goals in a 21-16 victory over the Chargers.

Bridgewater scored his first rushing touchdown since Dec. 20, 2015 on an 18-yard scramble, sidestepping several tacklers to reach the end zone and give Carolina a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. It was his first TD rushing since tearing an ACL and suffering a dislocated left kneecap during a training camp practice with the Vikings.

Mike Davis, filling in for the injured Christian McCaffrey, had 111 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown. Reggie Bonnafon and Ian Thomas caught short TD tosses from Bridgewater and Robby Anderson had eight catches for 99 yards.

The Panthers’ defense limited Kyler Murray to 133 yards passing, although he did throw for three touchdowns. DeAndre Hopkins was limited to 41 yards on seven receptions.

EAGLES 25, 49ERS 20

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Carson Wentz hit Travis Fulgham on a 42-yard touchdown pass with 5:50 remaining to lift Philadelphia over San Francisco for the Eagles' first win of the season.

With the Eagles (1-2-1) missing their top three receivers and No. 2 tight end, the little-known Fulgham delivered the play of the game for Philadelphia.

Niners quarterback Nick Mullens committed three turnovers, including losing a fumble on a strip sack that Malik Jackson recovered to set up the go-ahead score. He went 18 for 26 for 200 yards and one touchdown before being replaced by C.J. Beathard following his third giveaway.

Beathard led a late TD drive and got the Niners (2-2) to the Eagles 33 before his desperation heave fell incomplete in the end zone on the final play.

Wentz ran for an 11-yard TD and threw for 193 yards and a score to move the Eagles into first place in the hapless NFC East.

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