April 26, 2024

Brady, Bucs cruise past Falcons en route to 3rd consecutive victory | CBC Sports

Tom Brady threw for 368 yards and four touchdowns — two of them to longtime favourite target Rob Gronkowski — and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers moved to the brink of clinching the NFC South title with a 30-17 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.

The Bucs (9-3) won their third straight game and pushed their division lead to four games over Atlanta, Carolina and New Orleans (all 5-7) with five games remaining.

Brady improved to 10-0 in his career against the Falcons, including four straight wins over the last two seasons since moving from New England to Tampa Bay.

The 44-year-old Brady completed 38 of 51, including touchdowns of 27 and 11 yards to Gronkowski — their first scoring passes since Week 2 against the Falcons.

The prolific duo has combined for 90 regular-season TDs, passing Phillip Rivers and Antonio Gates for No. 2 in NFL history. Only Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison have more, hooking up for 112 scoring passes.

Lions pick up 1st win of season in dramatic fashion

The Lions finally found a victory when Jared Goff threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown as time expired, lifting previously winless Detroit to a 29-27 win over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.

Not only was the finish dramatic, it was stunning. Goff led the Lions on a 75-yard decisive possession without a timeout after Kirk Cousins threw a go-ahead 3-yard touchdown pass to Justin Jefferson with 1:50 left. The Vikings failed on a 2-point conversion for the third time; those missed opportunities proved costly.

Goff threw two touchdown passes in the first half to put Detroit ahead by 14 points, its biggest lead this season. Then he turned over the ball twice in the second half to help Minnesota rally.

He came through in the end, leading the long drive and delivering a sharp pass to the rookie receiver, who took advantage of the Vikings secondary playing too deep in the end zone.

The Lions (1-10-1) ended a 15-game winless streak that lasted 364 days since winning at Chicago last season, giving first-year coach Dan Campbell his first victory with the franchise.

Cardinals down Bears in return of Murray, Hopkins

Kyler Murray threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more in his return from an ankle injury, and the Arizona Cardinals beat the struggling Chicago Bears 33-22 on Sunday.

The Cardinals (10-2) got back Murray and three-time All-Pro receiver DeAndre Hopkins after both players missed three games because of injuries, then rolled to an easy victory over Chicago (4-8). The NFC West leaders, who have the NFL’s best record, intercepted Andy Dalton four times.

The Cardinals, who were coming off a bye, improved to 7-0 on the road, with each win by 10 points or more.

Jalen Thompson and Budda Baker picked off passes that deflected off the intended target on Chicago’s first two possessions. The Cardinals took advantage, with Murray connecting with Hopkins for a 20-yarder and scrambling 9 yards to the end zone. He also threw a 21-yard TD to James Conner in the second quarter to make it 21-7, sending Chicago to its sixth loss in seven games.

Herbert leads Chargers to blowout win over Bengals

Justin Herbert passed for three touchdowns and Tevaughn Campbell returned a Joe Mixon fumble 61 yards for a score, helping the Los Angeles Chargers hold off Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals for a 41-22 victory on Sunday.

Herbert was 26 of 35 for 317 yards as Los Angeles (7-5) bounced back nicely after losing 28-13 at Denver last weekend. Mike Williams had five receptions for 110 yards, and Keenan Allen caught two of Herbert’s TD passes.

Cincinnati (7-5) stormed back after falling behind 24-0 in the second quarter. Mixon’s 7-yard TD run made it 24-22 with 7:10 left in the third. But the Bengals came up empty on the 2-point conversion try and Campbell’s fumble return in the fourth helped close it out for Los Angeles.

The Bengals committed four of the game’s seven turnovers. Battling a hand injury for much of the day, Burrow threw two interceptions and lost a fumble.

Dolphins extend win streak to 5 with victory over Giants

Tua Tagovailoa threw a pair of short touchdown passes, and the Miami Dolphins extended their winning streak to five games by topping the New York Giants 20-9 on Sunday.

Isaiah Ford and Mack Hollins had the scoring grabs for Miami (6-7), which has shaken off a 1-7 start. Jaylen Waddle had nine catches for 90 yards for the Dolphins, and rookie Jaelan Phillips had two more sacks — giving him five in his last two games.

Tagovailoa completed 30 of 41 passes for 244 yards and the two scores.

Mike Glennon started at quarterback for the Giants in place of Daniel Jones, who was sidelined with a neck injury. Glennon completed 23 of 44 throws for 187 yards, and Saquon Barkley had 55 rushing yards on 11 carries.

Minshew leads Eagles to win over Jets

Gardner Minshew started in place of an injured Jalen Hurts and led the clock-eating Philadelphia Eagles to scores on their first seven possessions in a 33-18 victory over the New York Jets on Sunday.

Minshew was 20 of 25 for 242 yards and two touchdowns to Dallas Goedert. Kenneth Gainwell ran for a score, Jake Elliott kicked four field goals and the Eagles (6-7) improved to 12-0 all-time against the Jets (3-9).

With Hurts out with an ankle injury, Philadelphia bounced back from a disappointing 13-7 loss to the Giants last weekend at MetLife Stadium to slice through the Jets’ defence drive after drive. The only possession on which the Eagles didn’t score was their last.

But the win might have come at a cost as running back Miles Sanders left in the fourth quarter with an ankle injury after running for 120 yards on 24 carries. Centre Jason Kelce also limped off the field at the 2-minute warning.

Colts hold Texans scoreless in victory

Jonathan Taylor ran for 143 yards and two touchdowns and the Indianapolis Colts rolled to an easy 31-0 win over the hapless Houston Texans on Sunday.

The Texans turned the ball over twice in the first quarter and quarterback Tyrod Taylor was benched in the third quarter as Houston (2-10) lost for the ninth time in 10 games.

Jonathan Taylor, who leads the NFL in yards rushing, has 16 rushing touchdowns this season, which ties the franchise record set by Lenny Moore in 1964. It’s the 10th straight game where he’s ran for a touchdown, the longest streak in the NFL since LaDainian Tomlinson did it in 18 straight in the 2004 and 2005 seasons.

Carson Wentz threw for 158 yards and a touchdown for the Colts (7-6) before being replaced by Sam Ehlinger with five minutes left in the fourth quarter and the game long decided.

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