Cam Newton fumbled in the red zone with 31 seconds remaining to secure the Bills' 24-21 win over the Patriots. Zack Moss ran for two scores and the AFC East-leading Bills improved to 6-2 for the second straight year. New England dropped to 2-5 and has lost four in a row, matching its worst skid since 2002.
In other NFL action:
The Eagles still control first place in the lowly NFC East at 3-4-1 following a 23-9 win versus the Cowboys. Carson Wentz threw a pair of touchdown passes to overcome four turnovers. Rodney McLeod returned a fumble 53 yards for a score as Philadelphia dealt the 2-6 Cowboys their third straight loss.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have matched the best start in team history while retaining first place in the AFC North. The Steelers are 7-0 after turning a 17-7 halftime deficit into a 28-24 win over the Ravens in Baltimore. Ben Roethlisberger tossed a pair of second-half touchdown passes to help the Steelers remain the NFL's only unbeaten team. After completing only four of 10 passes for 24 yards in the first half, the 38-year-old Roethlisberger finished 21 for 32 for 182 yards. Reigning MVP Lamar Jackson had a miserable day, losing a pair of fumbles and completing just 13 of his 28 passes for 208 yards and two touchdowns. Jackson was stopped on fourth down at the Pittsburgh Steelers with less than two minutes remaining and had a pass batted down in the end zone on the game's final play.
Russell Wilson threw two of his four touchdown passes to DK Metcalf and the Seahawks rebounded from their first loss of the season with a resounding 37-27 win over the 49ers. Seattle broke it open when Wilson hit DeeJay Dallas and David Moore for TDs about 2 1/2 minutes apart in the third quarter to go ahead, 27-7. Wilson has 26 scoring passes this year, one behind Tom Brady for the most in the first seven games of a season.
Tennessee dropped its second straight since a 5-0 start as Joe Burrow threw two fourth-quarter TD passes in the Bengals' 31-20 victory over the Titans. Burrow was 26 of 37 for 249 yards and no interceptions as Cincinnati improved to 2-5-1. The Titans lost despite Derrick Henry's 112 yards rushing and a touchdown.
Tua Tagovailoa threw his first career touchdown pass and the Dolphins moved to 4-3 by dumping the Rams, 28-17. The No. 5 overall pick in this year's draft finished 12 of 22 for 93 yards in his first career start. The Dolphins struck for scores 75 seconds apart on Andrew Van Ginkel's 78-yard fumble return and Jakeem Grant's team-record 88-yard punt return.
Derek Carr threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Hunter Renfrow early in the fourth quarter and Daniel Carlson kicked three field goals as the Raiders beat the Browns 16-6. Carr's strike to Renfrow with 14:53 to go was the game's only TD and helped the 4-3 Raiders bounce back after last week's loss to Tampa Bay. Josh Jacobs finished with a career-high 128 yards as Las Vegas dropped the Browns to 5-3. Cleveland played much of the second half without NFL sacks leader Myles Garrett, who could miss the rest of the season after suffering a knee injury in the first quarter.
The Vikings surprised the Packers in Green Bay, 28-22 as Dalvin Cook became the first Minnesota player since Ahmad Rashad in 1979 to score four touchdowns in a single game. Cook racked up 226 yards from scrimmage and reached the end zone on each of the Vikings' first four possessions. The Packers dropped to 5-2 despite Davante Adams' three touchdowns.
Green Bay still leads the NFC North by a half-game game after Wil Lutz nailed a 35-yard field goal in overtime to give the Saints a 26-23 victory over the Bears. The 5-2 Saints led 23-13 early in the fourth quarter after scoring 20 consecutive points, only to have Cairo Santos boot a 51-yard field goal at the end of regulation to tie it for Chicago. Drew Brees threw two touchdowns to regain the NFL's all-time lead from Tom Brady, whose Buccaneers play the Giants on Monday.
The Colts blew out the Lions, 41-21 as Philip Rivers threw three touchdown passes in the second quarter. Rivers picked apart Detroit's defense while completing 23 of 33 attempts, mostly short passes to the outside or over the middle. Nyheim Hines furnished two touchdowns in the second period as the 5-2 Colts dealt Detroit its seventh consecutive home loss.
The Chiefs cruised to a 35-9 rout of the Jets behind Patrick Mahomes, who threw for 416 yards and five touchdowns. Tyreek Hill had 98 yards receiving and two touchdowns for the 7-1 Chiefs, while Travis Kelce had 109 yards and another score. The Jets managed just 221 yards total offense in falling to 0-8 for the first time since 1996.
Drew Lock hit rookie KJ Hamler from a yard out and no time on the clock before Brandon McManus nailed the extra point to give the Broncos a shocking 31-30 win over the Chargers. The 3-4 Broncos overcame a 24-3 deficit and rallied after being held to just 60 first-half yards, including 2 on the ground. The Chargers fell to 2-5 by becoming the first team to lose three games they led by 17 or more points in the same season since the Atlanta Falcons did it in 2003.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Clemson remains No. 1 in The Associated Press college football poll, but not by much. Trevor Lawrence's absence because of COVID-19 and the Tigers' narrow victory over Boston College created a divide among the 62 sports writers and broadcasters on the voting panel. Clemson is just two points ahead of No. 2 Alabama after receiving 33 first-place votes, 19 fewer than last week. The Crimson Tide closed the gap with Saturday's 41-0 rout of Mississippi State, the first shutout loss for head coach Mike Leach. The rest of the top five remained the same, with Ohio State at No. 3, followed by Notre Dame and Georgia. Sixth-ranked Cincinnati is followed by Texas A&M, Florida, BYU and Wisconsin. Liberty cracked the poll for the first time ever at No. 25, while Penn State dropped out for the first time in four years.
MLB
Giancarlo Stanton is keeping the remaining $218 million and seven guaranteed years in his New York Yankees contract rather than opt out after a pair of injury-decimated seasons. Stanton hit .250 with four homers and 11 RBIs in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, limited to 23 games by a strained left hamstring that sidelined him from Aug. 9 to Sept. 15. He rebounded to become the Yankees' best offensive player in the playoffs, hitting .308 with six homers and 13 RBIs in 26 at-bats over seven games. Stanton also dealt with injuries in 2019, limiting him to 18 games. He hit .266 with 38 homers and 100 RBIs in his first season with the Yankees in 2018.
In other MLB news:
Relievers Dellin Betances and Brad Brach are staying with the Mets after exercising their contract options for next year. Both hurlers are coming off poor seasons. Betances pitched to a 7.71 ERA in 15 appearances last season, while Brach logged a 5.84 earned run average in 14 games after missing the start of the season due to COVID-19. The Mets made an $18.9 million qualifying offer to right-hander Marcus Stroman, who became a free agent.
The Padres declined a $3 million option on Mitch Moreland, who hit .203 with two homers and eight RBIs in 69 at-bats after being acquired from Boston on Aug. 30. The 35-year-old batted .328 with eight homers and 21 RBIs for the Red Sox before the trade.
The Diamondbacks have exercised their option on pitcher Merrill Kelly for $4.25 million. The 32-year-old right-hander was 3-2 with a 2.55 ERA in five starts during the pandemic-shortened season.
The Orioles have picked up the $3.5 million club contract option on shortstop José Iglesias. He batted .373 with three homers and 24 RBIs in 39 games in this past season, his first with the Orioles.
NASCAR
Kevin Harvick's nearly perfect season came to a spinning and sudden halt when he was bounced from the playoffs in a stunning upset at Martinsville Speedway. Chase Elliott won the high-stakes race to earn his first berth in the championship four. It knocked out Harvick from title contention despite winning nine races and the regular season championship. Elliott, Keselowski and Denny Hamlin will race Joey Logano in next week's finale at Phoenix. Harvick fell one point below the cut line. Ryan Blaney was second at Martinsville, followed by Logan, Keselowski and Kurt Busch.
F1
Runaway championship leader Lewis Hamilton overcame a sluggish start to win the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix on Sunday for a record-extending 93rd Formula One victory. Hamilton beat Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas by 5.7 seconds, allowing his team to clinch a record-extending seventh straight constructors' title.
PGA
Brian Gay has earned his fifth PGA Tour title by capturing the Bermuda Championship. Gay sank a 12-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole to beat Wyndham Clark. The 48-year-old Gay rallied from a three-shot deficit on the back nine and birdied 18 for a 7-under 64. He piled up nine birdies over his last 14 holes to finish 15 under for the tournament. The victory comes after he missed the cut in nine of his previous 11 events. It also sends Gay to the Masters for the first time since 2013.
Also, Darren Clarke won the TimberTech Champions for his first PGA Tour Champions title. Clarke two-putted for birdie on the par-5 18th for a one-stroke victory over Jim Furyk and Bernhard Langer. The 52-year-old major champion from Northern Ireland closed with a 4-under 68 and had a 17-under 199 total at the The Old Course at Broken Sound.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Longtime Oklahoma men's basketball coach Bill Tubbs has died at 85. Tubbs turned a struggling program into prominence after taking over the Sooners in 1980. Tubbs had a 333-132 record in 14 seasons at Oklahoma and was four time Big Eight Coach of the Year. His 1987-88 team featured future NBA players Mookie Blaylock, Harvey Grant and Stacey King, going to the NCAA title game before being upset by Kansas. Tubbs' family said in a statement that he battled a form of leukemia since being diagnosed in 2015.
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