Just when it looked like the Los Angeles Chargers were going to see their losing streak continue in Miami, Justin Herbert escaped the Dolphins’ pass rush and connected with Ladd McConkey for a 42-yard catch-and-run in the final minute.
This set up Cameron Dicker’s fifth field goal of the game, and the Chargers rallied to beat Miami 29-27 on Sunday.
The Dolphins' efforts led to boos from the fans as the team left the field with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa throwing three interceptions.
The NFL's Week 6 schedule started with two struggling offences in London, but there were also many tightly-contested games and impressive quarterback performances.
Here is a roundup of the action.
PATRIOTS 25, SAINTS 19
NEW ORLEANS — Drake Maye passed for three touchdowns of 25 or more yards, including two to Kayshon Boutte, and the New England Patriots outlasted the New Orleans Saints 25-19 on Sunday.
Maye completed 18 of 26 passes for 261 yards without a turnover and also connected with DeMario Douglas for a 53-yard score as the Patriots (4-2) won for a third straight week.
Boutte, a Louisiana native who played collegiately at LSU, caught five passes for 93 yards.
The Saints (1-5) were driving for a possible go-ahead score in the fourth quarter when tight end Juwan Johnson was ruled on video review to have fumbled what initially was ruled a first-down catch across midfield.
BRONCOS 13, JETS 11
LONDON — It seemed every time Patrick Surtain II looked, his Denver Broncos teammates were sacking Justin Fields.
“I was sitting back watching it, being a fan of it,” the star cornerback said. “It was a pleasure to watch."
The Broncos took down Fields nine times, with the final sack sealing an ugly 13-11 victory over the winless New York Jets on Sunday.
Bo Nix threw an early touchdown pass and Wil Lutz kicked a late go-ahead field goal as the Broncos (4-2) won their third in a row.
The victory completed a long road trip for the Broncos, who left for London right after their 21-17 comeback victory over the then-undefeated Eagles in Philadelphia last week. Sunday was beginning to look like the “trap game” that Denver was trying to avoid.
RAMS 17, RAVENS 3
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The Los Angeles Rams finished the first half with a goal-line stand and then Matthew Stafford guided them to a pair of touchdowns to begin the third quarter in a 17-3 victory over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday.
The Rams (4-2) weren't at their best, but they didn't have to be against a spiraling Baltimore team that was without injured quarterback Lamar Jackson for a second straight weekend. The Ravens (1-5) managed a field goal on their first drive and nothing more.
It was tied at 3-3 late in the first half when the Ravens had first-and-goal from the four. After Derrick Henry ran to the one, Baltimore tried back-to-back tush push plays with tight end Mark Andrews lining up at quarterback and sneaking. Neither worked and then Henry was stopped on fourth down.
Kyren Williams put Los Angeles ahead with a three-yard scoring run in the third. After Baltimore's Zay Flowers fumbled, the Rams quickly made it 17-3 on an eight-yard touchdown pass from Stafford to Tyler Higbee.
SEAHAWKS 20, JAGUARS 12
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Sam Darnold threw touchdown passes to Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Cooper Kupp, and Seattle dominated both lines of scrimmage on its way to a 20-12 victory at Jacksonville on Sunday.
Smith-Njigba finished with eight receptions for 162 yards as the Seahawks (4-2) rebounded from a last-second loss to Tampa Bay at home. They had few issues traveling cross-country for an early start, controlled most of the way and improved to 22-6 over the last decade in 1 p.m. kickoffs on the East Coast.
The Jaguars (4-2), meanwhile, looked every bit like a team that spent the week reveling in a Monday night victory against three-time AFC champion Kansas City. Jacksonville’s first three snaps set the tone: a sack, a holding penalty and a 3-yard loss.
Trevor Lawrence was sacked six more times. Travis Etienne was held to 27 yards on 12 carries. And the Jaguars had a 54-yard TD pass from Lawrence to Brian Thomas Jr. nullified because rookie Travis Hunter lined up offside.
COLTS 31, CARDINALS 27
INDIANAPOLIS — Daniel Jones threw two touchdown passes and Jonathan Taylor ran 1 yard for the go-ahead score with 4:32 left, giving the Indianapolis Colts a 31-27 victory over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.
Jones finished 22 of 30 for 212 yards with one interception. He also ran for a score. Taylor had 21 carries for 123 yards, and rookie tight end Tyler Warren caught six passes for 63 yards and a touchdown.
Indy (5-1) remained perfect at home by winning its sixth straight over the past two seasons at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Arizona (2-4) lost its fourth straight, blowing a fourth-quarter lead for the second consecutive week. This time, they had a chance to rally after driving to the Indianapolis 9-yard line with just over one minute to go, but the Colts forced a turnover on downs — despite Trey McBride's contention he was held in the end zone on the fourth-down play.
PANTHERS 30, COWBOYS 27
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Rico Dowdle went over 200 yards from scrimmage for the second straight week — this time against his former team — and rookie Ryan Fitzgerald kicked a 33-yard field goal as time expired as the Carolina Panthers defeated the Dallas Cowboys 30-27 in a wild back-and-forth game on Sunday.
Bryce Young completed 17 of 25 passes for 199 yards and threw two of his three touchdown passes to rookie Tetairoa McMillan to help the Panthers (3-3) improve to 3-0 at home.
Dowdle ran for 183 yards on 30 carries and caught four passes for 56 yards and a touchdown for the Panthers, who beat the Cowboys for the first time in three years at home. Dowdle spent five years with the Cowboys before signing with Carolina as an unrestricted free agent. He has 473 yards from scrimmage over the past two weeks, a franchise record.
McMillan hadn't caught a touchdown pass in the NFL before Sunday after catching 26 over his three seasons at the University of Arizona, but broke through with TD catches of 19 and 2 yards.
Dak Prescott finished 25 of 34 for 261 yards and three touchdowns for the Cowboys (2-3-1). Dallas wasted a career-best game from George Pickens, who caught nine passes for 168 yards and a touchdown.
STEELERS 23, BROWNS 9
PITTSBURGH — Aaron Rodgers passed for 235 yards and two touchdowns, and the Pittsburgh Steelers had little trouble with the Cleveland Browns in a 23-9 victory on Sunday.
The Steelers (4-1) strengthened their early grip on the AFC North by continuing their home mastery of the Browns (1-5). Cleveland's regular-season losing streak at Acrisure Stadium hit 22 games after another lifeless performance by its offense.
Browns rookie Dillon Gabriel passed for 221 yards but couldn't lead the league's second-lowest scoring offense to the end zone as Cleveland failed to crack the 17-point barrier for the 11th consecutive game.
Pittsburgh didn't exactly tear through the NFL's second-ranked defense. Still, Rodgers kept the chains moving by spreading his 21 completions among eight players. He threw a 12-yard TD pass to Connor Heyward and, early in the fourth quarter, found DK Metcalf on a pretty lob to the right corner of the end zone for a 25-yard score that put the game out of reach.
RAIDERS 20, TITANS 10
LAS VEGAS — Geno Smith passed for 174 yards and a touchdown, and Devin White led a suffocating Raiders defence as Las Vegas defeated the Tennessee Titans 20-10 on Sunday.
The Raiders (2-4) ended a four-game skid, and the Titans (1-5) missed an opportunity to win consecutive games for the first time since November of 2022, a 47-game stretch.
Neither of the struggling teams did much on offence. They combined for 451 yards.
Las Vegas won fairly easily despite pedestrian numbers from Smith and Ashton Jeanty, who rushed for 75 yards and a touchdown on a 3.3-yards-per-play average.
Titans rookie quarterback Cam Ward, the top overall pick in the NFL draft, was 26 of 38 for 222 yards. He connected with David Martin-Robinson for the second-year tight end's first career TD.
The Raiders set the tone in the first half, when they shut out the Titans. It was the first time Las Vegas has blanked an opponent in a half since the second half against New Orleans last Dec. 29.
BUCCANEERS 30, 49ERS 19
TAMPA, Fla. — Baker Mayfield’s heroics came early in the fourth quarter instead of the final minutes.
Mayfield threw two touchdown passes and had a spectacular scramble to help the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the San Francisco 49ers 30-19 on Sunday.
After winning four games with scores in the last minute, the Buccaneers (5-1) didn’t need a late comeback.
Up 20-19 early in the fourth, the Buccaneers faced a third-and-14 at their 41. Mayfield ducked away from a sack in the pocket, escaped another defender, scrambled out of trouble, eluded more tackles and dove headfirst, stretching the ball to get a first down on third-and-14.
A few plays later, Mayfield connected with Tez Johnson on a 45-yard TD pass down the middle to give the 49ers a 27-19 lead. Johnson made an outstretched leaping catch and the rookie celebrated his first career TD with an acrobatic flip.
The 49ers were driving for a potential tying score when Mac Jones threw an interception to Jamel Dean on fourth-and-5 from the Buccaneers' 33 with just under six minutes left.
The turnover led to Chase McLaughlin's 45-yard field goal that extended the lead to 30-19.
PACKERS 27, BENGALS 18
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Josh Jacobs rushed for two touchdowns and the Green Bay Packers held off Cincinnati for a 27-18 victory in Joe Flacco’s Bengals debut on Sunday.
Jacobs had a 3-yard touchdown run in the second quarter and opened the fourth by scoring on a 14-yard burst up the middle. Jordan Love went 19 of 26 for 259 yards with an interception and a 19-yard touchdown pass to Tucker Kraft.
Lucas Havrisik sealed the win by making the second of his two field goals, a 39-yarder with 1:52 remaining. Havrisik also kicked a 43-yarder a day after signing with the Packers because the usual kicker, Brandon McManus, had injured his quadriceps.
Cincinnati's final hope vanished when Evan McPherson was wide right on a 56-yard attempt with 41 seconds left. McPherson also made a 45-yard field goal and was well short on what would have been an NFL-record 67-yarder to end the first half.
The Packers (3-1-1) returned from a bye week with their first home game since Sept. 11. They bounced back from two straight subpar performances — a 13-10 loss at Cleveland and a 40-40 tie with Dallas.
Flacco was Cleveland’s quarterback in that victory over the Packers three weeks ago. He was acquired by Cincinnati (2-4) on Tuesday.
CHIEFS 30, LIONS 17
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs knew they were going to have a fight on their hands when the Detroit Lions, riding a four-game winning streak and a whole bunch of momentum, rolled into Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday night.
They probably didn't expect their dominant performance to end with an actual fistfight.
Mahomes threw for 257 yards and three touchdowns, scrambled for another score, and led Kansas City to a 30-17 victory that was so comprehensive that Lions safety Brian Branch boiled over at its conclusion. Branch delivered a right hook to Chiefs wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster as the teams were coming together at midfield, touching off a brief melee among players.
“It is what it is,” Mahomes said. “You just kind of move on. We won the football game.”
Did they ever.
Marquise Brown had two touchdown receptions and Xavier Worthy had another for the Chiefs (3-3), who played a near-flawless game — no penalties, no turnovers — one week after a mistake-strewn, last-second loss at Jacksonville.
Kansas City also managed to hold in check the NFL's highest-scoring offence to snap Detroit's winning streak.
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