NFL Week 7: Mac Jones’ late TD pass lifts Patriots over Bills; Bill Belichick is 3rd coach with 300 wins
Share this post:
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Mac Jones threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Mike Gesicki with 12 seconds remaining to lift the New England Patriots to a 29-25 win over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, making Bill Belichick the third coach in NFL history with 300 regular-season victories.
Belichick joins Pro Football Hall of Famers Don Shula (328) and George Halas (318) as the only coaches to reach the milestone.
Jones completed 25 of 30 passes for 272 yards and two touchdowns as the Patriots (2-5) snapped a three-game skid. Ezekiel Elliott rushed for a score and rookie Chad Ryland added three field goals to help the Patriots beat back a second-half rally by Buffalo (4-3), which briefly took the lead late in the fourth quarter.
Mac Jones throws a TD to Mike Gesicki and the #Patriots have taken the lead over the #Bills with 12 seconds remaining.
Griddy for everyone! Holy. Cow.pic.twitter.com/EegXdtlgVQ
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) October 22, 2023
Josh Allen was 27 of 41 for 265 yards with two TDs and ran for a score. He also threw an interception that set up New England’s first touchdown. The Bills struggled on third down and scored touchdowns on only two of their four red-zone opportunities.
Trailing 22-10 in the fourth, the Bills needed just over two minutes to complete a five-play, 75-yard drive. Allen found Stefon Diggs for a 25-yard touchdown with 5:32 remaining.
On the Patriots’ ensuing series, Jones completed a 9-yard pass to Kendrick Bourne, but Jordan Poyer poked the ball free from behind, giving the Bills the ball at the Patriots 29.
Buffalo converted a fourth-and-2 to set up a first-and-goal at the 4. Allen scored on a sneak two plays later, then connected with Dawson Knox for the 2-point conversion to make it 25-22.
Why did the Patriots look more efficient and productive on Sunday?
"[Bill] O'Brien. He did a great job calling a good game."
Mac Jones telling @EvanWashburn how the Pats got it done pic.twitter.com/CHoKZlMpLI
— NFL on CBS ???? (@NFLonCBS) October 22, 2023
Jones began the decisive drive with a short pass to Rhamondre Stevenson that turned into a 34-yard gain. He hit Hunter Harvey for 14 yards on a third-and-8, and the Patriots had a first-and-goal after six plays. A pass-interference penalty set them up at the Buffalo 1, and Jones connected with Gesicki on second down.
Buffalo trailed 13-3 at halftime. Allen directed an 81-yard scoring drive on the first possession of the second half, finding James Cook for an 8-yard touchdown.
Josh Allen, who averaged his longest time to throw in a game this season (3.26 sec), struggled when forced to hold onto the ball (10/24, 130 yards, INT over 2.5 sec).
Allen completed every one of his quick passes on the day (17/17 for 135 yards & 2 TD).#BUFvsNE | #BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/hnoX2Qm693
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) October 22, 2023
New England led 16-10 early in the fourth quarter when the Bills went for it on fourth-and-2 at the Patriots 33. Ja’Whaun Bentley knocked away Allen’s pass to Dawson Knox.
That set up a nine-play, 66-yard scoring drive for the Patriots. Jones connected with Kendrick Bourne for a 22-10 lead. New England’s 2-point try failed.
Giants 14, Commanders 7
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Tyrod Taylor threw two second-quarter touchdowns passes and the Dexter Lawrence-led Giants defense had six sacks and made a last-minute stand to help New York snap a four-game skid with a 14-7 victory over the Washington Commanders on Sunday.
Taylor, starting for the second straight week with Daniel Jones sidelined with a neck injury, hit Darren Waller on a 15-yarder and added a 32-yard pass play to Saquon Barkley as New York (2-5) scored its first offensive first-half touchdowns of the season. He finished 18 of 29 for 279 yards.
Brian Robinson Jr. scored on a 4-yard run for Washington (3-4) early in the third quarter after Giants veteran Sterling Shepard muffed a punt and the Commaders, who were limited to 46 yards in the first half, recovered at the 21.
The Giants had to make one more stand after Saquon Barkley lost a fumble inside the Washington 5 and the Commanders recovered. Sam Howell (22 of 42 for 249 yards) led Washington to a first-and-10 at the New York 12. On fourth and 5 from the 7-yard line, his pass was a little behind Jahan Dotson, and the receiver could not make the catch.
The game ended when a Washington player was hurt on a third-down kneel down by Taylor. Since the Commanders had no more timeouts, the clock ran out.
Each team blew a field goal chance. Graham Gano missed a 42-yarder for New York in the first quarter and Washington’s Joey Slye had a 27-yarder blocked by Leonard Williams early in the fourth quarter.
Lawrence had two sacks for New York and Kayvon Thibodeaux added 1 1/2. Chase Young had two sacks for the Commanders.
The Giants offense ended a 205-minute scoreless streak over three-plus games — more than 14 2/3 quarters — with the third-down strike to Waller 42 seconds into the second quarter. It came after Washington coach Ron Rivera elected to enforce a holding penalty after the Giants were stopped on third down at the 2-yard line. The second TD came on a 32-yard catch-and-run by Barkley after he eluded a tackle by linebacker Jamin Davis after catching a short pass. It came two plays after rookie Deonte Banks intercepted Howell at the Giants 31.
Bears 30, Raiders 12
CHICAGO — Rookie Tyson Bagent led three touchdown drives with Justin Fields sidelined, D’Onta Foreman ran for two scores and caught a TD pass, and the Chicago Bears beat the Las Vegas Raiders 30-12 on Sunday.
The Bears (2-5) won for the second time in three games after dropping 14 in a row. They won a showdown of backup quarterbacks after both teams’ starters were injured the previous week. Fields dislocated his right thumb in a loss to Minnesota, while Las Vegas’ Jimmy Garoppolo exited a win over New England with a back problem.
Brian Hoyer threw for 129 yards and two interceptions, and the Raiders (3-4) got blown out after winning back to back games.
The Bears simplified the game plan and relied on short throws and handoffs with Bagent — undrafted out of Division II Shepherd University in West Virginia — behind center. He completed 21 of 29 passes for 162 yards and a TD, helping Chicago stop a 10-game home losing streak.
Foreman ran for 89 yards on 16 attempts and his first two touchdowns since signing with Chicago in March. He scored from the 2 in the first quarter and the 3 early in the second as the Bears grabbed a 14-0 lead, then caught a 5-yard TD in the third to make it 21-3.
DJ Moore caught eight passes for 54 yards.
Cairo Santos kicked a 54-yard field goal in the fourth quarter, and Jaylon Johnson added two late interceptions. He returned one against Hoyer 39 yards for a touchdown to make it 30-6 and then picked off Chicago-area product Aidan O’Connell, helping the Bears secure their first victory at Soldier Field since Week 3 last season against Houston.
Hoyer completed 17 of 32 passes and posted a 37.1 passer rating. O’Connell was 10 of 13 for 75 yards with a touchdown and interception.
Davante Adams, usually a thorn in the Bears’ side, caught seven passes for 57 yards. He came in with 81 catches for 1,024 yards and 10 touchdowns in 16 games against Chicago.
Josh Jacobs ran for just 35 yards on 11 attempts.
Daniel Carlson missed a 41-yard field goal wide left on Las Vegas’ first possession of the game, and the Bears went 69 yards for a touchdown, with Foreman barreling in from the 2.
The Bears had a huge opportunity early in the second quarter when Hoyer’s short checkdown pass went off Jacobs’ hands. Tremaine Edmunds picked it off at the 34, and Foreman scored from the 3 to make it 14-0.
Carlson kicked a 40-yarder with just under two minutes left in the half.
The Bears went 88 yards on their first drive of the third quarter, capped by Foreman’s 5-yard TD catch to make it 21-3. Las Vegas then drove to the 5, only to settle for a field goal.
Seahawks 20, Cardinals 10
SEATTLE — Kenneth Walker III rushed for a season-high 105 yards, rookies Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Jake Bobo both caught first-half touchdown passes, and the Seattle Seahawks beat the Arizona Cardinals 20-10 on Sunday.
Seattle (4-2) rebounded from last week’s loss at Cincinnati that was filled with missed opportunities by relying on its defense to make key stops in the second half after a handful of mistakes by the Seahawks.
Geno Smith threw for 219 yards and connected with his rookie pass catchers on the day DK Metcalf missed the first game of his career. Smith-Njigba caught his first NFL touchdown on a 28-yard reception in the first quarter and Bobo made a terrific 18-yard TD catch in the second quarter.
But Smith’s performance was shaky at times and allowed Arizona (1-6) to hang around into the fourth quarter. Smith was intercepted at the Arizona 1 in the third quarter by Garrett Williams on an underthrown pass intended for Bobo. Smith later fumbled a snap and Arizona recovered at the Seattle 34 early in the fourth quarter. The Seahawks were able to avoid giving up points on the drive after Matt Prater missed a 34-yard field-goal attempt.
Arizona later attempted a fake punt on fourth-and-9 near midfield with 5:09 remaining, but Michael Wilson was tackled 4 yards short of the first down line on a pass from backup QB Clayton Tune. Seattle kicker Jason Myers hit from 48 yards from 2:17 left to put the victory away for the Seahawks.
Smith completed 18 of 24 passes Smith-Njigba and Bobo each had four receptions and became the first set of Seattle rookies to catch TDs in the same game since 2015.
Kenny Albert and Jonathan Vilma break down the @Seahawks 20-10 victory over the Cardinals today ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/QVSZcpu7dL
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) October 22, 2023
Arizona QB Joshua Dobbs was 19 of 33 for 146 yards and was sacked four times. On the week that Kyler Murray was activated from the physically unable to perform list and rejoined Arizona’s practices, Dobbs was unable to get anything working in the downfield passing game. Dobbs’ longest completion was 21 yards on Arizona’s final possession.
Dobbs did run for a 25-yard touchdown in the first half, the longest run play allowed this season by Seattle. That touchdown capped an 80-yard drive, but Arizona finished with 249 yards and 88 yards in the second half.
Chiefs 31, Chargers 17
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Patrick Mahomes threw for 424 yards and four touchdowns, Travis Kelce caught 12 passes for 179 yards and a score, and the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Los Angeles Chargers 31-17 on Sunday to take command of the AFC West.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling had three catches for 84 yards and a touchdown, Rashee Rice and Isiah Pacheco also caught TD passes, and the Chiefs (6-1) won their sixth straight to take a three-game lead in a division they have won seven straight years.
The Chiefs were leading 24-17 midway through the fourth quarter when Mecole Hardman, who returned to Kansas City this week in a trade with the New York Jets, brought back a punt 50 yards. That gave Kansas City a short field and, six plays later, Mahomes hit Pacheco out of the backfield for the touchdown that put the game away.
The Chargers’ Justin Herbert, who spent the day under constant pressure from the league’s No. 2 scoring defense, had 259 yards passing with a touchdown and two interceptions. Joshua Palmer caught five passes for 133 yards and Joshua Kelley ran seven times for 75 yards and a score.
The Chiefs had been relying all season on their defense to bail out an offense that had struggled to hit its stride.
Mahomes and Co. finally found it in the first half.
After an opening drive that netted a field goal, the reigning league MVP capped three of the next four drives with TD passes. The first was a 46-yard strike to Valdes-Scantling, the second to Rice, and the final one — almost fittingly — a flip from the 1-yard line to Kelce, who bulldozed through a group of defenders and into the end zone with 15 seconds left in the first half.
That prompted big cheers from the home crowd, including Taylor Swift, who watched from a luxury suite and celebrated with a personalized handshake with Brittany Mahomes, the QB’s wife.
The score left Mahomes with 321 yards passing, the fourth time in his career that he had been over 300 yards before halftime. And it left Kelce with nine catches for 143 yards and a score.
It only left the Chiefs with a 24-17 lead, though, because the Chargers were getting some big plays of their own.
After the Chargers evened the score with a field goal of their own, Kelley got loose for a 49-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter. And after Herbert connected with Palmer for 60 yards down the middle of the field, the Los Angeles quarterback found Gerald Everett in the end zone for a touchdown.
Given all the first-half offense, the second half was a dud. Both teams put together long drives in the third quarter, and both of them ended up with turnovers, leaving the Chiefs clinging to their 24-17 lead heading into the fourth.
Falcons 16, Buccaneers 13
TAMPA, Fla. — Desmond Ridder and the mistake-prone Atlanta Falcons gave the Tampa Bay Buccaneers all kinds of opportunities to hang onto first place in the NFC South before showing why they believe they’re a team headed in the right direction.
Overcoming three fumbles the young quarterback lost deep in Bucs territory, as well as numerous costly penalties on defense, the Falcons rallied Sunday for a 16-13 victory that stopped an eight-game road losing streak and lifted them atop the division.
Ridder scored on a 2-yard run for an early 7-0 lead and shrugged off his mistakes to use a 39-yard completion to Kyle Pitts to set up Younghoe Koo’s third field goal of the game, a 51-yarder as time expired to hand the Bucs (3-3) their third loss in four games.
“It’s huge. But obviously we shouldn’t even have to get to that point,” Ridder said. “We made it a lot harder on ourselves than we needed it to be. But through all that, we could still come out on top, still play as a team. No one pointed fingers or blamed anyone. It was just go out and get a win.”
Atlanta was penalized nine times for 60 yards, with six of the flags resulting in Tampa Bay first downs. Cornerback Dee Alford was called for pass interference at the Atlanta 8, giving the Bucs an opportunity to take the lead before they settled for a game-tying field goal with under a minute left.
Ridder trotted back on the field with 45 seconds remaining and promptly moved the Falcons 42 yards to give Koo a chance to win it.
“I’ll say this about Des, he sat in there and delivered some big-time throws, especially when we needed it late,” Falcons coach Arthur Smith said.
“At the end of the day, we found a way,” Smith added. “Koo, as he continues to do, is clutch. Our guys made big plays at big moments. It’s a resilient group.”
All three of Ridder’s fumbles were costly, including one that wiped out a 12-yard TD run that would have put Atlanta up 10 points with less than four minutes to go. The run was initially ruled a touchdown, but officials reversed the call to a touchback after a review determined Ridder fumbled before breaking the plane of the goal line.
Earlier, Ridder’s fumble on a sack stopped the Falcons from breaking a 10-10 tie just before halftime. The young quarterback lost another fumble in the third quarter, one play after Drake London’s 13-yard reception gave the Falcons a first down inside the Bucs 1.
The receiver nearly scored on the play, although he appeared to lose possession as he stretched out for the goal line. The Bucs challenged the ruling on the field that London was down by contact before losing possession of the ball.
The ball was placed inside the 1 after a lengthy review, with officials ruling London’s hand came down out of bounds while he still had control of the ball. Ridder’s fumble on the next play was recovered by Bucs rookie Yaya Diaby.
Tampa Bay was sloppy, too.
Baker Mayfield threw an interception that stopped one promising drive in the fourth quarter, and the Bucs were penalized nine times for 66 yards, In addition, the team’s struggling rushing attack produced just 73 yards on 20 attempts.
“Anytime you’re constantly hurting yourself, getting behind the chains, you don’t make the job any easier,” Mayfield said. “A lot of pre-snap penalties for us. It’s on me for not being on the same page as everybody. … We have to eliminate those simple simple mistakes.”
Mayfield finished 27 of 42 passing for 275 yards and one touchdown. The Bucs scored on Mike Evans’ 40-yard TD reception in the first quarter and field goals of 24 and 36 yards by Chase McLaughlin, the latter making it 13-13 with 45 seconds left.
The Falcons played most of the game without rookie running back Bijan Robinson, who played sparingly and had just one carry for 3 yards.
Smith said Robinson, who’s averaging 5 yards per carry and leads the Falcons in rushing with 404 yards on 81 attempts, wasn’t feeling well.
“As we got through warmups and early on, he wasn’t feeling like himself,” Smith said. “We weren’t going to overdo it.”
With the first-round draft pick standing on the sideline most of the game, Tyler Allgeier and Cordarrelle Patterson shared the workload as the Falcons finished with 156 yards rushing.
Broncos 19, Packers 17
P.J. Locke saved the Denver Broncos from another second-half meltdown Sunday, intercepting Jordan Love’s deep pass in the closing minutes to preserve a 19-17 win over the Green Bay Packers.
Locke — subbing for safety Kareem Jackson, who was ejected for the second time this season following an illegal high hit earlier in the fourth quarter on tight end Luke Musgrave — picked off the throw intended for Samori Toure just after the two-minute warning.
The Broncos ran out the clock to give coach Sean Payton his first win at home in four tries and end a dubious streak in which Denver had lost 10 consecutive games when leading at halftime.
This time, it was a 9-0 lead the Broncos (2-5) frittered away before regaining the advantage on Wil Lutz’s 52-yard field goal with 3:50 remaining.
The Packers (2-4) scored all of their points in the second half and took a 17-16 lead on Love’s 4-yard touchdown pass to Jayden Reed that went off Romeo Doubs’ hands.
Doubs pulled the Packers within 16-10 in the third quarter on a 16-yard touchdown catch that both he and cornerback Patrick Surtain II caught as they tumbled to the ground.
On the broadcast, CBS rules expert Gene Steratore said he believed the touchdown should have been ruled an interception because Surtain had two feet down before Doubs did. Therefore, Surtain had completed the catch before Doubs had done so, Steratore argued.
Russell Wilson rebounded from his worst game as a Bronco — a 95-yard performance at Kansas City last week in the Broncos’ 16th consecutive loss to the Chiefs — to throw for 195 yards on 20-of-29 passing with one touchdown, a 18-yarder to Courtland Sutton that gave Denver a 16-3 lead.
The only scoring the first half was a trio of field goals by Lutz.
Packers rookie Anders Carlson, who grew up in Colorado Springs, missed his first field-goal attempt of the season when his 43-yard try in the second quarter sailed wide left. He was good from 29 yards out to open the second half.
Jackson, who’s been fined four times already for illegal hits and drew an ejection against Washington in Week 2, was DQ’d after hitting Musgrave in the head and neck area after his 18-yard catch along the Packers sideline early in the fourth quarter.
Musgrave left the game after that hit. The Packers said he had hurt an ankle.
The Packers have been outscored 63-6 in the first half of their last four games.