NFL

NFL Week 9: Stroud throws for 470 yards, 5 TDs, connects with Dell late to lift Texans over Bucs

Associated Press
Associated Press
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HOUSTON — Rookie C.J. Stroud threw for 470 yards and five touchdowns, and his 15-yard touchdown pass to Tank Dell with 6 seconds remaining lifted the Houston Texans to a 39-37 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Sunday in a wild back-and-forth game.

Baker Mayfield put the Buccaneers on top with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Cade Otton with 46 seconds left.

But the Texans (4-4) drove down the field and Stroud found Dell in the end zone to give the Texans the lead.

He kneeled instead of attempting the 2-point conversion with kicker Kaʻimi Fairbairn out with a quadriceps injury. The Buccaneers fumbled on the final play to give Houston the victory.

A 26-yard reception by Dell, who had 114 yards receiving, got the Texans within striking distance before Stroud found Dell again to complete the come-from-behind victory.

He helped carry Houston’s offense on a day when running back Dameon Pierce sat out with an ankle injury and the Texans managed just 53 yards rushing.

Noah Brown had six catches for 153 yards and a touchdown and Dalton Schultz added 10 catches for 130 yards and a touchdown.

Mayfield threw for 265 yards and two touchdowns and the Buccaneers (3-5) dropped their fourth straight game.

Stroud led the Texans to touchdowns on their first three possessions of the second half to put them on top 30-23.

The Bucs tied it on a 1-yard run by Rachaad White before running back Dare Ogunbowale nailed a tiebreaking 29-yard field goal to put Houston on top 33-30 with about nine minutes to go. He handled the kickoff duties in the second half with kicker Kaʻimi Fairbairn out with a quadriceps injury. But Houston went for 2 on each of its three second-half touchdowns, before Ogunbowale made the big field goal.

He’s the first non-kicker or punter to make a field goal since Wes Welker did it on Oct. 10, 2004, for the Dolphins against New England.

Tampa Bay extended its lead to 20-10 on a 49-yard field goal by Chase McLaughlin early in the third quarter.

Brown took a short pass from Stroud and dashed 75 yards for a touchdown on the first play of the next drive to cut the lead. The Texans attempted a 2-point conversion with Fairbairn out. But Stroud was intercepted by Joe Tryon-Shoyinka leave the Bucs up 20-16.

McLaughlin added a 55-yard field goal to push it to 23-16 with 9½ minutes left in the third.

Schultz caught a 26-yard pass on third-and-11 to extend Houston’s next possession. Stroud then hit Dell in the corner of the end zone for a 29-yard TD that cut the lead to 23-22. The 2-point conversion failed when Stroud’s throw to Dell fell short.

Schultz grabbed a 9-yard pass for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter and Stroud ran for the 2-point conversion to put the Texans up 30-23 before White’s fourth-quarter score. A 53-yard reception by Mike Evans set up that score.

The Texans took a 7-3 lead when Stroud connected with Nico Collins on a 14-yard score with about nine minutes left in the first quarter.

Mayfield connected with Otton on a 3-yard TD pass to put Tampa Bay on top 10-7.

Mayfield threw a 9-yard pass to White on third down to get the Buccaneers to the 1. White waltzed into the end zone on the next play to push the lead to 17-7 with about nine minutes until halftime.

The Texans cut the lead to 17-10 on a 50-yard field goal by Fairbairn with five minutes left in the second quarter.

Schultz fumbled after a reception on Houston’s first drive, and it was recovered Antoine Winfield Jr. on the Houston 42. The Buccaneers took a 3-0 lead on a 35-yard field goal by McLaughlin.

Vikings 31, Falcons 28

ATLANTA — Newly acquired Joshua Dobbs threw two touchdown passes, including a go-ahead 6-yarder to Brandon Powell with 22 seconds remaining, and also ran for a score, and the Minnesota Vikings rallied to beat the Atlanta Falcons 31-28 on Sunday for their fourth straight win.

Minnesota (5-4) overcame the loss of rookie quarterback Jaren Hall to a concussion in the first quarter.

Dobbs led the go-ahead drive after Tyler Allgeier’s 5-yard scoring run gave Atlanta (4-5) the lead with 2:08 remaining.

Dobbs was acquired from the Arizona Cardinals on Tuesday. The 28-year-old started all eight games for the Cardinals as a fill-in while Kyler Murray recovers from a knee injury. Murray’s imminent return made Dobbs available for a trade.

Only five days after the trade, Dobbs made his case to keep the starting job for Minnesota. He completed 20 of 30 passes for 158 yards and two touchdowns and had seven carries for 66 yards and another score.

Taylor Heinicke threw a 60-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jonnu Smith in his first Atlanta start to give the Falcons a 21-13 lead in the third quarter. Dobbs’ 18-yard scoring run and 2-point pass to Trishton Jackson tied the game.

Chiefs 21, Dolphins 14

FRANKFURT, Germany — Patrick Mahomes threw two touchdown passes, safety Bryan Cook scored on a 59-yard fumble return and Kansas City held on to beat Miami.

The Chiefs (7-2) did just enough to slow the NFL’s top-ranked offense in the first-ever regular season game in Frankfurt, but they nearly blew a big lead.

Miami’s comeback fell short when quarterback Tua Tagovailoa couldn’t handle a snap on fourth-and-10 from the Kansas City 31 with 1:03 to play.

Mahomes connected on first-half scoring passes to Rashee Rice and Jerick McKinnon as Miami (6-3) kept getting stuck in third-and-long situations. The Dolphins also fell to 0-3 on the season against teams with winning records.

Mahomes finished 20 of 30 for a season-low 185 yards in his European debut, but the Chiefs’ offense struggled in the second half. Tight end Travis Kelce had just three catches for 14 yards.

Commanders 20, Patriots 17

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Sam Howell passed for 325 yards and a touchdown and Jartavius Martin had a late interception to help Washington hold on and beat New England.

It marked the first time in Howell’s career he eclipsed 300 yards passing in consecutive games and gave the Commanders their first victory in New England since 1996. It also snaps a four-game overall losing streak to the Patriots.

Washington (4-5) turned it over twice but wore down the Patriots’ defense by going 9 of 17 on third down. Brian Robinson added a rushing touchdown to help the Commanders end a two-game skid.

New England dropped to 2-7 for the first time since Bill Belichick’s first season as coach in 2000.

Saints 24, Bears 17

NEW ORLEANS — Taysom Hill caught a touchdown pass and threw for another, Paulson Adebo intercepted two passes and also forced a fumble that he recovered, and New Orleans beat Chicago.

The Saints (5-4) forced five turnovers, intercepting rookie QB Tyson Bagent three times and recovering two fumbles. Those plays tipped the balance of a game in which the undrafted Bagent and the Bears (2-7) often had the Saints’ defense off balance, outgaining New Orleans 368-301 in total yards and possessing the ball for just more than half the game.

The final turnover — a fumble caused by Demario Davis’ sack and recovered by fellow linebacker Pete Werner — all but sealed it with 2:05 left. New Orleans needed only one first down — and got it — to run out the clock.

Packers 20, Rams 3

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Aaron Jones scored Green Bay’s first first-half touchdown since mid-September, and the Packers snapped a four-game skid by beating Los Angeles.

Rookie tight end Luke Musgrave scored his first career touchdown on a 20-yard reception from Jordan Love, and Anders Carlson went 3 of 4 on field-goal attempts for the Packers (3-5). Love went 20 of 26 for 228 yards despite getting sacked four times.

The Rams (3-6) dropped their third straight as they played without quarterback Matthew Stafford, who sprained a ligament in his right thumb last week in a loss at Dallas.

With Brett Rypien starting in Stafford’s place, the Rams failed to reach the end zone. Rypien went 13 of 28 for 130 yards with an interception, and the Rams lost one of his two fumbles.

Eagles 28, Cowboys 23

PHILADELPHIA — Jalen Hurts braved a direct hit on his injured left knee to throw for 207 yards and two touchdowns, and he ran for another tush push score to lead Philadelphia. The Eagles are the only 8-1 team in the NFL.

The Eagles did all they could on Dallas’ final drive to cough up the game. Dak Prescott needed to move the Cowboys 86 yards in 46 seconds for the potential winning score — and promptly got 56 yards of Eagles’ penalties to reach the 6-yard-line.

On the cusp of a stunning comeback, Prescott instead was sacked by Josh Sweat for an 11-yard loss.

After a penalty on the Cowboys (5-3) moved them to the 27, Prescott hit CeeDee Lamb for 22 yards, but the wideout was tackled by Darius Slay at the 5 to end the game.

Prescott threw for 374 yards and three scores. Lamb had 11 catches for 191 yards.

Raiders 30, Giants 6

LAS VEGAS — Josh Jacobs rushed for 98 yards and two touchdowns, rookie Aidan O’Connell passed for 209 yards and Antonio Pierce won in his debut as Las Vegas’ interim coach.

Maxx Crosby had three of the Raiders’ eight sacks. Las Vegas (4-5) held the Giants to 275 yards in the Raiders’ largest margin of victory since beating the Denver Broncos 37-12 on Nov. 15, 2020.

Giants (2-7) quarterback Daniel Jones left one play into the second quarter with a right knee injury. Tommy DeVito played the rest of the game and passed for 175 yards and a touchdown. Saquon Barkley rushed for 90 yards on 16 carries.

This was the Raiders’ first game since coach Josh McDaniels, offensive coordinator Mick Lombardi and general manager Dave Ziegler were fired early in the week and quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was benched.

Colts 27, Panthers 13

CHARLOTTE — Kenny Moore returned two Bryce Young interceptions for touchdowns, Jonathan Taylor caught a touchdown pass from Gardner Minshew and Indianapolis defeated Carolina to snap a three-game losing streak.

Indianapolis’ much-maligned defense had allowed at least 37 points in each of its past three games and had allowed more points than any team in the league, but had no problem slowing down the No. 1 overall pick and a mostly listless Panthers offense.

Moore became the first Colts (4-5) player in history with two pick-6s in a game and the first NFL player to accomplish the feat since Tampa Bay’s Mike Edwards did it against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 2 of the 2021 season.

Adam Thielen, in the midst of a career season, was limited to 29 yards on five receptions for the Panthers (1-7), who matched their worst start in franchise history.

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