NFL Week 14 Roundup: Bills fend off Bengals in snowy affair

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Josh Allen threw for three touchdowns and ran for one, Christian Benford scored the go-ahead TD on a 63-yard interception return, and the Buffalo Bills rallied from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Cincinnati Bengals 39-34 on Sunday.

Allen scored on a 40-yard rush, breaking his record of 36 for the longest by a Bills quarterback, and Buffalo flipped the game with big defensive plays on a snowy afternoon in western New York. Benford and defensive end A.J. Epenesa intercepted Joe Burrow on consecutive plays from scrimmage, leading to the Bills scoring three touchdowns in a span of 4:20 in the fourth quarter.

Benford’s interception — the cornerback leaped to snag Burrow’s lob intended for Ja’Marr Chase — gave Buffalo its first lead with 5:25 remaining.

The Bills then went up 39-28 after Epenesa’s interception, which he caught after Burrow’s pass was tipped by defensive tackle Jordan Phillips. On fourth-and-goal from the three, Allen found tight end Jackson Hawes for a touchdown.

The Bills (9-4) have won two straight for the first time in a month, and they kept pace in a tightly packed AFC race.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Trevor Lawrence threw two touchdown passes, Travis Etienne ran for two scores and the Jacksonville Jaguars moved atop the AFC South with a 36-19 victory against rival Indianapolis on Sunday.

The Jaguars (9-4) won their fourth consecutive game and extended the Colts’ misery in Jacksonville. Indianapolis (8-5) most recently won at EverBank Stadium in 2014, an 11-game skid that includes a matchup in London.

This latest one could have a lasting impact.

Colts quarterback Daniel Jones injured his right Achilles tendon in the second quarter and could be out for the season. The injury often includes a nine-month rehab, meaning Jones could be one-and-done in Indy and the Colts could be looking for a starting quarterback in March.

TAMPA, Fla. — Rookie quarterback Tyler Shough ran for two touchdowns and the New Orleans Saints upset the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24-20 on Sunday to tighten the NFC South race.

The lowly Saints (3-10), who were 8.5-point underdogs, frustrated Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers (7-6) in a sloppy game mostly played through a driving storm.

The four-time defending division champion Bucs lost for the fourth time in five games and fell into a first-place tie with Carolina. The Bucs and Panthers face off twice in the final three games.

After Chris Godwin Jr. couldn’t hold onto Mayfield’s pass on fourth-and-two from the Saints 47, New Orleans drove for the go-ahead score.

Shough spun away from Logan Hall and Vita Vea in the backfield and scrambled 13 yards for a touchdown and a 24-17 lead near the midpoint of the fourth quarter.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Tua Tagovailoa remained unbeaten against the New York Jets and put his cold weather woes on ice, and the Miami Dolphins had three rushing touchdowns to run away with a 34-10 victory Sunday.

With Miami’s fourth straight win, Tagovailoa improved to 7-0 against the Jets as a starter and 8-0 overall in games in which he has played against the AFC East rivals. And with the temperature 41 degrees at kickoff, Tagovailoa moved to 1-7 in his career when the temperature is 46 (8 C) or colder.

De’Von Achane ran for 92 yards and a touchdown before leaving in the second quarter with a rib injury. Jaylen Wright filled in and had a career-high 107 yards and a score. Rookie Ollie Gordon II also ran for a TD for Miami (6-7), which ran for 239 yards and has won five of its last six after starting the season 1-6.

Tagovailoa was 13 of 21 for 127 yards with a touchdown pass to Jaylen Waddle before sitting for the final minutes with the game well in hand. Zach Wilson, New York’s No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 draft, finished up for Miami.

MINNEAPOLIS — J.J. McCarthy threw a career-high three touchdown passes in his first turnover-free game, returning from his latest injury absence in prime form for the Minnesota Vikings in a 31-0 victory on Sunday that sent the Washington Commanders to their eighth straight loss.

McCarthy went 16-for-23 for 163 yards in his seventh NFL start, after sitting out last week in Seattle with a concussion while the Vikings were shut out for the first time in 18 years and dropped their fourth consecutive game with the offence in disrepair.

McCarthy, who missed his entire rookie season after knee surgery and five games earlier this season with a sprained ankle, targeted his tight ends for all three scores — the first two to Josh Oliver and the last one to T.J. Hockenson.

As smooth as the afternoon went for the Vikings (5-8), the return of the starting quarterback for the Commanders (3-10) produced nothing positive — only pain.

ATLANTA — Rashid Shaheed returned the second-half kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown, Seattle’s defence came up with three turnovers and the Seahawks won for the seventh time in eight games, beating the hapless Atlanta Falcons 37-9 on Sunday.

Sam Darnold threw for 249 yards and three touchdowns, including a pair of scores to Jaxon Smith-Njigba and another to Cooper Kupp. The Seahawks (10-3) broke away from a 6-6 tie at halftime with a 31-point beatdown of the Falcons over the final two quarters. 

With their seventh loss in eight games, the Falcons (4-9) sealed an eighth straight losing campaign — matching the worst stretch in franchise history — and were officially eliminated from playoff contention with a month still to go in the regular season. 

Atlanta hasn’t made the post-season since 2017, a year after its infamous Super Bowl meltdown to Tom Brady and the Patriots.

BALTIMORE — Aaron Rodgers threw for 284 yards and a touchdown and even ran for TD in perhaps his best game with the Steelers, and Pittsburgh took sole possession of first place in the AFC North, holding on for a 27-22 win over the Ravens on Sunday when a Baltimore touchdown with 2:43 remaining was overturned by a replay review.

Isaiah Likely secured a pass from Lamar Jackson with two hands in the end zone, and both his feet came down, but as he was about to complete another step with his right foot, Joey Porter Jr. of the Steelers knocked the ball free. It was initially called a touchdown but then changed to incomplete. The Ravens eventually turned the ball over on downs.

Baltimore (6-7) held defensively and then reached the Pittsburgh 30-yard line, but Jackson took a sack when the Ravens had no timeouts left, and the clock expired.

Rodgers didn’t complete a pass longer than 31 yards in the whole month of November, but he had four of at least that distance Sunday, plus two more for more than 20. The first offensive play for Pittsburgh (7-6) was a 52-yard throw to DK Metcalf, which set up a one-yard run by Rodgers that put the Steelers up 7-3.

CLEVELAND — Tony Pollard rushed for a career-high 161 yards and two touchdowns, Cam Ward passed for two scores and the Tennessee Titans held off the Cleveland Browns 31-29 on Sunday to snap a seven-game skid.

Cleveland’s Shedeur Sanders passed for 364 yards and three touchdowns in his third start, and he also ran for a score in a matchup of rookie quarterbacks. However, Sanders threw a costly interception in the third quarter that led to Tennessee’s go-ahead TD.

Sanders’ father, Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, was in attendance. Coach Prime was at his son’s first NFL start on Nov. 23 at Las Vegas, but missed last week’s home game against San Francisco.

The Titans (2-11) had a 31-17 lead with 6:17 remaining before the Browns scored a pair of touchdowns. Sanders had a seven-yard scramble with 4:27 left and threw a seven-yard TD pass to Harold Fannin Jr. with 1:03 remaining, but the Browns (3-10) missed both of their two-point conversion attempts.