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Tom Brady throws 5 TDs as Buccaneers rally to beat Chargers

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Tom Brady is introducing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a new way of winning.

The six-time Super Bowl champion led a come-from-behind victory for the first time since joining his new team, throwing for 369 yards and five touchdowns to help the Bucs rally from a 17-point deficit to beat the Los Angeles Chargers 38-31 on Sunday.

It’s the 46th time Brady has delivered a winning drive in the fourth-quarter or overtime of a regular-season game — fourth on the NFL behind Peyton Manning (54), Drew Brees (50) and Dan Marino (47). The 43-year-old quarterback has overcome a deficit of 10 or more points to win a league-best 34 times, including post-season.

“Tom, he’s never behind in his mind. We can always make plays to win games,” coach Bruce Arians said.

“How can you not believe in him? He’s the greatest to ever do it,” receiver Scotty Miller said. “We just go in there and follow his lead.”

With several members of the newly crowned Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning cheering on from a suite at Raymond James Stadium — along with the Cup — Brady shrugged off throwing an early interception returned from a touchdown to keep the Bucs (3-1) in first place in the NFC South.

“We knew we had played poorly. It was just a show of character. I can honestly say that if this had been last year, we would have gotten beat by 20,” Arians said. “This team has a ton of character and playmakers and we started making plays. You can see that when we don’t beat ourselves, we’re going to be a tough team to beat.”

Ndamukong Suh forced a fumble inside the Los Angeles 10 with the Chargers attempting to run out at the clock. Linebacker Devin White recovered, setting up Brady’s 6-yard TD to Evans, who finished with seven catches for 122 yards.

The Bucs drew closer on Brady’s 28-yard scoring throw to O.J. Howard, then took took a short-lived 28-24 lead when the three-time league MVP hit Miller on consecutive plays for 44 yards and 19 yards to get the ball into the end zone again.

Justin Herbert, who threw a 51-yard TD pass to Tyron Johnson in the first half, put the Chargers up 31-28 with a scintillating 73-yard strike to Jalen Guyton, releasing the ball under heavy pressure.

Brady’s 9-yard scoring pass to Ke’Shawn Vaughn finished a seven-play, 75-yard drive that put Tampa Bay ahead for good with 11 minutes remaining.

Seahawks remain unbeaten with win over Dolphins

Russell Wilson threw for 360 yards and two touchdowns, and the Seattle Seahawks improved to 4-0 on the season by beating the Miami Dolphins 31-23 Sunday.

The Seahawks have won their first four games only one other time in franchise history — in 2013, when they won their only Super Bowl. They’ve scored 30 or more points in four consecutive games for the first time since 2015.

“For us to be 4-0 is a huge thing,” Wilson said. “Just keep winning one game at a time, and that’s what’s really important to us.”

Jet lag and subtropical heat weren’t issues for the Seahawks. Neither were injuries that left them short-handed in the secondary, and five times Seattle forced Miami to settle for a field goal before the Dolphins finally reached the end zone in the final minutes.

Wilson connected with David Moore for 57 yards in the final seconds of the first half to set up a touchdown that gave Seattle a 17-9 halftime lead.

“We kept them in front of us all day long and made them earn their way,” Seattle coach Pete Carroll said.

Wilson, who went 24 for 34, tied Peyton Manning’s record of 16 touchdown passes in the first four games of a season. Manning did it 2013.

DK Metcalf had four catches for 106 yards, Moore had three for 95 yards, and Chris Carson rushed for 80 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Leading 17-15, Wilson tossed a 17-yard touchdown pass to Moore to stretch the Seahawks’ lead to 24-15 with 5:24 left in the fourth quarter.

On their next possession, Wilson hit Metcalf with a 32-yard pass to the Dolphins 1-yard-line, setting up Carson’s second touchdown with 4:05 left to make it 31-15.

Fitzpatrick scored Miami’s only touchdown with 1:50 left, but Seattle recovered the ensuing onside kick.

Browns hold off Cowboys

Baker Mayfield threw for two touchdowns, one of which was set up when Myles Garrett had a strip sack for the third straight game, and the Browns held on for a 49-38 victory over the Cowboys to improve to 3-1 for the first time since 2001.

Jarvis Landry had his first career touchdown pass in the receiver’s 100th career game, a 37-yard toss to Odell Beckham Jr. in Beckham’s first multi-TD game with the Browns. It was the longest TD toss by a receiver since Beckham’s 49-yarder with the Giants in 2018.

“That was something that I have had on the tip of my tongue a few other games, and I just did not get it called,” said head coach Kevin Stefanski. “I told the guys we were not going to go through another game without that one getting called.”

Beckham finished with his first three-score game in nearly five years, capped by a 50-yard run on a reverse after the Cowboys had cut a 41-14 deficit to three points with less than four minutes remaining. He had five catches for 81 yards and two scores.

“It’s funny, Kareem [Hunt] before the play was like, `We just need 5 yards,”‘ said Beckham. “And Harrison Bryant, the rookie is giving me advice and coaching me up and telling me to stay inbounds. I said, `Thanks, rook.’ And I turned the corner and everybody was blocking and I just turned the jets on and found the end zone.”

The Browns ran for 307 yards and three touchdowns despite losing lead back Nick Chubb to a knee injury in the first quarter.

Hunt had 71 yards and two touchdowns, and D’Ernest Johnson finishe with a team-high 95 yards. Beckham had 73 on two carries.

Dak Prescott had his first 500-yard game, finishing with 502 yards passing, and became the first NFL player to throw for at least 450 yards in three consecutive games. Amari Cooper had 12 catches for 134 yards and a TD for Dallas, and rookie CeeDee Lamb scored his first two touchdowns.

Garrett easily beat undrafted rookie Terence Steele and hit Prescott as he was trying to throw, leading to Mayfield’s 1-yard scoring pass to Austin Hooper. After Ezekiel Elliott fumbled at the end of a 24-yard run near midfield, the Browns drove to Hunt’s 2-yard TD run.

The Cowboys got within a field goal with three straight touchdowns followed by successful 2-point conversions. Another comeback try finally ended when Prescott threw his first interception on his career-high 58th and final attempt.

Lamar Jackson powers Ravens past Washington

Lamar Jackson ran for a 50-yard touchdown and threw for two scores in a bounce-back performance by the reigning NFL MVP and the Baltimore Ravens, who took control early against Washington in a 31-17 victory Sunday.

The Ravens (3-1) built a 21-10 halftime lead before opening the third quarter with a drive that ended with Mark Andrews’ second touchdown catch.

“We didn’t have gigantic plays, but we had conversion plays,” coach John Harbaugh said, referring mostly to Jackson’s 50-yard sprint on third down and punter Sam Koch’s 15-yard completion on a fourth-and-9 that set up the first of Jackson’s two touchdown passes to Andrews.

“We’re close,” Andrews said of the Baltimore offence, which averaged 32 points per game in 2019. “It’s just little things here and there that need to be tightened up.”

Jackson managed the Baltimore offence as required while completing 14 of 21 passes for 193 yards.

The Ravens went up 7-0 when Mark Ingram scored from the 1 after cornerback Marlon Humphrey ripped the ball out of the grasp of J.D. McKissic and Marcus Peters recovered at the Washington 34.

On third-and-4 from midfield, Jackson faked a handoff and took off down the middle of the field for a 50-yard score, shrugging off an attempted tackle by Kendall Fuller along the way. It was the longest run of his career, topping the 47-yarder last year against Cincinnati.

Washington closed to 14-7 with a 75-yard drive, capped by a 2-yard run by Antonio Gibson.

Facing a 4th-and-9 at the Washington 43, the Ravens pulled off a fake punt. Koch threw a 15-yard completion to Mike Boykin, and Jackson cashed in with an on-the-run, 25-yard TD pass to Andrews just after the two-minute warning.

Late in the half, however, Jackson’s run of 159 straight passes without an interception ended when he was picked by Fuller. Washington cashed in with a field goal to make it 21-10.

Colts shut down Bears

Philip Rivers threw a touchdown pass on Indianapolis’ first possession, and the Colts shut down Nick Foles and the Chicago Bears in a 19-11 victory Sunday.

After Rivers connected with Mo Alie-Cox on a 13-yard score, the NFL’s top-ranked defence took over from there.

The Colts (3-1) kept the Bears (3-1) out of the end zone until Allen Robinson caught a 16-yard pass with 1:35 remaining. Indianapolis recovered the onside kick and came away with its third straight win.

Foles was 26 of 42 for 249 yards with an interception to go with the late TD in his first start since the Bears acquired him in the off-season from Jacksonville.

“I have to be better, I have to be more crisp and it’s as simple as that,” Foles said. “I look forward to improving.”

Rivers was 16 of 29 for 190 yards and a TD. He needs four completions to join Drew Brees, Tom Brady, Brett Favre and Peyton Manning with 5,000.

“We didn’t do the dumb things,” Rivers said. “We didn’t turn the ball over three times, we didn’t a lot of those things, so I think that is key. A lot to build [on], but certainly a lot of things we need to do better.”

Julian Blackmon intercepted Foles at the Indianapolis 7 early in the fourth quarter with the Colts leading by 13. And Rodrigo Blankenship kicked four field goals.

Jordan Glasgow blocked a punt by Pat O’Donnell on the opening drive, and Rivers capitalized with his TD toss to Alie-Cox.

Chicago’s Cairo Santos kicked a 27-yard field goal early in the second quarter. Indianapolis had chances to break it open, only to settle for two field goals by Blankenship in the final 3:47 of the half after drives inside the 10 stalled. His 30-yarder made it 13-3 with 6 seconds remaining. Blankenship added a 44-yarder in the closing minute of the third.

Bills beat Raiders, move to 4-0

Shaking off a banged-up left shoulder, Josh Allen threw for two touchdowns and rushed for another, leading the Buffalo Bills to a 30-23 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday.

Buffalo has opened consecutive seasons with 4-0 records, just the third time in team history and first since the 1991 and ’92, both season when the Bills lost in the Super Bowl.

The Bills have scored 30 points in three consecutive games, and are averaging 30.75 points per game, third highest in the NFL.

“Our guys have been busting their tails in practice and my job is to just give them an opportunity to make a play,” Allen said.

Las Vegas (2-2) lost its second straight game after falling in New England last week. It marked the Raiders’ first loss inside the shiny new $2 billion Allegiant Stadium.

Derek Carr had a strong performance for the Raiders, going 32 for 44 for 311 yards and two touchdowns. Carr, who has yet to throw an interception this season, surpassed Ken Stabler and set a franchise record with 151 career touchdown passes.

Allen was brilliant in the first half, finishing 15 of 20 with two touchdowns. His 26-yard strike to Gabriel Davis on the opening drive was his 13th TD of the season. Allen also found Cole Beasley for an 11-yard reception to push Buffalo’s lead to 14-3.

“You watch Buffalo’s offence, they do a lot,” Raiders coach Jon Gruden said. “The quarterback can complete passes left-handed. The guy’s a beast standing back there. They got a pretty good attack.”



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