Mitchell Trubisky threw a career-high six touchdown passes and the NFC North-leading Chicago Bears pounded the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 48-10 on Sunday. The Bears won their third straight with Trubisky delivering the sort of breakout performance general manager Ryan Pace envisioned when he traded up a spot to draft the prized quarterback with the No2 overall pick last year.

He finished one TD pass shy of a franchise mark set by Sid Luckman against the New York Giants in 1943. The Bears also racked up 483 yards, nearly matching their record of 488 in that same game, on the way to their highest point total since 51-20 victory over Tennessee in 2012.

The defense did its part, harassing Ryan Fitzpatrick before Jameis Winston took over to start the second half. And the Bears won their third straight, matching their longest run since a 3-0 start in 2013. Trubisky had never thrown for more than two touchdowns in a game. But he threw for five in the first half alone as Chicago grabbed a 38-3 lead.

In the day’s later kick-offs, the New Orleans Saints, Los Angeles Chargers, Seattle Seahawks and Oakland Raiders beat the New York Giants, San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals and Cleveland Browns respectively. Seahawks safety Earl Thomas fractured his leg during Sunday’s game, and appeared to give the middle finger to the Seattle sideline as he left the field. Thomas has been in a contract dispute with his team this season.

Miami Dolphins 7-38 New England Patriots

Tom Brady threw for 274 yards and three touchdowns and the New England Patriots handed Miami their first loss of the season in a 38-7 rout.

It denied the Dolphins their first 4-0 start since Hall of Fame coach Don Shula’s last season in 1995. Brady improved to 15-1 as a starter against Miami.

But New England lost one of its best players in the process. Tight end Rob Gronkowski, one of Brady’s favorite targets, left the game in the third quarter with a right ankle injury and did not return. It put a slight damper on an afternoon in which New England showed the kind of consistency on both sides of the ball that had been missing in back-to-back losses to Jacksonville and Detroit. Since 2002, the Patriots are 7-0 after back-to-back losses.

Houston Texans 37-34 Indianapolis Colts

Ka’imi Fairbairn took advantage of his second chance on a 37-yard field goal attempt, making it as time expired in overtime to give the Houston Texans a 37-34 victory over the Indianapolis Colts.

He had missed the first kick wide left just after Indy called timeout. Houston (1-3) ended the league’s losing streak at nine games with its first victory since 19 November.

The Colts threw an incomplete pass on fourth-and-four from their own 43, giving the ball back to Houston with 24 seconds to go. Deshaun Watson then connected with DeAndre Hopkins on a 24-yard pass to set up the winning kick.

It’s the third time in four weeks Indy (1-3) has come up short in the closing minutes. The loss spoiled Adam Vinatieri’s record-breaking day. The 45-year-old kicker became the league’s career leader in field goals when he made a 42-yarder with 2 seconds left in the first half and he extended the mark to 567 with a 44-yarder to give the Colts a 34-31 lead in overtime.

Cincinnati Bengals 37-36 Atlanta Falcons

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Tyler Eifert is carted off the field after sustaining a serious leg injury. Photograph: John Bazemore/AP

Andy Dalton threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to AJ Green with seven seconds remaining, lifting the Cincinnati Bengals to a 37-36 win over the Atlanta Falcons. Dalton moved the Bengals 75 yards in about four minutes. He completed two passes on fourth down to Tyler Boyd, who had 11 catches for 100 yards, to keep the drive alive.

Green, the former University of Georgia star making his first return to the state of Georgia, made a diving catch in the right side of the end zone to cap the drive. He had four catches for 78 yards. Giovani Bernard ran for 69 yards and two touchdowns for Cincinnati (3-1).

Matt Ryan continued his resurgence by throwing three scoring passes, including two to rookie Calvin Ridley, for the Falcons. As was the case last week, when he had his first career game with five touchdown passes in a loss to New Orleans, Ryan had too little support from an injury-depleted defense.

The game was marred by a gruesome injury to Bengals tight end Tyler Eifert, who was carted off the field in clear distress.

Buffalo Bills 0-22 Green Bay Packers

Aaron Rodgers and Jimmy Graham connected on their first touchdown pass of the year, and the Green Bay Packers put together their most complete defensive effort of the season in a 22-0 win over the Buffalo Bills.

Aaron Jones added 65 yards and a score on 11 carries for the Packers, who slowed in the second half after a fast start on offense. The defense didn’t let up against the Bills. Green Bay (2-1-1) posted its first shutout since a 9-0 win over the Jets in 2010.

Rookie quarterback Josh Allen accounted for three turnovers, including two interceptions and a fumble late in the fourth quarter that stood on review. He was 16 of 33 for 151 yards.

Detroit Lions 24-26 Dallas Cowboys

Brett Maher kicked a 38-yard field goal as time expired, lifting the Dallas Cowboys to a 26-24 victory over the Detroit Lions. Maher’s fourth field goal was set up by Dak Prescott’s 34-yard completion to running back Ezekiel Elliott on a deep throw after Matthew Stafford had put the Lions in front with a 38-yard touchdown to Golden Tate, their second TD connection of the day.

Elliott had a career-high 240 all-purpose yards, with 152 yards rushing and 88 receiving. The best offensive day of the season for a previously struggling Dallas offense spoiled Stafford’s homecoming again, with his third straight loss at the home of the Cowboys (2-2). The former Dallas-area high school star threw for 307 yards.

Philadelphia Eagles 23-26 Tennessee Titans

Marcus Mariota hit Corey Davis with a 10-yard touchdown pass just before the end of overtime, and the Tennessee Titans beat the Philadelphia Eagles 26-23 for their best start since 2013.

The Titans trailed by 14 in the third quarter before rallying for the lead. They also trailed 23-20 in overtime before coming back again behind Mariota, who in his first start since being knocked out of the season opener with an injured elbow threw for 344 yards and two touchdowns while also running for a score.

On the game-winning drive, the Titans converted three fourth downs, one by penalty. Mariota hit Taywan Taylor with a 19-yarder on fourth-and-15, and Mariota found a wide-open Dion Lewis on fourth-and-2 for a 17-yard gain. Facing third-and-goal and the clock running out, Mariota found Davis for the receiver’s first TD catch in the regular season.

New York Jets 12-31 Jacksonville Jaguars

Blake Bortles threw two touchdown passes, including a 67-yarder to Donte Moncrief, and the Jacksonville Jaguars used a dominant defensive performance to handle the New York Jets 31-12.

Bortles ended up with a career-high 388 yards passing, topping 375 yards for the second time in three games. He found TJ Yeldon wide open for a 31-yard score in the second quarter and then beat a blitz with the deep pass to Moncrief down the sideline.

The pass to Moncrief was Jacksonville’s lone offensive highlight in an ugly second half. The Jaguars (3-1) had three turnovers that led to nine points for the Jets (1-3), who have dropped three straight. Jets rookie Sam Darnold was harassed early and often, getting sacked three times and nearly throwing three interceptions. Tashaun Gipson’s pick was overturned by a holding penalty on the other side of the field, and Pro Bowl cornerbacks AJ Bouye and Jalen Ramsey each dropped interceptions that would have ended New York’s scoring drives.