This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Derek Carr came back from an injured pinkie to lead another fourth-quarter comeback and the Oakland Raiders won their fifth straight game, beating the Carolina Panthers 35-32 on Sunday.

Carr threw for 315 yards and two touchdowns despite missing a series after the injury, leading the Raiders (9-2) back from an eight-point deficit in the fourth quarter to clinch their first winning season since 2002.

After leading a game-tying drive earlier in the fourth quarter, Carr hit Michael Crabtree on a 49-yard pass on third-and-nine from the 14 to help set up Sebastian Janikowski’s 23-yard field goal with 1:45 left that gave Oakland the lead.

Cam Newton led the Panthers (4-7) into Oakland territory on the final drive but Greg Olsen dropped a pass on third down that would have put Carolina in field goal range and Khalil Mack stripped Newton on a fourth-down sack to seal the win.

The Panthers scored the first 25 points in the second half after Carr left the game when he hurt his right pinkie while fumbling a snap on the second play from scrimmage in the third quarter.

Jonathan Stewart scored on short runs following Carr’s fumble and his interception to Thomas Davis when he returned. Newton hit two long touchdown passes, connecting on an 88-yarder to Ted Ginn Jr and a 44-yarder to Kelvin Benjamin that made it 32-24 early in the fourth quarter.

But Carr did what he has done best by leading his team back despite needing a glove on his injured right hand and taking snaps solely out of the shotgun.

Carr led a 75-yard drive capped by a 12-yard pass to Clive Walford for his NFL-best 12th tying or go-ahead touchdown pass in the fourth quarter. A two-point conversion to Seth Roberts tied the game.

Seattle Seahawks 5-14 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Jameis Winston threw a pair of touchdown passes to Mike Evans and Tampa Bay’s rejuvenated defense shut down Russell Wilson and Seattle’s sputtering offense to beat the Seahawks 14-5.

Evans scored on receptions of three and 23 yards in the opening quarter, a grieving Alterraun Verner had one of two interceptions off Wilson, and the Bucs sacked the Seattle quarterback six times.

The Bucs (6-5) have won three straight to climb back into contention for a playoff berth. In addition to stopping Seattle’s three-game winning streak, they remained one game behind first-place Atlanta in the NFC South.

Playing two days after the death of his father, Verner picked off Wilson to stop a promising drive in the final minute of the opening half. The reserve cornerback was embraced on the sideline by teammates, who continued to play inspired defense in the second half.

Bradley McDougald had the other interception off Wilson, who had thrown two in 335 attempts this season entering Sunday. Lavonte David returned a fumble 53 yards, ending another promising Seattle drive in the fourth quarter.

Winston completed 21 of 28 passes for 220 yards and one interception. Evans had eight receptions for 104 yards, and Doug Martin rushed for 87 yards on 23 attempts for the Bucs.

Wilson finished 17 of 33 for 151 yards. The Seahawks (7-3-1) were held to 1-yard net passing in the first half, when Wilson was sacked four times for 19 yards in losses.

Los Angeles Rams 21-49 Seattle Sounders

Drew Brees passed for 310 yards and four touchdowns, Mark Ingram scored twice, and the New Orleans Saints defeated the Los Angeles Rams.

Playing 10 days after being knocked unconscious in a Thursday night loss at Carolina, Ingram rushed for 146 yards on 14 carries, including a 61-yard scamper and a 10-yard touchdown on a fourth-and-one play. He also scored on a 21-yard screen to the right side of the field, which was wide open as the Rams tried to pressure Brees.

Two of Brees’ scoring strikes went to Michael Thomas, whose touchdowns of 6 and 21 yards were part of a nine-catch, 108-yard performance. Brees’ other touchdowns went to Ingram and Brandon Coleman from six yards out.

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Saints coach Sean Payton also victimized his former defensive coordinator, Gregg Williams, with some razzle-dazzle that produced a 50-yard touchdown pass from receiver Willie Snead to running back Tim Hightower.

The victory snapped a two-game skid for the Saints (5-6), who are trying to maintain hopes of a playoff push.

Jared Goff, the NFL’s top overall draft pick last spring, completed 20 of 32 passes for 214 yards and three touchdowns for the Rams (4-7), who’ve lost six of their last seven. Goff had his share of brilliant throws in his first road start, but also was intercepted by safety Kenny Vaccaro and lost a fumble.

Cincinnati Bengals 14-19 Baltimore Ravens

Justin Tucker kicked four field goals and Baltimore shut down the Cincinnati Bengals’ depleted offense in a 19-14 victory that thrust the Ravens into a first-place tie in the AFC North.

Joe Flacco threw for 234 yards and a touchdown to help Baltimore (6-5) snap a five-game losing streak against the Bengals (3-7-1), whose playoff hopes took another serious blow. The victory was not assured until Cincinnati quarterback Andy Dalton fumbled when sacked by Elvis Dumervil, and defensive end Lawrence Guy recovered at the Baltimore 21 with 1:05 left and the Ravens up 19-12.

Cincinnati got a safety on the final play when Baltimore punter Sam Koch ran out of the end zone. Dalton went 26 for 48 for 283 yards. He fumbled three times, losing two.

At this point, the Bengals will need a sensational finish to extend their run of consecutive playoff appearances to six. Cincinnati have won only one of seven games since 29 September.

Tucker connected from 52, 57 and 54 yards to stake the Ravens to a 16-3 halftime lead. He added a 36-yard field goal to make it 19-9 with 12:16 remaining. Tucker has made 34 field goals in a row, including 27 this season, and has connected on all 15 conversion tries.

New York Giants 27-13 Cleveland Browns

Eli Manning threw two touchdown passes to Odell Beckham Jr., Jason Pierre-Paul returned a fumble for a TD and the New York Giants extended their winning streak to six games, holding off Cleveland 27-13 on Sunday to keep the Browns winless.

Manning had three TD passes as the Giants (8-3) won their sixth straight. They don’t overwhelm anyone, but the Giants do just enough to win and are in position to make the playoffs for the first time since 2011.

Manning threw a 32-yard TD pass to Beckham in the second quarter and added a four-yarder to the star wide receiver with 5:10 left to finally put away the Browns (0-12).

Cleveland have lost 15 in a row since last season. They are 3-30 since ending the 2014 season with five consecutive losses.

San Diego Chargers 21-13 Houston Texans

Philip Rivers threw for 242 yards and three touchdowns to give the San Diego Chargers a 21-13 win over the mistake-prone Houston Texans.

Dontrelle Inman had 119 yards receiving and a touchdown to help San Diego (5-6) to the victory.

The Texans (6-5) lost in Houston for the first time this season after winning their first five here. Playing a large part were four turnovers, including three interceptions by Brock Osweiler.

The Chargers were up by four in the fourth quarter when Rivers evaded the rush and delivered a 25-yard pass to Inman. Kareem Jackson was flagged for unnecessary roughness for a helmet-to-helmet hit on the play, leaving San Diego at the 12-yard line. Rivers delivered a touchdown pass to rookie Hunter Henry on the next play to push the lead to 21-10.

Osweiler’s second interception came after that when he badly overthrew CJ Fiedorowicz and Dwight Lowery made the easy grab.

Houston added a field goal with 37 seconds left and recovered an onside kick. But Osweiler’s first shot at the end zone was knocked down, and the second one was intercepted as time expired. It was yet another shaky performance for Osweiler, who has struggled in his first year in Houston after leaving to Denver to sign a $72m contract. He has 12 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.

Tennessee Titans 27-21 Chicago Bears

Marcus Mariota threw for 226 yards and two touchdowns, and the Tennessee Titans hung on to beat the depleted Chicago Bears 27-21.

The Titans (6-6) gave their playoff hopes a boost, though they watched as Chicago (2-9) cut a 20-point lead to six in the fourth quarter.

Matt Barkley, starting for the injured Jay Cutler, led the late surge. The Bears had a first down at the Tennessee seven in the final minute when Josh Bellamy dropped a pass in the end zone on first down. Barkley’s next three attempts fell incomplete, preserving the win for Tennessee.

The Titans moved one game out of first place in the AFC South.

Mariota, putting together one of the best seasons ever by a Titans quarterback, came through with another solid performance. The second-year pro completed 15 of 23 passes.

Jacksonville Jaguars 21-28 Buffalo Bills

LeSean McCoy scored twice, including a career-best 75-yard run, and the Buffalo Bills won their second in a row by beating the Jacksonville Jaguars 28-21.

Tyrod Taylor’s 16-yard touchdown pass to Justin Hunter with 10:46 remaining put the Bills ahead for good during a second half in which the teams traded the lead five times. Taylor also scored on a seven-yard run in helping to keep Buffalo in the playoff hunt.

The Bills (6-5) won for the second straight week when trailing at halftime after doing so just once last season.

Buffalo trailed the Jaguars 7-6 after two quarters on Sunday, and overcame a two-point deficit in a 16-12 win at Cincinnati last week.

Taylor also produced just the second fourth-quarter comeback of his career, and improved to 2-11 when the Bills trail by four or more at any point in a game. The Jaguars (2-9) lost for the sixth straight game — their longest skid since opening the 2014 season at 0-6.

San Francisco 49ers 24-31 Miami Dolphins

Ndamukong Suh tackled Colin Kaepernick two yards short of the goalline as time ran out, and the Miami Dolphins handed the San Francisco 49ers a franchise-record 10th consecutive loss with a 31-24 victory.

Ryan Tannehill threw for 285 yards and three scores to compensate for a sputtering Miami ground game.

With the 49ers trailing by seven, Kaepernick moved them from their 38 to the 6 in the final 1:44. But he threw incomplete on first down, and then was tackled from behind by the 305-pound Suh on the final play.

The Dolphins (7-4) extended their winning streak to six games, their longest since 2005. Kaepernick passed for three TDs, but the 49ers (1-10) still haven’t won since the season opener.

Tannehill went 20 for 30, ran for 34 yards and had no turnovers. He threw scoring passes of 16 yards to Dion Sims, 43 yards to Kenny Stills and 15 yards to rookie Leonte Carroo.

Kaepernick tried to keep up. Jeered loudly at the start of the game for his political views, Kaepernick went 29 for 46 for 296 yards and ran for 113 on 10 carries.