CHICAGO – Kyler Murray threw two touchdown passes and added two more on the ground on his return to play, guiding the Arizona Cardinals to a 33-22 victory over the Chicago Bears on Sunday.
The Cardinals (10-2) hailed Murray and star receiver DeAndre Hopkins’ returns to play after both players missed three games with injury.
The National Association’s West Section leaders, who hold the best record in the NFL, intercepted four passes from Bears quarterback Andy Dalton.
The Cardinals, who were returning from a week off, are 7-0 away from home this season. They won each of those games by 10 points or more.
Murray completed 11 of his 15 passes for 123 yards, giving him a total of 10,092 yards in his first three seasons in the NFL. He became the fourth-youngest player to reach the 10,000-yard line in career, after Drew Bledsoe, Jameis Winston and Dan Marino.
Murray also joined Cam Newton as the only players in NFL history to have 10,000 aerial yards and 1,500 rushing yards in their first three seasons.
Four touchdown passes from Brady against Atlanta
Tom Brady threw four touchdown passes and for overhead gains of 368 yards, leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a 30-17 victory over the Atlanta Falcons.
ContentId(3.1398602):NFL : Buccaneers 30 – Falcons 17
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The Buccaneers (9-3) won a third straight game and extended their lead atop the National Association’s Southern Section to four games. The Falcons, Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints are all 5-7 with five games to go.
Brady brought his career record against the Falcons to 10-0, including four consecutive wins in the Buccaneers uniform.
The 44-year-old veteran quarterback completed 38 of his 51 assists, including two in the end zone to Rob Gronkowski. The prolific duo now have 90 touchdowns this season, leading Phillip Rivers and Antonio Gates to second in NFL history. Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison are far ahead, with 112 touchdown passes.
“Tom knows what Rob is thinking before he thinks himself,” said Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians. Tom threw a few balloons at him before he was ready because he knew Gronk was going to be. It’s great chemistry. “
Gronkowski has missed four games this season after being tackled solidly against the Los Angeles Rams, but he will continue to catch Brady’s assists for as long as he can.
“We’re helping each other get our pace,” Gronkowski insisted.
“He makes it easy on the quarterback,” added Brady of his good friend.
Brady recovered after being intercepted by defensive lineman Marlon Davidson. The latter brought the ball into the end zone to reduce the Buccaneers’ lead to 20-17 at halftime.
The Tampa Bay squad opened the game by throwing the ball. For the first time since 2004, she attempted a pass in her first 13 games of the meeting.
Brady completed 11 passes during that offensive streak, including a six-yard pass to Leonard Fournette on a fourth down. The two players once again combined their efforts for a three-yard major a few plays later.
The Falcons responded with a touchdown, but they did the majority of their damage on the ground. Cordarrelle Patterson escaped 39 yards before Mike Davis hit a 17-yard major.
The Buccaneers finally ran with the ball on their next possession, but Brady resumed his own through the air. He joined Chris Godwin for a 25-yard game and Mike Evans for a 36-yard gain. Those games set the table for a three-yard touchdown pass to Cameron Brate.
The Falcons missed an opportunity to take the lead when they had to settle for a 21-yard field goal from Younghoe Koo after wasting a first down gate.
Brady’s 27-yard pass to Gronkowski put the Buccaneers on the verge of distance, but Davidson gave the Falcons hope with his defensive touchdown.
This hope did not continue in the second half. Quarterback Matt Ryan was sacked five times and was fined for deliberately throwing the ball away. Russell Gage also lost a fumble in Buccaneers territory.
The Chargers return to victory
Justin Herbert threw three touchdown passes, Tevaughn Campbell had a major on defense and the Los Angeles Chargers beat the Cincinnati Bengals 41-22.
ContentId(3.1398605):NFL : Chargers 41 – Bengals 22
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Herbert had 26 of his 35 passes for gains of 317 yards and the Chargers (7-5) found their way back to victory. Mike Williams made five receptions for 110 yards while Keenan Allen caught two touchdown passes.
The Bengals (7-5) trailed 24-0 in the second quarter, but they recovered. Joe Mixon’s seven-yard touchdown narrowed the lead 24-22 with 7:10 left in the third quarter.
Mixon was however stopped during the convert of two points. He then dropped the ball in the fourth quarter and Campbell returned it for 61 yards to confirm the Chargers’ victory.
The Bengals made four of the game’s seven turnovers. Struggling with a hand injury, quarterback Joe Burrow suffered two interceptions and lost a fumble.
Colts trample Texans
Jonathan Taylor had 143 rushing yards and two touchdowns and the Indianapolis Colts shut out the Houston Texans 31-0.
ContentId(3.1398606):NFL : Colts 31 – Texans 0
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The Texans (2-10) made two turnovers in the first quarter and Tyrod Taylor was left behind for the Houston troops, who lost for the ninth time in 10 games.
Taylor, who leads the NFL in rushing yards, has scored 16 rushing majors this season, matching a team record set by Lenny Moore in 1964.
Taylor landed a touchdown for a 10th straight game, which was the longest streak in the NFL since LaDainian Tomlinson’s 18 straight games.
Carson Wentz threw a touchdown pass and for 158 yards for the Colts (7-6). He was replaced by Sam Ehlinger with only five minutes remaining in the game.
The Dolphins on a roll
Tua Tagovailoa threw two short touchdown passes and the Miami Dolphins won a fifth straight game defeating the New York Giants 20-9.
ContentId(3.1398607):NFL : Giants 9 – Dolphins 20
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Isaiah Ford and Mack Hollins grabbed a touchdown pass for the Dolhpins (6-7), who have recovered since entering the campaign with a 1-7 record.
Jaylen Waddle caught nine catches for 90 yards as rookie Jaelan Phillips sacked two more quarterbacks to bring his tally to five in Miami’s final two games.
Tagovailoa completed 30 of his 41 passes for gains of 244 yards.
Mike Glennon started the game as a quarterback for the Giants, replacing Daniel Jones, who suffered a neck injury. He saw 23 of his 44 aerial attempts caught for gains of 187 yards.
