FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Eli Manning hit Jake Ballard for a 1-yard touchdown pass with 15 seconds left, giving the New York Giants a stirring 24-20 win over the New England Patriots on Sunday, repeating a comeback victory similar to the 2008 Super Bowl between the teams.
The Giants won that one 17-14 on Manning’s 13-yard scoring pass to Plaxico Burress with 35 seconds remaining. But Sunday, it looked like the Patriots would win with a comeback of their own when Tom Brady threw a 14-yard scoring pass to Rob Gronkowski, making it 20-17 with 1:36 to go.
But the Giants (6-2) had enough time to move 80 yards on eight plays — helped by a 20-yard pass interference penalty against the Patriots that put the ball at the 1 with 30 seconds to play.
Three plays later, Manning found Ballard in the back left corner of the end zone.
Packers 45, Chargers 38
SAN DIEGO — Aaron Rodgers threw touchdown passes to four receivers, Green Bay returned two Philip Rivers interceptions for scores and the Packers withstood a wild finish to hold off San Diego and remain the only undefeated team.
The Packers improved to 8-0 behind Rodgers (21 of 26, 247 yards), who has an NFL-high 24 TD passes.
The Packers led by 21 points early in the fourth before Rivers threw two of his four touchdown passes to Vincent Jackson in the span of 1:07 midway through the quarter.
San Diego had a final chance to tie it, but Charlie Peprah intercepted Rivers in the closing seconds and returned it 76 yards to seal the victory.
Rivers tied his career high with four touchdown passes but was picked off three times as the Chargers (4-4) lost their third straight
Jets 27, Bills 11
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Mark Sanchez threw a touchdown to Santonio Holmes, and the New York Jets forced three turnovers to defeat the Buffalo Bills on Sunday in a key AFC East midseason showdown.
Sanchez’s 8-yard pass to Holmes with 3:27 left in the third quarter helped blow open the game as the Jets won their third straight — and first on the road — to move into a tie with the Bills.
LaDainian Tomlinson also scored on a 1-yard dive in the second half, three plays after Jim Leonhard recovered Fred Jackson’s fumble.
Saints 27, Buccaneers 16
NEW ORLEANS — Drew Brees passed for 258 yards and two touchdowns, and New Orleans running backs combined for 195 yards rushing in a victory over Tampa Bay.
Brees’ scoring passes went for 3 yards to Lance Moore and 21 yards to Darren Sproles. Pierre Thomas added a tackle-breaking, 9-yard score for the Saints, who watched their running game bounce back after gaining only 56 yards in a humbling loss at St. Louis a week earlier.
Bengals 24, Titans 17
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Andy Dalton threw for three touchdowns and 217 yards, and Cincinnati Bengals rallied from a 10-point deficit to defeat Tennessee for its fifth straight victory and longest winning streak since 1988.
The Bengals (6-2) hadn’t won five straight since 1988 when they won the AFC championship and went to their second Super Bowl. They also improved to 4-1 on the road with the rookie quarterback.
Broncos 38, Raiders 24
OAKLAND, Calif. — Eddie Royal returned a punt 85 yards for the tiebreaking score, Willis McGahee ran for 163 yards and Tim Tebow threw two touchdown passes to lead Denver over Oakland.
McGahee had a 60-yard touchdown run that tied the game on the first play after Carson Palmer threw his second of three interceptions for the Raiders. McGahee then added a 24-yarder to ice it
Tebow did much of his damage with his legs, rushing for a career-high 117 yards on 12 carries.
Cowboys 23, Seahawks 13
ARLINGTON, Texas — Tony Romo shook off a horribly inefficient first half to throw for a pair of touchdowns, leading Dallas past Seattle.
Romo had no trouble moving the ball from the start, but the Cowboys settled for field goals on consecutive drives that stalled at the 2-yard line and inside the 1.
Tied at 6 coming out for the second half, Dallas pulled away behind Romo’s touchdown passes of 33 yards to Jason Witten and 6 yards to Laurent Robinson.
Texans 30, Browns 12
HOUSTON — Arian Foster rushed for 124 yards, Ben Tate ran for 115 and both scored touchdowns in Houston’s rout of Cleveland.
The Texans were playing without injured receiver Andre Johnson for the fifth straight game. Colt McCoy was sacked four times for the Browns, who mustered only 172 yards.
Cardinals 19, Rams 13 (OT)
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Rookie Patrick Peterson returned a punt 99 yards for a touchdown in overtime to give Arizona a stunning victory over St. Louis. Arizona’s Calais Campbell blocked Josh Brown’s 42-yard field goal attempt as regulation ended to force the overtime.
Falcons 31, Colts 7
INDIANAPOLIS — Julio Jones caught touchdown passes of 50 and 80 yards, his first in the NFL, leading Atlanta to an easy win over winless Indianapolis.
The Colts have lost five straight home games for the first time since 2001.
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