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NFL roundup

Titans 45, Colts 26

INDIANAPOLIS — Derrick Henry battered the NFL’s second-stingiest defense for 140 yards and three touchdowns in the first half, finished with 178 yards and led the Tennessee Titans to a crucial rout of the Indianapolis Colts.

The win gives Tennessee (8-3) sole possession of the AFC South lead, a split in the two-game season series and a tiebreaking edge based on current division records of the teams. Henry also padded his lead as he chases a second straight rushing crown.

He has three straight 100-yard games and eight consecutive road games with 100 or more yards, tying former Titans running back Chris Johnson for the second-longest streak since the 1970 merger. Only Hall of Famer Barry Sanders (10 in 1996-97) had a longer streak.

Henry touched the ball on six of Tennessee’s first 10 plays and capped the opening drive with a TD run.

Vikings 28, Panthers 27

MINNEAPOLIS — Chad Beebe caught a 10-yard touchdown pass with 46 seconds left for Minnesota shortly after he muffed a punt that let Carolina pad its lead. Then Joey Slye missed a 54-yard field goal try with 1 second remaining that preserved the Vikings’ victory.

Kirk Cousins went 34 for 45 for 307 yards and three scores for the Vikings (5-6), hitting Justin Jefferson for his second touchdown grab with 5:38 to go and finding Beebe for the winner to punctuate a seven-play, 75-yard drive that took 65 seconds.

Patriots 20, Cardinals 17

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Nick Folk kicked a 50-yard field goal as time expired and New England rallied in the second half to beat Arizona.

James White rushed for two touchdowns for the Patriots (5-6). It was the second time this month that Folk hit a last-second game-winning field goal. His 51-yarder beat the New York Jets 30-27 on Nov. 9.

Arizona (6-5) hasn’t beaten New England since 2012.

49ers 23, Rams 20

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Robbie Gould made a 42-yard field goal as time expired and the San Francisco snapped its three-game losing streak, sweeping the season series against Los Angeles for the second straight year.

Nick Mullens passed for 253 yards and led two late scoring drives in his first victory as a starter since September for the defending NFC champion Niners (5-6), who stoked their flickering playoff hopes and became the first team to beat the Rams (7-4) at new SoFi Stadium.

Rookie defensive lineman Javon Kinlaw returned an interception 27 yards for a touchdown as San Francisco forced four turnovers, including two interceptions and a fumble recovery by Altoona’s Kevin Givens.

Saints 31, Broncos 3

DENVER — Taysom Hill’s two touchdown runs led New Orleans past Denver, which was thrust into a quarterback quandary when its passers failed to wear masks as mandated by the NFL’s COVID-19 protocols.

Hill was 9 of 16 for 78 yards, no touchdowns, an interception and a paltry passer rating of 43.2.

And that was much better than Broncos QB Kendall Hinton, a rookie receiver and former Wake Forest quarterback from their practice squad who made a shaky NFL debut by going 1 for 9 for 13 yards.

Falcons 43, Raiders 6

ATLANTA — Deion Jones returned an interception 67 yards for a touchdown, Matt Ryan threw a pair of short scoring passes, and Atlanta Falcons thoroughly dominated Derek Carr and bumbling Las Vegas.

The Raiders (6-5) lost their second in a row and looked very much like a pretender in the AFC playoff race, producing a listless, mistake-filled performance against an Atlanta team that’s playing out the season under an interim coach.

Carr had a miserable day, fumbling the ball away three times in addition to delivering the pick that the Falcons linebacker returned for his fifth career TD.

Dolphins 20, Jets 3

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Ryan Fitzpatrick threw two touchdown passes while starting in place of the injured Tua Tagovailoa and Miami kept New York winless.

Tagovailoa was inactive with a left thumb injury, so Fitzpatrick stepped in against one of his many former teams.

The veteran quarterback was 24 of 39 for 257 yards with TD throws to tight ends Mike Gesicki and Adam Shaheen, helping the Dolphins (7-4) bounce back after having a five-game winning streak end last week.

New York got its starting quarterback back as Sam Darnold played after missing the last two games with a shoulder injury. But he was unable to get much going for the offense, with coach Adam Gase appearing to reclaim play-calling duties after offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains had done so the last three games.

Bills 27, Chargers 17

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Tre’Davious White’s fourth-quarter interception set up Tyler Bass’ 43-yard field goal, helping Buffalo hold off Los Angeles.

Josh Allen threw for a touchdown and ran for another score for the AFC East-leading Bills (8-3), who hung on after nearly blowing an 18-point third-quarter lead. Receiver Cole Beasley also completed a touchdown pass.

Buffalo turned the ball over on three consecutive possessions, but its defense limited Los Angeles to Michael Badgley’s 27-yard field goal during the key stretch.

Buffalo’s three drives ended with running back Devin Singletary losing a fumble at midfield, Allen muffing a snap at the Chargers 22, and then Allen throwing an interception to Michael Davis.

Browns 27, Jaguars 25

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Baker Mayfield took advantage of his best game-day weather in a month, throwing two touchdown passes as Cleveland beat Jacksonville to remain squarely in the AFC playoff picture.

The Jaguars (1-10) fired general manager Dave Caldwell after the game, which was its 10th straight loss.

Mayfield connected with Jarvis Landry and Austin Hooper for scores, ending a three-game drought without a passing TD. Mayfield nearly had two more, but he inexplicably missed wide-open Rashard Higgins in the end zone in the second quarter, then watched Harrison Bryant drop another early in the fourth.

Giants 19, Bengals 17

CINCINNATI — New York lost starting quarterback Daniel Jones to a hamstring injury in the second half but generated enough offense to beat Cincinnati.

Jones went down after completing a short pass in the third quarter with the game tied at 10. He returned for two plays on the next series but then was relieved by backup Colt McCoy, who played the rest of the game.

Wayne Gallman Jr. ran for a 2-yard touchdown on fourth-and-goal in the first quarter.

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