NFL: Green Bay Packers, New England Patriots and Denver Broncos all post wins in week six
Monday 13 October 2014 10:03, UK
The Green Bay Packers left it late in week six of the regular season as Tom Brady and the New England Patriots once again got the better of the Buffalo Bills.
The Packers twice surrendered leads against the Miami Dolphins as they found themselves trailing 24-17 with just over five minutes to play at Sun Life Stadium.
They cut the deficit to four with a Mason Crosby field goal and then stunned the home crowd by scoring the game-winning touchdown with three seconds to play, quarterback Aaron Rodgers capping an 11-play, 60-yard drive with a four-yard strike to tight end Andrew Quarless.
Meanwhile, Brady improved his record against the Bills to 23-2 after he engineered a 37-22 win for the Patriots in the battle of two AFC East rivals, spoiling the first home game in Buffalo for new owners Terry and Kim Pegula.
The New England quarterback tossed four touchdown passes – two of them to wide receiver Brandon LaFell – while the Pats’ defence forced three turnovers that resulted in 13 second-quarter points.
Elsewhere, Peyton Manning moved a little closer to Brett Favre’s NFL record for touchdown passes as he threw for three scores in the Denver Broncos’ 31-17 win away at the New York Jets.
Tight end Julius Thomas caught a pair of touchdowns from Manning with the other going to Demaryius Thomas, leaving the veteran quarterback at 506 for his career, two shy of Favre’s mark.
However the Broncos were made to work by New York, with the Jets (1-5) not completely out of it until Aqib Talib picked off an errant pass by home quarterback Geno Smith and returned it all the way to the end zone.
Franchise record
Baltimore set a franchise record with 28 points in the first quarter as they demolished the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 48-17. The Ravens scored on their first six straight possessions, including five touchdown throws by quarterback Joe Flacco.
Torrey Smith caught the first two, while Kamar Aiken, Michael Campanaro and Steve Smith had the others as they led 38-0 by half-time. Bernard Pierce rushed for a further Ravens TD in the third quarter before Justin Tucker rounded off the scoring with his second field goal of the game.
Despite Baltimore’s win, the Cincinnati Bengals remain on top of the AFC North after they played out a thrilling 37-37 tie with the Carolina Panthers – though only after Bengals kicker Mike Nugent had missed a 36-yard field goal attempt on the final play in overtime.
The other two teams in the division were facing each other, with the Cleveland Browns defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers for just the third time in the last 23 meetings of the rival franchises. Brian Hoyer passed for two touchdowns, improving his record as a starter to 6-2, as the Browns thumped their rivals 31-10.
The Jacksonville Jaguars missed the chance to snap an eight-game losing streak as the Tennessee Titans ended a run of four straight defeats with a 16-14 triumph in Nashville.
Jackie Battle ran for a touchdown and Ryan Succop kicked three field goals but the Titans needed a Sammie Hill block to deny a 55-yard field goal attempt by Josh Scobee as time expired.
