Jaguars crush Cleveland for 1st win
With Jacksonville on the verge of its first win of the season, the team mascot dived into one of the pools at EverBank Field.
Denard Robinson and the Jaguars’ defense could have done the same. Then again, they had already made a huge splash.
Robinson ran for a career-high 127 yards and a touchdown, the defense came up big in the red zone, and the Jaguars snapped a nine-game losing streak with a 24-6 victory against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.
Jacksonville (1-6) won for the first time since beating Houston on Dec. 15, 2013.
“The last time I carried the ball 20 times I was in college,” said Robinson, a quarterback at Michigan. “It’s a great feeling. We knew it was coming. We’ve just got to stack them and up and get back to work.”
Blake Bortles connected with fellow rookie Allen Robinson for a 31-yard score and the game’s first touchdown. It was really all the Jaguars needed on a day in which coach Gus Bradley’s defense delivered time and time again.
The Browns (3-3) settled for field goals in two trips inside the 20-yard line and failed to convert on fourth-and-1 at the 24. Equally frustrating for Cleveland was managing just three points off Bortles’ three interceptions.
“When you get turnovers, you’ve got to turn them into points, not field goals,” Browns coach Mike Pettine said. “When you’re only kicking field goals, you start to press.”
St. Louis 28, Seattle 26: Punter Johnny Hekker’s pass from the St. Louis 18 caught the Seattle Seahawks by surprise for the last of three big plays by Rams special teams in a 28-26 victory.
Stedman Bailey had a 90-yard touchdown on a trick return that fooled the Seahawks into thinking another player was going to catch the punt. Benny Cunningham’s 75-yard kickoff return set up an early touchdown for the Rams (2-4).
Dallas 31, N.Y. Giants 21: Tony Romo threw three touchdown passes, and DeMarco Murray broke Jim Brown’s 56-year-old NFL record with his seventh straight 100-yard rushing game to start a season in a 31-21 win over the New York Giants.
The Cowboys (6-1) won their sixth straight. Romo had a fourth scoring pass overturned on replay. Instead, Murray wound up with his seventh TD rushing on a 1-yard plunge.
Kansas City 23, San Diego 20: Cairo Santos kicked a 48-yard field goal field goal with 21 seconds left and the Chiefs snapped the Chargers’ five-game winning streak by beating San Diego, 23-20.
The Chiefs moved into field goal range thanks to Alex Smith, who completed three straight passes for 53 yards, including a 29-yarder to Dwayne Bowe.
Arizona 24, Oakland 13: Carson Palmer threw two touchdown passes in his return to Oakland to send the Raiders to their 12th straight loss, 24-13.
Stepfan Taylor caught one touchdown pass and ran for another, and Andre Ellington gained 160 yards from scrimmage for the Cardinals (5-1).
Detroit 24, New Orleans 23: Matthew Stafford threw two touchdown passes in the final 3:38, including the winner to Corey Fuller with 1:48 remaining as Detroit defeated New Orleans 24-23.
The Saints (2-4) were in control late in the fourth quarter when Stafford found Golden Tate for a 73-yard catch-and-run that made it 23-17. Then Drew Brees was intercepted on third down by Glover Quin, whose 23-yard return gave the Lions (5-2) the ball at the New Orleans 14.
Indianapolis 27, Cincinnati 0: Andrew Luck threw two touchdown passes and the Indianapolis defense dominated Cincinnati, 27-0. Luck was 27 of 42 for 344 yards as Indianapolis (5-2) won its fifth straight. It was Indy’s first shutout since December 2008 and the 500th victory in franchise history.
Cincinnati (3-2-1) hasn’t won since starting 3-0.
Green Bay 38, Carolina 17: Aaron Rodgers threw for 255 yards and three touchdowns, and Randall Cobb torched the Carolina secondary for 121 yards on receptions as Green Bay romped, 38-17.
Sure-tackling Green Bay (5-2) limited quarterback Cam Newton in the first half.
Baltimore 29, Atlanta 7: Elvis Dumervil and Pernell McPhee each had two sacks, part of a dominant defensive performance that carried Baltimore to a 29-7 win over Atlanta. Baltimore (5-2) led 17-0 at halftime and coasted to its second straight blowout win.
Miami 27, Chicago 14: Ryan Tannehill threw for 277 yards and two touchdowns in an efficient performance during Miami’s 27-14 win over Chicago. Tannehill connected on his first 14 passes and was 25 of 32 overall, helping Miami bounce back from a brutal 27-24 loss to Green Bay.
Washington 19, Tennessee 17: Kai Forbath kicked a 22-yard field goal on the last play of the game, and Colt McCoy stepped in after Kirk Cousins was benched at halftime to lead Washington to a 19-17 victory over Tennessee.
Buffalo 17, Minnesota 16: Kyle Orton hit Sammy Watkins on a 2-yard touchdown pass with 1 second remaining to give Buffalo a 17-16 win over Minnesota. The touchdown capped a 15-play, 80-yard drive which Orton extended by converting a fourth-and-20 and a third-and-12. Orton set up the decisive score with a 28-yard pass to Chris Hogan at the Vikings 2.