Oct 14, 2018 7 min read

Ol’ man Rivers keeps rolling along.

Philip Rivers threw two touchdown passes to Tyrell Williams – and the 36-year-old quarterback even threw a block – and Melvin Gordon had three TD runs as the Los Angeles Chargers banged around Cleveland rookie Baker Mayfield and the Browns, 38-14 on Sunday.

Rivers continued one of the best starts of his 15-year career, leading the Chargers (4-2) to their third straight win. Rivers finished 11 of 20 for 207 yards and had only one mistake, an interception midway through the fourth quarter.

The Chargers did most of their damage on the ground with Gordon running for 132 yards and scoring on runs of 4, 10 and 11 yards. They had 246 yards rushing.

“There haven’t been too many days where we’ve run for more than we’ve thrown,” Rivers said with a laugh. “But I’ll take them any time we can get them.”

Rivers and Williams connected on scoring plays of 45 and 29 yards in the first half, and Gordon’s 11-yard run put the Chargers up 35-6.

Mayfield’s third start as a pro was a rough one. The No. 1 overall pick was sacked five times, tweaked his ankle when he slid on a sideline marker and threw two interceptions.

“We didn’t execute,” said Mayfield, who threw a TD pass to tight end David Njoku . “We didn’t do our job. We weren’t detailed. We didn’t do the things that we talked about all week. That’s the most disappointing thing. Any time you don’t do your job – I’m at fault for the majority of that. I’m going to be very hard on myself but we have to be able to look at this and learn from it.”

The Browns (2-3-1) were blown out after playing five tight games – three going to overtime – and showed there’s still a long road ahead.

While young QBs like Mayfield, Carson Wentz and Patrick Mahomes may be the NFL’s next wave, Rivers is showing that the old guys can still get the job done. He has thrown 15 TD passes with just three interceptions, and he did all he could to block Browns linebacker Jamie Collins to help Keenan Allen pick up a first down despite the Chargers leading 28-6.

“I’m not real comfortable out there,” Rivers said. “But I stayed in front and did not get a holding, so that’s a positive.”

The Chargers weren’t surprised by Rivers’ effort.

“That’s Phil,” said Williams, who had three catches for 118 yards. “He’s competitive and he’s going to stick his nose in there if he gets an opportunity. I’m not surprised at all.”

Los Angeles caught a break on Rivers’ second TD pass to Williams.

Left tackle Russell Okung clearly dropped back before the ball was snapped. Browns defensive end Myles Garrett stopped, assuming the play would be whistled, and several other players paused while Rivers lofted his scoring pass to Williams.

Williams’ first TD catch was more spectacular. Leaping with three Browns defenders around him, he wrestled the ball way from Browns safety Damarious Randall to give the Chargers a 14-3 lead.

L.A. Rams 23, Denver 20: Todd Gurley rushes for a career-high 208 yards and two touchdowns in the Los Angeles Rams’ 23-20 win over the reeling Denver Broncos.

The Rams improved to 6-0 and the Broncos lost their fourth straight. Frigid temperatures led to almost 10,000 no-shows but did nothing to slow Gurley, who scored his NFL-leading 10th and 11th touchdowns of the season.

Baltimore 21, Tennessee 0: Joe Flacco and the Baltimore Ravens have finished up their longest road swing of the season with an absolutely dominating performance. And now they head home for four of their next five games. Flacco threw for 238 yards and a touchdown and the Ravens piled up a franchise-record 11 sacks as they shut out the Tennessee Titans 21-0 in the rain.

Za’Darious Smith had three sacks and Patrick Onwuasor had two for the Ravens. They had six sacks by halftime.

Dallas 40, Jacksonville 7: Dak Prescott threw two touchdown passes to Cole Beasley to spark the previously punchless Dallas passing game and rushed for a career-high 82 yards in the Cowboys’ 40-7 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Cowboys rolled to a 24-0 halftime lead after some pre-game mingling with UFC fighter Conor McGregor. Beasley got his first two touchdowns of the season for the NFL’s 30th-ranked passing offense coming in against the league’s No. 1 pass defense.

Miami 31, Chicago 28: Miami’s Jason Sanders kicked a 47-yard field goal on the final play of overtime after Cody Parkey missed a 53-yard try for the Bears. Chicago blew an 11-point lead in the final 16 minutes of regulation and lost to the Dolphins 31-28.

Miami’s Brock Osweiler threw for 380 yards and three touchdowns subbing for Ryan Tannehill, who sat out because of an injury to his throwing shoulder. Albert Wilson turned two short passes into long touchdowns in the fourth quarter.

N.Y. Jets 42, Indianapolis 34: Jason Myers kicked a franchise-record seven field goals, Sam Darnold threw two touchdown passes, and the New York Jets held on to beat the Indianapolis Colts 42-34 to win consecutive games for the first time in more than a year.

Morris Claiborne returned the first of three interceptions thrown by Andrew Luck for a touchdown as the Jets moved to .500 by taking advantage of mistakes by the short-handed Colts. Indy lost its fourth straight.

Minnesota 27, Arizona 17: Latavius Murray helped the Minnesota Vikings revive their running attack with 155 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries, wearing down the Arizona Cardinals on the way to a 27-17 win.

Even Kirk Cousins joined the fun for the Vikings with an option-style run across the goal line in the third quarter, before throwing to Adam Thielen for a score on the following possession. Budda Baker returned a fumble off a sack by Chandler Jones for a 36-yard touchdown for the Cardinals.

Houston 20, Buffalo 13: Johnathan Joseph’s 28-yard interception return for a touchdown with 1:23 left lifted the Houston Texans to a 20-13 win over the Buffalo Bills. A 27-yard field goal by Ka’imi Fairbairn tied it with 1:34 remaining.

Two plays later Joseph stepped in front of a pass from backup Nathan Peterman that was intended for Kelvin Benjamin and dashed untouched into the end zone to put the Texans on top and help them avoid their third straight overtime game.

Washington 23, Carolina 17: Josh Norman bounced back from his prime-time benching by intercepting former teammate Cam Newton and forcing a fumble. The Washington Redskins held on to beat the Carolina Panthers 23-17.

Norman ended his 19-game interception drought by catching a jump ball thrown by Newton on a third-and-long play early in the second quarter, his first pick since 2016.

Seattle 27, Oakland 3: Russell Wilson threw for three touchdowns, including one off a botched snap in the second quarter, and the Seattle Seahawks rolled to a 27-3 victory over the Oakland Raiders at Wembley Stadium.

Oakland quarterback Derek Carr left the game with an apparent left arm injury with 8:52 remaining in the fourth quarter after the last of his six sacks and didn’t have the chance to return because the Seahawks ran out the clock.

Atlanta 34, Tampa Bay 29: Matt Ryan threw for 354 yards and three touchdowns as the Atlanta Falcons snapped a three-game losing streak, holding off the Tampa Bay 34-29 in Jameis Winston’s return as the Buccaneers starting quarterback.

Winston threw for 395 yards and four TDs but also had two crucial interceptions. The Falcons scored on their first three possessions and held off a wild comeback by Tampa Bay to avoid their first 1-5 start since 2007.