NFL roundup:
In 24 hours, Joe Mixon went from a worrying hospital visit with a mysterious chest injury to busting out for one of the best games of his career.
The fourth-year running back missed practice late in the week and said he went to a hospital Saturday with pain in his chest and difficulty breathing. He didn’t say exactly what doctors told him, but he thought he might have hurt himself by sleeping on it wrong.
Mixon sure looked fine Sunday, though, rushing for 151 yards on 25 carries with two touchdowns and adding a third score on a 9-yard swing pass from rookie quarterback Joe Burrow in the Bengals’ 33-25 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
“The doctors loved up on me, and I was able to go out there and make some things work,” Mixon said.
The Bengals (1-2-1) rolled up 505 yards of offense, working through or around some of their recent offensive line problems to get their first win. Getting the running game unstuck allowed some better looks downfield for Burrow, who became the first rookie in NFL history to throw for 300 or more yards in three consecutive games.
Cleveland 49, Dallas 38: Baker Mayfield and Myles Garrett each had a homecoming gift waiting when Cleveland visited Dallas in their home state.
For Mayfield, it was a porous Cowboys pass defense that was poor against the run this time as well. For Garrett, it was an undrafted rookie right tackle who was overmatched against the star defensive end.
Mayfield threw for two touchdowns, one of which was set up when Garrett had a strip sack for the third straight game, and the Browns held on for a 49-38 victory over the Cowboys to improve to 3-1 for the first time since 2001.
Baltimore 31, Washington 17: Lamar Jackson ran for a 50-yard touchdown and threw for two scores in a bounce-back performance by the reigning NFL MVP and the Baltimore Ravens, who took control early against Washington in a 31-17 victory.
Coming off a humbling loss to Kansas City on Monday night, the Ravens (3-1) built a 21-10 halftime lead before opening the third quarter with a drive that ended with Mark Andrews’ second touchdown catch.
L.A. Rams 17, N.Y. Giants 9: Jared Goff hit Cooper Kupp for a 55-yard touchdown with 6:56 to play, and the Los Angeles Rams grinded out a 17-9 victory over the New York Giants in a game marred by a postgame fight between Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey and Giants receiver Golden Tate.
Ramsey and Tate scuffled at midfield after the final whistle after a game filled with trash-talking between the two Nashville-area natives. Ramsey has two young children with Tate’s sister, and Tate was publicly upset last year when the couple went through a nasty public breakup.
Buffalo 30, Las Vegas 23: Shaking off a banged-up left shoulder, Josh Allen threw for two touchdowns and rushed for another, leading the Buffalo Bills to a 30-23 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders.
Buffalo has opened consecutive seasons with 4-0 records, just the third time in team history and first since the 1991 and ’92, both season when the Bills lost in the Super Bowl.
Las Vegas (2-2) lost its second straight game after falling in New England last week. It marked the Raiders’ first loss inside the shiny new $2 billion Allegiant Stadium.
Indianapolis 19, Chicago 11: Philip Rivers threw a touchdown pass on Indianapolis’s first possession, and the Colts shut down Nick Foles and the Chicago Bears in a 19-11 victory.
After Rivers connected with Mo Alie-Cox on a 13-yard score, the NFL’s top-ranked defense took over from there.
New Orleans 35, Detroit 29: Drew Brees threw two touchdown passes to Tre’Quan Smith 2:19 apart in the second quarter, helping the short-handed New Orleans Saints overcome a 14-point deficit and beat the Detroit Lions 35-29.
New Orleans (2-2) started the game without six injured starters after a short night of rest. The Saints had a player test falsely positive for the coronavirus Saturday, according to a person familiar with the situation, leading to another round of tests for players and staff overnight in the Motor City.
Seattle 31, Miami 23: Russell Wilson threw for 360 yards and two touchdowns, and the Seattle Seahawks improved to 4-0 on the season by beating the Miami Dolphins 31-23.
The Seahawks have won their first four games only one other time in franchise history – in 2013, when they won their only Super Bowl. They’ve scored 30 or more points in four consecutive games for the first time since 2015.
Tampa Bay 38, L.A. Chargers 31: Tom Brady threw for 369 yards and five touchdowns, all to different receivers, helping the Tampa Bay Buccaneers rally from a 17-point deficit to beat the Los Angeles Chargers 38-31 for their third straight victory.
Carolina 31, Arizona 21: Teddy Bridgewater threw for 276 yards and two touchdowns, ran for his first score since a devastating knee injury in 2016, and the Carolina Panthers solved their red zone woes in a 31-21 win over the Arizona Cardinals.
Minnesota 31, Houston 23: Dalvin Cook ran for 130 yards and two touchdowns and the Minnesota Vikings withstood a late rally from the winless Houston Texans to get their first victory, 31-23.