NFL Game Capsules

4:30 PM, Oct 21, 2012   |    comments
  • Share
  • Email
  • Print
  • - A A A +

Orchard Park, NY (Sports Network) - Matt Hasselbeck threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Nate Washington on fourth down with 1:03 remaining in the fourth quarter to lift the Tennessee Titans to a 35-34 come-from-behind win over the Buffalo Bills at Ralph Wilson Stadium. The winning score was set up by a Ryan Fitzpatrick interception. Jason McCourty picked off the Buffalo quarterback at the Tennessee 48-yard line. Hasselbeck was sacked on first down, but running back Chris Johnson, who scored his first two touchdowns of the season, moved the chains on 3rd-and-1 from the Buffalo 43 with a 27-yard gain. Facing a 4th- and-9, Hasselbeck hooked up with Washington in the back of the end zone. The Titans (3-4) prevailed with their first road victory when Fitzpatrick's fourth-down pass landed on the turf, short of intended target Stevie Johnson. Hasselbeck completed 22-of-33 passes for 205 yards, while Chris Johnson finished with 195 yards on 18 carries. Jamie Harper added two short touchdown runs in Tennessee's second straight win and fifth in a row against the Bills (3-4). Prior to the interception, Fitzpatrick had thrown three touchdown passes. He also lost a fumble early in the third quarter that led to a Tennessee score.

Final Score: Dallas 19, Carolina 14

Charlotte, NC (Sports Network) - Dan Bailey kicked four field goals, including two in the final 3 1/2 minutes of regulation, as the Dallas Cowboys claimed a 19-14 victory over the Carolina Panthers in Week 7 action. Tony Romo finished 24-of-34 for 227 yards and a touchdown for the Cowboys (3-3), who snapped a two-game slide. Miles Austin paced the Dallas offense with 97 yards and a TD reception on five catches, while Jason Witten added six grabs for 44 yards. Cam Newton threw for 233 yards and one score while adding 64 yards on six carries for the Panthers (1-5), losers in four straight.

Final Score: Houston 43, Baltimore 13

Houston, TX (Sports Network) - Major contributions from Ray Lewis and Lardarius Webb helped the Baltimore Ravens down the Houston Texans in last year's AFC divisional playoff game. Neither, though, were in uniform on Sunday and the Texans took advantage of Baltimore's injury-depleted defense. Arian Foster ran for two touchdowns and Matt Schaub threw for a pair of scores in the Texans' 43-13 rout of the Ravens. Schaub completed 23-of-37 passes for 256 yards, while Foster tallied 98 yards on the ground for Houston (6-1), which rebounded from last Sunday's 42-24 loss to the Green Bay Packers.

Final Score: Indianapolis 17, Cleveland 13

Indianapolis, IN (Sports Network) - Andrew Luck threw for 186 yards and rushed for two touchdowns, and the Indianapolis Colts held off the Cleveland Browns, 17-13, Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium. Though Luck was just 16-of-29 passing, he led the Colts to 321 yards of total offense and three scoring drives, just enough to edge out the Browns, who generated 319 yards of offense. Reggie Wayne led all Colts receivers with 73 yards on six catches, and Vick Ballard had a game-high 84 yards rushing on 20 carries for Indianapolis (3-3). Brandon Weeden completed 25-of-41 passes for 264 yards and two touchdowns for Cleveland (1-6), which was coming off its first win of the season against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Final Score: Minnesota 21, Arizona 14

Minneapolis, MN (Sports Network) - Adrian Peterson ran for 153 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries behind a strong defensive performance by the Minnesota defense, as the Vikings defeated the Arizona Cardinals, 21-14, at Mall of America Field on Sunday. John Skelton threw a touchdown pass to Andre Roberts with less than two minutes remaining in the game, but Arizona (4-3) could not recover the onside kick, sealing the victory for Minnesota. Harrison Smith returned an interception for a touchdown and Minnesota (5-2) registered seven sacks, including three by Brian Robison, to overcome a disappointing performance by Christian Ponder, who threw for just four yards in the second half. He completed 8-of-17 passes for the day with two interceptions, but threw a touchdown in the first half for the Vikings, who will face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday night. Despite a career rushing day from LaRod Stephens-Howling, who ran for 104 yards and a touchdown, the Cardinals struggled to get into an offensive rhythm, converting on third down just 5- of-14 times. Skelton, who got the start for the injured Kevin Kolb, completed 25-of-36 throws for 262 yards and an interception for Arizona, which lost its third straight game after winning its first four.

Final Score: NY Giants 27, Washington 23

East Rutherford, NJ (Sports Network) - Eli Manning tossed a 77-yard touchdown pass to Victor Cruz with less than two minutes remaining to send the New York Giants to a 27-23 triumph over the Washington Redskins in an NFC East clash on Sunday at MetLife Stadium. New York led 20-16 with 2:55 remaining, but Robert Griffin III led the Redskins on a 7-play, 77-yard scoring drive to grab the lead. Griffin converted a do-or-die 4th-and-10 by eluding a pair of New York defenders in the backfield before finding Logan Paulsen for 19 yards. After the two-minute warning, Griffin scrambled 24 yards into New York territory and two plays later, the rookie quarterback floated a 30-yard touchdown pass to Santana Moss to give Washington a 23-20 edge. But in typical Manning fashion, the veteran signal-caller answered on the second play of New York's ensuing drive, as he found Cruz streaking down the seam for the go-ahead score. The Redskins had one final try, but Moss fumbled the ball back to the Giants, who went into the victory formation to seal the win. Manning finished 26-of-40 for 337 yards and two interceptions, while Ahmad Bradshaw and Andre Brown each added a rushing score for the Giants (5-2), who have won three straight since a loss to NFC East-rival Philadelphia on Sept. 30. Griffin completed 20-of-28 passes for 258 yards, a pair of scores and one interception and Alfred Morris added 120 yards on 22 carries for the Redskins (3-4), who had won their last two meetings with the defending champions.

Final Score: Green Bay 30, St. Louis 20

St. Louis, MO (Sports Network) - Aaron Rodgers completed 30-of-37 passes for 342 yards and three touchdowns, lifting the Green Bay Packers over the St. Louis Rams, 30-20. Rodgers had a passer rating of 132.2 for the Packers (4-3), who have won back-to-back games for the first time this season. Jordy Nelson caught eight passes for 122 yards and a touchdown for Green Bay, which racked up 402 yards of total offense. Randall Cobb hauled in eight passes for 89 yards and two scores. Sam Bradford connected on 21-of-34 passes for 255 yards, one touchdown and an interception for the Rams (3-4), who have lost two in a row.

Final Score: New Orleans 35, Tampa Bay 28

Tampa, FL (Sports Network) - Drew Brees threw four touchdown passes in the first half and the New Orleans Saints hung on for a 35-28 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Brees went 27-for-37 with 377 yards and an interception as he extended his NFL-record streak of at least one touchdown pass in a game to 49. Marques Colston, Darren Sproles, Joseph Morgan and David Thomas each caught a score while Lance Moore had nine catches for 121 yards for the Saints (2-4), who were coming off their bye week and have now won their past two games. Vincent Jackson had a huge game for Tampa Bay, as he totaled seven catches for a franchise-record 216 yards and a touchdown. Josh Freeman had three touchdown passes and went 24-for-42 with 420 yards for the Buccaneers (2-4), who were coming off a win against Kansas City last week.

The Sports Network