LANDOVER, Md. — Josh Norman bounced back Sunday from his prime-time benching by intercepting former teammate Cam Newton and forcing a fumble, and Washington 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 Dec. 24, 2016. Norman also popped the ball out of Panthers rookie receiver D.J. Moore’s hands in a showcase performance against the team that abruptly cut ties with him after his All-Pro 2015 season.
Newton threw for 275 yards and two touchdowns on 27-of-40 passing and rushed for 43 yards in a turnover-marred loss. He engineered a late drive that got the Panthers to the Washington 16, but threw incomplete on second, third and fourth downs.
Carolina (3-2) was doomed by turnovers long before that, including Moore’s on a punt return that set up Smith’s 22-yard TD pass to Davis.
Adrian Peterson rushed for 97 yards on 17 carries, and Alex Smith connected on touchdown passes to Vernon Davis and Paul Richardson for Washington (3-2), which looked like an entirely different team than the one that got stomped 43-19 by New Orleans on Monday night – when Coach Jay Gruden benched Norman in the second half.
VIKINGS 27, CARDINALS 17: Latavius Murray helped Minnesota (3-2-1) revive its running game with 155 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries, wearing down Arizona (1-5) at Minneapolis.
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.
Thielen had 11 receptions for 123 yards, his sixth straight 100-yard game to become the first player in the NFL since 1961 to start a season with a streak that long.
TEXANS 20, BILLS 13: Johnathan Joseph’s 28-yard interception return for a touchdown with 1:23 remaining lifted Houston (3-3) over visiting Buffalo (2-4).
With the score 13-13, 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.
JETS 42, COLTS 34: Jason Myers kicked a franchise-record seven field goals, Sam Darnold threw two touchdown passes, and New York (3-3) held on at East Rutherford, New Jersey, beating Indianapolis (1-5) 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 took advantage of mistakes by the Colts, who lost their fourth straight.
CHARGERS 38, BROWNS 14: Philip Rivers threw two touchdown passes to Tyrell Williams – and the veteran quarterback threw a block – and Melvin Gordon had three TD runs as visiting Los Angeles (4-2) banged around Cleveland rookie Baker Mayfield and the Browns (2-3-1).
Rivers, 36, continued one of the best starts of his 15-year career, leading the Chargers 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.
SEAHAWKS 27, RAIDERS 3: Russell Wilson threw for three touchdowns, including one off a botched snap in the second quarter, and Seattle (3-3) rolled over Oakland (1-5) at London.
Chris Carson rushed for 59 yards and rookie Rashaad Penny gained an additional 43 for the Seahawks, who played to a vociferously supportive crowd – a London-record 84,922 were in attendance – despite the Raiders being the designated home team.
FALCONS 34, BUCCANEERS 29: Matt Ryan threw for 354 yards and three touchdowns as Atlanta (2-4) snapped a three-game losing streak, holding off visiting Tampa Bay (2-3) in Jameis Winston’s return as the Buccaneers’ starting quarterback.
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.
COWBOYS 40, JAGUARS 7: Dak Prescott threw two touchdown passes to Cole Beasley to spark a previously punchless passing game and rushed for a career-high 82 yards as Dallas (3-3) beat Jacksonville (3-3) at Arlington, Texas.
The Cowboys rolled to a 24-0 halftime lead, with Beasley getting his first two touchdowns of the season for the NFL’s 30th-ranked passing offense that was facing the league’s No. 1 pass defense.
RAVENS 21, TITANS 0: Baltimore (4-2) piled up a franchise-record 11 sacks and shut out Tennessee (3-3) at Nashville, Tennessee.
Za’Darious Smith had three sacks and Patrick Onwuasor added two for the Ravens, who had six sacks by halftime. They finished a sack off the NFL record for a game shared by five teams.
RAMS 23, BRONCOS 20: Todd Gurley rushed for a career-high 208 yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries as visiting Los Angeles (6-0) beat Denver (2-4).
The Rams, who had surrendered 31 points in back-to-back games, sent the Broncos to their fourth straight loss.
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