Buccaneers Falcons Football

Buccaneers tight end Rob Gronkowski, center, celebrates with quarterback Tom Brady, right, after one of his two touchdown catches Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons. Brynn Anderson/Associated Press

ATLANTA — Tom Brady threw for 368 yards and four touchdowns – two of them to longtime favorite target Rob Gronkowski – and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers moved to the brink of clinching the NFC South title with a 30-17 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.

The Bucs (9-3) won their third straight game and pushed their division lead to four games over Atlanta, Carolina and New Orleans (all 5-7) with five games remaining.

Brady improved to 10-0 in his career against the Falcons, including four straight wins over the last two seasons since moving from New England to Tampa Bay.

The 44-year-old Brady completed 38 of 51, including touchdowns of 27 and 11 yards to Gronkowski – their first scoring passes since Week 2 against the Falcons.

The prolific duo has combined for 90 regular-season TDs, passing Phillip Rivers and Antonio Gates for No. 2 in NFL history. Only Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison have more, hooking up for 112 scoring passes.

Brady shook off a huge blunder in the final minute of the first half, when 278-pound defensive lineman Marlon Davidson picked off a short pass and glided 3 yards into the end zone for a touchdown that cut Tampa Bay’s lead to 20-17 at the break.

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STEELERS 20, RAVENS 19: Baltimore (8-4) failed on a 2-point conversion attempt after Lamar Jackson’s touchdown pass to Sammy Watkins got the Ravens within one with 12 seconds to go, and Pittsburgh (6-5-1) held on for a win at home.

Ben Roethlisberger threw for 236 yards and two second-half touchdowns to Diontae Johnson, the final one a 5-yard catch-and-run with 1:48 to play that gave the Steelers a 20-13 lead.

LIONS 29, VIKINGS 27: Jared Goff threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown as time expired, lifting Detroit (1-10-1) to a win over visiting Minnesota (5-7).

Goff led the Lions on a 75-yard drive without a timeout after Minnesota’s Kirk Cousins threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Justin Jefferson with 1:50 left.

Goff threw two touchdown passes in the first half to put Detroit ahead by 14 points – its biggest lead this season. Then he turned over the ball twice in the second half to help Minnesota rally.

CHIEFS 22, BRONCOS 9: The resurgent Kansas City defense shut down Teddy Bridgewater and the Broncos, Daniel Sorenson returned an interception 75 yards for a touchdown, and the Chiefs (8-4) beat visiting Denver (6-6) for their fifth straight win.

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Patrick Mahomes had 184 yards passing with a touchdown run and an interception for the Chiefs, who now lead the Chargers by a game and the Broncos and Raiders by two in their race for a sixth straight AFC West championship.

DOLPHINS 20, GIANTS 9: Tua Tagovailoa threw a pair of short touchdown passes, and Miami (6-7) extended its winning streak to five games by topping visiting New York (4-8).

Tagovailoa completed 30 of 41 passes for 244 yards.

Mike Glennon started at quarterback for the Giants in place of Daniel Jones, who was sidelined because of a neck injury. Glennon completed 23 of 44 passes for 187 yards, and Saquon Barkley had 55 rushing yards on 11 carries.

CHARGERS 41, BENGALS 22: Justin Herbert passed for three touchdowns and Tevaughn Campbell returned a Joe Mixon fumble 61 yards for a score as Los Angeles (7-5) won at Cincinnati (7-5).

Herbert was 26 of 35 for 317 yards as the Chargers bounced back nicely after losing 28-13 at Denver last weekend. Mike Williams had five receptions for 110 yards, and Keenan Allen caught two of Herbert’s TD passes.

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Cincinnati stormed back after falling behind 24-0 in the second quarter. Mixon’s 7-yard TD run made it 24-22 with 7:10 left in the third. But the Bengals missed the 2-point conversion try, and Campbell’s fumble return in the fourth helped close it out for Los Angeles.

COLTS 31, TEXANS 0: Jonathan Taylor ran for 143 yards and two touchdowns and Indianapolis (7-6) rolled to an easy win at Houston (2-10).

Taylor, who leads the NFL in yards rushing, has 16 rushing touchdowns this season, which ties the franchise record set by Lenny Moore in 1964. It’s the 10th straight game in which he’s rushed for a touchdown, the longest streak in the NFL since LaDainian Tomlinson did it in 18 straight in the 2004 and 2005 seasons.

The Texans turned the ball over twice in the first quarter, and quarterback Tyrod Taylor was benched in the third quarter as Houston lost for the ninth time in 10 games.

CARDINALS 33, BEARS 22: Kyler Murray threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more in his return from an ankle injury, and Arizona (10-2) won at Chicago.

The NFC West leaders, who have the NFL’s best record, intercepted Andy Dalton four times.

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EAGLES 33, JETS 18: Gardner Minshew started in place of an injured Jalen Hurts and led visiting Philadelphia (6-7) to scores on its first seven possessions in a victory over New York (3-9).

Minshew was 20 of 25 for 242 yards and two touchdowns to Dallas Goedert. Kenneth Gainwell ran for a score, Jake Elliott kicked four field goals and the Eagles improved to 12-0 all-time against the Jets.

SEAHAWKS 30, 49ERS 23: Russell Wilson played his best game since returning from finger surgery, throwing for 231 yards and two touchdowns, and Seattle (4-8) made a late goal line stand to beat visiting San Francisco (6-6).

Gerald Everett fumbled at the San Francisco 2 with 4:03 remaining and Seattle on the cusp of a clinching score. Jimmy Garoppolo led the 49ers 95 yards to the Seattle 3. But his third-down pass for Trent Sherfield was broken up by Sidney Jones, and his fourth- down pass was deflected at the line of scrimmage by Carlos Dunlap.

WASHINGTON 17, RAIDERS 15: Taylor Heinicke threw two touchdown passes and set up new kicker Brian Johnson’s winning 48-yard field goal with 37 seconds remaining to lead Washington (6-6) to its fourth straight victory, as Las Vegas (6-6).

Heinicke threw a 7-yard TD pass to Logan Thomas on the opening drive and a 4-yarder to Antonio Gibson early in the fourth quarter after extending the drive with a key third-down scramble.

But Washington then allowed the Raiders to score on successive drives to take a 15-14 lead on Daniel Carlson’s 37-yard field goal, set up by Nate Hobbs’ interception of Heinicke.

RAMS 37, JAGUARS 7: Cooper Kupp, Van Jefferson and Odell Beckham Jr. caught touchdown passes from Matthew Stafford, and Los Angeles (8-4) beat visiting Jacksonville (2-10) to snap a three-game losing streak.

Stafford passed for 295 yards, while Sony Michel rushed for 121 yards and a score for the Rams. Kupp got his 100th reception among his eight catches for 129 yards.


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