NFL ROUND-UP:THE NEW England Patriots and New York Jets won road games at the weekend to remain tied for the National Football League's best record, while Dallas beat the New York Giants in Jason Garrett's debut as Cowboys coach.
The Patriots beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 39-26 in a match-up of 6-2 teams on Sunday night as quarterback Tom Brady threw three touchdown passes to rookie Rob Gronkowski and also ran for another score.
“The defence played great, the offensive line played incredible and our guys came up with some big plays when we needed it,” Brady said. “It was definitely a team win.”
The Patriots’ victory came after the Jets beat the Cleveland Browns 26-20 on a 37-yard touchdown catch by Santonio Holmes with 16 seconds left in overtime.
At 7-2, the Jets and Patriots are tied atop the American Football Conference’s East Division and with Atlanta for the NFL’s best record.
The Giants missed a chance for a 7-2 start with a 33-20 home loss to the Cowboys that ended their five-game win streak. The Cowboys had entered the game as two-touchdown underdogs after five straight losses.
“I hope it’s a good feeling for our fans, but don’t think for one minute that it’s a consolation about how we’ve stunk it up this year,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who fired Wade Phillips as coach last week, said. “It’s not, it’s just a way for us to get going.”
In Pittsburgh, the Patriots rebounded from last week’s loss in Cleveland as Brady threw for 350 yards against the NFL’s top scoring defence. James Sanders added a 32-yard interception return for a score for New England. Pittsburgh dropped to 6-3.
In Cleveland, Holmes caught a pass from quarterback Mark Sanchez on the first play of the Jets’ fourth overtime possession and slipped through three Browns defenders for the winning score. The Browns’ defensive coordinator is Rob Ryan, the twin brother of Jets coach Rex Ryan. Holmes’ touchdown was the third-latest since overtime began in 1974 and helped the Jets avoid their first tie in 22 years.
The Jets became the first team with back-to-back overtime road wins, having beaten Detroit 23-20 last week. The Browns (3-6) had two turnovers, including Chansi Stuckey’s fumble at the Jets’ 36-yard line in overtime.
Nick Folk missed three field goals for New York, including a 47-yard attempt in overtime, before Holmes pulled out the win with his first touchdown of the season. It was the Jets’ eighth straight regular-season road win. “You talk about how resilient this team is, that’s two road wins in a row in overtime, that’s about as tough as it gets,” said coach Ryan.
At New Meadowlands Stadium, Jon Kitna had 327 passing yards for the Cowboys and threw touchdown passes to Dez Bryant, Felix Jones and Miles Austin. Dallas’ defence forced three turnovers, including a 101-yard interception return for a touchdown by Bryan McCann.
The Cowboys built a 26-6 lead and held the Giants without a touchdown until the 9:01 mark of the third quarter.
The score came after the game was halted because of a second power outage that left the new €1.2 billion stadium in almost complete darkness.
The Cowboys, who three weeks ago lost at home to the Giants 41-35, were the third team this season to enter a game as two-touchdown underdogs at Las Vegas sports books. They’re the only one to win.
The Giants fall to 6-3.
Weekend NFL Results
Arizona Cardinals 18 Seattle Seahawks 36; Buffalo Bills 14 Detroit Lions 12; Chicago Bears 27 Minnesota Vikings 13; Cleveland Browns 20 New York Jets 26 (OT); Denver Broncos 49 Kansas City Chiefs 29; Indianapolis Colts 23 Cincinnati Bengals 17; Jacksonville Jaguars 31 Houston Texans 24; Miami Dolphins 29 Tennessee Titans 17; New York Giants 20 Dallas Cowboys 33; Pittsburgh Steelers 26 New England Patriots 39; San Francisco 49ers 23 St Louis Rams 20 (OT); Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31 Carolina Panthers 16.
