Peyton Manning threw two touchdown passes and Connor Barth was perfect on five field-goal attempts.
C.J. Anderson added 168 yards rushing and caught a 15-yard touchdown pass, and Demaryius Thomas also had a TD grab to help the Broncos (9-3) beat Kansas City for the sixth straight time, 29-16.
Alex Smith threw for 153 yards and two touchdowns for the Chiefs (7-5), the second of them to Jamaal Charles to make it 26-16 early in the fourth quarter, but Smith’s pass on the two-point try fell incomplete, and the Broncos added another field goal to put the game away.
Photo: AFP
The win kept Denver a game up on San Diego in the division race.
BENGALS 14, BUCCANEERS 13
In Tampa, Andy Dalton ran for one touchdown and threw to A.J. Green for another, helping the Bengals overcome numerous mistakes.
Dalton shrugged off three first-half interceptions, and the Bengals (8-3-1) weathered 10 penalties and an ill-advised onside kick that cost them momentum after taking the lead in the second half to win on the road for the third consecutive week. That is a franchise first that had seemed improbable following a lopsided home loss to Cleveland a month ago.
The Bengals lead the tightest division race in the NFL, with a one-game lead over each of their AFC North rivals — all of whom lost.
Tampa Bay (2-10) threatened in the closing minutes. However, a 21-yard completion that would have put the Bucs in field goal range was overturned after a replay review confirmed the Bucs had 12 men on the field on the play. The ball was moved back to the 46, an additional 14 seconds were added to the clock, and Tampa Bay turned over the ball on downs.
CHARGERS 34, RAVENS 33
In Baltimore, Philip Rivers capped a frantic drive with a 1-yard touchdown pass to Eddie Royal with 38 seconds to go. The Chargers (8-4) trailed 30-20 with 6 minutes, 13 seconds left and 33-27 with 2:22 left before Rivers brought them back.
Following a pass interference call against Anthony Levine in the end zone, Rivers hit Royal to conclude an 80-yard march to the Chargers’ third straight win.
Baltimore (7-5) lost at home in November for the first time since 2009. The Ravens were 11-0 all-time at home against West Coast teams.
Rivers went for 34 for 45 for 383 yards and three touchdowns, two to Keenan Allen. Joe Flacco threw for two scores for Baltimore, which wasted four field goals from Justin Tucker and 106 yards rushing from Justin Forsett.
SAINTS 35, STEELERS 32
In Pittsburgh, Drew Brees threw five touchdowns for the ninth time in his career as the Saints dominated the sloppy Steelers.
Kenny Stills caught five passes for a career-high 162 yards and a score as the Saints (5-7) ended a three-game losing streak by restoring a little bit of respectability and a sense of order to the NFC South.
The Steelers (7-5) kept New Orleans tight end Jimmy Graham without a catch, but it hardly mattered. Brees worked over Pittsburgh’s secondary anyway. Ben Watson, Marques Colston, Erik Loring and Nick Toon hauled in touchdowns.
Ben Roethlisberger passed for 435 yards and two touchdowns, but also threw two interceptions for the Steelers.
BILLS 26, BROWNS 10
In Orchard Park, New York, quarterback Kyle Orton and defensive end Jerry Hughes scored touchdowns 10 seconds apart in the third quarter.
Orton put the Bills ahead 7-3 with a 3-yard pass to Chris Hogan. Buffalo’s defense scored on the next play from scrimmage when Hughes stripped the ball from running back Terrence West, and returned the fumble 18 yards.
It was too deep of a hole for Browns rookie quarterback Johnny Manziel to dig out of. Taking over with 12:01 left after starter Brian Hoyer threw his second interception, Manziel capped an eight-play, 80-yard drive with a 10-yard run that cut Buffalo’s lead to 20-10.
The Bills (7-5) won their second straight. Cleveland (7-5) lost for only the second time in six games.
FALCONS 29, CARDINALS 18
In Atlanta, Julio Jones had a career day, catching 10 passes for 189 yards and a touchdown to keep the Falcons in first place in the NFC South.
Arizona (9-3) still lead the NFC West after their second straight loss, but their lead over defending Super Bowl champion Seattle dwindled to a single game.
More troubling for the Cardinals, they had gone more than 11 quarters without an offensive touchdown until a meaningless score with just over a minute remaining.
Steven Jackson broke off a 55-yard run — his longest since 2009 — to set up a touchdown on the Falcons’ opening possession.
Jones hauled in a 32-yard scoring pass, and Matt Bryant kicked a career-best five field goals for the Falcons (5-7).
TEXANS 45, TITANS 21
In Houston, Ryan Fitzpatrick threw for a franchise-record six touchdowns and DeAndre Hopkins had a career-best 238 yards receiving and two scores. Fitzpatrick returned to the lineup after being benched for two games for Ryan Mallett, who suffered a season-ending chest injury last week.
J.J. Watt helped out in the win. He had his third touchdown reception, two sacks, forced and recovered a fumble for Houston (6-6).
Tennessee’s Zach Mettenberger injured his right shoulder playing behind a makeshift offensive line missing three starters. Jake Locker took over in the third quarter and threw for 91 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions for the Titans (2-10).
RAMS 52, RAIDERS 0
In St Louis, Tre Mason scored two long touchdowns and Shaun Hill accounted for three TDs in the rout. St Louis had an out-of-nowhere 38-point first half that tied for second biggest in franchise history.
Mason had 113 yards rushing on six carries in the half with an 89-yard score, plus a 35-yard jaunt on a screen pass that opened the scoring. Hill was 12 for 15 for 178 yards and two TDs and ran for a 2-yard score.
The Rams (5-7) scored touchdowns on their first five possessions, got a field goal on the sixth midway through the second quarter to top their previous best scoring total for any game this season.
In other NFL action, it was:
‧ Colts 49, Redskins 27
‧ Vikings 31, Panthers 13
‧ Jaguars 25, Giants 24
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