NFL round-up: Colin Kaepernick drags San Francisco 49ers to victory in Superdome epic, Peyton Manning passes Johnny Unitas mark
Elsewhere there were impressive wins for Arizona, Detroit and the New York Jets
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Colin Kaepernick completed a 51-yard pass on the fourth down to sustain a tying drive, Ahmad Brooks sacked and stripped Drew Brees in overtime, and Phil Dawson kicked a 35-yard field goal to cap the San Francisco 49ers' stirring 27-24 victory over New Orleans on Sunday.
The victory ended a two-game losing streak for the Niners (5-4) and marked the first home loss for the Saints (4-5) in more than a season.
The Saints had won their past 11 at home overall, and the past 20 at home including the playoffs, when coached by Sean Payton, who was suspended in 2012.
Brooks' decisive blow on a sack of Brees had to feel like poetic justice to the Niners linebacker. His unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on a vicious sack and strip in the Superdome a year ago allowed the Saints to pull out a late comeback victory in these teams' previous meeting.
Denver quarterback Peyton Manning threw five touchdown passes in less than 17 minutes as the Broncos handed the Oakland Raiders their 15th straight loss, 41-17.
Manning threw a pair of early interceptions that put Denver (7-2) in a hole against the NFL's only winless team. That all changed with a short pass that C.J. Anderson turned into a spectacular 51-yard catch and run. The touchdowns didn't stop until Manning's day was done after three quarters.
Manning added two TD passes to Julius Thomas and two more to Emmanuel Sanders as the Broncos rebounded from last week's loss at New England by beating up on the Raiders (0-9).
Manning went 31 for 44 for 340 yards. He extended his record with at least two touchdown passes in 15 straight games and his streak of 48 games with at least one TD pass is third longest, breaking a tie with Johnny Unitas.
The Arizona Cardinals put together another dominant fourth quarter, but the 31-14 victory over the St. Louis Rams was dampened by an injury to quarterback Carson Palmer.
Palmer went down in the final period, then backup Drew Stanton and the Arizona defense rallied the Cardinals with three touchdowns over a span of 3 minutes, 48 seconds.
Rookie John Brown's diving grab of Stanton's 48-yard touchdown pass put the Cardinals (8-1) up 17-14 with 7:40 to play. The pass came on the first series after Palmer hurt his left knee while trying to avoid the rush.
At Green Bay, Wisconsin, Aaron Rodgers threw six touchdown passes to equal the club record and match the NFL record for a half as the Packers trounced the Chicago Bears 55-14.
Rodgers was 18 of 27 for 315 yards, throwing scoring passes of 73 and 40 yards to Jordy Nelson.
Seattle's Marshawn Lynch rushed for a season-high 140 yards and career-best four touchdowns as the Seahawks downed the New York Giants 38-17, while Michael Vick threw two touchdown passes as the New York Jets forced four turnovers while shutting down Ben Roethlisberger to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 20-13 and end an eight-game losing streak.
In other games, Matthew Stafford led Detroit to another thrilling victory in the final minutes, throwing an 11-yard touchdown pass to Theo Riddick with 29 seconds remaining as the Detroit Lions edged the Miami Dolphins 20-16, the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Buffalo Bills 17-13, the Dallas Cowboys downed the Jacksonville Jaguars 31-17, the Baltimore Ravens defeated the Tennessee Titans 21-7 and the Atlanta Falcons were 27-17 winners over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Results:
Baltimore Ravens 21 Tennessee Titan 7
Kansas City Chiefs 17 Buffalo Bills 13
Detroit Lions 20 Miami Dolphins 16
San Francisco 49ers 27 New Orleans Saints 24 (OT)
Dallas Cowboys 31 Jacksonville Jaguars 17
New York Jets 20 Pittsburgh Steelers 13
Atlanta Falcons 27 Tampa Bay Bucaneers 17
Denver Broncoes 41 Oakland Raiders 17
Arizona Cardinals 31 St. Louis Rams 14
Seattle Seahawks 38 New York Giants 17
Green Bay Packers 55 Chicago Bears 14
AP
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments