The latest from Week 8 of the NFL (all times EDT):
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7:40 p.m.
The Seattle Seahawks made their victory look easy. The Denver Broncos certainly didn't.
The New Orleans Saints held off Tom Brady with a late interception.
Travis Homer grabbed Jacksonville's onside kick and took it back 44 yards for a touchdown, capping Seattle's 31-7 victory over the Jaguars in style. Closing out the game was much less routine for the Broncos.
Denver stopped a Washington fourth down and had the ball with less than a minute remaining, but Washington had its timeouts, so the Broncos didn't simply kneel. A second-down incompletion stopped the clock, and then Denver tried a running play and Melvin Gordon III fumbled, giving Washington the ball at the Denver 24 — remarkably, still with two timeouts left.
But the Broncos held on for a 17-10 victory.
New Orleans blew a 16-point lead against Tampa Bay, but the Saints went back ahead 29-27. Then Brady's pass was intercepted by P.J. Williams, who ran it back 40 yards for touchdown. New Orleans won 36-27.
New England beat the Los Angeles Chargers 27-24 in the other late afternoon game.
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7:25 p.m
The Dallas Cowboys have decided to hold quarterback Dak Prescott out of their game at Minnesota because of a strained right calf muscle. Cooper Rush gets his first career start.
Prescott was placed on the inactive list after being listed as questionable to play the Vikings. He was hurt on Oct. 17 during his touchdown pass to beat New England in overtime, but two full weeks including the team’s bye to treat and rest the injury weren’t quite enough for clearance.
Prescott went through his normal pregame routine on the turf at U.S. Bank Stadium more than two hours before kickoff with Britt Brown, the team’s director of rehabilitation. He showed no obvious signs of limitation, but caution and the desire to keep the soft tissue issue from lingering was the message from the Cowboys all week.
— Dave Campbell reporting from Minneapolis
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6:45 p.m.
Adrian Phillips scored on a 26-yard interception return in the fourth quarter, and a 2-point conversion gave the New England Patriots a 24-17 lead over the Los Angeles Chargers.
Justin Herbert has thrown a pair of interceptions for the Chargers.
Meanwhile, Tom Brady has led the Buccaneers to touchdowns on consecutive possessions to trim New Orleans’ lead to 23-21.
The first of the two scores came on Brady’s 7-yard pass to running back Giovani Bernard. Brady followed that up with a 41-yard scoring pass down the left sideline to Mike Evans, who beat top Saints cornerback Mike Evans in single coverage.
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6:20 p.m.
The New Orleans Saints have opened up a 23-7 lead on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after electing to go for the touchdown on fourth-and-goal from the 1 on the opening possession of the second half.
The pitch to Alvin Kamara around the left end caught the Bucs by surprise and Kamara, despite bobbling the pitch, still was able to score while slowing down to a near walk as he crossed the goal line. The Saints have outscored the Bucs 16-0 since starting quarterback Jameis Winston hurt his left knee on a scramble early in the second quarter and was replaced by Trevor Siemian.
The Saints also scored in the second quarter on a short pass to fullback Alex Armah and added a field goal at the end of the half. Bucs QB Tom Brady has turned the ball over twice, once on a fumble and once on an interception.
— Brett Martel reporting from New Orleans
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5:40 p.m.
Seattle quarterback Geno Smith connected on his first 14 passes in leading the Seahawks to a 17-0 halftime lead over Jacksonville. Smith was 14 of 15 for 137 yards in the first half against the Jaguars. Smith’s 14 straight completions to start a game is the longest streak in the league this season.
Smith ran for a 1-yard touchdown and threw a 16-yard TD to DK Metcalf in the second quarter. Smith’s only incompletion of the half came on a scramble throwaway.
— Tim Booth reporting from Seattle
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5:30 p.m.
New Orleans Saints quarterback Jameis Winston was injured on a second-quarter scramble.
Winston was pulled down by Tampa Bay linebacker Devin White, who was flagged for a horse-collar tackle. Trevor Siemian replaced him at quarterback.
The Saints and Buccaneers are tied at 7.
This was Winston’s first start against the team that drafted him first overall in 2015, and with whom he spent his first five seasons.
A cart eventually come out to transport Winston away from the blue injury tent. He appeared to be having his left leg checked.
— Brett Martel reporting from New Orleans
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4:45 p.m.
Peyton Manning was pleased with the accuracy of his new bronze bust as the newest member of the Broncos’ Ring of Fame -- even with the detail of his forehead.
“The forehead is always the key thing,” cracked the Hall of Fame quarterback.
Manning had his Ring of Fame pillar unveiled in a pregame ceremony in front of fans outside the stadium before the Broncos played the Washington Football Team. At halftime, there’s a ceremony to honor his inclusion in the team’s Ring of Fame.
Manning used to glance up at the Broncos’ Ring of Fame in admiration. There were names like Tom Jackson, Steve Foley and Craig Morton.
Now, he’s part of that group after his four-year run in a Broncos uniform that culminated with a Super Bowl title.
“I’m very honored to join that list,” Manning said. “It really means a lot.”
The Broncos and Washington are scoreless in the first quarter.
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4:35 p.m.
The Tennessee Titans lead the AFC South by three games.
The Titans edged Indianapolis 34-31 on Randy Bullock's 44-yard field goal with 4:03 remaining in overtime. That pushed Tennessee to a 6-2 record and knocked Indianapolis down to 3-5.
The other AFC team that had a chance to get to 6-2 on Sunday, the Cincinnati Bengals, lost to the New York Jets 34-31.
In the day's other early games: Carolina beat Atlanta 19-13, Buffalo beat Miami 26-11, San Francisco beat Chicago 33-22, Pittsburgh beat Cleveland 15-10, Philadelphia beat Detroit 44-6 and the Los Angeles Rams beat Houston 38-22.
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4:30 p.m.
Austin Ekeler, who missed two days of practice due to a hip issue, gave the Los Angeles Chargers a 7-0 lead over the New England Patriots with a 5-yard TD run.
Ekeler had three carries for 13 yards and one reception for 6 yards as the Chargers scored a touchdown for the third time this season on their opening drive.
It was also a good bit of early momentum for the Chargers, who lost 45-0 to the Patriots last season.
— Joe Reedy reporting from Inglewood, California
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4:20 p.m.
The Tennessee Titans are in overtime for the third time this season.
Carson Wentz rebounded from a bad gaffe in the end zone that gave the Titans the lead with 1:26 remaining. He led Indianapolis down the field, and the Colts tied the game at 31 on Jonathan Taylor's 1-yard touchdown run with 22 seconds to play.
Tennessee split its first two OT games of the season.
Elsewhere, the New York Jets beat Cincinnati 34-31, putting idle Baltimore back in sole possession of first place in the AFC North.
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4:10 p.m.
The Tennessee Titans took a 31-24 lead over Indianapolis on a bizarre play that resulted in a 2-yard interception return for a touchdown by Elijah Molden with 1:26 remaining.
Carson Wentz of the Colts was about to be taken down in his own end zone when he tossed the ball forward with his left hand. Molden easily picked off the weak pass and was in the end zone immediately.
Elsewhere, the New York Jets scored two touchdowns in quick succession to take a 34-31 lead over Cincinnati.
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4 p.m.
Panthers quarterback Sam Darnold left the game at Atlanta with a concussion midway through the fourth quarter. PJ Walker took his place the rest of the way, and the Panthers held on for a 19-13 win over Atlanta. Darnold was injured on a run around left end when linebacker Foye Oluokun hit him. He left the field under his own power.
Darnold ran eight times for 66 yards and completed 13 of 24 passes for 129 yards.
— George Henry reporting from Atlanta
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3:35 p.m.
Justin Fields ran for a 22-yard touchdown, looking very much like Chicago's quarterback of the future as he pulled the Bears to within a point of the San Francisco 49ers in the fourth quarter.
A missed extra point, however, left Chicago down 23-22.
Fields is 19 of 25 for 175 yards and a touchdown, and he's run for 103 yards and a TD.
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3:10 p.m.
The Pittsburgh Steelers had to attempt a long 2-point conversion because of the injury to kicker Chris Boswell, and they trailed Cleveland 10-9 in a key AFC North game after failing to convert.
Boswell was shaken up after a fake field goal attempt late in the second quarter. He was evaluated for a concussion and ruled out. The teams traded touchdowns in the third, but Pittsburgh had to go for 2. The Steelers initially converted, but a holding call pushed them back to the 12 and forced them to try again. Ben Roethlisberger threw incomplete.
Then the ensuing kickoff went out of bounds.
San Francisco trails Chicago 16-15 after a missed extra point in the third, but the kicking game is working out well enough for Carolina so far. The Panthers lead Atlanta 12-10.
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2:45 p.m.
The Detroit Lions gave their fans something to cheer about at halftime. With Detroit trailing Philadelphia 17-0, Chris Spielman drew a roar from the crowd when he was inducted into the Pride of the Lions.
The 1991 All-Pro and four-time Pro Bowl linebacker now has his name displayed at Ford Field along with 18 other former players, including Hall of Famers Barry Sanders and Joe Schmidt.
The team hired Spielman to be a special assistant to team owner Sheila Ford Hamp and president Rod Wood last year.
— Larry Lage reporting from Detroit
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2:40 p.m.
Nobody in the AFC has fewer than two losses — and three of the teams with two are in battles so far today.
Tennessee (5-2) trails 17-14 at Indianapolis after falling behind 14-0. Buffalo (4-2) is tied 3-3 in the third quarter against Miami. Cincinnati (5-2) leads the Jets 17-14 after New York scored a touchdown with 15 seconds left in the second quarter.
The Los Angeles Chargers (4-2) host New England later Sunday. Baltimore (5-2) and Las Vegas (5-2) are off.
Colts defensive tackle Tyquan Lewis was carted off the field with what appeared to be a right knee injury against Tennessee.
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2:25 p.m.
Steelers kicker Chris Boswell was shaken up after a fake field goal late in the second quarter against the Browns. After lining up for a 28-yard attempt, Boswell took a direct snap from center and rolled right. Unable to find an open receiver, he threw the ball deep into the end zone before taking a hard hit from Browns defensive tackle Jordan Elliott near Pittsburgh’s sideline.
Boswell was slow getting up and was helped to the medical tent.
There was no immediate word on his status.
Earlier, he kicked a 31-yard field goal. Pittsburgh and Cleveland are tied at 3 at halftime.
Punter Pressley Harvin III is the Steelers’ backup kicker.
— Tom Withers reporting from Cleveland
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2:10 p.m.
More of the same so far from the Lions and Texans.
Winless Detroit seemed to have a decent chance at a victory today, hosting the struggling Eagles, but the Lions trail 17-0 in the second quarter. Houston (1-6) is down by the same score to the Los Angeles Rams.
Eagles wide receiver Jalen Reagor had an ankle injury after helping his team score a touchdown in the first quarter at Detroit. He had a short reception that was ruled a touchdown on the field and overturned by review. Earlier in the drive, he had 11- and 10-yard runs on end-around plays.
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1:45 p.m.
Buffalo’s Tyler Bass kicked a 57-yard field goal to open the scoring against Miami, the fourth-longest in team history and third-longest at the Bills' home stadium.
Bass, a 2020 sixth-round draft pick out of Georgia Southern, hit a 58-yarder at Arizona last season. The team record is 59 yards set by Steve Christie at home against Miami on Sept. 26, 1993.
Arizona’s Chandler Catanzaro’s 60-yard field goal on Sept. 25, 2016, is the longest field goal made at what is now called Highmark Stadium.
— John Wawrow reporting from Orchard Park, New York.
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1:20 p.m.
The New York Jets’ first-quarter scoring drought is over.
After becoming the the first team to go scoreless in the opening period in its first six games since the 2008 Detroit Lions, the Jets broke through on their first drive against the Cincinnati Bengals on Michael Carter’s 8-yard touchdown run.
With Mike White making his first NFL start in place of the injured Zach Wilson, the Jets won the coin toss and coach Robert Saleh chose to take the ball for the first time rather than defer. And White marched the Jets down the field.
White was 7 of 7 for 65 yards on the 10-play, 75-yard drive that chewed up more than six minutes off the clock. Carter had a 6-yard run on third-and-4 from the Bengals 38 to keep the drive alive. New York also benefited from a pass interference call on Eli Apple on a trick play when wide receiver Jamison Crowder’s throw to Jeff Smith fell incomplete.
The penalty put the ball at the 8, and Carter scooted into the end zone on the next play for the drought-ending score.
New York entered having been outscored 44-0 in the first quarter this season.
— Dennis Waszak Jr. reporting from East Rutherford, New Jersey
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12:25 p.m.
Buffalo Bills co-owner Terry Pegula is doing fine.
Pegula is on the sideline during pregame warmups as the Bills prepare to host the Dolphins. He elected to leave the NFL owners meetings in New York City for precautionary reasons on Tuesday after being deemed to have been in close contact with a person who tested positive for COVID-19 at his daughter’s wedding.
— John Wawrow reporting from Orchard Park, New York
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12:15 p.m.
Myles Garrett showed up hoping to scare Ben Roethlisberger.
Cleveland’s star defensive end — and the NFL’s sacks leader — arrived at FirstEnergy Stadium for Sunday’s game against the Steelers dressed as the Grim Reaper, complete with a scythe and the names of quarterbacks he’s taken down in the past written across the back of his cape.
One of them is Roethlisberger.
Garrett said on Friday that he planned to come to the Halloween game in costume, but wouldn’t reveal his plans.
Garrett wasn’t the only Browns player swept up in the holiday spirit. Star receiver Odell Beckham Jr. was dressed as Michael Jackson from this “Thriller” video.
— Tom Withers reporting from Cleveland
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