Mitch Trubisky came on for an injured Kenny Pickett to throw a 6-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter and the Pittsburgh Steelers’ maligned defence made it stand up in a stunning 20-18 win over Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.
The Steelers (2-4) snapped a four-game losing streak by relying on a largely anonymous defence missing almost its entire starting secondary.
Steelers linebacker Devin Bush broke up the two-point conversion attempt and Pittsburgh ran out the clock behind Trubisky to avoid its first 1-5 start since 1988.
Trubisky, benched in favour of Pickett at halftime of an Oct. 2 loss to the New York Jets, passed for 144 yards and the touchdown to Chase Claypool, the first scoring grab by a Pittsburgh wide receiver this season. Trubisky connected with Claypool again for a 26-yard gain on the Steelers’ final drive and then ran for a 9-yard gain that finished off Tampa Bay.
The victory came with a potentially high cost. Pickett, the 20th overall pick in the draft, entered the NFL’s concussion protocol after being pushed legally to the ground by Tampa Bay linebacker Devin White shortly after throwing a pass.
Pickett lay still on the Acrisure Stadium turf for several seconds before getting up. Officials waved the Steelers’ training staff onto the field and Pickett sat down briefly before making his way to the medical tent and eventually the locker room.
Enter Trubisky, who lost the starting job to Pickett at halftime of a loss to the New York Jets on Oct. 2 but remained one of the team’s captains, a testament to how he’s handled the demotion.
Pickett’s status going forward is uncertain. Trubisky’s steady play — which was largely absent during his 3 1/2-game stint as the starter — was good enough for the Steelers to beat Brady for just the fourth time in 16 tries.
Jets defeat Packers for 3rd straight win
Breece Hall ran for 116 yards, including a 34-yard touchdown, the surprising Jets sacked Aaron Rodgers four times and New York won its third straight with a 27-10 victory over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.
Green Bay (3-3) has lost consecutive regular-season games within the same season for the first time since coach Matt LaFleur’s arrival in 2019. The Packers blew an early 14-point lead in a 27-22 loss to the New York Giants in London last week.
The Jets, whose offensive coordinator is LaFleur’s younger brother Mike, outrushed Green Bay 179-60 in a game during which Zach Wilson was just 10 of 18 for 110 yards. New York broke a 3-all tie and pulled ahead for good by scoring two touchdowns in a span of less than 2 1/2 minutes in the third quarter.
The Packers entered Sunday having won 20 of the last 21 home games Rodgers had started against AFC teams, including 11 straight victories.
But the reigning MVP had a frustrating afternoon against the Jets’ promising young defence.
Rodgers had injured his right thumb while getting sacked as he prepared to throw a Hail Mary pass on the final play against the Giants. The thumb prevented Rodgers from practicing Wednesday, though he participated full in the Packers’ Thursday and Friday sessions.
Whether bothered by the thumb or not, Rodgers hardly resembled himself for much of the game. He went 26 of 41 for 241 yards and nearly committed turnovers on each of Green Bay’s first two possessions.
Giants rally past Ravens in 4th quarter
Julian Love’s interception and 27-yard return set up Saquon Barkley’s one-yard touchdown dive with 1:43 to play, and the New York Giants rallied from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Baltimore Ravens 24-20 on Sunday.
Led by new coach Brian Daboll, the Giants have already exceeded their 2021 win total.
Daniel Jones threw touchdown passes to two rookies: 5 yards to Wan’Dale Robinson and 8 yards to Daniel Bellinger. The second got New York within 20-17 with 6:53 to go.
Kenyan Drake ran for 119 yards, including a 30-yard TD, and Jackson hit Mark Andrews on a 12-yard TD pass early in the fourth quarter for a 20-10 lead.
Baltimore collapsed against Miami in Week 2, allowing four touchdowns in the fourth quarter of a 42-38 loss. The Ravens also blew an early 17-point lead against Buffalo in Week 4, when a late interception by Jackson gave the Bills an opportunity to drive for the game-winning field goal.
Vikings hold on to beat depleted Dolphins
Dalvin Cook rushed for a 53-yard insurance touchdown in the fourth quarter and the Minnesota Vikings (5-1) held on to beat the injury-riddled Miami Dolphins (3-3) 24-16 on Sunday.
Cook was quiet most of the afternoon until his score with 3:25 left restored Minnesota’s two-touchdown lead.
Cook’s burst followed a fumble by Dolphins receiver Jaylen Waddle on a drive when Miami was swiftly moving the ball down the field, trailing 16-10.
Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson had a 47-yard catch-and-run at the end of the third quarter — part of a six-catch, 107-yard performance. That set up a two-yard touchdown catch by Adam Thielen to make it 16-3.
Facing their fifth-straight fourth-quarter deficit, the Dolphins found the end zone for the first time when Bridgewater threw a four-yard TD pass to tight end Mike Gesicki.
Thompson started in place of Bridgewater and Tua Tagovailoa. He didn’t return after injuring his thumb, marking the fourth-consecutive game that a Dolphins starting quarterback was injured.
Bridgewater replaced Thompson with about 11 minutes left in the first half after spending most of the week in the NFL’s concussion protocol. He finished with 329 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.
Burrow, Chase shine as Bengals down Saints
Joe Burrow passed for three touchdowns and scrambled 19 yards for a score, and the Cincinnati Bengals rallied to beat the New Orleans Saints 30-26 on Sunday.
Two of Burrow’s touchdown tosses went to Ja’Marr Chase — just like the previous time the pair played in college in the Superdome in a national championship game triumph with LSU.
Chase’s go-ahead score capped a rally in the final four minutes for Cincinnati (3-3), starting with Evan McPherson’s 52-yard field goal that trimmed New Orleans’ lead to 26-24.
The Saints (2-4) failed to get a first down on their next series, and Blake Gillikin’s shanked punt fluttered out of bounds at the Cincinnati 40.
One play later, Chase was racing away from the Saints’ secondary.
New Orleans rushed for 228 yards as a team, but ended four drives inside the Cincinnati 20-yard line with Wil Lutz field goals.
Burrow’s other touchdown passes went for 9 yards to Joe Mixon and 15 yards to Chase.
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