NFL roundup: Russell Wilson and Seahawks outduel Big Ben and Steelers

SEATTLE -- Russell Wilson threw a career-high five touchdown passes, including two TDs to Doug Baldwin in the final 8:12, and the Seattle Seahawks held on for a wild 39-30 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers and Ben Roethlisberger.

Wilson threw three touchdowns to Baldwin, including an 80-yard catch-and-run score with 2:01 left after Pittsburgh had trimmed Seattle’s lead to 32-30.

Baldwin caught a crossing route on third-and-10 at the 20, broke two tackles and raced for the clinching score. Baldwin caught a 30-yard TD midway through the fourth quarter after Pittsburgh had taken a 27-26 lead.

Wilson also threw two touchdowns to Jermaine Kearse and Seattle (6-5) picked up a huge victory in its hopes of getting back to the postseason.

Roethlisberger threw for 456 yards — the most ever against the Seahawks — but was pulled with 2 minutes left and taken to the locker room for concussion protocol. The Steelers (6-5) had a two-game win streak end.

Roethlisberger was intercepted twice, including Richard Sherman’s first of the season, and Landry Jones’ attempt at a late rally ended on Kam Chancellor’s pick at the Seattle 6 with 1:37 left.

Cardinals 19, 49ers 13

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Carson Palmer ran for a go-ahead 8-yard touchdown with 2:28 left and tumbled after spiking the ball in a telling story of his day, and Arizona squeaked by San Francisco for its fifth straight win and first road victory in the series since September 2008.

Moments earlier, Palmer fell backward as he released the ball and completed a 34-yard pass to J.J. Nelson to put Arizona on the 1.

Chandler Catanzaro missed the extra-point try, and Blaine Gabbert and the 49ers had one more chance with 2:21 left. Anquan Boldin caught an 18-yard pass on fourth-and-20 to clinch the win for Arizona.

David Johnson ran for a 1-yard touchdown in the third for the Cardinals, who have nine wins in their first 11 games in consecutive seasons for the first time in franchise history.

Vikings 20, Falcons 10

ATLANTA -- Adrian Peterson ran for 158 yards and a pair of touchdowns, Matt Ryan had two passes intercepted, and Minnesota beat slumping Atlanta.

Bouncing back from a 30-13 loss to Green Bay, Minnesota (8-3) jumped ahead on Peterson’s 1-yard run in the opening quarter, and clinched it when he got loose on a 35-yard scamper down the sideline with 4:15 remaining in the game.

Atlanta (6-5) has lost five of its past six, including four straight, and is in danger of becoming one of the few teams in NFL history to start 5-0 and miss the playoffs.

Ryan was already facing plenty of scrutiny after throwing three interceptions the previous week against Indianapolis. He was picked off two more times by the Vikings, the second a crucial turnover in the end zone after an apparent go-ahead touchdown was wiped out by a penalty.

Redskins 20, Giants 14

LANDOVER, Md. -- Kirk Cousins threw a 63-yard touchdown pass to DeSean Jackson and scored on a quarterback sneak, Washington intercepted three passes by Eli Manning, and the Redskins held on to beat the New York Giants, 20-14, on Sunday to pull into a tie for the NFC East lead.

Washington wide receiver DeSean Jackson scores against the Giants in the second quarter Sunday.

(Rob Carr / Getty Images)

The Redskins and Giants are both 5-6. The Philadelphia Eagles (4-7) and Dallas Cowboys (3-8) are the other members of the mediocre division.

It was the 20th three-interception game of Manning’s career.

Trailing 20-0, the Giants made it close when Manning threw fourth-quarter TD passes of 40 yards to Rueben Randle and 21 yards to Odell Beckham Jr., who made a fantastic diving catch, corralling the ball with his left hand while parallel to the ground.

Bengals 31, Rams 7

CINCINNATI -- Andy Dalton threw three touchdown passes — two of them to A.J. Green — and Cincinnati ended its brief skid with a the victory over St. Louis.

After dropping a pair of prime-time games, the Bengals (9-2) were back in sync against a team that struggles to score. The Bengals’ 31 points equaled the second-most against St. Louis this season.

The Rams (4-7) have dropped four in a row, in large part because their offense ranks last in the league in passing. Nick Foles returned as the starter and threw three interceptions, including one that Leon Hall returned 19 yards for a touchdown.

Dalton was 20 of 27 for 233 yards with touchdowns of 9 and 18 yards to Green. Tyler Eifert also had his NFL-leading 12th touchdown catch.

Chiefs 30, Bills 22

ANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Alex Smith threw for 255 yards and two touchdowns, Spencer Ware ran for 114 yards and a score, and the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Buffalo Bills 30-22 on Sunday in a matchup of teams in the AFC wildcard race.

Jeremy Maclin had nine receptions for 160 yards and a touchdown, and Cairo Santos hit three field goals for the Chiefs (6-5), who have won five straight after a five-game skid.

Tyrod Taylor had 291 yards passing and three touchdowns for Buffalo (5-6), but he was mostly held in check in the second half. So was Sammie Watkins, who had all six catches for 158 yards and his two touchdowns over the first 30 minutes.

The Bills had a chance for a tying touchdown when they took over at their own 10 with 3:25 left, but the Chiefs stopped them on fourth-and-9 with 2:16 to go to seal it.

Jets 38, Dolphins 20

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Ryan Fitzpatrick threw four touchdown passes, two to Brandon Marshall, and New York gained some traction in the AFC wild-card race.

Fitzpatrick also connected with Devin Smith, the rookie’s first NFL touchdown, and Eric Decker in New York’s fourth win in the last five meetings with Miami. The Jets (6-5) had lost four of their last five overall.

Miami (4-7) now has dropped four of five and is 3-4 under interim coach Dan Campbell, who took over after Joe Philbin was fired following the Dolphins’ lopsided loss to the Jets in London.

Fitzpatrick and Marshall were far too good for Miami as Fitzpatrick passed for 277 yards and Marshall had nine receptions for 131 yards. Chris Ivory clinched it with a 31-yard TD run on which he broke four tackles.

Colts 25, Buccaneers 12

INDIANAPOLIS -- Matt Hasselbeck threw for 315 yards and two touchdowns and Adam Vinatieri made four more field goals, leading Indianapolis Colts to victory.

The Colts (6-5) won their third straight to remain tied atop the AFC South with Houston.

Tampa Bay rookie Jameis Winston threw for 245 yards and a touchdown, but was sacked five times — four coming during a second half in which the Bucs were shut out. Winston’s team had won two in a row.

Indy took the lead for good on Hasselbeck’s 9-yard TD pass to T.Y. Hilton midway through the third quarter. It extended the margin to 19-12 on Vinatieri’s fourth field goal.

Hasselbeck and Hilton hooked up again in the fourth for a 3-yard touchdown that made it 25-12.

Texans 24, Saints 6

HOUSTON -- Brian Hoyer threw for 205 yards and two touchdowns and Houston’s defense stifled Drew Brees to give the Texans their fourth consecutive win.

The Texans (6-5) had not won four games in a row since winning six straight in 2012.

New Orleans (4-7) dropped its third straight on a day when the team didn’t score a touchdown for the first time since 2005, and Brees’ streak of games with a touchdown pass was snapped at 45.

Hoyer went 7 for 7 on the opening drive, capped by a 10-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Griffin, to make it 7-0 and give Houston a score on the opening possession for the first time this season.

The last time the Saints didn’t score a touchdown was Dec. 24, 2005 against Detroit and Brees’ last game without a touchdown pass came on Nov. 29, 2012 against Atlanta.

Raiders 24, Titans 21

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Derek Carr threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Seth Roberts with 1:21 left, and Oakland stopped a three-game skid by with the win at Tennessee.

The Raiders (5-6) also snapped a three-game skid to the Titans, winning for just the second time in seven trips to Tennessee.

The Titans (2-9) lost for the ninth time in 10 games after rallying to take a 21-17 lead. They thought they had a game-saving play when safety Michael Griffin broke up a pass in the end zone on fourth down.

But officials flagged B.W. Webb for holding on the other side of the field.

Two plays later, Carr hit Roberts for the winning touchdown. Carr finished with 330 yards and three TDs in his sixth 300-yard passing game this season.

Nate Allen ended the Titans’ last chance by intercepting Marcus Mariota with 43 seconds left.

Chargers 31, Jaguars 25

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Philip Rivers threw four touchdown passes, two to Antonio Gates, to help San Diego end a six-game losing streak Sunday.

Rivers passed Joe Montana (273) and tied Vinny Testaverde (275) for 11th on the NFL’s all-time TD pass list.

Rivers completed 29 of 43 passes for 300 yards. He was sacked twice and had his left ankle checked in the locker room at halftime. But his four TD passes were enough against the Jaguars (4-7), who failed to recover an onside kick in the closing minutes.

Jacksonville had more red-zone troubles, scoring just once in four trips inside the 20-yard line.

The Chargers (3-8), meanwhile, found the end zone on all three red-zone possessions in the first half.