Top pick Joe Burrow was carted off with a left knee injury before Alex Smith rallied Washington past the Cincinnati Bengals 20-9 on Sunday to keep his team in the thick of the NFC East race. Burrow, Cincinnati’s franchise quarterback, was injured early in the third quarter when he was hit high and low by two Washington linemen after throwing a pass. His left leg bent awkwardly, and he couldn’t put any weight on it, ending his day at 22-of-34 passing for 203 yards and a touchdown. His season appears over, too. Burrow tweeted: “Thanks for all the love. Can’t get rid of me that easy. See ya next year.” Burrow’s departure allowed Smith and Washington (3-7) to take over and move a half-game back of Philadelphia for first place in the NFL’s weakest division. Just after Burrow left, the 36-year-old Smith, who broke his right tibia and fibula on the same field just over two years ago, led a go-ahead, 55-yard scoring drive that ended with a three-yard TD pass to Steven Sims. In his second start since that gruesome injury in November 2018, Smith was 17 of 25 for 166 yards and had a pass intercepted after it was tipped late in the first half. Green Bay Packers 31–34 Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis defense may have turned Aaron Rodgers into a believer Sunday. Everyone else may want to take notice, too. After allowing three touchdown passes and 28 first-half points, the Colts gave up only three second-half points. They also forced a game-changing fumble less than a minute into overtime for a 34-31 victory over Green Bay. Rodrigo Blankenship won it with a 39-yard field goal with 7:10 remaining. Indy (7-3) did it with an old-school combination: The offense that played keep-away, a defense that came up with two three-and-outs and a fourth-down stop late in the fourth quarter, and the key turnover in overtime. Philip Rivers was 24 of 35 with 288 yards, three touchdowns and one interception in his 234th consecutive start, tying Eli Manning for the 10th-longest streak in league history. Jonathan Taylor had 22 carries for 90 yards in a wild game that included Green Bay scores in the final 10 seconds of each half; Indianapolis erasing a 14-point halftime deficit, then failing to seal the win because of five holding calls on its final drive in regulation. Tennessee Titans 30–24 Baltimore Ravens Derrick Henry’s 29-yard touchdown run with 5:21 left in overtime Sunday capped a Tennessee Titans’ rally from a 21-10 third quarter deficit as they stopped the Baltimore Ravens at home. Henry, who finished with 133 yards on 28 carries, jump-cut from left to right around a tackler and sped into the end zone for his second walk-off score of the year. It finished a 73-yard drive that started after the Ravens (6-4) went 3-and-out with their overtime possession. Baltimore forced overtime when Justin Tucker converted his third field goal of the day, a 29-yarder with 16 seconds left in regulation. Ryan Tannehill completed 22 of 31 passes for 259 yards with two touchdowns and an interception for Tennessee, which improved to 7-3. Lamar Jackson connected on 17 of 29 throws for 186 yards with a touchdown and a pick for the Ravens. The action started before the game did, as the teams engaged in a pregame altercation. Baltimore coach John Harbaugh took umbrage to Tennessee players gathering on the Ravens’ logo at midfield. Harbaugh, Titans coach Mike Vrabel and cornerback Malcolm Butler exchanged words. Atlanta Falcons 9–24 New Orleans Saints Taysom Hill rushed for two touchdowns and the host New Orleans Saints won their seventh consecutive game by defeating the Atlanta Falcons. Hill made his first NFL start at quarterback as Drew Brees began at least a three-game absence due to rib and lung injuries. Hill completed 18 of 23 passes for 233 yards and had scoring runs of two and 10 yards among his team-high 51 rushing yards as the NFC South-leading Saints improved to 8-2. New Orleans play their next three games on the road, including a rematch with the Falcons in two weeks. Alvin Kamara added a rushing touchdown and All-Pro receiver Michael Thomas caught nine of Hill’s passes for 104 yards. Dallas Cowboys 31–28 Minnesota Vikings Andy Dalton returned from a two-game absence to throw three touchdown passes, hitting Dalton Schultz for a two-yard score with 1:37 left to lift Dallas over the Minnesota Vikings 31-28 to stop the Cowboys’ four-game losing streak. Dalton went 22 for 32 for 203 yards and one interception after fill-ins Ben DiNucci and Garrett Gilbert started the previous two games. After missing games to a concussion and Covid-19, Dalton directed an 11-play, 66-yard drive down the stretch that was extended with a fourth-and-six completion to Amari Cooper at the 19. Kris Boyd stepped in front of Schultz and nearly picked off a first-and-goal pass in the end zone, but Dalton delivered to his wide open tight end two plays later. That snapped the Vikings’ three-game winning streak and kept the Cowboys (3-7) alive and well in the lackluster NFC East. They’re in a three-way tie for second place behind Philadelphia (3-6-1). New England Patriots 20–27 Houston Texans Deshaun Watson passed for 344 yards and totaled three touchdowns while the Houston Texans’ beleaguered run defense held firm in a 27-20 victory over the visiting New England Patriots at NRG Stadium. The Texans (3-7) amassed 399 yards and averaged 7.1 yards per play. Ka’imi Fairbairn booted field goals of 36 and 46 yards in the second half to help keep the Patriots (4-6) at bay. New England (4-6) twice rallied to within four points in the second half but could not secure the lead. The Patriots had a two-game winning streak snapped. Cam Newton passed for 365 yards including a 42-yard touchdown to Damiere Byrd in the third quarter, his first touchdown toss to a Patriots wide receiver this season, but was sacked twice and had four passes batted by Texans defensive end JJ Watt. New York Jets 28-34 Los Angeles Chargers Justin Herbert threw for 366 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Los Angeles Chargers to a 34-28 victory against the winless New York Jets. Keenan Allen caught a franchise-record 16 passes for 145 yards and a touchdown for the Chargers (3-7). Herbert became the first NFL rookie to throw at least three touchdowns in five or more games. He was 37 of 49 overall without an interception. Joe Flacco completed 15 of 30 passes for 205 yards and two touchdowns for the Jets (0-10), who extended their longest single-season losing streak in franchise history. Miami Dolphins 13–20 Denver Broncos Justin Simmons intercepted Ryan Fitzpatrick’s pass in the end zone with 63 seconds left, sealing the Denver Broncos’ 20-13 win over the Miami Dolphins. The Broncos (4-6) not only prevented Tua Tagovailoa from becoming just the second rookie in the past 40 years to win his first four starts but they sacked him a half-dozen times and knocked him from the game in the fourth quarter. Although the Dolphins (6-4) didn’t announce an injury to Tagovailoa, the lefty walked gingerly to the sideline after his final sack, by Bradley Chubb. On the play, Tagovailoa’s left leg bent awkwardly and guard Solomon Kindley stepped on thte quarterback’s right foot. Philadelphia Eagles 17–22 Cleveland Browns Sione Takitaki returned an interception for a touchdown and Olivier Vernon had three sacks and a safety to lift the host Cleveland Browns to a 22-17 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. Nick Chubb rushed for 114 yards and Kareem Hunt scored from five yards out for the Browns (7-3), who are off to their best 10-game start since going 8-2 in 1994. Cleveland’s victory over Philadelphia snapped a five-game losing streak in the series. Carson Wentz threw for 235 yards with two touchdowns and a pair of interceptions for the Eagles (3-6-1), who had 315 total yards and three turnovers en route to losing their second consecutive contest. Pittsburgh Steelers 27-3 Jacksonville Jaguars Pittsburgh’s most dominant defensive performance of the season kept the Steelers perfect. Terrell Edmunds and Minkah Fitzpatrick intercepted two passes each and the Steelers steamrolled their way to a 10-0 record with a 27-3 win. Rookie quarterback Jake Luton looked lost most of the day against the Steelers, who allowed 206 yards and finished with two sacks. They celebrated each turnover by running into the end zone and posing for the cameras. Detroit Lions 0-20 Carolina Panthers PJ Walker threw for 258 yards and a touchdown in his first NFL start, the much-maligned Carolina defense earned its first shutout since 2015 and the Panthers defeated the Detroit Lions 20-0 to snap a five-game losing streak. Walker, a former XFL player, was made the starter less than two hours before kickoff when Teddy Bridgewater was officially ruled out with a knee injury. Walker did well, connecting on a perfect 52-yard strike to DJ Moore along with a well-placed 17-yard touchdown pass to Curtis Samuel. But he also had two terrible mistakes, twice throwing interceptions in the red zone, essentially hitting the defender right in the hands.