Monday 17 October 2016 06:09, UK
London-born Jay Ajayi became the first running back this season to pass 200 yards in a game as the Miami Dolphins beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 30-15.
Ajayi ran for 204 yards and two touchdowns, the second of those coming from 62 yards out just as the Steelers looked like getting back into the game.
The Steelers had led 8-3 when Darrius Heyward-Bey broke a tackle to score on a 60-yard run, but Damien Williams and Ajayi both scored from a yard to give the Dolphins a comfortable lead.
Ben Roethlisberger, who had left the game with an injury earlier on, returned to hit Cobi Hamilton for a 23-yard touchdown, but Ajayi made the most of a huge gap in the Steelers defence to score his second and put the game beyond doubt.
Odell Beckham Jr also broke the 200-yard mark and scored twice as the New York Giants rallied to beat the Baltimore Ravens 27-23.
Beckham Jr suffered a hip injury before half-time and was deemed questionable to return, but any pain did not appear to hinder him.
He linked up with quarterback Eli Manning for 75 and 66-yard scores, with the second of those, 1:36 before full-time, proving to be the winning score.
Manning threw for 403 yards and three scores, the third of them going to Roger Lewis Jr, as he warmed up for the trip to Twickenham next Sunday in some style.
Terrance West rushed for two scores for the Ravens but they were denied the chance to go to 4-2 as the Giants evened up their record at 3-3.
Tom Brady's return to Gillette Stadium ended in victory as he engineered three touchdown passes in a 35-17 win for the New England Patriots over the Cincinnati Bengals.
Brady, who threw for 376 yards, twice linked up with James White for short touchdown passes, while Rob Gronkowski caught the third on a day when he hauled in seven passes for 162 yards.
The Bengals led early in the second half, with Andy Dalton running for a two-yard score and hitting Brandon LaFell for a five-yard touchdown.
But they could muster up only three points in the closing stages with LeGarrette Blount wrapping up the Patriots victory late on.
Brady was playing for the first time at home this season after serving his four-game Deflategate suspension.
Wil Lutz was the hero for the New Orleans Saints as they squeezed out a 41-38 win over the Carolina Panthers in a Mercedes-Benz Superdome thriller.
The rookie kicker booted a 52-yard field goal, his career best, with 13 seconds remaining to leave the Super Bowl 50 runners-up on a 1-5 record and already in danger of missing the play-offs.
Cam Newton returned from injury for Carolina but he spent much of the first half on the sidelines watching Drew Brees toy with their defence - he hit Brandon Cooks (from 75 yards) and Michael Thomas for touchdowns after Coby Fleener had scored from two yards on the ground.
Newton rallied the Panthers with two touchdown passes and they would score three more times in the fourth quarter, the quarterback running over from two yards to level the game at 38-38 after a pair of scores from Jonathan Stewart.
But Lutz, who ended the game with 11 points, was able to convert the long field goal and give the Saints only their second win of the campaign.
Washington Redskins recorded a fourth straight win as they dominated the Philadelphia Eagles in the air and on the ground to chalk up a 27-20 win at FedEx Field.
A kick-off return and interception touchdown kept the Eagles interested by a dominant rushing game and Kirk Cousins control ensured the Redskins won out in the NFC East contest.
The Jacksonville Jaguars rallied from a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat the Chicago Bears 17-16 at Soldier Field.
Arrelious Benn was the unlikely hero for the Jaguars, with his only catch of the day turning into the match-winning 51-yard touchdown.
The Bears defence had looked to be in control for the first three quarters, shutting out the Jaguars and taking the lead on a Jordan Howard touchdown and two Connor Barth field goals.
But Chris Ivory ran for a one-yard touchdown and, after Jason Myers had pulled the Jaguars within a score with a field goal, Benn hauled in a Blake Bortles pass to give the Jaguars a second win of the season.
LeSean McCoy was another running back in fine form on Sunday as he ran for three touchdowns in the Buffalo Bills' 45-16 win over the San Francisco 49ers.
McCoy gave Bills fans a scare when he went down with an apparent knee injury in the first-half, but he was soon back in the game and ended the day with 140 yards on 19 carries.
The former Eagles star scored from four, 12 and 18 yards, while Mike Gillislee gave the Bills a fourth rushing score in the closing stages as he scampered to the endzone from 44 yards.
Tyrod Taylor threw two touchdown passes for the Bills while Colin Kaepernick's return to the 49ers line-up saw him throw an early score before the 49ers were blown to pieces.
Matthew Stafford threw four touchdown passes to different receivers to lead the Detroit Lions to a 31-28 win over the Los Angeles Rams.
Stafford hit Golden Tate, who had 165 yards receiving, Anquan Boldin, Andre Roberts and Marvin Jones for scores.
But they would only settle victory in the closing 90 seconds thanks to a 34-yard field goal from Matt Prater.
The Rams had led for long spells thanks to fine performances from quarterback Case Keenum, who threw three touchdowns, and wide receiver Kenny Britt, who caught two of those scores and went for 136 yards.
Marcus Mariota produced another composed display with three touchdown passes as the Tennessee Titans held off the Cleveland Browns 28-26.
Mariota combined with Kendall Wright, who produced a highlight reel 48-yard catch, Rishard Matthews and Anthony Fasano for scores.
The Fasano touchdown gave Tennessee a seemingly unassailable lead but Terrelle Pryor and Duke Johnson scored for the Browns to give them a chance with 30 seconds to go, only for their second onside kick attempt to fail.
In the late games Kansas City Chiefs improved to 3-2 with a 26-10 victory over AFC West rivals Oakland Raiders, Alex Smith threw for 224 yards but it was rushing touchdowns from Spencer Ware and Jamaal Charles which secured a big win.
Dak Prescott's rookie season continued as he set a new record for most passes thrown without interception in a first season as Dallas Cowboys beat Green Bay Packers 30-16 to improve to 5-1.
Prescott's 247 yards and three TDs helped Cole Beasley to a pair of scores as Aaron Rodgers and the Packers struggled to make any inroads.
Seattle Seahawks maintained their 100% record at CenturyLink Field as they edged out the Atlanta Falcons thanks to a Steven Hauschka field goal late in the fourth quarter.
Matt Ryan threw for 335 yards and three touchdowns, all three TDs coming in the third quarter as the Falcons rallied to lead but Hauschka made amends for a missed field goal and blocked extra point to improve Seattle to 4-1 and inflict the Falcons second defeat of the season.
In the last game of our Sunday night triple header, overtime was required to split the Indianapolis Colts and the Houston Texans but it was the Texans who came out on top, beating their AFC South rivals 26-23. The Colts raced to an early lead, and were up 23-9 late in the fourth quarter.
However quarterback Brock Osweiler threw two touchdown passes and Lamar Miller ran for 149 yards and two scores, before kicker Nick Novak scored the game winning field goal.