Patriots quarterback Tom Brady throws a pass against the Oakland Raiders during a game in Mexico City on Nov. 19, 2017.Kirby Lee
Tom Brady felt right at home in his first appearance in Mexico by throwing for 339 yards and three touchdowns, to the delight of an adoring crowd, in the New England Patriots' 33-8 victory over the Oakland Raiders on Sunday.
Brady completed his first 12 passes and picked apart Oakland's suspect defence to chants of "Brady! Brady!" from an amped-up crowd at Azteca Stadium. The large contingent of Patriots fans in the well-divided crowd for a Raiders "home" game had plenty to cheer about as New England (8-2) dominated from start to finish.
After winning their debut trip to Mexico City last year against Houston, the Raiders (4-6) were completely overmatched in their return. The offence failed to score until Derek Carr threw a TD pass to Amari Cooper in the fourth quarter with Oakland trailing by 30 points.
The defence got victimized by short passes by Brady and then beaten on a 64-yard TD to Brandin Cooks on the third play of the second half that gave New England a 24-0 lead.
Bills crushed
Casey Hayward made two of the Chargers' five interceptions during a horrific first half by Buffalo rookie quarterback Nathan Peterman, and Los Angeles cruised to a 54-24 victory over the slumping Bills. Korey Toomer returned Peterman's first interception 59 yards for a touchdown on Buffalo's opening drive and the rookie threw two more interceptions in the first quarter and two additional picks in the second. Peterman was pulled from his first NFL start with a 37-7 halftime disadvantage after just 14 pass attempts for the Bills (5-5), who lost their third in a row. The Chargers had their highest-scoring performance in Philip Rivers's 195 consecutive starts since 2006. Los Angeles set a franchise record for points in a first half during the Bills' worst defensive half since 1977, and the Chargers posted a resounding win for coach Anthony Lynn, who finished last season as Bills interim coach.
Giants win second of season
Roger Lewis Jr. made a spectacular catch to set up the winning 23-yard yard goal by Aldrick Rosas in overtime and the Giants responded from weeks of adversity to beat the AFC West-leading Chiefs 12-9 on a blustery, cold day. The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Giants (2-8) and sent the Chiefs (6-4) to their fourth loss in five games.
Ravens blank Packers
The Ravens forced five turnovers in their third shutout of the season, a 23-0 win over the Packers. Baltimore last accomplished the feat when the Ray Lewis-led defence had four shutouts for the Super Bowl-winning team in 2000. Jimmy Smith, Eric Weddle and Marlon Humphrey each picked off passes for Baltimore (5-5), which led the NFL in interceptions entering the weekend. But a problematic offence couldn't generate a touchdown drive until Joe Flacco's perfect deep ball to Mike Wallace over two defenders for a 13-point lead nearly two minutes into the third quarter. Flacco threw for 183 yards, going 22-of-28 with an interception. The Packers (5-5) were last shut out on Nov. 19, 2006.
Lions escape with win
Matthew Stafford threw for 299 yards and two touchdowns, Matt Prater kicked a 52-yard field goal with 1:35 remaining and the Detroit Lions beat the Bears 27-24. Detroit (6-4) took the lead after Tarik Cohen had tied it for Chicago (3-7) with a 15-yard touchdown run. The Lions escaped with their third straight win when the Bears' Connor Barth was wide right on a 46-yarder in the closing seconds. Stafford completed 21 of 31 passes.
Browns lose 10th of season
Blake Bortles threw a touchdown pass and Jacksonville linebacker Telvin Smith recovered a fumble for a TD with 1:14 remaining as the Jaguars won their fourth straight and moved into sole possession of first place in the AFC South with a 19-7 win over the Browns. Jacksonville's top-ranked defence forced five turnovers, two in the final two minutes. The Jaguars improve to 7-3. The Browns fall to 0-10.
Cutler suffers concussion
Ryan Fitzpatrick threw for 275 yards and two touchdowns, Patrick Murray kicked a 35-yard field goal with four seconds remaining and Tampa Bay snapped a six-game road slide by topping the penalty-prone Dolphins 30-20. O.J. Howard and DeSean Jackson caught those scoring throws for the Buccaneers, which outscored Miami 17-0 in the second quarter. Worse for Miami, quarterback Jay Cutler suffered at least his third concussion in the past seven years in the loss and now a reeling team has to deal with the status of their starter as it prepares to visit the New England Patriots next week.
Anthem update
Five NFL players protested during the national anthems before early games. The Dolphins' Kenny Stills, Julius Thomas and Michael Thomas took a knee before their game against Tampa Bay. Giants defensive lineman Olivier Vernon took a knee, as he has done most of the season. The opposing Chiefs stood scattered on their sideline, though cornerback Marcus Peters remained in the tunnel until it was over. Peters protested during the anthem earlier this season, but the past couple of games he has stayed in the locker room to keep out of the spotlight. Raiders running back Marshawn Lynch sat during most of U.S. anthem and stood for the Mexican anthem before their game against the Patriots at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City. Lynch has not stood for the national anthem since returning from retirement this season.
Viva Mexico
The NFL has extended its deal to play an annual game in Mexico for three more years. The league and the Ministry of Tourism announced Sunday an agreement to play a game each year from 2019-21. The Raiders also played in Mexico last year against Houston under a three-year contract that extends through 2018. There has been no announcement of which teams will play in Mexico next season. The NFL played its first regular-season game in Mexico City in 2005 when the 49ers faced the Cardinals.