NFL roundup: Falcons blow past the Cardinals; Chargers win on the road

Taylor Gabriel took two short passes for touchdowns and the Atlanta Falcons returned from a bye week to add to Arizona’s misery, blowing out the Cardinals, 38-19, on Sunday in Atlanta.

Gabriel, who was cut by the winless Cleveland Browns before the season, scored on plays of 35 and 25 yards that showed off his speed.

His second score finished the Cardinals, who began the season touted as a Super Bowl contender but have been one of the NFL’s most disappointing teams.

The Falcons (7-4) began the day leading the NFC South and moved a step closer to their first playoff berth since 2012.

The Cardinals (4-6-1) have lost two straight and three of their past four, putting them in danger of missing the postseason a season after reaching the NFC championship game.

Chargers 21, Texans 13

Philip Rivers threw for 242 yards and three touchdowns to give San Diego the win over the mistake-prone Texans in Houston.

Dontrelle Inman had 119 yards receiving and a touchdown to help San Diego (5-6) to the victory.

The Texans (6-5) lost in Houston for the first time this season after winning their first five here. Playing a large part were four turnovers, including three interceptions by Brock Osweiler.

The Chargers were up by four in the fourth quarter when Rivers evaded the rush and delivered a 25-yard pass to Inman. Kareem Jackson was flagged for unnecessary roughness for a helmet-to-helmet hit on the play, leaving San Diego at the 12-yard line. Rivers delivered a touchdown pass to rookie Hunter Henry on the next play to push the lead to 21-10.

Osweiler’s second interception came after that when he badly overthrew C.J. Fiedorowicz and Dwight Lowery made the easy grab.

Houston added a field goal with 37 seconds left and recovered an onside kick. But Osweiler’s first shot at the end zone was knocked down, and the second one was intercepted as time expired.

Giants 27, Browns 13

Eli Manning threw two touchdown passes to Odell Beckham Jr., Jason Pierre-Paul returned a fumble for a TD and New York extended its winning streak to six games the victory over the winless Browns in Cleveland.

Manning had three TD passes as the Giants (8-3) won their sixth straight. They don’t overwhelm anyone, but the Giants do just enough to win and are in position to make the playoffs for the first time since 2011.

Manning threw a 32-yard TD pass to Beckham in the second quarter and added a four-yarder to the star wide receiver with 5:10 left to finally put away the Browns (0-12).

Cleveland has lost 15 in a row since last season. It is 3-30 since ending the 2014 season with five consecutive losses. Browns quarterback Josh McCown, back in the lineup after rookie Cody Kessler sustained his second concussion last week, finished with 322 yards passing and threw a TD pass to rookie Corey Coleman.

With the Giants leading 14-6, Pierre-Paul rumbled 43 yards for his third career TD.

Ravens 19, Bengals 14

Justin Tucker kicked four field goals and Baltimore shut down visiting Cincinnati’s depleted offense for a victory that thrust the Ravens into a first-place tie in the AFC North.

Joe Flacco threw for 234 yards and a touchdown to help Baltimore (6-5) snap a five-game losing streak against the Bengals (3-7-1), whose playoff hopes took another serious blow.

The victory was not assured until Cincinnati quarterback Andy Dalton fumbled when sacked by Elvis Dumervil, and defensive end Lawrence Guy recovered at the Baltimore 21 with 1:05 left and the Ravens up 19-12.

Cincinnati got a safety on the final play when Baltimore punter Sam Koch ran out of the end zone. Dalton went 26 for 48 for 283 yards. He fumbled three times, losing two.

Dolphins 31, 49ers 24

Ndamukong Suh tackled Colin Kaepernick two yards short of the goal line as time ran out, and Miami handed visiting San Francisco a franchise-record 10th consecutive loss.

Ryan Tannehill threw for 285 yards and three scores to compensate for a sputtering Miami ground game.

With the 49ers trailing by seven, Kaepernick moved them from their 38 to the 6 in the final 1:44. But he threw incomplete on first down, and then was tackled from behind by the 305-pound Suh on the final play.

The Dolphins (7-4) extended their winning streak to six games, their longest since 2005. Kaepernick passed for three TDs, but the 49ers (1-10) still haven’t won since the season opener.

Tannehill went 20 for 30, ran for 34 yards and had no turnovers. He threw scoring passes of 16 yards to Dion Sims, 43 yards to Kenny Stills and 15 yards to rookie Leonte Carroo.

Kaepernick tried to keep up. Jeered loudly at the start of the game for his political views, Kaepernick went 29 for 46 for 296 yards and ran for 113 on 10 carries.

Bills 28, Jaguars 21

LeSean McCoy scored twice, including a career-best 75-yard run, and Buffalo won its second in a row with the victory at Orchard Park, N.Y.

Tyrod Taylor’s 16-yard touchdown pass to Justin Hunter with 10:46 remaining put the Bills ahead for good during a second half in which the teams traded the lead five times. Taylor also scored on a 7-yard run in helping to keep Buffalo in the playoff hunt.

The Bills (6-5) won for the second straight week when trailing at halftime after doing so just once last season. Buffalo trailed the Jaguars 7-6 after two quarters on Sunday, and overcame a two-point deficit in a 16-12 win at Cincinnati last week.

Taylor also produced just the second fourth-quarter comeback of his career, and improved to 2-11 when the Bills trail by four or more at any point in a game.

The Jaguars (2-9) lost for the sixth straight game — their longest skid since opening the 2014 season at 0-6.

Titans 27, Bears 21

Marcus Mariota threw for 226 yards and two touchdowns and Tennessee hung on to beat the depleted Bears in Chicago.

The Titans (6-6) gave their playoff hopes a boost, though they watched as Chicago (2-9) cut a 20-point lead to six in the fourth quarter.

Matt Barkley, starting for the injured Jay Cutler, led the late surge. The Bears had a first down at the Tennessee 7 in the final minute when Josh Bellamy dropped a pass in the end zone on first down. Barkley’s next three attempts fell incomplete, preserving the win for Tennessee.

The Titans moved one game out of first place in the AFC South.

Mariota, putting together one of the best seasons ever by a Titans quarterback, came through with another solid performance. The second-year pro completed 15 of 23 passes.