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Saints lose first game when Patriots score with five seconds left

Patriots wide receiver Kenbrell Thompkins catches the winning touchdown pass against Saints cornerback Jabari Greer (33) with five second left in the fourth quarter Sunday.
(Stephan Savoia / Associated Press)
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FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Tom Brady’s 17-yard touchdown pass to Kenbrell Thompkins with 5 seconds left gave the New England Patriots a wild 30-27 win and knocked the New Orleans Saints from the ranks of the unbeaten Sunday.

It capped a 70-yard drive in which the Patriots marched downfield with no timeouts after getting the ball with 1:08 to go.

The Saints (5-1) had taken a 24-23 lead with 3:29 remaining on Drew Brees’ 34-yard touchdown pass to Kenny Stills, but couldn’t put away New England.

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The Patriots (5-1) survived an interception by Keenan Lewis on their first snap after Garrett Hartley’s 39-yard field goal made it 27-23.

Broncos 35, Jaguars 19

DENVER -- Peyton Manning threw for two scores and Knowshon Moreno ran for three to lead the Denver Broncos to a tougher-than-expected 35-19 victory over the winless Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Broncos (6-0) came in as 27-point favorites, and much of the pregame hype centered on whether they’d cover the spread and when Manning would come out of the game.

Neither happened.

Manning finished 28 for 42 for 295 yards, but lost two fumbles and threw a pick-6 — a 59-yard interception return by Paul Posluszny that pulled the Jaguars (0-6) within 14-12 at halftime.

It was a two-point game late in the third quarter, before Moreno scored his last touchdown, an 8-yard run, for a 28-19 lead. Moreno finished with 42 yards.

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Justin Blackmon had 14 catches for 190 yards for Jacksonville.

Seahawks 20, Titans 13

SEATTLE -- Marshawn Lynch ran for two touchdowns and had 155 all-purpose yards, Richard Sherman came up with his third interception of the season, and the Seattle Seahawks finally shook the Tennessee Titans in the fourth quarter for a 20-13 victory.

Seattle (5-1) won its 11th straight at home despite a long list of mistakes that allowed the Titans (3-3) to hang around into the fourth quarter. There was a careless turnover, missed defensive assignments and a comical muffed field goal attempt that led to the Titans’ only touchdown on the final play of the first half.

But the Seahawks made enough plays thanks to Lynch, quarterback Russell Wilson and Sherman’s interception to remain on top of the NFC West. Lynch had TD runs of 3 yards and 1 yards.

49ers 32, Cardinals 20

SAN FRANCISCO -- Vernon Davis caught touchdown passes of 61 and 35 yards and finished with a career-best 180 yards receiving, leading the San Francisco 49ers past the Arizona Cardinals 32-20 for their third straight victory.

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Colin Kaepernick threw for 252 yards and Frank Gore ran for 101 yards on 25 carries.

Kendall Hunter ran for a 6-yard touchdown that sealed it for the 49ers (4-2) with 6:35 remaining.

Rookie safety Eric Reid made his team-leading third interception and also recovered a fumble to stop an Arizona drive deep in 49ers territory in the third quarter. San Francisco forced four turnovers for the second straight game.

Arizona (3-3) lost star defensive end Calais Campbell to an apparent right leg injury late in the game.

Packers 19, Ravens 17

BALTIMORE -- Aaron Rodgers threw a 64-yard touchdown pass to Jordy Nelson, Mason Crosby kicked four field goals and the Green Bay Packers held on to beat the Baltimore Ravens, 19-17, on Sunday.

Eddie Lacy rushed for 120 yards to fuel the Packers’ first road win of the season. Green Bay (3-2) took a 16-3 lead into the fourth quarter and was up 19-10 with 4 minutes left, but the Ravens (3-3) kept coming back.

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After Baltimore closed to 19-17 on an 18-yard touchdown pass from Joe Flacco to Dallas Clark with 2:04 remaining, Rodgers clinched the victory by completing a 52-yard pass to Jermichael Finley on a third-and-3.

Rodgers completed 17 of 32 passes for 315 yards.

Despite playing without injured linebacker Clay Matthews, the Packers limited Baltimore to 47 yards rushing and registered five sacks, including three by A.J. Hawk. The defending Super Bowl champion Ravens had won 14 straight at home against NFC foes.

Rams 38, Texans 13

HOUSTON -- Sam Bradford threw three touchdown passes, St. Louis added a score on defense and special teams and the Rams stunned the mistake-prone Houston Texans with a 38-13 win.

The Rams (3-3) were up 24-6 early in the third quarter before rookie Daren Bates returned Keshawn Martin’s fumble on a kickoff return for a touchdown.

Alec Ogletree pushed the lead to 38-6 when he took an interception by T.J. Yates back 98 yards for a touchdown. Yates was in after Matt Schaub sustained an apparent right ankle injury.

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Schaub didn’t have a turnover after throwing six interceptions, three of them returned for touchdowns in the past three games.

But several other Texans had key gaffes as preseason Super Bowl hopeful Houston (2-4) lost its fourth straight game.

Chiefs 24, Raiders 7

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Jamaal Charles ran for two touchdowns, the Kansas City defense harassed Oakland quarterback Terrelle Pryor into throwing three second-half interceptions and the Chiefs remained unbeaten with a 24-7 victory over the Raiders.

After winning just twice last season, Kansas City (6-0) continued the second-best start in franchise history. The Chiefs won their first nine games during the 2003 season.

The Chiefs piled up 10 sacks while ending a three-game skid to the Raiders (2-4), and a six-game losing streak against them at Arrowhead Stadium.

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Pryor threw for 216 yards and a touchdown, but his interceptions proved costly.

The first led to Charles’ go-ahead touchdown run, the second led to Ryan Succop’s fourth-quarter field goal, and Husain Abdullah returned the last one for a touchdown to seal the win.

Panthers 35, Vikings 10

MINNEAPOLIS -- Cam Newton threw for three touchdown passes and ran for another score, and the Panthers romped past Adrian Peterson and the Minnesota Vikings, 35-10.

Peterson finished with 62 yards on 10 carries and 21 yards on three receptions, but the Vikings (1-4) trailed the whole game and didn’t have much use after halftime for Peterson. The NFL MVP learned on Friday a 2-year-old son of his died in South Dakota of injuries from alleged abuse.

Matt Cassel threw two interceptions, both to Mike Mitchell, and the Panthers (2-3) responded each time with a touchdown.

Whether the team was distracted by the tragedy or not, the Vikings were thoroughly embarrassed on both sides of the ball.

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Steelers 19, Jets 6EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Ben Roethlisberger threw a 55-yard touchdown pass to Emmanuel Sanders, Shaun Suisham kicked four field goals, and the Pittsburgh Steelers won their first game of the season, beating the New York Jets, 19-6.

The Steelers (1-4) were off to their worst start since 1968, when they lost their first six games during a season in which they finished 2-11-1. Sunday’s victory was also the 600th in franchise history, including the postseason, as Pittsburgh became only the fourth team to reach the milestone.

Pittsburgh was coming off a bye-week break and appeared quite a bit sharper than New York (3-3), which had a short week to prepare after a 30-28 win at Atlanta last Monday night.

Geno Smith was intercepted twice by a Steelers defense that entered the game as the only team in the league without a takeaway.

Bengals 27, Bills 24 (OT)

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Mike Nugent kicked a 43-yard field goal with 6:44 left in overtime to lift the Cincinnati Bengals to a 27-24 win over the Buffalo Bills.

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Brandon Tate’s 29-yard punt return to the Bills 33 set up the decisive score. Andy Dalton went 26 of 40 for 337 yards, with three touchdowns and an interception. He bounced back after a two-game touchdown drought, and led the Bengals (4-2) to their first road win of the season.

The Bills (2-4) were led by quarterback Thad Lewis, starting in place of injured rookie EJ Manuel. Lewis went 19 of 32 for 216 yards and two touchdowns after being promoted off the practice squad last week. Both touchdown passes came in the fourth quarter, including a 40-yarder to Marquise Goodwin with 1:08 remaining.

Lewis also scored a touchdown rushing in making only his second career start.

Eagles 31, Buccaneers 20

TAMPA, Fla. -- Nick Foles threw three touchdown passes and ran for a fourth, leading the Philadelphia Eagles to a 31-20 victory over the winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Foles finished a long first-quarter scoring drive with a 4-run and threw TD passes of 12 and 36 yards to DeSean Jackson.

With the injured Michael Vick active but not playing, Foles made his seventh career start and beat the Bucs (0-5) for the second time. He was 1-5 as a rookie a year ago, with that victory also coming at Tampa Bay.

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But unlike last December, he didn’t have to throw a last-second TD pass for the win. He gave the Eagles (3-3) the lead for good with a 47-yard scoring pass to Riley Cooper in the third quarter, then gave his team breathing room with his second TD pass to Jackson.

Lions 31, Browns 17

CLEVELAND -- Matthew Stafford threw three of his four touchdown passes in the second half, rallying the Detroit Lions to a 31-17 win over the Cleveland Browns.

The Lions (4-2) outscored the Browns 24-0 in the second half, sealing their win when Stafford hooked up with tight end Joseph Fauria with 2:01 left. Fauria caught three TD passes for the Lions, who played like a completely different team in the second half after being dominated up front and trailing 17-7 at half.

The Browns (3-3) had their chances at a comeback end when quarterback Brandon Weeden’s baffling shovel pass with 4:36 left was intercepted by linebacker DeAndre Levy.

Lions running back Reggie Bush finished with 135 total yards, 121 in the second half.

Stafford finished 25 of 43 for 248 yards.

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