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Carson Palmer injured in Cardinals’ win; 49ers outlast Saints in OT

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer is carted off the field after suffering a left knee injury during Sunday's win over the St. Louis Rams
(Christian Petersen / Getty Images)
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Carson Palmer went down with a fourth-quarter knee injury, then backup Drew Stanton and the Arizona defense rallied the Cardinals to a 31-14 victory over the St. Louis Rams on Sunday.

John Brown’s diving grab of Stanton’s 48-yard touchdown pass put the Cardinals (8-1) up 17-14 with 7:40 to play. The pass came on the first series after Palmer hurt his left knee while trying to avoid the rush.

He was able to walk off the field but a short time later was taken to the locker room on a cart.

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Patrick Peterson got his first two interceptions of the season, returning the second one 30 yards for a touchdown to make it 24-14. Moments later, Austin Davis fumbled and Antonio Cromartie returned it 14 yards for a score as Arizona outscored the Rams 21-0 in the fourth quarter.

St. Louis (3-6) was shut out in the second half.

49ers 27, Saints 24, OT

Colin Kaepernick completed a 51-yard pass on fourth down to sustain a game-tying drive, Ahmad Brooks sacked and stripped Drew Brees in overtime, and Phil Dawson kicked a 35-yard field goal to cap San Francisco’s stirring victory.

The victory snapped a two-game skid for the Niners (5-4) and marked the first home loss for the Saints (4-5) in more than a season.

Brooks’ decisive blow on a sack of Brees had to feel like poetic justice to the Niners’ linebacker. His unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on a vicious sack and strip in the Superdome a year ago allowed the Saints to pull out a late comeback victory in these teams’ previous meeting.

Brees was intercepted twice, but also passed for three scores, the last to Jimmy Graham to give the Saints a 24-21 lead with 1:52 left in regulation.

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Jets 20, Steelers 13

Michael Vick threw two touchdown passes, and New York forced four turnovers while shutting down Ben Roethlisberger to end an eight-game losing streak.

Roethlisberger came in having thrown six touchdown passes in each of his last two games. He was playing in front of a crowd at MetLife Stadium that appeared nearly half-filled with Terrible Towel-waving Steelers fans. But the Jets (2-8) wouldn’t allow Roethlisberger to get into much of a rhythm.

Roethlisberger finished 30 of 43 for 343 yards and connected with Martavis Bryant for an 80-yard TD with 1:16 left. The Steelers (6-4) attempted an onside kick, but Eric Decker recovered to seal it.

Jaiquawn Jarrett had two interceptions, a sack and a fumble recovery for the Jets, who hadn’t won since beating Oakland in Week 1.

Seahawks 38, Giants 17

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Marshawn Lynch rushed for a season-high 140 yards and career-best four touchdowns and the Seattle Seahawks overcome their own sloppiness for a key win.

Russell Wilson threw two interceptions, the Seahawks committed three total turnovers, and Eli Manning picked apart Seattle’s secondary for the first half. It all didn’t matter because of Lynch leading Seattle’s unstoppable run game.

The 350 total yards rushing by Seattle (6-3) were a franchise record and the most in the NFL this season. It was the most yards rushing by any NFL team since Cleveland had 351 vs. Kansas City in 2009.

Lynch carried 21 times, but there was plenty of running to go around. Wilson added 107 yards on 14 carries and a 1-yard TD run with 5:19 left. Most of Wilson’s runs were designed as New York (3-6) failed to keep contain.

Broncos 41, Raiders 17

Peyton Manning overcame a shaky start to throw five touchdown passes in less than 17 minutes as Denver handed Oakland its 15th straight loss.

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Manning threw a pair of early interceptions that put Denver (7-2) in a hole against the NFL’s only winless team. That all changed with a short pass that C.J. Anderson turned into a spectacular 51-yard catch and run.

Manning added two TD passes to Julius Thomas and two more to Emmanuel Sanders as the Broncos rebounded from last week’s loss at New England by beating up on the Raiders (0-9).

Lions 20, Dolphins 16

Matthew Stafford led Detroit to another thrilling victory in the final minutes, throwing an 11-yard touchdown pass to Theo Riddick with 29 seconds remaining to lift the Lions to victory.

Calvin Johnson had seven catches for 113 yards and a touchdown in his first game back from an ankle injury, and the Lions (7-2) won their fourth straight game. Their past three victories have been by a combined six points, all with fourth-quarter comebacks.

The Dolphins (5-4) only managed one touchdown — after they blocked a Detroit field goal attempt and returned it deep into Lions territory. Miami’s Ryan Tannehill threw for 215 yards, but it was Stafford who made the final big play, snapping a sidearm pass to a sliding Riddick in the back left corner of the end zone.

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Chiefs 17, Bills 13

Anthony Sherman recovered a fumble to set up Alex Smith’s 8-yard touchdown run with nearly 9 minutes left in allowing Kansas City to rally.

Jamaal Charles also scored on a 39-yard touchdown run as the Chiefs (6-3) scored twice in span of 4:31 to overcome a 13-3 deficit. The Chiefs defense then made a stand at its own 15 by forcing Bills quarterback Kyle Orton to throw four consecutive incompletions and turn the ball over on downs with 2:32 left.

Smith scored two plays after Sherman punched the ball out of the hands of Bills punt-returner Leodis McKelvin and then pounced on the loose ball at Buffalo’s 26. Orton hit Chris Hogan for a 25-yard touchdown pass for Buffalo (5-4). The Bills settled for two field goals, and Bryce Brown lost a fumble, in three trips inside the Chiefs 20.

Cowboys 31, Jaguars 17

Tony Romo returned from injury and helped Dallas snap a two-game losing streak, throwing three touchdowns passes during a win in London.

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Romo injured his back two weeks ago and sat out last Sunday. He started this game for Dallas (7-3) and completed 20 of 27 passes for 246 yards against the Jaguars (1-9) at Wembley Stadium in the last of three regular-season NFL games this year in the British capital.

Romo completed a 2-yard touchdown pass to Jason Witten in the first quarter, and then hit Dez Bryant for a pair of TDs in the second, the first from 35 yards and the second from 68. He finished with a season-high passer rating of 138.8.

Joseph Randle ran in another touchdown in the second half, while Denard Robinson scored two touchdowns for the Jaguars.

Ravens 21, Titans 7

Justin Forsett ran for 112 yards and two touchdowns to back a strong performance by the Baltimore defense, and the Ravens ended a two-game losing streak.

The Ravens (6-4) bottled up rookie quarterback Zach Mettenberger, who went 16 for 27 for 179 yards and an interception in his first road start in the NFL. He was sacked five times and rarely got the chance to comfortably plant both feet in the pocket.

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Tennessee didn’t get its initial first down of the second half until 4:37 was left in the game. Soon after that, newcomer Danny Gorrer intercepted a pass to clinch the victory.

The Titans (2-7) have lost seven of eight. It was 7-all at halftime, but Tennessee had three three-and-outs in the third quarter while the Ravens took control.

Falcons 27, Buccaneers 17

Matt Ryan threw for 219 yards and one touchdown to help Atlanta end a five-game losing streak.

The Falcons (3-6) won for the first time since embarrassing their NFC South rivals 56-14 on Sept. 18, a game in which the Bucs (1-8) lost quarterback Josh McCown to a thumb injury.

McCown returned to Tampa Bay’s starting lineup for first time since the 42-point loss, throwing for 301 yards and two TDs. His 1-yard scoring pass to Austin Seferian-Jenkins put the Bucs ahead 17-16 early in the fourth quarter. But Ryan drove the Falcons down the field for a 5-yard touchdown pass to Roddy White and a two-point conversion throw to Harry Douglas to regain the lead.

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