Cardinals turn back the Lions; Packers wallop the Eagles

Drew Stanton threw touchdown passes to Michael Floyd on Arizona’s first two possessions and the Cardinals held Detroit without a touchdown to beat the Lions, 14-6, on Sunday in a matchup of teams with two of the best records in the NFC.

Stanton, starting after Carson Palmer was lost for the season with a knee injury, threw TD passes of 42 and 12 yards. After that, Arizona’s offense stalled and Stanton threw two interceptions. But the Lions couldn’t convert either turnover into a touchdown.

Arizona won its sixth in a row to improve to an NFL-best 9-1. The Cardinals, with their best record through 10 games since 1948, have a two-game lead over Seattle and San Francisco in the NFC West.

Detroit (7-3) was held without a touchdown for the first time this season.

Packers 53, Eagles 20

Aaron Rodgers passed for 341 yards and three touchdowns, Julius Peppers returned his second interception of the season for a score, and the Green Bay defense stuffed high-octane Philadelphia on a chilly day at Lambeau Field.

The matchup of NFC contenders quickly became a blowout with the Packers (7-3) racing out to a 30-6 halftime lead. Rodgers threw for two touchdowns in the first half, while Micah Hyde scored on a 75-yard punt return.

Peppers finished off the Eagles by returning Mark Sanchez’s pass 52 yards for a 39-6 lead in the third quarter.

Philadelphia (7-3) was held to 11 points below its NFC-leading scoring average by a Packers defense rejuvenated since Clay Matthews moved to inside linebacker.

Green Bay’s offense was in good hands again with Rodgers, who broke Tom Brady’s NFL record of 288 straight passes at home without an interception.

Chargers 13, Raiders 6

Philip Rivers threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Malcom Floyd on the game’s third play from scrimmage, and San Diego held on for a lackluster victory against Oakland on Sunday, extending the Raiders’ losing streak to 16.

Rivers hurt his right leg midway through the third quarter but stayed in the game. The injury appeared to get progressively worse, and Rivers was walking gingerly on the sideline in the fourth as backup Kellen Clemens warmed up. But Rivers went back in after Sebastian Janikowski kicked a 25-yard field goal to pull the Raiders within a touchdown with four minutes to play.

The Chargers (6-4) snapped a three-game losing streak and welcomed back Ryan Mathews, Manti Te’o and Melvin Ingram, who had been out since September.

The skid by the Raiders (0-10) is the equivalent of a full season. Monday is the one-year anniversary of their last win, 28-23 at Houston.

Rams 22, Broncos 7

Shaun Hill was effective in his first start since regaining the quarterback job and St. Louis’ defense made life miserable for Peyton Manning in the victory over the AFC West-leading Denver.

Rookie Tre Mason had 29 carries for 113 yards, the most allowed by the Broncos’ top-ranked run defense.

Kenny Britt had four catches for 128 yards with a 63-yard score and Greg Zuerlein was a career-best 5 for 5 on field goals for the Rams (4-6).

Manning was 34 for 54 for 389 yards with two interceptions, but was held to a 42-yard touchdown pass to Emmanuel Sanders, ending a streak of 15 consecutive games with at least two touchdown passes.

The Broncos (7-3) were held to 28 yards rushing and failed twice on fourth down deep in St. Louis territory.

Manning threw incomplete from the 37 in the first quarter and rookie Aaron Donald’s sack ended a drive in the fourth quarter on fourth-and-4 from the 28.

Chiefs 24, Seahawks 20

Kansas City stopped visiting Seattle on fourth down three times late in the fourth quarter to hold on for a tense victory in a matchup of playoff contenders.

Jamaal Charles ran for 159 yards and two touchdowns, and Knile Davis also ran for a score, as the Chiefs (7-3) won their fifth straight game and moved into a tie for first in the AFC West.

Russell Wilson threw for 178 yards and two touchdowns, and Marshawn Lynch had 124 yards rushing for Seattle (6-4). But the Seahawks’ star running back, fresh off a four-touchdown game, was stuffed twice by the Kansas City defense with the outcome hanging in the balance.

The Seahawks’ last-chance drive ended when Wilson threw incomplete on fourth-and-18 at their 20-yard line with 1:13 left in the game.

Bengals 27, Saints 10

Andy Dalton rebounded from one of the worst outings of his career by passing for three touchdowns to help visiting Cincinnati hand New Orleans its second consecutive loss.

For Dalton, the game represented a dramatic reversal from a week ago, when he completed only 10 passes for 86 yards and had a passer rating of 2.0 in a 24-3 loss to Cleveland.

Against New Orleans (4-6), Dalton gave the Bengals (6-3-1) an early lead they never relinquished. He was 16 of 22 for 220 yards, did not throw an interception and finished with a passer rating of 143.9.

Two of Dalton’s touchdown passes went to tight end Jermaine Gresham and the other to A.J. Green on a pinpoint 24-yard pass along the sideline.

Drew Brees passed for 255 yards and one TD to Kenny Stills.

49ers 16, Giants 10

San Francisco rookie linebacker Chris Borland intercepted a fourth-down pass by Eli Manning at the 49ers’ 2-yard line with 4:43 to play to cap a goal-line stand in East Rutherford, N.J., that sent error-plagued New York to its fifth straight loss.

Borland had two of the 49ers’ five interceptions as the Niners (6-4) survived a game in which a big advantage in time of possession and takeaways did not translate into a blowout on the scoreboard.

Colin Kaepernick threw a 48-yard touchdown pass to Michael Crabtree and Phil Dawson kicked three first-half field goals as the 49ers won their second straight on the road.

Manning threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to tight end Larry Donnell on New York’s opening possession, but the reeling Giants (3-7) only got a field goal from Josh Brown the rest of the way.

Texans 23, Browns 7

J.J. Watt caught a 2-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Mallett, dominated on defense and Houston climbed back to .500 with the win at Cleveland.

Watt was all over the field. Along with his TD, he recorded a strip sack, made five tackles — three for a loss — recovered a fumble and hurried Browns quarterback Brian Hoyer into several bad throws. Watt provided more proof he’s the NFL’s best defensive player.

Mallett threw a pair of TD passes and finished with 211 yards in his first career start. The four-year veteran was promoted during the bye week after the Texans (5-5) benched Ryan Fitzpatrick.

The Texans played without star running back Arian Foster because of a groin injury, but rookie Alfred Blue stepped in and gained 156 yards on a franchise-record 36 carries.

The Browns (6-4) won’t spend a second straight week atop the AFC North. They lost for just the second time in seven games, and Watt is the main reason why.

Falcons 19, Panthers 17

Matt Ryan passed for 268 yards and a touchdown, Matt Bryant added four field goals and Atlanta moved into a tie for first place in the lowly NFC South with the victory at Charlotte, N.C.

Bryant’s 44-yard field goal with 2:08 left put Atlanta ahead for good, and the Falcons withstood a late Carolina rally.

Carolina’s Graham Gano missed a 46-yard field goal try with 1:27 remaining and had a 63-yarder blocked as time expired.

The Falcons (4-6) moved into a tie with New Orleans for the division lead after the Saints lost at home to Cincinnati 27-10.

Cam Newton overcame two early interceptions to throw for 292 yards and two fourth-quarter touchdowns, but it wasn’t enough for the Panthers (3-6-1), who have lost five straight.

Bears 21, Vikings 13

Jay Cutler passed for 330 yards and three touchdowns to lead Chicago to just its second win in the last seven games with the victory over visiting Minnesota.

Ryan Mundy intercepted Teddy Bridgewater’s 29-yard pass in the end zone in the closing minute, and the Bears hung on for the win after suffering two of the worst blowout losses in franchise history.

Alshon Jeffery had 135 yards receiving and a touchdown catch, Brandon Marshall added 90 yards and two TD receptions, and Matt Forte ran for 117 yards.

Jared Allen had a sack against his former team, and the Bears (4-6) prevailed after joining the 1923 Rochester Jeffersons as the only teams to give up 50 or more points in consecutive games with blowouts at New England and Green Bay. But it was a different story against the Vikings (4-6).

Buccaneers 27, Redskins 7

Rookie Mike Evans had 209 yards receiving and two touchdowns, and Tampa Bay broke a five-game losing streak with the win at Landover, Md.

Evans accounted for 73 percent of Josh McCown’s 288 yards passing. The No. 7 overall draft pick’s 51-yard catch set up a field goal in the first half, and his touchdowns of 36 and 56 yards came in the second.

Johnthan Banks returned an interception for a touchdown, and McCown completed 15 of 23 passes for the Buccaneers, who are 2-8.

The Redskins committed three turnovers, and Robert Griffin III was sacked six times. Washington fell to 3-7.