MINNEAPOLIS — The Seattle Seahawks scored five touchdowns in six drives and dominated the Minnesota Vikings 38-7 on Sunday.
Russell Wilson accounted for four touchdowns on the day and threw for 274 yards for the Seahawks (7-5), who won their third consecutive game and moved to within a game of the Vikings in the NFC wild-card standings.
Minnesota was embarrassed on its home field for the second time in three weeks; the Vikings lost 30-13 to the Green Bay Packers on Nov. 22. The loss dropped the Vikings into a first-place tie with the Green Bay Packers atop the NFC North at 8-4 with a road game against the NFC West-leading Arizona Cardinals on the docket on Thursday.
Wilson had three touchdown passes to stake Seattle to a 21-0 halftime lead.
Cardinals 27, Rams 3
ST. LOUIS — Carson Palmer completed 26 of 40 passes for 356 yards and two touchdowns as Arizona trampled St. Louis for its sixth straight win.
In improving to 10-2, the Cardinals maintained a three-game lead over Seattle in the NFC West. The Rams (4-8) lost their fifth straight game and clinched their 12th consecutive non-winning season.
The Cardinals’ defense had its way with St. Louis’ struggling offense, which has managed only 54 points during its losing streak. Quarterback Nick Foles completed only 15 of 35 passes for 146 yards with an interception, while running back Todd Gurley managed 41 yards on nine rushes.
Bengals 37, Browns 3
CLEVELAND — Cincinnati overwhelmed Cleveland behind three touchdowns by quarterback Andy Dalton.
The Bengals (10-2) were dominant from beginning to end and strengthened their hold on the AFC North lead. Dalton had a 3-yard run for a score and threw a pair of TD passes.
The Browns (2-10) lost their seventh straight. They have been outscored by the Bengals 98-13 in the last three games in the Battle of Ohio dating back to December of 2014 when the Bengals won 30-0 in Cleveland in the first game started by Johnny Manziel.
Jets 23, Giants 20 (OT)
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — New York Giants kicker Josh Brown’s franchise record ended at 29 straight field-goal attempts made when he pulled a 48-yarder wide left, helping the New York Jets to an overtime win.
The Jets (7-5), down 20-10 at the half, got scores from receiver Brandon Marshall, who connected with quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick on 9-yard touchdown pass, and two field goals from kicker Randy Bullock, including the 31-yard game-winner, to keep their playoff hopes alive.
The Giants (5-7), who got a fifth-straight 100-yard receiving performance form Odell Beckham Jr. (six receptions for 149 yards, one touchdown), saw their dynamic receiver come up with a huge 72-yard second quarter touchdown that gave the Giants a 17-10 second-quarter lead.
49ers 26, Bears 20 (OT)
CHICAGO — Blaine Gabbert’s 71-yard touchdown pass to Torrey Smith after 2:10 of overtime gave San Francisco a most improbable victory over Chicago.
It was the 49ers’ first road victory after five defeats, most of them by lopsided scores. It was a game in which the 49ers (4-8) looked like the sure loser even after they rallied to tie the game at 20 with 1:42 remaining, Gabbert doing most of the damage with his legs and scoring the tying touchdown on a 44-yard scramble up the middle.
Deonte Thompson returned the ensuing kickoff 74 yards to set the Bears up at the 49ers’ 28-yard line. Chicago (5-7) ran the clock down to two seconds, called time out, and brought in Robbie Gould for a 36-yard field goal attempt as time expired, but it was wide left.
Bills 30, Texans 21
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Tyrod Taylor accounted for four touchdowns and engineered a game-winning drive in the fourth quarter to lead Buffalo over Houston.
Taylor was 11-of-21 passing for 211 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 28 yards and another score as the Bills (6-6) snapped a two-game losing streak to help their playoff chances. Taylor also extended his streak without an interception to 187 attempts, a Bills record.
Quarterback Brian Hoyer completed 26 of 43 passes for 293 yards and three touchdowns for the Texans (6-6), who had a four-game winning streak snapped.
Buccaneers 23, Falcons 19
TAMPA — Rookie Jameis Winston threw a touchdown pass to receiver Mike Evans with 1:39 left to give Tampa Bay a comeback win over Atlanta.
The Buccaneers (6-6) went 80 yards on the touchdown drive, with Winston converting a third-and-19 with a wild 20-yard scramble. Linebacker Lavonte David clinched the win by intercepting a Matt Ryan pass on the first play after the touchdown, the Bucs’ first takeaway in two games.
The win keeps the Bucs alive for the wild card, while the Falcons (6-6) have dropped five in a row and six of seven games after a 5-0 start.
Dolphins 15, Ravens 13
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Two rookies making their first NFL starts — wide receiver DeVante Parker and defensive tackle Jordan Phillips — made big plays to lead Miami past Baltimore.
The Dolphins (5-7) scored all their points within 20 seconds in the second quarter but nearly gave away their 15-point lead.
Dolphins running back Lamar Miller fumbled at his own 41 with 4:16 left in the game, but Ravens kicker Justin Tucker was wide right on a 55-yard field goal try that would have given Baltimore (4-8) a 16-15 lead with 2:37 remaining.
Titans 42, Jaguars 39
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee scored twice in 44 seconds late in the fourth quarter to end its 11-game home losing streak with a win over Jacksonville.
The Titans (3-9) were getting close to the NFL record of 14 straight home losses shared by Dallas (1988-89) and St. Louis (2008-10). The Titans’ last home win was 16-14 over Jacksonville in October 2014.
Tennessee trailed by four when quarterback Marcus Mariota was forced out of the pocket and showed off his speed, racing to the end zone on an 87-yard touchdown run to give the Titans a 35-32 lead with 8:30 left. The Jaguars dropped to 4-8.