The Pittsburgh Steelers claimed a 27-24 victory over the Tennessee Titans in a tense battle of unbeaten NFL sides on Sunday.
Pittsburgh scored on their first two drives, through a Diontae Johnson catch and Benny Snell’s close-range run, before the Titans responded through Corey Davis.
Two Chris Boswell field goals and Johnson’s second score made it 27-7 and though AJ Brown’s long touchdown catch and Derrick Henry’s one-yard plunge narrowed the deficit, Stephen Gostkowski missed a 45-yard field goal at the death.
The Titans were earlier fined 350,000 US dollars (£270,000) for breaches of coronavirus protocols after multiple positive tests led to the fixture being postponed from its original week four slot.
The Cleveland Browns edged out the Cincinnati Bengals 37-34 to stay close behind the Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC North at 5-2.
Browns receiver Odell Beckham Jr was forced off by an injury attempting a tackle after Baker Mayfield’s first pass was intercepted for the second straight week, leaving tight end Harrison Bryant to lead the offense with two touchdown grabs.
David Njoku and Kareem Hunt also caught scoring passes from Mayfield before Donovan Peoples-Jones’ late game-winner, while Bengals rookie Joe Burrow threw for three touchdowns and ran in another.
Joey Slye came up just short on a would-be NFL record 65-yard field goal attempt as the New Orleans Saints held off a Carolina Panthers comeback to win 27-24.
Drew Brees threw a touchdown to Jared Cook and leapt over the line for another and though Carolina responded with a DJ Moore double, Deonte Harris restored the lead right on half-time.
Curtis Samuel levelled the scores but Wil Lutz’s second field goal and Slye’s near miss settled matters.
Green Bay, without injured running back Aaron Jones, relied on the passing game in a 35-20 win over the Houston Texans to move to 5-1.
Aaron Rodgers found Davante Adams, Jace Sternberger and Malik Taylor for first-half touchdowns. Adams scored again and Jamaal Williams ran one in while Deshaun Watson threw Texans touchdowns to David Johnson and Will Fuller.
Matthew Stafford hit TJ Hockenson for the decisive touchdown as the Detroit Lions won 23-22 against the Atlanta Falcons, whose running back Todd Gurley scored twice in a losing cause.
Antonio Gibson, Terry McLaurin and Logan Thomas scored touchdowns as Washington beat fellow NFC East strugglers the Dallas Cowboys 25-3 while six Tyler Bass field goals saw the Buffalo Bills past the winless New York Jets 18-10 to lift them to 5-2.
In other games, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Las Vegas Raiders 45-20, the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Denver Broncos 43-16, the Los Angeles Chargers won 39-29 over the Jacksonville Jaguars, the San Francisco 49ers thrashed the New England Patriots 33-6, and the Arizona Cardinals beat the Seattle Seahawks 37-34 in overtime.
