PITTSBURGH (AP) β Ben Roethlisberger (RAWTH’-lis-bur-gur) threw six touchdown passes for the second consecutive week while going 25 of 37 for 340 yards in Pittsburgh’s 43-23 win over Baltimore. Roethlisberger is the first quarterback in NFL/AFL history to throw for 12 touchdowns over a two-game stretch, breaking the record of 11 set by Tom Flores for Oakland in 1963 and matched by Tom Brady seven years ago. Martavis Bryant had two scoring grabs, Antonio Brown caught 11 passes for 144 yards and a touchdown, and Matt Spaeth (spayth) caught the record-setting pass with 1:51 remaining.
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) β Tom Brady threw touchdown passes to four different receivers while completing 33 of his 53 passes for 333 yards as New England whipped Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos 43-21. Rob Gronkowski snared one of Brady’s four TD tosses and had nine receptions for 105 yards. Julian Edelman scored touchdowns on a five-yard catch and an 84-yard punt return while the Pats were scoring 24 unanswered points in the second quarter to carry a 27-7 lead into the locker room.
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) β Carson Palmer shook off an early interception return for a touchdown and tossed three scoring passes for the Arizona Cardinals in a 28-17 win over the Dallas Cowboys. The Cardinals limited DeMarco Murray to 79 yards on 19 carries, ending his season-opening streak of eight games with at least 100 yards. The 7-1 Cardinals picked up their fourth straight win and now have sole possession of the best record in the NFC this late in the season for the first time since 1974.
MIAMI (AP) β Ryan Tannehill threw for 288 yards and three scores, while Miami forced four turnovers in a 37-0 rout of San Diego. Tannehill had a career-high passer rating of 125.6 when he called it a day after three quarters and the Dolphins leading by 27. He went 24 of 34 with no turnovers as the 5-3 Dolphins picked up their third straight win and handed the 5-4 Chargers their third consecutive loss.
HOUSTON (AP) β Mark Sanchez replaced an injured Nick Foles and threw for 202 yards and two touchdowns to lead Philadelphia past Houston 31-21, giving the Eagles a half-game ahead of Dallas for the NFC East lead. The 6-2 Eagles led by three when Jeremy Maclin grabbed a low throw from Sanchez for an 8-yard touchdown to make it 31-21 with about four minutes remaining. LeSean McCoy ran for 117 yards, and Foles tossed a 59-yard TD pass to Maclin before leaving the game with a left shoulder injury late in the first quarter.
