NEW YORK (AP) β Daniel Murphy homered again, Curtis Granderson scored twice and Noah Syndergaard pitched into the sixth as the New York Mets beat the Chicago Cubs 4-1 to take a 2-0 lead in the National League Championship Series. Murphy went deep for the fourth straight game and the fifth time in the postseason, a two-run blast off Jake Arrieta that put the Mets ahead 3-0 in the bottom of the first. Syndergaard struck out nine and allowed just three hits but was lifted following Kris Bryant’s run-scoring double with two out in the sixth.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) β The Patriots are 5-0 for the first time since 2007 after Tom Brady threw for 312 yards and three touchdowns in a 34-27 win over the Colts. Brady’s 25-yard touchdown pass to Rob Gronkowksi gave New England a 27-21 lead early in the third quarter. And when the Patriots stopped the 3-3 Colts on an odd-looking and ill-advised fake punt, the scrambling Brady eventually found LeGarrette Blount for an 11-yard scoring pass that made it 34-21.
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) β The Cincinnati Bengals are off to the second 6-0 start in team history after Andy Dalton threw for 243 yards and three touchdowns in a 34-21 win over Buffalo. Dalton connected with Marvin Jones, Jeremy Hill and Tyler Eifert to help put the Bills away. Cincinnati took a 20-point lead by scoring 17 points on their first three possessions of the second half.
SEATTLE (AP) β The Carolina Panthers maintained their perfect record as Cam Newton threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Greg Olsen with 32 seconds left to rally the 5-0 Panthers to a 27-23 win at Seattle. Newton engineered touchdown drives on the Panthers’ last two possessions after the Seahawks grabbed a 23-14 lead. The Carolina quarterback was 12 of 15 for 169 yards in the fourth quarter to finish with 269 yards overall.
SAN DIEGO (AP) β The Green Bay Packers are 6-0 after Aaron Rodgers passed for two touchdowns and James Starks had a 65-yard TD run in a 27-20 triumph at San Diego. The Packers blew a 17-3 lead before Rodgers hit James Jones for a tiebreaking, eight-yard scoring strike with 46 seconds left in the third quarter. Philip Rivers set career highs with 43 completions, 65 attempts and 503 yards, but he couldn’t connect with Danny Woodhead on a fourth-and-goal pass from the three with 15 seconds left.
