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Bengals create separation in AFC North race

One point was enough for the Cincinnati Bengals to create some separation in the AFC North.

The Bengals increased their lead in the all-winning division to 1 1-2 games on Sunday by squeezing past Tampa Bay 14-13. Their brethren in the sector all fell: Baltimore blowing a lead late and falling to San Diego 34-33; Pittsburgh bowing to New Orleans 35-31; and Cleveland losing at Buffalo 26-10.

“I’m pleased that we basically overcame ourselves and won the football game,” Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said.

“We had, obviously, the turnovers offensively that led to scores, we had penalties on defense that kept drives alive, and those are things we overcame,” Lewis added. “They’re going to show up once in a while, but we seemed to have them all today. ... We kind of got in our own way all day.”

But it turned out far better for the Bengals than for the rest of the division.

Bengals 14, Bucs 13

At Tampa, Andy Dalton ran for one touchdown and threw to A.J. Green for another, helping the Bengals overcome those mistakes.

Dalton shrugged off three first-half interceptions, and the Bengals (8-3-1) weathered 10 penalties and an ill-advised onside kick to win on the road for the third consecutive week, a franchise first.

Chargers 34, Ravens 33

At Baltimore, Philip Rivers capped a frantic drive with a 1-yard touchdown pass to Eddie Royal with 38 seconds to go. The Chargers (8-4) trailed 30-20 with 6:13 remaining and 33-27 with 2:22 left before Rivers brought them back.

Following a pass interference call against Anthony Levine in the end zone, Rivers hit Royal to conclude an 80-yard march to the Chargers’ third straight win.

Bills 26, Browns 10

QB Kyle Orton and defensive end Jerry Hughes scored touchdowns 10 seconds apart in the third quarter for the host Bills (7-5).

Orton put the Bills ahead 7-3 with a 3-yard pass to Chris Hogan. Buffalo’s defense scored on the next play from scrimmage when Hughes stripped the ball from running back Terrence West, and returned the fumble 18 yards.

It was too deep of a hole for Browns rookie quarterback Johnny Manziel to dig out of. Taking over with 12:01 left after starter Brian Hoyer threw his second interception, Manziel capped an eight-play, 80-yard drive with a 10-yard run that cut Buffalo’s lead to 20-10.

Packers 26, Patriots 21

In what some predict was a Super Bowl preview, the host Packers moved to 9-3. Aaron Rodgers threw for two touchdowns, Eddie Lacy powered for key yards in the fourth quarter, and the Green Bay defense stood firm late in the game.

Rodgers bested Tom Brady in the first meeting between the star quarterbacks as starters. Rodgers connected with Richard Rodgers and Jordy Nelson for long touchdowns and hasn’t thrown an interception in an NFL-record 360 passes at home, which includes 31 touchdown tosses.

Broncos 29, Chiefs 16

At Kansas City, C.J. Anderson rushed for 168 yards and caught a 15-yard touchdown pass, and Demaryius Thomas also had a TD reception from Peyton Manning to help the Broncos (9-3) beat Kansas City for the sixth straight time.

New kicker Connor Barth was perfect on five field-goal attempts, and the Broncos stayed one game in front of San Diego in the AFC West.

Colts 49, Redskins 27

At Indianapolis, Andrew Luck threw a career-high five touchdown passes and topped the 300-yard mark for a franchise-record 10th time this season.

Luck was 19 of 27 for 370 yards and had TD passes of 30, 3, 48, 73 and 79 yards. He broke Peyton Manning’s mark for most 300-yard games in one season and joined Manning and Dan Marino as the only quarterbacks to top 4,000 yards in two of their first three seasons.

Falcons 29, Cards 18

At Atlanta, Julio Jones had a career day with 10 receptions for 189 yards and a touchdown to keep the Falcons in first place in the NFC South via a tiebreaker over New Orleans.

Arizona (9-3) still leads the NFC West after its second straight loss, one game in front of defending Super Bowl champion Seattle.

Jones hauled in a 32-yard scoring pass, and Matt Bryant kicked a career-best five field goals for the Falcons (5-7).

Texans 45, Titans 21

At Houston, Ryan Fitzpatrick threw for a franchise-record six touchdowns, and DeAndre Hopkins had a career-best 238 yards receiving and two scores. Fitzpatrick returned to the lineup after being benched for two games for Ryan Mallett, who sustained a season-ending chest injury last week.

J.J. Watt helped out with his third touchdown reception, two sacks, and he forced and recovered a fumble for Houston (6-6).

Rams 52, Raiders 0

At St. Louis, Tre Mason scored two long touchdowns, and Shaun Hill accounted for three TDs in the rout. St. Louis had an out-of-nowhere 38-point first half that tied for the second biggest in franchise history.

Vikings 31, Panthers 13

At Minneapolis, Adam Thielen and Everson Griffen each returned blocked punts for touchdowns, the fifth time in NFL history one team had two in the same game.

Teddy Bridgewater threw for two scores without a turnover, and Griffen had two of the four sacks by the Vikings (5-7) against Cam Newton.

Jaguars 25, Giants 24

At Jacksonville, Josh Scobee kicked a 43-yard field goal with 28 seconds remaining, and the Jaguars rallied from a 21-point deficit, their biggest comeback victory ever.

Jacksonville (2-10) ended a four-game losing streak and dealt New York (3-9) a seventh consecutive loss that could raise more questions about coach Tom Coughlin’s future.

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