Tom Brady #12 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers walks off the field after defeating the Los Angeles Rams at Raymond James Stadium on November 06, 2022 in Tampa, Florida. Julio Aguilar/Getty Images/AFP
Tom Brady flipped a one-yard touchdown pass to Cade Otton with nine seconds remaining to give Tampa Bay a 16-13 NFL victory over the reigning Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.
The 45-year-old quarterback, winner of a record seven Super Bowl crowns, became the first player with 100,000 career passing yards, completing 36-of-58 throws for 280 yards.
Brady also delivered his NFL record 69th career game-winning drive in the last two minutes or overtime, playoff games included.
It was his 55th such drive in the fourth quarter or overtime in the regular season, breaking a tie with Peyton Manning for the most in league history.
More importantly for Brady, the victory halted the Bucs’ three-game skid, which had marked the first time Brady had dropped three games in a row since 2002.
“It’s all about the win, man,” said Brady, who drove the Bucs 60 yards in 35 seconds to snatch the victory.
“We needed it. We needed it, and we got it,” he added of a win that moved the Bucs to 4-5 while the Rams fell to 3-5.
In Kansas City, the Chiefs offense had its struggles but quarterback Patrick Mahomes came through in a 20-17 overtime victory over the Tennessee Titans.
Mahomes ran for a touchdown and two-point conversion that tied it up at 17-17 to force overtime.
With the first possession of the extra session Mahomes piloted a drive capped by Harrison Butker’s 28-yard field goal, and the Chiefs defense didn’t allow the Titans a first down on their overtime possession to secure the win.
“Our defense played their tail off,” Mahomes said. “They kept us in this game when we struggled for about three quarters. We just kept battling and we got our chance… we found a way to tie it up.”
Mahomes completed 43 of 68 passes for 446 yards and a TD, the Chiefs battling back from a 17-9 deficit after the Titans were buoyed by two rushing touchdowns from Derrick Henry.
Cousins inspires Vikings
Elsewhere, Minnesota’s Kirk Cousins threw for 265 yards and two touchdowns in a triumphant return to Washington while the Buffalo Bills were upset by the New York Jets.
Cousins, who spent six largely frustrating NFL seasons with Washington before joining the Vikings in 2018, sparked Minnesota over the Commanders 20-17.
“I knew I was going to be emotional pulling in, seeing the player parking lot where we used to hang out. I about shed a tear,” Cousins said.
“But we had a job to do, and we got the job done.”
The Vikings, who trailed 17-7 in the fourth quarter, improved to 7-1 overall — their best start since 2009 — and stretched their win streak to six games.
At New York, the Jets drove 86 yards to set up Greg Zuerlein’s 28-yard game-winning field goal with 1:43 remaining to beat Buffalo 20-17 for their best start in 12 years.
Bills quarterback Josh Allen ran for two touchdowns but Jets defenders stifled the NFL’s top offensive unit as Buffalo fell to 6-2, still ahead of the Jets atop the AFC East division.
Miami improved to 6-3 in the AFC East as Tua Tagovailoa threw for 302 yards and three touchdowns in the Dolphins’ 35-32 victory at Chicago.
Chicago’s Justin Fields, who had three touchdown passes and a touchdown run in a losing cause, ran for 178 yards to set an NFL one-game regular-season record for quarterbacks, five more than Michael Vick’s old mark from 2002.
The Green Bay Packers suffered their fifth consecutive loss, falling 15-9 at Detroit as Aaron Rodgers threw three interceptions while Jared Goff threw two touchdown passes for the Lions.
Cincinnati’s Joe Mixon scored a team-record five touchdowns, running 22 times for 153 yards and four touchdowns and throwing for another TD to power the Bengals over visiting Carolina 42-21.
Travis Etienne ran for 109 yards and two touchdowns and Trevor Lawrence threw for another score as host Jacksonville rallied from a 17-0 deficit to defeat Las Vegas 27-20.