Atlanta 31, Carolina 17 Trench Counter: Falcons +9.7, Panthers -9.7 The Atlanta Falcons (3-3) defeated the Carolina Panthers (1-5) thanks to 17 unanswered points in the fourth quarter. Trailing by a field goal after a 14-yard run by Panthers quarterback Cam Newton, Atlanta's defense held Carolina scoreless over the game's final 21-plus minutes. Matt Ryan went 14-for-22 with 163 yards and a touchdown, while also rushing for a 1-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. The team's nearly split the time of possession, but Michael Turner helped the Falcons control the game with 27 carries for 139 yards and two scores. Newton looked human against the Falcons, tossing three interceptions and averaging 6.5 yards per pass at the Georgia Dome. The rookie also rushed six times for 50 yards. Greg Olsen was Newton's top target (10), but he hauled in just five receptions for 42 yards. The Panthers went punt, punt, interception and then ran out of time on their final four possessions. Cincinnati 27, Indianapolis 17 Trench Counter: Bengals +0.8, Colts -0.8 The Cincinnati Bengals (4-2) committed eleven penalties for 111 yards, but the Indianapolis Colts (0-6) turned the ball over three times as they remained winless. With the game tied at seven apiece early in the second quarter, the Bengals reeled off 13 straight points. Carlos Dunlap put the game out of reach with a 35-yard fumble return for a touchdown with 2:22 left in regulation. Curtis Painter, who went 23-for-34 with 188 yards, a touchdown and an interception, didn't get much help from his receivers. Pierre Garcon and Dallas Clark, who combined for 14 catches, 105 yards and a score, each lost a fumble. The Colts ran the ball well without Joseph Addai, averaging 4.1 yards. Andy Dalton looked poised once again, going 25-for-32 with 264 yards and a score, which came on a 11-yard connection with A.J. Green in the first quarter. San Francisco 25, Detroit 19 Trench Counter: 49ers -11.3, Lions +11.3 The Detroit Lions (5-1) controlled the game on the stat sheet, but the San Francisco 49ers (5-1) excelled late to hand the home team their first loss of the season. Detroit had the advantage in first downs (21 to 14), yards per pass (4.9 to 3.5), penalty yards (54 to 120) and turnovers (0 to 2), but San Francisco scored the final 10 points of the game. Frank Gore helped give the 49ers one advantage as they averaged 7.0 yards per carry (against 3.7 for the Lions). Gore tallied 141 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries and they accumulated 203 rushing yards as a team, including seven first downs. After scoring a touchdown on a reviewed catch by Nate Burleson, the Lions punted, punted, lost the ball on downs and ran out of time in their final four possessions at Ford Field. Green Bay 24, St. Louis 3 Trench Counter: Packers +5.9, Rams -5.9 The Green Bay Packers (6-0) remained undefeated by easily beating the St. Louis Rams (0-5) in a game that featured no scoring after halftime. Green Bay led 3-0 after the first period and then scored three straight touchdowns in the second quarter to seize control of the game. Josh Brown kicked a 36-yard field goal with three seconds left in the first half for the Rams’ only points of the game. St. Louis had more first downs, yards per rush, time of possession and total yards, but they couldn’t make timely plays, were forced to punt five times and turned the ball over on downs on three occasions. Aaron Rodgers, who connected with James Jones, Jordy Nelson and Donald Driver for touchdowns, finished with 310 yards on 17-for-28 passing. N.Y. Giants 27, Buffalo 24 Trench Counter: Giants +5.7, Bills -5.7 The New York Giants (4-2) intercepted Ryan Fitzpatrick late in the fourth quarter to setup Lawrence Tynes’ game-winning, 23-yard field goal with less than two minutes remaining. The Buffalo Bills (4-2) had a chance to tie or take the lead, but they turned the ball over on downs after just four plays as time ticked away. The team went back-and-forth as there were only two occasions when either team scored on back-to-back drives. Buffalo took a 14-7 lead into the second quarter after an 80-yard run by Fred Jackson and a 60-yard pass from Fitzpatrick to Naaman Roosevelt, but the Giants answered with a touchdown and a field goal in the second period and Buffalo never led again at MetLife Stadium. Pittsburgh 17, Jacksonville 13 Trench Counter: Steelers +8.2, Jaguars -8.2 The Pittsburgh Steelers (4-2) topped the Jacksonville Jaguars (1-5) in a game that was much closer than expected on Sunday afternoon. After jumping out to a 17-0 lead with more than 10 minutes left in the second quarter, the Steelers were shutout by the Jaguars, who just didn’t have enough offense to climb all the way back into the game. Josh Scobee hit two field goals of at least 45 yards and Jason Hill caught an 18-yard pass from rookie Blaine Gabbert to make up Jacksonville’s scoring. The two teams combined for 31 first downs and the Jaguars were just 4-for-15 on third down, leading to seven punts. Gabbert was sacked five times and hit six times by Pittsburgh’s defense, which overcome injuries to their unit. Rashard Mendenhall, who sat out last week’s game, rushed 23 times for 146 yards and a score at Heinz Field. Philadelphia 20, Washington 13 Trench Counter: Eagles +14.4, Redskins -14.4 The Philadelphia Eagles (2-4) got a much-needed win on the road against the rival Washington Redskins (3-2) as they were in danger of dropping their fifth-straight contest. Leading 20-3 with a little more than two minutes left in the second quarter, Philadelphia failed to score again, but their defense kept Washington at bay. The Eagles intercepted Rex Grossman four times (three by Kurt Coleman) before the Redskins replaced him with John Beck in the fourth period. Beck ran two yards for his team’s only touchdown of the game with 2:44 left in regulation, but the Eagles ran out the clock to ensure the victory. The Redskins were just 1-for-10 on third down and they held the ball for less than 22 minutes at FedEx Field. Washington had less than 100 yards of total offense in the first half when their only points came on a 50-yard field goal by Graham Gano. Baltimore 29, Houston 14 Trench Counter: Ravens +4, Texans -4 The Baltimore Ravens (4-1) held the Houston Texans (3-3) to just seven points on offense as they ran away from the game in the second half at M&T Bank Stadium. The Ravens compiled 109 more total yards than the Texans and had six more first downs, which allowed them to overcome two turnovers. Baltimore scored the game’s final 16 points. Houston scored on a fumble recovery in the end zone by Wade Smith and Matt Schaub connected with Jacoby Jones for a 32-yard touchdown in the third quarter to briefly give the team a 14-13 lead. The Ravens answered five minutes later and never trailed again. Houston punted six times, but Baltimore did so just twice. Oakland 24, Cleveland 17 Trench Counter: Raiders +7.1, Browns -7.1 The Oakland Raiders (4-2) beat the Cleveland Browns (2-3) in part because of a gutsy call late in the third quarter on fourth-and-long. Raiders punter Shane Lechler tossed a 35-yard touchdown pass to tight end Kevin Boss on a fake field goal, giving the team a brief 24-7 lead. Oakland didn’t score again, while Cleveland rattled off 10 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, but the trick play gave them enough of a lead to hold on. Cleveland and Oakland were very close statistically, but the Browns struggled on the ground (16 of their 18 first downs came through the air) and the Raiders averaged more yards per pass (7.4 to 4.5). The Raiders had Kyle Boller under center after Jason Campbell went down with a collarbone injury. Colt McCoy completed just 47% of his passes, but totaled 215 yards and a pair of touchdowns. New England 20, Dallas 16 Trench Counter: Patriots +1.4, Cowboys -1.4 The New England Patriots (5-1) had four turnovers, but they were able to edge the Dallas Cowboys (2-3) thanks to yet another touchdown drive led by Tom Brady in the final moments. Trailing by a field goal, Brady connected with tight end Aaron Hernandez on an eight-yard pass to give New England the lead with just 22 seconds left. On that drive, Brady went eight-for-nine with 78 yards on an 80-yard drive. The Patriots went 8-for-13 on third down, while the Cowboys were just 4-for-12 when facing the possibility of fourth down. Dallas also cost themselves with 10 penalties for 77 yards, which overshadowed their +2 turnover differential. They handed the Patriots two first downs via penalties at Gillette Stadium. After putting up a strong performance over the first 57 minutes, the Dallas defense let Brady march 80 yards in just a little over two minutes. Tampa Bay 26, New Orleans 20 Trench Counter: Buccaneers +9.6, Saints -9.6 The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-2) jumped out to a 20-7 lead against the New Orleans Saints (4-2) and held on despite a second-half charge for a key NFC South victory and a first-place tie. In a game that saw head coach Sean Payton essentially break his knee on the sideline, the Saints were sloppy (four turnovers) and unable to record a single takeaway. In addition to their turnovers, New Orleans converted just once in four trips to the red zone. Josh Freeman was superb for the Buccaneers, going 23-for-41 with 303 yards and two touchdowns without a turnover. With LeGarrette Blount out, Earnest Graham stepped in to rush 17 times for 109 yards as Tampa Bay had a slight edge in time of possession. Brees had more yards (383) than Freeman, but he threw three interceptions. After Mark Ingram rushed 12 yards for a touchdown that brought the Saints to within a field goal, they had a three-and-out and Brees committed a turnover at the Tampa Bay four-yard line.