Tom Brady threw for 211 yards and four touchdowns (TD), including the 600th of his illustrious career, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers cruised to a 38-3 win over the visiting Chicago Bears on Sunday afternoon.
Brady became the first quarterback in National Football League (NFL) history to throw for 600 touchdowns when he fired a strike to Mike Evans in the final seconds of the first quarter. Evans caught two other touchdowns passes from Brady, and Chris Godwin had one touchdown reception for Tampa Bay (6-1).
Khalil Herbert had 18 carries for 100 yards for Chicago (3-4), which trailed 35-3 at half time and never recovered. Justin Fields was under constant duress and completed 22 of 32 passes for 184 yards and three interceptions.
He was sacked four times and lost two fumbles.
Leonard Fournette added 15 carries for 81 yards and a touchdown on the ground for the Buccaneers. Tampa Bay won its fourth straight game overall and improved to 4-0 at home.
The Buccaneers wasted little time setting a dominant tone. They raced to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter thanks to a 2-yard rushing touchdown by Fournette and two passing touchdowns by Brady — a 4-yarder to Godwin and a 9-yarder to Evans that made history.
The 44-year-old Brady already was the NFL’s all-time leader in passing touchdowns and one of only four signal-callers to surpass 500 in his career. He has 21 touchdowns and three interceptions this season.
The Bears pulled within 21-3 on a 28-yard field goal by Cairo Santos midway through the second quarter.
Tampa Bay added two more touchdowns before intermission. Brady connected with Evans for a 2-yard touchdown with 3:37 left in the half, and he found Evans for a third touchdown on an 8-yard completion with nine seconds remaining.
Ryan Succop added a 22-yard field goal with 12:55 remaining in the fourth quarter to make it 38-3.
With a comfortable lead, Buccaneers backup quarterback Blaine Gabbert replaced Brady midway through the fourth quarter. Gabbert completed two of three passes for 15 yards.
Cardinals 31, Texans 5: Kyler Murray passed for 261 yards and three touchdowns as Arizona overcame a slow start and then cruised past Houston in Glendale, AZ.
Murray produced scoring passes to DeAndre Hopkins, Christian Kirk and Zach Ertz in what was a somewhat uneven performance for the Cardinals (7-0) and their standout signal caller. Murray was sacked four times, including by Texans defensive end Jacob Martin for a safety in the first quarter, and had his streak of pass attempts without an interception snapped at 135 when Texans safety Lonnie Johnson, Jr. picked him off in the third quarter.
Rookie quarterback Davis Mills completed 23 of 32 passes for 135 yards for Houston (1-6). The Texans failed to score a touchdown for a third consecutive road game and have been outscored 102-8 in losses to the Buffalo Bills, Indianapolis Colts and Cardinals.
Titans 27, Chiefs 3: Ryan Tannehill and Derrick Henry threw touchdown passes as Tennessee coasted to a victory over Kansas City in Nashville, TN.
Henry, the NFL’s leading rusher, gained 86 yards on 29 carries to end a streak of five consecutive 100-yard games. He completed a 5-yard pass to MyCole Pruitt for a touchdown to cap the Titans’ first possession. — Reuters
