LOS ANGELES — Tom Brady completed 17 of 37 passes for 190 yards and one touchdown, and the New England Patriots held on for a 13-9 win over the visiting Dallas Cowboys on a cold, wet and windy Sunday afternoon in Foxborough, Mass.
N’Keal Harry scored the lone touchdown for New England (10-1), which notched double-digit victories for the 17th straight season. Julian Edelman led all receivers with eight catches for 93 yards, and Sony Michel led the ground attack with 20 carries for 85 yards.
Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott struggled in the inclement weather, completing 19 of 33 passes for 212 yards and an interception. Dallas (6-5) lost for the second time in the past three weeks.
Ezekiel Elliott finished with 126 yards from scrimmage (86 rushing, 40 receiving) to lead the Cowboys. Veteran wide receiver Randall Cobb had four catches for 86 yards, but teammate Amari Cooper was held without a reception.
New England opened the scoring in the final minute of the first quarter when Brady connected with Harry for a 10-yard touchdown. A blocked punt by Patriots special-teams ace Matthew Slater two plays earlier helped set up the score.
Harry laid on his back and raised both of his arms to the sky to celebrate his first career touchdown. The rookie out of Arizona State was New England’s first-round draft pick (No. 32 overall) this spring.
A 44-yard field goal by Nick Folk increased the Patriots’ lead to 10-0 early in the second quarter.
Dallas responded with two field goals to cut the deficit to 10-6 at halftime. Brett Maher made kicks from 46 yards and 27 yards.
New England increased its lead to 13-6 when Folk connected from 42 yards with 9:32 remaining in the fourth quarter.
The Cowboys pulled back within 13-9 on a 29-yarder by Maher with 6:04 to go.
Cowboys tight end Jason Witten played in his 250th career game. He became the 46th player in NFL history and only the third at his position to achieve the milestone, joining tight ends Trey Junkin (281 games) and Tony Gonzalez (270).
BACKUP QB HODGES RALLIES STEELERS OVER BENGALS
Devlin Hodges replaced Mason Rudolph at quarterback in the second half Sunday and rallied the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers to a 16-10 victory, keeping the Cincinnati Bengals winless on the season.
Hodges was 5 of 11 for 118 yards and hit James Washington on a 79-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter with his second throw of the game as the Steelers (6-5) extended their winning streak over the Bengals to 10, including playoffs, going back to 2015.
Chris Boswell kicked a 47-yard field goal with 11:59 remaining to break a 10-10 tie and added a 26-yard kick with 3:18 remaining.
The Steelers’ defense was able to seal the victory with a pair of fumble recoveries.
Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick recovered a fumble by Bengals wide receiver Tyler Boyd at the Steelers’ 6-yard line with 8:45 remaining. Linebacker Bud Dupree sealed the victory when he sacked Bengals quarterback Ryan Finley and recovered the ensuing fumble at the Bengals 21-yard line with 2:38 remaining.
Finley was 12 of 26 for 192 yards for the Bengals, while Boyd caught five passes for 101 yards and a touchdown. The Bengals (0-11) are off to their worst start in franchise history.
Rudolph was 8 of 16 for 85 yards and an interception in his first game since the Cleveland Browns’ Myles Garrett hit him in the head with his own helmet. That incident came in a Nov. 14 defeat to the Browns that ended the Steelers’ four-game winning streak. — Reuters
