Baltimore Ravens deal New Orleans Saints third straight loss; Buffalo Bills emerge from snow bank to bury New York Jets
Justin Forsett ripped off one long run after another, and the Baltimore Ravens battered Drew Brees into a very costly mistake.
Forsett rushed for 182 yards and two touchdowns, and Baltimore beat New Orleans 34-27 on Monday night to hand the Saints their third consecutive loss.
Will Hill had a 44-yard interception return for a go-ahead score for Baltimore in the third quarter. Steve Smith caught four passes for 89 yards, including a 15-yard TD catch for the Ravens (7-4), 4-0 against the NFC South and within a half-game of AFC North leader Cincinnati (7-3-1).
Brees passed for 420 yards and three touchdowns for New Orleans (4-7), which remained tied for first in its anemic division with Atlanta, which lost to Cleveland a day earlier. Now New Orleans and Atlanta have the dubious distinction of being the first teams in NFL history to occupy first place in a division while three games under .500.
Jimmy Graham had two TD catches for the Saints.
Brees was sacked four times, and his pivotal interception came as he threw under pressure from Terrell Suggs. The pass was behind Graham, allowing Hill to snag it with nothing but open field in front of him. The play broke a 17-all tie and New Orleans never recovered.
Baltimore’s Joe Flacco was 18 of 24 for 243 yards and one touchdown. Forsett’s scoring runs went for 13 yards in the second quarter and 20 yards late in the fourth quarter to seal it.
Bills rout Jets
Kyle Orton threw two touchdown passes, Robert Woods pulled off a slick one-handed catch and Scott Chandler added a snow-themed celebration as the Buffalo Bills shook off a rough week and drubbed the New York Jets 38-3.
Heavy snow in the Buffalo area forced the game to be moved to Detroit, but there were plenty of Bills fans at Ford Field. Buffalo (6-5) couldn’t even practice before arriving in Michigan on Friday, but it was the Jets (2-9) who looked out of sorts.
Orton threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Woods in the first quarter, and the second-year receiver’s one-handed catch set up another TD in the second. Chandler caught a 19-yard scoring pass from Orton to make it 14-3 late in the half, and then mimicked a shoveling motion in the end zone.
Manziel in fight
A Browns fan who said he wanted to give Johnny Manziel “a hug” was struck by the rookie quarterback’s entourage at a downtown hotel and suffered a swollen eye and lip, police said.
Police were called to The 9, where Manziel has a luxury apartment, after a fight broke out at 2:25 a.m. Friday.
According to a police report, Chris Conos, 33, told police he was assaulted by “Johnny Football and his entourage.”
Conos said he and his girlfriend approached Manziel while waiting for an elevator and he told the popular first-round draft pick: “I’m the biggest Browns fan ever. I love you. I want to give you a hug.”
Conos said he took one step toward Manziel and was punched by a man listed on the report as Dana Kirk. Conos contends he was struck several times in the face and “pushed and attacked” by a group of unidentified men with Manziel. Kirk said Conos tried to assault Manziel, and he defended the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner.
No arrests were made.