Burrow, Bengals rout Ravens 41-17 for AFC North lead

BALTIMORE (AP) – Joe Burrow threw for a career-high 416 yards and three touchdowns, including a pivotal 82-yarder to rookie Ja’Marr Chase in the third quarter, and the Cincinnati Bengals won their AFC North showdown against the Baltimore Ravens in style, pulling away in the second half for a 41-17 victory Sunday. The Bengals (5-2) drew even with the Ravens (5-2) atop the division, a sign that Burrow and Chase might be ahead of schedule in turning around this struggling franchise. The former LSU teammates were too much for Baltimore to handle, and Cincinnati’s offense moved the ball pretty easily from the middle of the second quarter on. Chase had eight catches for 201 yards, easily the most productive performance of his impressive debut season. He broke Speedy Thomas’ franchise rookie record of 177 yards receiving, set in a 1969 game at Denver. Lamar Jackson threw for 257 yards and ran for 88, but he was sacked five times as the Ravens had their five-game winning streak snapped. Jackson found Marquise Brown for a 39-yard touchdown in the third quarter that put Baltimore up 17-13, but the Ravens’ only lead of the game was brief. Burrow needed only four plays to put Cincinnati back in front on a 32-yard strike to C.J. Uzomah. After a Baltimore punt, he connected with Chase on his long TD to make it a 10-point lead. Chase came into the week with a league-best five catches of 40 yards or longer. On this one, he spun past a couple potential tacklers in the middle of the field, and then nobody was going to catch him. The Bengals snapped a five-game losing streak against the Ravens. Baltimore’s three most recent wins in the series were by a combined score of 114-19. The Ravens have started a season 5-1 four times, but never 6-1. TITANS 27, CHIEFS 3 NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Ryan Tannehill threw for 270 yards and a touchdown, and he also ran for a score in the second victory in six days for the Titans (5-2) over teams that played for the AFC championship in January. They edged Buffalo 34-31 on Monday night and followed that by simply dominating the two-time defending AFC champs as they jumped to a 27-0 halftime lead. The Chiefs (3-4) have lost two of three and dropped to 1-4 in the AFC this season. They also were held to their fewest points since a 38-3 loss to Denver on Dec. 30, 2012. This was the first time Patrick Mahomes had trailed by 27 at halftime and the third-largest halftime deficit for the Chiefs since 1991. It was the worst since the Chiefs trailed Pittsburgh 29-0 at the half on Oct. 2, 2016, and only the eighth time in franchise history that Kansas City had trailed by 27 or more at the half. The Titans forced three turnovers – two by Mahomes – that they turned into 10 points. Denico Autry had two of the Titans’ four sacks. Mahomes was slow to get up after taking a knee to his head on the fourth sack by Autry. He went to the medical tent and didn’t return with Chad Henne replacing him late. He finished with 206 yards passing and 35 yards rushing. Mahomes has been intercepted in six straight games, the longest stretch of his career. He had 11 interceptions combined over 2019 and 2020 and has nine this season. His fumble with 1:46 left in the first half was his second this season, giving him 11 turnovers for the season. That’s the most Mahomes has ever had in a single season even counting the playoffs. He had only nine in 17 games in 2019 and 10 in 18 games in 2020. CARDINALS 31, TEXANS 5 GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) – DeAndre Hopkins caught a touchdown pass against his former team, Zach Ertz caught a touchdown pass for his new team and the Cardinals scored 31 unanswered points.