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NFL Thursday Night Football

Can Levis Keep Up the Pace?

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PITTSBURGH – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Tennessee QB Will Levis made a stellar first impression and is a near-certainty to start for the Tennessee Titans for the second time in five days. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh QB Kenny Pickett insists a rib injury won’t prevent him from answering the bell when the Steelers host the Titans on Thursday night.

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Tennessee (3-4) took the wrapping off second-round draft pick Levis this past Sunday, and he put on a show with four touchdown passes in a 28-23 victory over the Atlanta Falcons in his NFL debut.

Titans injured QB Ryan Tannehill missed the contest with a sprained right ankle and is unlikely to play against the Steelers (4-3). He sat out practice Tuesday while Levis was being prepared to start.

“I would imagine, as of today, it will be Will unless something changes,” Titans coach Mike Vrabel said Tuesday. “Right now, I don’t see Ryan being able to do much with the ankle.”

Levis said he has been looking forward to playing in Pittsburgh.

“Playing or not, I’ve had this game circled on the schedule because of how great the environment is going to be,” Levis said. “I know their fans are going to come out and it’s going to be a nice environment. So, we are ready to handle it. I am looking forward to taking it all in and then just doing my thing.”

Levis clicked well in his debut with wideout DeAndre Hopkins, who caught his first three touchdown passes of the season while making four receptions for 128 yards.

“We knew we were going to go out there and make those plays,” Hopkins said of his time on the field with Levis. “He felt confident in me and trusted me. Obviously, I want to be there for my quarterbacks, especially a first-time starter — that helps build his confidence.”

Tennessee insisted it wouldn’t trade star running back Derrick Henry, and Tuesday’s deadline passed without a deal. Henry has rushed for 10 or more touchdowns in five straight seasons, but he has just three through seven games. He has rushed for 526 yards.

As for Pickett, he was injured during the second quarter of Sunday’s 20-10 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars and was replaced by Mitch Trubisky.

He was limited during Tuesday’s walk-through and was able to do light throwing and later anointed himself as the starter.

“I’m playing, for sure,” Pickett said.

Pickett has passed for 1,330 yards, five touchdowns and four interceptions this season. The Steelers are near the bottom of the league in both scoring offense (29th at 16.1 points per game) and total offense (30th at 271.7 yards per game).

Pittsburgh offensive coordinator Matt Canada said he didn’t think the short week will hinder Pickett.

“Great faith in Kenny that if he’s able to play, he’ll play,” Canada said. “If he feels like he’s not able to perform and do his job, he’ll tell us.”

While star outside linebacker T.J. Watt (8.5 sacks) will be trying to torment Levis, standout free safety Minkah Fitzpatrick (hamstring) will miss the game. Fitzpatrick leads Pittsburgh with 54 tackles.

“We have multiple guys who are going to have to step up,” Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said Tuesday. “Guys are going to have to do some different things, and it’s our job on the short week to try to get them in the right position so they can play to their strengths. But it’s hard. You’re not going to replicate that guy.”

Damontae Kazee is slated to start in place of Fitzpatrick.

It’s possible that star defensive tackle Cameron Heyward (groin) will be cleared to play for the first time since being injured in Week 1. He was a full participant on Tuesday.

For Tennessee, Henry (ankle), Hopkins (toe) and defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons (ankle) were all limited Tuesday for the second straight day.

Pittsburgh has won the past four meetings with Tennessee. The Titans last beat the Steelers in 2013.

–Field Level Media

The Bills Are Back

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ORCHARD PARK – (Staff and Wire Service) – Buffalo QB Josh Allen threw for two touchdowns and rushed for another as the Bills held off a late comeback attempt to pick up a 24-18 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFL’s Thursday Night Football offering.

Buffalo (5-3) led by 14 when the Buccaneers took over on offense with 10:05 left in the game.

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QB Baker Mayfield led Tampa Bay (3-4) on a 17-play, 92-yard excursion, making it a six-point affair when he found Mike Evans for a 24-yard touchdown and connected with Cade Otton for the subsequent two-point conversion.

But the drive ate up 7:21 of clock, and the Bills were able to chew off an additional 2:23. That left the Buccaneers with just 21 seconds to put together a game-winning drive, and they were unable to do so.

Allen completed 31 of 40 passes for 324 yards and an interception. He also ran the ball seven times for 41 yards.

Gabe Davis had nine receptions for 87 yards and a touchdown for the Bills. Khalil Shakir added six catches for 92 yards.

Mayfield threw for 237 yards and two TDs on 25-for-42 passing for Tampa Bay, which has lost three straight.

Buccaneers running back Rachaad White totaled 109 yards (39 rushing, 70 receiving), while Chris Godwin had five catches for 54 yards and a score.

Tampa Bay erased a 10-point deficit in a span of 54 seconds in the second quarter. Chase McLaughlin drilled a 57-yard field goal and, two plays after William Gholston picked off Allen, Mayfield found Godwin for a 3-yard TD.

But Allen capped the Bills’ next drive with a 22-yard scoring strike to Dalton Kincaid to send Buffalo into the break up 17-10.

The Bills added on with 10:40 left in the third quarter, as Allen tossed a 4-yard TD to Davis.

On Buffalo’s first drive of the contest, Allen completed 6 of 7 passes for 64 yards to help the Bills work down to the Buccaneers 19. However, the hosts had to settle for Tyler Bass’ 37-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead.

Allen made it 10-0 when he used his legs to get to the end zone from 13 yards out with 11:03 left in the first half.

–Field Level Media

It’s “ON” for Buffalo

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BUFFALO – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Buffalo Bills have lost two of the past three games, so Bills’ players and coaches are eager to right the ship tonight when the club faces the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Upstate New York.

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The Bills (4-3) are coming off a low point of the season, last Sunday’s 29-25 loss to the New England Patriots. They trailed most of the game, took a 25-22 lead in the final two minutes and fell behind again when TE Mike Gesicki was on the receiving end of a 1-yard touchdown pass with just 12 seconds left.

Tampa Bay (3-3) is also scuffling, dropping a 16-13 decision to the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday for its third loss in the past four games.

QUICK PICK
Buffalo has fallen a game behind Miami in the AFC East and enters Week 8 seventh in the conference playoff picture. The Bills are 3-0 at Highmark Stadium this year, their lone “home” loss coming against Jacksonville in London.

The line has moved from the Bills -7.5 points to -9.5 at BetMGM, where their spread line has been backed by 64 percent of the money. That’s because the Bucs have scored a combined 19 points in losing their past two games.

Prediction: Bills 28, Buccaneers 17

PROP PICKS
Bills QB Josh Allen Over 1.5 Passing TDs (-145 at DraftKings): This has been the most popular player prop at the book for good reason. Buffalo is relying too heavily on Allen to be the all-everything on offense, which has contributed to seven interceptions through seven games. However, he also has 15 touchdown passes, with multiple TDs in four consecutive games.

Bills TE Dalton Kincaid Over 37.5 Receiving Yards (-125 at BetMGM): With Dawson Knox and Quintin Morris sidelined, Kincaid is going to garner the lion’s share of the tight end snaps, leading to the Over on this prop drawing 99 percent of the money. Kincaid is coming off a season-high eight catches for 75 yards last week. Of note, Knox failed to top 17 receiving yards in each of his past six games, so the tight end has seen sporadic use in Buffalo’s offense this season.

THE NEWS
Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield believes the Buccaneers’ problems are self-inflicted, and it’s up to them to get back on track.

“Looking at the mistakes that we’ve made, it’s things that we can control,” Mayfield said. “For us, it’s control what we can, fix those things and see where this thing can go.”

Mayfield was in the same draft class as Buffalo’s Allen in 2018. Mayfield was taken first overall by the Cleveland Browns before the Bills scooped up Allen with the No. 7 pick.

“Josh is a great guy. Tremendous athlete, great guy. He’s fun to watch,” Mayfield said. “Hopefully not too much fun on Thursday, but yeah, it’s always good to see him.”

INJURY REPORT
Tampa Bay receiver Chris Godwin was limited during Tuesday’s practice due to a neck injury, while Buffalo’s Knox will undergo wrist surgery and is out indefinitely.

“I wish I could tell you,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said of when Knox will be good to return. “Too early right now. The decision was just made to go ahead and get (surgery) done.”

Mayfield (knee) was also limited, while defensive tackle Vita Vea (groin), safety Kaevon Merriweather (ankle) and guard Matt Feiler (knee) missed Tuesday’s session.

Buffalo is missing tight ends Kincaid and Morris, while defensive tackles Ed Oliver (toe) and Jordan Phillips (back) were limited in practice along with linebacker Von Miller (knee).

KEY STAT
The Bills have a total of just 10 first-half points over the past three weeks. McDermott is hoping that trend changes on Thursday.

“We all have to do a better job, myself included,” McDermott said. “It’s putting the players in position (to succeed), then when in position, the players have to make the plays.”

THEY SAID IT
“Over the course of the season, you’re gonna have ebbs and flows, you may have performance lulls. We don’t want that. We want to be as consistent as we possibly can be from one week to the next. …

“We also know that the belief that we have in what we’ve established philosophically, the players that are in that locker room and the coaches that are informing the players, we just believe in each other.” –Bills assistant head coach Eric Washington

–Field Level Media

Lawrence Leads Jags Over Saints

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NEW ORLEANS – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Ailing Jacksonville QB Trevor Lawrence threw a tie-breaking 44-yard touchdown pass to WR Christian Kirk late in the fourth quarter and the visiting Jaguars made a goal-line stand to win their fourth consecutive game, defeating the New Orleans Saints 31-24 Thursday night.

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Lawrence, whose status was uncertain until pregame warmups because of a nagging knee injury, completed 20 of 29 passes for 204 yards and the one score. He found Kirk on a crossing route that enabled the Jaguars (5-2) to overcome a fourth-quarter comeback by the Saints (3-4).

Saints QB Derek Carr, who completed 33 of 55 for 301 yards, drove New Orleans to a first-and-goal at the 6 in the final minute, but threw four straight incompletions. Saints tight end Foster Moreau was wide open in the end zone when he dropped a third-down pass with 25 seconds left.

Down by 11 at halftime, the Saints drove to Blake Grupe’s 42-yard field goal on the first possession of the third quarter to get within 17-9.

Foyesade Oluokun made the Jaguars’ NFL-leading 16th takeaway when he intercepted Carr and returned 24 yards for a touchdown that pushed the lead to 24-9.

On the second play of the fourth quarter, Taysom Hill ran 1 yard on fourth down for a touchdown that reduced the lead to 24-16.

Jacksonville’s RB Travis Etienne Jr., who rushed for two touchdowns, was stopped for no gain on fourth-and-1 at the New Orleans 47 midway through the fourth. Three plays later, Carr threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Michael Thomas and connected with Alvin Kamara for a two-point conversion that tied the score with 6:38 remaining.

The Jaguars received the opening kickoff and drove 75 yards, scoring on Etienne’s 2-yard touchdown run.

The Saints moved into scoring range on the ensuing possession, but Grupe was wide right on a 51-yard field-goal attempt.

New Orleans recovered a fumbled punt at the Jacksonville 17 but could drive only 12 yards. Grupe kicked a 23-yard field goal to trim the lead to 7-3 at the end of the first quarter.

On the fourth play of the second quarter, Etienne ran 17 yards for a touchdown and a 14-3 lead.

Grupe added a 35-yard field goal and Brandon McManus answered with a 43-yard field goal, leaving the Jaguars with a 17-6 halftime lead.

–Field Level Media

NFL: Chiefs “D” Beats Broncos

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KANSAS CITY – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Kansas City QB Patrick Mahomes passed for 306 yards and one touchdown and his Chiefs used a strong defensive performance on Thursday night to post a 19-8 victory over the visiting Denver Broncos.

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KC TE Travis Kelce caught nine passes for 124 yards as Kansas City (5-1) defeated the AFC West-rival Broncos for the 16th consecutive time. Kadarius Toney caught a touchdown pass and Isiah Pacheco accumulated 98 scrimmage yards (62 rushing, 36 receiving) as the Chiefs improved their overall winning streak to five games.

Harrison Butker kicked four field goals — including a 60-yarder — and Nick Bolton and Justin Reid intercepted passes for Kansas City.

Russell Wilson completed 13 of 22 passes for 95 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions for Denver (1-5). Courtland Sutton had a scoring reception and Justin Simmons intercepted a pass for the Broncos.

Mahomes was 30-of-40 passing while improving to 12-0 in his starts against the Broncos. The Chiefs outgained Denver 389 to 197.

Kansas City led 13-0 at the break as Butker easily cleared the crossbar on his half-ending 60-yard boot. His career long of 62 occurred last season against the Buffalo Bills.

Butker added a 25-yard field goal with 9:16 left in the third quarter.

Denver finally got on the board with 6:07 remaining in the game when Wilson connected with Sutton on an 11-yard scoring pass and Javonte Williams added a two-point run to pull the Broncos within 16-8.

A roughing the passer penalty on Mike Edwards on third-and-five — when Wilson threw an incompletion — pushed the ball to the Chiefs’ 11-yard line one play before the touchdown.

Kansas City took over after the touchdown and worked 4:12 off the clock before Butker connected on a 52-yard field goal to make it an 11-point margin with 1:55 left.

Just 13 seconds later, Trent McDuffie forced Denver’s Samaje Perine to fumble, and Willie Gay recovered for the Chiefs to put the game away.

Earlier, Butker started the scoring with a 35-yard field goal with 5:40 remaining in the first quarter. The Chiefs scored their lone touchdown when Mahomes hit Toney on a 3-yard scoring pass with 3:06 left in the half.

–Field Level Media

NFL Thursday: KC Streaking vs. Denver

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DENVER – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The last time the Kansas City Chiefs lost to the Denver Broncos, star quarterback Patrick Mahomes was a sophomore at Texas Tech. Kansas City began its dominance prior to Mahomes’ arrival and now looks to post its 16th straight victory over the visiting Broncos when the teams meet on Thursday night.

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Mahomes, a two-time MVP, is 11-0 as a starter against AFC West rival Denver. However, he said the streak doesn’t matter on game night.

“When you play a team like the Broncos, same with any division opponent, there’s just another level of intensity,” Mahomes said Tuesday. “I’m not worried about necessarily a streak or anything like that. I’m worried about winning against a division opponent. … It doesn’t matter what the records are. It’s gonna be a close game.”

The Chiefs (4-1) enter Thursday with a four-game winning streak while the Broncos (1-4) have been one of the worst teams in the NFL in Sean Payton’s first season as coach. Still, Denver quarterback Russell Wilson points to last season’s two meetings as evidence of his team being able to stick with Kansas City. The Chiefs won 34-28 at Denver and 27-24 at home in 2022.

“We had good battles against them last year, both of them came down to the wire,” Wilson said Tuesday. “It’s a great football team on their side and we have to play great football, we have to play clean. We’re going into a tough environment.”

The Broncos have been abysmal on defense this season and rank last in scoring defense (36.2 points per game), total defense (450.6 yards allowed per game) and rushing defense (187.6 yards allowed per game). Denver is the lone team to allow over 2,000 yards so far this season (2,253).

The Broncos have allowed a staggering 877 yards on the ground over the past four games. The New York Jets rushed for 234 yards — 177 by Breece Hall — in a 31-21 road win over Denver on Sunday.

“It’s going to be tough to win games if we can’t stop the run defensively, and we have to get it cleaned up,” Payton said.

Perhaps Kansas City’s hard-running Isiah Pacheco (325 rushing yards, three touchdowns) is in line for a big game.

Chiefs star tight end Travis Kelce is aiming to play on Thursday. He sprained his right ankle on Sunday in Kansas City’s 27-20 victory over the Minnesota Vikings in Minneapolis. He missed practice Monday and was limited Tuesday.

Kelce caught 10 passes against the Vikings — five before he hurt the ankle late in the first half and five during a single third-quarter drive after returning to action. He caught a touchdown pass to end that excursion.

Mahomes expects Kelce to answer the bell on Thursday night.

“That’s a legendary type game,” Mahomes said of Kelce’s performance at Minnesota. “I mean, to be able to battle through that. I didn’t see the injury live, so I didn’t know how bad it was, but looking back at it now and seeing how the ankle rolled and then being able to come back out there and play at a high level and score a touchdown that we needed to win the game — it speaks to not only the talent that he has, but the toughness that he has.”

The Broncos began the 21-day window to activate tight end Greg Dulcich from injured reserve on Tuesday. Payton said Dulcich, who injured his hamstring in the season opener, is “close” to being ready for activation. Dulcich was limited during Tuesday’s practice.

Denver defensive tackle D.J. Jones (knee) and outside linebacker Frank Clark (illness) missed practice on Tuesday. Among the five Broncos who joined Dulcich as limited were safety Justin Simmons (hip) and center Lloyd Cushenberry III (quadriceps).

Joining Kelce as limited during the Chiefs’ Tuesday practice were linebacker Nick Bolton (ankle) and defensive end George Karlaftis (hamstring).

–Field Level Media

49ers Control Shorthanded Giants, 30-12

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SANTA CLARA – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – SF’s Brock Purdy passed for a regular-season career-high 310 yards and two touchdowns to help the San Francisco 49ers post a 30-12 victory over the New York Giants on Thursday night.

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Niners’ RB Christian McCaffrey rushed for a touchdown and totaled 119 yards (85 rushing, 34 receiving) for the 49ers (3-0), who won their 13th consecutive regular-season game. Deebo Samuel had six receptions for 129 yards and one score, George Kittle caught seven passes for 90 yards and Ronnie Bell hauled in his first career touchdown catch for San Francisco.

Reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year Nick Bosa recorded his first sack since signing a five-year, $170 million extension with the 49ers. The contract is the richest for a defender in NFL history.

Former 49ers running back Matt Breida rushed for a touchdown for the Giants (1-2), who played without star running back Saquon Barkley (ankle). The running game struggled without Barkley, with New York totaling 29 yards on 11 attempts.

Daniel Jones was 22-of-32 passing for 137 yards and one interception for the Giants.

San Francisco controlled the ball for 39:10 and had a 78-46 edge in plays. Purdy completed 25 of 37 passes as the 49ers outgained the Giants 441-150.

New York moved within 17-12 with 10 minutes left in the third quarter on Breida’s 8-yard scoring run. Jones was sacked on the ensuing two-point conversion attempt.

San Francisco tacked on a 21-yard field goal by Jake Moody to hold an eight-point lead with 4:08 remaining in the period. Moody added a 36-yarder to increase the margin to 23-12 with 12:47 left in the game.

The 49ers put the game away on Purdy’s 27-yard touchdown pass to Samuel with 5:58 remaining in the contest.

San Francisco scored two second-quarter touchdowns while taking a 17-6 lead into halftime.

Purdy connected with Bell on a 9-yard scoring pass to give San Francisco a 10-3 lead with 7:49 left in the second quarter. Just over six minutes later, McCaffrey scored on a 4-yard run to boost the lead to 14.

New York’s Graham Gano kicked a 57-yard field goal with 13 seconds remaining in the first half.

San Francisco opened the game with a 15-play, 64-yard drive before settling for Moody’s 28-yard field goal. The Giants answered with a 44-yard field goal from Gano.

–Field Level Media

Thursday Night NFL: Vikings at Eagles

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PHILADELPHIA – The Philadelphia Eagles will try to stay unbeaten when they welcome the Minnesota Vikings to town for their home opener tonight.

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Philadelphia (1-0) is coming off a 25-20 win against the New England Patriots on Sunday afternoon. It was far from a perfect performance for the Eagles, but they jumped out to a 16-0 lead and held on for a narrow victory.

Now they will try to fix their mistakes on short rest against the Vikings.

“Was it our cleanest opportunity? No,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. “We’ve got a lot of things to clean up.”

So does Minnesota (0-1), which lost its season opener 20-17 at home against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Vikings committed three turnovers and had several costly penalties, including one on fourth down that extended a Buccaneers drive and led to a touchdown.

“We beat ourselves,” Minnesota running back Alexander Mattison said.

That was in front of a friendly home crowd. The Vikings now must find their footing in front of a passionate fan base in Philadelphia.

Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson offered simple advice for some of his teammates who will play in front of Eagles fans for the first time.

“Be ready,” Hockenson said. “It’s a hostile place to play. You walk out of the tunnels, and there’s things being thrown at you and a lot of stuff happening in that stadium.”

The top concern for the Vikings is the Eagles’ personnel.

Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts is looking for a better performance after completing 22 of 33 passes for 170 yards and a touchdown in Week 1. He also rushed nine times for 37 yards but had a costly fumble in the fourth quarter.

Hurts said the season opener offered an opportunity to grow.

“We all have standards,” Hurts said. “I have standards that are very high. I think the reality is, I’ve never reported to the standards of other people or the expectations of other people, or their opinions. We’re centrally focused on the things that we can control.”

A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith tied for the team lead with seven catches apiece, with Smith grabbing the lone touchdown pass from Hurts. They will go up against a Vikings team that has similar faces from last year but plays a different style under first-year defensive coordinator Brian Flores.

“Everything is different,” Hurts said. “They’re coached by a really good coach, and they’ve always had great players.”

Meanwhile, Minnesota will match up against an Eagles defense that has added a top rookie in defensive tackle Jalen Carter. He bolsters a defensive front that includes Jordan Davis, Fletcher Cox, Brandon Graham and others.

According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Carter’s pass-rush get-off time was 0.68 seconds, which ranked first among defensive players with a minimum of 15 pass rushes in Week 1. He had a sack and six pressures — the most by a rookie defensive tackle since 2019.

Minnesota’s offensive line is already banged up as it prepares for Carter and Co.

Vikings center Garrett Bradbury (back) had yet to practice as of Tuesday. Meanwhile, tackle Christian Darrisaw (ankle) was listed as a limited participant.

Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins will have to be wary of the Eagles’ pass rush as he looks for opportunities downfield. His top target is Justin Jefferson, who hauled in nine catches for 150 yards against Tampa Bay.

Philadelphia listed Cox, safety Reed Blankenship and running back Kenneth Gainwell as having rib injuries. Cornerback James Bradberry (concussion protocol) was also on the injury report.

–Field Level Media

NFL Sports Desk: Saints, Cards on TNF

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GLENDALE – (Staff and Wire Service Preview from Field Level Media) – The New Orleans Saints and the Arizona Cardinals both had high expectations entering the season. But both are off to 2-4 starts as they try to get their campaigns headed in the right direction when they meet tonight in Arizona.

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The Cardinals lost two offensive starters to major injuries during a 19-9 loss at Seattle last Sunday. Left guard Justin Pugh suffered a torn ACL that will end his season and wide receiver Marquise Brown will miss at least several weeks because of a foot injury.

“It’s tough anytime you lose starters that you’re depending on in your offense,” Arizona coach Kliff Kingsbury said. “But it’s the NFL and everybody is dealing with the same thing. We’ve got to be able to continue to play and improve, so we’ll make adjustments and go from there.”

The Cardinals got a boost when wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins came off the suspended list Monday and the team bolstered the position further by trading two draft choices to the Carolina Panthers for Robbie Anderson.

Hopkins is expected to make his season debut against the Saints and Kingsbury said he’s hopeful Anderson will be able to play, though the short week provides limited practice opportunities.

“I’m really excited to see what he brings,” Kingsbury said of Hopkins. “He’s a guy you can throw out and expect to make plays, there’s no doubt. We’ll see how he fits in, but he’s the centerpiece of it.”

Three Arizona starters — center Rodney Hudson (knee), running back James Conner (ribs) and kicker Matt Prater (hip) — missed practice Tuesday, as did backup running back Darrel Williams (knee).

[Read more…] about NFL Sports Desk: Saints, Cards on TNF

NFL Sports Desk: Bengals Defeat Fins; Miami’s Tua Tagovailoa Injured

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CINCINNATI – (Wire Service Report by Field Level Media) – Joe Burrow passed for 287 yards and two touchdowns and Evan McPherson kicked two fourth-quarter field goals to help the Cincinnati Bengals record a 27-15 victory over the visiting Miami Dolphins on Thursday night.

The Dolphins lost standout quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to head and neck injuries in the second quarter. He was taken off the field on a stretcher and transported to University of Cincinnati Medical Center for evaluation.

Tee Higgins caught seven passes for 124 yards and one touchdown for the Bengals (2-2). Vonn Bell intercepted two passes, Joe Mixon rushed for a score and Hayden Hurst caught a touchdown pass.

Teddy Bridgewater replaced Tagovailoa and completed 14 of 23 passes for 193 yards, one touchdown and one interception for Miami (3-1). Tyreek Hill caught 10 passes for 160 yards for the Dolphins, whose loss leaves the Philadelphia Eagles as the NFL’s lone unbeaten team.

Tagovailoa was sacked by Cincinnati’s Josh Tupou and swung to the ground violently with 5:43 left in the first half. The Dolphins said Tagovailoa was conscious, had movement in all his extremities and would travel home with the team.

Tagovailoa completed 8 of 14 passes for 110 yards and one interception before exiting.

Cincinnati took a 17-15 lead on McPherson’s 19-yard field goal with 12 minutes left to play. He kicked another one three times as long — 57 yards — to give the Bengals a 20-15 lead with 6:13 remaining.

Bell collected his second interception of the game with 3:05 left and returned it 46 yards to the Dolphins’ 45-yard line. Five plays later, Burrow threw a 2-yard scoring pass to Hurst to make it a 12-point advantage with 1:52 to play.

The Bengals scored on the opening drive with Mixon rushing in from the 5.

Jason Sanders kicked field goals of 23 and 48 yards to move Miami within one with 7:31 left in the first half.

Burrow connected with Higgins on a 59-yard pass to give Cincinnati a 14-6 lead with 2:50 remaining in the half. Higgins caught the ball at the 30 and cruised down the left sideline.

Bridgewater flipped a shovel pass to Chase Edmonds on a 7-yard scoring pass with nine seconds left in the half. Sanders clanked the extra point off the right upright, however.

Miami moved ahead 15-14 on Sanders’ 20-yard field goal with 2:30 left in the third quarter. The field goal was set up by Bridgewater’s 64-yard completion to Hill.