Best of NFL: Jared Goff, stingy Rams defense halt Saints' winning streak

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LOS ANGELES  -- Jared Goff passed for 354 yards and hit Sammy Watkins and rookie Josh Reynolds for touchdowns, and the Rams snapped the Saints' eight-game winning streak in a meeting of NFC division leaders with a 26-20 win.

NFL scoring leader Greg Zuerlein kicked four field goals for the Rams (8-3), who earned their fifth victory in six games. For the first time since 2006, this revitalized franchise is guaranteed not to finish the regular season with a losing record.

Los Angeles turned in a gritty defensive effort against the high-scoring Saints (8-3), holding Drew Brees to 246 yards passing -- just 96 in the first three quarters -- and sacking him three times.

Alvin Kamara made an early 74-yard touchdown run and a late TD reception for the Saints, who finally lost for the first time since Sept. 17.

One week after rallying from 15 points down late in the fourth quarter to beat Washington in overtime, the Saints fell behind on the opening drive and never caught up (see full recap).

Julio Jones' big game leads Falcons past Buccaneers 34-20
ATLANTA -- Julio Jones hauled in 12 passes for 253 yards and two touchdowns in one of the best games of his career.

Rekindling memories of the Super Bowl, the Falcons (7-4) nearly squandered a big lead to a team playing its third game without injured quarterback Jameis Winston. The Buccaneers (4-7) rebounded from a 27-6 deficit behind backup Ryan Fitzpatrick and drove deep into Atlanta territory after forcing a fumble at the other end of the field.

But Keanu Neal battled down Fitzpatrick's pass on fourth-and-1 at the Atlanta 18 with just over seven minutes remaining, and the Falcons drove for a clinching touchdown on Tevin Coleman's 14-yard run with just under two minutes to go.

Jones, who had only one touchdown catch through the first 10 games, doubled that total in the first half. He hauled in a 51-yard scoring pass from fellow receiver Mohamed Sanu and went 25 yards for a TD on a throw from Matt Ryan, finishing off the play with a spectacular dive for the pylon.

Jones now has three games in his brilliant career with at least 250 yards receiving. He had a career-high 300 yards vs. Carolina last season and 259 at Green Bay in 2014. No other player in NFL history has more than one game with 250 yards receiving (see full recap).

Kuechly, Clay lead Panthers to 35-27 comeback win over Jets
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Luke Kuechly returned a fumble 34 yards for a touchdown and Kaelin Clay had a 60-yard punt return for a score, capping a stunning swing in the fourth quarter that lifted the Panthers.

It was the fourth straight victory for the Panthers (8-3), who were trying to keep pace with the first-place Saints in the NFC South. The teams meet next Sunday at New Orleans.

This one turned in a span of 2 minutes, 11 seconds on mistakes by the Jets (4-7) -- and the Panthers taking advantage.

First, Kuechly scooped up a fumble by Josh McCown, who was sacked by Wes Horton and had the ball knocked out of his hand as he was about to throw, and rumbled to the end zone for a touchdown.

Cam Newton then hurdled over linebacker Jordan Jenkins for the 2-point conversion to give the Panthers a 26-20 lead with 12:05 left.

Then Clay fielded Lachlan Edwards' kick and spun out of a tackle attempt and sped into the end zone (see full recap).

Seahawks overcome slow start, earn 24-13 win over 49ers
SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Russell Wilson threw for two touchdowns to give him 150 career TDs passing and also ran for a short score.

Wilson connected on a 17-yard touchdown pass to Nick Vannett in the third quarter, and a 1-yarder early in the fourth to Jimmy Graham, whose 16 TD receptions passed Jerramy Stevens for most by a Seattle tight end.

Jimmy Garoppolo made his 49ers debut with 1:07 remaining after starting quarterback C.J. Beathard went down on a hit by Michael Bennett as he threw a pass. Garoppolo -- acquired from New England at the trade deadline last month and hoped by the 49eers (1-10) to stay on the shelf a little longer -- immediately scrambled to gain 4 yards and found Louis Murphy for a 10-yard touchdown as time expired.

Wilson completed 20 of 34 passes for 228 yards and moved past Joe Flacco to become the winningest quarterback in his first six seasons with 63 victories.

The Seahawks (7-4) won their ninth straight in the series in a streak that began with the NFC title game in January 2014 at Seattle (see full recap).

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