National Football League

The Latest: Colts win at Lambeau, beat Packers 31-26

Published Nov. 6, 2016 7:45 p.m. ET

foxsports

The Latest on Week 9 of the NFL season (all times Eastern):

7:45 p.m.

Frank Gore ran for two touchdowns, Jordan Todman returned the opening kickoff 99 yards for a score and the Indianapolis Colts beat the Green Bay Packers 31-26.

Andrew Luck shook off two interceptions in the first quarter to finish with 281 yards passing and a score. The Colts, who had allowed an NFL-worst 31 sacks coming into the game, gave up just two against what had been tough Packers pass rush.

Indianapolis (4-5) heads into a bye week with perhaps its most complete win of what has been a tough season. Todman's early score set the tone at Lambeau Field.

Familiar problems surfaced again for the Packers (4-4), who lost their second straight game.

- Genaro Armas reporting from Green Bay.

---

7:20 p.m.

Drew Brees threw for 323 yards and three touchdowns, and the New Orleans Saints beat the lowly San Francisco 49ers 41-23. It was the second time this season the Saints topped 40 points and the fifth time they've eclipsed 30.

The Saints (4-4) have grabbed back some momentum and returned to the race in the NFC South. They won for the fourth time in five games following a 0-3 start and eighth in the last 10 regular-season meetings with San Francisco (1-7).

Colin Kaepernick threw for 398 yards and two scores in the loss.

---

7:10 p.m.

The Carolina Panthers have their first road win of the season.

Cam Newton threw for 225 yards and a touchdown, Graham Gano kicked two field goals and the Panthers held on to beat the Los Angeles Rams 13-10 on Sunday.

Newton connected with Greg Olsen for a 9-yard score in the first quarter, and Gano made it a 10-point advantage twice in the fourth with a pair of field goals. Carolina's much-maligned defense made it hold up from there.

The defending NFC champion Panthers (3-5) had previously lost road games at Denver, Atlanta and New Orleans.

The Rams (3-5) dropped their third straight at home.

---

6:50 p.m.

Squirrel time!

A furry critter has livened up the crowd at Lambeau Field in what has been a tough game so far Sunday for the Green Bay Packers.

The squirrel first made its appearance in the first half, then returned late in the third quarter. With the Packers driving at about the Colts 12, the squirrel dashed along the goal line, forcing the officials to call timeout.

The squirrel finally went out of bounds, but not before causing a stir on social media with many fans joking the animal was seeing more of the end zone than the Packers.

The Packers settled for a 27-yard field goal after the timeout.

- Genaro Armas reporting from Green Bay.

---

6 p.m.

There's a lot of scoring going on in the late games. In three of the four anyway.

Carolina leads 7-0 at Los Angeles at halftime thanks to Cam Newton's 9-yard touchdown pass to Greg Olsen. New Orleans and Indianapolis also are leading on the road, both up by double digits.

The Saints are up 31-20 at San Francisco, using a balanced attack to pull ahead at the break. Drew Brees has two TD passes, and Mark Ingram and Tim Hightower each has a rushing score. Colin Kaepernick has thrown for 286 yards and two scores to keep the 49ers in it.

The Colts have a surprising 24-10 advantage at Lambeau Field, with Jordan Todman scoring on a 99-yard kickoff return, Frank Gore finding the end zone from 7 yards out and Andrew Luck connecting with Donte Moncrief just before the half. Indy scored 13 seconds into the game and again with 11 seconds left in the first half.

Aaron Rodgers has a 26-yard TD pass to Jordy Nelson. Rodgers took advantage of a free play to find Nelson in the end zone, and Nelson ripped the ball away from Darius Butler.

San Diego dominated Tennessee early, but leads just 19-14 at the break. Philip Rivers has two TD passes for the Chargers. Melvin Gordon has 100 yards rushing. Marcus Mariota has two TDs for the Titans.

---

5:30 p.m.

Los Angeles might be relatively new to the NFL, but its fans know what they want: The Coliseum crowd began to chant ''We want Goff!'' while the Rams' offense struggled in the first half against Carolina.

The Rams traded up to draft Jared Goff with the No. 1 pick, but coach Jeff Fisher still hasn't used the rookie quarterback in a game.

Case Keenum followed up his four-interception game against the Giants with an ineffective first half against the Panthers, completing just 7 of 15 for 91 yards. Los Angeles' offense was booed several times in the half.

- Greg Beacham reporting from Los Angeles

---

5:15 p.m.

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck has thrown two interceptions in the first quarter against Green Bay, both to safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix.

The second pick with 1:32 left came while Luck was under pressure outside the pocket after overthrowing tight end Jack Doyle.

The Packers capitalized with a 26-yard touchdown pass from Aaron Rodgers to Jordy Nelson on the last play of an entertaining quarter to get within 14-10 of the Colts.

- Genaro Armas reporting from Green Bay.

---

4:45 p.m.

Home teams went 4-2 in early games Sunday, with the lone losing hosts being winless Cleveland and slumping Minnesota.

Dallas routed the Browns 35-10, with Dak Prescott throwing three touchdown passes and fellow rookie Ezekiel Elliott running for 92 yards and two scores. Detroit edged the Vikings 22-16 in overtime, ending the game on Matthew Stafford's 28-yard TD pass to Golden Tate.

Eli Manning had four TD passes to lead the New York Giants over Philadelphia 28-23.

Ben Roethlisberger returned from knee surgery and rallied Pittsburgh in the second half at Baltimore, throwing for a TD and running for a score, but it wasn't enough. The Ravens won 21-14. Mike Wallace finished with four catches for 124 yards, including a 95-yarder for a TD.

Kenyan Drake's 96-yard kickoff return for a touchdown was the difference for Miami, which beat the New York Jets 27-23.

And banged-up Kansas City, which played without quarterback Alex Smith, running back Jamaal Charles and receiver Jeremy Maclin, held on to be turnover-prone Jacksonville 19-14.

---

4:30 p.m.

San Diego Chargers players Joe Barksdale, D.J. Fluker, Chris Hairston and Joshua Perry held up their right fists during the national anthem. A number of Tennessee Titans quickly held up their right fists at the end of the song, led by Jurrell Casey and Wesley Woodyard.

Earlier in the day, Miami Dolphins receiver Kenny Stills and safety Michael Thomas took a knee during the national anthem just like they've done at every game this year.

- Bernie Wilson reporting from San Diego.

---

4:25 p.m.

The Indianapolis Colts are off and running on the opening kickoff against the Green Bay Packers after returner Jordan Todman went 99 yards for a touchdown.

Josh Ferguson had the block on Ha Ha Clinton-Dix at around the 30 that sprung Todman. It was the first kickoff return for a touchdown against Green Bay since Nov. 9, 2014, when the Chicago Bears' Chris Williams returned one for a score.

- Genaro Armas reporting from Green Bay.

---

4:00 p.m.

The Los Angeles Rams got good injury news before their game against Carolina when top cornerback Trumaine Johnson was activated.

The Rams' highest-paid player hadn't been in uniform since spraining an ankle in the Rams' last home game a month ago, and they can use all the help possible to slow down Panthers quarterback Cam Newton.

- Greg Beacham reporting from Los Angeles

---

3:50 p.m.

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce was ejected after complaining to officials for not calling a pass interference penalty, then whipping his towel at the official as if it was a flag.

The Pro Bowl tight end was hit with two personal foul penalties and sent to the locker room with the Chiefs leading 16-7 early in the fourth quarter. Both of the penalties were enforced, resulting in 30 yards of penalties and taking the Chiefs out of field-goal range.

Chiefs coach Andy Reid grabbed Kelce as he was walking off the field and gave him a stern talk. After the ejection, Kelce whipped his gloves into the crowd as he exited the field.

- Dave Skretta reporting from Kansas City.

---

3:45 p.m.

New York Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick is back in the game after a brief exit. Fitzpatrick left the game at Miami late in the third quarter after being shaken up on a late by tackle Jordan Phillips following a throw.

The Dolphins were penalized. Fitzpatrick walked off the field accompanied by trainers and went to the locker room. He was replaced by Bryce Petty.

- Steven Wine reporting from Miami.

---

3:10 p.m.

Ravens fans gasped as quarterback Joe Flacco left the game after landing awkwardly while sliding to avoid a tackle.

Flacco hopped to the sideline and into the Baltimore locker room. It appeared that he reinjured his left knee.

It turns out he merely broke the protective brace on the knee, and returned to cheers after missing three plays.

Flacco had knee surgery last year and missed the final nine games of the year.

- David Ginsburg reporting from Baltimore.

---

2:50 p.m.

Jets defensive linemen Sheldon Richardson and Muhammad Wilkerson sat out the first quarter of their game at Miami and entered at the start of the second period.

A team official said their absences at the start weren't injury-related but declined to say whether they were a disciplinary measure.

- Steven Wine reporting from Miami.

---

2:45 p.m.

Dallas, Baltimore and the New York Giants built double-digit halftime leads Sunday.

The Cowboys are up 21-10 at Cleveland, the league's only winless team. Dak Prescott has two TD passes, and fellow rookie Ezekiel Elliott has 65 yards rushing and a score.

Ben Roethlisberger is back for Pittsburgh, but he's not back to form. Baltimore leads the Steelers 10-0 at halftime, partly thanks to Joe Flacco's 95-yard TD pass to Mike Wallace.

Eli Manning has three touchdown passes, two to Odell Beckham Jr., and the New York Giants lead Philadelphia 21-10 after two quarters. Eagles rookie Carson Wentz has thrown two interceptions.

Miami and the New York Jets have exchanged the lead, and the Dolphins are up 14-13 at the break. Jay Ajayi, looking for his third straight 200-yard rushing game, has 26 yards on 10 carries. The bulk of his yardage came on a 20-yard TD run. Matt Forte has 73 yards and a touchdown on the ground for the Jets.

Detroit leads reeling Minnesota 10-3 thanks to Matthew Stafford's 1-yard touchdown pass to Anquan Boldin. The Vikings have dropped two in a tow since a 5-0 start, and offensive coordinator Norv Turner resigned earlier in the week.

The Jaguars also had an offensive coordinator change, with Nate Hackett replacing Greg Olson. The Jags got on the scoreboard late in the first half and trail banged-up Kansas City 10-7 at the half. The Chiefs are playing without quarterback Alex Smith, running back Jamaal Charles and receiver Jeremy Maclin.

---

1:45 p.m.

Sam Bradford and the Minnesota Vikings have been struggling badly to move the ball over the last two weeks. Here's an outside-of-the-box way to do it: Bradford catching his own pass.

Bradford's first-down throw in the first quarter was batted down at the line by Detroit defensive tackle Tyrunn Walker, but he alertly snagged it in the air and took off to his right for a 5-yard gain.

That was Bradford's first career reception, but it's not the only time that's happened in Vikings history. Brad Johnson not only caught his own pass in a 1997 game at the Metrodome, but he took it into the end zone for a 3-yard touchdown.

- Dave Campbell reporting from Minneapolis.

---

1:40 p.m.

Former Steelers wide receiver Mike Wallace caught a 95-yard touchdown pass from Joe Flacco to give the Ravens a 7-0 lead over his former team.

Wallace slipped down the left sideline, hauled in the pass and outran safety Mike Mitchell for the first-quarter score.

It was the longest play from scrimmage in Ravens history during the regular season.

Wallace played in eight games for Pittsburgh vs. Baltimore. This is his first game for the Ravens in this rivalry.

- Dave Ginsburg reporting from Baltimore.

---

1:30 p.m.

Kansas City Chiefs receiver Jeremy Maclin sustained a groin injury in the first quarter against Jacksonville and was questionable to return.

Maclin was unable to come up with a pass while sliding to the ground on the Chiefs' first possession, though it was unclear if that was when he tweaked his groin.

Maclin missed practice with a sore groin Thursday but participated in Friday's workout.

- Dave Skretta reporting from Kansas City.

---

1:30 p.m.

The New York Jets are amped up to stop Jay Ajayi - perhaps too much so.

Ajayi, coming off consecutive 200-yard rushing games for the Miami Dolphins, lost 2, 1 and 5 yards on his first three carries. But two of the losses were negated by an unnecessary roughness penalty on Buster Skrine, and a taunting penalty on Calvin Pryor.

On his fourth carry, Ajayi found a big hole and ran 20 yards for a touchdown to put Miami ahead 7-3.

- Steven Wine reporting from Miami.

---

1:20 p.m.

It was Erving vs. Irving.

Cleveland Browns center Cam Erving and Dallas Cowboys defensive end David Irving have been ejected following a fight in the first quarter. Following an incomplete pass by Cleveland's Cody Kessler, Erving and Irving scuffled behind the line of scrimmage, far from the play. Irving was on top of Erving and threw punches before having his helmet ripped off.

Erving will likely be replaced by right John Greco.

The Browns have been forced to shuffle centers all season because of injuries. Erving missed time with a bruised lung.

- Tom Withers reporting from Cleveland.

---

1:10 p.m.

Miami Dolphins receiver Kenny Stills and safety Michael Thomas took a knee during the national anthem just like they've done at every game this year.

The protests were inspired by San Francisco backup quarterback Colin Kaepernick , the first NFL player who chose to sit and take a knee during the anthem in preseason games to call attention to what he termed the oppression of blacks and other minorities.

The Dolphins have support from one very important person - their boss, team owner Stephen Ross.

- Steven Wine reporting from Miami.

---

For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL