NFL week nine results: Cam Newton inspires unbeaten Panthers, Colts improve to beat Broncos, Marcus Mariota returns for victorious Titans

Elsewhere there were wins for Buffalo, Minnesota, New England and the Pittsburgh Steelers

Cam Newton inspired the Carolina Panthers to victory over Green Bay Packers (Getty Images)

Carolina quarterback Cam Newton threw three touchdown passes and ran for another score as the Panthers beat Green Bay 37-29 on Sunday and took an important step toward securing home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.

The Panthers improved to 8-0 and are one of three teams left with a perfect record, including New England, which had a comfortable win against Washington.

Denver dropped out of that elite unbeaten company after a narrow defeat at Indianapolis. The Colts won with a late field goal, as did Minnesota against St. Louis and Pittsburgh over Oakland.

Carolina's Newton completed 15 of 30 passes for 297 yards and ran for 57 yards on nine carries in one of the better games of his five-year NFL career.

The Panthers extended their regular-season win streak to 12, dating back to last season, and put themselves in terrific shape in the NFC standings, where every other team has at least two losses.

Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers threw for 369 yards and four touchdowns and led a furious fourth-quarter comeback from 23 points down, but couldn't complete it. Linebacker Thomas Davis intercepted Rodgers on a fourth-and-goal pass at the Carolina 3-yard line with 1:54 left.

Indianapolis' Andrew Luck threw two touchdown passes and Adam Vinatieri made a tie-breaking 55-yard field goal with 6:13 to play to give the Colts a 27-24 win against Denver and former Colts great Peyton Manning.

The Colts sit atop the AFC South despite a mediocre 4-5 record, and this was their first win of the season outside the division.

Luck was brilliant, going 21 of 36 for 252 yards. He broke a 17-17 tie with a TD pass early in the fourth quarter, then helped snap a 24-24 tie by setting up Vinatieri for the field goal on the next drive.

Manning was 21 of 36 for 281 yards with two TDs and two interceptions. He couldn't break Brett Favre's record for regular-season wins (186) by a quarterback and fell 3 yards short of becoming the NFL's career passing leader.

New England started strongly and cruised to a 27-10 home win against Washington.

Tom Brady completed 26 of 39 passes for 299 yards and two touchdowns, including an 8-yarder to Julian Edelman on the opening drive.

Washington first play was intercepted, and New England then marched downfield to make it 14-0 on LaGarrette Blount's 5-yard score.

The Redskins managed just 15 total yards in the first quarter, and the Patriots continued to pull away.

Minnesota's Adrian Peterson rushed for 125 yards on 29 carries, helping set up Blair Walsh's 40-yard field goal in overtime which gave the Vikings a 21-18 win against St. Louis.

The Vikings won their seventh straight home game despite losing quarterback Teddy Bridgewater to concussion early in the fourth quarter, and St. Louis having first possession in overtime. The Rams went three-and-out.

In a predictably grinding contest between similarly constructed teams, Minnesota ended Todd Gurley's streak of games with 125-plus yards rushing at four. The Rams running back gained 89 yards and a touchdown on 24 attempts.

Pittsburgh's Chris Boswell hit an 18-yard field goal with 2 seconds left to lift the Steelers to a 38-35 win against Oakland.

The Steelers survived after quarterback Ben Roethlisberger exited midway through the fourth quarter after getting sacked. Replacement Landry Jones found Antonio Brown for a 57-yard reception on Pittsburgh's final drive to set up Boswell's winning kick.

Antonio Brown made 284 yards as the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Oakland Raiders (Getty Images)

Brown finished with 17 catches for 284 yards, both franchise records.

Roethlisberger moved past Hall of Famers Johnny Unitas and Joe Montana and into 13th on the NFL list for career yards passing.

San Francisco's Blaine Gabbert threw a pair of second-quarter touchdown passes to Garrett Celek for the undermanned 49ers, who won 17-16 at Atlanta.

Making his first start in more than two years, Gabbert didn't take a sack behind an offensive line that has faced heavy scrutiny all year. Celek made TD catches of 1 and 11 yards to give him three for the year.

Gabbert threw an interception midway through the fourth quarter, giving the Falcons another chance with 7:14 to go. Matt Ryan hit six straight completions, but eventually missed Julio Jones in the end zone and Atlanta kicked a field goal and fell just short.

New York's Eli Manning threw for two touchdowns, helping the first-placed Giants rebound from last week's debacle at New Orleans and defeat Tampa Bay 32-18.

Buffalo's Sammy Watkins made eight catches for 168 yards and a 44-yard touchdown that broke open the game late in the third quarter, leading the Bills to a 33-17 win against Miami.

New York's Ryan Fitzpatrick threw two touchdown passes while playing with a torn ligament in his left thumb, leading the Jets to a 28-23 victory over Jacksonville.

Philadelphia's Sam Bradford threw a 41-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Matthews in overtime and the Eagles beat Dallas 33-27 to hand the Cowboys a sixth straight loss; their longest losing sequence in 26 years.

Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota returned from injury in the victory over New Orleans Saints (Getty Images)

Tennessee rookie Marcus Mariota came back from his recent injury to pass for 371 yards and four touchdowns, including a 5-yard scoring pass to Anthony Fasano in overtime, and the Titans won 34-28 at New Orleans, snapping a six-game losing skid.

Results

Buffalo Bills 33 Miami Dolphins 17

Carolina Panthers 37 Green Bay Packers 29

Minnesota Vikings 21 St Louis Rams 18 (OT)

New England Patriots 27 Washington Redskins 10

New Orleans Saints 28 Tennessee Titans 34 (OT)

New York Jets 28 Jacksonville Jaguars 23

Pittsburgh Steelers 38 Oakland Raiders 35

Indianapolis Colts 27 Denver Broncos 24

San Francisco 49ers 17 Atlanta Falcons 16

New York Giants 32 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 18

Philadelphia Eagles 33 Dallas Cowboys 27 (OT)