HOUSTON (AP) — In a second half where C.J. Stroud and the Houston offense struggled to move the ball, the Texans’ defense stepped up Sunday night to secure a win over the Chicago Bears. Houston picked off rookie Caleb Williams twice after halftime and the Texans held on for a 19-13 victory. Stroud threw for 260 yards and a touchdown and Ka′imi Fairbairn kicked four field goals to help the Houston to the win. Fairbairn connected from 56, 47, 59 and 53 yards, and Houston’s defense put heavy pressure on Williams for much of the game.
ATLANTA (AP) — Mookie Betts had a tiebreaking RBI single with two outs in a seven-run ninth inning and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves 9-2 on Sunday night. The loss dropped the Braves into a tie with the Mets for the third wild-card spot in the National League with 13 games to play. The Dodgers hold a two-game lead on the Brewers in their pursuit of the National League’s No. 2 seed and first-round bye in the playoffs. They lead the Padres by four games in the N.L. West.
The projected College Football Playoff field has a new top seed. Using The Associated Press Top 25 college football poll to fill out the 12-team bracket, Texas now holds the No. 1 seed after taking the top spot in the rankings Sunday. Ohio State is still the projected No. 2 seed as the Big Ten champion, with Miami as the third seed as Atlantic Coast Conference champ and Utah of the Big 12 as the fourth seed. There was little other significant movement in the projections with the same 12 teams in the field this week as last. Tennessee and Missouri swapped spots in what would be an 8-9 game in the first round. Now the Volunteers are the eighth seed and projected home team. Penn State and Oregon also swapped seeds with the Ducks at 10 and Nittany Lions at 11.
BOLINGBROOK, Ill. (AP) — Jon Rahm ended his first year in the LIV Golf League by closing with a 4-under 66 to win the final individual event Sunday and the season points title with its $18 million bonus. Rahm missed a pair of short birdie putts on the back nine that kept Joaquin Niemann and Sergio Garcia in the mix. But then he holed a 12-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole that gave him a three-shot going to the last at Bolingbrook Golf Course. Rahm won for the second time in the Saudi-funded league, adding to his title in England last month. In between those wins, he lost in a playoff to Brooks Koepka.
SUNDAY'S SCORES
National Football League
Minnesota 23, San Francisco 17
Seattle 23, New England 20
Washington 21, NY Giants 18
LA Chargers 26, Carolina 3
New Orleans 44, Dallas 19
Cleveland 18, Jacksonville 13
Green Bay 16, Indianapolis 10
Tampa Bay 20, Detroit 16
NY Jets 24, Tennessee 17
Las Vegas 26, Baltimore 23
Arizona 41, LA Rams 10
Pittsburgh 13, Denver 6
Kansas City 26, Cincinnati 25
Houston 19, Chicago 13