Defending NFL champions Tampa Bay suffered just their second defeat of the season against the New Orleans Saints while Tennessee beat their divisional rivals Indianapolis in overtime during week eight of the 2021 campaign.

Scroll down to read round-ups of Sunday's games, watch clips of the best moments and follow the drama as it unfolded as the NFL celebrated Halloween in style.

Cooper Rush celebrated his first career start with a five-yard touchdown pass to Amari Cooper with 51 seconds left as the Dallas Cowboys beat the Minnesota Vikings at Minneapolis.

The 27-year-old started at quarterback in place of the injured Dak Prescott, who was deemed not fit enough to play before the game due to a strained right calf.

Rush completed 24 of 40 throws for 325 yards, two touchdowns and one interception to move Dallas to 6-1 thanks to a sixth-straight victory.

Prior to his start at Minneapolis, Rush had thrown just three total passes in his NFL career, all coming in 2017.

After Greg Joseph kicked a 24-yard field goal with less than three minutes remaining to give Minnesota a 16-13 lead, Rush then drove Dallas 75 yards down the field on eight plays, before capping off an impressive performance with the game-winning touchdown throw to wide receiver Cooper.

In the regular season at least, the Saints seem to have Tom Brady's number as a late pick six sealed a thrilling victory for New Orleans against the champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers, just as Brady was set up for yet another late comeback win.

Brady had already dragged his team back from a 16-point deficit but after New Orleans regained the lead late on, Brady threw his second interception of the game just at the wrong time to hand the victory to the hosts - sending the Superdome wild.

The big down side for the Saints, who moved to 5-2 with the win, was what looks a serious knee injury picked up by starting quarterback Jameis Winston, who had started his revenge game against his former team in style but limped out of the action in the second quarter.

Brady threw four TDs in all but also lost a fumble, while Alvin Kamara led a Saints rushing attack that gained 152 yards and crucially took time off the clock, but it was Brady's three turnovers that made a big difference.

The Seattle Seahawks jumped out to a 17-0 half time lead before seeing out a 31-7 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, helped by an efficient game from Geno Smith. The back-up quarterback, covering for the injured Russell Wilson, completed 20 of 24 passes for 195 yards and two touchdowns.

Tyler Lockett also had himself a big day, reeling in 12 catches for 112 yards, with both touchdown passes ending up in the hands of DK Metcalf while Travis Homer returned a kick-off for a 44-yard touchdown to wrap things up for the Seahawks (3-5).

Justin Herbert has been a revelation since he was given the starting job for the Los Angeles Chargers last season but completed just 18 of 35 passes in a 27-24 defeat by the New England Patriots (4-4).

Herbert threw for two touchdowns and two interceptions, both to former Charger Adrian Phillips, who returned the second for a touchdown that gave the Patriots a 27-17 lead.

The Denver Broncos ground out a 17-10 win over the Washington Football Team in a game which saw mistakes from both teams that kept the other in it.

It could have been a very different outcome had Washington not had two blocked field goals, but they still had a chance to win it after Melvin Gordon fumbled with less than 30 seconds to go.

Justin Simmons came up with two interceptions for the Broncos (4-4) as the defences came out on top.

Randy Bullock converted a 44-yard field goal in overtime to give the Tennessee Titans victory in their AFC South match-up at the Indianapolis Colts.

Bullock's kick came four plays after Kevin Byard intercepted Carson Wentz and returned it to the Colts' 32-yard line.

Wentz threw his first interception in 213 passes with 1:26 remaining in regulation time, which Elijah Molden returned two yards for a touchdown to give the Titans a 31-24 lead.

Indianapolis, who led 14-0 after two Michael Pittman touchdowns in the first quarter, then forced overtime when Jonathan Taylor scored with 22 seconds left.

But Wentz's second interception in overtime presented the opportunity for Bullock's second game-winner of the year as Tennessee improved to 6-2 while the Colts are now 3-5.

Ben Roethlisberger improved his excellent record in Cleveland to 12-2-1 as he led the Pittsburgh Steelers to yet another victory over the Browns - this time a hard-fought 15-10 success after overcoming a sticky start and the loss of their kicker.

The game was mainly won on defence as the Steelers restricted the Browns' superb rushing attack to under 100 yards and a beat-up Baker Mayfield was unable to get the job done through the air.

The Buffalo Bills had to work harder than usual to beat the Miami Dolphins, but Josh Allen eventually got the job done to make it seven wins in a row against their divisional rivals, with their 26-11 defeat also being Miami's seventh on the spin in a slumping season.

Allen threw two TDs and ran in one himself to join Johnny Unitas and Deshaun Watson in third on the all-time list with 112 total touchdowns in their first 50 starts in the NFL. The Bills are now 5-2 and among the AFC frontrunners again.

The Los Angeles Rams are now 7-1 and matching the best records in the NFC after a comprehensive 38-22 victory over the hapless Houston Texans. Matthew Stafford threw another three TDs and Cooper Kupp had another 100-yard game and a score as they continue to look a major force.

Rookie QB Justin Fields produced an amazing touchdown run for the Chicago Bears in a real sign of what they hope are better times ahead, but Jimmy Garoppolo ran in two himself to help the San Francisco 49ers win 33-22 at Soldier Field.

The Carolina Panthers may yet have a play-off run in them after a tough 19-13 divisional win over the Atlanta Falcons, but there shouldn't be any room in the post-season for the Philadelphia Eagles despite their 44-6 success over the Detroit Lions, who are now 0-8 and almost halfway towards what would be their second winless season.

Back-up quarterback Mike White became just the second quarterback to throw for more than 400 yards on their first NFL start as the New York Jets rallied late to upset the Cincinnati Bengals.

Cincinnati, who are now 5-3, went into a 31-20 lead with 7:29 left but the Jets hit straight back with a Ty Johnson touchdown with 4:36 to go.

Then on the next play, Shaq Lawson claimed the Jets' first interception of the season and, two plays later, White hit Tyler Kroft with a 13-yard, go-head touchdown. White then caught the two-point conversion pass from Jamison Crowder on a trick play to give the Jets just their second win of the season.

White, in for injured rookie Zach Wilson, completed 37 of 45 passes for 405 yards and three touchdowns with two interceptions, while team-mate Michael Carter added 172 yards from scrimmage on 24 total touches with a touchdown.

We'll be signing off before the last of the Halloween games gets under way, but you can follow the live score here...

• New England Patriots 27-24 Los Angeles Chargers
• Jacksonville Jaguars 7-31 Seattle Seahawks
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27-36 New Orleans Saints
• Washington Football Team 10-17 Denver Broncos
• Dallas Cowboys v Minnesota Vikings (00:20 GMT)

BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra

Former London Warriors safety Vernon Kay: "You can't say anything negative about the New Orleans Saints. The defensive play calling in the fourth quarter was great and it worked.

"They dropped into zone coverage for that pick-six. They waited for Brady to come to them and it worked."

What a game in New Orleans, as Tom Brady dragged the Buccaneers back from a 23-7 deficit to lead with five minutes left to play.

Saints QB Jameis Winston limped out of a game he started so well, and back-up Trevor Siemian did enough to lead a field-goal drive that put the hosts ahead late on, but with enough time left for Brady to go and win it.

But that PJ Williams pick six instead sealed a memorable victory for the Saints, who improve to 5-2 for the season and look a fearsome defensive side for any team to deal with going forward. Defending champions Tampa Bay are 6-2 but have some issues to iron out.

Brett Walker: Glad I stayed up to watch this - cracking back-and-forth game against what is becoming a very good Chargers team.

Field goal - Saintspublished at 23:28 Greenwich Mean Time 31 October 2021

23:28 GMT 31 October 2021

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27-29 New Orleans Saints

It's a short field goal that puts the Saints ahead, but from an experienced coach like Sean Payton that was pretty ordinary play calling.

Throwing the ball stopped the clock, when three running plays would've made the Bucs use their two remaining timeouts and run down the clock further before taking the kick.

Now Tom Brady has the ball back, with a timeout in his pocket and a minute and 41 seconds left, we've seen this movie before....

The important thing is that Denver won today to break a four-game skid, much like the Carolina Panthers did earlier, but they will not feel good about that win.

It was a messy game and the clock management after the Justin Simmons interception was just terrible. The Broncos now sit 4-4 and keep their play-off hopes alive.

For Washington that loss will sting. Much like Denver, they made too many mistakes including two blocked field-goal attempts. They were handed a chance with 21 seconds to go but Malik Reed's second sack of the game left them with little chance to score a game-tying touchdown.

Trevor Siemian gets a huge first down as he finds Marquez Callaway on the Tampa Bay nine-yard line as we hit the two-minute warning.

They've got a chip shot of a field goal lined up but also a fresh set of downs to try to milk the clock, or go for the touchdown? Everything and anything is possible here, with Tampa Bay having two timeouts to stop the clock just adding to the suspense.

I may have jumped the gun by saying Denver had sealed the win as Washington have three timeouts.

I did say this game has been a comedy of errors and there is still some time for more of them from the Broncos.

On first down Javonte Williams puts the ball on the ground but is saved by offensive lineman Dalton Risner.

On second down Teddy Bridgewater misses Williams, who is wide open.

On third down, Chase Young punches the ball out of Melvin Gordon's hands and Washington come up with it. There's now 21 seconds left and they're on Denver's 24-yard line.

It has been an ugly game at the Mile High Stadium but Justin Simmons has come up with two big turnovers when the Denver defence needed it.

This one is set up by a huge sack on third down by Malik Reed. He comes off the edge on third and five, and puts a big hit on Taylor Heinicke that knocks the ball loose.

Washington were able to fall on it but have to throw for the end zone on fourth and 19. Heinicke floats one intended for Terry McLaurin but it is Simmons who comes down with it to give the Broncos the chance to ice the win.