Prescott injured as Cowboys rally past Giants
Raiders surprise Chiefs with 40-32 win
ARLINGTON, Texas, Oct 12, (AP): Dak Prescott sustained a gruesome ankle injury not long after his first career touchdown catch before backup Andy Dalton led a drive to a field goal on the final play, and the Dallas Cowboys beat the winless New York Giants 37-34.
Michael Gallup made two spectacular sideline catches on throws from Dalton, the second a 38-yarder to the New York 16. The Cowboys ran the clock down to 3 seconds, and Greg Zuerlein had his second game-ending kick of the season, from 34 yards.
FOOTBALL
Prescott was going down in the arms of defensive back Logan Ryan at the end of a 9-yard run in the third quarter when the Dallas quarterback’s lower right leg got caught under Ryan and appeared to snap.
Prescott reached for the leg as he writhed in pain, and TV images showed his right foot bent at an awkward angle away from his leg. He was fighting back tears as he was carted off with a cast on the leg. Most of Prescott’s teammates rushed to greet him, as did several New York players, including Ryan.
The team said Prescott had a fracture dislocation of the right ankle and was taken to a hospital, where surgery was planned later in the day.
Dalton was Cincinnati’s starter for nine seasons before the Bengals drafted Joe Burrow No. 1 overall last spring and Dalton signed a one-year deal to be Prescott’s backup.
Dalton and rookie center Tyler Biadasz fumbled an exchange on Dalton’s first full series, setting up Devonta Freeman’s 4-yard scoring run and offensive tackle Andrew Thomas’ 2-point conversion catch for a 34-31 lead for the Giants (0-5).
After Dallas got even and forced a New York punt, Gallup made a toedragging 19-yard catch. Then Gallup made an over-the-shoulder grab with Dion Lewis running stride for stride. Both catches held up on review.
The Cowboys (2-3), who trailed by two touchdowns in the second quarter for their fourth straight game with a double-digit deficit, extended their lead when Ezekiel Elliott ran in from 12 yards out to make it 31-23 three plays after Prescott’s injury. Elliott had 91 yards rushing and two touchdowns.
Cleveland Browns wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr (13) rushes during the second half of an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts on Oct 11, in Cleveland. (AP)
NFL Results/Standings
Raiders 40, Chiefs 32
In Kansas City, Mo, Derek Carr threw for 347 yards and three touchdowns, outplaying Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes along the way, and the Las Vegas Raiders nearly shut out the potent Kansas City offense in the second half to rally for a 40-32 victory that ended the Chiefs’ franchise-record 13-game winning streak.
Josh Jacobs scored the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter, Daniel Carlson added a field goal a few minutes later, and Mahomes was intercepted on fourth down to set up another touchdown by Jacobs that make it 40-24 with 5:26 left.
Mahomes led the Chiefs quickly downfield, hitting Travis Kelce for a touchdown and Darrel Williams for the 2-point try to make it a one-possession game.
But after the Raiders (3-2) recovered the squib quick, Jacobs rumbled for a first down as the Chiefs (4-1) used up their timeouts, and Carr sneaked for a first down on fourth-and-1 near midfield with 2 minutes left to allow Las Vegas to end their five-game skid against Kansas City.
Seahawks 27, Vikings 26
In Seattle, Russell Wilson capped a 94-yard drive with a 6-yard touchdown pass to D.K. Metcalf on fourth-andgoal with 15 seconds left, and Seattle beat Minnesota.
Seattle improved to 5-0 for the first time in franchise history with Wilson providing some more prime-time magic and yet another late comeback.
Wilson finished 20 of 32 for 217 yards and three touchdowns. It wasn’t his best performance but he made the key throws late when it was needed.
Seattle’s last drive included a fourthand-10 conversion on a 39-yard pass to Metcalf early in the possession. Seattle appeared to get a winning TD to Metcalf on second-and-goal, but he lost the ball as he was hit from behind. Given another chance on fourth-and-goal, Metcalf flashed open cutting across the end zone and Wilson delivered a fastball into a tight window.
Rams 30, Washington 10
In Landover, Md, Jared Goff threw for 309 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another, and Los Angeles improved to 4-1 by beating Washington in Alex Smith’s return almost two years since a gruesome injury put his career in jeopardy.
Smith played his first NFL game 693 days since breaking his right tibia and fibula, entering when new Washington starting quarterback Kyle Allen injured his left arm. He was 9 of 17 for 37 yards on the same field he was carted off of on Nov 18, 2018, before undergoing 17 surgeries to repair the injury.
“It’s just spectacular to see him back on a football field,” said former Washington QB Joe Thiesmann, who broke his right leg in similar fashion 33 years to the day before Smith was injured. “I’m so thrilled and excited for him.”
The Rams are thrilled with such a strong start in a tough NFC West after missing the playoffs last season. They’ve swept the NFC East and are only a three-point loss on a questionable pass interference call away from being undefeated.
Browns 32, Colts 23
In Cleveland, Baker Mayfield passed for a season-high 247 yards and two touchdowns against the NFL’s No. 1 defense, Myles Garrett forced a crucial safety in the fourth quarter and Cleveland held on for a win over Indianapolis.
Cleveland improved to 4-1 for the first time since 1994.
Mayfield made sure the Browns (41) kept the momentum going in their first game without Pro Bowl running
back Nick Chubb, who sprained his knee last week. Mayfield, though, appeared to hurt his right hand in the fourth quarter.
Steelers 38, Eagles 29
In Pittsburgh, rookie wide receiver Chase Claypool scored four touchdowns, including the clincher with 2:59 remaining, and Pittsburgh remained unbeaten with a win over Philadelphia.
Claypool, a second-round pick from Notre Dame, raced down the slot, hauled in a dart from Ben Roethlisberger and went the rest of the 35 yards to the end zone as the Steelers improved to 4-0 for the first time since 1979.
A native of Abbottsford, British Columbia, Canada, Claypool finished with seven receptions for 110 yards and three scores and added a 2-yard touchdown run on a jet sweep. Claypool became the first Canadian-born NFL player with three receiving TDs
in a game since Joe Rooney did it for the Duluth Eskimos on Oct 23, 1927.
Dolphins 43, 49ers 17
In Santa Clara, California, Ryan Fitzpatrick threw for 350 yards and three touchdowns and Miami sent defending NFC champions San Francisco to their third straight home loss to open the season.
Fitzpatrick connected on a 3-yard TD pass to Adam Shaheen on the opening drive of the game for the Dolphins (2-3) and didn’t let up, quieting talk for at least another week that rookie Tua Tagovailoa should take over as starter.
The 49ers (2-3) are the team with questions at quarterback after Jimmy Garoppolo got pulled at halftime after throwing two interceptions. Garoppolo had missed the previous two games with a sprained ankle and never looked comfortable against a defense that entered allowing the most yards per dropback in the NFL.
C.J. Beathard replaced Garoppolo at
the half and threw one TD pass but it wasn’t enough to keep the Niners from falling again at home. San Francisco are 2-0 this season at MetLife Stadium with blowout wins over the Jets and Giants but have lost all three games at home.
Texans 30, Jaguars 14
In Houston, Deshaun Watson threw for a season-high 359 yards and three touchdowns and Houston got their first win of the season with a victory over Jacksonville in the wake of coach Bill O’Brien’s firing.
O’Brien, who was also the general manager, was let go on Monday after the Texans fell to 0-4 last weekend. Romeo Crennel was named interim coach and at 73 he become the oldest coach in NFL history, passing Hall of Famer George Halas, who was 72 in his last game with the Bears in 1967.
The Texans led 23-14 after a field goal with about 7½ minutes to go and got the ball back when Jacob Martin sacked Gardner Minshew and forced a
fumble. It was recovered by Whitney Mercilus, who fumbled on the return, but the Texans pounced on the ball to keep it.
Panthers 23, Falcons 16
In Atlanta, Teddy Bridgewater threw for 313 yards and two touchdowns, Juston Burris made a huge interception in the end zone and Carolina held on for a victory over winless Atlanta, which fired coach Dan Quinn later Sunday.
The Falcons dropped to 0-5 for the first time since 1997.
Carolina (3-2) built a 20-7 halftime lead behind Bridgewater’s touchdown passes of 57 yards to D.J. Moore and 3 yards to Mike Davis, drawing boos that could be heard even from a sparse, socially distanced crowd of 6,656 at 75,000-seat Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Ravens 27, Bengals 3
In Baltimore, the Baltimore Ravens sacked Joe Burrow seven times, forced the Bengals rookie into a pair of turnovers and effectively stuffed Cincinnati’s running game in a meticulous victory Sunday.
Baltimore stout defensive performance was punctuated by Patrick Queen’s 52-yard fumble return in the fourth quarter. It was the first NFL touchdown for Queen, who played with Burrow last year for national champions LSU.
Cardinals 30, Jets 10
In East Rutherford, NJ, Arizona came to MetLife Stadium and like every other team this season found a cureall for their woes with a game against a winless team from New York’s rotten football apple.
Kyler Murray ran for a touchdown and threw another to DeAndre Hopkins as the Cardinals snapped a twogame losing streak with a victory over the Jets, further putting coach Adam Gase’s future in jeopardy after an 0-5 start.
Murray had a 2-yard TD run and hit Hopkins on a 37-yard strike on a day the Cardinals (3-2) had 496 yards in total offense. Chase Edmonds scored on 29-yard run, Kenyan Drake tallied from a yard out and Zane Gonzalez kicked a 47-yard field goal. Arizona scored touchdowns on drives of 96, 89, 75 and 70 yards.