HIGHLIGHTS Dallas runs over Carolina’s top-ranked ‘D’
Ezekiel Elliott and the Dallas Cowboys powered through the NFL’S No. 1 defense, answering a little history from the legs of Carolina quarterback Sam Darnold.
Elliott carried 20 times for 143 yards in the two-time rushing champion’s first triple-digit game of the season, Dak Prescott threw four touchdown passes and the Cowboys beat the Panthers 36-28 on Sunday.
Elliott scored the first touchdown as the Cowboys rolled up 245 yards on the ground after the Panthers allowed just 135 total in the first three games while also leading the league in passing yards and total yards. Tony Pollard added 67 yards.
“They’re a good defense,” Elliott said after finishing with his most yards since 2018. “They bring a lot of different fronts. They run a lot of different things so they’re going to change it up on you. They haven’t seen an offense like us this year.”
Leading the Panthers in their first full game without injured star running back Christian Mccaffrey, Darnold had two rushing touchdowns to become the first NFL quarterback with at least five TDS on the ground in the first four games.
Chiefs 42, Eagles 30: Patrick Mahomes threw five touchdown passes, including three to Tyreek Hill, and Kansas City beat Philadelphia.
Andy Reid returned to Philadelphia and earned his 100th career win with the Chiefs, becoming the first coach in NFL history to win 100 games with two teams. Reid’s 140 victories with the Eagles are the most in franchise history.
Jalen Hurts threw for a career-high 387 yards and two TDS but Philadelphia couldn’t keep up with Kansas City’s high-powered offense. The Eagles had three touchdowns negated by penalty and settled for field goals three times inside the red zone.
Washington 34, Falcons 30: Taylor Heinicke ad-libbed a 30-yard touchdown pass to J.D. Mckissic with 33 seconds remaining, rallying Washington over Atlanta.
Returning to the metro area where he grew up, Heinicke completed 23 of 33 passes for 290 yards and three touchdowns — two of them in the final 3:52 to pull it out for Washington.
Browns 14, Vikings 7: Myles Garrett and the Cleveland defense produced another dominant performance, giving coach Kevin Stefanski a win over his old team as the Browns beat Minnesota.
Nick Chubb had 21 carries for 100 yards, Kareem Hunt ran 14 times for 69 yards and a TD and Chase Mclaughlin made two critical field goals to help offset a rocky game for Baker Mayfield.
Mayfield went for 15 for 33 for 155 yards. Minnesota’s Kirk Cousins was 20 for 38 for 203 yards.
Bears 24, Lions 14: Rookie Justin Fields brushed off a nightmarish first start, and Chicago bounced back from one of the worst offensive performances the NFL has seen to beat winless Detroit.
Fields and the Bears were in much better form coming off a brutal loss at Cleveland last week. They rang up 373 yards after being held by the Browns to 47, the ninth-lowest total in league history. Fields looked more comfortable, completing 11 of 17 passes for 209 yards and an interception in his second start with Andy Dalton sidelined because of a bone bruise in his left knee.
Colts 27, Dolphins 17: Carson Wentz threw a pair of touchdown passes to Mo Alie-cox, Jonathan Taylor rushed for 103 yards and a score and Indianapolis got its first win of the season by topping sputtering Miami.
Wentz completed 24 of 32 passes for 228 yards for the Colts, who avoided what would have been their first 0-4 start since 2011. They spent most of the day frustrating former Indianapolis quarterback Jacoby Brissett, who completed 20 of 30 passes but threw for 123 of his 199 yards in the final quarter.
Cardinals 37, Rams 20: Kyler Murray passed for 268 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 39 more yards in a virtuoso performance, and Arizona extended its longest unbeaten start since 2012 with a victory over the Los Angeles Rams.
A.J. Green caught a 41-yard TD pass, Chase Edmonds ran for 120 yards and James Conner rushed for two short scores for Arizona, which finally beat Sean Mcvay for the first time in nine tries.
Seahawks 28, 49ers 21: Russell Wilson overcame a shaky start to throw for two TDS and run for a third and Seattle rebounded from back-toback losses by beating San Francisco.
The Seahawks went three-and-out on their first five drives of the game and appeared in danger of their first three-game losing streak in a season in nine seasons with Wilson at quarterback.
But he connected on a 12-yard TD pass to DK Metcalf late in the first half and then produced two TDS in a span of less than a minute in the third quarter with a 16-yard run and 13-yard pass to Freddie Swain around a fumbled kickoff.
Ravens 23, Broncos 7: Lamar Jackson threw for 316 yards, including a 49-yard touchdown pass to a diving Marquis Brown, and Baltimore used a relentless defense to swat Denver from the ranks of the unbeaten Sunday.
The Ravens, who won their third consecutive game following an OT loss to Las Vegas in the opener, knocked Broncos QB Teddy Bridgewater from the game with a concussion on his final pass of the first half. Rookie linebacker Odafe Oweh wasn’t flagged for hitting Bridgewater in the chin.
Packers 27, Steelers 17: Aaron Rodgers connected with Randall Cobb for two touchdowns and ran for another score as Green Bay won its third straight.
Cobb caught a 23-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter to put the Packers ahead for good and scored again on a 1-yard reception that made it 27-10 in the third period. That short throw was the 420th TD pass of Rodgers’ career, tying Dan Marino for sixth all-time.
Rodgers went 20 of 36 for 248 yards and scored the Packers’ first points on a 4-yard rush.
Associated Press