Contending teams suffer surprise Sunday defeats
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Greg Joseph made a 29-yard field goal as time expired to give the Minnesota Vikings a 34-31 victory over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, finishing a classic back-and-forth with Aaron Rodgers by making sure the three-time NFL MVP didn’t get to touch the ball last.
Kirk Cousins passed for 341 yards and three touchdowns for the Vikings (5-5), who watched yet another game come down to the final play after Rodgers threw three of his four touchdown passes in the second half.
Unable to practice much at all this week because of a toe injury, after missing much of the first half of the month with COVID19, Rodgers finished 23 for 33 for a season-high 385 yards for Green Bay (83).
Justin Jefferson had eight receptions for 169 yards and two scores, including a thirddown catch against rookie Eric Stokes that Cousins delivered for a 23-yard touchdown while being decked on a blitz by Darnell Savage.
TEXANS 22, TITANS 13
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tyrod Taylor ran for two touchdowns and threw for 107 yards and Houston snapped the NFL’s longest active skid, beating Tennessee to end the league’s longest winning streak.
The Texans (2-8) came in having lost eight straight since winning their season opener and hadn’t scored a TD on the road since Sept. 19.
Desmond King had two of the Texans’ four interceptions — three in the fourth quarter to snuff out the Titans’ attempted rally. Houston turned those and a fumbled punt into 13 points. The Texans also had two sacks.
The Titans (8-3) snapped their six-game winning streak with their first loss since Oct. 3. That came to the then-winless New York Jets.
CHIEFS 19, COWBOYS 9
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Clyde Edwards-Helaire ran for 63 yards and a touchdown in his return from injured reserve, Chris Jones and the Kansas City defense made life miserable for Dak Prescott, and the Chiefs beat Dallas.
Patrick Mahomes was 23 of 37 for 260 yards with an interception and a fumble for Kansas City, but he was bailed out by a defense that played its best game of the year. Charvarius Ward picked off Prescott in the end zone near the end of the first half, and Chris Jones had 3 1/2 sacks while forcing and recovering a fumble.
The result: The Chiefs (74) improved to 4-0 against the NFC East with their fourth straight win overall.
Prescott was held to 216 yards passing and two interceptions for the Cowboys (73), though he was missing a whole lot of help. Left tackle Tyron Smith missed his third straight game with an ankle injury, Amari Cooper tested positive for COVID-19 and fellow wide receiver CeeDee Lamb sustained a concussion just before halftime.
COLTS 41, BILLS 15
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Jonathan Taylor set a franchise record by scoring five times and took over the NFL lead in both yards rushing and touchdowns as Indianapolis routed Buffalo.
Taylor scored three times in the first half, including a 23-yard catch, en route to the first fivetouchdown game in the league this season.
Taylor finished with a season-high 185 yards rushing and four touchdowns and has 1,122 yards this season after beginning the day tied for the league lead with the injured Derrick Henry of Tennessee. Taylor has 14 touchdowns, moving ahead of Arizona’s James Conner, who began the day with 12.
Taylor topped 100 yards from scrimmage and scored a touchdown for the eighth consecutive game, matching an NFL record set by Lydell Mitchell of the Colts in 197576 and the Chargers’ LaDainian Tomlinson in 2006.
The Colts (6-5) continued their roll by improving to 5-1 in their past six games. Indianapolis had gone 0-5 against opponents who made the playoffs last year, including two losses to AFC South rival Tennessee.
The Bills (6-4) fell a halfgame behind New England in the AFC East.
RAVENS 16, BEARS 13
CHICAGO (AP) — Subbing for star quarterback Lamar Jackson, Tyler Huntley led a winning drive capped by Devonta Freeman’s 3-yard run with 22 seconds remaining, and Baltimore beat Chicago.
Jackson was sidelined by illness for the AFC North-leading Ravens (7-3), who ruled him out 90 minutes before kickoff. The 2019 MVP was a full participant in practice Friday after being held out the previous two days. Coach John Harbaugh said Wednesday the illness was not COVID-19.
Justin Tucker kicked three field goals for the Ravens, who rebounded from a loss to Miami. The Bears (3-7) lost their fifth straight.
Chicago’s Andy Dalton threw two touchdown passes after Justin Fields left the game with a rib injury in the third quarter.
CARDINALS 23, SEAHAWKS 13
SEATTLE (AP) — Colt McCoy was outstanding filling in for Kyler Murray, throwing for 328 yards and two touchdowns, Arizona beat Seattle.
For the second straight season, McCoy was a backup thrust into a starting role at Seattle and walked away with a victory. Last year, McCoy was with the New York Giants. This season, it was with Murray missing a third straight game due to an ankle injury.
McCoy went 35 of 44 and outplayed Seattle’s Russell Wilson, who made his first home start since undergoing finger surgery. McCoy threw touchdown passes of 1 and 2 yards to Zach Ertz in the first half, got a bit of luck in the third quarter when a potential interception was overturned on replay, and had his first 300-yard passing game since 2014.
WASHINGTON 27, PANTHERS 21
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Taylor Heinicke threw for 206 yards and three touchdowns against the league’s top-ranked pass defense, and Washington beat Carolina in Cam Newton’s return to Bank of America Stadium.
Terry McLaurin had five catches for 103 yards and a touchdown for Washington (4-6) and former Panthers coach Ron Rivera, who won in his return to Carolina.
Newton, making his first start since signing a one-year contract to return to the Panthers, threw for 189 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a 24-yard score. But Newton’s final two potential gamewinning drives ended when the Panthers turned the ball over on downs. Daron Payne and James Smith-Williams sacked Newton with 1:11 left to seal the game.
Christian McCaffrey combined for 119 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown for the Panthers (5-6).
After Newton connected on a 27-yard touchdown pass to McCaffrey down the seam to tie the game at 21 midway through the fourth quarter, Heinicke led Washington into Carolina territory behind a fourth-and-2 completion to tight John Bates. That set up former Panther Joey Slye’s goahead 36yard field goal with 4:13 left in the game.
Slye added another field goal after Carolina turned the ball over on downs.
EAGLES 40, SAINTS 29
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jalen Hurts ran for three touchdowns, Darius Slay returned an interception for a score and Philadelphia beat New Orleans.
The Eagles (5-6) have won two in a row for the first time this season and rookie coach Nick Sirianni earned his first victory at home in five tries.
The Saints (5-5) dropped their third straight since losing quarterback Jameis Winston to a season-ending ACL injury. Trevor Siemian threw three touchdown passes and two picks and ran for a score without several missing starters around him.
The Eagles led 20-7 with under a minute left in the second quarter when Slay stepped in front of Siemian’s pass intended for Deonte Harris and returned it 51 yards for his third TD in four games.
Facing the NFL’s topranked defense, the Eagles racked up 242 yards on the ground.