Rookie kicker saves Miami in OT thriller
Kicker Jason Sanders turned teammate Kenyan Drake’s fumble into a footnote.
Drake lost the ball when the Miami Dolphins were on the verge of victory, but thanks to Sanders it didn’t matter. The rookie made a 47-yard field goal on the final play of overtime Sunday for a 31-28 victory over the Chicago Bears.
Miami’s Brock Osweiler threw for 380 yards and three touchdowns subbing for Ryan Tannehill, who sat out because of an injured throwing shoulder.
“Today felt like a heavyweight title fight,” Osweiler said. “What this team did today was so special. Nothing was perfect, but in the end we found a way.”
The Dolphins took the kickoff to start overtime and marched 74 yards, but Drake fumbled just before crossing the goal line. Eddie Goldman recovered for the Bears.
They drove to the Miami 35, but former Dolphin Cody Parkey was wide right on a 53-yard field goal try with 2 minutes left. Drake then had a 15-yard reception to help set up Sanders’ field goal.
When the ball sailed between the uprights, Drake sank to both knees on the field and bowed his head in gratitude and relief.
“That’s the great thing about this sport and this team: When you’re down, you’re never out,” Drake said.
Albert Wilson turned two short passes into long touchdowns in the fourth quarter for the Dolphins, who overcame an 11-point deficit in the final 16 minutes of regulation.
“It was definitely a roller coaster,” Wilson said. Miami (4-2), which began the day tied with New England for the AFC East lead, ended a two-game losing streak. Chicago (3-2) had a three-game winning streak snapped but remained atop the NFC North.
“Games like this sting,” receiver Allen Robinson said. “It stings for everybody.”
Cowboys 40, Jaguars 7: Dak Prescott threw two touchdown passes to Cole Beasley to spark the previously punchless Dallas passing game and rushed for a career-high 82 yards in the Cowboys’ blowout of Jacksonville. The Cowboys rolled to a 24-0 halftime lead, with Beasley getting his first two touchdowns of the season against the league’s No. 1 pass defense.
Redskins 23, Panthers 17: Josh Norman intercepted former teammate Cam Newton and forced a fumble to lead Washington. Newton threw for 275 yards and two touchdowns on 27 of 40 passing and rushed for 43 yards in a turnover-marred loss. He engineered a late drive that got the Panthers to the Washington 16-yard line, but threw incomplete on second, third and fourth downs.
Rams 23, Broncos 20: Todd Gurley rushed for a career-high 208 yards and two TDs on 28 carries. The Broncos pulled to 23-20 on Case Keenum’s 1-yard dart to Demaryius Thomas with 1:22 remaining. Rams receiver Robert Woods, however, knocked Brandon McManus’ onside kick out of bounds, and the Rams ran out the clock with Jared Goff (14 of 28 for 201 yards) twice taking a knee.
Steelers 28, Bengals 21: James Conner ran for 111 yards and a pair of scores on the eve of Le’Veon Bell’s possible return, and Antonio Brown turned a short pass into a 31-yard TD with 10 seconds left as Pittsburgh pulled off another improbable comeback in Cincinnati. The Steelers are 16-2 at Paul Brown Stadium during Marvin Lewis’ 16 seasons as Bengals coach, including a pair of playoff wins.
Vikings 27, Cardinals 17: Latavius Murray helped Minnesota revive its running attack with 155 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries, wearing down Arizona. Kirk Cousins joined the fun for the Vikings with an option-style run across the goal line in the third quarter, before throwing to Adam Thielen for a score on the following possession. Thielen had 11 receptions for 123 yards.
Chargers 38, Browns 14: Philip Rivers threw two touchdown passes to Tyrell Williams — the veteran quarterback threw a block — and Melvin Gordon had three TD runs as Los Angeles banged around rookie Baker Mayfield and Cleveland. Rivers continued one of the best starts of his 15-year career, leading the Chargers to their third straight win. Rivers finished 11 of 20 for 207 yards.
Falcons 34, Buccaneers 29: Jameis Winston and the Bucs almost pulled off a miracle on the final play. With no timeouts, the quarterback took off up the middle of the field. When he was about to be tackled at the 10, he pitched toward Adam Humphries, who couldn’t hang on. The ball skipped to Mike Evans, who flung it at DeSean Jackson at the 5. Jackson missed and it rolled out of bounds to end the game. Seahawks 27, Raiders 3: Russell Wilson threw for three TDs, including one off a botched snap. Chris Carson rushed for 59 yards and rookie Rashaad Penny gained an additional 43 for Seattle, which played to a vociferously supportive crowd — a London-record 84,922 were in attendance. Oakland QB Derek Carr left with an apparent left arm injury with 8:52 remaining. Ravens 21, Titans 0: Baltimore set a franchise record for sacks as they shut out Tennessee. Za’Darious Smith had three sacks and Patrick Onwuasor had two for the Ravens, who had six sacks by halftime. They finished a sack off the NFL record for a game shared by five teams. Joe Flacco threw for 238 yards and a touchdown for Baltimore. Alex Collins scored on TD runs of 13 and 2 yards.