The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Two late FGs rally Chiefs past Vikings
Kansas City, Mo.
Harrison Butker watched his 44-yard field goal split the uprights, the clocks inside Arrowhead Stadium reading zero, and the Chiefs kicker turned and sprinted the other way in celebration. The first person to join him? Patrick Mahomes. The reigning league MVP, who missed his second straight game while recovering from a dislocated kneecap, looked just fine as he joined Butker and the rest of his Kansas City teammates in a midfield mob after their heart-stopping 26-23 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.
“I was sprinting down, maybe just from my soccer background growing up — that’s what you do when you score,” said Butker, who thought the winner may have been tipped. “When I was going I saw Patrick, and I wanted to embrace him and I’m like, ‘Nah, he can’t get hurt.’”
Matt Moore started in Mahomes’ place and threw for 275 yards and a touchdown, and he made the crucial plays when they mattered. He hit favorite target Tyreek Hill to convert a key third down and set up Butker’s career best-tying 54yard field goal to knot the game, then found Hill again a couple minutes later to make the winner a little more manageable.
“I thought, Matt, that was a gutsy performance by him,” said Chiefs coach Andy Reid, whose team snapped a three-game skid at Arrowhead Stadium. “He took a couple of licks there and he got back up and finished. But just him calming the storm I thought was good.”
Hill finished with six catches for 140 yards for the Chiefs (6-3), including a spectacular TD grab, while Damien Williams ran for 125 yards — most of it on a 91-yard touchdown run.
Kirk Cousins threw for 220 yards and three touchdowns for the Vikings (6-3), though he struggled to deal with the Chiefs’ blitzes late in the game. Dalvin Cook was held to 71 yards rushing while top wide receiver Stefon Diggs had a single catch for four yards.
“This was a great win, a great team win,” Hill said. “We all did our thing, and this team needed this victory because the vibe in the locker room the last few weeks has been down. This is great, especially against a great team like this that has got a great quarterback, great coach, great team, period. So, this was a great win for us.” Seahawks 40, Buccaneers 34 (OT): Russell Wilson hit Jacob Hollister on a 10-yard TD pass on the opening possession of overtime, and Seattle rallied for a win over Tampa Bay. Wilson tied his career high with five touchdown passes as Seattle overcame Jason Myers’ missed 40-yard field-goal attempt on the final play of regulation and never gave Tampa Bay a chance in the extra session.
Raiders 31, Lions 24: Derek Carr threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to rookie Hunter Renfrow with 2:04 remaining and Karl Joseph broke up a fourth-down pass in the end zone with 3 seconds left to boost Oakland. Carr’s clutch pass to Renfrow gave Oakland the win to start a crucial three-game homestand. Detroit’s Matthew Stafford threw for 406 yards and three touchdowns but came up short at the end.
Eagles 22, Bears 14: Carson Wentz threw for 239 yards and one TD, Jordan Howard ran for 82 yards and a score and Philadelphia held on for a victory. The Bears had just 9 yards in the first half and trailed 19-0 before David Montgomery had a pair of 1-yard TD runs to make it a onepossession game. But Philadelphia put it away with 16-play, 69-yard drive capped by Jake Elliott’s 38-yard field goal.
Chargers 26, Packers 11: Melvin Gordon scored two TDs, Michael Badgley kicked four field goals and Los Angeles dominated. The Chargers snapped a three-game home losing streak as the offense moved the ball consistently in Shane Steichen’s first game as coordinator, and the defense kept Aaron Rodgers and the Packers out of the end zone until midway through the fourth quarter.
Steelers 26, Colts 24: Adam Vinatieri missed a go-ahead 43-yard field goal with 1:14 remaining, helping Pittsburgh escape. Vinatieri, whose 55-yard kick last week against Denver gave the Colts their third straight win, pulled his attempt left as the Colts fell out of first place in the AFC South. Pittsburgh’s Mason Rudolph threw for 191 yards. Indy QB Jacoby Brissett left early with a left knee injury.
Panthers 30, Titans 20: Christian McCaffrey had 166 yards from scrimmage and scored three TDs, and Carolina bounced back from an embarrassing defeat with a victory over Tennessee. Kyle Allen, who threw three interceptions in last week’s 51-13 loss to San Francisco, threw TD passes of 7 yards to McCaffrey and 12 yards to Curtis Samuel to improve to 5-1 this season as Carolina’s starting QB.
Broncos 24, Browns 19: Fourth-year quarterback Brandon Allen sparked Denver’s stagnant offense, throwing for two touchdowns in his first career NFL start and leading the Broncos past stumbling Cleveland. Allen threw a 21-yard pass to Courtland Sutton and a 75-yarder to rookie tight end Noah Fant, and Phillip Lindsay ran nine times for 92 yards and a TD.
Texans 26, Jaguars 3: Deshaun Watson’s most impressive throw went backward — a flip under pressure to running back Carlos Hyde, whose 7-yard gain set up Houston’s first TD in its runaway over Jacksonville. The rugby-style pitch was spot-on perfect for a game in London, where the locals were still recovering from England’s 20-point loss in the World Cup final on Saturday.