Vikings beat Packers 24-10 but lose Cousins to possible Achilles tendon injury
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Kirk Cousins threw a pair of touchdown passes before leaving with what the Vikings fear is an Achilles tendon injury, and Minnesota beat the slumping Green Bay Packers 24-10 on Sunday.
Cousins walked gingerly to the sideline after getting sacked on consecutive plays during a series that ended with Green Bay’s Karl Brooks blocking Greg Joseph’s 44-yard field-goal attempt. Jaren Hall, a rookie fifth-round pick from BYU, took over for the rest of the game.
This was the first Packers-Vikings matchup since 2006 in which both teams entered the game with losing records, but Minnesota (4-4) got back to .500 with its third straight victory.
Cousins, who went 23 of 31 for 274 yards, has never missed a game because of injury in his 12-year career.
Minnesota’s T.J. Hockenson and Jordan Addison had touchdown receptions less than two minutes apart early in the third quarter. Cam Akers gave the Vikings their first TD run of the season in the first quarter.
The Packers (2-5) started slowly again and lost their fourth straight. Green Bay has been outscored 73-9 in the first half of its past five games and trailed 24-3 in this one before Jordan Love connected with Romeo Doubs for a 1-yard touchdown on fourth down late in the third quarter. Jordan Love went 24 of 41 for 229 yards and threw one interception.
COWBOYS 43, RAMS 20
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Dak Prescott threw two of his four touchdown passes to CeeDee Lamb, DaRon Bland recorded his NFL-leading third interception return for a score, and Dallas beat Los Angeles.
Lamb had career highs with 12 catches for 158 yards, including another personal best with 122 yards before halftime.
Sam Williams blocked a punt for a safety before KaVontae Turpin returned the ensuing punt 63 yards to set up Lamb’s first TD grab, helping the Cowboys (5-2) to a 33-3 lead late in the first half.
Prescott finished the first half 17 of 21 for 225 yards. He ended up with his first 300-yard game of the season (25 of 31 for 304 yards with an interception).
Dallas won its 11th straight home game, matching the club’s longest since an 11-game run at Texas Stadium in 1991-92.
Matthew Stafford had a rough day for the Rams (3-5). The former Dallas high school standout injured a thumb on a failed 2-point conversion pass, and ended up with a bloody elbow after he caught a 2-point throw from Tutu Atwell.
Stafford finished 13 of 22 for 162 yards, one touchdown and the pick to Bland, who had an easy 30-yard return of a ball that was thrown behind Cooper Kupp to make it 17-3 in the first quarter.
EAGLES 38, COMMANDERS 31
LANDOVER, Md. (AP) — Jalen Hurts threw for four touchdowns while gutting through a knee injury, A.J. Brown had 130 yards receiving, and Philadelphia beat Washington to move to 7-1.
Hurts was limping and reluctant to run because of his gimpy left knee, but that didn’t stop him from completing 29 of 38 passes for 319 yards and the TD passes to Brown twice, DeVonta Smith and Julio Jones. Before kneeling twice to end the game, he had 7 yards rushing on two attempts — his fewest since Dec. 26, 2021.
One of those rushes was a “tush push” attempt when Hurts fumbled at the Washington 1-yard line, one of two Philadelphia turnovers inside the 5. Kenneth Gainwell lost a fumble at the 4 in the first half.
Brown became the first player in NFL history with 125-plus yards receiving in six consecutive games.
After allowing Sam Howell to complete 24 passes in the first half, Philadelphia’s defense responded down the stretch. Reed Blankenship intercepted Howell in the fourth quarter, and Haason Reddick sacked him with just over two minutes left — the Eagles’ first of the game — to set the stage for D’Andre Swift’s TD run.
Washington (3-5) lost for a fifth time in six games despite Howell throwing for a career-high 397 yards and four TDs behind a revamped offensive line.
DOLPHINS 31, PATRIOTS 17
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Tua Tagovailoa threw for 324 yards and three touchdowns, Jalen Ramsey intercepted a pass in his Dolphins debut, and Miami beat New England.
Miami won for the 16th time in its past 18 home games, and Tagovailoa moved to 6-0 in his career against Patriots coach Bill Belichick. The Dolphins, 6-2 for the first time since 2001, have a one-game lead over Buffalo in the AFC East.
Tagovailoa completed 30 of 45 passes and moved his league-leading yardage total to 2,416. Jaylen Waddle had seven catches for 121 yards and a touchdown, and Tyreek Hill had eight receptions for 112 yards and a score, becoming the first player in the Super Bowl era to top 1,000 receiving yards through eight games (he has 1,014).
Mac Jones had another uneven day for the Patriots (2-6), throwing for 161 yards on 19-of-29 passing with two touchdowns and one interception.
The Patriots trailed 24-10 midway through the fourth quarter when they drove inside the Miami 3 and scored on fourth down. Jones connected with JuJu Smith-Schuster for the receiver’s first touchdown this season to get the Patriots within seven.
The Dolphins responded with a 10-play, 75-yard drive, and Waddle waltzed into the end zone for an easy 31-yard score.
JETS 13, GIANTS 10, OT
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Greg Zuerlein kicked a 35-yard field goal on the final play of regulation and converted a 33-yarder with 6:09 left in overtime, and the Jets rallied to beat their New York rivals.
The Jets (4-3) moved 46 yards in six plays with the game-winning kick set up by a pass interference penalty against Adoree Jackson that gave them a first down at the 15. Zuerlein came out immediately and put his kick just inside the left upright for the Jets’ third straight win.
The Giants (2-6) gave up the tying field goal by allowing the Jets to move 58 yards in four plays without a timeout in the final 24 seconds. Zach Wilson hit Garrett Wilson and Allen Lazard on consecutive 29-yard passes, allowing the Jets to spike the ball with 1 second to play.
Practice squad quarterback Tommy DeVito, who took over for an injured Tyrod Taylor (ribs) in the second quarter, gave the Giants a 10-7 lead with a 6-yard run to cap a 75-yard drive on the opening possession of the second half.
Saquon Barkley finished with 128 yards on 36 carries, but the Giants finished with minus-9 net yards passing, the fewest in a game since the Browns had minus-9 against the Jaguars on Dec. 3, 2000.
Wilson was 17 of 36 for 240 yards. Garrett Wilson had seven catches for 100 yards.
Kayvon Thibodeaux had three sacks for the Giants.
TITANS 28, FALCONS 23
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Rookie Will Levis threw for 238 yards and four touchdowns in his NFL debut, and Tennessee scored its most points since 2021 in beating Atlanta.
Levis became the seventh rookie quarterback to start this season, the most rookies to start in the first eight weeks since the NFL merger, excluding the 1987 strike season. Levis joined Marcus Mariota (2015) as the only quarterbacks to throw at least four TD passes in their NFL debuts — both for the Titans — since the merger in 1970.
Two-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons had two of Tennessee’s six sacks, including a strip-sack of Desmond Ridder that the Titans (3-4) turned into a touchdown. Harold Landry had two sacks as well.
DeAndre Hopkins had three TD catches to match his career high and finished with 128 yards on four receptions. Nick Westbrook-Ikhine caught Levis’ fourth TD pass, a 33-yarder in the fourth quarter. Derrick Henry ran for 101 yards.
The Falcons (4-4) have lost two of their past three, dropped to 1-3 on the road and fell into a first-place tie with New Orleans in the NFC South.
Ridder was evaluated for a concussion and cleared after throwing for 71 yards in the first half. The Falcons switched to Taylor Heinicke in the third quarter. He finished with 175 yards passing and drove Atlanta to points on four of his first five possessions. He pulled Atlanta within 28-23 with 3:46 left with an 8-yard TD pass to Scotty Miller.
The Falcons got the ball back with 2:19 left and no timeouts but turned it over on downs.
JAGUARS 20, STEELERS 10
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Trevor Lawrence threw for 292 yards with a touchdown and an interception, and Jacksonville beat Pittsburgh for its fifth straight victory.
The Jaguars (6-2) strengthened their hold on the AFC South behind a defense that kept Pittsburgh’s erratic offense in check and more than enough offense to overcome mistakes that let the Steelers (4-3) hang around well into the second half.
Lawrence broke it open with a 56-yard strike to a streaking Travis Etienne with 5:14 left in the third quarter that helped Jacksonville build a 14-point lead. The Jaguars won at Acrisure Stadium for the sixth time in their last seven trips.
Etienne ran for 79 yards and caught three passes for 70 yards and the score, a play in which he streaked past rookie cornerback Joey Porter Jr. and raced to the end zone. Evan Engram hauled in 10 receptions for 88 yards as Jacksonville heads into its bye week.
Pittsburgh played the second half without quarterback Kenny Pickett, who exited late in the first half with a rib injury after getting drilled by defensive end Adam Gotsis. Mitch Trubisky came on and threw for 139 yards, including a 22-yard touchdown pass to George Pickens late in the third quarter, but he was also intercepted twice.
PANTHERS 15, TEXANS 13
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Bryce Young outdueled C.J. Stroud in a battle of the NFL’s top two draft picks, and Eddy Pineiro made a 23-yard field goal as time expired to give Carolina its first win of the season.
Young, the No. 1 overall pick, threw for 235 yards and a touchdown. He led a winning 15-play, 86-yard drive that took more than six minutes and helped the Panthers (1-6) snap a 56-game losing streak in games they trailed at any point during the fourth quarter, the longest in NFL since at least 1991.
Carolina’s last fourth-quarter comeback win was Oct. 21, 2018, against Philadelphia.
Stroud, the second overall pick, was 16 of 24 for 140 yards and ran for a touchdown for Houston (3-4).
Young overcame six sacks and three drops by his wide receivers. He had his two longest completions of the season — 40 and 31 yards.
Adam Thielen had eight catches for 72 yards for Carolina. Tommy Tremble caught a touchdown pass for the second straight game as the Panthers won in their first game with offensive coordinator Thomas Brown as play-caller.
SAINTS 38, COLTS 27
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Derek Carr threw for 310 yards and two touchdowns in a bounce-back performance, Taysom Hill and Alvin Kamara scored two TDs apiece, and New Orleans beat Indianapolis.
The Saints (4-4) snapped a two-game skid with their fifth consecutive win in the series — a streak that began with their lone Super Bowl victory after the 2009 season — and moved into a share of the NFC South lead with Atlanta.
Carr, who spent this week answering questions about scolding teammates on the sideline and shouting at offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael, had a strong performance against Indy’s young, battered secondary. He went 19 of 27 without an interception.
Rashid Shaheed caught three passes for a career-best 153 yards and one TD, and for the second time this year, he helped seal the win with a long third-down catch in the final minutes.
Indy (3-5) has lost three straight and four of its five home games. Jonathan Taylor rushed for 95 yards, and Zack Moss added 66 yards rushing and a touchdown. Gardner Minshew went 23 of 41 for 213 yards, with two TDs and one interception.
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