MINNEAPOLIS — Jalen Hurts gave his lagging offence a jolt by throwing for 326 yards and three touchdowns, Jalyx Hunt returned an interception for a score, and the Philadelphia Eagles rebounded from back-to-back losses by hanging on to beat the Minnesota Vikings 28-22 on Sunday.
Hurts went 19-for-23 in the highlight-reel revival of the passing attack that helped the Eagles (5-2) win the Super Bowl last season, hitting A.J. Brown for two touchdowns and DeVonta Smith for a career-high 183 receiving yards that included a 79-yard score.
Facing third-and-nine from their 44 with 1:45 left and the Vikings (3-3) still holding two timeouts, Hurts dropped back and dropped a 45-yard rainbow into Brown's arms to seal it after he beat former teammate Isaiah Rodgers with a slick double move up the sideline. Rodgers, in his first season with the Vikings, also got beat on Smith's touchdown.
Carson Wentz went 26-for-42 for 313 yards on an erratic afternoon, getting picked off twice in his own territory and struggling on the other end while the Vikings had to settle for Will Reichard's field goals on five of six possessions inside the 20.
CHIEFS 31, RAIDERS 0
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Patrick Mahomes threw for 286 yards and three touchdowns in less than three quarters of work, Rashee Rice caught two of the TD passes in his return from a six-game suspension, and the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Las Vegas Raiders 31-0 on Sunday.
Rice finished with seven catches for 42 yards in his first game since Week 4 last season, when he tore his ACL in a collision with Mahomes. He made it back from the injury in time to participate in the off-season and training camp, then was suspended before the start of the season for his role in a high-speed car crash on a Dallas highway in March 2024.
Rice's return sparked an offence that scored on its first five possessions and finished with 434 yards in all.
It didn't help Las Vegas to play most of the game without star pass rusher Maxx Crosby, who left with a knee injury.
BROWNS 31, DOLPHINS 6
CLEVELAND — Quinshon Judkins scored three touchdowns and the Cleveland Browns snapped a three-game losing streak with a 31-6 victory over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.
Judkins, the 36th overall pick in April's draft, had 84 yards rushing on 25 carries. He is the first Browns running back with three rushing scores in a game since Nick Chubb in 2022.
Cormerback Tyson Campbell, acquired from the Jacksonville Jaguars on Oct. 9, returned an interception for a touchdown on the first play of the second half as the Browns (2-5) got over the 17-point hump for the first time in 12 games.
Rayshawn Jenkins added an interception and fumble recovery as the Browns had four takeaways in a game for the first time in nearly two seasons.
Dillon Gabriel completed 13-of-18 for 116 yards in a game in which passing was at a premium due to heavy rain and wind during the first half. It was the first home start for the rookie third-round pick, who got his first NFL win.
PATRIOTS 31, TITANS 13
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Drake Maye threw for 222 yards and two touchdowns and the New England Patriots beat the Tennessee Titans 31-13 Sunday in coach Mike Vrabel's first game against the franchise that fired him in January 2024.
The Patriots (5-2) won their fourth straight to keep them atop the AFC East and spoil Mike McCoy's debut as Tennessee's interim head coach.
Fans chanted “Vrabel, Vrabel” as the clock ticked down.
With a 135.9 passer rating, Maye became only the third player under the age of 24 with at least 200 yards passing and a passer rating of 100 or higher in six straight games in NFL history. He joined Patrick Mahomes (seven consecutive in 2018) and Pro Football Hall of Famer Dan Marino (six in 1984).
BEARS 26, SAINTS 14
CHICAGO — Dennis Allen’s defence dominated his former team, and the Chicago Bears beat the New Orleans Saints 26-14 on Sunday for their fourth straight win.
Allen, the Bears’ defensive coordinator, had to like what he saw in his first game against the Saints since they fired him as head coach midway through last season after 2.5 years. The Bears forced four turnovers and sacked Spencer Rattler four times.
Montez Sweat set the tone with an early strip-sack that led to a field goal. Nahshon Wright set up the game’s first touchdown with a long interception return, and the Bears (4-2) overcame a spotty performance by Caleb Williams to match their best streak since the 2018 NFC North championship team closed the regular season with four straight wins. They also had a much easier time after winning 25-24 at both Las Vegas and Washington.
New Orleans (1-6) continued its worst start since opening 1-7 in 1999 under then-coach Mike Ditka, the Hall of Famer and Super Bowl-winning coach with the Bears.
Williams completed 15-of-26 passes for 172 yards and an interception. But Chicago got huge contributions from the running backs.
PANTHERS 13, JETS 6
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Bryce Young threw a touchdown pass before leaving with an ankle injury, Jaycee Horn had two interceptions of Tyrod Taylor after New York benched Justin Fields and the Carolina Panthers beat the winless Jets 13-6 in a snoozefest Sunday for their third straight victory.
It marked the first time since Young was drafted with the No. 1 overall pick in 2023 that the Panthers (4-3) have a three-game winning streak with him as their starting quarterback — but he was unable to finish this one.
And now the concern is if Young will be out for any extended time.
Young went to the locker room late in the third quarter, appearing to walk with a slight limp. The Panthers announced his return was questionable before ruling him out.
RAMS 35, JAGUARS 7
LONDON — Matthew Stafford won't get knighted for his record-setting performance at Wembley Stadium, but he wondered if he still gets a prize.
The Los Angeles Rams quarterback threw five touchdown passes in a 35-7 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.
That's a first for an NFL international game.
“Do I get a sword or something?” a smiling Stafford asked.
No, but Stafford and the Rams do get to fly home with a 5-2 record — their best start since their Super Bowl-winning season in 2021.
The previous time he threw five touchdowns in a game was on Thanksgiving in 2015 in Detroit's 45-14 win over the Eagles.
COLTS 38, CHARGERS 24
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Daniel Jones threw for 288 yards and two scores, Jonathan Taylor had his third three-touchdown game of the season and the Indianapolis Colts beat the Los Angeles Chargers 38-24 on Sunday for their NFL-leading sixth win.
The Colts (6-1) also snapped a five-game skid in Los Angeles after losing to the Rams at SoFi Stadium last month. They hadn't beaten the Chargers, Rams or now-Las Vegas Raiders in L.A. since 1986. Overall, the Colts hadn't beaten the Chargers since Sept. 25, 2016, in Indianapolis.
Off to their best start since 2009, the AFC South-leading Colts led 23-3 at halftime while holding the Chargers to 10 rushing yards on six carries. The Colts scored about two minutes into the game on Taylor's 23-yard TD run and never looked back.
Jones was 23-of-34. Taylor had 16 carries for 94 yards.
The Chargers (4-3) never led while losing for the third time in four games despite a career-high 423 passing yards and three touchdowns by Justin Herbert. His 37 completions set a franchise record.
BRONCOS 33, GIANTS 32
DENVER — Wil Lutz kicked a 39-yard field goal as time expired, lifting the Denver Broncos to a thrilling 33-32 win Sunday over the stunned New York Giants, who took a shutout into the fourth quarter.
The Broncos' improbable comeback snapped a streak in which NFL teams had won 1,602 consecutive games when leading by 18 points in the final six minutes of a game.
The Broncos (5-2) trailed 26-8 with just over five minutes remaining but scored on a seven-yard Bo Nix scamper, R.J. Harvey's two-yard catch, an 18-yard keeper by Nix and Lutz's game-winner after Jaxson Dart seemingly broke the Broncos' hearts with a one-yard TD with 37 seconds left that gave New York a 32-30 lead.
Jude McAtamney missed his second extra point of the afternoon, however, and after Tyler Badie returned the kickoff 19 yards to the 23, Nix found Marvin Mims for 29 yards and Courtland Sutton for 22.
COWBOYS 44, COMMANDERS 22
Dak Prescott threw for three touchdowns, including a 74-yarder to CeeDee Lamb, DaRon Bland returned an interception 68 yards for a score after Jayden Daniels left with a hamstring injury and the Dallas Cowboys beat the Washington Commanders 44-22 on Sunday.
Lamb had 110 yards on five catches after a high ankle sprain kept him out of the previous three games, when George Pickens sparkled without his new sidekick, then had just as much of an impact with them sharing the spotlight again.
Pickens' 44-yard catch keyed a 35-second touchdown drive for a 27-15 lead in the final minute of the first half after Daniels had scored on a one-yard run with 45 seconds to go before the break.
Javonte Williams ran for 116 yards and a touchdown for Dallas (3-3-1).
PACKERS 27, CARDINALS 23
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Josh Jacobs ran for a go-ahead, one-yard touchdown with 1:50 remaining, Micah Parsons had a career-high three sacks and the Green Bay Packers rallied from an early 10-point deficit to beat the Arizona Cardinals 27-23 on Sunday.
Green Bay (4-1-1) fought through a sluggish first half to win its first road game of the season. The Packers had their share of adversity this weekend — the team’s travel was reportedly delayed roughly five hours on Saturday because of mechanical issues with their airplane in Wisconsin.
Arizona (2-5) had a chance to win the game on its final offensive drive but Jacoby Brissett's fourth-down pass was batted away in the end zone with six seconds left. Brissett — filling in for the injured Kyler Murray — threw for 279 yards and two touchdowns.
The Cardinals have lost five straight games by a combined 13 points. They're just the third NFL team to lose by four points or less in five straight, joining the 2017 San Francisco 49ers and 1984 Cleveland Browns.
49ERS 20, FALCONS 10
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Christian McCaffrey had his first 100-yard rushing game since 2023 and the short-handed San Francisco 49ers finally delivered a strong ground game to beat the Atlanta Falcons 20-10 on Sunday night.
The usually run-focused 49ers (5-2) had struggled to generate much on the ground all season before getting back to their old style against the Falcons (3-3) with help from the return of tight end George Kittle.
McCaffrey ran for 129 yards and two touchdowns and had 201 yards overall from scrimmage for his first 200-yard game since 2019. The Niners won for the fourth time in five starts this season with backup quarterback Mac Jones playing in place of Brock Purdy.
San Francisco's defense came up big as well despite losing All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner to an ankle injury last week and playing without star edge rusher Nick Bosa.
Jones threw for only 152 yards with an interception after averaging a league-high 313 yards through the air in his first four starts.
Penix finished 21-for-38 for 241 yards with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Robinson, but the Falcons' offense managed just two scores on nine drives.
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