MINNEAPOLIS — Sam Darnold threw for 347 yards and five touchdowns, both career highs, and the Minnesota Vikings pulled away from Kirk Cousins and the Atlanta Falcons 42-21 on Sunday for their sixth straight victory.
Darnold added another highlight to his brilliant first season in Minnesota following the departure of Cousins in free agency to Atlanta with a 22-for-28 performance and no turnover-worthy plays despite heavy first-half pressure.
Darnold passed for 250 yards after halftime to help the Vikings (11-2) break a 21-all tie early in the fourth quarter and stay one game behind NFC North-leading Detroit with a final-week matchup looming with the Lions. Jordan Addison had eight catches for 133 yards and three scores and Justin Jefferson racked up seven receptions for 132 yards and two touchdowns after going the past six games without scoring.
Cousins threw two more interceptions without a touchdown in his return to Minnesota, where he was greeted by loud boos and left with Atlanta’s fourth consecutive loss to tumble out of first place in the NFC South and fall one game behind Tampa Bay.
Cousins has eight interceptions and no passing scores for the Falcons (6-7) over their four-game losing streak, which was extended by a wide array of errors that stretched beyond their 35-year-old quarterback who’s coming back this season from surgery to repair a torn Achilles tendon that ended his six-year tenure with the Vikings midway last season.
He went 23 for 37 for 344 yards for the Falcons, who crossed midfield on all nine of their possessions. He overthrew Ray-Ray McCloud III on fourth down in the first quarter, and the Falcons settled for short field goals just before and right after halftime to negate their 496 yards of total offence.
DOLPHINS 32, JETS 26 (OT)
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Tua Tagovailoa threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Jonnu Smith in overtime and the Miami Dolphins overcame Aaron Rodgers’ first 300-yard passing game in nearly three years to beat the New York Jets 32-26 on Sunday.
After Jason Sanders tied it with seven seconds left in regulation with a 42-yard field goal, Tagovailoa quickly moved the Dolphins (6-7) down the field and they beat the Jets for the ninth straight time in Miami.
That came after Anders Carlson gave the struggling Jets (3-10) — who were eliminated from post-season contention for the 14th straight year — the lead with a 42-yarder with 52 seconds remaining. But Malik Washington put the Dolphins in great position to help set up Sanders’ field goal with a 45-yard kickoff return to Miami’s 46-yard line.
Tagovailoa was 33 of 47 for 331 yards and two TDs. He had just one incompletion on Miami’s eight-play, 70-yard scoring drive that was capped by Smith’s fourth touchdown of the season.
PHILADELPHIA — Saquon Barkley rushed for 124 yards to break the Eagles’ season record, Jalen Hurts threw two touchdown passes and ran for a score, and Philadelphia won its ninth straight game, 22-16 over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.
The Eagles (11-2) maintained their position as the No. 2 team in the NFC, behind Detroit (12-1), after a mostly lethargic effort against the Panthers (3-10).
Barkley added another milestone in his MVP push when he used a 9-yard run in the fourth quarter to surpass LeSean McCoy’s Eagles record of 1,607 yards, set in 2013. Barkley now has 1,623 yards with four games left.
Hurts’ passing numbers were a pedestrian 14 of 21 for 108 yards. He hit Grant Calcaterra with a 4-yard TD pass and Barkley ran in the 2-point conversion for a 22-16 lead early in the fourth.
Bryce Young gamely moved the Panthers into Eagles territory on the final drive. He completed a 13-yard pass on fourth down that moved the ball to the 38, and a second-down pass to Xavier Legette gave the Eagles a brief scare when the receiver seemed to have the ball in the end zone, but just dropped it.
PITTSBURGH — Russell Wilson threw for 158 yards and two touchdowns and the Pittsburgh Steelers pulled away from the mistake-prone Cleveland Browns 27-14 on Sunday.
The Steelers (10-3) beat Cleveland at home during the regular season for the 21st straight time, even with leading receiver George Pickens watching from the sideline while missing the first game of his career due to a groin injury.
While it took Wilson a while to get going with the productive if volatile Pickens out of the mix, he found his footing in the second half by connecting on touchdown passes to Pat Freiermuth and Van Jefferson as the Steelers moved two games ahead of rival Baltimore for the AFC North lead with four weeks to go.
The Browns (3-10) saw their chance to sweep Pittsburgh for the first time since 1988 disappear behind a pair of missed field goals by Dustin Hopkins and an ill-advised throw by Jameis Winston in the second quarter that Steelers defensive tackle Keeanu Benton returned deep into Cleveland territory to jumpstart a Pittsburgh offence that had looked out of sync early without Pickens
BUCCANEERS 28, RAIDERS 13
TAMPA, Fla. — Baker Mayfield threw for 295 yards and three touchdowns, helping the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Las Vegas Raiders 28-13 and take over sole possession of first place in the NFC South on Sunday.
Mayfield tossed scoring passes of 15 yards and 29 yards to rookie Jalen McMillan. Rachaad White scored on a 5-yard reception and a 3-yard run as the Bucs (7-6) won for the third straight week against a last-place opponent to revive their hopes for a fourth consecutive division title.
The Raiders (2-11) lost quarterback Aidan O’Connell to a knee injury in addition to extending the NFL’s longest losing streak to nine games.
O’Connell was carted off the field after being shoved to the ground by Bucs defensive lineman Calijah Kancey after throwing a pass late in the third quarter.
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Brian Bresee leaped over the Giants’ line to block a potential tying field goal with 11 seconds left, and the New Orleans Saints held on for a 14-11 victory over New York on Sunday after losing quarterback Derek Carr to an injury late in the fourth quarter.
The Giants lost their eighth straight, one shy of the team record.
Carr, who finished 20 of 31 for 219 yards, was hurt with just under four minutes to play when he dived for a first down near the Saints 40 and landed hard. He left the field shortly after the play and it almost cost the Saints (5-8).
New York got the ball back at its 27 with 1:21 to play and drove to the Saints 12, with Drew Lock scrambling for 25 yards on fourth down and then finding Malik Nabers for 23 yards. The Giants tried twice to throw to the end zone for a winning touchdown before sending out Graham Gano to try to force overtime. Gano’s kick was a little low and the Giants couldn’t defend the jumping Breese, who got a hand on the ball.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tank Bigsby ran for an 8-yard touchdown with 6:46 left and the Jacksonville Jaguars snapped a five-game skid and ended the Tennessee Titans’ slim playoff hopes Sunday by scoring the final 10 points for a 10-6 victory.
Jacksonville (3-10) came in already eliminated with Trevor Lawrence out for the rest of this season. The Jaguars leave with only their second victory in the past 11 trips to Music City and second in the past three.
The Titans (3-10) came in needing to win out to even have a chance of their first playoff berth since the 2021 season ended with a divisional loss on their home field. Tennessee has fired both a general manager and coach since then.
They had the ball twice with a chance to rally for the win.
Their best chance ended with 1:11 left as Will Levis missed Nick Westbrook-Ikhine in the end zone on fourth-and-3 at the Jaguars 9. The second ended with Levis missing Tyler Boyd on fourth-and-15 from the Tennessee 35 with 28 seconds remaining.
