KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Harrison Butker matched a career long with a 54-yard field goal to tie the game late in the fourth quarter, then drilled a 44-yarder as time expired to give the Kansas City Chiefs a thrilling 26-23 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.
The first person to greet Butker in celebration? Patrick Mahomes, the reigning league MVP, who missed his second consecutive game as he recovers from a dislocated kneecap.
Mahomes looked just fine rushing onto the field to party.
Matt Moore started in his place and threw for 275 yards and a touchdown without a pick, and he made the crucial plays when they mattered. Moore hit favorite target Tyreek Hill to convert a crucial third down and set up the tying field goal, then hit him again to make the winner more manageable.
Hill finished with six catches for 140 yards for the Chiefs (6-3), including a spectacular TD grab, and 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 4 yards.
PANTHERS 30, TITANS 20: Christian McCaffrey had 166 yards from scrimmage and scored three touchdowns, and Carolina bounced back from an embarrassing defeat by winning at home.
Kyle Allen, who threw three interceptions in last week’s 51-13 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, 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.
Carolina’s defense forced three turnovers and sacked Ryan Tannehill four times one week after allowing the 49ers to run for 232 yards and four touchdowns.
STEELERS 26, COLTS 24: Adam Vinatieri missed a go-ahead 43-yard field goal with 1:14 remaining, helping Pittsburgh escape with a home win.
Vinatieri, whose 55-yard kick last week against Denver gave the Colts their third straight victory, pulled his attempt left of the uprights as the Colts (5-3) fell out of first place in the AFC South.
Mason Rudolph threw for 191 yards with a touchdown and an interception for Pittsburgh, and Minkah Fitzpatrick returned an interception 96 yards for a score as the Steelers (4-4) won their third consecutive game. Backup running back Trey Edmunds ran for a career-high 73 yards and Chris Boswell kicked four field goals as Pittsburgh reached the midpoint of the season at .500 despite losing quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to a right elbow injury in Week 2.
The Colts may have quarterback issues of their own after Jacoby Brissett left in the second quarter with a left knee injury. Brian Hoyer came on and threw for three touchdowns in Brissett’s absence and drove Indianapolis to well within field-goal range in the final minutes thanks in part to a 40-yard pass interference penalty against Pittsburgh’s Steven Nelson.
Vinatieri, the NFL’s all-time leading scorer, had an extra point blocked in the third quarter and has been dealing with accuracy issues all season. The snap and hold were good, but his kick fluttered left of the upright into the open end of Heinz Field, allowing Pittsburgh to run out the clock on a day the Steelers mustered just 273 total yards.
EAGLES 22, BEARS 14: Carson Wentz threw for 239 yards and one touchdown, Jordan Howard ran for 82 yards and a score and Philadelphia held on to beat visiting Chicago.
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 one-possession game in the fourth quarter.
But Philadelphia put it away with 16-play, 69-yard drive capped by Jake Elliott’s 38-yard field goal. Wentz completed all four of his third-down passes on the drive for first downs.
The Eagles (5-4) have won two in a row after a pair of lopsided losses.
The Bears (3-5) have lost four straight.
Mitchell Trubisky was 10 of 21 for 125 yards and was sacked three times.
BILLS 24, WASHINGTON 9: Rookie Devin Singletary had 95 yards rushing, including a 2-yard touchdown, helping host Buffalo to its best start since 1993.
Josh Allen had a touchdown pass and scored on a 1-yard plunge for the Bills, who improved to 6-2 – a record built on victories over some of the NFL’s worst teams.
The Bills’ wins have come against teams that entered this weekend with a combined record of 7-31. And their latest came against a team that’s already fired its coach and was down to its third quarterback, with rookie first-round pick Dwayne Haskins making his first career start. Washington (1-8) matched its worst start since 1998.
Haskins finished 15 of 22 for 144 yards passing and no turnovers while starting in place of Case Keenum, who is in the NFL’s concussion protocol.
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 a win at London.
Hyde finished with 19 carries for 160 yards for the Texans (6-3), including a 58-yard run that looked headed for a touchdown until Jags safety Jarrod Wilson stripped the ball at the 2.
Watson, meanwhile, finished 22 for 28 for 201 yards and a pair of 1-yard touchdown throws, along with 37 yards running. He did it all with his left eye still swollen and red, a week after getting kicked in the face just before throwing the winning touchdown pass against the Raiders.
In his last start before Nick Foles comes off the injured list, quarterback Gardner Minshew went 27 for 47 with two picks and two lost fumbles for the Jaguars (4-5).
DOLPHINS 26, JETS 18: Ryan Fitzpatrick threw three touchdown passes, two of them to rookie Preston Williams, and host Miami (1-8) got its first win of the season by beating former coach Adam Gase and New York (1-7).
The Dolphins avoided what would have been the second 0-8 start in franchise history, joining 2007. The win leaves Cincinnati (0-8) as the NFL’s lone winless team this season, and for now the front-runners to win the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NFL draft.
Fitzpatrick completed 24 of 36 passes for 288 yards and led the Dolphins to their highest point total of the season. It was also Miami’s fourth straight win over the Jets – the first three of those coming with Gase being the coach on the winning side.
SEAHAWKS 40, BUCCANEERS 34: Russell Wilson hit Jacob Hollister on a 10-yard touchdown on the opening possession of overtime, and Seattle (7-2) rallied to beat visiting Tampa Bay (2-6).
Wilson continued his brilliant season, tying 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. Wilson was 5 of 8 for 70 yards in overtime, capping the winning drive by hitting the reserve tight end across the middle for his second touchdown of the game.
Wilson finished 29 of 43 for 378 yards.
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 give Oakland (4-4) a win over visiting Detroit (3-4-1).
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 (3-6) past the visiting Browns (2-6).
In his first start in 1,402 days, 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 touchdown.
CHARGERS 26, PACKERS 11: Melvin Gordon scored two touchdowns, Michael Badgley kicked four field goals and Los Angeles (4-5) dominated Green Bay (7-2) to snap a three-game losing streak at home.
NOTES
GIANTS: The New York Giants placed wide receiver Sterling Shepard back in the concussion protocol, ruling him out of their game against Dallas on Monday night.
The Giants (2-6) made the announcement about Shepard, who had just been cleared on Friday and deemed able to play against the NFC East-leading Cowboys (4-3). Shepard missed the past three games after suffering a concussion on Oct. 6 against Minnesota, his second such injury of the season after also experiencing symptoms after the opener at Dallas. He was held out the following week and returned to action on Sept. 22 against Tampa Bay.
WASHINGTON: The NFL Players Association came to the defense of Washington tackle Trent Williams by accusing the NFL Network of using misinformation in an attempt to tarnish the player’s reputation.
The NFLPA posted a statement on its Twitter account backing Williams and saying it will consider taking action against the league to protect the player’s rights.
The 31-year-old Williams on Thursday revealed a cancer diagnosis led to him having a tumor removed from his skull played a part in his lengthy holdout and distrust of the team’s medical staff and the organization. Williams said he informed the team of the medical issue six years ago.
Without mentioning anyone specifically, the NFLPA said the “NFL’s own network” was using unsourced information “designed to tarnish Trent’s reputation.”
On Friday, former Washington general manager and current NFL Network analyst Charley Casserly said Williams was told three years ago that the growth on his head should be tested and added the player never scheduled the procedure. Casserly also suggested Williams’ holdout was financially related.
The union said while it considers its options, it also respects Williams’ desire to put the issue behind, and not “relive a painful experience when his life was in danger.”
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