EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Sam Darnold returned – and so did the New York Jets’ hopes to turn around a season that was quickly unraveling without him.
Darnold gave the Jets’ struggling offense a huge boost by throwing two touchdown passes in his return from mononucleosis, and New York held on to beat the Dallas Cowboys 24-22 on Sunday night for their first win of the season.
“I’m just really, really excited for the guys in this locker room,” Darnold said. “We were starving for a win.”
The Jets (1-4) led 21-9 in the fourth quarter, but Dak Prescott and the top-ranked Cowboys offense stormed back and had a chance to tie in the wild closing moments.
With Dallas (3-3) marching down the field, officials called six straight penalties during one stretch, including four on the Jets, putting the Cowboys in scoring position.
Prescott ran for a 4-yard touchdown with 43 seconds left, but a blitzing Jamal Adams forced an errant pass by Prescott on the attempt for a tying 2-point conversion.
Darnold, who missed three games while recovering from mononucleosis, finished 23 of 32 for 338 yards – including a 92-yard touchdown toss to Robby Anderson and a 5-yarder to Ryan Griffin.
TEXANS 31, CHIEFS 24: Deshaun Watson threw for 280 yards and a touchdown while running for two more, leading Houston (4-2) to a victory at Kansas City (4-2).
Carlos Hyde added 116 yards rushing and a touchdown against the team that traded him before the start of the season. DeAndre Hopkins hauled in nine passes for 55 yards.
Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes finished with 273 yards passing and three touchdowns, though he also threw his first interception of the season.
SEAHAWKS 32, BROWNS 28: Chris Carson scored on a 1-yard touchdown run with 3:30 left, Russell Wilson threw two TD passes and ran for one, and Seattle (5-1) rallied past mistake-prone Cleveland (2-4) to improve to 3-0 on the road for the first time in 39 years.
The Seahawks gave up touchdowns on Cleveland’s first three possessions before storming back.
The Browns were hurt by their own miscues, including a blocked punt and a fumble. Baker Mayfield threw three interceptions, raising his NFL-leading total to 11.
SAINTS 13, JAGUARS 6: Teddy Bridgewater found Jared Cook for a 4-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter, and New Orleans (5-1) held on at Jacksonville (2-4) to improve to 4-0 without injured quarterback Drew Brees.
VIKINGS 38, EAGLES 20: Kirk Cousins threw to Stefon Diggs for three of his four touchdowns, racking up a season-high 333 passing yards as Minnesota (4-2) ravaged Philadelphia’s secondary in a win at home.
Diggs scored on plays in the first half that covered 51 and 62 yards, then caught a pass in the back of the end zone from 11 yards out that pushed the Vikings’ lead to 11 after Carson Wentz and the Eagles (3-3) had pulled within 24-20 with 17 straight points.
RAVENS 23, BENGALS 17: Lamar Jackson ran for a career-high 152 yards and a touchdown, threw for 236 yards and guided Baltimore (4-2) past visiting Cincinnati (0-6).
Jackson carried 19 times, including three kneel-downs, and finished tantalizingly short of Michael Vick’s single-game record of 173 yards rushing by a quarterback.
PANTHERS 37, BUCCANEERS 26: Christian McCaffrey scored two touchdowns and Carolina (4-2) turned five interceptions by Jameis Winston into 17 points, beating Tampa Bay (2-4) in London.
After starting the season with two straight losses with hobbled Cam Newton at quarterback, the Panthers have been on a roll with Kyle Allen at quarterback, thanks to McCaffrey’s big plays and an opportunistic defense that tied a franchise record with seven takeaways.
WASHINGTON 17, DOLPHINS 16: Rookie Terry McLaurin caught two touchdown passes for visiting Washington (1-5), and Miami (0-5) missed a 2-point conversion attempt with 6 seconds left in a matchup between winless teams.
Adrian Peterson more than doubled his season rushing total with 118 yards in Bill Callahan’s first game as Washington’s interim coach. Dolphins quarterback Josh Rosen was intercepted twice and sacked five times before he was benched at the start of the fourth quarter with Miami trailing 17-3.
Ryan Fitzpatrick sparked a rally and led two touchdown drives, including a 75-yard march that began with 2:02 left. But after Fitzpatrick hit DeVante Parker for an 11-yard score, running back Kenyan Drake dropped Fitzpatrick’s quick pass with several defenders between him and the goal line.
BRONCOS 16, TITANS 0: Denver’s swarming defense sent Marcus Mariota to the bench as the Broncos (2-5) shut out visiting Tennessee (2-4).
Denver had seven sacks for the first time since its 2015 Super Bowl season and picked off three passes.
Mariota was intercepted twice and sacked three times before he was replaced by Ryan Tannehill after Justin Simmons’ interception led to a 2-yard touchdown run by Phillip Lindsay that made it 13-0. Tannehill was sacked four times and picked off by Kareem Jackson on Tennessee’s final drive.
CARDINALS 34, FALCONS 33: Kyler Murray threw for 340 yards and three touchdowns, and Arizona (2-3-1) rallied past Atlanta (1-5) at home after blowing a big lead.
Atlanta looked like it would tie the game with 1:53 left after Matt Ryan hit Devonta Freeman on a 12-yard touchdown pass, but 44-year-old Matt Bryant missed left on the extra point.
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