Allen’s miscues, Jefferson’s big day help Vikings beat Bills

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Patrick Peterson intercepted Josh Allen with 1:12 left in overtime to finally end a sloppy, yet thrilling back-and-forth game between two of the NFL’s best teams, and the Minnesota Vikings completed their rally from a 17-point second-half deficit to beat the Buffalo Bills 33-30 on Sunday.

The Vikings took advantage of three turnovers by Allen in the fourth quarter and overtime, pulling ahead late in regulation when he mishandled a snap and fumbled in the end zone.

Greg Joseph put the Vikings ahead to stay by hitting a 33-yard field goal with 3:42 left in overtime. The game didn’t end until Allen, facing second and 10 at Minnesota’s 20, forced a pass over the middle intended for Gabe Davis, only to have Peterson intercept it a few yards into the end zone, his second pick of the day. Peterson ran out and slid to the turf.

Kirk Cousins threw for 357 yards, and Justin Jefferson had a monster game with 10 catches for 193 yards, including an incredible one-handed grab to convert a fourth-and-18 for the NFC North-leading Vikings (8-1). Minnesota rallied to win when trailing with 2 1/2 minutes or less remaining in regulation for the fifth time this season.

The Bills (6-3) dropped out of the AFC lead with their second straight loss.

The Bills, clinging to a a 27-23 lead, appeared to have when they stopped Cousins for no gain on fourth-and-goal from the half-yard line with 49 seconds remainin the very next play, Allen muffed the snap from center Mitch Morse, and Minnesota linebacker Erik Hendricks dived into the end zone to recover it for a touchdown.

BUCCANEERS 21, SEAHAWKS 16

MUNICH (AP) — Tom Brady stayed undefeated abroad by throwing two touchdown passes as Tampa Bay beat Seattle in the first regular-season game played in Germany.

Brady connected with Julio Jones and Chris Godwin on scoring passes and Leonard Fournette ran one in as the Bucs (5-5) improved to .500 and snapped Seattle’s four-game winning streak.

German fans packed Allianz Arena for the historic game and the Bucs delivered with a balanced offensive performance on three long scoring drives. Rachaad White ran for 105 yards on 22 carries.

Brady completed 22 of 29 passes for 258 yards to add Germany to his list of international wins after victories in London (twice) and Mexico City with the New England Patriots.

Trailing 21-3, Seattle’s Geno Smith threw touchdown passes to Tyler Lockett and Marquise Goodwin to make the score 21-16 with 3:58 to play. But Brady and the Bucs didn’t let Seattle get the ball back.

Smith was 23 of 33 for 275 yards and the two touchdowns for the Seahawks (6-4), who are still atop the NFC West.

GIANTS 24, TEXANS 16

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Daniel Jones threw two touchdown passes, Saquon Barkley ran for 152 yards and a TD and New York beat Houston.

Jones, who was 13 of 17 for 197 yards, hit tight end Lawrence Cager on a 9-yard TD pass and Darius Slayton on a 54-yard catch and run as the Giants (7-2) scored on their opening possession of each half to build a 14-3 lead.

Barkley, who had a career-high 35 carries, scored from 2 yards out in the third quarter after the Texans (1-7-1) closed within 14-10.

The Giants’ defense preserved the win, forcing two red-zone turnovers in the fourth quarter. Linebacker Jaylon Smith recovered Dameon Pierce’s fumble at the 11-yard line and Dane Belton intercepted Davis Mills’ pass in the end zone.

Mills (22 of 37 for 319 yards) threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Nico Collins and Ka’imi Fairbairn kicked field goals of 38, 34 and 46 yards for Houston, which has lost four straight.

New York is off to its best start since 2008.

TITANS 17, BRONCOS 10

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Ryan Tannehill threw two touchdown passes to Nick Westbrook-Ikhine as Tennessee rallied from a 10-point deficit to beat Denver.

The Titans (6-3) won for the sixth time in seven games. Tannehill returned after missing the last two games with a sprained right ankle, and he appeared rusty early as the Titans fell behind 10-0 in the second quarter and were trailing 208-53 in total yards shortly before halftime.

Denver (3-6) has lost lost five of six. The Broncos had plenty of chances but couldn’t score after halftime. Russell Wilson had a final chance to tie the game, but his pass on fourth-and-8 from the Titans 25 was tipped and picked off by Terrance Mitchell with 11 seconds left.

Tannehill accounted for 70 yards on a drive capped with a 9-yard TD pass to Westbrook-Ikhine to pull within 10-7 just before halftime. In the third quarter, Titans used a flea-flicker with Derrick Henry tossing the ball back to Tannehill, who found Westbrook-Ikhine wide open down the right sideline for a go-ahead 63-yard TD.

Westbrook-Ikhine had a career-high 119 yards receiving. Tannehill finished with 255 yards passing.

LIONS 31, BEARS 30

CHICAGO (AP) — Jamaal Williams scored on a 1-yard run in the closing minutes, Jared Goff threw for 236 yards and a touchdown, and Detroit overcame another spectacular effort by Chicago’s Justin Fields.

The Lions (3-6) scored 21 points in the fourth quarter on the way to their second straight win after losing five in a row. They stopped a 13-game road losing streak.

Detroit wiped out a 14-point deficit with two quick TDs, tying it on a 20-yard interception return by Jeff Okudah.

Fields then went 67 yards untouched for a TD to put Chicago (3-7) back on top 30-24. Cairo Santos missed the extra point.

Goff led an eight-play, 91-yard drive in the closing minutes. Williams made it 31-30 when he scored with 2:21 remaining.

Fields ran for 147 yards and two scores, after rushing for 178 the previous week against Miami. He became the only quarterback in the Super Bowl era with multiple rushing touchdowns of 60-plus yards in the same season.

Fields also threw for 167 yards and two scores, including a 50-yarder to Cole Kmet.

Goff completed 19 of 26 passes. Amon-Ra St. Brown had 119 yards receiving.

CHIEFS 27, JAGUARS 17

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw for 331 yards and four touchdowns as Kansas City rolled past Jacksonville.

Kadarius Toney, who was acquired a couple of weeks ago from the Giants, had 33 yards rushing to go with four catches for 57 yards and his first NFL touchdown reception, helping the Chiefs (7-2) win their sixth straight over the Jaguars.

Travis Kelce, Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Noah Gray also had touchdown catches for the Chiefs.

Kansas City wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster was placed in the concussion protocol after a helmet-to-helmet hit by Jacksonville safety Andre Cisco early in the game.

Trevor Lawrence threw for 259 yards and two touchdowns, both to Christian Kirk, who finished with nine catches for 105 yards for the Jaguars (3-7).

The Jaguars became the first team in five years to recover an onside kick to open the game, but their offense squandered the opportunity — and several more. They punted five times and missed a field goal on their first six possessions.

STEELERS 20, SAINTS 10

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Kenny Pickett and George Pickens ran for 1-yard touchdowns and Pittsburgh pulled away from listless New Orleans.

Fueled by the return of star outside linebacker T.J. Watt, the Steelers (3-6) held the Saints to 186 yards to win for the second time in eight games. Pittsburgh sacked Andy Dalton twice and forced a pair of fourth-quarter interceptions to thwart any hope of a late rally by the Saints (3-7).

Watt hadn’t played since tearing his left pectoral late in a Week 1 win over Cincinnati.

Pittsburgh ran for a season-best 217 yards — including 99 by Najee Harris and 51 by Pickett — and didn’t turn it over for the third time this season. The Steelers are 3-0 in those games.

Pickett completed 18 of 30 passes for 199 yards without an interception. He also shook off a tweaked left ankle to convert a couple of late quarterback sneaks, including a 1-yard dive with 8:40 to play that gave the Steelers a 10-point lead.

The Saints largely beat themselves. While the defense sacked Pickett six times, it also committed six penalties that gave the Steelers first downs.

PACKERS 31, COWBOYS 28

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Aaron Rodgers threw three touchdown passes to rookie Christian Watson and led a 55-yard drive in overtime to set up Mason Crosby’s game-winning field goal, and the Green Bay Packers stopped a five-game skid with a 31-28 win over former coach Mike McCarthy and the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.

Green Bay (4-6) appeared well on its way to losing six straight games in the same season for the first time since 1988, trailing 28-14 in the fourth quarter before Rodgers led two long drives that ended with scoring passes to Watson.

McCarthy coached the Packers to their most recent Super Bowl title after the 2010 season and posted a 125-77-2 record with Green Bay before getting fired in 2018. This was his first game against the Packers since he took over as Dallas’ coach in 2020.

Rodgers was McCarthy’s quarterback for most of his time with the Packers. Their relationship grew strained in McCarthy’s later seasons, but they exchanged compliments over the last week and shared hugs before and after Sunday’s game.

The Cowboys (6-3) blew a 14-point lead heading into the fourth quarter for the first time in franchise history. They entered Sunday with a 195-0 record in such games, including playoffs.

CARDINALS 27, RAMS 17

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Colt McCoy passed for 238 yards in his first start of the season, James Conner rushed for two touchdowns and the Arizona Cardinals hung on for a 27-17 victory Sunday over the Los Angeles Rams, who lost Super Bowl MVP Cooper Kupp to a possibly serious ankle injury.

Both teams played their backup quarterbacks with starters Matthew Stafford and Kyler Murray sidelined by injury. McCoy threw a TD pass to A.J. Green and hit DeAndre Hopkins for 98 yards on 10 catches, while Los Angeles’ John Wolford passed for 212 yards in a much more inconsistent performance.

The defending champion Rams (3-6) lost for the fifth time in six games, and they also lost Kupp in the fourth quarter when he went down awkwardly while being hit by Marco Wilson after failing to catch a poorly thrown pass from Wolford.

Kupp, the AP’s Offensive Player of the Year while winning the triple crown of receiving last season, made only three catches for minus-1 yard before incurring an injury that had him visibly unhappy as he limped to the locker room.

In the 34th start of his 13-year career, McCoy went 26 of 37 while patiently running a disciplined offensive game plan for the Cardinals (4-6). Murray sat out with a hamstring injury, but Arizona grinded out a much-needed victory for coach Kliff Kingsbury after losing four of its past five.

Rondale Moore had nine catches for 94 yards, including a jaw-dropping grab on a long pass on fourth-and-3 in the fourth quarter to set up Arizona’s clinching TD run by Conner two plays later with 7:41 to play.