Mahomes, Kelce lead Chiefs past Vikings, who lose Jefferson to late hamstring injury

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw two touchdown passes in the third quarter, one to Travis Kelce after the All-Pro tight end briefly left the game with an ankle injury, and the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Minnesota Vikings 27-20 on Sunday.

Mahomes went 31 for 41 for 281 yards and no turnovers in his most efficient performance of the season for the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs (4-1), who once again won while not at their best.

Kirk Cousins threw for scores to Jordan Addison and Alexander Mattison for the Vikings (1-4). They had two chances at the tying touchdown in the final five minutes, but a late hamstring injury to star wide receiver Justin Jefferson and a lack of timeouts from earlier mismanagement of the game were ultimately too much to overcome.

Jefferson slipped on the turf while trying to make a cut on his route during a third-down pass deep in Kansas City territory. He grabbed the back of his right leg and limped slowly to the sideline.

Mahomes hit Justin Watson with a 33-yard heave on third-and-18 from his own 17 to extend the Chiefs’ first possession of the second half. The two-time MVP finished that drive with a tiebreaking 8-yard scoring toss to Rashee Rice.

All four of Minnesota’s losses have come by eight points or fewer this year after a record 11 wins in 11 one-score games in 2022.

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49ERS 42, COWBOYS 10

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Brock Purdy threw three of his four touchdown passes to George Kittle and San Francisco extended its dominance over Dallas.

The Niners led 14-0 before the Cowboys (3-2) got their initial first down and were never really threatened on the way to matching a franchise record with their 15th straight regular-season win and earning their fifth 5-0 start.

Purdy calmly picked apart the league’s stingiest defense to improve to 10-0 as a starter in the NFL and San Francisco’s defense made life difficult on Dak Prescott all night.

Prescott was sacked three times and heaved an interception into double coverage after Dallas fell behind 28-10 in the third quarter. He threw two more interceptions in the fourth quarter.

It was Dallas’ most lopsided defeat since losing 49-17 to New Orleans in 2013. Purdy finished 17 for 24 for 252 yards and has not thrown an interception all season.

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JAGUARS 25, BILLS 20

LONDON (AP) — Travis Etienne rushed for 136 yards and two fourth-quarter touchdowns, and Jacksonville beat jet-lagged Buffalo at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The Jaguars (3-2) won back-to-back games in London, ended Buffalo’s three-game winning streak and proved they can hang with an AFC powerhouse.

The Bills (3-2) looked tired at times, rushed for only 29 yards, and had a rash of injuries.

Etienne scored on a 35-yard run with just under three minutes left after carrying it in from 6 yards earlier.

Josh Allen twice brought the Bills back late in the fourth quarter. He ran it in from 3 yards to complete a 75-yard drive that took just 45 seconds, making it 25-20 before the two-minute warning. With the Bills out of timeouts, the Jags punted to the Buffalo 6, leaving the Bills just 22 seconds. Stefon Diggs caught a pass and tried to lateral it, but Jacksonville recovered the fumble.

Allen was 27 of 40 for 359 yards and two touchdowns. Diggs had eight catches for 121 yards and a touchdown and Davis had six catches for 100 yards and a score.

The Jags survived two costly strip-sack lost fumbles by Trevor Lawrence, both times in Buffalo territory. Lawrence finished 25 of 37 for 315 yards and a touchdown.

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STEELERS 17, RAVENS 10

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Kenny Pickett hit George Pickens for a 41-yard touchdown with 1:17 remaining, and Pittsburgh rallied past Baltimore.

Pickett and the rest of Pittsburgh’s sporadic offense managed little over the game’s first 55 minutes, but a late interception by rookie cornerback Joey Porter Jr. gave the Steelers (3-2) life. Pickett responded by driving Pittsburgh 80 yards in eight plays, the last 41 coming on a rainbow down the sideline to Pickens.

It was the Steelers’ first touchdown in nearly nine quarters and it somehow was enough to beat the Ravens (3-2). Baltimore turned the ball over three times, including twice in the final five minutes.

Lamar Jackson’s wayward lob to the corner of the end zone intended for Zay Flowers instead landed in the arms of Porter. Jackson later fumbled on the Ravens’ penultimate possession, with Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt picking it up. Chris Boswell’s third field goal put Pittsburgh up a touchdown, and Baltimore’s final drive ended with Watt sacking Jackson.

Jackson finished 22 of 38 for 236 yards and the late pick.

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FALCONS 21, TEXANS 19

ATLANTA (AP) — Desmond Ridder passed and ran for touchdowns, providing an answer to those who had called for him to be benched, Younghoe Koo kicked a go-ahead 37-yard field goal as time expired, and Atlanta beat Houston to snap a two-game skid.

Ridder’s 6-yard TD pass to rookie running back Bijan Robinson and 2-point pass to Tyler Allgeier gave the Falcons (3-2) a 15-12 lead early in the fourth quarter.

Houston rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud answered with an 18-yard scoring pass to tight end Dalton Schultz, giving the Texans a 19-18 lead with 1:49 remaining.

The biggest gain on Atlanta’s decisive field-goal drive in the final minutes was Ridder’s 23-yard pass to Drake London.

Stroud set an NFL record by starting his career with 177 pass attempts without an interception. He completed 20 of 35 passes for 249 yards and a score. The Texans (2-3) had a two-game winning streak snapped.

Ridder completed 28 of 37 passes for 329 yards and a touchdown and had a 7-yard scoring run in the first quarter.

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EAGLES 23, RAMS 14

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Jalen Hurts passed for 303 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 72 yards and another score, and Philadelphia outlasted Los Angeles to remain unbeaten.

Dallas Goedert had eight catches for 117 yards and an early TD for the Eagles, who are off to their second consecutive 5-0 start despite getting tested throughout this meeting of the last two NFC champions.

A.J. Brown had six catches for 127 yards, but the Eagles couldn’t reach the end zone in the second half and had to rely on their defense, which shut out the Rams (2-3) after halftime.

Cooper Kupp had eight catches for 118 yards in the former Super Bowl MVP’s dynamic season debut for the Rams.