Saquon Barkley ran for 255 yards and two long touchdowns on 26 carries as the Philadelphia Eagles increased their NFC East lead with a 37-20 win over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday night in Inglewood, Calif.
Barkley finished the game with 302 yards from scrimmage, as he added four receptions for 47 yards. Quarterback Jalen Hurts completed 15 of 22 passes for 179 yards and a score as the Eagles improved to 9-2 to continue pulling away from the second-place Washington Commanders (7-5) in the division.
Matthew Stafford hit on 24 of 36 throws for 243 yards and two touchdowns for Los Angeles (5-6), which dropped a game behind NFC West co-leaders Seattle (6-5) and Arizona (6-5). Stafford operated under continuous pressure and was sacked five times.
Philadelphia owned a six-point lead when the third quarter started, but Barkley expanded the advantage on the first play of the frame, ripping off a 70-yard scoring jaunt for a 20-7 cushion. Stafford responded with a 2-yard touchdown toss to Demarcus Robinson to slice the Eagles’ lead back to six.
But the game’s remainder belonged to the Eagles. Kenneth Gainwell made it 27-14 at the 6:17 mark of the third quarter with a 13-yard scoring run, and Jake Elliott connected on a 26-yard field goal with 10:30 left in the game.
Barkley capped the victory in style by busting a 72-yard touchdown run off the left side with 2:44 left, blazing through a hole between the guard and tackle and going untouched to the end zone.
Stafford added a meaningless score with 1:07 on the clock, connecting with Cooper Kupp for a 27-yard TD.
Elliott gave Philadelphia a 3-0 lead with a 21-yard field goal at the 5:13 mark of the first quarter, capping a drive that lasted nearly 7 1/2 minutes. However, the Rams took their only lead of the game via a 1-yard touchdown run by Kyren Williams with 1:02 remaining in the first.
Elliott made a 31-yard field goal with 6:17 left in the second quarter, followed by Hurts’ 6-yard scoring strike to A.J. Brown 1:27 before halftime. That enabled the Eagles to take a 13-7 edge into intermission.
Tua, Dolphins extend Patriots’ misery in Miami
Tua Tagovailoa threw for 317 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Miami Dolphins to an easy 34-15 victory over the New England Patriots on Sunday afternoon in Miami Gardens, Fla.
Tagovailoa completed 29 of 40 passes as Miami (5-6) continued to dominate the Patriots at home. New England has now dropped 10 of its past 12 games at Hard Rock Stadium.
Jaylen Waddle hauled in eight receptions for 144 yards and a touchdown and former Patriot Jonnu Smith had nine catches for 87 yards and a TD for the Dolphins, who have won three straight games. Running back De’Von Achane was on the receiving end of a pair of scores.
Drake Maye finished with 222 yards, one TD and one interception on 22-of-37 passing for New England (3-9), which punted five times, missed a field goal and lost a fumble before finally putting up points with 13:43 left in the game.
With nothing to lose on fourth-and-15 from the Miami 38, Maye lobbed up a deep ball that Austin Hooper snagged near the 3. Hooper then spun around and crossed the goal line to get the Patriots within 31-7.
After Joey Slye missed a 45-yard field-goal attempt at the end of New England’s second drive of the game, the Dolphins completely took over.
Miami scored three straight touchdowns, with the first coming with 14:10 remaining in the second quarter. Tagovailoa got the Dolphins on the board by finding Smith for a 7-yard score.
Tagovailoa then connected with Achane for two touchdowns — from 9 and 11 yards out — in a six-minute span later in the quarter to make it 21-0.
Following Achane’s second trip to the end zone, New England went three-and-out, allowing Miami to get a 21-yard field goal from Jason Sanders with two seconds left in the first half.
Neither team scored following the break until a Maye fumble led to Tagovailoa’s 23-yard TD pass to Waddle with 1:37 to go in the third quarter.
Christian Gonzalez made the score more respectable by scooping up a fumble and taking it 63 yards to the end zone with 10:10 left in the game to cut the Patriots’ deficit to 31-15.
Sanders closed the scoring with a 51-yard field goal with 3:33 to play.
Vikings withstand Bears’ rally, win on field goal in OT
John Parker Romo made a 29-yard field goal to lift the Minnesota Vikings to a 30-27 overtime win against the host Chicago Bears on Sunday afternoon.
Romo buried the game-winning kick in his third career game for Minnesota (9-2), which won its fourth game in a row. The score capped a 10-play, 68-yard drive for the Vikings after the Bears went three-and-out on the first overtime possession.
Sam Darnold completed 22 of 34 passes for 330 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Vikings. Wideout Jordan Addison finished with eight catches for a career-high 162 yards and a touchdown.
The overtime defeat spoiled an impressive performance from rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, who completed 32 of 47 passes for 340 yards and two touchdowns for Chicago (4-7). DJ Moore had seven catches for 106 yards and a touchdown, and Keenan Allen finished with nine catches for 86 yards and a score.
Chicago erased an 11-point deficit in the final 22 seconds of regulation to send the game to overtime.
Romo had put Minnesota on top 27-16 when he made a 26-yard field goal with 1:56 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Williams trimmed the Bears’ deficit to 27-24 with 22 seconds to go. He rolled right and found Allen wide open in the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown, and moments later he fired a strike to Moore for a two-point conversion.
The Bears recovered an onside kick on the next play to regain possession at their 43-yard line with 21 seconds left. Cairo Santos’ kick bounced off the foot of Vikings tight end Johnny Mundt, and Tarvarius Moore recovered it.
DJ Moore put the Bears in field-goal position with a 27-yard reception across the middle of the field, and Santos made a 48-yarder as time expired to even the score at 27-all.
Minnesota led 24-10 after three quarters.
Romo made a 40-yard field goal early in the third quarter, and Aaron Jones punched in a 2-yard run with 1:22 left in the period to put the Vikings on top by two touchdowns.
Addison and Jalen Nailor had receiving touchdowns in the first half for Minnesota.
Roschon Johnson scored on a 1-yard run for the Bears’ only touchdown of the first half. Chicago trailed 14-10 at the break.
Seahawks use defense to defeat Cardinals
Coby Bryant returned an interception 69 yards for a touchdown midway through the third quarter as the Seattle Seahawks defeated the visiting Arizona Cardinals 16-6 Sunday afternoon to move into a tie for first place in the NFC West.
Geno Smith completed 22 of 31 passes for 254 yards with a touchdown and an interception for the Seahawks (6-5), who won their second consecutive divisional game.
Seattle’s Jason Myers kicked a 50-yard field goal with 1:56 remaining to help clinch the victory.
Kyler Murray was 24-of-37 passing for 285 yards with one interception for the Cardinals (6-5). Tight end Trey McBride established career highs of 12 catches and 133 yards.
Trailing 7-3, the Cardinals reached Seattle’s 40-yard line on their opening possession of the second half. They decided to go for it on fourth-and-1, with Murray rolling to his right in an attempt to run for the first down. But Murray’s path was blocked and he lofted a pass for Michael Wilson that was picked off by Bryant and returned down the left sideline.
The Seahawks took the lead for good on a 3-yard touchdown pass from Smith to Jaxon Smith-Njigba with 1:14 remaining in the second quarter. The key to the seven-play, 61-yard drive was a screen pass to Smith-Njigba that he turned into a 46-yard gain to Arizona’s 4. Smith-Njigba had six catches for 77 yards.
The Cardinals opened the scoring on a 35-yard field goal by Chad Ryland with 9:43 left in the second quarter. That came two plays after Murray found Wilson with a 7-yard pass in the front right corner of the end zone, a touchdown that was nullified by a holding penalty on Paris Johnson Jr.
Ryland also booted a 22-yarder early in the fourth quarter to pull the Cardinals within 13-6.
The Seahawks appeared to take the lead with 1:33 left in the first quarter when Leonard Williams hit Murray’s arm and Tyrice Knight recovered the ball and rumbled 33 yards to the end zone. But a video review determined Murray’s arm was coming forward and the call was changed to an incomplete pass.
Nix leads Broncos to season sweep of Las Vegas Raiders
Rookie quarterback Bo Nix completed 25 of 42 passes for 273 yards and two touchdowns as the Denver Broncos beat the host Raiders 29-19 on Sunday in Las Vegas.
The Raiders (2-9) have now lost seven games in a row, last winning on Sept. 29 against the Cleveland Browns. The Broncos (7-5) completed the season sweep of the Raiders with the win after entering the season with eight consecutive losses to the Silver and Black. They also beat Las Vegas 34-18 on Oct. 6 in Denver.
Wil Lutz didn’t miss a kick, connecting on five field goals of 38, 53, 54, 45 and 33 yards for Denver. Las Vegas countered with four field goals in four tries from Daniel Carlson of 34, 34, 53 and 22 yards.
The game flipped shortly after halftime, as Gardner Minshew threw an ill-advised interception to Broncos safety Brandon Jones on the Raiders’ opening possession of the third quarter and Jones returned it to the Las Vegas 18-yard line.
Nix found receiver Courtland Sutton in the end zone for a highlight-reel touchdown catch that put Denver up 16-13 with 10:49 remaining in the third quarter. The Broncos did not relinquish the lead.
After the game, NFL Network and The Athletic reported that Minshew suffered a broken collarbone in the fourth quarter and is done for the season. The injury reportedly occurred when Minshew was sacked by two Broncos defenders and landed on his left shoulder.