NFL Week 4: Jalen Hurts throws for 319 yards, Elliott’s 54-yarder lifts 4-0 Eagles past Commanders in OT
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PHILADELPHIA — Jalen Hurts threw for 319 yards and two touchdowns, and Josh Elliott kicked a 54-yard field goal in overtime to lift the Philadelphia Eagles to a 34-31 win over the Washington Commanders on Sunday for their second straight 4-0 start.
Elliott also kicked field goals of 41, 47 and 36 yards before booming the winner that sent the crowd into a frenzy.
And kept the Eagles unbeaten.
Not before a little-late game drama put the Eagles on the brink of being upset at home by the Commanders (2-2) for the second straight season.
The Eagles keep their perfect record in tact! ????
????️: @NFL pic.twitter.com/GjiiMV9M7E
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) October 1, 2023
Hurts hit A.J. Brown for a 28-yard touchdown with 1:28 left in regulation for a 31-24 lead. Instead of killing the clock and trying for a winning field goal, the Eagles left enough time for Sam Howell to lead the Commanders down to Philadelphia’s 10-yard line.
Washington’s tying drive got a boost when Brown was flagged for taunting on the score. The Commanders started on the Eagles’ 36 and tied it when Howell hit Jahan Dotson as time expired.
Coach Ron Rivera went for the extra point and the tie on the road, a call that sent them knotted 31-all into OT.
The Commanders did nothing with the ball in OT. Hurts then converted a fourth-down sneak that pushed the Eagles to Washington’s 48-yard line and helped set up the winner.
Sparked by Brown’s nine catches for 175 yards and two touchdowns, the NFC champion Eagles are 4-0 in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1992-1993. A year ago, the Eagles’ 8-0 start was spoiled by a home loss to Washington.
The Commanders tried it again and led 17-13 in the third and tied it 24-24 in the fourth.
Hurts came as close as he has all season to the type of dynamic games that punctuated last season’s run to the Super Bowl. He sure knew how to connect with Brown.
Hurts and Brown are well past a brief spat on the sidelines during the home opener and are instead hooking up for game-changing scores. Hurts hit Brown in stride and the speedy receiver cut across the field and scored a go-ahead 59-yard TD in the third. The Eagles converted the 2-point conversion for a 21-13 lead.
Brown wore bright green cleats a week ago for one series against Tampa Bay before he changed to the standard footware to avoid getting fined by the league. He bucked the fashion rules again and wore highlight pink cleats — Brown says the flashy colors make it easier for his young daughter to spot him on the field — and then had Philly’s biggest highlight of the game.
After the Commanders rallied — Brian Robinson Jr.’s 15-yard score made it 24-all — the Eagles responded and Brown hauled in a score that sent the crowd into a frenzy.
Howell was 29 of 41 for 290 yards.
A week after Howell threw four interceptions and was sacked nine times, he went 13 of 17 for 161 yards in the first half behind an offensive line that gave him plenty of time to throw and take a 17-10 lead into the break.
Yes, the Commanders used ball control — they had the ball for 17 minutes in the first half — to get a 1-yard TD run from Curtis Samuel and Terry McLaurin’s fumble recovery in the end zone for a 14-7 lead.
But the Eagles did their best to give away the game. They were penalized six times in the half and two were especially critical. On the game’s opening drive, linebacker Zach Cunningham was whistled for a holding penalty on third-and-11. Washington got new life and Samuel scored.
The Eagles also lined up in ” tush push ” formation at midfield on fourth down, only to have a likely first down thrown out on a holding penalty. The Eagles punted.
Swift, who entered second in the NFL in rushing, had a 5-yard score that made it 14-7. Washington’s Joey Slye and Philadelphia’s Jake Elliott each kicked field goals.
Elliott opened the second half with a 47-yarder that cut it to 17-13.
Rams 29, Colts 23
INDIANAPOLIS — Matthew Stafford overcame a hip injury that left him limping at times Sunday to throw a 22-yard touchdown pass to record-breaking rookie Puka Nacua in overtime to give the Los Angeles Rams a 29-23 victory over the Indianapolis Colts.
The Rams (2-2) have won four straight in the series, three in a row in Indy — this one coming after they blew a 23-point lead in the final 21 minutes of regulation.
Stafford was 27 of 40 with 319 yards, one touchdown and one interception. But it was his grit that won this one.
He was injured while being driven into the ground in the third quarter. Following an interception on the next play, he wore a heating wrap around his waist and when he returned to the game was limping noticeably. Twice, he slipped with nobody near him.
And yet, Stafford mustered enough to help the Rams avoid an embarrassing collapse. Nacua had nine receptions for 163 yards.
Indy (2-2) was trying to win its second straight overtime game behind rookie Anthony Richardson’s remarkable rally. He threw a 35-yard TD pass to Mo Alie-Cox before scoring on a 1-yard run. Then he capped the performance with a 5-yard TD pass to Drew Ogletree and the tying 2-point conversion throw to Michael Pittman Jr. with 1:56 to go.
But he couldn’t close out the rally in regulation and never got the ball in overtime.
The Rams scored on each of their first four drives, getting two TD runs from Kyren Willams and two field goals from Brett Maher to take a 20-0 halftime lead.
Bills 48, Dolphins 20
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Josh Allen threw four touchdown passes and ran for a score, and the Buffalo Bills brought Miami’s unbeaten start to an emphatic end, beating the division rival Dolphins 48-20 on Sunday.
A week after the Dolphins had one of the most impressive offensive performances in NFL history in a 70-20 win over Denver, Buffalo (3-1) showed Miami (3-1) a thing or two about efficient offense, scoring on eight of its first nine possessions while taking over first place in the AFC East.
Stefon Diggs caught three touchdowns and finished with six receptions for 120 yards. Allen went 21 of 25 for 320 yards and had his 10th game with four passing TDs.
Miami moved the ball reasonably well, finishing with 393 yards of offense, but the Bills forced two turnovers and sacked quarterback Tua Tagovailoa four times.
The Bills suffered one major setback when cornerback Tre’Davious White was carted off in the third quarter with what the team said was an Achilles tendon injury. White pulled up while covering Tyreek Hill and was unable to put any weight on his right leg.
Buffalo (3-1) never trailed and finished with 414 yards of offense. The three-time AFC East champion Bills have won three straight since a season-opening loss at the New York Jets.
The Dolphins (3-1) squandered chances to open a season with four wins for the first time since 1995 and to take a two-game lead over Buffalo in the division.
Buffalo won its eighth straight at home over Miami improved to 12-2 in the past 14 meetings, including a 34-31 win in the wild-card round of the playoffs last January.
Bills safety Damar Hamlin appeared in his first game since going into cardiac arrest and needing to be resuscitated on the field during a game at Cincinnati on Jan. 2. Hamlin was a healthy inactive through the first three weeks of the season, and was mostly limited to special teams against Miami.
The game began as a track meet with the teams scoring touchdowns on each of their first two possessions.
Buffalo made it three straight TD drives on Allen’s 6-yard pass to Diggs five minutes into the second quarter.
After that, the Dolphins finally blinked. Miami closed the half with three punts and running back Raheem Mostert losing a fumble, allowing Buffalo to build a 31-14 lead.
Diggs provided the most electric play of the first half with a 55-yard touchdown. He caught Allen’s pass at Miami’s 40, broke two tackles along the sideline and scampered into the end zone.
Gabe Davis scored on an 18-yard catch and James Cook scored on a 1-yard run.
Dolphins rookie running back De’Von Achane had two TDs a week after scoring four times. He became just the fourth NFL rookie to combine for six TDs in consecutive games, and first since Tampa Bay’s Doug Martin in 2012.
Tagovailoa, who was sacked only once in his first three outings, went 25 of 35 for 282 yards with a touchdown pass to Braxton Berrios and an interception.
Buccaneers 26, Saints 9
NEW ORLEANS — Baker Mayfield threw three touchdown passes for Tampa Bay, Derek Carr’s surprise return from a shoulder injury did little to help New Orleans’ anemic offense, and the Buccaneers beat the Saints 26-9 on Sunday.
Mayfield completed 25 of 32 for 246 yards including TDs to Cade Otten, Trey Palmer and Deven Thompkins as the Bucs (3-1) took over first place in the NFC South.
Starting one week after spraining his throwing shoulder at Green Bay, and after only limited work in practice the past week, Carr struggled to move New Orleans’ offense, which had accounted for just four touchdowns in the first three weeks and did not add that total in Week 4.
Carr finished 23 of 37 for 127 yards and was sacked three times in a second straight loss for the Saints (2-2), who were hoping for a boost from Alvin Kamara’s return from a three-game suspension.
Kamara touched the ball 24 times with 11 carries and 13 receptions, but finished with just 84 yards from scrimmage.
New Orleans took a 3-0 lead on its opening drive but didn’t score for the rest of half.
Mayfield, meanwhile, passed for a pair of touchdowns in the second quarter.
He bought time with his feet on third down before hitting Otten for a 4-yard score that made it 7-3.
Mayfield was intercepted just short of the goal line late in the half by Isaac Yiadom, but fullback Adam Prentice fumbled the ball right back to the Bucs. Mayfield then hit Palmer on a fade route to the right side to make it 14-3 at halftime.
Mayfield put the game away with his 5-yard pass to diving Thompkins with 3:44 left.
Broncos 31, Bears 28
CHICAGO — Russell Wilson threw for three touchdowns, Wil Lutz kicked a tiebreaking field goal with just under two minutes remaining and the Denver Broncos bounced back from one of the most lopsided losses in franchise history by rallying to beat the Chicago Bears 31-28 on Sunday.
Denver (1-3) was coming off a 70-20 blowout by Miami that was franchise’s second-worst loss of the Super Bowl era, behind only a 51-0 pounding by the Raiders in 1967.
Lutz’s 51-yarder capped a comeback from a 28-7, third-quarter deficit. Kareem Jackson then intercepted Justin Fields with the Bears (0-4) near midfield.
Chicago looked like it was headed toward an easy win, leading by 21 after Fields threw a 2-yard touchdown to Khalil Herbert late in the third quarter. Instead, the Bears dropped their 14th in a row since a Week 7 win at New England last season.
The Bears had a chance to break a 28-all tie late in the fourth quarter. Chicago opted to go for it on fourth-and-1 at the 18 rather than kick a field goal, and Herbert got stopped.
Fields threw for a career-high 335 yards and four touchdowns. He completed his first 16 passes and was 28 of 35.
Wilson threw a 4-yard TD to Brandon Johnson near the end of the third and a 13-yarder to Courtland Sutton early in the fourth to make it a seven-point game.
The Bears then had the ball near midfield when Nik Bonitto strip-sacked Fields. Jonathan Cooper recovered the fumble at the 35 and returned it for the tying touchdown.
Wilson hit Marvin Mims Jr. with a 48-yard pass to the 33 on the next play. The Broncos took the lead when Lutz kicked his field goal with 1:51 remaining, and Jackson sealed it with his interception. Fans showered the Bears with boos as the game ended.
Wilson threw for 223 yards. The nine-time Pro Bowler completed 21 of 28 passes
Jaleel McLaughlin ran for 72 yards and caught a touchdown pass for Denver.
DJ Moore caught eight passes for 131 yards and a touchdown for Chicago. Cole Kmet added 85 yards receiving and two TDs.
Herbert ran for 103 yards and caught a TD pass. But after getting blown out by Patrick Mahomes and the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, the Bears came up short again.
Vikings 21, Panthers 13
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Kirk Cousins threw two touchdown passes to Justin Jefferson and D.J. Wonnum returned Bryce Young’s fumble 51 yards for a momentum-changing touchdown, and the Minnesota Vikings held on to beat the Carolina Panthers 21-13 on Sunday for their first win of the season.
Cousins overcame two interceptions, including one that was returned 99 yards for a touchdown by Sam Franklin, and finished with 139 yards passing. Jefferson beat a Carolina secondary playing without three starters for 85 yards on six catches.
Alexander Mattison ran for 95 yards and Harrison Smith had three sacks for the Vikings (1-3), including the one that led to Wonnum’s score.
Bryce Young was 25 of 32 for 204 yards for Carolina.
The winless Panthers (0-4) find themselves in a tremendous hole. Of the 164 teams that have started 0-4 in the Super Bowl era, only the 1992 Chargers went on to make the playoffs.
The momentum of the game turned late in the third quarter when Smith raced into the Carolina backfield untouched and stripped Young of the football from behind. The ball bounced off Young’s leg and careened further into the backfield before Wonnum scooped it up and scored.
The Vikings sacked Young on third down on the ensuing series and Cousins found Jefferson along the left sideline for a 30-yard touchdown strike to give the Vikings a 21-13 lead.
The Panthers attempted to rally, reaching the Vikings 9 with less than two minutes remaining, but Smith sacked Young twice on the final three plays, including on fourth-and-goal at the 18, to seal the win. Minnesota finished with five sacks, all coming in the second half.
Franklin, a special teams standout who started in place of the injured Xavier Woods, intercepted Cousins’ pass intended for K.J. Osborn near the left pylon and went the length of the field to give Carolina an early 7-0 lead.
The INT return was the longest in Panthers history and came just three plays after Franklin was flagged for pass interference, setting the Vikings up with a first-and-goal.
The Vikings entered the game minus-7 in the turnover differential and Cousins’ two early picks left them in a 13-7 hole at halftime.
Jaguars 23, Falcons 7
LONDON — Calvin Ridley is making the most of his second chance, in more ways than one.
The wide receiver held on to a touchdown pass — after a couple of key drops last week — to help the Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Atlanta Falcons 23-7 on Sunday at Wembley Stadium.
Besides defeating his old team, Ridley is also catching up on lost time. He was suspended for the entire 2022 season for violations of the league’s gambling policy.
“I’m so proud of Calvin, what’s he’s been through in his life. He’s put a lot of things behind him. He’s focused on the future,” Jags coach Doug Pederson said. “Obviously his testimony, it’s one that can be spread to a lot of professional and younger-generation athletes. He’s doing things right. We love having him on the football team.”
Ridley says he’s loving it, too.
“Got in the end zone, got my team a touchdown, to put points on the board, it felt good,” he said.
Josh Allen had three sacks and Darious Williams returned an interception for a 61-yard score to help the Jags (2-2) halt a two-game skid with a series of big plays as the team celebrated playing for the 10th time in London. They held on as the Falcons tried to rally in the second half.
Trevor Lawrence side-stepped a blitzing Richie Grant and lofted a deep ball to a wide-open Ridley for a 30-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter.
Williams stepped in front of wide receiver Drake London, intercepted Desmond Ridder’s pass and outran the second-year QB into the end zone to make the score 17-0 in the second quarter. It was the first pick-6 in London since 2016.
The Falcons (2-2) have dropped two in a row and Ridder, making his eighth NFL start, showed some inexperience with interceptions on back-to-back throws in the first half.
“I did a terrible job of taking care of the ball,” Ridder said. “We’ve got to find a way to start faster, whatever that may be, however it is, that’s just what we’ve got to do, and I’ve got to do a better job of taking care of the ball.”
After the pick-6, Andre Cisco intercepted Ridder’s next pass — intended for Kyle Pitts on a crossing route — and returned it to the Atlanta 20. Cisco fumbled but teammate Foyesade Oluokun recovered it at the 16.
Pederson opted against a chip-shot field goal for a 20-point lead and Lawrence was sacked on fourth-and-1 from the 7 by David Onyemata.
Lawrence finished 23 of 30 for 207 yards and the TD pass.
“There’s a ton more out there for us offensively, a couple of plays that I missed that I’m kind of kicking myself over,” said Lawrence, who improved to 2-1 in London.
Christian Kirk led the Jags with eight receptions for 84 yards. Ridley, drafted 26th overall in 2018 by the Falcons, had two receptions for 38 yards.
Atlanta came out energized in the second half and Ridder finished a 75-yard drive with a 15-yard touchdown pass to London to cut Jacksonville’s lead to 17-7.
London only got one foot down at the back of the end zone on a fourth-and-3 from the 6 with just over six minutes remaining and the score 20-7.
Bijan Robinson rushed for 105 yards on 14 carries for the Falcons.
Brandon McManus kicked three field goals, including a 56-yarder for the Jags.
Ridder finished 19 of 31 for 192 yards, the TD pass and two interceptions.
Cowboys 38, Patriots 3
ARLINGTON, Texas — DaRon Bland returned one of his two interceptions for a touchdown, Leighton Vander Esch scooped up a fumble for a score and the Dallas Cowboys beat the New England Patriots 38-3 on Sunday.
Mac Jones was responsible for all three turnovers and was pulled in the second half of the Patriots’ worst loss in 24 seasons under Bill Belichick, surpassing a 31-0 defeat at Buffalo in 2003.
The six-time Super Bowl-winning coach will have to wait at least another week for his 300th career regular-season victory.
The Cowboys (3-1) spoiled former star running back Ezekiel Elliott’s Dallas homecoming with their 10th consecutive home victory. It’s the longest home streak since 1991-92, or almost two decades before AT&T Stadium opened.
Bland had his second pick-6 of the season after getting one in a 40-0 season-opening rout of the New York Giants, when Dallas also returned a blocked field goal for a touchdown in that game.
The Patriots (1-3) trailed by just seven early in the second quarter when Jones was sacked from behind by Dante Fowler, leading to the easy 11-yard scoop-and-score from Vander Esch.
In the final seconds of the first half, Jones tried to throw across the field to Kendrick Bourne when Bland stepped in front and ran 54 yards untouched for a 28-3 Dallas lead.
New England’s previous biggest halftime deficit under Belichick was 24 points twice, including a 47-17 wild-card loss to Buffalo two seasons ago. In the famous rally from 28-3 down to beat Atlanta in Super Bowl 51, the Patriots trailed 21-3 at the break.
Bland, who moved to the outside at cornerback after 2021 All-Pro Trevon Diggs’ season-ending knee injury, got his second interception early in the second half, leading to the last of Brandon Aubrey’s three field goals.
Jones played one more series after that before he was replaced by Bailey Zappe. Jones was 12 of 21 for 150 yards with a 39.9 passer rating.
Elliott didn’t get the start for the Patriots after watching a video tribute on the big screen above the field a few minutes before kickoff.
A two-time rushing champion for the Cowboys, Elliott waved as the crowd gave him a huge ovation and offered an understated version of the signature “feed me” gesture that endeared him to fans over seven seasons in Dallas.
Elliott got the first two carries on New England’s second series and picked up 13 of his 16 yards (on just six carries). By the time he had a chance to be a factor again, the Patriots were two touchdowns behind.
Dak Prescott threw his first touchdown to a receiver this season with a 20-yarder to CeeDee Lamb in the first quarter for a 10-3 lead.
Prescott was 28 of 34 for 261 yards without an interception as Dallas, the NFL leader in turnover margin coming in, finished plus-3.
All three Dallas victories have been blowouts with an average margin of 32 points. The Cowboys were coming off a surprising loss at Arizona in which they never led.
Chargers 24, Raiders 17
INGLEWOOD, Calif — Khalil Mack set a franchise single-game record with six sacks, Justin Herbert accounted for three touchdowns and the Los Angeles Chargers held on to beat the Las Vegas Raiders 24-17 on Sunday.
It was the sixth time since sacks became an official statistic in 1982 that a player had at least six in a game. The record is seven, by Kansas City’s Derrick Thomas in 1990.
The Chargers (2-2) scored on four of their first five drives to build a 24-7 halftime lead before the Raiders rallied to make it close. Las Vegas was driving for the tying touchdown when Asante Samuel Jr. picked off Aidan O’Connell’s pass at the Chargers 2-yard line with 2:33 remaining.
It looked like the Raiders (1-3) might get one final chance, but Herbert completed a 51-yard pass up the left sideline to Joshua Palmer on third-and-10 from the Chargers 11 to ice the game.
Herbert completed 13 of 24 passes for 167 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He also had 30 yards rushing and a pair of scores.
The Chargers won their second straight despite playing without three defensive starters — safeties Derwin James Jr. and Alohi Gilman and linebacker Joey Bosa.
O’Connell, who got the start with Jimmy Garoppolo in the concussion protocol, completed 24 of 38 passes for 238 yards and an interception. Josh Jacobs had 139 scrimmage yards, including 81 receiving, and a touchdown.
Herbert’s 12-yard keeper to complete the game’s opening drive made him the fifth player in NFL history to have at least 100 passing touchdowns and 10 rushing scores in the first four seasons of a career.
Los Angeles extended its lead to 17-7 midway through the second quarter when Herbert connected with Keenan Allen for a 7-yard touchdown. The Chargers took over on the Raiders 36 after Austin Johnson recovered O’Connell’s fumble when he dropped the ball while under pressure in the pocket.
Daniel Carlson’s 22-yard field goal got Las Vegas within two touchdowns late in the third quarter. Jacobs went up the middle on fourth-and-goal from the 1 to get the Raiders within 24-17.
49ers 35, Cardinals 16
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Christian McCaffrey scored a career-high four touchdowns and the San Francisco 49ers won their 14th straight regular season game, beating the Arizona Cardinals 35-16 on Sunday.
McCaffrey gained 177 yards from scrimmage, scoring on three runs and one catch to help the 49ers get off to their fifth 4-0 start in franchise history. He also broke Jerry Rice’s franchise record by scoring a TD in his 13th straight game, including the playoffs.
Brock Purdy went 20 for 21 for 283 yards with a TD run and pass, setting a 49ers franchise record for completion percentage in a game. He won for the ninth time in nine career regular season starts, leading the 49ers to their fourth straight game with at least 30 points to open the season.
Joshua Dobbs threw for 265 yards and two touchdowns to Michael Wilson for the Cardinals (1-3), who were unable to follow up last week’s upset at home against Dallas with another win against an NFC powerhouse.
Arizona had no answer to slow down McCaffrey, who became the first player in nine years to start the season with four straight games with at least 100 yards from scrimmage and a TD. He finished with 106 yards on the ground to go with seven catches for 71 yards.
McCaffrey scored on a 1-yard run on the opening drive, took a lateral and hurdled a defender for an 18-yard run on the second drive and caught a 6-yard TD pass in the third possession of the game. He added a 2-yard run in fourth quarter to give the Niners a 28-16 cushion.
McCaffrey had a chance to tie the franchise record with his fifth touchdown of the game when the Niners got to the 1 in the closing minutes. But coach Kyle Shanahan called for a run to fullback Kyle Juszczyk that got no yards, and Purdy then scored on a sneak.