ATLANTA — Atlanta’s Younghoe Koo booted a 41-yard field goal in overtime after the Carolina Panthers missed a pair of kicks that could’ve won it, giving the Falcons an improbable 37-34 victory Sunday that maintained their hold on first place in the NFC South.

The teams combined for three touchdowns in the final 3:06 of regulation before a silly penalty by the Panthers’ D.J. Moore opened the door for the Falcons (4-4) to pull it out.

The @AtlantaFalcons win a thriller! #CARvsATL pic.twitter.com/T0Vgc05Dvc

— NFL (@NFL) October 30, 2022

With the Falcons up 34-28, Carolina (2-6) appeared to have won the game in stunning fashion when Moore hauled in a 62-yard touchdown heave from P.J. Walker with 12 seconds remaining.

But Moore ripped off his helmet during a raucous celebration in the end zone, resulting in a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. That pushed back the extra point to a 48-yard attempt, and Eddy Piñeiro pulled it left of the upright.

P.J. WALKER LAUNCHED IT OVER 60 YARDS TO DJ MOORE TO TIE THE GAME ????

The extra point was no good.

(via @Panthers) pic.twitter.com/0RqOlsLI4z

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 30, 2022

Carolina (2-6) had another chance to win in OT after C.J. Henderson returned an interception 54 yards to the Falcons 20. But Piñeiro botched another kick, yanking a wobbler left of the upright again from 32 yards out — shorter than a regular extra point.

The Panthers wouldn’t get another shot. Marcus Mariota, who threw three touchdown passes, ripped off a 30-yard run for the Falcons that set up Koo’s game-winner with 1:55 left in the extra period.

The Panthers had a chance to create a four-team logjam in the NFC South. Instead, the Falcons have the lead all to themselves with a .500 record.

The @AtlantaFalcons are first in the NFC South after a hard-fought win vs. the Panthers. @KennyAlbert and Jonathan Vilma conclude this crazy OT final!

(Sponsored by @Verizon) pic.twitter.com/sgVmobmF1N

— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) October 30, 2022

Vikings 34, Cardinals 26

MINNEAPOLIS — Za’Darius Smith had three sacks to help Minnesota’s defense hang on against Kyler Murray, and the Vikings beat the Arizona Cardinals for their fifth consecutive victory.

Dalvin Cook rushed for a season-high 111 yards and a touchdown and Kirk Cousins passed for two scores and ran for another for the Vikings (6-1), who stayed unbeaten at home in coach Kevin O’Connell’s rookie year.

Murray passed for 326 yards and a season-high three touchdowns, including a one-handed grab for a score by DeAndre Hopkins with 47 seconds left in the second quarter, but he threw two second-half interceptions that proved costly for the Cardinals (3-5).

The Vikings went 31 yards in four plays for a touchdown after the first one, a dangerous heave by Murray under pressure from his own end zone.

The second pick, a throw way behind Zach Ertz, came on the drive right after Cousins hit K.J. Osborn on third-and-2 from the 5 for a 34-26 lead. That was set up by a fumbled punt return by Greg Dortch at his 25.

Hopkins had 12 catches for 159 yards in his second game back from suspension, Rondale Moore had seven receptions for 92 yards and a fourth-quarter touchdown, and Murray’s always-dangerous ability to leave the pocket kept an active Vikings defense honest all game.

But the Cardinals crossed midfield on each of their last three possessions over the last half of the fourth quarter while trailing by one score and never got closer than the 37.

Former Cardinals linebacker Jordan Hicks dragged down Eno Benjamin just short of the marker on fourth-and-4 to turn the ball over with 2:39 left. Out of timeouts on their last drive, Murray was sacked by Smith at the 44 with 10 seconds remaining. Then Harrison Phillips brought him down for a big loss on the last play to end the game.

The Vikings have won all 11 matchups in Minneapolis since the Cardinals moved to Arizona in 1988.

Cowboys 49, Bears 29

ARLINGTON, Texas — Dak Prescott threw for two touchdowns and ran for another, Micah Parsons returned a fumble for his first NFL score and the Dallas Cowboys beat the Chicago Bears .

Tony Pollard ran for 131 yards and three TDs with Ezekiel Elliott sidelined by a right knee injury as the Cowboys (6-2) made it 2-for-2 in a four-game stretch against the NFC North.

Justin Fields rallied the Bears (3-5) within five after trailing 28-7, but they had already given the momentum back when the young quarterback leapt into the wrong kind of Chicago lore.

David Montgomery fumbled in the open field after a catch in the third quarter, and Parsons fell on the loose ball. Instead of touching Parsons down, Fields jumped over him.

The star linebacker got up, took off at the urging of teammates, stumbled toward the goal line and rolled over in the end zone on the 36-yard return. Officials didn’t even stop the game for a review.

The Cowboys scored touchdowns on their first four possessions for the first time since 2014, two years before Prescott and Elliott arrived as dynamic rookies leading the team to the top seed in the NFC.

Prescott opened the scoring with a 7-yard run on a nifty play design by offensive coordinator Kellen Moore. Prescott’s two TD passes, including one to CeeDee Lamb, came on either side of Pollard’s first score.

Fields threw for two touchdowns and ran for a score. His 10-yard toss to Cole Kmet got Chicago back within 13 after his gaffe on Parsons put Dallas up 42-23.

Pollard answered with a 54-yard touchdown to get the lead back to 20 and keep the Bears from rallying despite their fourth 200-yard rushing game of the season (240).

Khalil Herbert, whose had what appeared to be a third-quarter fumble overturned on review to help Chicago to stay close, finished with 99 yards and a TD. Fields added 60 and Montgomery 53.

Prescott was 21 of 27 for 250 yards with an interception in his second game back after missing five with a fractured right thumb. Pollard tied his career highs in yards and carries (14).

Patriots 22, Jets 17

Bill Belichick passed George Halas for second place on the NFL’s career coaching victories list and the New England Patriots continued their mastery of the New York Jets by beating them for the 13th straight time.

Devin McCourty had two of the Patriots’ three interceptions of Zach Wilson, Nick Folk kicked five field goals against his former team and Belichick’s bunch slowed the surprising Jets, who had won four in a row.

Belichick missed a chance to break a tie with Halas on Monday night, when New England (4-4) lost to Chicago 33-14. But he got No. 325, including playoffs, against the Jets and now trails only Don Shula (347). The victory was also Belichick’s 100th in the regular season against AFC East opponents as coach of the Patriots.

Mac Jones, who was benched against the Bears for rookie Bailey Zappe, finished 24 of 35 for 194 yards with a touchdown to Jakobi Meyers and an interception.

The Jets (5-3), who snapped a 12-game skid against AFC East opponents by beating Miami three weeks ago, couldn’t change their fortunes against the Patriots — even while debuting their stealth black alternate helmets.

After a promising start, Wilson made too many mistakes in the first 300-yard passing game of his career — he was 20 of 41 for 355 yards and two TDs to Tyler Conklin— and New England took advantage.

Many in the MetLife Stadium crowd that was raucous at kickoff with the Jets off to their best start since 2010 were booing by the third quarter — and filing to the exits long before the game was over.

New York made it closer on Wilson’s 9-yard touchdown pass to Conklin with 1:51 left, but New England recovered the onside kick and Jones took three kneeldowns to run out the clock.

Trailing 10-6 coming out of halftime, the Patriots marched down the field with an efficient drive keyed by Rhamondre Stevenson’s 35-yard run. On fourth-and-1 from the 5, Belichick went for it — and Jones found Meyers in the end zone for a go-ahead touchdown.

After Greg Zuerlein was wide left on a potential tying 45-yarder early in the third, Folk — who spent seven seasons with the Jets — made kicks of 49, 45 and 52 yards to make it 22-10 early in the fourth.

Helped by an unnecessary roughness call on Jabrill Peppers, the Jets quickly got into Patriots territory on their first possession of the second quarter. Wilson capped the drive with an 8-yarder to Conklin for a 10-3 lead.

It was Wilson’s first TD pass in four games.

With the Patriots trailing by seven and facing fourth-and-1 from the Jets 21 coming out of the 2-minute warning, Belichick opted to go for it. Jones’ throw to Meyers fell incomplete and New York took over on downs.

But Wilson was intercepted for the first time in four games when his pass floated into the hands of Ja’Whuan Bentley, giving the Patriots the ball at the Jets 40.

Dolphins 31, Lions 27

DETROIT — Tua Tagovailoa threw a go-ahead, 11-yard touchdown pass to Mike Gesicki late in the third quarter, capping the Miami Dolphins’ rally from a double-digit, second-half deficit for a win over the Detroit Lions on Sunday.

The Dolphins (5-3) have won two straight since Tagovailoa returned from a concussion. The Lions (1-6) have lost five in a row.

Detroit scored on all five of its posssessons in the first half to lead 27-17 after scoring a total of six points in its previous two games.

The Dolphins opened the second half with a touchdown drive, scoring when fullback Alec Ingold took a snap that fooled the defense and scored on a 1-yard sneak.

They took their first lead late in the third on Tagovailoa’s pass to Gesicki, who was wide open in the end zone, to score on a fifth straight possession.

Tagovailoa was 29 of 36 for 382 yards with three touchdowns, including two to Jaylen Waddle, who had eight catches for 106 yards. Tyreek Hill had 12 receptions for 188 yards for the Dolphins.

Hill and Waddle have 1,688 yards receiving combined, setting a Super Bowl era record for two teammates through the first eight games of a season.

Detroit’s Jared Goff was 27 of 37 for 321 yards with a touchdown. Goff would have had a second scoring pass at the end of the first half, but Josh Reynolds dropped a pass in the end zone and the Lions settled for a field goal. The four-point difference proved to be critical.

Jamaal Williams had two touchdowns for the Lions, who had a 21-7 lead after he scored for a second time early in the second quarter.

Saints 24, Raiders 0

NEW ORLEANS — Alvin Kamara scored his first three touchdowns of the season, and the New Orleans Saints shut out the Las Vegas Raiders.

Kamara converted short receptions into touchdowns of 36 and 16 yards. He also rushed for a 3-yard score.

Andy Dalton justified the Saints’ decision to start him for a fifth straight game despite season-opening starter Jameis Winston having recovered enough from back and ankle injuries to be a full participant in practice this week.

Dalton was 22 of 30 for 229 yards and two TDs. His top receiver was Kamara, who had nine receptions for 96 yards to go with his 62 yards rushing.

Kamara has been having a productive season and had surpassed 100 yards from scrimmage in New Orleans’ previous three games.

Oddly, that hadn’t translated into a single touchdown until he faced Las Vegas — just days after saying he wanted to “whoop” the Raiders this week for Saints coach Dennis Allen, whose first head coaching job came with that club from 2012 to 2014.

It was an anemic performance by the Las Vegas offense under coach Josh McDaniels. The Raiders didn’t get the ball across midfield until two minutes remained in the game.

Derek Carr, who was pulled late in the fourth quarter, finished 15 of 26 for 101 yards with one interception. He was sacked three times.

The Saints finished with four sacks in all, two by second-year defensive end Payton Turner, who was playing for the first time in four weeks after recovering from a chest injury. Tackle David Onyemata had another, while end Cameron Jordan and tackle Kentavius Street shared one.

Broncos 21, Jaguars 17

LONDON — Latavius Murray scored on a 2-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter to help the Denver Broncos snap a four-game losing streak by beating the Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium.

Russell Wilson led two go-ahead scoring drives in the second half on his return from a hamstring injury. Wilson finished 18 for 30 for 252 yards with a touchdown and interception.

The embattled quarterback looked rusty early, but connected on a 47-yard completion to KJ Hamler after the Broncos fell behind 17-14 on Travis Etienne’s 1-yard touchdown run with 3:54 to play. Wilson then scrambled for 10 yards on a third-and-5 to get to the Jacksonville 28.

The late score gave Murray a touchdown for two different teams this month in London. He ran for a score for New Orleans earlier this month at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The Broncos (3-5) erased a 10-point deficit on Jerry Jeudy’s 6-yard touchdown reception in the first half and Melvin Gordon’s 1-yard run to complete a 98-yard scoring drive early in the second half.

The announced attendance of 86,215 is the largest crowd in the history of NFL international games.

The Jaguars (2-6) lost their fifth consecutive game despite a career day from Etienne, who carried 24 times for 156 yards and a touchdown.

Etienne scored on a 1-yard plunge to give Jacksonville a 17-14 lead with 3:54 to play.

After Murray’s touchdown with 1:43 remaining, Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence threw an interception to K’Waun Williams at the Jacksonville 35.

Lawrence had a costly red zone interception on a first-and-goal from the 1 in the first half. Lawrence was 18 for 31 for 133 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.

On Denver’s first possession after the break, Wilson connected three times with rookie tight end Greg Dulcich, including a 38-yard completion to the 1. Gordon then ran it in to give the Broncos a 14-10 lead.

Wilson missed last week’s game because of a strained hamstring and looked rusty early, throwing an interception on his second pass.

The Broncos didn’t get their first first down until almost midway through the second quarter.

Seahawks 27, Giants 13

SEATTLE — Tyler Lockett caught a 33-yard touchdown pass from Geno Smith with 9:18 left, and the Seattle Seahawks won their third straight over the New York Giants on Sunday.

The only matchup of teams with winning records in the NFL this week was a slugfest until the fourth quarter, when Lockett made up for two big mistakes earlier in the game and Seattle rookie running back Kenneth Walker III finally broke free, helping the surprising Seahawks (5-3) stay atop the NFC West.

New York (6-2) saw its four-game win streak snapped entering its bye week and lost ground to undefeated Philadelphia in the NFC East — largely because the Seahawks corralled Saquon Barkley, who was held to a season-low 53 yards on 20 carries and had three catches for 9 yards.

Lockett hauled in a short pass at the 3-yard line in the first half, but Adoree’ Jackson forced and recovered a fumble, leading to a 1-yard TD run from Barkley. Late in the third quarter, Lockett was free behind the Giants secondary but dropped what would have been a 33-yard touchdown.

Given another chance on Seattle’s next drive, Lockett came through. First he made a solid 12-yard catch. Then he made a stutter-and-go move on Jackson and flashed open down the sideline. Smith’s throw was on target for the touchdown and a 20-13 Seattle lead.

Seattle added insurance with 5:22 left thanks to Walker. New York’s Richie James fumbled his second punt return of the game, giving Seattle the ball at the Giants 32. Two plays later, Walker reversed his field, broke tackles and scooted 16 yards for the clinching touchdown.

Walker finished with 51 yards on 18 carries. Smith was 23 of 34 for 212 yards and two touchdowns, including a 3-yard TD pass to DK Metcalf in the second quarter. Smith was 5 for 5 for 75 yards on the drive capped by Lockett’s scoring catch. Both Lockett (hamstring/oblique) and Metcalf (knee) were questionable entering the game.

Barkley entered the week leading the NFL in yards from scrimmage and was second in yards rushing. His previous season low on the ground was 70 yards against Green Bay. But he struggled against a Seahawks defense that gave up 235 yards rushing to New Orleans less than a month ago.

The lack of a run game put pressure on Daniel Jones, who avoided big mistakes but didn’t make any big plays through the air. Jones was 17 of 31 for 176 yards and was sacked five times.

Commanders 17, Colts 16

INDIANAPOLIS — Taylor Heinicke scored on a 1-yard plunge with 22 seconds left Sunday, capping an 89-yard drive in the final 2 1/2 minutes and sending the Washington Commanders to a 17-16 victory over the Indianapolis Colts.

Indy native Terry McLaurin set up the decisive score by wrestling the ball away from cornerback Stephon Gilmore, the 2019 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, for a 33-yard catch one play before Heinicke scored.

Washington (4-4) has won three straight.

Indy (3-4-1) managed only one TD in Sam Ehlinger’s first career start. He took over at quarterback this week when coach Frank Reich announced longtime veteran Matt Ryan had been benched.

The Commanders carried a 7-3 lead into the second half. But Chase McLaughlin’s third field goal of the day, a 20-yarder, gave Indy a 9-7 lead early in the fourth quarter.

Heinicke was picked off on the ensuing possession and the Colts needed two plays to convert the turnover into a 6-yard touchdown run by Nyheim Hines. Reich sent McLaughlin out for the extra point instead of going for 2.

Heinicke eventually made the Colts pay for that decision, converting a fourth-and-1 from his 20-yard line by buying enough time to hook up with Curtis Samuel for a 12-yard gain. He hooked up with McLaurin four plays later and eventually scored.

Heinicke was 23 of 31 for 279 yards, one TD and one interception.

Ehlinger finished 17 of 23 for 201 yards, and he also had six carries for 15 yards. He was sacked twice.

49ers 31, Rams 14

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Christian McCaffrey became the 11th player in NFL history with a rushing touchdown, a passing touchdown and a receiving touchdown in one game, and the San Francisco 49ers extended their regular-season mastery over the Rams to four full years with a victory over Los Angeles on Sunday.

McCaffrey threw a 34-yard TD pass to Brandon Aiyuk in the first half, caught a TD pass from Jimmy Garoppolo in the third quarter and then put the Niners (4-4) in control with a TD run early in the fourth.

Garoppolo passed for 235 yards and two touchdowns as San Francisco scored 24 unanswered points to finish its eighth consecutive regular-season victory over its NFC West rivals.

McCaffrey finished with 94 yards rushing and 55 yards receiving. LaDainian Tomlinson was the last player with rushing, passing and receiving TDs in the same game, doing it for San Diego back in 2005.

The 49ers outbid the Rams (3-4) last week in a trade for McCaffrey’s services, and the versatile running back showed Los Angeles exactly what it missed. The Rams actually were burned by McCaffrey for the second straight game, since he piled up 158 total yards for the Panthers during the Rams’ win over Carolina in LA’s final game before its bye.

After trailing 14-10 at halftime despite McCaffrey’s 34-yard TD pass, the 49ers reclaimed the lead late in the third quarter with an 88-yard drive capped by McCaffrey’s artful TD catch down the sideline. McCaffrey then made a 24-yard run followed by a 1-yard score with 12:07 to play, and George Kittle made a late TD catch to seal the Niners’ latest humiliation of the Rams despite the injury absence of star Deebo Samuel.

Los Angeles narrowly beat San Francisco in the NFC championship game at SoFi Stadium exactly nine months ago, but the Niners have won every other meeting since 2018.

Matthew Stafford passed for 187 yards and scored his first rushing touchdown since 2016 for the defending Super Bowl champion Rams (3-4), who are under .500 for the third time — all occurring this season — in coach Sean McVay’s career. Los Angeles managed 43 net yards in the second half while getting shut out after halftime for the third time already this season.

McVay has lost nine of his 13 matchups with Kyle Shanahan, his former co-worker in Washington, since they got their current jobs one month apart in 2017. Shanahan got nearly 21% of his 43 career regular-season victories when coaching against McVay.

Cooper Kupp had eight catches for 79 yards and a touchdown, but the Rams All-Pro left the field gingerly after an awkward tackle with 1:02 to play.

The Rams scored first when Stafford’s 1-yard run capped a 17-play, 88-yard drive consuming 9:21.

The Niners tied it a few minutes later on McCaffrey’s TD pass off a fake screen. Samuel threw a TD pass against the Rams last season.

Titans 17, Texans 10

HOUSTON — Derrick Henry dominated the Houston Texans again, running for 219 yards and two touchdowns to carry the Tennessee Titans to a win on Sunday.

It was Henry’s fourth straight 200-yard game against the Texans, making him the first player in NFL history to have at least 150 yards and two touchdowns on the ground in four consecutive games against the same opponent. The 28-year-old has six 200-yard games in his career, tying O.J. Simpson and Adrian Peterson for the most in NFL history.

With rookie quarterback Malik Willis making his first start for the injured Ryan Tannehill, the AFC South-leading Titans (5-2) went to Henry early and often. He ripped off a season-long 41-yard run on his second carry of the game and never looked back against Houston’s NFL-worst run defense.

Henry had a season-high 32 carries and touchdown runs of 29 yards and 1 yard to help the Titans build a 14-3 lead.

The Titans were up by 14 when Davis Mills connected with rookie Dameon Pierce on a 3-yard touchdown pass that cut the lead to 17-10 with less than 30 seconds left in the game. But Tennessee recovered the onside kick to seal it.

Henry’s big day gives him 75 career touchdowns (72 rushing and three receiving), passing Eddie George for most TDs in franchise history.

Henry has run for 892 yards and nine touchdowns combined in his last four games against Houston. He missed both games against the Texans last year with a broken foot, making Sunday his first game against them since the finale of the 2020 season, when he ran for a career-best 250 yards to surpass 2,000 for the year.

The last-place Texans (1-5-1) weren’t just terrible on defense Sunday. They also couldn’t get anything going on offense and didn’t crack 100 yards until late in the fourth quarter. They finished with 161 yards and were 2 of 14 on third down.

Mills was 17 of 29 for 152 yards with an interception and a touchdown, struggling more than usual with top receiver Nico Collins out with an injury.

Willis, who was the 86th pick in the draft, threw for 55 yards with an interception as Tannehill sat out for the first time since the seventh game of the 2019 season.

Henry put the Titans up 7-3 when he shed two defenders and stiff-armed another as he tumbled into the end zone on a 29-yard run with about four minutes left in the second quarter.

He pushed the lead to 14-3 when waltzed in on fourth-and-goal from the 1 midway through the third. Dontrell Hilliard had runs of 21 and 30 yards to set up that touchdown.

The Titans finished with 314 yards rushing as Hilliard added 83.

Steven Nelson intercepted Willis and returned it 34 yards to the Tennessee 11 early in the second quarter. But the Texans lost 13 yards on the ensuring drive and settled for a 43-yard field goal to take a 3-0 lead.

Randy Bullock, who was 4 for 4 on field goals last week to win AFC special teams player of the week, missed a 48-yard attempt on Tennessee’s first drive.

Mills was intercepted by Kristian Fulton on Houston’s opening drive, but the Titans couldn’t take advantage of the error and had to punt.

Robert Woods fumbled a punt return in the first quarter, and the Texans recovered. It was the third fumble on a punt return for the Titans this season but the first by Woods.

The Texans couldn’t cash in on that mistake, either.

---

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)

---