Tom Brady’s Buccaneers claimed a crucial win even after a bizarre tricky play backfired against the Seahawks while there was chaos when two Super Bowl contenders clashed.
Plus — the Giants’ coach was fired-up over a key blunder from his team in a tense 24-16 win over the Texans and an injury blow has hurt the Rams.
Giants head coach Brian Daboll was not happy with a first-half blunder on Sunday.
Daboll laid into Giants offensive lineman Jack Anderson after he committed a false start penalty at the start of the second quarter of the team’s game against the Texans.
Down and distance were almost certainly a factor in Daboll’s outburst. The Giants, up 7-0 at the time, faced a 4th-and-1 from the Texans’ 36 yard-line and the Giants kept the offence out on the field. The false start pushed them back into a 4th-and-6 and they sent the punt team out.
Keeping the drive going could have resulted in more points for the Giants, but they were forced to punt as a field-goal attempt became too big of a risk.
Fortunately for Anderson, the Texans only turned that possession into a field goal and toward the end of the third quarter, the Giants led 21-10 after touchdowns by Darius Slayton and Saquon Barkley.
Barkley is having one of his best games in the NFL, rushing for 127 yards on 29 carries and a touchdown as of early in the fourth quarter. Barkley also had an 8-yard catch.
The Giants are looking to go to 7-2 this week, which would be their best start since 2008, when they began the season 11-1 before finishing 12-4. They would eventually lose to the Philadelphia Eagles in the divisional round that season.
Elsewhere, defending Super Bowl champions the Los Angeles Rams look to have been dealt a crushing blow to their playoff hopes after another loss.
Having struggled all season to get their running game going, the Rams had largely relied on star wideout Cooper Kupp’s playmaking to power an otherwise anaemic offence.
But Kupp suffered an ankle injury in their latest defeat — a 27-17 loss to the Arizona Cardinals — and failed to return.
The Rams were booed by their fans as they left the field at halftime, with back-up quarterback John Wolford taking a knee and L.A. on the wrong end of a 17-3 scoreline.
Wolford was at centre for the Rams after regular quarterback Matthew Stafford was ruled out having failed to clear concussion protocol.
The Cardinals also had their first-choice quarterback Kyler Murray sidelined with a hamstring injury, seeing back-up Colt McCoy lead the offence.
McCoy completed 26 of 37 passes in the win, throwing for 238 yards and one touchdown.
It was a tough night for Wolford, completing 24 of 36 passes for 212 yards and a touchdown with one interception and fumble lost.
Cooper Kupp lays on the ground with an injury. Ronald Martinez/Getty Images/AFPSource: AFP
The Rams’ early touchdown of the game came to running back Darrell Henderson, who struggled to get anything going on the ground with six carries for 21 yards.
On the other side of the field Arizona running back James Conner had two touchdowns and 21 carries for 69 yards in his most impressive showing since returning from a rib injury.
While the Rams may be without their biggest offensive weapon in Kupp, the Cardinals once again heavily targeted DeAndre Hopkins (10 catches for 94 yards) and Rondale Moore (nine catches for 94 yards) in the win.
They did lose tight end Zach Ertz (knee) though, who was carted off and could be looking at extended time on the sidelines.
RETURNING COACH’S BOLD CALL BACKFIRES IN OT LOSS
Cowboys heads coach Mike McCarthy returned to Green Bay for the first time, after 12 years as coach of the Packers which included a Super Bowl win.
McCarthy’s current side were 28-14 up early in the fourth before Aaron Rodgers twice found rookie receiver Christian Watson to force the game into overtime.
The Cowboys had the first possession and McCarthy opted to go for it on fourth and three but Dak Prescott’s pass was incomplete leaving the Packers needing just a field goal.
That came at the end of a 55 yard, six play drive when Mason Crosby converted from 28 yards to claim a much-needed win for the Packers who improved to 4-6 to keep their season alive.
Head coach Mike McCarthy of the Dallas Cowboys and head coach Matt LaFleur of the Green Bay Packers shake hands. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
VIKINGS STUN BILLS IN CHAOTIC COMEBACk
The Minnesota Vikings defeated the Buffalo Bills 33-30 in overtime after an epic clash on Sunday between two of the hottest teams in the NFL.
After a game that featured several dizzying swings of direction in an extraordinary end to the fourth quarter, the Vikings had to settle for a field goal to open overtime.
But Bills quarterback Josh Allen then threw an interception to hand the game to the visitors, who moved to 8-1 with a statement victory.
The result saw the Bills fall to 6-3 and lose top spot in the AFC East to the Miami Dolphins (7-3) who beat the Cleveland Browns 39-17.
The Vikings have made a habit of comeback wins this season and they were inches away from doing so in the fourth quarter.
Minnesota had trailed 27-10 in the third but rallied thanks to an 81 yard touchdown run from Dalvin Cook.
Dalvin Cook broke off for a big touchdown. (Photo by Isaiah Vazquez/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
C.J. Ham’s three yard rush at the start of the fourth shifted the momentum further to the Vikings but Greg Joseph’s point after kick struck the post leaving the Vikings needing a touchdown to win.
Cousins then led Minnesota down the field, helped by two superb catches from receiver Justin Jefferson, including a remarkable leap for a 32 yard catch to keep the drive alive on fourth down.
The Vikings thought they had the touchdown when Cousins again found Jefferson but the officials reversed their decision after a review ruling the receiver had not broken the plane of the goal line.
On fourth and goal, Cousins then looked to Cook who dropped the pass but a flag on the play allowed the Vikings quarterback a second chance.
This time Cousins went for a quarterback sneak but fell just short and it seemed that somehow the Bills had survived.
But there was another twist in the tale as Allen fumbled a poor snap and Eric Kendricks recovered the ball for a touchdown that put the Vikings three up with 41 seconds left on the clock.
Josh Allen came up with a crucial mistake late in the game. Isaiah Vazquez/Getty Images/AFPSource: AFP
Allen led a five play, 69 yard drive that ended with a Tyler Bass field goal that forced the game into overtime.
Joseph’s overtime field goal left the Bills with the chance to win the game with a touchdown, but on second and 10 at the Minnesota 20 yard line, Allen forced a pass towards Gabe Davis and Patrick Peterson grabbed the game winning interception.
Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa again impressed for Miami, throwing for 285 yards and three touchdowns as the Dolphins took full advantage of the Bills’ loss.
Dolphins running back Jeff Wilson Jr, who Miami traded a fifth round pick for to bring from the San Francisco 49ers, rushed for 119 yards on 17 carries, including a 20 yard touchdown run to complete the win.
Meanwhile, the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 27-17 with quarterback Patrick Mahomes throwing for 331 yards and four touchdowns.
