NFL Week 10: Vikings get critical Josh Allen turnovers, stun Bills in OT

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Patrick Peterson intercepted Josh Allen with 1:12 left in overtime to finally end a sloppy, yet thrilling back-and-forth game between two of the NFL’s best teams, and the Minnesota Vikings completed their rally from a 17-point second-half deficit to beat the Buffalo Bills 33-30 on Sunday.

The Vikings took advantage of three turnovers by Allen in the fourth quarter and overtime, pulling ahead late in regulation when he mishandled a snap and fumbled in the end zone.

Greg Joseph put the Vikings ahead to stay by hitting a 33-yard field goal with 3:42 left in overtime. The game didn’t end until Allen, facing second and 10 at Minnesota’s 20, forced a pass over the middle intended for Gabe Davis, only to have Peterson intercept it a few yards into the end zone, his second pick of the day. Peterson ran out and slid to the turf.

The Vikings pick off Josh Allen to hold off the Bills in overtime. Unbelievable game. pic.twitter.com/AgLT5obvYl

— Doug Rush (@TheDougRush) November 13, 2022

Kirk Cousins threw for 357 yards, and Justin Jefferson had a monster game with 10 catches for 193 yards for the NFC North-leading Vikings (8-2). Minnesota rallied to win when trailing with 2 1/2 minutes or less remaining in regulation for the fifth time this season.

The Bills (6-3) dropped out of the AFC lead with their second straight loss, this one a thriller that featured several momentum-turning plays in the final minute of regulation alone.

The Bills, clinging to a a 27-23 lead, appeared to have won when they stopped Cousins for no gain on fourth-and-goal from the half-yard line with 49 seconds remaining.

On the very next play, Allen muffed the snap from center Mitch Morse, and Minnesota linebacker Erik Hendricks dived into the end zone to recover it for a touchdown.

Buffalo Wild Wings is pressing buttons on this Bills and Vikings game ????pic.twitter.com/Uc7NWsrAIo

— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) November 13, 2022

Allen, who was questionable to play this week with an injured throwing elbow, engineered a five-play, 69-yard drive to set up Tyler Bass’ 29-yard field goal with 2 seconds remaining.

But his mistakes were key to this defeat.

With the Bills ahead 27-17, Allen threw his first interception on fourth-and-goal at Minnesota’s 2 with 10:27 remaining. Rolling to his right, Allen inexplicably threw back across his body directly to Peterson, who returned the ball to Buffalo’s 34 and was tackled by Allen. The frustrated quarterback lay face down on the field for nearly a minute, and kicked both of his feet on the turf before finally getting up.

Though the Vikings scored on the ensuing drive, with C.J. Ham bulling up the middle on a 3-yard run, Joseph missed the extra point.

Then it was Jefferson’s time to rescue the Vikings. He made an incredible one-handed, 32-yard grab on fourth-and-18 on Minnesota’s final drive of regulation. Jefferson reached back to get one hand on the ball and rip it out of the grasp of Bills defender Cam Lewis.

JUSTIN JEFFERSON OH MY GOODNESS ????????

(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/h71fuciUrv

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 13, 2022

Selected with the 2020 first-round pick the Vikings acquired in a trade that sent receiver Stefon Diggs to the Bills, Jefferson became the NFL’s first player to top 100 yards receiving 20 times in his first three seasons, breaking a tie with Odell Beckham Jr. and former Minnesota great Randy Moss.

Dalvin Cook sparked the comeback by scoring on an 81-yard run to cut Buffalo’s lead to 27-17 with 1:34 left in the third quarter. Cook finished with 119 yards rushing on 14 carries.

Devin Singletary rushed for two first-quarter TDs as the Bills appeared to take control by building a 24-10 halftime lead.

Failing to protect the ball has been a season-long issue for Allen. He has turnovers in eight of nine outings, with 10 interceptions — two more than he had all last season. He’s also lost three fumbles, matching his total last year.

Allen finished 29 of 43 for 330 yards passing and an 11-yard touchdown pass to Davis.

The @Vikings are 8-1 for the first time under Kevin O'Connell and come out victorious vs. the #Bills!@DarylJohnston and @Joe_Davis wrap up the insane overtime ending in Buffalo. pic.twitter.com/62g1bgu5i4

— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) November 13, 2022

Allen didn’t make an appearance on the field until emerging from the tunnel for pregame warmups, about 45 minutes before kickoff. He and backup Case Keenum both took practice snaps.

Chiefs 27, Jaguars 17

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs were rolling through the Jaguars defense when Jacksonville safety Andre Cisco delivered a helmet-to-helmet blow that left wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster motionless on the turf.

Rather than slow down the Chiefs, the questionable hit infuriated them.

Mahomes threw for 331 yards with touchdown passes to four different receivers, and the Kansas City offense piled up nearly 500 yards despite three turnovers in a 27-17 victory Sunday.

“My reaction, I was angry. I was kind of mad,” said Chiefs wide receiver Kadarius Toney, who had one of the touchdown catches. “I don’t like no dirty plays. I felt like it kind of gave the team a boost, gave us something to really put us on our back. It gave us something to play for, you could say.”

Toney, who was acquired a couple of week ago from the Giants, had 33 yards rushing to go with four catches for 57 yards and his first NFL touchdown reception. Travis Kelce, Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Noah Gray also had touchdown catches, and Isiah Pacheco ran for 82 yards as the Chiefs (7-2) beat the Jaguars (3-7) for the sixth straight time. Kansas City took over the best record in the AFC.

“They gave us all we could handle,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said, “and it wound up being a good game at the end.”

Trevor Lawrence threw for 259 yards and two touchdowns, both to Christian Kirk, who finished with nine catches for 105 yards for the Jaguars. Zay Jones also had eight catches for 68 yards while Travis Etienne ran for 45 yards.

“It’s tough to win games in general when you don’t take advantage of opportunities, especially against a really good team,” Lawrence said. “Too many missed opportunities early. We still had our chances at the end, but we didn’t make the plays.”

The Jaguars became the first team in five years to recover an onside kick to open the game, but their offense squandered the opportunity — and several more. They punted five times and missed a field goal on their first six possessions.

The Chiefs had no such trouble reaching the end zone.

Mahomes, trying to become the third quarterback in NFL history with three straight 400-yard passing games, had 191 by halftime. That included the first NFL touchdown reception for Toney, the injury-prone former first-round draft pick who the Chiefs acquired in a trade with the Giants a couple of weeks ago.

“It just felt electric,” Toney said. “I was too close to the sideline when I caught it, and I was just excited. I was like, ‘Oh, I got to get in there, somehow, some way.’ But it was electric.”

Later in the half, Smith-Schuster was hit by Cisco while catching a pass over the middle, leaving his hands momentarily frozen in a scene reminiscent of the concussion sustained by Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa earlier this season.

Officials initially threw a flag for the helmet-to-helmet hit on a defenseless receiver, but referee Brad Rogers said that the officials determined Cisco was leading with his shoulder and picked up the flag.

“He was in a defenseless posture,” Rogers said, “but they didn’t feel that there was any use-of-helmet foul on that.”

That explanation didn’t sit well with the Chiefs, who had to help Smith-Schuster walk off the field.

“That’s what I tried to explain to the officials there: Guys don’t get hit in the shoulder and lay around like that, right there,” Reid said. “Something around the head was involved. That’s why the rules are put in, to avoid that kind of thing.”

The Jaguars finally scored on Kirk’s catch with 11 seconds to go, then had a chance to add points when Chiefs tight end Jody Fortson inexplicably fumbled the kickoff return. But after a quick completion set up the 41-yard field goal try, Jaguars kicker Riley Patterson yanked his second attempt of the half wide left.

Lions 31, Bears 30

CHICAGO — Jamaal Williams scored on a 1-yard run in the closing minutes, Jared Goff threw for 236 yards and a touchdown, and the Detroit Lions overcame another spectacular effort by Chicago’s Justin Fields to beat the Bears 31-30 on Sunday.

The Lions (3-6) scored 21 points in the fourth quarter on the way to their second straight win after losing five in a row.

They wiped out a 14-point deficit with two quick TDs, tying it on a 20-yard interception return by Jeff Okudah.

Fields then went 67 yards untouched for a TD to put Chicago (3-7) back on top 30-24. Cairo Santos missed the extra point.

Goff led an eight-play, 91-yard drive in the closing minutes. Williams made it 31-30 when he scored with 2:21 remaining, and the Lions came away with back-to-back wins for the first time since October 2020 under former coach Matt Patricia. They also stopped a 13-game road winless streak.

Fields ran for 147 yards and two scores, after going for 178 the previous week against Miami — the highest rushing total by an NFL quarterback in a regular-season game since at least 1940. He became the only quarterback in the Super Bowl era with multiple rushing touchdowns of 60-plus yards in the same season.

Fields also threw for 167 yards and two scores, including a 50-yarder to Cole Kmet.

Goff completed 19 of 26 passes.

Amon-Ra St. Brown had 119 yards receiving. Brock Wright caught a touchdown, and the Lions won on the road for the first time since beating the Bears at Soldier Field in December 2020.

Chicago’s Khalil Herbert returned a kickoff 50 yards. He also ran for 57.

The Bears finished with 258 yards rushing, making them the first team in the Super Bowl era with at least 225 rushing yards in five straight games.

The Bears were sailing along with a 24-10 lead early in the fourth quarter when the Lions scored two quick touchdowns.

D’Andre Swift scored from the 9 to cap a four-play drive that was aided by three Bears penalties, including one that wiped out an interception by Jack Sanborn deep in Chicago territory.

The Lions then tied it at 24-all when Fields overthrew a covered Kmet, and Okudah returned the interception 20 yards for a score. Fields, who had a dazzling 61-yard touchdown run against Miami the previous week, then made up for it when he went untouched for a 67-yard score.

Titans 17, Broncos 10

NASHVILLE — Ryan Tannehill threw two touchdown passes to Nick Westbrook-Ikhine as the Tennessee Titans rallied from a 10-point deficit to beat the Denver Broncos.

The Titans (6-3) won for the sixth time in seven games. Tannehill returned after missing the last two games with a sprained right ankle, and he appeared rusty early as the Titans fell behind 10-0 in the second quarter and were trailing 208-53 in total yards shortly before halftime.

Denver came in rested off a bye, not that it helped as the Broncos (3-6) now have lost five of six.

The Broncos had plenty of chances but couldn’t score after halftime. Russell Wilson had a final chance to tie the game, but his pass on fourth-and-8 from the Titans 25 was tipped and picked off by Terrance Mitchell, who dropped a would-be pick earlier, with 11 seconds left.

Tannehill and the Titans got going late in the second quarter.

The quarterback accounted for 70 yards on a TD drive capped with a 9-yard TD pass to Westbrook-Ikhine to pull within 10-7. In the third quarter, Titans used a flea-flicker with Derrick Henry tossing the ball back to Tannehill, who found Westbrook-Ikhine wide open down the right sideline for a go-ahead 63-yard TD.

Westbrook-Ikhine, undrafted in 2020 out of Indiana, had a career-high 119 yards receiving. Tannehill finished with 255 yards passing.

The Titans played without five defensive starters, including lineman Jeffery Simmons, a 2021 Pro Bowler, safety Amani Hooker and outside linebacker Bud Dupree. Cornerback Kristian Fulton was scratched pregame with an injured hamstring. They lost three other defenders to injuries during the game.

Tennessee still sacked Wilson six times. The veteran QB, whose first season with Denver since being acquired in a trade from Seattle has been disastrous, went 21-of-42 for 286 yards, one touchdown and the late pick.

Denver scratched safety Justin Simmons because of the knee he hurt two weeks ago in the Broncos’ win over Jacksonville in London, and P.J. Locke made his first NFL start. Linebacker Baron Browning also was scratched.

Wilson got the Broncos across midfield for the first time midway through the second quarter when he found Jalen Virgil on the left sideline for a short pass the undrafted rookie from Appalachian State took 66 yards for the TD on his first NFL catch.

The Broncos added a 39-yard field goal by Brandon McManus.

Giants 24, Texans 16

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Daniel Jones threw two touchdown passes, Saquon Barkley ran for 152 yards and a TD and the surprising New York Giants returned from their bye week and beat the Houston Texans.

Jones, who was 13 of 17 for 197 yards, hit tight end Lawrence Cager on a 9-yard TD pass and Darius Slayton on a 54-yard catch and run as the Giants (7-2) tallied on their opening possession of each half in building a 14-3 lead.

Barkley, who had a career-high 35 carries, scored from 2-yards out in the third quarter after the Texans (1-7-1) closed to 14-10.

The Giants defense preserved the win, forcing two red-zone turnovers in the fourth quarter. Linebacker Jaylon Smith recovered Dameon Pierce’s fumble at the 11-yard line and Dane Belton intercepted Davis Mills’ pass in the end zone, one play after Houston lost a TD pass to Brandin Cooks because of a holding call.

Mills (22 of 37 for 319 yards) threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Nico Collins and Ka’imi Fairbairn kicked field goals of 38, 34 and 46 yards for Houston, which has lost four straight.

The last field goal cut the lead to eight points with 7 seconds to play but Adoree Jackson recovered the onside kick to seal the win.

Pierce ran for 94 yards and had two catches for 28 yards for the Texans.

The 7-2 start is the best for the Giants since opening 8-1 in 2008. They are hoping to make the playoffs for the first time since 2016.

Buccaneers 21, Seahawks 16

MUNICH — Tom Brady stayed undefeated abroad by throwing two touchdown passes to help the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Seattle Seahawks 21-16 on Sunday in the first regular-season game played in Germany.

Brady connected with Julio Jones and Chris Godwin on scoring passes and Leonard Fournette ran one in as the Bucs (5-5) improved to .500 and snapped Seattle’s four-game winning streak.

German fans packed Allianz Arena for the historic game and the Bucs delivered with a balanced offensive performance on three long scoring drives. Rachaad White started and ran for 105 yards on 22 carries.

Brady completed 22 of 29 passes for 258 yards to add Germany to his list of international wins after victories in London (twice) and Mexico City with the New England Patriots.

Trailing 21-3, Seattle’s Geno Smith threw touchdown passes to Tyler Lockett and Marquise Goodwin to make the score 21-16 with 3:58 to play.

Smith found Goodwin in the corner of the end zone for a 19-yard score on fourth-and-1 to complete a drive that started on the Bucs 45 after Brady threw his first interception since the season opener. Linebacker Cody Barton picked it off.

Lockett caught a 21-yard touchdown pass from Smith with 8:20 left, but the 2-point conversion try failed, leaving the score 21-9.

Smith was 23 of 33 for 275 yards and the two touchdowns for the Seahawks (6-4), who are still atop the NFC West.

Brady is the first quarterback to start a regular-season game in three countries outside the U.S.

The seven-time Super Bowl champion found Jones on a short crossing route and the receiver ran it in for a 31-yard scoring play early in the second quarter. Jones put his left shoulder down and got past safety Josh Jones at the goal line.

Fournette then rumbled in from 1 yard to finish a 13-play, 86-yard drive. He scored two plays after a wide-open Scotty Miller caught a 22-yard pass and went down while bobbling the ball at the 5.

Godwin caught a 4-yard touchdown reception to make it 21-3 early in the fourth quarter. Godwin led the Bucs with 71 yards on six receptions.

Down 14-3, Seattle drove to the Bucs 9 before Devin White’s strip-sack of Smith, whose fumble was recovered by Anthony Nelson at the 13.

Seattle had 57 net yards in the first half and came out throwing after halftime with Smith completing four straight passes. But the drive stalled on the Tampa 22 on a third-down incompletion intended for DK Metcalf, who was then flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct. Jason Myers kicked a 55-yard field goal to get Seattle on the board at 14-3.

Packers 31, Cowboys 28

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Aaron Rodgers threw three touchdown passes to rookie Christian Watson and led a 55-yard drive in overtime to set up Mason Crosby’s game-winning field goal, and the Green Bay Packers stopped a five-game skid with a win over former coach Mike McCarthy and the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.

Green Bay (4-6) appeared well on its way to losing six straight games in the same season for the first time since 1988, trailing 28-14 in the fourth quarter before Rodgers led two long drives that ended with scoring passes to Watson.

McCarthy coached the Packers to their most recent Super Bowl title after the 2010 season and posted a 125-77-2 record with Green Bay before getting fired in 2018. This was his first game against the Packers since he took over as Dallas’ coach in 2020.

Rodgers was McCarthy’s quarterback for most of his time with the Packers. Their relationship grew strained in McCarthy’s later seasons, but they exchanged compliments over the last week and shared hugs before and after Sunday’s game.

The Cowboys (6-3) blew a 14-point lead heading into the fourth quarter for the first time in franchise history. They entered Sunday with a 195-0 record in such games, including playoffs.

McCarthy chose to go for it on fourth-and-3 from Green Bay’s 35 on the opening possession of overtime instead of trying a long field goal. Dak Prescott was pressured by Jarran Reed and threw a desperation pass to Tony Pollard that fell incomplete.

The Packers had third-and-1 from their own 44 on the ensuing drive when Rodgers threw across the middle to Allen Lazard, who caught the ball just beyond midfield and raced to the 20 for a 36-yard gain. The Packers then set things up for Crosby’s game-winning kick.

Green Bay’s Aaron Jones rushed for 138 yards and a touchdown.

Watson, a second-round pick from North Dakota State, finished with four catches for 107 yards and became the first Packers rookie since Keith Woodside in 1988 to have multiple touchdown catches in a game. They were the first three TD catches of Watson’s career (he had a 15-yard TD run against New England on Oct. 2).

Rodgers found Watson for a 39-yard score on fourth-and-7 with 13:23 left. They connected again on a game-tying 7-yard TD with 2:29 remaining.

Watson had a 58-yard touchdown — the Packers’ longest completion of the season — in the second quarter. He celebrated by doing a back flip in the end zone.

Dallas scored 21 straight points to take its 28-14 lead.

Prescott’s 5-yard pass to Dalton Schultz tied the game at 14-all with 8 seconds left in the first half. After a fumbled punt return by Amari Rodgers gave Dallas the ball at the Green Bay 45, Prescott hit CeeDee Lamb for a 30-yard gain to set up Tony Pollard’s 13-yard touchdown run with 7:14 left in the third.

Lamb capped the Cowboys’ next possession with a 35-yard touchdown reception.

Lamb finished with 11 catches for 150 yards and two touchdowns. Pollard ran for 115 yards and a score. Prescott went 27 of 46 for 265 yards, three TDs and two interceptions.

Cardinals 27, Rams 17

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Colt McCoy passed for 238 yards in his first start of the season, James Conner rushed for two touchdowns and the Arizona Cardinals hung on for a 27-17 victory Sunday over the Los Angeles Rams, who lost Super Bowl MVP Cooper Kupp to a possibly serious ankle injury.

Both teams played their backup quarterbacks with starters Matthew Stafford and Kyler Murray sidelined by injury. McCoy threw a TD pass to A.J. Green and hit DeAndre Hopkins for 98 yards on 10 catches, while Los Angeles’ John Wolford passed for 212 yards in a much more inconsistent performance.

The defending champion Rams (3-6) lost for the fifth time in six games, and they also lost Kupp in the fourth quarter when he went down awkwardly while being hit by Marco Wilson after failing to catch a poorly thrown pass from Wolford.

Kupp, the AP’s Offensive Player of the Year while winning the triple crown of receiving last season, made only three catches for minus-1 yard before incurring an injury that had him visibly unhappy as he limped to the locker room.

In the 34th start of his 13-year career, McCoy went 26 of 37 while patiently running a disciplined offensive game plan for the Cardinals (4-6). Murray sat out with a hamstring injury, but Arizona grinded out a much-needed victory for coach Kliff Kingsbury after losing four of its past five.

Rondale Moore had nine catches for 94 yards, including a jaw-dropping grab on a long pass on fourth-and-3 in the fourth quarter to set up Arizona’s clinching TD run by Conner two plays later with 7:41 to play.

Darrell Henderson rushed for a TD for the Rams, who are in last place in the NFC West just nine games after they won the Super Bowl. Los Angeles is three games under .500 for the first time in Sean McVay’s career.

Stafford hadn’t missed a game since joining the Rams last year, and he had missed only eight games in the past 12 NFL seasons — all of those in 2019 with Detroit. Stafford entered the concussion protocol last Tuesday after apparently getting hurt in last week’s loss at Tampa Bay.

Wolford went 24 of 36 and threw his first career TD pass to Van Jefferson with 7 seconds to play. The four-year backup wasn’t impressive in his third career NFL start, and the Rams used third-string QB Bryce Perkins on several plays. The Rams also used their ninth different starting offensive line in nine games this season.

Arizona went ahead for good on Conner’s 4-yard TD run to cap a 13-play drive in the second quarter. Cards rookie Myjai Sanders then forced a fumble while sacking Wolford, and McCoy led another scoring drive capped by Green’s toe-tapping TD catch 24 seconds before halftime.

McCoy was injured while getting sacked by Justin Hollins in the third quarter, and third-stringer Trace McSorley took two snaps before McCoy returned on the next drive.

Henderson rushed for a score late in the third quarter to trim Arizona’s lead to 17-10, but the Cardinals put it away during a drive extended by Moore’s extraordinary sideline catch.

Colts 25, Raiders 20

LAS VEGAS — Matt Ryan got his job back as the Colts’ starter under TV analyst-turned-interim coach Jeff Saturday, and the veteran quarterback delivered a 35-yard touchdown pass to Parris Campbell to lead Indianapolis to a 25-20 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday.

The touchdown with 5:07 left came shortly after the 37-year-old quarterback converted a third-and-3 with a 39-yard run to the Raiders 36-yard line.

His play helped give Saturday, who just a week ago was an ESPN analyst before being hired despite no NFL coaching experience, his first victory. It also handed the Raiders (2-7) their third loss in a row and will increase the scrutiny on first-year coach Josh McDaniels, who took over a playoff team from a year ago. The Raiders were booed off the field.

Ryan completed 21 of 28 passes for 222 yards, and Jonathan Taylor rushed for 147 yards, including a 66-yard touchdown. It was Taylor’s first 100-yard game since the season opener against the Houston Texans, when he rushed for 161 yards.

The duo offset the play of Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams, who caught nine passes for 126 yards and a TD. But a fourth-down pass to Adams was broken up by Colts cornerback Stephon Gilmore, causing a major celebration on Indianapolis’ sideline.

Las Vegas’ Derek Carr completed 24 of 38 passes for 248 yards and two TDs.

Saturday showed he wasn’t afraid to make changes, installing as the play-caller Parks Frazier, someone who had never been in that position. Then on game day, Saturday went back to veteran Ryan as his starter. Ryan was benched by previous coach Frank Reich in favor of Sam Ehlinger, who started the past two games.

Two weeks ago, Saturday in his analyst role tweeted that the “Raiders look horrible” during their 24-0 loss to the New Orleans Saints.

They didn’t look so great when the Colts (4-5-1) took a 10-0 lead in the second quarter. That included an 11-play, 70-yard drive in the first period in which Indianapolis picked up five first downs. The Colts had eight the entire game a week ago against New England.

The Raiders didn’t pick up a first down until 11:51 remained in the first half, and Carr missed all five of his passing attempts in the first quarter. Indianapolis outgained the home team 111 yards to 5 in that period, as Las Vegas looked like the team playing under an interim coach.

On one drive, the Raiders lost 10 yards on a holding penalty and another 5 on ineligible player downfield, Carr was sacked for a 9-yard loss, Josh Jacobs rushed up the middle on second-and-long for 5 yards, and Carr threw short of Adams on the third. That sequence of plays caused boos to rain down on the Raiders.

But they finally got something going late in the second quarter, driving to the Colts 4-yard line. Carr rolled right and found Foster Moreau in the end zone for a touchdown with 58 seconds left.

The Colts, however, drove into field goal range, and Chase McLaughlin made his second 48-yard field goal with no time remaining for a 13-7 lead.

That set up a wild second half in which the lead changed four times

Jacobs rushed for a 1-yard touchdown to give the Raiders their first lead, Taylor answered with a 66-yard touchdown, and then Carr hit Adams a 48-yard TD, before the Colts came through with the winner with 5:07 left.