Minnesota Vikings' Linval Joseph (98) catches a fumble by Philadelphia Eagles' Carson Wentz (11) as Isaac Seumalo (73) looks on during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 7, 2018, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Michael Perez)
Philadelphia • Linval Joseph whipped out the sunglasses, sat on the bench and pulled on the oxygen mask.
Rest up, big man. Job well done.
Kirk Cousins threw for 301 yards and one touchdown, the 330-pound Joseph returned a fumble 64 yards for a score and the Minnesota Vikings beat the Philadelphia Eagles 23-21 Sunday in a rematch of last season’s NFC championship game.
“I love seeing Linval on the sideline in his glasses after plays. They have a lot of fun,” Cousins said.
Carson Wentz and the rest of Philadelphia’s offense again struggled as the defending Super Bowl champions fell to 2-3.
Nick Foles led the Eagles to a 38-7 rout over Case Keenum and Minnesota’s top-ranked defense in the title game on his way to earning MVP honors against New England.
Trying to rally from a 17-point deficit midway through the third quarter, the Eagles were set up to take the lead after Roc Thomas dropped a backward pass and Nigel Bradham recovered the fumble at the Vikings 30 in the fourth quarter. But Wentz was called for intentional grounding and coach Doug Pederson elected not to let Jake Elliott try a 58-yarder.
“We were in great position and we go backward,” Wentz said. “It’s frustrating.”
Dan Bailey, who missed two field goals earlier, nailed a 52-yard field goal to extend the lead to 23-14 with 2:47 left.
Wentz fired a 7-yard TD pass to Zach Ertz to cut it to 23-21 with 1:09 left but Adam Thielen recovered the onside kick.
The Vikings (2-2-1) got an excellent performance from Cousins, who completed 30 of 37 passes, to avoid falling further behind in the NFC North. Cousins became the first player in NFL history to complete at least 30 passes in four consecutive games.
Panthers 33, Giants 31 • In Charlotte, N.C., Graham Gano connected on a career-long 63-yard field goal with 1 second remaining to lift Carolina over New York. Gano’s winning kick, tied for second longest in league history, came after the Giants erased a 14-point deficit. Eli Manning hooked up with Saquon Barkley on a 15-yard touchdown pass down the right sideline — the rookie made a long dive into the end zone — to put the Giants in front 31-30 with 1:08 remaining. Gano’s previous career long was 59 yards. He was 4 for 4 on field goal attempts and has made 35 in a row at home dating back to 2016.
It’s the second year in a row the Giants (1-4) have been beaten by a monster field goal at the end. In the third game last season, Jake Elliott of the Eagles kicked a 61-yarder for a 27-24 win.
Cam Newton threw for 237 yards and had two touchdowns and two interceptions. Christian McCaffrey had 93 yards from scrimmage and an 18-yard touchdown catch for the Panthers (3-1).
Manning finished 22 of 36 for 326 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, both by Panthers 37-year-old safety Mike Adams. Odell Beckham Jr., had a big game as a receiver and passer. Beckham had eight catches for 131 yards and a touchdown and also threw a 57-yarder to Barkley for New York’s first touchdown.
Browns 12, Ravens 9, OT • In Cleveland, rookie Greg Joseph’s 37-yard field goal — a knuckleball that barely cleared the crossbar — with 2 seconds left in overtime lifted the Browns to the win. After rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield drove the Browns into position, Joseph, signed after Week 2 following Zane Gonzalez’s release, lined his kick through the uprights to give Cleveland its first AFC North win in 19 tries.
As Browns fans celebrated just the team’s second win in two seasons, Joseph was mobbed by his teammates following Cleveland’s third OT game in five weeks.
The Ravens (3-2) had plenty of chances, but Joe Flacco threw a costly interception in the first half and the Browns blocked one of Justin Tucker’s field goal tries.
Mayfield passed for 342 yards and threw a 19-yard TD pass in his first start at home. He completed a key third-down pass for 39 yards to Derrick Willies on Cleveland’s winning drive.
Chiefs 30, Jaguars 14 • In Kansas City, Mo., the Chiefs’ beleaguered defense forced Jacksonville quarterback Blake Bortles into five turnovers, including a pick-six by defensive tackle Chris Jones, and unbeaten Kansas City merely had to supplement with the NFL’s highest-scoring offense. Patrick Mahomes threw for 313 yards and ran for a touchdown, though he also threw his first two picks of the season. Kareem Hunt added 87 yards and a touchdown on the ground as the Chiefs (5-0) marched all over the league’s top-ranked defense at soggy Arrowhead Stadium.
Tyreek Hill, frequently matched up with the Jaguars’ Jalen Ramsey in an entertaining one-on-one affair, had four catches for 61 yards in a game that grew testy on both sides.
Jones was ejected in the second half after he dropped an elbow on a Jaguars lineman while both were on the ground following an extra point attempt. Pass rusher Dee Ford joined him in the locker room later in the half when he was whistled for his second unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
Hunt was flagged for head-butting linebacker Telvin Smith Jr. earlier in the game.
Jacksonville (3-2) trailed 20-0 at halftime.
Lions 31, Packers 23 • In Detroit, Matthew Stafford threw two touchdown passes and LeGarrette Blount ran for two scores. Detroit (2-3) earned a win it desperately needed under first-year coach Matt Patricia, going into its bye week. Green Bay could not overcome four missed field goals and a botched extra point by veteran kicker Mason Crosby and two lost fumbles by quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Blount had a pair of 1-yard TD runs in the first quarter and Stafford’s 8-yard pass to Marvin Jones late in the second quarter put Detroit up 24-0.
Aaron Rodgers, missing injured receivers Randall Cobb and Geronimo Allison, threw short TDs to rookie Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Lance Kendricks in the third to pull the Packers within 10 points.
Stafford answered with a 5-yard TD pass to Kenny Golladay.
Bengals 27, Dolphins 17 • In Cincinnati, Michael Johnson returned an interception for the tying score, and Sam Hubbard went 19 yards with a fumble for the clinching touchdown, rallying the Bengals from a 17-point deficit.
With Joe Mixon back from knee surgery, the defense making more game-turning plays in the fourth quarter, Cincinnati (4-1) pulled off its biggest comeback of the season and extended its best start since its 2015 playoff season.
The Dolphins (3-2) had plenty of blame to go around for their second-half meltdown, helping the Bengals score those 27 consecutive points with mistakes.
Andy Dalton threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Mixon to start the comeback, completing a drive extended by T.J. McDonald’s personal foul on a third-down incompletion. Mixon returned after missing two games following knee surgery and ran for 93 yards in addition to catching three passes.
The Dolphins started the season 2-0, but have gotten flattened by New England and shocked by the Bengals in the past two weeks.
Steelers 41, Falcons 17 • In Pittsburgh, Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown connected on two second-half touchdowns, and the Steelers pulled away from the Falcons. Roethlisberger finished 19 of 29 for 250 yards and three scores, including a 9-yard strike to Brown in the third quarter and a 47-yard dart to the All-Pro wide receiver early in the fourth.
Bills 13, Titans 12 • In Orchard Park, N.Y., Stephen Hauschka hit a 46-yard field goal as time expired. Buffalo’s defense forced three turnovers, and LeSean McCoy broke from a September slump with a season-best 85 yards rushing. McCoy sparked the decisive drive with a 13-yard catch on third-and-3. And backup running back Chris Ivory had a 9-yard run in getting the Bills across midfield. Rookie quarterback Josh Allen scored on a 14-yard touchdown run but was held in check as a passer. He finished 10 of 19 for 82 yards and an interception.
Rams 33, Seahawks 31 • In Seattle, Todd Gurley rushed for three touchdowns, Jared Goff passed for 321 yards and a score and the Rams remained unbeaten.
Chargers 26, Raiders 10 • In Carson, Calif., Philip Rivers threw for 339 yards and two touchdowns, the 59th 300-yard passing game of Rivers’ 15-year career and his eighth against the Raiders. He completed 22 of 27 passes and had a passer rating of 143.4.
Cardinals 28, 49ers 18 • In Santa Clara, Calif., Josh Rosen threw a 75-yard touchdown pass to fellow rookie Christian Kirk on Arizona’s first play from scrimmage, and the Cardinals used five takeaways to get their first win.
Texans 19, Cowboys 16, OT • In Houston, DeAndre Hopkins had 151 yards receiving, including a key reception in overtime, and Ka’imi Fairbairn’s 36-yard field goal lifted Houston past Dallas. The Cowboys got the ball first in OT but had to punt when Zach Cunningham stopped Ezekiel Elliott for no gain on third-and-1.