The Minnesota Vikings earned an important divisional win at home in Week 1, defeating the Green Bay Packers 23-7 after a massive game from star receiver Justin Jefferson on Sunday.
Jefferson was named second-team All-Pro last year in his second season in the league, and he showed against the Packers why many feel he could be the top wide receiver in the entire league.
He had three catches for 47 yards and a touchdown on the first drive alone, before going on to finish with gaudy figures of nine catches for 184 yards and two scores.
While Jefferson was the offensive star, the Vikings' defense was the reason they won the game, holding the Packers scoreless in the first half to head into the long break leading 17-0.
With Aaron Rodgers' former top target Davante Adams traded to the Las Vegas Raiders in the offseason, he struggled to move the ball downfield. While Adams racked up 10 catches and 141 yards from 17 targets in his Raiders debut, no Green Bay receiver finished with more than Romeo Doubs' four catches for 37 yards from five targets, although running back A.J. Dillon did reach 46 receiving yards after some garbage-time action.
Coming off back-to-back league MVP awards, Rodgers finished a disappointing 22-of-34 for 195 yards, throwing one interception and no touchdowns. He was also sacked four times by the impressive Vikings pass rush, including one by former Packers edge rusher Za'Darius Smith.
Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins enjoyed a clean start to the season, going 23-of-32 for 277 yards and two touchdowns, with no interceptions, while top running back Dalvin Cook was strong with 20 carries for 90 yards.
Barkley announces return to form in Giants win
New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley had not scored a touchdown since Week 4 of last season, but he found form again in style as he carried his side to a 21-20 win on the road against the Tennessee Titans.
Barkley, the second overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, had been questioned about if he would ever return to his best, but he looked like the old Barkley against the Titans as he piled up 164 yards and a touchdown from 18 carries, while adding six catches for 30 yards through the air.
As well as dominating through the middle stages of the contest, he also delivered in a big spot to decide the game, converting a two-point conversion after Daniel Jones threw what ended up being the game-winning touchdown with one minute to play.
The Titans got the ball back and worked their way into field goal range, but with a chance to hit a walk-off game winner, Randy Bullock pulled the 47-yard kick left to gift the win to the Giants.
NFL: Chiefs stay perfect with OT win over Bucs
Kareem Hunt finished the game's lone overtime drive with a 2-yard touchdown run that kept the Kansas City Chiefs unbeaten with Monday's 30-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Hunt powered into the end zone to conclude the 10-play, 70-yard series that gave Kansas City (8-0) its 14th consecutive victory, including play-off games, dating back to last season. The veteran running back finished the night with a season-high 106 rushing yards on 27 carries.
Patrick Mahomes threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns, including two to DeAndre Hopkins in the wide receiver's first home game as a Chief, to help the defending Super Bowl champions stay perfect despite the Buccaneers forcing overtime on Baker Mayfield's 1-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Miller with 27 seconds left in regulation.
Tampa Bay (4-5) opted to kick the extra point instead of attempting a potential game-winning two-point conversion, however, and never got the ball back again after losing the coin toss to begin overtime.
The Bucs trailed 10-7 at half-time following Mahomes' 1-yard touchdown pass to Hopkins late in the second quarter, but scored 10 unanswered points in the third quarter to move ahead.
After Mayfield found Cade Otton for an 11-yard touchdown pass early in the period for a 14-10 lead, Tampa Bay's defence forced a three-and-out to help set up Chase McLaughlin's 47-yard field goal with 5:50 left in the third.
The Chiefs stormed back with a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns, however. Mahomes capped a 12-play, 70-yard drive with a 7-yard touchdown delivery to Samaje Perine to tie the game at 17-17, then later hit Hopkins for a go-ahead 5-yard strike with 4:17 remaining in regulation.
Kansas City's next possession stalled, though, to give Mayfield enough time to orchestrate a 10-play, 71-yard sequence that ended in Miller's tying touchdown grab.
Mayfield finished 23 of 31 with 200 yards and two touchdowns. Otton led the Bucs with 77 receiving yards on eight catches, while Rachaad White had a rushing touchdown for Tampa in the first half.
The Chiefs received 14 catches for 100 yards from Travis Kelce and 86 yards on eight receptions from Hopkins, playing his second game since being acquired by Kansas CIty from the Tennessee Titans on Oct. 24.
Cowboys quarterback Prescott reportedly expected to miss multiple weeks with hamstring injury
The path to the play-offs is now even tougher for the Dallas Cowboys.
Quarterback Dak Prescott will reportedly miss several weeks with a hamstring injury sustained in Sunday's 27-21 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
The severity of the injury was determined following an MRI, and reported Monday from multiple media outlets.
Prescott is planning to get a second opinion, and the Cowboys have not decided if they will place him on injured reserve, which would keep him on the sideline a minimum of four games.
Prescott, who signed a record-breaking, $240million contract hours before this season's opener, suffered the injury late in the third quarter.
He was replaced by Cooper Rush, and the seven-year backup will get the start this Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Rush completed 13-of-25 passes for 115 yards and a touchdown against the Falcons, but couldn't rally Dallas all the way back.
The Cowboys ended up losing their third straight game to drop to 3-5, which matches the total number of losses the team had each of the last three seasons.
They now sit in third place in the NFC East, 3 1/2 games behind the division-leading Washington Commanders.
Rush has found some success as a fill-in starter for the Cowboys, though, the 30-year-old hasn't been forced into the starting role since 2022.
In six career starts for Dallas, he's gone 5-1 with 1,281 passing yards with seven touchdowns, four interceptions and an 83.6 rating.
There is some good news for the Cowboys, though, as star defensive end Micah Parsons is likely to return this Sunday after missing the last four games with a high-ankle sprain.
Cowboys quarterback Prescott expected to miss multiple weeks with hamstring injury
The path to the play-offs is now even tougher for the Dallas Cowboys.
Quarterback Dak Prescott will reportedly miss several weeks with a hamstring injury sustained in Sunday's 27-21 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
The severity of the injury was determined Monday following an MRI.
Prescott is planning to get a second opinion, and the Cowboys have not decided if they will place him on injured reserve, which would keep him on the sideline a minimum of four games.
Prescott, who signed a record-breaking, $240million contract hours before this season's opener, suffered the injury late in the third quarter.
He was replaced by Cooper Rush, and the seven-year backup will get the start this Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Rush completed 13-of-25 passes for 115 yards and a touchdown against the Falcons, but couldn't rally Dallas all the way back.
The Cowboys ended up losing their third straight game to drop to 3-5, which matches the total number of losses the team had each of the last three seasons.
They now sit in third place in the NFC East, 3 1/2 games behind the division-leading Washington Commanders.
Rush has found some success as a fill-in starter for the Cowboys, though, the 30-year-old hasn't been forced into the starting role since 2022.
In six career starts for Dallas, he's gone 5-1 with 1,281 passing yards with seven touchdowns, four interceptions and an 83.6 rating.
There is some good news for the Cowboys, though, as star defensive end Micah Parsons is likely to return this Sunday after missing the last four games with a high-ankle sprain.
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