Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones implied that quarterback Dak Prescott will likely be placed on injured reserve, meaning he would miss a minimum of four games.

The Cowboys announced Monday that Prescott would be side-lined with an injured hamstring, but a decision on if he would go on IR had not yet been made.

Speaking on his weekly radio appearance on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas on Tuesday, Jones indicated the injury was worse than initially feared.

"It's likely we'll IR him," Jones said. "We'll see how his rehab goes."

Prescott, who signed a record-breaking, $240million contract hours before this season's opener, suffered the injury late in the third quarter of Sunday's 27-21 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.

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.

Patrick Mahomes assured the ankle injury he sustained during the Kansas City Chiefs’ victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is “not too bad” despite hailing the incident as “scary”.

The quarterback led the Chiefs to their 14th straight win with 34 of his 44 passes completed for 291 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.

The Bucs took them to overtime but the AFC West leaders prevailed to remain unbeaten following a 30-24 victory on Monday.

Mahomes had hobbled off with assistance at one point during the game, leading to concern ahead of the Chiefs' next game against the Denver Broncos, but he has provided some reassurance.

"[The injury was] definitely scary. I think it hurt more just because it's the same ankle I rolled last week, so it scared me a little bit,” he said.

“But once I took my breath and calmed down a little bit, it ended up being not too bad. We were able to go in there at the reset and go back on the football team."

It means it is likely Mahomes will return next week despite the reoccurrence of the injury on the same ankle, with head coach Andy Reid marvelling at the 29-year-old's resilience.

"I wasn't sure exactly where he was going to be with it. He might have the loosest ankles in America. It's ridiculous how he can come back from those things,” he said.

The victory also marked DeAndre Hopkins’ first home game as a Chief, as he finished with eight catches for 86 yards and two touchdowns.

"[Hopkins] is so good at winning one-on-one, so to be able to have him down in the red zone, third-down situations - he does a good job of filling out and finding those windows. You give him a chance down the field and he makes a play,” Mahomes said.

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. 

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.

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.

The New Orleans Saints fired head coach Dennis Allen on Monday, one day after the team’s losing streak reached seven games with a 23-22 defeat to the lowly Carolina Panthers.

New Orleans got off to an unexpected strong start to the 2024 season by outscoring its first two opponents 91-29 in a pair of victories.

The Saints lost their next two games by just a combined five points, but then it really started to unravel for the team.

New Orleans’ next four defeats all came by 13 points or more, and on Sunday, the Panthers pulled out a 23-22 win over the Saints after Carolina entered the meeting with a 1-7 record.

Allen was promoted from New Orleans' defensive coordinator to head coach after the 2021 season, and the Saints posted an 18-25 record under him with no play-off appearances.

The Saints (2-7) are expected to name special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi as interim head coach ahead of their Week 10 visit from the NFC South-leading Atlanta Falcons (6-3).

Saquon Barkley has made several sensational plays in his career, but his amazing backward hurdle in the Philadelphia Eagles' 28-23 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday may go down as one of the most incredible plays by any player ever on an NFL field.

Early in the second quarter on a third-and-six, Jalen Hurts dumped off a short pass to Barkley. The first-year Philadelphia running back promptly lowered his shoulder to break one tackle and used a spin move to beat another Jacksonville defender before performing an amazing reverse hurdle over Jaguars cornerback Jarian Jones to cap off a 14-yard gain.

Barkley had a touchdown on the ground and one through the air, finishing with 159 rushing yards and another 40 receiving yards for 199 scrimmage yards - his most since amassing 279 in Week 16 of 2019.

DeVonta Smith also made a spectacular play for Philadelphia, hauling in a one-handed 25-yard touchdown grab. He finished with four receptions for 87 yards.

Hurts threw for 230 yards with a pair of touchdowns and scored on an 18-yard run for the Eagles (6-2), who won their fourth in a row.

Trevor Lawrence completed 16-of-31 passes for 169 yards with two interceptions for a 40.9 passer rating - his lowest since his rookie season - as the Jaguars fell to 2-7.

Lions win at Green Bay to improve to 7-1

The Detroit Lions did enough to stay firmly atop the NFC North, beating the Green Bay Packers 24-14 at rainy Lambeau Field.

The Lions converted two fourth downs into touchdowns and scored on a Kerby Joseph 27-yard interception return en route to a sixth straight win. Detroit improved to 7-1 for the first time since 1956.

Despite being out-gained 411-261 in total yards, the Lions' defence stood firm, holding the Packers (6-3) without a point on three drives that moved inside Detroit's 35-yard line.

Jared Goff only passed for 145 yards, but was efficient with his throws, with only four incompletions on 22 attempts for a 109.3 passer rating. He is the first player in NFL history to record six consecutive games with a completion rate of 72 per cent, a passer rating of at least 105 and a TD pass.

The Lions scored their first points on the first play of the second quarter on Goff's 3-yard touchdown pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown on a fourth-and-goal. Detroit went up 24-3 on its first possession of the second half, when Jahmyr Gibbs scored on a 15-yard touchdown run on a fourth-and-1.

Jordan Love was 23 of 39 for 273 yards with the pick-six in a game he was uncertain to play after exiting Green Bay's win last week with a strained groin.

Daniels helps Commanders to best start in nearly 30 years

Rookie sensation Jayden Daniels helped deliver another win for the Washington Commanders, throwing a pair of touchdown passes to Terry McLaurin in a 27-22 triumph over the New York Giants.

Winner of just four games in 2023, the Commanders improved to 7-2 for the first time since 1996.

Daniels finished 15 of 22 for 209 yards with TD passes of 1 and 18 yards in the first half.

He also rushed for 35 yards, while Chris Rodriguez Jr. ran for 52 yards and Austin Ekeler gained 42 rushing yards with a touchdown.

Linebacker Dante Fowler set up Washington's first touchdown with a strip-sack of Daniel Jones, who finished with 174 passing yards and two touchdowns.

The Giants lost their fourth straight game and fell to 2-7.

Bills beat Dolphins on Bass' late 61-yard field goal

Buffalo and Miami traded blows in a back-and-forth thriller, but it was the Bills who had the final score.

Tyler Bass kicked a 61-yard field goal with five seconds to play to send the Bills to a 30-27 win over their AFC East rivals.

Josh Allen drove Buffalo into field goal range after Miami took the lead on a seven-yard touchdown pass from Tua Tagovailoa to Jaylen Waddle with 1:45 to play.

The teams traded leads four times and combined to score on seven consecutive possessions in the second half.

Allen threw three second-half touchdowns in leading the division-leading Bills (7-2) to a fourth straight victory.

Tagovailoa had two passing TDs for the Dolphins (2-6), who lost their third in a row.

Falcons deal Cowboys third straight loss; Prescott exits with injury

Kirk Cousins threw three touchdown passes to lead the Falcons to a 27-21 win over the struggling Dallas Cowboys.

Cousins, who completed 13 consecutive passes at one point, had a nine-yard touchdown to Drake London, a 36-yard TD to Darnell Mooney and an 11-yarder to Ray-Ray McCloud.

The Falcons (6-3) won for the fifth time in six games to move 1 1/2 games ahead of the second-place Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC South.

The Cowboys (3-5) not only lost their third straight game, but also lost their quarterback to injury with Dak Prescott exiting after three quarters due to a hamstring injury.

Cooper Rush stepped in and completed 13 of 25 passes for 115 yards with a touchdown but couldn't rally Dallas all the way back.

The Cowboys have now equaled their loss total from each of the last three seasons.

Cardinals bottle up Bears to move atop NFC West

The Arizona Cardinals overwhelmed the Chicago Bears, rolling to a 29-9 victory for a third straight win.

The winning streak - the Cardinals' longest since 2021 - moved Arizona (5-4) into sole possession of first place in the NFC West.

The Cardinals won behind their running game and defence, as Kyler Murray threw for just 154 yards and didn't throw a TD pass for the first time in 16 games.

James Conner rushed for 107 yards and Emari Demercado ran for 59 yards - including a 53-yard TD run just before half-time to change the momentum of the game and give Arizona a 21-9 lead at the break.

The Cardinals held the Bears to just 241 yards and hounded Caleb Williams all game, sacking the No. 1 overall pick six times.

Williams finished 22 of 41 for 217 yards without a touchdown or interception as Chicago (4-4) lost its second game in a row.

Garrett Wilson made a dazzling one-handed 26-yard go-ahead touchdown catch early in the fourth quarter and the New York Jets snapped a five-game losing streak by beating the Houston Texans 21-13 on Thursday night.

Aaron Rodgers had three touchdown passes, including another earlier one-handed score by Wilson and a 37-yard throw to recently acquired Davante Adams, and the Jets (3-6) won for the first time in four games under interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich.

With the Jets trailing 10-7 and facing third-and-19 from the Texans 26, Rodgers tossed the ball up toward Wilson in the end zone. The star wide receiver jumped and reached up with his right hand with both legs spread in in the air - looking like the Michael Jordan “Jumpman” logo.

The play was initially called an incomplete pass, but a video replay review confirmed that Wilson’s shin was down in the end zone and a touchdown was called to give the Jets a 14-10 lead with 12:54 left.

Rodgers finished 22 of 32 for 211 yards. His 37-yard touchdown pass to Adams, who earlier was cleared after being checked for a possible head injury, put the Jets up 21-10 with 2:56 left. It was Adams' first touchdown catch since being acquired from Las Vegas earlier this month.

Anthony Richardson took himself out of the Indianapolis Colts' last game.

For the next game, the Colts decided to remove Richardson from the starting lineup altogether.

The Colts are benching Richardson for their game Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings and will start Joe Flacco at quarterback.

The decision, which was reported by multiple media outlets on Tuesday, came a day after Indianapolis coach Shane Steichen said he was "evaluating" whether Richardson would remain the starter.

It also came two days after Richardson admitted pulling himself out of Sunday's 23-20 loss to the Houston Texans because he was "tired."

The Colts selected Richardson fourth overall in the 2023 draft, but he has mostly struggled during his time in Indianapolis.

Sunday's performance against the Texans may have been his worst, however, as he completed just 10 of 32 passes for 175 yards and was sacked five times.

His paltry 44.4 completion percentage on the season is the worst among qualifying quarterbacks, as is his 57.2 passer rating.

In six games this season, he has 958 passing yards with four touchdowns and seven interceptions. He's rushed for 242 yards but also has an NFL-worst six fumbles.

The Colts are 2-3 in games Richardson has started and finished, and 2-1 in games Flacco has finished.

The 39-year-old Flacco started in Weeks 5 and 6 with Richardson sidelined due to an oblique injury, and he has completed 65.7 percent of his passes for 716 yards with seven touchdowns to just one interception for a 102.2 passer rating.

Stefon Diggs' first season with the Houston Texans is over after just eight games.

Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said Tuesday that Diggs tore his ACL and will miss the remainder of the season.

Diggs was injured in Sunday's 23-20 win over the Indianapolis Colts on a non-contact play, as he tried to make a cut before pulling up and grabbing his right knee.

An MRI revealed the severity of the injury.

Diggs arrived in Houston as part of a blockbuster trade with the Buffalo Bills this past offseason.

Acquired for a 2025 second-round pick, Diggs reworked his contract with the Texans and will become a free agent after this season.

In his first season with Houston, the 30-year-old Diggs had a team-high 47 receptions for 496 yards with three receiving touchdowns.

A four-time Pro Bowler, Diggs amassed 1,000 receiving yards each of the last six seasons, and led the NFL with a career-high 1,535 yards in 2020.

Diggs is the second receiver to sustain a serious injury this season for the AFC South-leading Texans with Nico Collins currently on injured reserve with a hamstring injury.

Collins, who must sit out at least one more game, leads Houston with 567 receiving yards despite being sidelined since Week 5.

Calvin Austin scored two touchdowns, including a tie-breaking 73-yard punt return in the third quarter, to lead the Pittsburgh Steelers to a 26-18 victory over the New York Giants on Monday.

Austin also hauled in a 29-yard touchdown pass from Russell Wilson that gave the Steelers a 23-9 lead with 13:16 left to play. Pittsburgh (6-2) also received 114 rushing yards from Najee Harris and four field goals from Chris Boswell to win its third straight game and retain first place in the AFC North. 

Wilson, meanwhile, delivered another solid performance in his second start since missing the season's first six games with a calf injury. The veteran quarterback completed 20 of 28 passes for 278 yards and no interceptions.

Tyrone Tracy rushed for a career-high 145 yards on 20 carries and had a 45-yard touchdown run for the Giants, who had a chance to tie the game late after getting to the Pittsburgh 35-yard line in the final minute.

Daniel Jones overthrew a pass for Devin Singletary, however, as the Steelers' Beanie Bishop came up with an interception that sealed the victory and handed New York (2-6) a third straight loss.

Greg Joseph kicked four field goals for the Giants, including three in the first half to match Boswell as the teams went into half-time tied at 9-9.

Austin broke the deadlock, however, with 4:38 remaining in the third quarter. The wide receiver fielded a punt at his own 27-yard line, broke free down the left sideline and out-sprinted all pursuers to record the Steelers' first punt return touchdown since 2019.

Wilson's touchdown strike to Austin early in the fourth put Pittsburgh up by two scores, but Tracy broke off his lone touchdown run on the following possession to bring New York within 23-15 with 11:07 left. The Giants failed on the two-point conversion try, though, as Jones' short pass intended for Malik Nabers was broken up.

Jones finished 24 of 38 for 264 yards with the late interception. Darius Slayton led New York receivers with 108 yards on four catches, while Nabers had seven catches totaling 71 yards.

Jameis Winston threw three second-half touchdown passes in his first start in over two years, including a 38-yard strike to Cedric Tillman with 59 seconds left that lifted the Cleveland Browns to a stunning 29-24 win over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday.

Playing its first game since starting quarterback Deshaun Watson tore his Achilles tendon last week, Cleveland (2-6) halted a five-game skid and ended the Ravens' five-game winning streak behind a superb effort from Winston. The former No. 1 overall pick completed 27 of 41 passes for 334 yards and no interceptions in his first start since Week 3 of the 2022 season while then with the New Orleans Saints.

Tillman had another touchdown catch in the third quarter and compiled a career-high 99 yards on seven receptions. David Njoku hauled in Winston's first touchdown pass of the day and finished with five catches for 61 yards.

Baltimore (5-3) had taken a 24-23 lead on Derrick Henry's 2-yard touchdown run with 2:36 remaining to cap a six-play, 91-yard drive highlighted by two Lamar Jackson completions to Zay Flowers for 29 and 23 yards.

Flowers ended with 115 yards on seven catches, while Jackson threw for 289 yards on 23-of-38 passing with touchdowns to Nelson Agholor and Mark Andrews. Henry led all players with 73 rushing yards on 11 attempts.

Daniels' Hail Mary touchdown pass lifts Commanders over Bears, Williams

Jayden Daniels won his head-to-head meeting with Caleb Williams in spectacular fashion, as the Washington Commanders' rookie quarterback threw a 52-yard Hail Mary touchdown pass to Noah Brown as time expired to give the NFC East leaders a shocking 18-15 win over the Chicago Bears.

Daniels, taken one spot behind Williams with the No. 2 pick in this year's draft, evaded pressure before heaving the ball from his own 35-yard line into a crowd of players near the goal line. The pass was tipped by the Commanders' Zach Ertz and landed right into the arms of Brown to give Washington (6-2) its fifth win in six games.

The reigning Heisman Trophy winner shook off a rib injury that had him questionable coming into the game to throw for 326 yards on 21-of-38 passing. Terry McLaurin recorded 125 yards on five catches for Washington, while Ertz had seven receptions for 77 yards.

Williams led Chicago (4-3) on a 10-play, 62-yard drive late that Rochon Johnson capped with a 1-yard touchdown run that briefly put the Bears ahead with 25 seconds left. The 2022 Heisman recipient then found Cole Kmet in the end zone for the ensuing 2-point try and a 15-12 lead.

Williams struggled for much of the day, however, completing just 10 of 24 passes for 131 yards as the Bears fell behind 12-0 until late in the third quarter, when D'Andre Swift's 56-yard touchdown run got Chicago on the board.

Swift finished with a season-high 129 yards on 18 carries.

Patriots score late touchdown to extend Jets' woes

The No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 draft also helped his team to a win Sunday, though Drake Maye exited the New England Patriots' 25-22 comeback victory over the still-reeling New York Jets with a concussion early in the second quarter.

Jacoby Brissett replaced Maye, who departed following a helmet-to-helmet hit by New York linebacker Jamien Sherwood, and engineered a 12-play, 70-yard drive capped by Rhamondre Stevenson's 1-yard touchdown run on fourth down with 22 seconds left.

Stevenson then caught Brissett's short pass for the ensuing two-point conversion to put the Patriots up by a field goal, and New England (2-6) held on the rest of the way to end a six-game losing streak.

New York (2-6) has now lost five in a row and dropped to 0-3 since firing head coach Robert Saleh on Oct. 8 and replacing him with defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich.

Brissett went 15 of 24 for 132 yards and no interceptions in place of Maye, who recorded his first career touchdown run before leaving when his 17-yard scramble gave the Patriots a 7-0 lead in the first quarter.

Stevenson also had a touchdown run in the third quarter and registered 48 yards on 20 rush attempts.

Aaron Rodgers threw first-half touchdown passes to Tyler Conklin and Xavier Gipson to send the Jets into half-time with a 13-7 lead. New England rallied to go up 17-16 on Joey Slye's field goal midway through the fourth quarter, but New York went back in front on Braelon Allen's 2-yard touchdown run that made the score 22-17 with 2:57 left.

Rodgers completed 17 of 28 passes for 233 yards, while Garrett Wilson led the Jets' receivers with 113 yards on five catches. 

Packers edge Jaguars late despite injury to Love

The Green Bay Packers also overcame an injury to their quarterback to pull out a last-second win, a 30-27 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Brandon McManus' 24-yard field goal as time expired.

Malik Willis led the deciding late drive after taking over for Jordan Love, who injured his groin on Green Bay's first possession and eventually left the contest early in the second half.

Willis threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Tucker Kraft early in the fourth quarter to give the Packers a 27-17 lead, but Jacksonville (2-6) countered with Cam Little's 47-yard field goal before tying the game on Trevor Lawrence's 14-yard touchdown delivery to Evan Engram with 1:48 remaining.

Two plays later, Willis connected with Jayden Reed for a 51-yard gain to set up McManus' third field goal of the day, which lifted Green Bay (6-2) to a fourth consecutive win.

Willis completed 4 of 5 passes for 56 yards in place of Love, who was 14 of 22 for 196 yards and one interception before departing. 

The Packers also got a big lift from running back Josh Jacobs, who amassed 127 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries.

Lawrence also threw a touchdown pass to Brian Thomas in the third quarter and finished with 308 yards and one interception while completing 21 of 32 throws. The quarterback also had a 6-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.

Cardinals rally late to shock Dolphins, spoil Tagovailoa's return

In another game that came down to the final play, the Arizona Cardinals seized a 28-27 win over the Miami Dolphins on Chad Ryland's 34-yard field goal with no time remaining.

Sparked by quarterback Tua Tagovailoa's return from a concussion that sidelined him four games, Miami (2-5) held a 27-18 fourth-quarter lead before the Cardinals scored 10 unanswered points in the final nine minutes.

Arizona (4-4) closed the gap on James Conner's 2-yard touchdown run with 8:48 left that ended an eight-play, 70-yard drive. Kyler Murray then marched the Cardinals 73 yards on 13 plays on their next possession to put his team in range for Ryland's winning kick.

Murray completed 26 of 36 attempts for 307 yards with touchdown passes to Michael Wilson and Marvin Harrison Jr., who put up 111 yards on six catches. Trey McBride added 124 yards on nine grabs in Arizona's second straight win.

Tagovailoa finished with 234 yards on 28-of-38 passing and connected with De'Von Achane for a 12-yard touchdown in the third quarter in his first appearance since Week 2.

Achane had 50 receiving yards on six catches along with 97 rushing yards for Miami, which lost for the fifth time in six games despite two short rushing touchdowns from Raheem Mostert. 

49ers bounce back, continue Cowboys' struggles with big second half

Brock Purdy had both a passing and rushing touchdown during a dominant third quarter that propelled the San Francisco 49ers to a 30-24 win over the slumping Dallas Cowboys.

Down 10-6 at half-time, San Francisco (4-4) scored touchdowns on each of their third-quarter drives to take a 27-10 lead before holding on and rebounding from last week's loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in a rematch of last season's Super Bowl participants.

Isaac Guerendo put the 49ers ahead with a 4-yard touchdown run, a score set up by Purdy's 43-yard completion to George Kittle. Deommodore Lenoir then intercepted Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott on the following possession, with the turnover leading to Purdy's 2-yard touchdown pass to Kittle that staked San Francisco to a 20-10 advantage midway through the period.

The 49ers moved 75 yards on nine plays on their next series to extend the margin on Purdy's 2-yard touchdown run.

Purdy ended 18 for 26 for 260 yards. Kittle compiled 128 yards on six receptions, while Guerendo added 85 rushing yards on 14 attempts.

Dallas (3-4) made the final score more competitive with two Prescott touchdown passes to CeeDee Lamb in the fourth quarter in its first outing since a 47-9 home loss to the Detroit Lions in Week 6.

Lamb had a monster night in defeat with 146 yards on 13 catches. Prescott threw for 243 yards on 25-of-38 passing but was intercepted twice.

The highly anticipated matchup between the top two picks of this year's NFL draft will happen.

Jayden Daniels will play for the Washington Commanders in their Week 8 game against Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears on Sunday.

Daniels was uncertain to play because of a rib injury sustained in last Sunday's 40-7 rout of the Carolina Panthers.

Daniels was limited in Friday's practice after sitting out Wednesday and Thursday's sessions and was officially listed as questionable before being made active about 90 minutes before kick-off. 

The Commanders selected Daniels second in April's draft after the Bears took Williams first overall.

Williams won the 2022 Heisman Trophy as the top collegiate football player in the United States and Daniels won the prestigious award last year.

Daniels has the early edge in the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year race, with 1,410 passing yards to go with 10 total touchdowns in just over five games after getting hurt early last weekend.

Williams, meanwhile, has 1,317 passing yards with nine passing touchdowns, but has shown marked improvement in leading the Bears (4-2) to three straight wins. He threw four TDs in Chicago's last game - a 35-16 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars in London in Week 6 - and has compiled a 122.8 passer rating during the winning streak.

Daniels has a 107.0 passer rating on the season while leading the Commanders (5-2) to their surprising perch atop the NFC East.

Journeyman backup Marcus Mariota played well after taking over for the injured Daniels late in the first quarter last week, completing 18-of-23 passes for 205 yards and two touchdowns.

Sean McVay is happy to have Los Angeles Rams receiver Cooper Kupp back out on the field and "expects it to stay that way".

The Rams caused an upset on Thursday, beating the Minnesota Vikings 30-20 as they were boosted by the returns of Kupp and Puka Nacua, playing together for the first time since their opener.

It is the first time the Rams have recorded back-to-back wins this season, and scored a season-high 30 points, snapping a streak of 10 consecutive games with fewer than 30.

Kupp recovered from a left ankle sprain he suffered in week two to play the Vikings, and had five catches for 51 yards and a touchdown.

In the build-up to the game, there was trade speculation over the 31-year-old, with LA reportedly approaching teams about him before the November 5 deadline, but McVay was quick to shut down the idea.

"I'm really glad to have Cooper Kupp back with us and I expect it to stay that way," McVay said.

"Teams reached out," he added when asked about the trade speculation. "Some of the things that I've seen out there, they're just not true.

"We've addressed that with those individuals. Teams have called about him, and we let him know what the dialogue was there. And then there's a lot of stuff out there where there's not a lot of accountability to the reports. And that's unfortunate."

Nacua, meanwhile, was only activated to play on Thursday, having recovered sooner than expected from a posterior cruciate ligament in week one.

He led the team with seven catches for 106 yards on nine targets, making it his eighth career game (out of 19 played) with 100 receiving yards.

Overall, McVay was pleased with the spark that the pair's return provided to the team.

"There's a confidence, there's a comfort, there's a rapport that's been established with Matthew [Stafford] and Cooper over the years and then Puka and Matthew last year and then leading into this season," McVay added.

"And so, these guys are ballers. Matthew brought out the best in everybody. But I thought Puka and Cooper were ready to go. They made an impact."

Cooper Kupp caught a touchdown pass and Puka Nacua had 106 yards receiving in their returns from lengthy injury absences, and Matthew Stafford passed for 279 yards and four TDs in the Los Angeles Rams ' 30-20 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday night.

Demarcus Robinson caught two TD passes from Stafford as the Rams (3-4) won back-to-back games for the first time this season with 386 yards from an offence that looked exponentially more dangerous with its top two receivers back in uniform.

After missing the previous five games, Nacua had seven catches while posting the eighth 100-yard game of his short career. Kupp returned from a four-game absence with five catches for 51 yards, including a 27-yard grab for a key first down late in the fourth quarter.

Kyren Williams rushed for 97 yards and caught an early TD pass for the Rams. Robinson caught a 25-yard TD pass late in the third quarter to put Los Angeles ahead, and he caught a 10-yard TD throw with 6:17 to play for a 28-20 lead.

Sam Darnold passed for 240 yards for the Vikings (5-2), who followed up their first loss of the season with an ineffective defensive performance.

Justin Jefferson had eight receptions for 115 yards, while Josh Oliver and Trent Sherfield caught TD passes from Darnold. Minnesota was held to two field goals in the final three quarters.