NFL Week 5: Game-winning field goal from 59 yards lifts Texans over Bills

HOUSTON — C.J. Stroud threw for 331 yards and a touchdown and Ka′imi Fairbairn’s tiebreaking 59-yard field goal as time expired lifted the Houston Texans to a 23-20 win over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.

The Texans (4-1) led 20-3 after a field goal early in third quarter before the Bills scored 17 straight points to tie it with about 3½ minutes to go.

KA’IMI FAIRBAIRN GAME-WINNING 59-YARD FG! ????

(via @NFL) pic.twitter.com/qbjdeyGJ6E

— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) October 6, 2024

Stroud was called for intentional grounding to bring up fourth-and-15 and take the Texans out of field-goal range with less than a minute left.

A punt backed the Bills up to their 3 and they punted after three straight incomplete passes to give Houston one last chance.

Dare Ogunbowale had a 5-yard run to set up Fairbairn’s game winner.

Vikings 23, Jets 17

LONDON — Andrew Van Ginkel returned the first of Aaron Rodgers’ three interceptions 63 yards for a touchdown and Minnesota stayed undefeated by holding on for a win over New York at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The Jets trailed 17-0 early, but had a chance to drive for a potential winning score in the final minutes. But Stephon Gilmore intercepted Rodgers’ pass intended for Mike Williams and the Vikings improved to 5-0 for the first time since 2016.

Van Ginkel snatched Rodgers’ quick slant before breaking a tackle and outrunning the Jets linemen down the sideline for a 63-yard score and a 10-0 lead. The linebacker also had a pick-6 in the season opener against Daniel Jones and the New York Giants.

Rodgers threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Garrett Wilson to make it 20-17 with just over six minutes remaining before Vikings rookie kicker Will Reichard hit a 41-yard field goal — his third of the game.

A slow start ultimately doomed the Jets (2-3).

Jaguars 37, Colts 34

JACKSONVILLE — Trevor Lawrence threw for 371 yards and two touchdowns on his 25th birthday and put Jacksonville in position for a 49-yard field goal with 17 seconds left that gave the Jaguars their first win of the season over the short-handed Colts.

Tank Bigsby ran for 101 yards and two scores for Jacksonville (1-4), which won for the first time since December and extended its home streak against division rival Indianapolis (2-3) to double digits. The Jaguars did so while wearing throwback uniforms on a day the franchise inducted retired coach Tom Coughlin into its ring of honor.

It was a much-needed victory for a team that was seemingly on the verge of unraveling. Lawrence and receiver Gabe Davis got into a sideline argument in the first quarter and had to be separated. That frustration followed a mid-week report that said coach Doug Pederson had lost the locker room.

Pederson and his players denied any discord and certainly will point to beating Indy as a potential turning point.

Bears 36, Panthers 10

CHICAGO — Caleb Williams threw for 304 yards and two touchdowns in his best performance to date, DJ Moore caught both scoring passes and had 105 yards receiving against his former team as Chicago beats Carolina.

The Bears (3-2) won their second straight after dropping two in a row, with the two key pieces they acquired as a result of a blockbuster trade with Carolina in 2023 leading the way.

Chicago also got a big performance for the second straight week from D’Andre Swift. He had 120 yards from scrimmage and a TD.

Williams picked apart a banged-up defense that ranks among the NFL’s worst. The No. 1 overall draft pick completed 20 of 29 passes with no interceptions and a 126.2 rating that was his best.

Dolphins 15, Patriots 10

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Alec Ingold scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 3-yard run with four minutes left, and Jason Sanders kicked three field goals to make up for three botched kicks by the Dolphins special teams as Miami beat New England.

In a game between two of the NFL’s worst teams that was pocked with penalties, missed kicks and clock management mistakes, each team managed just one touchdown, with Miami (2-3) taking the lead when Ingold plunged into the end zone on his only carry of the game.

The Patriots (1-4) still had two more chances to take the lead after the 2-point attempt failed, but the first ended after a replay review overturned a catch that was ruled a touchdown on the field, and the second fizzled at the Miami 11 when Jacoby Brissett hit Hunter Henry for 25 yards with 4 seconds left — but in the middle of the field, with no opportunity to stop the clock.

Making his second start as the latest quarterback to replace Tua Tagovailoa, Tyler Huntley completed 18 of 31 passes for 194 yards and one interception. Tyreek Hill caught six passes for 69 yards, Jaylen Wright ran for 86 and Raheem Mostert added 80 on the ground for the Dolphins, who had lost three in a row while shuffling through three backup quarterbacks since Tagovailoa sustained his third diagnosed concussion in Week 3.

Packers 24, Rams 19

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Jordan Love bounced back from the first pick-6 of his career to throw a pair of touchdown passes to Tucker Kraft in the second half as the Green Bay Packers rallied for a 24-19 victory over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.

The Packers trailed 13-7 late in the second quarter after Jaylen McCollough intercepted Love’s off-balance attempt to throw the ball away and ran it in from 4 yards. But Green Bay (3-2) scored on its next three drives and benefited from a pair of turnovers to beat the Rams (1-4) for the ninth time in their last 10 regular-season meetings.

Love, a California native who grew up in Bakersfield, completed 15 of 26 for 224 yards in his second start since missing two games due to a knee injury.

Josh Jacobs had 19 carries for 73 yards and scored his first TD with the Packers.

Kraft had four receptions for a career-best 88 yards. Two plays after Xavier McKinney recovered a fumble by Rams running back Kyren Williams and returned it 7 yards to the Green Bay 30, Love connected with Kraft for a 66-yard touchdown to give the Packers a 17-13 lead.

Kraft caught the ball at the Rams 49, stiff-armed Rams cornerback Darious Williams at the 30 and eluded a diving tackle attempt near the left sideline by Quentin Lake at the 20 before reaching the end zone.

After McKinney became the first player since the 1970 merger with an interception in each of his first five games with a team, Kraft completed a seven-play drive when he scored from 7 yards out for the first two-TD game of his career.

Matthew Stafford was 29 of 45 for 260 yards with a touchdown and interception. Kyren Williams had 102 yards rushing on 22 carries and scored for the eighth straight game.

Stafford’s 1-yard touchdown pass to Demarcus Robinson — the 2-point conversion attempt failed — with 3:30 remaining pulled the Rams within 24-19.

Los Angeles forced Green Bay to punt on the ensuing possession and took over on their own 29 with 2:57 remaining. The Rams drove to the Packers 38, but Stafford was unable to connect with Colby Parkinson on fourth-and-5 with 1:01 remaining.

After both teams went three-and-out on their opening drives, Jacobs scored on a 2-yard run around right end. Jacobs originally tried to run it off left tackle before being bottled up and reversing field.

Jacobs’ score was set up one play earlier when Love and Reed combined for a highlight reel play. On second-and-10 at the Packers 45, Love completed a 53-yard pass to Reed in a tight window near the left sideline. Reed hauled it in despite three Rams defenders in the vicinity, including Lake all over Reed’s back.

The Rams evened it five minutes into the second quarter when Williams plowed in from 1 yard to complete a 13-play drive. Williams has the longest TD streak by a Rams running back since Greg Bell scored in 10 straight during the 1988 and ’89 seasons.

Broncos 34, Raiders 18

DENVER — Pat Surtain II picked off a pair of passes and his 100-yard interception return for a touchdown powered the Denver Broncos past the injury-riddled Las Vegas Raiders 34-18 on Sunday, snapping an eight-game losing streak in the storied AFC West series.

Rookie Bo Nix had a breakout day with a pair of touchdown passes after coming into the game with just one. He also ran for a score as Denver scored 34 unanswered points after falling behind 10-0 in the first quarter.

Completing passes to a franchise-record 11 players, Nix finished 19 of 27 for 206 yards, two TDs and no interceptions as the Broncos (3-2) secured their first win over the Raiders (2-3) since Dec. 29, 2019, a confounding dry spell given how evenly matched the teams have been over the last several seasons.

First-year starter Riley Moss also intercepted Raiders quarterback Gardner Minshew, his first career interception coming one week after his first career fumble recovery and two weeks after the first forced fumble of his two-year career.

It also ended Minshew’s day.

He was replaced by former starter Aidan O’Connell with 1:31 left in the third quarter with Las Vegas trailing 20-10. Minshew, who was missing superstar Davante Adams (ankle) for the second straight week, finished 12 of 17 for 137 yards with one touchdown, two inteceptions and a pair of sacks after completing his first nine passes for 115 yards.

His 10th went 100 yards in the other direction as the Broncos erased their early double-digit deficit on their way to a big win on a day they honored their first Super Bowl team of 1977.

Surtain intercepted O’Connell’s first pass of his second series, giving Nix the ball back at the Las Vegas 39 shortly after his 1-yard keeper made it 27-10, and he promptly hit Josh Reynolds for a 9-yard score.

O’Connell went 10 of 20 for 94 yards and an interception.

Overall, the Raiders ran for just 5 yards in the second half. They had 110 by halftime.

Before kickoff, Randy Gradishar was honored as the first member of the famed “Orange Crush” defense to get into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Two of his teammates, Steve Foley and Riley Odoms, were inducted into the team’s Ring of Fame at halftime as the signage, field (with block letters and no midfield logo) and stadium music were all reminiscent of the 1970s.

So was Denver’s stout defense, which throttled the Raiders after some early hiccups.

The Raiders’ offense may have a harder time breaking out of its funk as Adams this week made it clear he’d rather play for another organization.

The Broncos took a 13-10 halftime lead when Wil Lutz kicked a second-chance 44-yard field goal with no time left. He was wide left from 59 yards but Raiders defensive end Janarius Robinson was whistled for a 15-yard personal foul for leaping over the snapper.

The Raiders scored on Brock Bowers’ 57-yard touchdown catch and Daniel Carlson’s 40-yard field goal and were threatening to take a 17-3 lead when Minshew rolled to his left on first-and-goal from the 5 and had Bowers open.

His throw sailed over Bowers’ head and Surtain, who was covering Jakobi Meyers, cradled the ball at his own goal line and took off down the Denver sideline. The only Raider who had a chance to prevent the turnaround touchdown was Minshew, but he was bowled over by rookie linebacker Jonah Ellis 35 yards downfield and Surtain trotted into the end zone with the ball held high.

Surtain’s 100-yard TD return was the second-longest in team history behind only Aqib Talib’s 103-yarder against Dallas in 2017.

Giants 29, Seahawks 20

SEATTLE — Daniel Jones threw for 257 yards and two touchdowns, Bryce Ford-Wheaton returned a blocked field goal attempt 60 yards for a touchdown with 55 seconds left, and the short-handed New York Giants stunned the Seattle Seahawks 29-20 on Sunday.

Playing without two of its best offensive players, New York (2-3) put together a masterful game plan that built a 23-13 lead midway through the fourth quarter. The Giants then came up with one big special teams play with Seattle on the verge of potentially forcing overtime.

Seattle’s Jason Myers lined up for a 47-yard field goal attempt with 1:05 left that could have pulled even at 23-23. New York’s Isaiah Simmons cleanly jumped over the gap between the guard and long snapper in the offensive line and swatted the kick, which bounced into the arms of Ford-Wheaton for a clinching score that sent the home fans to the exits.

The conclusion was stunning after Seattle seemed on the verge of an unlikely rally and possibly handing the Giants another one-score defeat. Geno Smith threw a 5-yard TD to Jaxon Smith-Njigba with 2:09 remaining to cap a 95-yard touchdown drive. New York was unable to pick up a first down and punted back to Seattle, only to see Smith dart 32 yards on the first play to get the Seahawks (3-2) into field goal range.

But the drive stalled and Simmons came through with the blocked kick.

Jones directed the whole production with one of the best games of his career. Despite playing without rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers and running back Devin Singletary, the Giants created a plan of short passes and gashing runs that allowed New York to control possession and keep Seattle’s offense on the sideline.

Jones finished 23 of 34 and threw touchdowns of 7 yards to Wan’Dale Robinson and his 30-yard strike to Darius Slayton early in the third quarter gave the Giants a 17-10 lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

Rookie fifth-round pick Tyrone Tracy rushed for 129 yards filling in for Singletary’s absence, while Slayton had eight catches for 122 yards with Nabers out.

The Giants rolled up 420 total yards and had more than 37 minutes of possession.

The win could have been even more comfortable for New York if not for a goal line fumble from Eric Gray that Rayshawn Jenkins returned 102 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter. But that also proved to be the only highlight on a frustrating day for the Seahawks.

Smith was 28 of 40 for 284 yards, and rushed for another 72 yards, but Seattle’s run game was mostly ineffective. Smith was sacked seven times – three of them coming from Dexter Lawrence II.

Playing on a short week after losing in Detroit on Monday night, the Seahawks were outcoached and looked a step slow throughout. There were sloppy penalties, bad tackling and poor protection of Smith.

And there’s not much time for correction with a Thursday night divisional matchup against San Francisco looming.

Cardinals 24, 49ers 23

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Kyler Murray had a long touchdown run in the first quarter and rallied Arizona with two fourth-quarter scoring drives in the Cardinals’ 24-23 victory over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.

Murray threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Elijah Higgins early in the fourth quarter that cut the deficit to 23-21 and then set up Chad Ryland’s 35-yard field goal with 1:37 to play to give the Cardinals (2-3) the lead.

San Francisco’s Brock Purdy then threw his second interception of the game when he was hit by Jalen Thompson, and Kyzir White came up with the floater.

This marked the second time this season that San Francisco (2-3) blew a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter to a division rival, having done it in Week 3 against the Los Angeles Rams. The Niners lost just one division game the past two season when winning NFC West titles but are 0-2 already this year after the sixth blown double-digit lead in the fourth quarter in the regular season and playoffs under coach Kyle Shanahan.

Murray threw for 195 yards and a TD and added 82 yards rushing.

The 49ers squandered several chances and scored only one TD on six drives that reached the end zone. The most costly came midway through the fourth quarter when Jordan Mason lost a fumble that Mack Wilson recovered at the 8 to keep Arizona within two points.

Murray then led the winning drive, converting a fourth-and-5 with a 14-yard completion to rookie Marvin Harrison Jr. that got Arizona into Niners territory. The Cardinals then ran five straight times to set up the field goal by Ryland, who was filling in for the injured Matt Prater.

Purdy went 18 for 33 for 229 yards, one touchdown and one interception for the 49ers, who managed only one offensive touchdown with the other TD coming on a blocked field goal return.

The Cardinals started fast by forcing a three-and-out to open the game and getting a 50-yard TD run from Murray on their second play from scrimmage.

The 49ers controlled the rest of the half with Purdy throwing a 4-yard TD to George Kittle and Deommodore Lenoir returning a blocked field goal by Jordan Elliott for a 61-yard score that helped San Francisco take a 23-10 lead at the break.