NFL Week 4: Falcons rally with late field goal to beat Saints

Younghoe Koo kicked a 58-yard field goal with two seconds remaining and the Atlanta Falcons rallied for a 26-24 victory over the New Orleans Saints without scoring an offensive touchdown Sunday.

Koo kicked four field goals in all, also connecting from 53, 44 and 42 yards to give the Falcons (2-2) a desperately needed home victory.

They had lost their first two games at Mercedes-Benz Stadium and seemed on the verge of falling to 0-3 in Atlanta when Alvin Kamara scored on a 1-yard run with a minute remaining to push the Saints (2-2) to a 24-23 lead.

YOUNGHOE KOO FROM 58 YARDS FOR THE LEAD WITH TWO SECONDS LEFT! pic.twitter.com/8b2A4SlWKm

— NFL (@NFL) September 29, 2024

A 30-yard pass interference penalty on Paulson Adebo gave the Falcons hope at the New Orleans 40. Kirk Cousins threw three straight incompletions, but it didn’t matter.

Koo knocked down the longest field goal in the stadium’s seven-year history with plenty to spare, sending the Saints to their second straight close loss after two dominating victories to open the season.

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Caleb Williams led four scoring drives, D’Andre Swift had 165 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown as Chicago held off Los Angeles.

Jaquan Brisker intercepted Matthew Stafford with about a minute remaining after the Bears punted on the previous play, helping Chicago (2-2) end a two-game skid.

Williams threw for 157 yards and a touchdown after setting a Bears rookie record by passing for 363 yards at Indianapolis last week. The No. 1 overall draft pick and former Heisman Trophy winner out of Southern California was 17 of 23 with a 9-yard TD pass to DJ Moore in the third quarter.

Swift had his best game since signing with the Bears in March. A Pro Bowler with Philadelphia last season, he broke off a 36-yard touchdown run that made it 24-15 in the fourth quarter. He finished with 16 rushes for 93 yards and seven catches for 72 yards.

Buccaneers 33, Eagles 16

Baker Mayfield threw for 347 yards and two touchdowns, while Mike Evans became the Buccaneers’ career scoring leader during Tampa Bay’s victory over Philadelphia.

Mayfield, who completed 30 of 47 passes without an interception, also ran for a TD in helping the Bucs (3-1) dominate the rematch of a lopsided NFC wild-card game they won against the Eagles (2-2) last January.

Rebounding from a poor performance in a loss to Denver the previous week, Mayfield and the offense scored a touchdown on its opening possession for the first time in 21 games. Evans’ 2-yard scoring reception finished a 10-play, 79-yard drive that set the tone for the Bucs, who outgained the Eagles 254 yards to zero in building a 24-0 lead.

Texans 24, Jaguars 20

C.J. Stroud threw for 345 yards and two touchdowns, capped by a 1-yard pass to Dare Ogunbowale with 18 seconds left, to give Houston a win over Jacksonville.

Houston forced a three-and-out to get the ball back with less than three minutes to go.

Stroud then led a nine-play, 69-yard drive to give the Texans (3-1) their first points of the second half and survive a scare by the winless Jaguars (0-4).

The Texans bounced back from a 34-7 rout at Minnesota to get the victory despite fumbling a punt return early and committing 12 penalties to give them 35 combined in their past three games.

The Jaguars fell to 0-4 for the first time since opening the 2021 season with five straight losses.

Broncos 10, Jets 9

Bo Nix threw his first NFL touchdown and Denver overcame a miserable first half on offense and held on to beat New York in a defensive standoff.

Rodgers came up limping a bit after a sack late in the fourth quarter and seemed to be favoring his left leg — the same on which his Achilles tendon was surgically repaired last year — and was looked at on the sideline by trainers.

It appeared Rodgers might have also fumbled on the play, but the Broncos were out of challenges so Sean Payton couldn’t ask officials to review.

Rodgers came back on the Jets’ next possession with 2:31 remaining but couldn’t get anything going. Facing fourth-and-10 on New York’s 45, Rodgers was sacked from behind by a blitzing P.J. Locke to give the Broncos the ball at the 35.

Vikings 31, Packers 29

Sam Darnold threw three touchdown passes and Jordan Addison scored twice as Minnesota built an early 28-point lead and hung on down the stretch to beat Green Bay.

The Vikings (4-0) are off to their best start since 2016, when they won their first five games before slumping to an 8-8 finish. They have trailed for less than 3 1/2 minutes all season.

Minnesota spoiled the return of Packers quarterback Jordan Love, who returned after missing two games with an injured left medial collateral ligament. He threw for 389 yards and four touchdowns, both career highs. But he also matched a career high with three interceptions while going 32 of 54.

Jayden Reed had seven receptions for 139 yards and a touchdown for the Packers (2-2).

Green Bay got within 31-29 on Dontayvion Wicks’ second fourth-quarter touchdown catch — a 17-yarder with 56 seconds left. Minnesota’s Josh Oliver recovered Daniel Whelan’s ensuing onside kick — it actually was a drop kick — to secure the victory.

49ers 30, Patriots 13

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Brock Purdy threw a touchdown pass, Fred Warner returned an interception for a score and the San Francisco 49ers snapped a two-game skid by beating the New England Patriots 30-13 on Sunday.

After losing on the road at Minnesota and against the Los Angeles Rams the past two weeks, the Niners (2-2) found their footing quickly back at home against the struggling Patriots (1-3).

San Francisco got field goals from Jake Moody on the opening two drives before Warner delivered his latest big play of the season, making a diving interception against Jacoby Brissett and returning it 45 yards for his second career TD. Warner has three forced fumbles and two interceptions through four games this season.

It was the first interception of the season for the Patriots, who have been unable to get any consistent passing game generated with Brissett at quarterback, which will lead to more questions about when rookie Drake Maye will take over.

Brissett went 19 for 32 for 168 yards and was sacked six times for 25 yards. New England has been held under 150 yards passing in each of the first four games of the season for the first time since 1971.

Purdy hit several deep passes on the day for San Francisco on the way to throwing for 288 yards, with his TD coming to George Kittle.

The Niners were held to field goals on their first two drives after getting inside the 10 and looked like they might have to settle for one again late in the second quarter after penalties wiped out two potential touchdowns.

But then Purdy threw a high pass up for grabs that Kittle leaped to grab between three defenders for his second touchdown of the season to make it 20-0.

San Francisco then allowed a 63-yard field goal by Joey Slye on the final play of the first half and then rookie Isaac Guerendo lost a fumble on the opening kick of the second half in the latest special teams blunder for the 49ers.

That set up Brissett’s 5-yard touchdown pass to Austin Hooper that made it 20-10.

Purdy answered with a 53-yard pass to open the next drive, setting up Jordan Mason’s 4-yard run that put San Francisco back in control with a 27-10 lead.

Mason finished with 123 yards rushing for his third game with at least 100 in place of injured All-Pro Christian McCaffrey.

Commanders 42, Cardinals 14

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Jayden Daniels threw for 233 yards and a touchdown and ran for a score in his desert return, and the Washington Commanders extended their winning streak to three with a 42-14 victory over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.

Daniels — the No. 2 overall pick last spring — became the fourth quarterback in the Super Bowl era to run for four touchdowns in his first four career games, joining Cam Newton, Robert Griffin III and Anthony Richardson.

Daniels also completed 26 of 30 passes and has an absurd 82% completion percentage in his short career. He hit Terry McLaurin for a 10-yard touchdown strike midway through the fourth quarter, and found Zach Ertz in the back of the end zone on the 2-point conversion, for an insurmountable 35-14 lead.

Jeremy McNichols ran for two touchdowns and Brian Robinson Jr. had 101 yards on the ground.

Daniels and Washington offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury had successful homecomings.

Daniels played in college for three seasons at Arizona State before transferring to LSU, where he won the Heisman in 2023. Kingsbury was the head coach of the Cardinals from 2019-22, leading the franchise to the playoffs in 2021 before getting fired following a 4-13 season the following year.

Washington (3-1) took control early in the third quarter on Daniels’ 9-yard touchdown run that made it 24-7. The Commanders got a huge break on the previous play when Arizona’s Sean Murphy-Bunting was called for pass interference on a deep ball, which resulted in a 47-yard penalty.

Arizona’s James Conner had a 6-yard touchdown run near the end of the third quarter, cutting Washington’s lead to 27-14. Conner ran for 104 yards. Kyler Murray completed 16 of 22 passes for 142 yards and a touchdown, but was sacked four times.

Washington’s offense has been the talk of the NFL over the past few weeks. It scored on every drive during the past two games, with the exception of kneel downs, becoming the first team since at least 2000 to accomplish that feat.

The Commanders were back at it against the Cardinals (1-3), methodically moving down the field on their first two drives to take a 14-7 lead. The 16-possession streak ended midway through the second quarter when Arizona’s Garrett Williams made a leaping grab for an interception, which was Daniels’ first of the season.

Washington couldn’t get a first down on their next offensive possession, either, so Tress Way had to punt for the first time since Sept. 8. But there was still much more good than bad from the Commanders’ offense.

The Cardinals took a 7-0 lead on the opening offensive drive, finishing with a 2-yard touchdown pass from Murray to Marvin Harrison Jr. on a fourth-and-1 play. It was the rookie’s fourth touchdown catch in three games.

Washington responded immediately, driving 70 yards on nine carries, capped by Brian Robinson Jr.’s 6-yard touchdown run. Robinson — who had a bigger role with Austin Ekeler was out with a concussion — ran for 38 yards on five carries during the drive.

The Commanders followed that up with a 93-yard touchdown drive that ended with McNichols running 27 yards down the left sideline for a 14-7 lead with 10:18 left in the second quarter.

Chiefs 17, Chargers 10

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Patrick Mahomes passed for 245 yards and a touchdown while rediscovering his connection with Travis Kelce, and Kansas City rallied from an early 10-point deficit to beat Los Angeles.

Making his 100th regular-season start, Mahomes completed 19 of 29 passes for the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs, who are 4-0 for the first time since 2020. Kelce had a season-high seven receptions for 89 yards and set the franchise’s career receptions record, surpassing fellow tight end Tony Gonzalez.

Kansas City has won six straight over the Chargers. It also has 11 straight road victories victories its AFC West rival, the longest active winning streak by a visiting squad and tied for third all-time.