Sunday's NFL: Murray’s 113 yards pave the way for Vikings
Minneapolis — Even though he was signed to help the Vikings replace Adrian Peterson, Latavius Murray has been behind nearly from the day he stepped foot in Minnesota.
Plowing through the Ravens as he did on Sunday should help him catch up in a hurry.
Murray rushed for 113 yards and a touchdown and Kai Forbath kicked six field goals to lift the Vikings to a 24-16 victory over the Ravens.
After making the decision to move on from the face of the franchise, the Vikings signed Murray away from the Raiders to help fill the void. But ankle surgery kept him out of the entire offseason program, all of training camp and most of the preseason.
“I just think it was a matter of me just trying to find my rhythm, try to get a groove going,” Murray said after averaging 6.3 yards per carry. “I said eventually I know I would have some success. I knew I had to continue to keep doing what I do and continue to keep working, and hopefully, like today, those big runs will pop.”
Forbath made kicks of 52, 51, 43, 43, 34 and 32 yards to back another suffocating effort from the defense for the Vikings (5-2).
Minnesota sacked Joe Flacco five times and allowed just 208 yards. Everson Griffen had two sacks and has nine for the season.
Justin Tucker kicked three field goals for the Ravens (3-4).
“Those clichés like ‘worn down’ and ‘gap control,’ it’s just all meaningless chatter,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said after his team gave up 169 yards rushing.
“We’ve got to do a better job against the run and get them stopped. They did a good job and we didn’t.”
The nine combined field goals tied an NFL record for most made field goals in a game.
More NFL games
(At) New England 23, Atlanta 7: Tom Brady threw two touchdown passes and the Patriots toyed with the Falcons — sound familiar? — in a fog-filled Super Bowl rematch that wasn’t particularly super.
New England scored the final 31 points to win the NFL championship in February. Placards and shirts reading 28-3 were ever-present in and around Gillette Stadium as the Patriots (5-2) scored the first 23 points in this prime-time mismatch. The Falcons (3-3), who led New England by that 25-point margin in the third quarter of the Super Bowl before folding, were outplayed throughout this one.
While Atlanta looked tentative, if not intimidated, Brady and his offense clinically tore apart the Falcons. Mixing runs and passes, New England controlled the clock and field position. And its defense, ranked at the bottom of the entire league through six weeks, stymied the NFL’s fifth-ranked offense.
Brady threw a shovel pass to Bradin Cooks that traveled perhaps a foot, and the receiver used his speed to get into the left corner of the end zone. The other TD was a 2-yarder to James White, who had three touchdowns, including the winner, in the Super Bowl.
Tennessee 12, (at) Cleveland 9 (OT): Ryan Succop’s fourth field goal, a 47-yarder with 1:55 left in overtime, extended his NFL record for makes inside 50 yards to 55 straight and sent the Tennessee Titans to an ugly win over the winless Cleveland Browns.
Succop’s clutch kick enabled the Titans (4-3) to get their second win in six days. Succop made five field goals in Monday night’s win over Indianapolis.
Browns rookie Zane Gonzalez forced overtime by kicking a season-long 54-yard field goal with 47 seconds left in regulation to tie it 9-9. Gonzalez added kicks of 31 and 47 yards.
The Browns (0-7) committed 12 penalties and dropped to 1-22 in two seasons under coach Hue Jackson.
L.A. Rams 33, Arizona 0: In London, Jared Goff ran for a touchdown and threw for another and Greg Zuerlein made four field goals for the Rams.
Goff completed 22 of 37 passes for 235 yards with an interception, and Todd Gurley ran for 106 yards and a touchdown for the NFC West-leading Rams (5-2).
Zuerlein, who set a franchise record by making seven field goals in a win against the Cowboys on Oct. 1, connected from 23, 33, 53 and 34 yards.
(At) L.A. Chargers 21, Denver 0: Travis Benjamin returned a first-quarter punt 65 yards for a touchdown and caught a 42-yard TD pass in the fourth, and the Los Angeles Chargers played a dominant defensive game in the first home victory of their relocation season, 21-0 over the Denver Broncos on Sunday.
Joey Bosa had two of the Chargers’ five sacks while they sent the Broncos (3-3) to the franchise’s first shutout defeat since a 24-0 loss to the Los Angeles Raiders on Nov. 22, 1992.
The Chargers (3-4) have won three straight under new coach Anthony Lynn.
(At) Buffalo 30, Tampa Bay 27: Rookie cornerback Tre’Davious White forced and recovered a fumble to set up Stephen Hauschka’s 30-yard field goal with 14 seconds remaining.
LeSean McCoy had 91 yards rushing and scored twice, including a 7-yard run to tie the score with 2:28 remaining. Tyrod Taylor went 20 of 33 for 268 yards and a touchdown, while Buffalo’s defense forced three turnovers.
Rookie tight end O.J. Howard caught two touchdown passes for the Buccaneers (2-4), who have lost three straight.
Seattle 24, (at) N.Y. Giants 7: Russell Wilson threw three second-half touchdown passes and the Seahawks limited the Giants offense to 177 yards.
Wilson hit Doug Baldwin with a go-ahead 22-yard touchdown pass midway through the third quarter.
He put the game away with a 38-yard TD throw to Paul Richardson on a play that had to be reviewed because of simultaneous possession and he closed out the scoring with a 1-yard toss to Jimmy Graham with 2:14 to go.
The Seahawks (4-2) limited the Giants (1-6) to 46 yards rushing.
(At) Miami 31, N.Y. Jets 28: Matt Moore replaced an injured Jay Cutler and threw two touchdown passes in the final 12 minutes, and the Dolphins pulled off another comeback win by erasing a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit.
Josh McCown threw three touchdown passes and ran for another for the Jets, but his interception in the final minute set up the winning field goal.
The Dolphins (4-2) earned their third consecutive victory and avenged a loss to the Jets (3-4) in Week 3.
Dallas 40, (at) San Francisco 10: Ezekiel Elliott gained 219 yards from scrimmage and tied a career high with three touchdowns just days after a legal reprieve put his suspension on hold.
Elliott matched his season total of rushing touchdowns with two in the first quarter and then took a short pass from Dak Prescott 72 yards for another touchdown on Dallas’ first possession of the second half to put the 49ers (0-7) away.
(At) Chicago 17, Carolina 3: Rookie safety Eddie Jackson became the first NFL player to score multiple defensive touchdowns of 75 yards or more in a game. Jackson ran back a fumble recovery 75 yards on the game’s opening possession and returned an interception of Cam Newton 76 yards for a score early in the second quarter to give Chicago a 14-0 lead.
He became the first Bears player since Fred Evans in 1948 — and the first NFL player since Tennessee’s Zach Brown in 2012 — with two defensive TDs in a game.
Jacksonville 27, (at) Indianapolis 0: Blake Bortles threw for a season-high 330 yards and one touchdown, and T.J. Yeldon scored on a 58-yard run.
By ending a four-game losing streak at Lucas Oil Stadium, the Jaguars (4-3) remained atop the AFC South.
Indy (2-5) lost its second straight.
The Jaguars played without rookie RB Leonard Fournette because of a sprained right ankle.