Vikings remain undefeated; Eagles, tight win; Colts win

Minneapolis., Sam Darnold matched a career high with four touchdown passes and the undefeated Minnesota Vikings turned in another dominant defensive performance to hold off CJ Stroud and the Houston Texans for a 34-7 victory Sunday.

Jonathan Greenard had three of Stroud’s four sacks, his former teammate, as the Vikings (3-0) picked off the 2023 AP Offensive Rookie of the Year twice and dominated the Texans (2-1) with their aggressive defensive scheme, aided by the rowdiness of hometown fans that escalated after each stop.

Darnold connected with Justin Jefferson and Aaron Jones for first-quarter scores on third downs inside the 10. In the second half, he found Jalen Nailor for another touchdown, his third of the season, and invited tight end Johnny Mundt to the party with one more.

Jefferson had six catches for 81 yards and Jones rushed 19 times for 102 yards and caught five passes for 46 yards for the Vikings.

Darnold completed 17 of 28 passing for 181 yards without turning the ball over and matched his career-high three-game winning streak as a starter, something he had not accomplished in three years.

He left the game to have his knee checked after a penalty from former Minnesota player Danielle Hunter, but returned after being cleared by the team, sending home fans into a frenzy.

Eagles beat New Orleans Saints 15-12

Photo Ap

Saquon Barkley had fourth-quarter touchdown runs of 65 and four yards, and the Philadelphia Eagles rallied from a late-game collapse Monday to beat the New Orleans Saints 15-12.

Barkley’s shortest score came with 1:01 left in the game, a play after Dallas Goedert broke free across the middle of the field on 3rd-and-16 for a 61-yard scamper that gave him an NFL-best 170 yards on 10 receptions.

He safety Eagles quarterback Reed Blankenship sealed the win by intercepting a Derek Carr pass with 48 seconds left, capping a dominant performance by Philadelphia’s defense against an offense that had scored an NFL-leading 91 points in the first two weeks under new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak.

Coming off a 22-21 home loss to Atlanta last week, the Eagles (2-1) didn’t allow a score until Carr connected with Chris Olave on a 12-yard pass with just over two minutes remaining to give the Saints a 12-7 lead after a missed two-point conversion.

Colts rush for 3 TDs and beat Bears 21-16

Photo Ap

Jonathan Taylor had two touchdown runs and Trey Sermon added another as the Indianapolis Colts held on for a 21-16 victory over the Chicago Bears.

Taylor ran 23 times for 110 yards as the Colts (1-2) avoided their first 0-3 start since 2021. Anthony Richardson completed 10 of 20 passes for 167 yards but had two more interceptions.

Chicago (1-2) lost its second straight game and Caleb Williams, the No. 1 overall pick in the draft This year, he completed 33 of 52 passes for a season-high 363 yards passing and threw the first two touchdown passes of his NFL career. Williams was also intercepted twice.

Chicago and Indianapolis combined for just 71 total yards in the first quarter and had five turnovers overall, and the league’s two youngest starting quarterbacks both had passer ratings below 81.

Williams was also sacked four times and was under pressure much of the game, including on a 2-point conversion pass that fell incomplete midway through the fourth quarter. The Colts finished with just 15 first downs.