Minnesota Vikings @ San Francisco 49ers
SAN FRANCISCO - The injuries finally caught up the the San Francisco 49ers (8-3) as they dropped their game Sunday to the Minnesota Vikings 32-30. Minnesota (4-7) used a furious 4th quarter where they scored 19 points to put away a hot San Francisco team that was just undermanned. The Niners were down starting quarterback Justin Fields, all pro running back Alvin Kamara, and young star receiver CeeDee Lamb in this one and it showed.
Backup quarterback Jordan Love played admirable in place of Fields, throwing for 225 yards, one touchdown, and one interception.
"No excuses," Love said. "We expect to win every time we step on the field.
Defensively, San Francisco didn't have an answer for running back Dalvin Cook who shredded the 49er defense at the worst times including a 97 yard touchdown run right before the half.
The Niners will look to get healthy and back on track next week when they take on division rival Seattle.
New York Jets @ Houston Texans
HOUSTON - The Houston Texans (7-4) held on in a nail-bitter to defeat the New York Jets 31-24. Up 17 in the fourth quarter, things starting getting a little too close for Houston's liking when Zach Wilson found Jaylen Waddle for a 64 yard touchdown pass and followed it up a field goal a little later in the quarter to make it a one score game. After another Houston punt, the Jets looked poised to tie things up but stalled out in the red zone sealing a Texans win.
For the Jets (3-8), Waddle was out of this world, amassing 271 yards and three touchdowns. Nothing Houston threw at him could slow him down.
"That stings a bit," Coach David Shaw said. "I'm not sure how two rookies like he and Zach Wilson ended up on this roster."
For the Texans, the pass rush returned after a multi-week absence and both Clelin Ferrell and Melvin Ingram had two quarterback sacks.
"Felt good to finally get one in this uniform." Ingram said after being traded by Pittsburgh earlier in the season.
Houston currently sits in the 8th seed and just outside the playoffs if the season ended today. They will look to continue their playoff push next week agains fellow AFC South foe Indianapolis.
Los Angeles Rams @ Green Bay Packers
GREEN BAY - The Los Angeles Rams fell flat losing 30-10 to the Green Bay Packers Sunday after hyping up their all-star roster heading into the game. The Rams, who were pre-season darlings by the media, have now fallen to 4-7 on the year and currently reside in last place in the NFC West.
It was the Packers (8-4) in this one who looked like the contender with a sharp defensive performance holding Los Angeles to 282 yards and 10 points.
"Locking in at the right time," Defensive back and team captain Casey Hayward said. "We know this defense can hang with anyone. It's just a matter of showing it each week."
Green Bay heads into their bye week with a comfortable 3.5 game lead in the NFC North.
Carolina Panthers @ Miami Dolphins
MIAMI - The Achilles heel of the Miami Dolphins all season has been the health of their amazing wide receiver trio, Julio Jones, Allen Robinson, and Corey Davis. It has been a rarity that all three have been on the field at the same time. That weakness reared its ugly head three-fold Sunday with all three players missing the game due to injury.
Miami (5-7) paid for it with a disappointing 34-3 loss to the visiting Carolina Panthers. The Dolphins only gained 197 yards on the day and running back James Conner was their leading receiver with five catches for 31 yards.
The good news for Miami is that no one seems to be pulling away in the AFC East. Both Buffalo and New England lost, keeping the Dolphins only one game out of the division lead with six weeks left.
The Dolphins have one more game next week against the New York Giants before they finally get their week 14 bye.
