Eagles hand Vikings first defeat of NFL season

The Philadelphia Eagles brought Minnesota back to earth with a thud on Sunday, handing the Vikings their first defeat of the NFL season and spoiling ex-Eagle Sam Bradford's return to Philadelphia.

Bradford, traded from the Eagles to the Vikings before the season-opener, was harried all day by an Eagles defense that forced his first three turnovers of the season and keyed Philadelphia's 21-10 victory.

The decisive defensive effort took the spotlight off the clash between Bradford and Carson Wentz, the rookie signal-caller who got the nod in Philadelphia.

Wentz threw two early interceptions but steadied to lead two scoring drives, including a five-yard touchdown toss to Dorial Green-Beckham that put the Eagles up 18-3 in the third quarter.

Bradford, meanwhile, wilted in the face of six sacks -- after the Vikings gave up only eight sacks in their first five games.

"Embarrassing, really, is the word for it," Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said. 

"I was very disappointed in the performance we gave today. We made too many mistakes and if you're going to do those things you have no chance to win."

In Detroit, Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford connected with Anquan Boldin on an 18-yard touchdown pass with 16 seconds remaining for a 20-17 victory over Washington that snapped the Redskins' four-game winning streak.

The defeat was made even more painful for Washington as they lost star cornerback Josh Norman to a concussion in the third quarter.

The hapless Browns saw yet another quarterback go down to injury as Cody Kessler was knocked out of their 31-17 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals with a concussion.

Fellow rookie Kevin Hogan filled in at quarterback -- the sixth QB the Browns have called on this season.

The New York Jets lost quarterback Geno Smith -- installed just this week as the starter ahead of Ryan Fitzpatrick -- to a knee injury in the first half, only for Fitzpatrick to return to action and guide the team to their first win in more than a month, a 24-16 win over the Baltimore Ravens.

- Pats out-class depleted Steelers -

The Pittsburgh Steelers, with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger sidelined in the wake of arthroscopic left knee surgery, were no match for Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, who led throughout in a 27-16 triumph in Pittsburgh.

LeGarrette Blount ran for two touchdowns against his former team and Brady threw for two touchdowns -- including a 36-yard TD pass to Rob Gronkowski in the third quarter -- to lift New England.

The Indianapolis Colts bounced back from an overtime defeat at Houston with a 34-26 victory over the Tennessee Titans.

Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri inscribed his name in the record book in the third period when he converted a 33-yard field goal for his record 43rd consecutive successful attempt.

Vinatieri, 43, hasn't missed a field goal since the second week of last season.

"For me, I'm happy that we won the game and that this is a little bit to go along with it," Vinatieri said.

Missed field goals led to a rare 6-6 tie between the Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals.

Seattle's Stephen Hauschka was wide right on a 27-yard attempt with seven seconds remaining in overtime after the Cardinals' Chandler Cantanzaro hit the left upright on a 24-yard effort. Both had made field goals earlier in overtime.

The messy end produced the first tie in the NFL since Carolina and Cincinnati tied 37-37 in 2014.

- New territory at Twickenham -

The NFL headed into new territory to open Sunday's action, with the New York Giants beating the Los Angeles Rams 17-10 at Twickenham, with 74,121 attending the first non-rugby event in Twickenham's 107-year history.

Back home in Miami, Dolphins running back Jay Ajayi was making a little history himself, becoming just the fourth player ever to rush for more than 200 yards in back-to-back games.

Ajayi's epic effort -- 29 carries for 214 yards and one touchdown -- helped the Dolphins to a 28-25 victory over the Buffalo Bills. Until his 204-yard, two TD game against Pittsburgh last week, Ajayi, who started the season as a backup, had never rushed for 100 yards in an NFL game.

Source: AFP