Dante Hall switched directions three times on a record-tying 93-yard punt return as the Kansas City Chiefs rallied to beat the Denver Broncos 24-23 in a game of unbeaten AFC West rivals on Sunday.
Hall extended his NFL record of returning a kick for a touchdown to four straight games, and equaled the season record for kick returns for scores.
The Chiefs are 5-0 for the first time, while the Broncos dropped to 4-1.
With the Chiefs trailing 23-17, Hall put on a dazzling display of speed. Just minutes after getting the wind knocked out of him on a 41-yard return, Hall took the punt on the 7 and went left, then right, turned and went backward before bearing left and racing to the end zone.
Hall began his streak with a 100-yard kickoff return against Pittsburgh, then had a 73-yard punt return against Houston and followed with a 97-yard kickoff return for a score against Baltimore.
The Chicago Bears rallied from an 18-3 halftime deficit, capped by Paul Edinger's 48-yard field goal on the final play, and beat the Oakland Raiders 24-21 for their first win.
The Raiders (2-3) got five field goals from Sebastian Janikowski, but he also missed the first extra point of his career and had a 47-yard attempt blocked in the second half.
Travis Henry's 2-yard plunge capped a five-play drive 4:53 in overtime, lifting the Buffalo Bills (3-2) over the Cincinnati Bengals (1-4).
With Buffalo trailing 16-13, Drew Bledsoe marched the Bills 59 yards on 13 plays to set up Rian Lindell's 29-yard field goal with 28 seconds remaining in regulation. It was the 22nd fourth-quarter comeback of Bledsoe's career.
The New England Patriots' Mike Cloud returned from a four-game suspension for a substance-abuse violation and ran for a 15-yard TD and the lead against the Tennessee Titans with 3:14 left, then Ty Law clinched the 38-30 win with a 65-yard interception for a score. Both teams are 3-2.
Emmitt Smith sprained his left shoulder against his former Dallas teammates in the first half, then watched the Cowboys win their third straight for the first time since 1999 at Arizona's expense.
Quincy Carter threw for 277 yards and two TDs and the defense had two safeties in a four-play span in the third quarter as Bill Parcells won his first home game as coach of the Cowboys (3-1).
Smith, the leading rusher in NFL history who was released six weeks after Parcells was hired, lost a yard on six carries for Arizona (1-4), marking the first time in his 206 games that he failed to gain at least 1 yard.
Olindo Mare kicked three field goals and receiver James McKnight scored on a 68-yard reverse as the Miami Dolphins (3-1) took advantage of four New York (2-2) turnovers and an injury to Giants kicker Matt Bryant to win. Ricky Williams iced the third straight win for Miami with a 1-yard touchdown run. He finished with 22 carries for 39 yards, his worst game as a Dolphin.
Brett Favre guided Green Bay (3-2) on five consecutive touchdown drives to help the Packers beat their former coach, Mike Holmgren, in a 35-13 win over the Seattle Seahawks (3-1). Green Bay's Ahman Green ran 27 times for 118 yards and two touchdowns against his former team.
Gus Frerotte filled in for the injured Daunte Culpepper again and threw a pair of touchdown passes to lead the Minnesota Vikings (5-0), who outscored the Atlanta Falcons 27-6 in the second half. Frerotte completed 14 of 24 passes for 239 yards, including two throws that picked up more than 50 yards against the Falcons (1-4).
Patrick Ramsey rallied the Washington Redskins (3-2) from an 11-point deficit in the final 3:10 against Philadelphia (2-2), connecting with Darnerien McCants on a 32-yard touchdown pass in the final seconds.
But with a chance to tie, Ramsey overthrew Laveranues Coles on a 2-point conversion with 13 seconds left, and the Eagles won 27-25 for the first time at home after consecutive losses at their new stadium.
Byron Leftwich, starting his second game, threw like a veteran for 336 yards and two scores, and receiver Jimmy Smith caught eight passes in his return from a four-game substance-abuse suspension as the Jacksonville Jaguars won their first game 27-21. Dating to last season, San Diego (0-5) has lost nine straight.
In other NFL games: Cleveland 33, Pittsburgh 13.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
The Minnesota Timberwolves, with so many promising performances spoiled by late mistakes fresh in their memory bank, sure timed this strong finish well. Jaden McDaniels scored a career playoff-high 30 points and spearheaded Minnesota’s stifling defense on an ailing Luka Doncic, and the Timberwolves beat the Los Angeles Lakers 116-104 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Friday night. “Jaden never looks tired. He looks like he could play 48 minutes,” said teammate Anthony Edwards, who had 29 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Julius Randle added 22 points for the Wolves, who outscored