9/30/24 Hometown Broadcasting Sports Monday
30 September 2024 Sports
Sam Darnold threw three touchdown passes and Jordan Addison scored twice as the Minnesota Vikings built an early 28-point lead and hung on down the stretch to beat the Green Bay Packers 31-29 on Sunday.
The Vikings (4-0) are off to their best start since 2016, when they won their first five games before slumping to an 8-8 finish. They have trailed for less than 3 1/2 minutes all season.
Minnesota spoiled the return of Packers quarterback Jordan Love, who returned after missing two games with an injured left medial collateral ligament. He threw for 389 yards and four touchdowns, both career highs. But he also matched a career-high with three interceptions while going 32 of 54.
The game featured seven turnovers – four by Green Bay and three by Minnesota.
Former Packers running back Aaron Jones had 22 carries for 93 yards and four catches for 46 yards in his return to Lambeau Field. Jones spent seven seasons with Green Bay before getting released and signing with the Vikings in March.
The Vikings capitalized on two interceptions by Love and a pair of missed field-goal attempts from Brayden Narveson to built their 28-0 lead in the first 25 minutes. It was their highest-scoring first half since 2017, when they scored 28 before halftime and beat Washington 38-30.
Minnesota scored on each of its first three possessions as Darnold picked apart a Green Bay secondary missing injured cornerbacks Jaire Alexander and Carrington Valentine. When the Packers finally forced a punt, Shaq Griffin delivered a 28-yard interception return to set up one more Vikings touchdown.
The Vikings led 28-7 and had second-and-1 from the Green Bay 20 in the third quarter when Xavier McKinney picked off Darnold, becoming the first Packer to intercept a pass in each of his first four games with the team.
That helped Green Bay creep back into the game. The Packers got within 28-14 on Love’s 6-yard touchdown pass to Wicks with 11:38 left.
On the Vikings’ ensuing possession, Keisean Nixon hit Darnold from the blind side and knocked the ball loose, with Edgerrin Cooper recovering the fumble at Minnesota’s 20.
Two plays later, Love threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Tucker Kraft. Love found Kraft again for a 2-point conversion that made it 28-22 with 10:16 remaining.
Minnesota regrouped got in field goal range on Darnold’s 27-yard completion to Jefferson. Will Reichard’s 33-yard kick extended Minnesota’s lead to 31-22 with 6:50 left.
Byron Murphy intercepted Love in the end zone and Kraft lost a fumble on Green Bay’s next two series. But the Packers got one last chance after Minnesota’s Jailen Nailor was stopped for no gain on fourth-and-1 from the Green Bay 4 with less than 2 1/2 minutes left.
Love engineered a quick 96-yard drive to cut the margin to two.
Packers WR Christian Watson was carted off the field after injuring an ankle on the play that resulted in Grugier-Hill’s interception. Packers DL Devonte Wyatt hurt an ankle in the fourth quarter.
The Packers visit the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.
Elsewhere in the NFC North Sunday, the Bears beat the Rams at Soldier Field 24-18, to improve to 2-2
There are two games tonight in Monday Night Football as the Dolphins host the Titans and the Lions (2-1) are at home against the (3-0) Seahawks.
Francisco Lindor homered and drove in two runs, David Peterson pitched seven brilliant innings and the New York Mets moved within one win of a playoff berth Sunday with a 5-0 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.
Francisco Alvarez also had two RBIs for the Mets, who headed to Atlanta needing at least a doubleheader split Monday against the rival Braves to secure a National League wild card.
New York could have clinched a postseason spot Sunday with a win and an Arizona loss, but the Diamondbacks routed San Diego 11-2 at home to complete their regular season.
The afternoon twinbill in Atlanta was scheduled to make up two Mets-Braves games postponed on Wednesday and Thursday due to heavy rain from Hurricane Helene. New York holds a potential tiebreaker over the Diamondbacks after winning the season series 4-3, so the Mets can reach the playoffs by sweeping or splitting the doubleheader.
Arizona (89-73) needs a sweep by either the Braves (88-72) or Mets (88-72) to advance.
If the Mets and Braves split, New York would get the No. 6 seed in the NL playoff bracket and return to Milwaukee for a best-of-three Wild Card Series against the NL Central champion Brewers.
A doubleheader sweep would earn the Mets the No. 5 seed and send them to San Diego, while Arizona would take the No. 6 seed and play at Milwaukee.
New York won for just the second time in its last 14 meetings with Milwaukee and finished 1-5 this season against the Brewers.
Peterson (10-3) permitted only a first-inning infield single. He struck out eight and walked three.
Edwin Díaz needed 26 pitches in the ninth to nail down New York’s ninth shutout of the year — all since July 11.
The Mets grabbed a quick lead in the first against Colin Rea (12-6) when Lindor walked, stole second base and scored on Brandon Nimmo’s single. Lindor played in the field after serving as DH on Saturday. The star shortstop returned to the lineup Friday after being sidelined for nearly two weeks with lower back pain.
Jose Iglesias led off the third with a single to extend his hitting streak to 20 games, the longest by a Mets player this season.
Martinez snapped a career-worst 0-for-36 slump with a leadoff double in the fourth and scored on Alvarez’s single. Lindor’s run-scoring single later in the inning made it 3-0 and led to chants of “MVP! MVP!” from a vocal group of fans seated behind the New York dugout. Mets owner Steve Cohen was among those in the area. Lindor then stole his second base of the game.
Alvarez’s sacrifice fly in the fifth pushed it to 4-0 and the Mets tacked on another run when Lindor belted his 32nd homer leading off the sixth.
Peterson threw 95 pitches and rebounded from a short outing in his previous start on Sept. 20.
Milwaukee finished the regular season 93-69, the 11th season in franchise history with 90 or more wins, which follows a 92-70 mark last year.
In perhaps his final regular-season home game with the Brewers, shortstop Willy Adames was replaced in the field in the seventh and left to a standing ovation
Elsewhere in the NL Central Sunday the Cardinals beat the Giants 6-1, the Mets over the Pirates 6-4 and the Reds blanked the Cubs 3-0.
The Coliseum crowd booed Southern California off the field at halftime Saturday after the Trojans committed three turnovers, struggled for defensive stops against Wisconsin and generally played like a team that wasn’t ready for the Big Ten.
Although they couldn’t argue with their fans’ feelings, the Trojans are already very good at halftime adjustments – and they had plenty of time to rally for a landmark win.
Miller Moss threw two of his three touchdown passes to Ja’Kobi Lane, and No. 13 USC roared back from an 11-point halftime deficit for a 38-21 victory over Wisconsin in the Trojans’ first Big Ten home game.
One week after narrowly losing its Big Ten debut at Michigan despite erasing a double-digit deficit in the second half, USC (3-1, 1-1) again struggled early. The Trojans then outscored Wisconsin 28-0 in the second half of their school’s first Big Ten victory.
Lane set career highs with 10 receptions for 105 yards, while Duce Robinson scored the Trojans’ go-ahead touchdown with 1:28 left in the third quarter on another sharp throw from Moss, who passed for 308 yards.
Moss was evaluated for a concussion after he hit the ground awkwardly while rushing for a 7-yard touchdown on a fourth-down keeper with 8:22 to play, but he stayed in. USC linebacker Mason Cobb then returned an interception 55 yards for a TD with 5:04 to play to seal it.
Vinny Anthony caught an early 63-yard TD pass from Braedyn Locke for the Badgers (2-2, 0-1), who have lost two straight. The Badgers have lost 13 of their last 15 games against ranked teams, going 0-4 under coach Luke Fickell.
Tawee Walker rushed for two touchdowns, but Wisconsin faded badly in the second half of its first game at the Coliseum since 1966.
Locke went 13 of 26 for 180 yards in his first start of the season after Tyler Van Dyke tore a knee ligament early in the Badgers’ blowout loss to Alabama two weeks ago. Wisconsin managed only 82 yards while getting shut out after halftime.
USC speedster Zachariah Branch muffed a punt to start the second quarter, and Walker rushed 18 yards for a TD on the next snap. After Walker scored again eight minutes later, Moss fumbled while getting hit deep in Badgers territory.
But the Trojans recovered a muffed punt early in the third quarter, and Lane caught a 6-yard TD pass a few minutes later. Robinson caught two huge passes during the Trojans’ go-ahead scoring drive, including an 8-yard TD throw delivered by Moss over an all-out blitz.
Moss then capped a 77-yard drive by keeping the ball on fourth down and scoring despite going airborne and spinning to the turf from a Badgers hit.
Wisconsin hosts Purdue on Saturday, Oct. 5.
In golf, Keegan Bradley defeated Si Woo Kim Sunday to win the Presidents Cup. Kim missed his birdie putt. The U.S. won its 10th straight over the Internationals.
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