The Latest on Week 8 in the NFL (all times EST):
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3:05 p.m.
The Minnesota Vikings have only had the ball four times in three quarters. All four of their drives have ended with touchdowns by Dalvin Cook.
Cook caught a screen pass behind the line of scrimmage and worked his way around a handful of Green Bay Packers defenders for a 50-yard touchdown reception to give the Vikings a 28-14 lead midway through the third quarter. Cook capped Minnesota’s first three series with touchdown runs.
Cook has scored six touchdowns in two games against Green Bay this season. He has 20 carries for 120 yards plus two catches for 63 yards for the Vikings, after missing their last game with a groin injury.
– Steve Megargee reporting from Green Bay, Wisconsin.
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3 p.m.
Nyheim Hines is putting on quite a show for the Indianapolis Colts in Detroit.
Hines has two touchdowns, and both times he punctuated the occasion with an acrobatic, twisting flip celebration. Hines’ first touchdown was dazzling even before that celebration. He spun past a defender at full speed and reached for the goal line.
Indianapolis leads 20-14 in the third quarter. Detroit receiver Kenny Golladay left with a hip injury. The Colts lost receiver T.Y. Hilton to a groin injury.
– Noah Trister reporting from Detroit.
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2:55 p.m.
Tennessee Titans wide receiver Adam Humphries has been diagnosed with a concussion and will not return. The Titans made the announcement shortly after the second half began in Cincinnati.
Humphries left the field on a golf cart after Bengals safety Jessie Bates III hit him in the head while Humphries was trying to make a deep catch over the middle during the final minute of the first half.
– Michael Marot reporting from Cincinnati.
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2:45 p.m.
Melvin Gordon gets to face his former team when the Los Angeles Chargers visit the Denver Broncos.
Gordon signed a two-year, $16 million free agent contract with the Broncos after failing to land a long-term deal with the Chargers, who drafted him in the first round in 2015. Gordon is Denver’s leading rusher and touchdown-scorer but leads the team with three fumbles.
Chargers coach Anthony Lynn said this week: ”I have no idea was like to go up against him because he was always my back. I’m sure he’s going to be motivated.”
Broncos running back Phillip Lindsay is expected to share snaps with Gordon against the Chargers after clearing concussion protocol.
–Arnie Stapleton reporting from Denver.
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2:30 p.m.
Tennessee wide receiver Adam Humphries left the field on a golf cart after taking a shot to the head with 17 seconds left in the first half at Cincinnati.
Trainers brought a back board onto the field. After staying down for several minutes, Humphries was helped up and walked to the cart. While he was down, players from both teams gathered around as some took a knee. Humphries was attempting to catch a deep pass over the middle, near the Bengals 30-yard line. Officials initially ruled the play a catch before reversing the call following a replay review. Cincinnati led 17-7 at the half.
Earlier, in Green Bay, Minnesota cornerback Cameron Dantzler was taken off on a backboard with a neck injury after a collision with a teammate while trying to make a tackle. Dantzler was being evaluated for a concussion.
Other notable departures from the afternoon include a serious ankle injury for Baltimore star left tackle Ronnie Stanley.
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2:20 p.m.
The Miami Dolphins struck for two long touchdowns in a span of barely a minute against the Los Angeles Rams, and neither play involved Tua Tagovailoa.
Andrew Van Ginkel scored on a 78-yard return of a fumble by Jared Goff to put Miami ahead 14-7. The Dolphins quickly forced a punt, and Jakeem Grant returned it 88 yards for another score and a 21-7 lead. The punt return was the longest in team history and the first in the NFL this season.
For Grant, it was his his fifth career return for a score and his third punt return for a TD, both franchise records.
Tagovailoa, making his first NFL start, threw his first career touchdown pass for Miami’s first score.
– Steve Wine reporting from Miami.
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2:15 p.m.
Green Bay’s Davante Adams and Minnesota’s Dalvin Cook have each scored two touchdowns to produce a 14-all tie after an unusual first half featuring four time-consuming drives.
The Packers had two 75-yard touchdown drives. One of them lasted nearly eight minutes and the other took almost nine minutes. The Vikings’ touchdown drives both lasted about seven minutes.
Heavy winds have kept both teams from throwing downfield as they’ve relied on the running game and short passes. Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers and Minnesota’s Kirk Cousins have gone a combined 18 of 20 for only 153 yards.
Adams has his second straight two-touchdown game. He also has 471 career catches to overtake Randall Cobb for sixth place on Green Bay’s all-time list.
– Steve Megargee reporting from Green Bay, Wisconsin.
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1:55 p.m.
Miami Dolphins rookie Tua Tagovailoa has thrown his first career touchdown pass — a 3-yard toss to DeVante Parker. Tagovailoa retrieved the ball and carried it off the field as a souvenir after tying the game with the Los Angeles Rams at 7.
Parker beat David Long Jr. for the score. Long was replacing two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Jalen Ramsey, who is questionable to return to the game because of an illness.
– Steve Wine reporting from Miami.
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1:50 p.m.
Minnesota Vikings cornerback Cameron Dantzler has a neck injury and is being evaluated for a concussion after a scary-looking collision in Green Bay.
The Vikings said Dantzler was questionable to return to the game after his head snapped backward while trying to make a tackle. His facemask collided with the leg of teammate Anthony Harris, and the rookie was taken off the field on a stretcher late in the first quarter.
The Baltimore Ravens also suffered a serious setback. All-Pro left tackle Ronnie Stanley has been carted off the field with what appears to be a severe leg injury. Stanley had an air cast applied to his left leg before being lifted onto the cart. The injury occurred in the first quarter in Baltimore’s game against Pittsburgh while quarterback Lamar Jackson was being sacked. Stanley signed a five-year contract extension on Friday.
The Buffalo Bills have also ruled out center Mitch Morse for the rest of the game against New England after suffering a potential concussion on the opening drive. The sixth-year player has a history of head injuries. He sustained his fourth concussion during training camp.
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1:40 p.m.
The Minnesota Vikings were already hurting at cornerback. Now rookie Cameron Dantzler has departed the game on a stretcher with a scary-looking injury, after his head snapped backward in a collision with the leg of teammate Anthony Harris as they tried to make a tackle.
Dantzler was motionless on his back for several minutes before being taken away from the field, as teammates gathered around the third-round draft pick from Mississippi State for encouragement.
The Vikings are already playing without cornerbacks Holton Hill and Mike Hughes due to injuries.
– Steve Megargee reporting from Green Bay, Wisconsin.
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1:35 p.m.
The wind is winning in Cleveland.
Strong gusts inside FirstEnergy Stadium have already affected the Las Vegas Raiders and Browns, who are more accustomed to the blustery conditions than their visitors at the lakefront stadium.
Las Vegas kicker Daniel Carlson didn’t miss a 41-yard field goal attempt as much as it was blown sideways and clanged off the left upright.
Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield had one of his passes re-directed by the wind, and Vegas quarterback David Carr badly overthrew open receiver Henry Ruggs III on a ball that got pushed along by a tail wind. The wind was announced at kickoff at 35 mph.
– Tom Withers reporting from Cleveland.
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1:30 p.m.
The Kansas City Chiefs are an astounding 19-point favorite over the winless New York Jets. Judging by the first series of their game, that might not be nearly enough.
Kansas City started at its own 10-yard line after a penalty on the kickoff, but Patrick Mahomes and friends needed just seven plays and 3:52 to march downfield for an opening touchdown. Mahomes was 5 of 5 for 85 yards with a 30-yard scoring toss to Mecole Hardman.
Also getting involved: Le’Veon Bell. The two-time All-Pro running back carried for a couple pf yards before hauling in an 18-yard screen pass against the team that released him just a couple weeks ago.
– Dave Skretta reporting from Kansas City, Missouri.
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1:25 p.m.
The Green Bay Packers have scored on their opening drive in every game they’ve played this season.
Aaron Rodgers connected with Davante Adams on a 5-yard touchdown pass to cap a 13-play, 75-yard drive that lasted 7 minutes, 59 seconds. Mason Crosby’s extra point gave Green Bay a 7-0 lead over the Minnesota Vikings.
Heading into Sunday, the Packers had joined the 2006 Vikings, 2007 New England Patriots and 2018 Kansas City Chiefs as the only NFL teams since 2000 to score on their opening drive in each of their first six games. Green Bay now has made it seven in a row.
The Packers have scored five touchdowns and two field goals in those opening drives.
Dalvin Cook is apparently feeling just fine after missing Minnesota’s last game with a groin injury.
Cook found a giant hole in the right side of the line and was untouched on a 21-yard touchdown run. Cook had set up the touchdown with a 13-yard reception on third-and-8 from the 34.
The Vikings and Green Bay Packers are tied 7-all in the final minute of the first quarter. This is shaping up to be a windy day in Green Bay. The official weather report at kickoff was 34 degrees, wind out of the northwest at 23 mph, with gusts at times reaching 40-plus mph.
– Steve Megargee reporting from Green Bay, Wisconsin.
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12:40 p.m.
Strong winds in Green Bay could play a big role in the game against Minnesota, and a struggling Vikings defense could use all the help it can get against Packers stars Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams.
The forecast is calling for winds of 20 to 30 mph with occasional gusts greater than 40 mph. Adams spoke earlier this week to reporters about the weather, hoping the strongest gusts don’t develop while the ball is in the air.
Rodgers threw four touchdown passes in a 43-34 victory at Minnesota in the season opener, and Adams had 14 receptions in the game to tie Don Hutson’s 78-year-old franchise record.
The Vikings were already young at cornerback this year, and regulars Holton Hill and Mike Hughes are out with injuries. That puts the onus on rookies Jeff Gladney and Cameron Dantzler to contend with Rodgers and his favorite target, Adams.
Pregame warmups by the kickers indicated the wind also could wreak havoc with field goal attempts. Mason Crosby is active for the Packers after being listed as questionable with calf and back injuries that prevented him from practicing Wednesday or Thursday.
– Steve Megargee reporting from Green Bay, Wisconsin.
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12:15 p.m.
The Detroit Lions are honoring Bill Fundaro, who assisted Associated Press photographers at games for 35-plus years, with a bouquet of flowers and a picture of him alongside logos for the Lions, Tigers and AP. Fundaro died last month. He was 77 and was an usher at Tigers games for five-plus decades.
– Larry Lage reporting from Detroit.
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