National Football League

NFL Week 12 live updates: Vikings beat Patriots, Cowboys, Bills win

Updated Nov. 25, 2022 12:02 a.m. ET

Week 12 of the NFL season continued with a trio of entertaining Thanksgiving matchups.

To begin the day, Tyler Bass kicked a game-winning field goal to seal a Buffalo Bills win over the Detroit Lions. Later, the Dallas Cowboys beat the New York Giants 28-20 to improve to 8-3. To round out the day, the Minnesota Vikings beat the New England Patriots at home, 33-26.

Here are the top plays from Thursday's Thanksgiving slate!

Minnesota Vikings 33, New England Patriots 26

Who else?

Minnesota took the opening possession of the game into the end zone. An eight-play drive ended with Kirk Cousins hitting Justin Jefferson for a 6-yard touchdown pass. The Vikings took a 7-0 lead.

Patriots respond

New England answered Minnesota's explosive start in just five plays. The drive began with Mac Jones hitting Jakobi Meyers for a 26-yard pass. Four plays later, the quarterback hit Nelson Agholar for a 34-yard touchdown, evening up the score at seven apiece.

Yikes!

The Vikings got the ball to midfield before Cousins was intercepted by Jonathan Jones, who ran the pick back 55 yards to the Minnesota 17-yard line.

However, New England failed to punch it into the end zone, settling for a 34-yard field goal from Nick Folk.

Vikings kicker Greg Joseph then connected on a 30-yard field goal, which was followed by Folk hitting his second field goal of the game on the Patriots' next possession. New England led 13-10 with 5:41 remaining in the second quarter.

What a catch!

Jefferson pulled off a highlight-reel snag late in the first half. The star receiver hauled in a 37-yard reception with two defenders in the area to extend Minnesota's drive.

First Viking TD

The Vikings' recently acquired tight end got his first touchdown in purple. On third-and-goal, Cousins hit T.J. Hockenson for six to help the Vikings regain the lead. The extra-point attempt was no good, though.

New England then got the ball into the Red Zone to kick a game-tying field goal before halftime.

Another deep ball

The Patriots got it going on in the passing game. On the first possession of the second half, Jones threw his second touchdown of the game. This one was a 37-yard pass to Hunter Henry, who evaded a couple tackles for the score.

… got that back!

The Vikings immediately answered that score on the ensuing kickoff, as Kene Nwangwu ran it back 97 yards for a touchdown.

Big play sets up FG

On New England's next possession, Jones hooked up with DeVante Parker on a 40-yard deep ball, which set the table for an eventual 25-yard field goal. Minnesota then put a field goal of its own on the board to tie the score at 26.

More offense

New England was called for running-into-the-kicker early in the fourth quarter, and Minnesota made them pay.

Cousins hit Jefferson for another chunk play to set up a Minnesota touchdown. After Jefferson held on to a contested 36-yard reception, Cousins hit Adam Thielen for a 15-yard score, putting the Vikings up 33-26.

Dallas Cowboys 28, New York Giants 20

Denied!

Dallas went for it on fourth-and-2 on its opening drive of the game, but Ezekiel Elliott wasn't able to get the first down and the Cowboys turned it over on downs on their own side of the field.

Missed opportunity

The Giants tried to make the most of the short field, but Daniel Jones' touchdown pass to Isaiah Hodgins was nullified after a costly penalty. New York settled for a field goal to close out the drive, taking a 3-0 lead.

Double trouble

The Cowboys' second drive didn't end much better than the first. Dak Prescott was picked off just shy of the Giants' red zone, giving N.Y. the ball back once again.

Coming through!

Dallas took the lead, 7-3, early in the second quarter, thanks to a big catch from CeeDee Lamb that got the Cowboys in the red zone …

… followed by a short scamper from Elliott to seal the deal.

Going UP!

Dallas' lead was short-lived, however, as Darius Slayton reeled in a jaw-dropping pass from Jones, which set up a 1-yard touchdown run from Saquon Barkley to give the Giants back the lead, 10-7.

No quit

Prescott leaned on Michael Gallup to make big plays for the Cowboys late in the second quarter …

… but once again, the Cowboys' drive ended prematurely due to a turnover.

Then, Graham Gano nailed a 47-yard field goal ahead of the half to extend the Giants' lead to 13-7.

Dallas responds

After a sluggish first half, the Cowboys came out of the halftime break in style. A series of 13-plus-yard runs from Elliott and Tony Pollard kicked off an eventual touchdown drive for Dallas. A 14-play, 7:39 drive was capped off by Prescott hitting tight end Dalton Schultz for a 15-yard score.

The Cowboys took a 14-13 lead.

Dallas holds up NYG

The Giants opted to go for it on fourth-and-2 from their own 45-yard line and failed to convert, as Jones was unable to hit Barkley.

They hook up again

Six plays after New York turned it over on downs, Dallas scored its second touchdown of the second half. Prescott hit Schultz for another goal-line touchdown, giving the Cowboys a 21-13 lead.

Cowboys take control

After forcing New York to punt, Dallas took a two-score lead on its next possession. It was a drive that featured a 30-yard pass to tight end Jake Ferguson, who hurdled a defender on the play.

The drive ended with a 2-yard touchdown run from tight end Peyton Hendershot to give the Cowboys a 28-13 lead with 8:53 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Late score

After Brett Maher missed a 46-yard field goal, the Giants got their first score of the second half. Jones hit wide receiver Richie James for a goal-line touchdown with eight seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, but the Giants were unable to recover the ensuing onside kick attempt.

Buffalo Bills 28, Detroit Lions 25

Lions on the board!

Lions running back Jamaal Williams took the handoff and ran up the middle for a 2-yard touchdown to give Detroit a 7-0 lead early. The touchdown run was Williams' league-leading 13th rushing score of the season.

Picture-perfect pass

It didn't take long for the Bills to answer, as Josh Allen hooked up with Isaiah McKenzie for a picture-perfect 19-yard touchdown late in the first quarter.

The ball is loose!

The first turnover of the game came early in the second quarter when Williams took a handoff, ran up the middle, and then fumbled. Buffalo's Ed Oliver recovered the fumble, giving Buffalo great field position.

Is there anything Allen can't do?

The Bills capitalized on the fumble as they put together a 10-play, 58-yard scoring drive, capped off by a touchdown run from Allen. He fumbled the snap on the play, then picked it up, juked a defender and ran it in for the score, giving Buffalo a 14-7 lead.

Everybody eats

Jared Goff faked the handoff and threw a perfect pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown for a touchdown, tying the game at 14-14. Following the score, St. Brown made sure everyone on his offense ate their Thanksgiving meal.

Injury alert

Bills linebacker Von Miller suffered a knee injury late in the first half and was carted to the locker room.

Have a day!

Holding onto a 17-14 lead in the third quarter, Oliver had another huge play, sacking Goff in the end zone for a safety.

Lions strike back

Goff fired a strike to D.J. Chark for a 1-yard score to put the Lions on top. Detroit added a two-point conversion to take a 22-19 lead.

Allen to Diggs for the score

Is there a better connection in the NFL than Allen and Stefon Diggs? The two hooked up for a huge 5-yard touchdown with 2:40 remaining in the game. The Bills missed the extra point, making it 25-22.

FOR. THE. WIN.

After the Lions added a field goal to tie the game, Buffalo drove down the field and Bass kicked a 45-yard field goal to win the game.

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