Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
The Minnesota Vikings have quickly become a confident and resilient team under rookie coach Kevin O'Connell and his staff, and they sure showed it in this short week.
Kirk Cousins threw for 299 yards and three touchdowns, the last a go-ahead score to Adam Thielen with 9:34 left to push Minnesota past the New England Patriots in a 33-26 victory Thursday night.
Justin Jefferson had 139 receiving yards and one of the touchdown passes from Cousins, who delivered the clutch performance against a formidable defense the Vikings (9-2) needed to bounce back from a blowout loss four days before.
They rebounded multiple times within the game, too. After an overthrow by Cousins was intercepted by Jonathan Jones and returned 55 yards to set up a field goal in the first quarter, the Vikings scored on five straight possessions excluding a kneel-down to end the first half.
"Kevin has empowered me so much. This team has empowered me so much," said Cousins, who went 30 for 37. "At times, it almost brings me to tears the way these guys support me."
Mac Jones passed for a career-high 382 yards and two scores to snap a lagging offense to life for the Patriots (6-5), but they ran out of steam down the stretch. Their fourth quarter included two three-and-out punts, a turnover on downs at the Minnesota 39 and a brief desperation last drive.
Jones found Hunter Henry for a wide-open 37-yard touchdown pass to start the second half for a 23-16 lead. Kene Nwangwu scored on a 97-yard kickoff return to strike right back for the Vikings.
Jones -- who has completed more than 77% of his passes over the last two games -- appeared to hit Henry for another score on the next possession with a twisting catch at the goal line that was ruled a touchdown on the field. The replay reversal to an incomplete pass forced the Patriots to settle for Nick Folk's fourth field goal of the game.
"My hand was under it even when it hit the ground," Henry said.
Another vital call went the Vikings way a few minutes later when Pierre Strong Jr. was called for running into punter Ryan Wright. With a fresh set of downs, Cousins and the Vikings cruised up the field for the go-ahead touchdown.
"We definitely had to come in and show people that last week, it just wasn't our week," Jefferson said.
O'Connell also got the bonus of a win over Bill Belichick, who drafted him with the Patriots in 2008.
"This one means a whole heck of a lot, just because I have so much respect for that organization and coach Belichick," O'Connell said.
The Patriots allowed just three points in each of their last two games and brought the NFL sack leader Matt Judon to the stadium where the Vikings were decimated by Dallas on Sunday while Cousins took a career-high seven sacks.
With standout left tackle Christian Darrisaw sidelined by a concussion, the Vikings gave backup Blake Brandel plenty of extra help and put Cousins in far more favorable situations with shorter drops and quicker throws. The Vikings had 231 yards in the first half, more than the Patriots allowed in the previous two games combined.
MOVING ON UP
Jefferson had his footprints all over this game from the start, when his 3-yard reception on a crossing route in the end zone capped the opening drive. He made catch after improbable catch in tight coverage, including a 36-yard grab on a go route right before he was sandwiched by Jonathan Jones and Devin McCourty. Thielen's touchdown came on the next play.
"His ability to not hear footsteps and not alligator-arm it but bring it in and get popped, that's one of his many traits," Cousins said.
Jefferson set the NFL record for most receiving yards in a player's first three seasons to pass Randy Moss. Jefferson has hit the 100-yard mark in 21 of 44 career games, and this one was one of his finest given the way Belichick's defenses frequently focus on taking star players out of the mix.
"Kevin did a good job," Belichick said. "They made a few more plays than we did."
INJURY REPORT
Patriots: RB Damien Harris (thigh) was hurt in the third quarter and didn't return. ... C David Andrews (thigh) and RT Isaiah Wynn (foot) were inactive, replaced in the starting lineup by James Ferentz and Yodny Cajuste.
Vikings: Fourth-stringer Duke Shelley started at CB, with Cameron Dantzler Sr. (ankle), Akayleb Evans (concussion) and Andrew Booth Jr. (knee) all sidelined. ... DE Dalvin Tomlinson (calf) missed his fourth straight game, with James Lynch filling in.
UP NEXT
Patriots: Host the Buffalo Bills on Dec. 1 in another Thursday night game.
Vikings: Host the New York Jets on Dec. 4. They can clinch the NFC North division with a win and some help.
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Three people have been arrested and charged in the killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar – as authorities continue investigating potential connections to the Indian government.
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.
RCMP say human remains found in a rural area in central Saskatchewan may have been there for a decade or more.
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.
Drew Carey took over as host of 'The Price Is Right' and hopes he’s there for life. 'I'm not going anywhere,' he told 'Entertainment Tonight' of the job he took over from longtime host Bob Barker in 2007.
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.