Mahomes leads Kansas City over Brady, Tampa Bay in Super Bowl LV rematch
Bills erase 17-point deficit to defeat Ravens; Eagles remain undefeated
Patrick Mahomes threw for 249 yards and three touchdowns, including an electrifying jump pass to Clyde Edwards-Helaire, to lead the Kansas City to a 41-31 victory over Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday night in Tampa.
Playing in a packed stadium only four days after Hurricane Ian ravaged portions of Florida, Mahomes had TD throws of 16 yards to Travis Kelce, 1 yard to Edwards-Helaire and 10 yards to Jody Fortson while making NFL history by reaching 20,000 yards passing faster than anyone else.
The short pass to Edwards-Helaire was Mahomes at his improvisational best: He escaped two defenders, did a 360-degree spin move and flipped the ball over a crowd to the running back in the back of the end zone.
Brady completed 39 of 52 passes for 385 yards and three TDs without an interception for Tampa Bay (2-2). The Bucs, however, played from behind the whole night after rookie Rachaad White fumbled the opening kickoff and Mahomes threw his TD pass to Kelce two plays later.
Kansas City cornerback L'Jarius Sneed sacked Brady, forcing a fumble that Mahomes turned into Gray's TD, with the tight end taking a direct snap from centre on the 1-yard plunge that put Kansas City up 28-10.
Brady threw TD passes of 13 yards and 1 yard to Mike Evans, who returned from serving a one-game suspension for his role in a on-field brawl at New Orleans two weeks ago. He had eight receptions for 103 yards.
Evans' second TD trimmed Kansas City's lead to 28-17 at halftime. That was as close as the Bucs got until Leonard Fournette's 5-yard TD reception cut Tampa Bay's deficit to 41-31 with 3:30 remaining.
Brady wouldn't get the ball back until less than a minute was left.
Bills compete 17-point comeback in win over Ravens
Tyler Bass kicked a 21-yard field goal on the game's final play, and Josh Allen rallied the Buffalo Bills from a 17-point deficit to beat the Baltimore Ravens 23-20 on Sunday.
With the score tied at 20 in the final quarter, the Ravens (2-2) had second down from the Buffalo one-yard line. Two straight runs failed to reach the end zone, and Baltimore decided to go for it on fourth down from the two.
From there, Allen calmly guided Buffalo into field goal range, capping his team's comeback from a 20-3 deficit late in the second quarter. It was the second straight home game in which Baltimore let a sizeable lead slip away. Miami rallied from a 21-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Ravens 42-38 two weekends ago.
Allen threw for 213 yards with a touchdown and an interception, and Jackson passed for 144 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. The matchup of star quarterbacks didn't really live up to its potential on a rainy day near the Chesapeake Bay. Jackson and Allen did their usual damage with their legs but were largely limited to short completions.
J.K. Dobbins scored two early touchdowns for the Ravens, but they allowed a 4-yard touchdown pass from Allen to Isaiah McKenzie in the waning seconds of the first half to make it 20-10.
Buffalo controlled the third quarter and tied it on Allen's 11-yard touchdown run.
Eagles beat Jags, improve to 4-0
Miles Sanders ran for 134 yards and two touchdowns, Jalen Hurts threw for 204 yards and ran for a score and the undefeated Eagles spoiled former coach Doug Pederson's return to Philadelphia with a 29-21 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.
Trevor Lawrence threw for 174 yards and two touchdowns to Jamal Agnew. Lawrence was strip-sacked on the final drive of the game that sealed the win for the Eagles. It was one of four lost fumbles for the second-year quarterback.
He was fired less than three years after leading the Eagles to the Super Bowl. About 13 months later, Pederson was hired in Jacksonville.
Pederson, who already had a statue of himself and former QB Nick Foles erected outside the Linc, seems to have the Jaguars (2-2) at least motoring in the right direction.
Coach Nick Sirianni, Pederson's replacement, has the Eagles (4-0) playing like a team that might have to make room in the rafters for more banners.
The Eagles shook off an abysmal start — Hurts had a pass intercepted by Andre Cisco and returned 59 yards for a TD — and a 14-0 hole after the first quarter before they started playing like the lone undefeated team in the NFL.
On the first drive of the second quarter, Lawrence lost his grip on the wet ball as he scrambled on fourth down and fumbled. Fletcher Cox recovered, and the Eagles got to work.
Hurts had a 10-yard TD pass wiped out on a pass interference call that pushed them back to the 20. No problem for Hurts, playing like an early MVP candidate. He ran virtually untouched up the middle, took a crushing hit at the goal line and powered through for a touchdown. It was his fourth rushing TD of the season.
Jets rally past Steelers, spoil Pickett's debut
Breece Hall ran for a two-yard touchdown with 16 seconds remaining and Zach Wilson and the New York Jets spoiled Kenny Pickett's debut in Pittsburgh by rallying for a 24-20 victory over the Steelers on Sunday.
The Jets (2-2) won in Pittsburgh for just the second time in franchise history after Wilson — making his season debut — led them down the field late after the second of Pickett's three interceptions gave New York the ball back with 3:42 to go.
Wilson finished 18 of 36 for 252 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions in his first game since injuring his right knee in the pre-season opener. He also became the first quarterback in Jets history to catch a touchdown when he hauled in a two-yard pass from Braxton Berrios in the second quarter in New York's version of the "Philly Special" run by the Eagles in the Super Bowl.
The catch gave New York a 10-point lead. The Jets were up 10-6 at the half and the Steelers made a move that was inevitable at some point, inserting Pickett in place of the struggling Mitch Trubisky.
Pickett, the 20th overall pick in the draft who dutifully sat behind Trubisky as the Steelers endured a bumpy opening month, walked onto the same field where he starred collegiately at the University of Pittsburgh to a massive ovation while Trubisky — who went 7 of 13 for 84 yards with an interception in the first half — stood on the sideline in a baseball cap.
Pickett became the first quarterback in NFL history to run for a pair of touchdowns in his debut.
Packers edge Patriots in OT
Mason Crosby made a 31-yard field goal as time expired in overtime, and the Green Bay Packers topped the New England Patriots 27-24 on Sunday, spoiling rookie quarterback Bailey Zappe's NFL debut.
Zappe, a fourth-round pick from Western Kentucky, played the majority of the game after Brian Hoyer left with a head injury. Hoyer made his first start since 2020 in place of Mac Jones, who injured his left ankle during last weekend's 37-26 loss to Baltimore.
Zappe and the Patriots (1-3) still played well enough to force overtime, but Aaron Rodgers bounced back from a dreadful first half to continue his recent home mastery of AFC teams. The Packers (3-1) are 18-1 in the last 19 home games Rodgers has started against AFC foes.
After the Packers went three-and-out on the opening possession of overtime, Marcus Jones' 20-yard punt return gave New England the ball at its 49-yard line. But the Patriots also went three-and-out.
The Packers then marched 77 yards in a 12-play drive that lasted nearly seven minutes before Crosby made his winning kick.
Backup QB Rush leads Cowboys past Commanders
Cooper Rush won again filling in for Dak Prescott, throwing a touchdown pass to Michael Gallup in the receiver's 2022 debut as the Dallas Cowboys beat the Washington Commanders 25-10 on Sunday.
Rush also had a TD toss to new No. 1 receiver CeeDee Lamb while improving to 4-0 in his career as a starter.
The Commanders (1-3) lost a third consecutive game in Carson Wentz's reunion with an old division rival from his days as the No. 2 overall pick by Philadelphia.
Prescott had the same role from the previous home game, wearing a headset while cajoling the crowd for the defence, which is the first for Dallas to hold the first four opponents to 19 or fewer points since 1973.
Gallup returned exactly nine months after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee on a Jan. 2 touchdown catch in 25-22 loss to Arizona in Week 17 last season.
Vikings hang on for win over Saints in London
Greg Joseph kicked a 47-yard field goal with 24 seconds left and the Minnesota Vikings hung on for a 28-25 win over New Orleans on Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London when the Saints' Wil Lutz's 61-yard tying attempt hit the left upright and then the crossbar as time expired.
The missed kick left the Vikings with a 25-22 lead.
The Saints then had an eight-play drive and Lutz made a 60-yard field goal with 1:51 left to tie the game for the Saints (1-3), who have lost three straight games. But Lutz's next attempt was just a little bit off.
Jefferson had 10 receptions for 147 yards and ran for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter for the Vikings (3-1).
The Vikings squandered multiple scoring chances, settling for field goals — Joseph was 5 for 5 — but still held off a New Orleans team that played without key starters including quarterback Jameis Winston and running back Alvin Kamara.
Kirk Cousins completed 25 of 38 passes for 273 yards with a touchdown and an interception. The Vikings under first-year coach Kevin O'Connell are off to their best start since going 4-0 in 2016.
Murray lifts Cardinals over Panthers
Kyler Murray threw for 207 yards and two touchdowns and added one rushing and the Arizona Cardinals overcame yet another lackluster first half to defeat the Carolina Panthers 26-16 on Sunday.
Murray threw TD passes of 23 yards to Marquise Brown and 2 yards to Zach Ertz and also ran for a 4-yard score and the Cardinals (2-2) held a 17-minute advantage in time of possession to beat the Panthers for the first time in the past seven meetings.
Mayfield struggled yet again for the Panthers (1-3).
The 6-foot-1 Mayfield had five passes batted at the line of scrimmage and repeatedly overthrew open receivers. He was pressured repeatedly as the Cardinals stole a page from previous Carolina opponents, flustering the former Heisman Trophy winner with a series of blitzes.
At one point Mayfield thrusted his arm in the air in frustration.
The Cardinals once again came out flat, falling behind 10-3 at halftime. They have been outscored 66-16 in the first half of four games.
Banged-up Chargers hold off Texans
Justin Herbert threw for 340 yards and two touchdowns and Austin Ekeler scored three times as the Los Angeles Chargers built a big early lead and held on for a 34-24 win over the Houston Texans on Sunday.
Houston scored 17 straight points to get within three with about 8 1/2 minutes left. The Chargers (2-2) then put together a 12-play, 84-yard drive, capped by Ekeler's 14-yard reception, to put the game away and snap a two-game skid.
Ekeler, who had struggled this season as the Chargers ranked last in the league in yards rushing, had his best game this year, scoring on runs of 10 and 20 yards in the second quarter as Los Angeles raced out to a 21-0 lead.
The banged-up Chargers looked great early, scoring on five of their first six possessions to build a 27-7 lead by halftime despite Herbert still dealing with a rib injury and the team playing without star defender Joey Bosa, who had groin surgery, and top receiver Keenan Allen.
Sunday marked the first time the Texans (0-3-1) had scored in the fourth quarter this season after entering the game having been outscored 30-0 in the final period. But it wasn't enough to dig them out of the early hole as they remained winless in coach Lovie Smith's first season.
Jacobs runs wild as Raiders beat Broncos
Josh Jacobs ran for 144 yards and two touchdowns, Amik Robertson returned a fumble 68 yards for a score and the Las Vegas Raiders won their first game of the season, 32-23 over the Denver Broncos on Sunday.
After opening their first season under coach Josh McDaniels by losing three straight one-score games, the Raiders (1-3) managed to do enough on the ground with their biggest rushing game in six years and on defence to hold off Russell Wilson and the Broncos (2-2).
After getting a 5-yard TD pass from Wilson to Courtland Sutton to cap a 34-yard drive in the first quarter, the Broncos turned three other chances with prime field position into one field goal and the fumble by Melvin Gordon III that Robertson returned for the touchdown.
Wilson had his most efficient game of his short tenure in Denver, completing 17 of 25 passes for 237 yards and two TDs. He also ran for a 3-yard TD that cut the Raiders' lead to 25-23 after completing a 55-yard pass to KJ Hamler.
Jacobs put it away with a 7-yard TD run with 2:01 to play. He became the first Raiders player to rush for at least 130 yards and two TDs in a game since Darren McFadden did it in 2011 against the Jets.
Derek Carr didn't have to do much for the Raiders, completing 21 of 34 passes for 188 yards as Las Vegas got the running game going for the first time this season. Davante Adams had nine catches for 101 yards.
Seahawks top Lions in high-scoring affair
Geno Smith threw for two touchdowns and ran for a score in the first half, and the Seattle Seahawks held off the Detroit Lions for a 48-45 win Sunday.
The Seahawks (2-2) were stopped on a third down late in the third quarter, but the Ford Field play clock wasn't set properly. Seattle took advantage of the second chance and Detroit's unorganized defence on Rashaad Penny's 36-yard touchdown run on a third-and-16, opening a 38-23 lead.
Smith picked apart Detroit on the ensuing drive, which ended with Penny's 41-yard touchdown run on third-and-5. Penny finished with 151 yards rushing on 17 carries.
Jared Goff's fourth touchdown pass went to Justin Jackson with 1:06 left, cutting the deficit to three once again. The Lions' comeback hopes ended when Seattle recovered the onside kick and Penny's run converted a third-and-5 in their territory.
Smith finished 23 of 30 for 320 yards, including a 17-yard touchdown pass to Will Dissly and a 2-yard pass to Noah Fant that gave the Seahawks a 15-point lead late in the first half. The veteran quarterback ran seven times for 49 yards, including an eight-yard score on his second drive.
