MAHOMES’ SIX SCORING PASSES LIFT CHIEFS OVER STEELERS
Patrick Mahomes tied a franchise record with six touchdown passes and the Kansas City Chiefs put on an impressive offensive display in a 42-37 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.
The 22-year-old Mahomes finished 23 of 28 for 326 yards in his third career start as the Chiefs (2-0) won in Pittsburgh for the first time since 1986. Mahomes has 10 touchdown passes through two weeks, the most ever by a quarterback through two games in NFL history.
Trevor Kelce caught seven passes for 109 yards and two scores. Tyreek Hill, Chris Conley, Kareem Hunt and Demarcus Robinson also hauled in touchdown passes as the Chiefs recovered in the second half after blowing an early 21-pont lead.
Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger shook off an achy right elbow that limited him in practice during the week, completing 39 of 60 passes for 452 yards and three touchdowns. The 36-year-old also leapt into the end zone for a 3-yard score with 1:59 to go that got the Steelers (0-1-1) within five.
Rather than attempt an onside kick, Pittsburgh sent it deep. Two runs by Hunt gave Kansas City a big first down and Steelers linebacker Tyler Matakevich was flagged for roughing the punter as the Chiefs ended a six-game losing streak in Pittsburgh.
It might be the first of several turnarounds by the Chiefs, who made the surprising decision trade away veteran Alex Smith in the offseason and place the franchise in the hands of untested but strong-armed Mahomes.
So far, so very, very good.
Vikings 29, Packers 29 (OT)
Daniel Carlson missed two field goals in overtime, including one from 35 yards as time expired, and the Minnesota Vikings had to settle for a 29-29 tie with the host Green Bay Packers after rallying from a late 13-point deficit
The rookie pushed his final kick wide right, just like his attempt from 49 earlier in overtime.
Packers kicker Mason Crosby matched a career high with five field goals, but his potential game-winner from 52 went wide left as time expired in regulation.
The tie overshadowed memorable performances from both quarterbacks.
Green Bay star Aaron Rodgers played with a brace on his injured left knee and threw for 281 yards and a score.
Minnesota’s Kirk Cousins threw for 425 yards and four touchdowns, including three in the fourth quarter.
Bucs 27, Eagles 21
Ryan Fitzpatrick threw for more than 400 yards and four touchdowns for the second straight week, leading the host Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a 27-21 victory over the reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.
Filling in for suspended quarterback Jameis Winston, the 35-year-old Fitzpatrick completed 27 of 32 passes for 402 yards and has the suddenly explosive Bucs off to a 2-0 start for the first time since 2010.
DeSean Jackson scored on a 75-yard reception on the first play of the game. O.J. Howard also had a 75-yard TD catch in the first half for Tampa Bay, which stunned New Orleans 48-40 on the road in its season opener.
Nick Foles threw for 338 yards for the Eagles (1-1), who rallied from a 20-point, third-quarter deficit.
Falcons 31, Panthers 24
Matt Ryan had more rushing touchdowns than Cam Newton. Even more important, the Atlanta quarterback got a whole lot of players involved in the offense.
Just like that, the host Falcons resembled the high-scoring team that made it all the way to the Super Bowl two seasons ago.
Ryan ran for a pair of scores for the first time in his career and threw a pair of TD passes, leading the Falcons to a 31-24 victory over the Carolina Panthers.
Cam Newton was rocked early on by cheap shot from Damontae Kazee, who was thrown out of the game for the helmet-to-helmet hit while the Panthers quarterback was sliding at the end of the run. Newton was able to stay in the game.
Dolphins 20, Jets 12
Ryan Tannehill threw two touchdown passes, Kenyan Drake ran for a score and the Miami Dolphins took advantage of several mistakes by Sam Darnold and the host New York Jets for a 20-12 victory.
T.J. McDonald and Xavien Howard each intercepted the Jets’ rookie quarterback, helping the Dolphins to their first 2-0 start to a season since 2013.
Tannehill finished 17 of 23 for 168 yards and also ran for 44 yards on eight carries for the Dolphins, coming off a win in the longest NFL game since 1970 merger by outlasting Tennessee in 7 hours, 8 minutes last Sunday.
With the Jets (1-1) holding on to hopes for a late comeback, Frank Gore — who passed Curtis Martin for fourth on the NFL’s career rushing list — took a short pass and gained 19 yards on third-and-19 to effectively seal the win.
Darnold was 25 of 41 for 334 yards and a touchdown with the two INTs in his second NFL start, but struggled to get the offense moving throughout the day.
Titans 20, Texans 17
Ryan Succop kicked a 31-yard field goal with 1:00 left, and the battered Tennessee Titans held off the Houston Texans 20-17 to give Mike Vrabel his first victory as an NFL head coach.
Succop also kicked a tying 42-yarder in the fourth quarter as host Tennessee (1-1) pulled out the win with quarterback Marcus Mariota watching from the sideline. The Titans also were missing their top three offensive tackles.
Deshaun Watson and Houston had the ball last. With 17 seconds left, Watson ran around the field looking for a receiver. He found DeAndre Hopkins for a 31-yard completion to the Tennessee 21, but time expired before the Texans could run another play.
Blaine Gabbert, starting for his fourth different NFL team, threw for 117 yards and a touchdown.
Colts 21, Redskins 9
Andrew Luck threw for two touchdown passes, shook off two interceptions and engineered a game-sealing drive and the Indianapolis Colts beat the host Washington Redskins 21-9 to pick up their first victory of the season.
Luck was 21 of 31 for 179 yards and had a TD pass in a 25th consecutive game, the longest active streak in the NFL.
He was 7 of 8 for 62 yards on a methodical 13-play, 75-yard drive that culminated in a Luck-to-T.Y. Hilton score that put Indianapolis (1-1) up 21-9 early in the fourth quarter.
Chargers 31, Bills 20
Melvin Gordon matched a career high by scoring three touchdowns, and the Los Angeles Chargers defeated host Buffalo 31-20 in manhandling the anemic Bills during rookie quarterback Josh Allen’s debut as a starter.
Gordon scored on a 20-yard run and added two touchdowns receiving before limping off the field after appearing to hurt his left leg early in the fourth quarter.
The Chargers did not have an update on Gordon’s status after he was evaluated in a tent on the sideline.