Butker calmly hits 58-yard FG for win
Chargers’ Herbert stellar in pro debut
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Harrison Butker wasn’t nervous about his third shot at a game-winning field goal in overtime for the Kansas City Chiefs. After a false start and Los Angeles Chargers timeout, Butker was determined.
He connected from 58 yards with 1:55 left in overtime for a 23-20 victory Sunday. The defending Super Bowl champions survived a superlative NFL debut by Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert, who threw for 311 yards, becoming the ninth player since the merger to top 300 in his first game.
Butker’s game-winner was his third field goal and his second from 58 yards, which tied a team record for distance. He is the second kicker in NFL history to make two from 58 in the same game.
Before deciding the game, Baker put one through the uprights from 53 yards, but Kansas City was called for a false start. The Chargers then called timeout, giving him a rehearsal kick from 58 before the one that counted.
“To have two practice kicks is only going to help you,” Butker said. “I got a little bit more angry with every kick because I was trying to finish it off. I felt more confident on the last one. I slowed down my leg swing and hit a better ball.”
Kansas City (2-0) has won 11 straight dating to last season, including playoffs.
The Chiefs — who beat the Chargers (1-1) for the 12th time in the past 13 meetings — trailed 17-6 midway
AFC
through the third quarter before tying it at 17 early in the fourth. After L.A. went on a 10-minute drive to go up 20-17 on Michael Badgley’s second field goal, the Chiefs marched into Butker’s range, where he drilled one from 30 to force overtime.
“This wasn’t a thing of beauty, but there are going to be times like this where things aren’t working and you have to be aggressive,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “We beared down and made big plays down the stretch. Our defense stepped up and put the hammer down to give us a chance to win.”
■ NEXT: Chiefs at Ravens, 5:15 p.m. Sept. 28; Panthers at Chargers, 1:05 p.m. Sunday.
Bills 31, Dolphins 28
Josh Allen turned in career bests of 417 yards passing and four touchdowns for visiting Buffalo (2-0). He’s the first Buffalo quarterback with back-to-back 300-yard
passing games since Drew Bledsoe in 2002. Trailing 20-17, the Bills reclaimed the lead with 5:55 left on a 6-yard TD pass from Allen to rookie Gabriel Davis. Allen’s 46-yard scoring pass to John Brown stretched the lead to 31-20 with 3:09 left. The Bills totaled 524 yards, with 342 in the first half, the most by the team since 2000. The Dolphins (0-2) closed to 31-28 on an 8-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Fitzpatrick to Mike Gesicki and a successful 2-point conversion with 49 seconds left. The onside kick was recovered by the Bills’ Micah Hyde.
NEXT: Rams at Bills, 10 a.m. Sunday; Dolphins at Jaguars, 5:20 p.m. Thursday.
Titans 33, Jaguars 30
Stephen Gostkowski kicked a 49-yard field goal with 1:36 left for host Tennessee (2-0), marking the team’s first undefeated start since 2008. Gostkowski, who hit the left upright on an extra point, also made a 51-yarder at the end of the first half. Jeffery Simmons batted a pass by Gardner Minshew, and Harold Landry III grabbed the ball out of the air with 47 seconds left to seal the victory. The Titans have won seven in a row against AFC South rival Jacksonville (1-1). Ryan Tannehill threw for 239 yards and four touchdowns. The Titans sacked Minshew twice and picked him off twice. Jaguars undrafted rookie James Robinson ran for 102 yards, including a 17-yard TD.
NEXT: Titans at Vikings, 10 a.m. Sunday; Dolphins at Jaguars, 5:20 p.m. Thursday.
Steelers 26, Broncos 21
Safety Terrell Edmunds tackled Denver backup quarterback Jeff Driskel on fourth and 2 at the Pittsburgh 15 with less than two minutes to play to preserve a victory for host Pittsburgh (2-0) . The blitz accounted for the Steelers’ seventh sack. The Steelers also knocked out starting QB Drew Lock (right shoulder) in the opening quarter. Driskel led an unlikely comeback despite taking six sacks and absorbing 17 hits. He completed 18 of 34 for 256 yards with two touchdowns. Denver (0-2) trailed by 14 points at halftime and 12 in the fourth quarter — but was 15 yards away from a stunning upset before Edmunds came off the edge. Ben Roethlisberger was 29-for-41 for 311 yards and a pair of TDS and James Conner ran 16 times for 106 yards, including a 2-yard TD for Pittsburgh.
■ NEXT: Texans at Steelers, 10 a.m. Sunday; Buccaneers at Broncos, 1:25 p.m. Sunday.
Ravens 33, Texans 16
Lamar Jackson threw a touchdown pass, Mark Ingram ran for a TD and the visiting Ravens added another score on defense.
The victory is Baltimore’s 14th straight in the regular season, the longest streak in the NFL since since Carolina won 18 in a row in 2014-15. The Ravens (2-0) were up by 10 early in the fourth quarter when Ingram took a direct snap on fourth and 1 and dashed 30 yards to make it 30-13. Deshaun Watson threw for 275 yards and a touchdown for Houston (0-2) but also threw an interception and was sacked four times and hit 13 other times.
■ NEXT: Chiefs at Ravens, 5:15 p.m. Sept. 28; Texans at Steelers, 10 a.m. Sunday.