Jackson finally leads Ravens over Chiefs
BALTIMORE — Lamar Jackson finally beat Patrick Mahomes, using his legs to rush for 107 yards and scoring twice, including flipping into the end zone for the winning score as Baltimore defeated Kansas City 36-35 Sunday night.
Jackson was 0-3 against the Chiefs, and he needed all of his multiple skills to break through to hand Mahomes his first loss in September after 11 victories. The matchup of NFL MVPs — Mahomes in 2018, Jackson the next year — was a wild affair from the start.
And the Ravens needed a fumble by Clyde Edwards-Helaire as Kansas City was marching into field goal range to clinch it.
BRONCOS 23, JAGUARS 13
In Jacksonville, Fla., with Jerry Jeudy sidelined because of a high ankle sprain, Sutton turned in his best performance as a pro as the Broncos beat woeful Jacksonville and handed the Jaguars a 17th consecutive loss.
Sutton finished with nine catches for 159 yards, including a 55-yarder on the second play of the second half and a shoestring grab in the third quarter that surely rates among his best plays in four seasons.
Bridgewater became the fourth player in NFL history to open a season with consecutive games in which he had two TD passes, no interceptions and completed 75 percent of his passes, joining Drew Brees (2018), Aaron Rodgers (2015) and Jeff George (1994).
TITANS 33, SEAHAWKS 30
In Seattle, Derrick Henry ran for 182 yards and two fourth-quarter touchdowns, Randy Bullock hit a 36-yard field goal midway through overtime, and the Titans rallied from a 14-point deficit to stun the Seattle Seahawks.
Down 24-9 at halftime and 30-16 early in the fourth quarter, the Titans leaned on their All-Pro running back, who carried them on the day Seattle welcomed fans back for a regular-season game for the first time since the end of the 2019 season.
They left in silence, thanks to Henry, a terrific fourth-quarter drive from Ryan Tannehill and Seattle’s missed opportunities.
BEARS 20, BENGALS 17
In Chicago, Justin Fields played the second half after Andy Dalton exited with a knee injury against his former team, and the rookie quarterback used Chicago’s stellar defensive performance to direct the Bears to a victory over Joe Burrow and the Bengals.
Roquan Smith returned an interception 53 yards for his first career touchdown, one of three straight picks thrown by Burrow and four consecutive takeaways for the Bears during the decisive stretch in their first win of the season.
Fields took over on Chicago’s final drive of the second quarter after getting in on a handful of plays prior to that. But the biggest key for the Bears was the defense bouncing back after it was picked apart by Matthew Stafford in a season-opening loss at the Los Angeles Rams.
BUCCANEERS 48, FALCONS 25
In Tampa, Fla., The defending Super Bowl champion Buccaneers insist they still haven’t played anywhere near up to their potential after pulling away in the fourth quarter to rout Atlanta.
Tom Brady threw for 276 yards and five touchdowns, and Mike Edwards returned two of Tampa Bay’s three interceptions for TDs as the Bucs scored 30-plus points in a victory for a NFL-record ninth straight time.
The 44-year-old quarterback was also part of teams with New England that scored at least 30 in eight straight wins in 2007 and 2010.
CARDINALS 34, VIKINGS 33
In Glendale, Ariz., Kyler Murray threw for 400 yards and three touchdowns, and the Cardinals beat the Vikings after Greg Joseph missed a 37-yard field goal wide right in the final seconds.
It was a fitting end to a seesaw game that saw the lead change hands eight times. The dizzying offensive pace — Arizona had a 24-23 halftime lead — slowed considerably in the final minutes, and there were no touchdowns in the final quarter.
PANTHERS 26, SAINTS 7
In Charlotte, N.C., Sam Darnold threw for 305 yards and two touchdowns on Sunday and Carolina’s defense turned in another stellar performance in a dominant win over New Orleans.
Darnold connected on TD passes to Brandon Zylstra and Moore, and Christian McCaffrey battled through leg cramps to pile up 137 yards from scrimmage and scored his first touchdown as the Panthers (2-0) defeated the Saints for only the second time in the past 10 tries.
RAMS 27, COLTS 24
In Indianapolis, Matt Stafford led the Rams on two late scoring drives, Matt Gay made a tiebreaking 38-yard field goal with 2:23 to play and the injured Wentz watched Indianapolis’ final two possessions helplessly from the bench as the Rams held on for a victory over the Colts.
While Stafford wasn’t nearly as crisp or efficient as in his Rams debut, he certainly played well enough — even after his throwing hand hit the helmet of DeForest Buckner during the first half. Stafford wound up 19 of 30 with 278 yards, two touchdown passes and one interception.
BROWNS 31, TEXANS 21
In Cleveland, Baker Mayfield came back after the injury to throw a touchdown pass and run for a TD, leading Cleveland to a win over Houston, who were in it until starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor hurt his hamstring.
Nick Chubb had a 26-yard touchdown run for the Browns (1-1), who bounced back from blowing a double-digit lead and losing at Kansas City to thrill their first capacity home crowd since 2019.
RAIDERS 26, STEELERS 17
In Pittsburgh, Derek Carr threw for 382 yards and two touchdowns, including a pretty 61-yard strike to Henry Ruggs midway through the fourth quarter, as the Raiders toppled the Steelers.
Not bad for a team playing on a short week on the other side of the country without its starting running back and any sort of offensive balance. It didn’t matter, particularly once the Steelers lost star outside linebacker T.J. Watt to a groin injury in the second quarter.
PATRIOTS 25, JETS 6
In East Rutherford, N.J., Mac Jones was smart and efficient, Damien Harris and James White had touchdown runs and the Patriots intercepted the Jets’ Wilson four times in a victory.
Jones, the No. 15 overall pick in the draft, went 22 of 30 for 186 yards for the Patriots (1-1) a week after going 29 for 39 for 281 yards and a touchdown in a loss to Miami.
New England topped New York for the 11th straight game, boosted by Wilson throwing the ball to the wrong team in the home opener for the Jets (0-2), who have lost 11 straight in September.
49ERS 17, EAGLES 11
In Philadelphia, Jimmy Garoppolo threw one touchdown pass and ran in for a score, leading the San Francisco 49ers to a victory over the Eagles.
Nick Bosa had two sacks and San Francisco’s stingy defense shut down Jalen Hurts a week after Philadelphia dominated Atlanta in a 32-6 win.
BILLS 35, DOLPHINS 0
In Miami Gardens, Fla., Josh Allen threw two touchdown passes, Zach Moss ran for two scores and the Bills knocked out Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa early with a rib injury on the way to a win.
Devin Singletary rushed for 82 yards and another touchdown for the Bills (1-1). Buffalo has won six consecutive games in the series, doing so by an average of 20 points. This marks only the second time the Bills have won six in a row against the Dolphins (1-1).