Raiders shock Chiefs as Smith returns after 693 days and 17 surgeries
Derek Carr threw for 347 yards and three touchdowns, outplaying Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes along the way, and the Las Vegas Raiders nearly shut out the potent Kansas City offense in the second half to rally for a 40-32 victory on Sunday that ended the Chiefs’ franchise-record 13-game winning streak.
Josh Jacobs scored the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter, Daniel Carlson added a field goal a few minutes later, and Mahomes was intercepted on fourth down to set up another touchdown by Jacobs that make it 40-24 with 5:26 left.
The Chiefs had won seven in a row over their longtime rival at Arrowhead Stadium, where Carr had been especially bad in losing each of his six starts. But he was simply spectacular with a relatively quiet 17,000 fans in the building, helping to guide the Raiders to their first win in Kansas City since October 2012.
Mahomes spent the entire game trying to escape the Las Vegas pass rush, which manhandled the Chiefs offensive line, and finished with 340 yards passing and two touchdowns along with an interception. Kelce had 108 yards receiving.
Minnesota Vikings 26-27 Seattle Seahawks
Russell Wilson capped a 94-yard drive with a six-yard touchdown pass to DK Metcalf on fourth-and-goal with 15 seconds left, and the Seattle Seahawks beat the Minnesota Vikings.
Seattle improved to 5-0 for the first time in franchise history with Wilson providing some more primetime magic and yet another late comeback. Wilson finished 20 of 32 for 217 yards and three touchdowns. It wasn’t his best performance but he made the key throws late when it was needed.
New York Giants 34-37 Dallas Cowboys
Dak Prescott sustained a gruesome ankle injury not long after his first career touchdown catch before backup Andy Dalton led a drive to a field goal on the final play, and the Dallas Cowboys beat the winless New York Giants.
Michael Gallup made two spectacular sideline catches on throws from Dalton, the second a 38-yarder to the New York 16. The Cowboys ran the clock down to three seconds, and Greg Zuerlein had his second game-ending kick of the season, from 34 yards. Prescott was going down in the arms of defensive back Logan Ryan at the end of a run in the third quarter when the Dallas quarterback’s lower right leg got caught under Ryan and appeared to snap.
Indianapolis Colts 23-32 Cleveland Browns
Baker Mayfield passed for a seasonhigh 247 yards and two touchdowns against the NFL’s No1 defense, Myles Garrett forced a crucial safety in the fourth quarter and the Cleveland
Browns held on for the win. Cleveland improved to 4-1 for the first time since 1994.
Mayfield made sure the Browns kept the momentum going in their first game without Pro Bowl running back Nick Chubb, who sprained his knee last week. Mayfield, though, appeared to hurt his right hand in the fourth quarter. Cheered on by 12,000 fans inside FirstEnergy Stadium, Mayfield threw TD passes to Kareem Hunt and Rashard Higgins in the first half while rolling up 228 yards passing. The Colts’ defense came in allowing the fewest passing yards, points and led the NFL in interceptions.
Los Angeles Rams 30-10 Washington
Jared Goff threw for 309 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another, and the Los Angeles Rams improved to 4-1 by beating Washington 30-10 on Sunday in Alex Smith’s return almost two years since a gruesome injury put his career in jeopardy. Smith played his first NFL game 693 days since breaking his right tibia and fibula, entering when new Washington starting quarterback Kyle Allen injured his left arm.
He was 9 of 17 for 37 yards on the same field he was carted off of on 18 November 2018 before undergoing 17 surgeries to repair the injury.
Philadelphia Eagles 29-38 Pittsburgh Steelers
Rookie wide receiver Chase Claypool scored four touchdowns, including the clincher with 2:59 remaining, and the Pittsburgh Steelers remained unbeaten.
Claypool, a second-round pick from Notre Dame, raced down the slot, hauled in a dart from Ben Roethlisberger and went the rest of the 35 yards to the end zone as the Steelers improved to 4-0 for the first time since 1979.
Claypool finished with seven receptions for 110 yards and three scores and added a two-yard touchdown run on a jet sweep. He became the first Canadian-born NFL player with three receiving TDs in a game since Joe Rooney did it for the Duluth Eskimos on in October 1927.
Miami Dolphins 43–17 San Francisco 49ers
Ryan Fitzpatrick threw for 350 yards and three touchdowns and the Miami Dolphins sent the defending NFC champion San Francisco 49ers to their third straight home loss to open the season.
Fitzpatrick connected on a threeyard TD pass to Adam Shaheen on the opening drive of the game for the Dolphins (2-3) and didn’t let up, quieting talk for at least another week that rookie Tua Tagovailoa should take over as starter.
The 49ers (2-3) are the team with questions at quarterback after Jimmy Garoppolo got pulled at halftime after throwing two interceptions. Garoppolo had missed the previous two games with a sprained ankle and never looked comfortable against a defense that entered allowing the most yards per dropback in the NFL.
Cincinnati Bengals 3-27 Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens sacked Joe Burrow seven times, forced the Bengals rookie into a pair of turnovers and stuffed Cincinnati’s running game.
Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson wasn’t particularly sharp, but it didn’t really matter. Jackson, the 2019 NFL MVP, went 19 for 37 for 180 yards and two touchdowns with an interception. Burrow completed 19 of 30 passes for 183 yards, threw an interception and lost a fumble. It wasn’t all his fault, because the Cincinnati offensive line had all sorts of problems trying to contain the blitzing, stunting, charging Ravens.
Carolina Panthers 23–16 Atlanta Falcons
Teddy Bridgewater threw for 313 yards and two touchdowns, Juston Burris made a huge interception in the end zone and the Carolina Panthers held on for a 23-16 victory over the winless Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons dropped to 0-5 for the first time since 1997, and their head coach Dan Quinn was fired later on Sunday.
Jacksonville Jaguars 14-30 Houston Texans
Deshaun Watson threw for a season-high 359 yards and three touchdowns and the Houston Texans got their first win of the season with a 30-14 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars in the wake of coach Bill O’Brien’s firing.
O’Brien, who was also the general manager, was let go on Monday after the Texans fell to 0-4 last weekend. Romeo Crennel was named interim coach and at 73 he becomes the oldest coach in NFL history, passing Hall of Famer George Halas, who was 72 in his last game with the Bears in 1967.
Arizona Cardinals 30–10 New York Jets
The Arizona Cardinals came to MetLife Stadium and like every other team this season found a cure-all for their woes with a game against a winless team from New York’s rotten football apple. Kyler Murray ran for a touchdown and threw another to DeAndre Hopkins as the Cardinals snapped a two-game losing streak with a 30-10 victory over the Jets, further putting coach Adam Gase’s future in jeopardy after an 0-5 start.