The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Mahomes tosses 6 TDs in Chiefs’ win
Pittsburgh
Tyreek Hill turned to face the cameras when the hottest QB in the NFL looked up, saw a potential traffic jam and urged his Kansas City Chiefs teammate to conduct his business elsewhere.
“Don’t do that here,” Patrick Mahomes said with a laugh.
Hill responded by shuffling a few steps clear of Mahomes’ stall.
Good idea. There’s little doubt who is calling the shots now in Kansas City. It’s the first-year starter with the big arm.
Mahomes tied a team record with six touchdown passes and the Chiefs held off the Pittsburgh Steelers for a 42-37 victory Sunday that showcased why Kansas City traded away veteran Alex Smith in the spring and put the team in the hands of a 22-year-old with one career start under his belt.
“He had a couple good plays you know,” coach Andy Reid said after Mahomes led Kansas City to its first win in Pittsburgh in 32 years. Maybe more than a couple. Mahomes, who turns 23 on Monday, finished 23 of 28 for 326 yards. His 10 touchdown passes through two weeks are the most ever by a quarterback through two games in NFL history. Heady stuff for a player who spent almost all of last season on the bench watching Smith guide the Chiefs to a fourth playoff berth in five years.
“You never expect to have 10 touchdowns at this point in the season,” Mahomes said. “But I knew with this offense and the weapons that we have and the scheme coach Reid has drawn up that we had a chance to be really, really good and the possibilities are endless.”
It sure looked that way while Mahomes spread the ball to seven different teammates, five of whom reached the end zone. Travis Kelce caught seven passes for 109 yards and two scores. Tyreek Hill, Chris Conley, Kareem Hunt and Demarcus Robinson also hauled in touchdown passes.
Vikings 29, Packers 29 (OT): Daniel Carlson missed two field goals in overtime, including one from 35 yards as time expired, and Minnesota had to settle for a tie 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. Green Bay 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.
Buccaneers 27, Eagles 21: Ryan Fitzpatrick threw for more than 400 yards and four TDs for the second straight week. Filling in for suspended QB Jameis Winston, Fitzpatrick completed 27 of 32 passes for 402 yards. ExEagle 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.
Broncos 20, Raiders 19: Brandon McManus kicked a 36-yard field goal just inside the right upright with six seconds left, pushing Denver past Oakland. With no timeouts and 18 seconds left, Case Keenum hit Tim Patrick for a 26-yard gain to the Oakland 18. Cornerbacks Gareon Conley and Leon Hall couldn’t tackle Patrick inbounds and, after the clock stoppage, McManus came on to give the Broncos their first lead and the game winner.
Rams 34, Cardinals 0: Todd Gurley ran for three scores, Jared Goff threw for 354 yards and a TD and Los Angeles dominated Arizona. Goff, who has six 300-yard games, completed 24 of 32. The Cardinals didn’t cross midfield until the final minute and managed only five first downs as they fell to 0-2 for the first time since 2005.
49ers 30, Lions 27: Jimmy Garoppolo threw two TD passes and Matt Breida ran for 138 yards and San Francisco’s longest TD run in four seasons. Garoppolo nearly made a costly mistake when he threw a late interception to Tracy Walker that was returned to the San Francisco 7. But Quandre Diggs was called for defensive holding away from the play to give the 49ers a first down.
Falcons 31, Panthers 24: Atlanta QB Matt Ryan ran for a pair of scores for the first time in his career and threw a pair of TD passes. Ryan finished 23 of 28 passing for 272 yards. Carolina’s 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. Newton was able to stay in the game, throwing a pair of TD passes.
Colts 21, Redskins 9: Indianapolis’ Andrew Luck threw two TD passes, shook off two interceptions and engineered a game-sealing drive. 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 13-play, 75-yard drive that ended in a Luck-toT.Y. Hilton score that put Indy up 21-9 in the fourth quarter.
Saints 21, Browns 18: Wil Lutz kicked a 44-yard field goal for New Orleans with 21 seconds left, Cleveland kicker Zane Gonzalez pushed the second of his two missed field goals wide right in the final seconds, and the Saints extended the Browns’ winless streak to 19. Gonzalez missed two extra points, a week after his potential winning field goal was blocked in a season-opening tie with Pittsburgh.
Titans 20, Texans 17: Ryan Succop kicked a 31-yard field goal with 1:00 left, and Tennessee held on to give Mike Vrabel his first victory as an NFL head coach. Succop also kicked a tying 42-yarder in the fourth quarter as Tennessee pulled out the win with quarterback Marcus Mariota watching from the sideline. The Titans also were missing their top three offensive tackles.