Cardinals survive as Murray posts 400-yard game
Arizona’s Jordan Hicks didn’t dare turn around as Minnesota’s potential game-winning field goal floated toward the uprights. Instead, he watched the video board for a moment and then locked eyes with Ezekial Turner, who had been knocked to the turf, his expression slowly turning to disbelief.
The Cardinals were 2-0. After being really good in a season-opening win a week earlier, they enjoyed a little good fortune in Week 2.
Kyler Murray threw for 400 yards and three touchdowns, and the Cardinals beat the Vikings 34-33 on Sunday in Glendale, Ariz., after Greg Joseph missed a 37-yard field goal wide right in the final seconds.
“I’d rather be lucky than good sometimes,” Cardinals tight end Maxx Williams said. “We got the ‘W’ with that missed field goal and I’m gonna celebrate it.”
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.
Murray also ran for a touchdown and threw two interceptions, including one that was returned for a score. But there were a lot more good moments than bad against Minnesota (0-2).
The Cardinals looked as if they were about to lose before Joseph’s lastsecond miss. He made two 52-yard field goals earlier in the game, giving no indication he’d have trouble pushing the Vikings to a win.
Ravens 36, Chiefs 35:
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 in Baltimore.
Jackson was 0-3 against the Chiefs. The matchup
of NFL MVPs — Mahomes in 2018, Jackson the next year — was a wild affair from the start.
And the Ravens (1-1) needed a fumble by Clyde Edwards-Helaire as Kansas City (1-1) was marching into field-goal range to clinch it with less than two minutes left.
Rams 27, Colts 24:
Matthew Stafford led two late scoring drives and Matt Gay made a tie-breaking 38-yard field goal with 2:23 to play as Los Angeles (2-0) beat host Indianapolis (0-2).
Stafford wasn’t as proficient as he was in the season-opening victory over Chicago but he did play well — even after appearing to hit his right thumb on the helmet of Colts defensive tackle
DeForest Buckner in the first half. Stafford did not miss a play and finished 19-for-30 for 278 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
Buccaneers 48, Falcons 25:
Tom Brady threw for 276 yards and five touchdowns, helping host Tampa Bay (2-0) extend its winning streak to a franchise-record 10 games. Atlanta is 0-2.
Rob Gronkowski caught two TD passes for the third straight game, including the Super Bowl, as he and Brady continued to climb the career list for regular-season TDs by a passing duo with 88 — one behind Philip Rivers and Antonio Gates for second place behind Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison (112).
Patriots 25, Jets 6: Mac Jones was smart and efficient, Damien Harris and James White had touchdown runs and New England (1-1) took advantage of a nightmarish four-interception outing by Zach Wilson in its 11th straight victory over host New York (0-2).
Jones, the No. 15 overall pick in the draft, went 22-for-30 for 186 yards for the Patriots.
Cowboys 20, Chargers 17:
Greg Zuerlein connected on a 56-yard field goal as time expired to lift visiting Dallas (1-1) past Los Angeles (1-1).
After Tristan Vizcaino tied the game with a 29yard field goal with 3:58 remaining, the Cowboys went 49 yards in 11 plays to get into Zuerlein’s range.
Troy Pollard ran for 109 yards on 13 carries for the third 100-yard game of his career. Dak Prescott completed 23 of 27 passes for 237 yards.
Bills 35, Dolphins 0:
Josh Allen threw two touchdown passes, Zach Moss ran for two scores and Buffalo (1-1) knocked out Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa early with a rib injury on the way to a win over the host Dolphins (1-1).
Devin Singletary rushed for 82 yards and another touchdown for the Bills.
Bears 20, Bengals 17: 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 (1-1) to a home victory.
Roquan Smith returned an interception 53 yards for his first career touchdown, one of three picks thrown by Joe Burrow for Cincinnati (1-1).
Browns 31, Texans 21:
Baker Mayfield came back after hurting his left shoulder to throw a touchdown pass and run for a TD, leading Cleveland (1-1) to a win over visiting Houston (1-1), which was in it until starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor got hurt.
Mayfield went 10-for-10 after a first-half interception — and injuring his non-throwing shoulder while making the tackle on the play — and finished 19-for-21 for 213 yards.
Broncos 23, Jaguars 13:
Courtland Sutton’s career day helped Denver (2-0) hand host Jacksonville (0-2) its 17th consecutive loss. Sutton finished with nine catches for 159 yards. The second-round pick in 2018 missed 15 games last season because of a torn knee ligament.