Broncos leave ill Mahomes in cold
Russell Wilson threw three touchdown passes, Justin Simmons had two of Denver’s five takeaways, and the Broncos stymied an ill Patrick Mahomes in snapping their 16-game losing streak to Kansas City, 24-9, Sunday in Colorado.
The Broncos (3-5) were serenaded off the field to the sound of Taylor Swift’s “Shake it Off ” blaring throughout Empower Field. Swift wasn’t on hand to witness Travis Kelce’s six catches for 58 yards and the awful day by the Chiefs (6-2).
Denver made a 14-9 halftime lead hold up by controlling the clock and keeping Mahomes and Kelce cooling their cleats on the sideline. Kansas City had just three second-half possessions before getting the ball back for one meaningless snap at the end.
The Chiefs punted, muffed a punt that led to a touchdown, turned it over on downs, and lost the ball on an interception in the second half.
The Broncos came in averaging a meager 22 carries per game, next to last in the league, but on a bitterly cold day — it was in the 20s after an overnight storm dumped up to 10 inches of snow on the city — they ran it 40 times for 153 yards.
Javonte Williams led the way with 85 yards on 27 carries and added three receptions for 13 yards and a touchdown. Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton also caught TD passes for the Broncos, who won back-to-back games for the first time since Weeks 2-3 of last season.
Mahomes completed 24 of 38 passes for 241 yards with two interceptions and three sacks. It was the first time he was held without a touchdown throw since Dec. 5, 2021, in a 22-9 win over Denver. Mahomes did drive the Chiefs to the Denver 27 midway through the fourth quarter, but Skyy Moore couldn’t bring in a perfectly placed toss in the end zone on fourth down.
Jets 13, Giants 10 — Greg Zuerlein kicked a 35-yard field goal on the final play of regulation and added a 33-yarder in overtime as the Jets (4-3) staged an unlikely comeback at a rainy MetLife Stadium. The Jets moved 46 yards in six plays, the game-winning kick set up by a pass interference penalty against Adoree Jackson. The loss was disappointing for the Giants (2-6), who led, 10-7, when Brian Daboll opted to try a field goal late in regulation on fourth and 1 at the Jets’ 17. Graham Gano was wide left on a 35-yarder, and the Jets went 58 yards in four plays without a timeout in the final 24 seconds to tie it. Practice squad quarterback Tommy DeVito, who took over for an injured Tyrod Taylor (ribs) in the second quarter, had given the Giants the lead with a 6-yard run on the opening possession of the second half.
Panthers 15, Texans 13 — Bryce Young outdueled C.J. Stroud in a battle of the NFL’s top two draft picks, and Eddy Pineiro made a 23-yard field goal as time expired to deliver host Carolina (1-6) its first win of the season. Young, the No. 1 overall pick, overcame six sacks and three drops by his wide receivers to throw for 235 yards and a touchdown in his first game with offensive coordinator Thomas Brown as play-caller. Stroud, the second overall pick, was 16 of 24 for 140 yards and ran for a touchdown for Houston (3-4). Chargers 30, Bears 13 — Justin Herbert passed for 298 yards and three touchdowns, including a 39yarder to Austin Ekeler, and host Los Angeles (3-4) stopped a twogame slide. Herbert, who had struggled with accuracy the past two games after breaking the middle finger of his left, nonthrowing hand four weeks ago, completed his first 14 passes and was 31 of 40 in front of a primetime audience. Herbert directed the Chargers to points on their first five drives, while Tyson Bagent threw two interceptions for Chicago (2-6) in his second NFL start. He did have a 1-yard sneak late in the fourth quarter to get the Bears within 30-13. Ravens 31, Cardinals 24 — Gus Edwards ran for two of his three touchdowns following interceptions by a stout defense, as Baltimore (6-2) won in Glendale, Ariz., though its offense labored. Arizona (1-7) prevented Lamar Jackson from scrambling much and the Ravens finished with 268 total yards. Jackson threw for 157 yards on 18-of-27 passing and ran for 18 yards on four carries. His defense, however, forced two interceptions and a fumble from Joshua Dobbs, who threw for 182 yards and two touchdowns, the second a 1-yard score to Marquise Brown with 1:14 left.
Cowboys 43, Rams 20 — Dak Prescott threw two of his four touchdown passes to CeeDee Lamb, DaRon Bland recorded his NFL-leading third interception return for a score, and Dallas (5-2) routed Los Angeles (3-5) for its 11th consecutive home victory — the franchise’s longest run since 1991-92 at Texas Stadium. Sam Williams blocked a punt for a safety before KaVontae Turpin returned the ensuing punt 63 yards to set up Lamb’s first TD grab, helping the Cowboys to a 33-3 lead late in the first half. Matthew Stafford led scoring drives on either side of halftime to help the Rams trim the deficit to 16, but the former Dallas high school standout was replaced by Brett Rypien late in the third quarter after injuring a thumb on a failed 2-point conversion pass. Seahawks 24, Browns 20 — Geno Smith threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Jaxon Smith-Njigba with 38 seconds left, and Seattle (5-2) rallied past Cleveland (4-3) at home after blowing a 14-point lead. The Seahawks gave themselves a chance by intercepting P.J. Walker near midfield with 1:57 left, Julian Love grabbing a ball that deflected off the helmet of blitzing safety Jamal Adams and flew nearly 20 yards downfield. Smith connected on 4 of 5 passes on the final drive, the last of which was a quick screen to Smith-Njigba. The Browns leaned heavily on a three-man run game, as Kareem Hunt, Pierre Strong Jr., and Jerome Ford combined for 137 yards on 33 carries.
Titans 28, Falcons 23 — Rookie Will Levis threw for 238 yards and four touchdowns in his NFL debut, DeAndre Hopkins finished with 128 yards and three TDs on four catches, and Tennessee (3-4) capped an alumni weekend in Nashville wearing Houston Oilers’ throwback uniforms with its most points since 2021. Two-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons had two of Tennessee’s six sacks, including a stripsack of Desmond Ridder that the Titans turned into a touchdown. Ridder was evaluated for a concussion and cleared, but after he threw for only 71 yards in the first half, Atlanta (4-4) switched to Taylor Heinicke in the third quarter. Heinicke threw for 175 yards, driving Atlanta to points on four of his first five possessions, but turned it over on downs after the Falcons got the ball back with 2:19 left and no timeouts. Vikings 24, Packers 10 — Kirk Cousins threw a pair of touchdown passes before leaving in the fourth quarter with what the team fears is an ACL injury, and Minnesota (4-4) won at slumping Green Bay (2-5), which committed 11 penalties in its fourth straight loss. The Vikings have won three in a row, but may have lost Cousins, who went 23 of 31 for 274 yards before he walked gingerly to the sideline after getting sacked on consecutive plays. T.J. Hockenson and Jordan Addison had touchdown receptions less than two minutes apart early in the third quarter; Cam Akers put Minnesota ahead for good in the opening period with the first Vikings touchdown run of the season. The Packers didn’t get a first down until their fifth series, and had all three of their fourthquarter drives stall in Minnesota territory and end with turnovers on downs.
Saints 38, Colts 27 — Derek Carr threw for 310 yards and two touchdowns, Taysom Hill and Alvin Kamara scored two TDs apiece, and New Orleans (4-4) moved into a share of the NFC South lead with a win in Indianapolis (3-5). Rashid Shaheed caught three passes from Carr for a career-best 153 yards and one TD, and for the second time this year, he helped seal the win with a long third-down catch in the final minutes. Facing Indy’s young, battered secondary, Carr threw first-half TD passes of 18 yards to Kamara and 58 yards to Shaheed. The Colts fell to 1-4 at home despite 95 yards rushing from Jonathan Taylor; Zack Moss added 66 yards and a touchdown. Gardner Minshew went 23 of 41 for 213 yards, with two TDs and one interception, but couldn’t drive for a potential tying score.