NFL round-up: Chiefs get first win of the season as Bengals crash again
Patrick Mahomes threw two touchdown passes, including one to returning star Travis Kelce, and the Kansas City Chiefs overcame three early turnovers to beat Jacksonville 17-9 on Sunday for their third victory against the Jaguars in 10 months.
The Chiefs (1-1) won their eighth straight in the series and avoided becoming the first Super Bowl champions to start 0-2 since Denver in 1999.
The Jaguars (1-1), who insisted all week they owed the Chiefs because of a loss in the divisional round of the AFC playoffs in January, pretty much noshowed in their home opener. Coach Doug Pederson’s team had another slow start, failed to capitalize on two of three turnovers and struggled to protect quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
Lawrence threw incomplete on a fourth-and-12 play with 4:16 remaining in an eight-point game, and Kansas City didn’t let the Jaguars get the ball back.
Chiefs All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones, making his season debut after ending his holdout and signing a oneyear contract, dominated his one-onone matchups.
Baltimore Ravens 27-24 Cincinnati Bengals
Lamar Jackson tossed two touchdown passes, Gus Edwards ran for another score and the Ravens held off the slow-starting Bengals. The AFC North champion Bengals fell to 0-2 for the second consecutive season. The Ravens, their division rival, certainly looked like the better team. Jackson was 24 for 33 for 237 yards. He ran for 54 more. Edwards picked up 62 yards on 10 carries. Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow looked as if he might still be suffering the effects of a calf injury in training camp. He finished 27 for 41 for 222 yards and two TDs, and said after the game he felt soreness in his calf on his team’s final drive.
“I’m not sure how it’s going to feel the next couple days,” Burrow said. “It’s pretty sore right now. No telling how it’s gonna feel. So, I think we’re gonna take it day by day.”
New York Jets 10–30 Dallas Cowboys
Dak Prescott threw for two touchdowns, Zach Wilson had three interceptions in his first start after Aaron Rodgers’ season-ending Achilles tendon injury and the Cowboys beat the New York Jets. CeeDee Lamb had 143 yards receiving and Brandon Aubrey kicked five field goals as the Cowboys finished a season-opening sweep of the New York teams. Wilson had a 68-yard touchdown pass to Garrett Wilson to get the 1-1 Jets within three points in the second quarter. But New York had just 147 yards otherwise and four second-half turnovers.
Las Vegas Raiders 10-38 Buffalo Bills
Josh Allen rebounded from a four-turnover, season-opening dud by throwing three touchdown passes and leading the Bills to a rout of the Raiders.
Linebackers Matt Milano and Terrel Bernard each intercepted Jimmy Garoppolo, and the Bills eased the lingering frustrations following a 22-16 overtime loss at the New York Jets on Monday and a week full of off-field distractions.
Coach Sean McDermott had to address his leadership group after team owner Terry Pegula was accused of making racist comments. Pegula denied the allegations. And then on Wednesday, a Bills media reporter was overheard on an open microphone questioning receiver Stefon Diggs’ character. Diggs went to social media a day later to call the comments “hurtful” and “insulting.”
San Francisco 49ers 30–23 Los Angeles Rams
The San Francisco 49ers hung on for their ninth consecutive regular-season victory over the Los Angeles Rams. Brock Purdy passed for 206 yards and ran for an early touchdown, and Deebo Samuel rushed for an 11-yard TD with 11:28 left. Christian McCaffrey rushed for 116 yards and a score for the 49ers, whose only loss to the Rams since December 2018 was in the NFC championship game in January 2022. Matthew Stafford passed for 307 yards for Los Angeles, but also threw two interceptions. Kyren Williams caught a TD pass and rushed for another score in his first NFL start.
Seattle Seahawks 37-31 Detroit Lions
Geno Smith threw a second touchdown pass to Tyler Lockett on the opening drive of overtime, lifting the Seahawks to a win over the Lions. The Seahawks earned the victory after the Lions rallied from a 10-point deficit late in the fourth quarter, extending the game with Riley Patterson’s 38yard field goal as regulation expired. Smith threw a go-ahead touchdown pass to Lockett early in the fourth and Tre Brown returned a Jared Goff interception for a score on the ensuring drive to give Seattle a 31-21 lead.
New York Giants 31–28 Arizona Cardinals
Daniel Jones threw for 321 yards and two touchdowns, Graham Gano connected on a 34-yard field goal with 19 seconds remaining and the New York Giants rallied from a 21-point thirdquarter deficit to stun the Arizona Cardinals 31-28. It was the biggest comeback win for the Giants since a 21-point rally in 1949 – also against the Cardinals. Arizona blew their biggest lead since 2011. New York trailed 20-0 at halftime and 28-7 in the third quarter. But Jones and Saquon Barkley rallied the Giants from there. Barkley caught a touchdown pass and ran for a score.
Los Angeles Chargers 24–27 Tennessee Titans
Nick Folk kicked a 41-yard field goal in overtime in a sudden downpour and the Titans snapped an eight-game skid by beating the Chargers 27-24. The Titans won for the first time since 17 November last season. They had to rally from a deficit that matched the yards they had at one point early. Ryan Tannehill rebounded from the worst game of his career in the season opener by throwing for 246 yards. He put Tennessee up 24-21 with a four-yard touchdown pass to Nick Westbrook-Ikhine. He also ran for a touchdown. Justin Herbert threw for 305 yards and two TDs. He could only set up a tying field goal to force overtime.
Washington Commanders 35-33 Denver Broncos
The Commanders secured their first 2-0 start in 12 years with a 35-33 win over the Broncos. Sam Howell threw for two touchdowns in his first road start and rallied Washington from an 18point deficit, the second-biggest comeback in franchise history. The Commanders held on after Russell Wilson connected with Brandon Johnson on a 50-yard Hail Mary that was deflected multiple times. Wilson tried to hit Courtland Sutton for the tying twopoint conversion, but cornerback Benjamin St-Juste broke it up. St-Juste appeared to get away with pass interference, but no flag was thrown.
Indianapolis Colts 31-20 Houston Texans
Anthony Richardson rushed for two touchdowns before leaving with a concussion and Gardner Minshew threw for 171 yards and a TD as the Colts held off the Texans. It was the first win for coach Shane Steichen, who was hired in February after spending the last two seasons as Philadelphia’s offensive coordinator. The Colts led by 18 at halftime and managed only a field goal in the second half. But their dominant start was enough to snap an eightgame skid dating to last season.
Chicago Bears 17–27 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Baker Mayfield passed for 317 yards and a touchdown, adding to his strong debut with the Buccaneers with victory over the struggling Bears. With Mayfield playing turnover-free ball for the second straight week and Mike Evans catching six balls for 171 yards and a TD, the Bucs improved to 2-0 while handing the Bears a franchise-record 12th consecutive loss. Mayfield completed 26 of 34 passes without an interception. He set up Rachaad White’s one-yard TD run with a 70-yard completion to Evans in the first quarter. He finished an 89yard drive with a 32-yard scoring pass to Evans early in the second half.
Green Bay Packers 24-25 Atlanta Falcons
Younghoe Koo booted a 25-yard field goal with 57 seconds remaining and rookie Bijan Robinson turned in another dynamic performance, rallying the Falcons to victory over Jordan Love and the Packers. Robinson rushed for 124 yards on 19 carries and hauled in four catches for another 48 yards. The Falcons improved to 2-0 for only the 11th time in franchise history. The Packers dropped to 1-1 after squandering a 24-12 lead and three more touchdown passes from Love.