Patrick Mahomes threw for 337 yards and three touchdowns while running for another score, and the Kansas City Chiefs came back from a dismal first half against the Cleveland Browns for a 33-29 victory Sunday in Kansas City, Missouri.
Tyreek Hill caught 11 passes for 197 yards and a touchdown, and Travis Kelce hauled in two TD catches, including the go-ahead score with 7:02 remaining as the Chiefs finished off their rally from a 22-10 halftime deficit.
Baker Mayfield threw for 321 yards, but he was picked off by Chiefs cornerback Mike Hughes with 1:09 left to end any hope of a comeback. Nick Chubb ran for 83 yards and two scores, while Kareem Hunt and Jarvis Landry also had TD runs.
Steelers 23, Bills 16: In Orchard Park, New York, Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers’ new-look offense overcame a slow start, Ulysees Gilbert returned a blocked punt 9 yards for a touchdown and Pittsburgh rallied to beat Buffalo.
Down 10-0, the Steelers scored on each of their first four possessions of the second half, with Roethlisberger putting Pittsburgh ahead for good by lobbing a 5-yard touchdown pass to Dionte Johnson in the left corner of the end zone.
The Steelers then extended their lead to 20-10 some 90 seconds later with Miles Killebrew bursting up the middle to block Matt Haack’s punt, with Gilbert scooping up the loose ball and running it in untouched.
Roethlisberger finished 18 of 32 for 188 yards and a touchdown. Chris Boswell hit all three field goal attempts, including a game-sealing 45-yarder with 2:42 remaining.
Dolphins 17, Patriots 16: In Foxborough, Massachusetts, Tua Tagovailoa threw a go-ahead touchdown pass to Jaylen Waddle in the third quarter, and Xavien Howard recovered a fumble with New England driving in the fourth to help Miami hold on.
Tagovailoa finished 16 of 27 for 202 yards, a touchdown and one interception, and he also had a 3-yard TD run to lead a revamped offense that kept the Patriots’ rebuilt defense guessing. DeVante Parker caught four passes for 81 yards.
Mac Jones became the first rookie quarterback to start for the Patriots since Drew Bledsoe in 1993. Jones was 29 of 39 for 281 yards and a touchdown. Damien Harris rushed 23 times for 100 yards but had the costly fumble to end New England’s comeback hopes.
Panthers 19, Jets 14: In Charlotte, North Carolina, Sam Darnold threw for 279 yards and a touchdown and ran for another score against his former team.
Darnold connected on a 57-yard touchdown pass with fellow ex-Jet Robby Anderson and took full advantage of a healthy Christian McCaffrey, who piled up 187 yards from scrimmage on 30 touches after missing 13 games last season with injuries.
Carolina’s defense brought the pressure on Jets rookie quarterback Zach Wilson, sacking the No. 2 pick in the NFL draft six times and intercepting him once. Wilson finished 20 of 37 for 258 yards with two touchdown passes to Corey Davis in his first career start.
Broncos 27, Giants 13: In East Rutherford, New Jersey, Teddy Bridgewater threw two touchdowns in his first start for Denver, and the Broncos dominated possession to defeat New York.
Bridgewater completed 28 of 36 passes for 264 yards, sharing the ball with nine receivers. He hit Tim Patrick on a go-ahead 2-yard TD pass with :08 left in the half. Bridgewater eluded pressure and found tight end Albert Okwuegbunam on a 4-yard, fourth-down toss during a 16-play, 75-yard drive to open the second half, extending the lead to 17-7 with 6:48 to go in the quarter.
Daniel Jones finished 22 of 37 for 253 yards. He also lost a fumble in the red zone with the Giants trailing 20-7 in the third quarter.
Saints 38, Packers 3: In Jacksonville, Florida, Jameis Winston and the hurricane-displaced Saints looked right at home in northeast Florida.
Winston passed for five touchdowns, New Orleans intercepted Aaron Rodgers twice, and the Saints kicked off the post-Drew Brees era with a strikingly dominant opening victory.
The game, originally scheduled for the Superdome, was moved while the New Orleans area continues to clean up wreckage left by Hurricane Ida.
Winston, who led the NFL with 30 interceptions in his last season as a starter with Tampa Bay in 2019, was largely judicious and accurate in going 14 of 20 for 148 yards without an interception.
Eagles 32, Falcons 6: In Atlanta, Jalen Hurts threw three touchdown passes, the first of them to Heisman Trophy winner DeVonta Smith, and Philadelphia made a winner of Nick Sirianni in his head coaching debut.
Hurts tossed touchdown passes of 18 yards to Smith, 9 yards to Dallas Goedert and 23 yards to Jalen Reagor. He completed 27 of 35 passes for 264 yards and used his mobility to repeatedly neutralize Atlanta’s attempt to shake him up with a wide variety of blitzes. He rushed for 62 yards on seven carries.
Rams 34, Bears 14: In Inglewood, California, Matthew Stafford passed for 321 yards and three touchdowns in a dynamic debut with his new team.
Stafford found Van Jefferson for a 67-yard touchdown on his second pass for the Rams, then hit a wide-open Cooper Kupp for a 56-yard TD to open the third quarter, and he found Robert Woods for a clinching score with 3:17 to play.
The Rams scored on six of Stafford’s first seven full drives while racking up 375 yards of offense, and Kupp finished with seven catches for 108 yards.
Andy Dalton passed for 206 yards in his Bears debut, and David Montgomery rushed for 108 yards and a touchdown for the Bears.
Bengals 27, Vikings 24: In Cincinnati, Evan McPherson kicked a 33-yard field goal as time expired in overtime to push Cincinnati over Minnesota.
On fourth-and-inches for the Bengals from their 48, Joe Burrow rolled out and hit tight end C.J. Uzomah in stride for a 32-yard gain and get McPherson well within his range.
Burrow threw for 261 yards and two touchdowns, and rookie Ja’Marr Chase had 101 yards on five receptions, including a 50-yard scoring pass from his former LSU teammate.
49ers 41, Lions 33: In Detroit, Dre Greenlaw returned an interception for a touchdown to help San Francisco score 17 points over two-plus minutes late in the first half, and they barely held on to beat Detroit.
San Francisco welcomed back Jimmy Garoppolo, who lost a fumble on his first snap and then was 17 of 25 for 314 yards. Rookie Elijah Miller had a tiebreaking, 38-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter and finished with 104 yards rushing.
In his Detroit debut, Jared Goff was 38 of 57 for 338 three touchdowns and a costly interception. T.J. Hockenson had a career-high eight receptions for 97 yards.
Texans 37, Jaguars 21: In Houston, Tyrod Taylor threw for 291 yards and two touchdowns in the Texans’ surprisingly lopsided win over Trevor Lawrence and the mistake-prone Jacksonville Jaguars.
Taylor took over at quarterback for Houston with Watson’s future with the team uncertain after 22 women filed lawsuits alleging sexual assault or harassment after he requested a trade.
Lawrence threw for 332 yards and three touchdowns but also tossed three interceptions, often overthrew open receivers and was the victim of several drops.
Cardinals 38, Titans 13: In Nashville, Tennessee, Kyler Murray scored five touchdowns, and linebacker Chandler Jones had a career-high five sacks as Arizona dominated Tennessee.
Jones, who tied the franchise record, had three sacks in the first quarter. Jones, who wants a new contract, also forced two fumbles the Cardinals turned into 14 points.
Murray tormented the Titans, throwing for 289 yards with two TD passes apiece to All-Pro wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins and Christian Kirk.
Chargers 20, Washington 16: In Landover, Maryland, Justin Herbert threw for 337 yards and a touchdown in an ugly Week 1 matchup full of turnovers and big penalties.
Herbert led scoring drives of 75, 76 and 68 yards, and a go-ahead touchdown pass to Mike Williams made up for his fumble into the end zone and red zone interception on consecutive possessions. The Chargers went 14 of 19 on third downs, wearing down Washington’s defense. The teams combined for 14 penalties for 151 yards and three giveaways.
Los Angeles also got a 3-yard TD run from Austin Ekeler, who was listed as questionable with a hamstring injury. Ekeler finished with 57 yards on 15 carries and joined Danny Woodhead as the only undrafted players in the NFL’s common draft era with 10-plus rushing and 15-plus passing TDs.
Seahawks 28, Colts 16: In Indianapolis, Russell Wilson threw three of his four touchdowns in the first half and Seattle clamped down in the second half.
Despite taking no preseason snaps, the eight-time Pro Bowler led the Seahawks to touchdowns on their first two drives, hooking up with Tyler Lockett on a twisting, over-the-shoulder catch for a 23-yard TD pass to make it 7-3 and finding Gerald Everett for a 9-yard score to give Seattle a 14-3 lead.
Wilson finished the half with a perfect passer rating of 158.3 and wound up 18 of 23 with 254 yards.
Carson Wentz was under constant pressure and was 25 of 38 with 251 yards and two scores in his Colts debut.
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