Week 3 of the NFL season has produced some wild endings and results, many of which could have ramifications at the end of the year.
Here's what you need to know as we look at the winners, losers plus the must-see moments.
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — The Miami Dolphins' defense stopped Josh Allen and the Bills at the goal line late, then held again after punter Thomas Morstead bizarrely kicked the ball off a teammate and out of bounds for a safety in a 21-19 win over Buffalo on Sunday.
Tua Tagovailoa and the Dolphins improved to 3-0 in an AFC East thriller that ended with Allen and the Bills attempting to spike the ball near midfield, the clock just running out on their chance to try a long-distance, go-ahead field goal.
Tagovailoa briefly left the game in the second quarter, returning after halftime despite appearing to be disoriented by a head injury. Allen also may have been injured, heading to the X-ray room after the game. He had his throwing hand checked by trainers late.
Miami took the lead with about 10 minutes left in the game, scoring a touchdown to go up 21-17. It was the Bills' first deficit of the season.
Despite being sacked and flagged for unnecessary roughness on the next drive, Allen drove Buffalo down the field with a 17-play, eight-minute drive. Miami’s defense held, though, nearly intercepting a pass and forcing a turnover on downs from the 2-yard line.
Tagovailoa and the Dolphins went three-and-out, leaving little room for Morstead to try punting out of the end zone. His kick hit blocker Trent Sherfield in the backside and caromed out of bounds, a play immediately dubbed the “butt punt” on social media.
Allen had about a minute to guide Buffalo into field goal range, and did so, but the Bills ran out of time. Isaiah McKenzie tried for extra yards on a completion from Allen, costing precious seconds. Dolphins players started celebrating when the clock hit zero with Allen just stepping under center.
DENVER (AP) — Melvin Gordon atoned for two fumbles with a late 1-yard touchdown run and safety Kareem Jackson recovered Jeff Wilson Jr.'s fumble with 1:05 left to preserve the Denver Broncos' 11-10 win over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday night.
Russell Wilson and the Broncos (2-1) won despite going three-and-out nine times. Their only sustained drive was a 12-play, 80-yarder that included a 12-yard scramble by Wilson. Gordon capped it with a 1-yard run with 4:10 remaining, but Wilson's 2-point pass was batted down, leaving the Broncos clinging to a one-point lead.
Jimmy Garoppolo, in his first start for the injured Trey Lance, who broke an ankle in Week 2, drove the 49ers (1-2) to midfield but his pass to Deebo Samuel was tipped by Jackson and intercepted by linebacker Jonas Griffith at the Denver 42 just before the 2-minute warning.
The Broncos went three-and-out for the ninth time in their 13 possessions, and the Niners got the ball back at their 15 with 1:42 left after punt returner Ray-Ray McCloud recovered his own muffed punt.
Bradley Chubb sacked Garoppolo for a 12-yard loss to the San Francisco 3. Then, Wilson hauled in the pass and coughed up the football on a hit from P.J. Locke, and Jackson scooped up the loose ball with 65 seconds left at the 49ers' 24.
The only other game in NFL history that finished 11-10 came on Nov. 16, 2008, when the Steelers edged the Chargers.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Aaron Rodgers threw for 255 yards and two touchdowns, and the Green Bay Packers withstood a late rally led by Tom Brady to hold off the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a 14-12 victory on Sunday.
Rodgers tossed TD passes of 5 yards to Romeo Doubs and 6 yards to Allen Lazard on his team’s first two possessions, while the Bucs' offense sputtered much of the day without star receivers Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Julio Jones.
For the second straight week, the Bucs (2-1) were held without a touchdown into the fourth quarter. Brady finally got them into the end zone on a 1-yard pass to Russell Gage, capping a 90-yard drive with 14 seconds remaining.
Tampa Bay’s bid to force overtime with a 2-point conversion was thwarted, first by a delay-of-game penalty and then an incomplete pass that allowed the Packers (2-1) to beat Brady for the first time in three tries since the seven-time Super Bowl champion joined the Bucs in 2020.
LANDOVER, Md. (AP) — DeVonta Smith caught eight passes from Jalen Hurts for a career-high 169 yards and a touchdown, Carson Wentz flopped in his first game against the team that drafted him and the Philadelphia Eagles routed the Washington Commanders 24-8 Sunday to remain unbeaten.
Smith made acrobatic catches along the sideline and to the edge of the end zone for respective gains of 45 and 44 yards, and hauled in a TD pass on fourth down to end the first half with no time left on the clock. The 2020 Heisman Trophy winner out of Alabama surpassed his previous professional high for yards receiving before halftime.
His 156 yards were the most by an Eagles player in a half since Kevin Curtis in 2007. And Smith was just one part of another clinical offensive performance by Philadelphia (3-0).
Hurts was 22 of 35 for 340 yards and three touchdown passes, one each to Smith, A.J. Brown and Dallas Goedert. Coming off a three-TD game with two on the ground, Hurts continued to show he could get the job done with his throwing arm, along with his legs.
The quarterback he replaced as the Eagles starter was completely ineffective and got sacked nine times. Wentz, the second pick in the 2016 draft to Philadelphia on his third team in three years, was 25 of 43 for 211 yards with two fumbles — one lost, which set up Goedert's 22-yard catch-and-run touchdown.
All but 24 of Wentz's passing yards came in the second half, long after the outcome had been determined.
Washington (1-2) had just 50 yards at halftime, and the defense wasn't much better. The troubling trend of giving up big-yardage plays only got worse in the aftermath of a loss at Detroit.
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Lamar Jackson threw four touchdown passes and ran for another score to help the Baltimore Ravens hold off the New England Patriots 37-26 on Sunday.
New England's Mac Jones suffered a leg injury with less than two minutes to play, hopping off the field and heading straight to the locker room. He completed 22 of 32 passes for 321 yards but threw three interceptions.
Justin Tucker kicked a 56-yard field goal, the 50th of his career from 50 yards or more, as Baltimore claimed its first regular-season victory at New England in seven tries.
Despite being under pressure for most of the day and losing another member of his offensive line to an early injury, Jackson completed 18 of 29 passes for 218 yards with an interception. He rushed for 107 yards on 11 carries. Mark Andrews had eight catches for 89 yards and two TDs.
DeVante Parker had five catches for 156 yards for New England.
The Patriots had four turnovers on the day — Jones' three picks and a late fumble by Nelson Agholor.
Trailing by a point at halftime, Jones came out firing in the third quarter. He completed a 36-yard pass to Parker to get into Ravens territory and followed it up with a 25-yard strike to Parker that put the ball on the 2.
The 7-play, 75-yard drive ended with Damien Harris’ 2-yard TD run that put the Patriots in front 20-14.
The Ravens responded in the ensuing series when Jackson found Josh Oliver from 1 yard out to conclude a 75-yard drive.
Following a quick punt by the Patriots, Jackson got free for a 38-yard run to get the ball back into the red zone. He then connected with Devin Duvernay from 4 yards out for another TD.
The Ravens got the ball right back after Jones’ pass intended for Parker was picked off by linebacker Josh Bynes. Baltimore moved the ball only 5 yards, but it was enough for Tucker's long field goal, which increased the lead to 31-20.
The Patriots were successful on a fourth-and-1 from the 17 to help set up a 1-yard TD run by Rhamondre Stevenson. It trimmed the gap to 31-26 after 2-point conversion try was unsuccessful.
New England got the ball back Rashod Bateman caught a 24-yard pass, then fumbled. Jabril Peppers recovered.
The Patriots took it down to the Ravens 10, but Jones’ pass into the end zone overshot Parker and was intercepted by Marlon Humphrey.
A quick three-and-out and short punt by Baltimore gave the Patriots the ball back. But a 30-yard pass from Jones to Agholor ended with strip from behind by Kyle Hamilton and recovery by Marcus Peters along the sideline with 5:45 left.
The Ravens capitalized, marching 73 yards over the next 2:35 to take a 37-26 lead on Jackson's 9-yard TD run.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Trevor Lawrence threw for 262 yards and three touchdowns, James Robinson rushed for 100 yards and a TD and the Jacksonville Jaguars snapped an 18-game road losing streak with a decisive 38-10 victory over ailing Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday.
Herbert started after being listed as questionable all week with a rib injury. The third-year quarterback passed for 297 yards but turned it over twice, finishing 25 of 45 with a touchdown.
Jacksonville's road skid was tied for the eighth-longest in league history. The Jags won in the Pacific time zone for the fourth time in 19 trips and beat the Bolts on the road for the first time in six tries.
Riley Patterson kicked three field goals as the Jaguars (2-1) went over the 30-point mark for the first time since Week 2 of the 2020 season. It also marks the first time since December of 2000 they have won consecutive games by at least 20 points.
The Chargers (1-2) had the ball for only 22 minutes and were held to 29 rushing yards. Besides Herbert being at less than full strength, they were missing center Corey Linsley, receiver Keenan Allen and cornerback JC Jackson. Two additional starters — linebacker Joey Bosa and offensive tackle Rashawn Slater — were injured during the game.
Cooper Kupp both scored touchdowns and the Los Angeles Rams used a stellar defensive effort to beat the Arizona Cardinals 20-12 on Sunday.
The Rams (2-1) continued their dominance in the series of NFC West rivals, winning 11 of the past 12 games dating to 2017, including last year's 34-11 win in the playoffs.
LA's offense had some good moments, but the win was largely due to its defense. Aaron Donald had a sack and two tackles for loss while Jalen Ramsey added two passes defended and a tackle for loss. The Rams gave up 365 total yards but limited the Cardinals to no touchdowns and four field goals.
Arizona's Kyler Murray was 37-of-58 passing for 314 yards. Marquise Brown caught 14 passes for 140 yards. The Cardinals have lost seven of nine games dating to last season.
INDIANAPOLIS -- Matt Ryan threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to rookie Jelani Woods with 24 seconds left Sunday to give the Indianapolis Colts a 20-17 comeback victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.
Ryan earned his first win with the Colts in their home opener by hooking up with Woods for both Indianapolis touchdowns, one week after they were shut out at Jacksonville.
But it took a 16-play, 76-yard drive -- aided by a personal foul call on Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones following a third-down sack -- for Indy (1-1-1) to snap a four-game winless streak that included two losses late last season.
They sealed it with Rodney McLeod Jr.'s interception with 2 seconds to play.
Ryan finished 27 of 37 for 222 yards in his 225th career start. He was sacked five times and lost two fumbles.
For the Chiefs (2-1), it was a rare September misfire. Mahomes fell to 13-3 in the opening month while going 20 of 35 for 262 yards, one TD and his first interception of the season.
Kansas City had chances.
Matt Amendola missed an extra point in the first half and a 34-yard field goal with 8:38 remaining. Tommy Townsend also threw an incompletion on a fake field goal early in the fourth.
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Joe Burrow threw three touchdown passes and the defending AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals got their first victory of the season, rolling past the New York Jets 27-12 on Sunday.
After opening 0-2 with a pair of three-point losses, Burrow insisted there was no panic or Super Bowl hangover for the Bengals. And they came out aggressive against the Jets, who fell flat after a stunning comeback win last week at Cleveland.
Burrow finished 23 of 36 for 275 yards with TD throws to Samaje Perine, Tyler Boyd and Ja'Marr Chase.
Joe Flacco, who led the Jets' 13-point rally in the final 1:55 last Sunday, struggled against the Bengals in what will likely be his final start with the injured Zach Wilson expected to return next week. Wilson, who was injured in the preseason opener, is recovering from a bone bruise and arthroscopic surgery on his right knee.
Flacco was 28 of 52 for 285 yards and two interceptions, and was under pressure all game. The fans at MetLife Stadium chanted a few times to play backup Mike White — who rallied the Jets to a 34–31 win over the Bengals last season.
Meanwhile, Burrow marched the Bengals (1-2) down the field on a 10-play, 75-yard opening drive, capped by Perine's 12-yard touchdown catch.
Burrow was 8 of 10 for 95 yards on the drive during which Cincinnati thought it got into the end zone two other times. Boyd had a 4-yard TD catch wiped out by a holding penalty on guard Cordell Volson. Two plays later, Tee Higgins' acrobatic catch was ruled — and upheld by video review — out of bounds in the end zone.
Greg Zuerlein's 50-yard field goal on the Jets' opening drive made it 7-3.
New York's defense got a takeaway when Chase fumbled after a 5-yard catch and C.J. Mosley recovered. The Jets (1-2) stalled, though, and settled for a 40-yarder by Zuerlein.
John Franklin-Myers made a costly mistake for New York when he was called for unnecessary roughness after landing on Burrow, whose third-down throw was incomplete. Given a new set of downs, the Bengals took advantage.
One play after rookie Sauce Gardner made a terrific play by knocking away a deep pass to Chase, Burrow threw to Boyd, who avoided a tackle by Jordan Whitehead and raced for a 56-yard touchdown to make it 14-6.
Another bad play from the Jets helped the Bengals get on the scoreboard again. Burrow completed a 45-yard pass to Higgins, who took a helmet to the head from Lamarcus Joyner, who was called for unnecessary roughness. It put Cincinnati at the New York 15, and McPherson booted a 22-yarder moments later.
The Jets' next possession was rough as rookie Garrett Wilson, who had two TD catches last week, caught a 13-yard pass and took a shot to the ribs from Jessie Bates III. After being looked at for several minutes on the field, Wilson got up on his own and headed to the X-ray room. He was able to come back.
Three plays later, Logan Wilson intercepted a poorly thrown pass from Flacco. It resulted in a 43-yarder by McPherson.
Trailing, 20-9, the Jets opened the second half with yet another mistake — and it cost them again. Trey Hendrickson had the first of his two strip-sacks of Flacco, B.J. Hill recovered and Burrow hit Chase for a 5-yard touchdown to make it 27-9.
CHICAGO (AP) — Roquan Smith set up Cairo Santos’ game-ending field goal when he intercepted Davis Mills deep in Houston territory, and the Chicago Bears beat former coach Lovie Smith and the Texans 23-20 on Sunday.
Khalil Herbert ran for a career-high 157 yards and two touchdowns for Chicago.
The Texans had third-and-1 at their 26 when defensive tackle Angelo Blackson tipped a pass intended for Rex Burkhead. Smith, who missed practice all week because of a hip injury, intercepted it at the 30 and returned it to the 12.
Chicago had Herbert run, then downed the ball twice before Santos nailed a 30-yarder as time expired.
The Bears (2-1) angered their fans with conservative calls at times and were booed loudly at the end of the first half when they opted to run out the clock rather than use any timeouts with Houston (0-2-1) leading by one.
Justin Fields had another difficult game. Running back David Montgomery exited in the early going with knee and ankle injuries, but the Bears came away with the win after losing at rival Green Bay.
The Texans dropped their second in a row after blowing fourth-quarter leads in a season-opening tie with Indianapolis and loss to Denver.
Herbert, whose previous high was 100 yards as a rookie last season, made it 10-0 when he scored from the 11 in the first quarter. He also broke off a 52-yard run early in the third and ran it in from the 1 to give the Bears a short-lived 20-17 lead.
Fields was 8 of 17 for 106 yards. The former Ohio State star threw two interceptions and had a 27.7 rating.
Montgomery walked off the field in pain on Chicago’s second possession after his right leg got rolled up on while he was pass blocking.
Eddie Jackson intercepted a pass in the end zone in the second quarter.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Kirk Cousins connected with a wide-open K.J. Osborn for the go-ahead, 28-yard touchdown with 45 seconds remaining, and the Minnesota Vikings rallied to beat the Detroit Lions 28-24 on Sunday.
Osborn blew by former Vikings cornerback Mike Hughes on a corner route to snag the in-stride pass and cruise across the goal line to give Minnesota (2-1) the lead for the first time.
As Osborn and Justin Jefferson — who was blanketed by rising star Jeff Okudah and had just three catches for 14 yards — flapped their arms to fire up the crowd while standing on the bench, the Vikings didn't let Jared Goff and the Lions cross midfield.
Dalvin Cook rushed for 96 yards and a score before leaving with a shoulder injury for the Vikings, who fell behind 14-0 and 24-14. Their final push against an extra-aggressive Lions team that frequently sent multiple extra pass rushers at Cousins and went for it six times on fourth down proved to be just enough to give them a winning record at the end of September for the first time since they were 3-0 in 2016.
After going 3-13-1 in coach Dan Campbell's first season, Detroit (1-2) looks like a much more dangerous opponent. The Lions are still seeking their first road win since Dec. 6, 2020, at Chicago, though. Their NFL-record streak of starting a season with a touchdown in 11 straight quarters ended inconveniently in the fourth.
On the Lions' sixth fourth-down attempt of the game, with 1 yard to go from the Vikings 30, Jamaal Williams ran off right tackle and was slammed to a stop for no gain by a swarm of Vikings.
After Minnesota also turned the ball over on downs, a stiffened Vikings defense steered Campbell into calling for a 54-yard field-goal try that Austin Seibert missed with 1:10 left.
That gave the Vikings the ball at their 44 to start the winning drive, and Osborn accounted for all 56 yards. Cousins connected with him on second-and-10 for 28 yards. After a Detroit timeout, he caught the winning score on the next play.
Greg Joseph missed two 56-yard field goal attempts for the Vikings. Seibert had a 48-yarder bounce off the right upright to end Detroit's first drive.
Williams had 20 carries for 87 yards and two touchdowns for the Lions, who gave limited action to D'Andre Swift after he was listed as questionable with an ankle injury.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Laviska Shenault caught a 67-yard touchdown pass from Baker Mayfield, Marquis Haynes returned a fumble 44 yards for a touchdown and the Carolina Panthers defeated the New Orleans Saints 22-14 on Sunday to snap a nine-game losing streak.
Mayfield threw for 170 yards and Christian McCaffrey ran for 108 as the Panthers (1-2) won at home for the first time since beating the Saints 26-7 on Sept. 19, 2021.
Jameis Winston, playing with an injured back, completed 25 of 41 passes for 353 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions, while rookie Chris Olave had nine catches for 147 yards for a Saints wide receiver corps that lost Michael Thomas, Jarvis Landry and Tre’Quan Smith to injuries in the second half.
Carolina's defense held Winston and the Saints scoreless for three quarters before Mark Ingram cut the lead to 13-7 with a 5-yard TD run.
But then Shenault, acquired in a trade with Jacksonville late in the preseason and activated for the first time Sunday, caught a pass in the flat, juked a defender and raced along the left sideline for a touchdown to give the Panthers some cushion.
Carolina's defense took it from there, intercepting Winston twice in the fourth quarter to put the game away.
Cornerback Jaycee Horn got a hand on Winston's pass on a blitz and defensive tackle Derrick Brown reached out to grab the ball with one hand for the interception, setting up Eddy Pineiro's third field goal to give Carolina a 22-7 lead. Winston answered with a 4-yard TD pass to Marquez Callaway, but Horn intercepted Winston on a Hail Mary at midfield as time expired to seal the victory.
Winston fell to 4-7 against the Panthers during his career, with 18 interceptions and 10 touchdown passes.
The Panthers entered Week 3 as the only NFL team without a takeaway.
But they got a big one early as Frankie Luvu reached his arm in and ripped the ball away from Alvin Kamara at the line of scrimmage. Haynes picked up the loose ball and rambled 44 yards for a touchdown with an entourage by his side.
Saints kicker Wil Lutz missed one field goal and had another blocked.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Ryan Tannehill threw for 264 yards and a touchdown and ran for another score and the Tennessee Titans never trailed Sunday, holding off the Las Vegas Raiders 24-22 for their first victory this season.
Derrick Henry also ran for 85 yards and a touchdown. Henry also added 58 yards more receiving as the Titans (1-2) avoided their worst start since 2009 when they lost the first six games that season.
The Raiders (0-3) are off to their worst start since 2018. A week after blowing a 20-point lead in losing to Arizona in overtime, the Raiders had every chance to get back in this game in the second half as they blanked Tennessee after halftime.
SEATTLE (AP) — Cordarrelle Patterson rushed for a career-high 141 yards and one touchdown, Marcus Mariota threw a 14-yard TD to rookie Drake London in the second half, and the Atlanta Falcons picked up their first win of the season in beating the Seattle Seahawks 27-23 on Sunday.
Patterson rumbled for 107 yards in the second half and the Falcons were able to avoid starting 0-3 for the second time in three seasons. Mariota used the pass game to pick up chunks of yards in the first half, then it was Patterson churning big plays in the run game.
Patterson had a career-best 120 yards in the season opener against New Orleans and topped it just two weeks later. His 17-yard touchdown run in the second quarter gave Atlanta a 17-10 lead.
Mariota was 13 of 20 passing for 223 yards and his touchdown throw to London in the closing seconds of the third quarter gave Atlanta the lead for good. London had just three catches for 54 yards, while Kyle Pits had five receptions for 87 yards.
Seattle quarterback Geno Smith threw for 325 yards and two touchdowns, but was intercepted by Richie Grant on a desperation fourth-and-18 from the Atlanta 38 with 1:30 remaining. It was the fourth time in Smith's career topping 300 yards passing and the first since the 2014 season.
COMMENTS
When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.