INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Kirk Cousins connected with Cody White for a go-ahead, 13-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter and an 11-yard score in the fourth, and the Las Vegas Raiders defeated the Chargers 26-14 to end a four-game skid against Los Angeles in the teams' AFC West opener on Sunday.
In his 100th NFL game, Jim Harbaugh fell to 0-2 for the first time in his college or pro coaching career, with the heavily favred Chargers also losing to Arizona 26-14 last week.
Las Vegas beat the Chargers on the road for the first time since 2020, a game that was played without fans because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Raiders, who maintain a strong Southern California fan base, had lost four straight by double digits.
Leading 17-14, the Raiders' Jeremy Chinn recovered a fumble and returned it 43 yards with 3:52 remaining in the game. Omarion Hampton had a costly fumble for the second straight week and Chinn recovered, returning it to the Chargers 16-yard line.
Cousins then directed a three-play, 43-second drive that ended with White's second TD catch and a 24-14 lead in front of a raucous, predominantly Raiders-supporting crowd at SoFi Stadium.
SAINTS 24, RAVENS 17
BALTIMORE — Tyler Shough scored on a fourth-down sneak with 1:28 remaining, and the New Orleans Saints rallied to a 24-17 win over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday.
New Orleans (1-1) had first down from the two before a penalty and a costly incomplete pass allowed Baltimore — with only two timeouts left — to stop the clock after the next two plays. On fourth-and-goal, the Saints decided against a short field goal, and Shough was ruled to have scored on a one-yard sneak. The play was upheld after a review.
The Ravens, who didn't have a first down on either of their previous two drives, made it to the New Orleans 37, but Lamar Jackson's deep pass was intercepted by Julian Blackmon with 13 seconds left.
Baltimore had a 17-9 lead and forced a three-and-out with sacks by Trey Hendrickson and Mike Green. That gave the Ravens the ball at the New Orleans 49 late in the third quarter with a chance to make it a two-score game.
But Baltimore went backwards 16 yards and punted, then the Saints drove to tie it with 9:42 remaining on a 21-yard touchdown pass from Shough to Chris Olave. After a penalty on the Ravens (1-1) moved thetwo2-point conversion to the 1-yard line, and Travis Etienne Jr. ran the ball in to make it 17-all.
After another Baltimore three-and-out — Jackson curiously threw long on third-and-one and his pass to Chris Moore was broken up by Kool-Aid McKinstry — the Saints took over at their own 32 with 8:06 remaining. They drove about as methodically as possible, converting two third downs and two fourth downs to seize the lead.
Baltimore beat Indianapolis 41-23 in Jesse Minter's debut as coach, but in Week 2 the Ravens did many of the things that got John Harbaugh's staff fired, collapsing in the fourth quarter and dropping yet another home game. Baltimore was 3-6 at M&T Bank Stadium last season.
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EAGLES 24, TITANS 20
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Jalen Hurts threw a three-yard touchdown pass to Darius Cooper with nine seconds left, and the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Tennessee Titans 24-20 on a hot and steamy Sunday.
The Eagles (2-0) appeared ready to dominate Tennessee. They opened the game by stringing together three straight drives of at least 11 plays.
The Titans (0-2) sacked Hurts three times and picked him off twice, turning those into 10 points. The second interception set up Joey Slye's 33-yard field goal with 1:56 left, putting Tennessee up 20-17.
Hurts had 1:56 to drive the Eagles 65 yards for the win. He finished with 264 yards passing and two TDs. DeVonta Smith had 10 catches for 117 yards, Tank Bigsby ran for a TD, and Jake Elliott kicked a 58-yard field goal.
Cam Ward got the Titans (0-2) to midfield, but his final pass under pressure hit the turf harmlessly as time expired.
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PATRIOTS 20, STEELERS 3
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — TreVeyon Henderson ran for a 39-yard touchdown in his season debut, Eli Ponder added a 19-yard fumble recovery for a score and the New England Patriots’ defense smothered Aaron Rodgers on the way to a 20-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.
With the victory, Patriots coach Mike Vrabel avoided just the second 0-2 start of his eight-year coaching career.
Drake Maye finished 14 of 22 for 208 yards and an interception. Romeo Doubs, who had no catches in his Patriots debut last week, had a 63-yard catch in the third quarter to set up Andy Borregales’ second field goal of the game.
But it was the New England defense that set the tone. A year after leading the Steelers to a win in New England, Rodgers struggled to deal with the Patriots’ pressure. The 42-year-old quarterback fumbled twice, including the one that led to Ponder's score.
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PANTHERS 34, FALCONS 3
ATLANTA — Bryce Young threw for 287 yards and three touchdowns, including two to Darren Waller, Carolina's Devin Lloyd returned one of his two interceptions for a touchdown and the Panthers routed the short-handed Atlanta Falcons 34-3 on Sunday.
The Panthers (1-1) earned their fourth straight win in the NFC South rivalry. Young completed 23 of 36 passes as he improved to 5-1 against the Falcons. He set a franchise record with 448 yards passing in a 30-27 overtime win to cap last season's sweep.
With fill-in starter Cooper Rush at quarterback, the Falcons (0-2) had more offensive woes following their 20-13 opening loss at Pittsburgh last week. Michael Penix Jr. (knee) and Tua Tagovailoa (oblique) again were inactive.
Rush completed 10 of 17 passes for 86 yards with two interceptions and also lost a fumble.
Rush's struggles from his very first snap were so dramatic that some Falcons fans were booing six minutes into the game. He lost a fumble on a nine-yard run to open the game. Atlanta’s second possession ended when Rush’s pass intended for Bijan Robinson was intercepted by linebacker Bobby Okereke.
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VIKINGS 9, BEARS 3
CHICAGO — Isaiah Rodgers recovered a fumble and blocked a late field-goal attempt, and the Minnesota Vikings shut down Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears for a 9-3 victory on a rainy Sunday.
Aaron Jones rushed for 105 yards as Minnesota improved to 2-0 for the first time since it opened the 2024 season with five consecutive wins. Will Reichard kicked three field goals, including a 39-yarder with 1:09 left.
Williams departed with a right hamstring injury midway through the fourth quarter, silencing a drenched crowd of 58,914 at Soldier Field. The No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft was 15 for 26 for 138 yards, and he also had five carries for 42 yards.
Led by Dallas Turner, Minnesota limited Chicago to 297 yards of offense. Turner had two of the Vikings' four sacks, and Byron Murphy Jr. intercepted an ill-advised throw by Williams in the first quarter.
The Bears (1-1) rolled to 291 yards rushing and 552 yards overall in their 59-37 victory at Carolina in Week 1. It was the highest-scoring season opener in NFL history.
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BENGALS 20, TEXANS 6
HOUSTON — Joe Burrow threw two touchdown passes to Ja’Marr Chase to lead the Cincinnati Bengals to a 20-6 win over the Houston Texans on Sunday.
The big day by Chase came a week after the five-time Pro Bowler had just two receptions for 12 yards in a win over Tampa Bay. That prompted Burrow, coach Zac Taylor and offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher to say that getting him the ball more had to be a priority against the Texans.
They showed they meant that early as Chase eclipsed last week’s performance with 14 yards receiving on Cincinnati’s first drive and didn’t slow down after that.
He put the Bengals (2-0) on top 7-0 when he managed to drag his toe inbounds on a spectacular 32-yard TD catch over Derek Stingley with about three minutes left in the first half.
The Bengals were up by seven when Burrow found Chase again. This time, he grabbed an 18-yard pass in the end zone in front of a diving Reed Blankenship to make it 17-3 with about three minutes left in the third.
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PACKERS 20, JETS 17 (OT)
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Trey Smack kicked a 26-yard field goal in overtime and Green Bay overcame a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit and a sloppy, penalty-filled performance to snap a six-game skid with a victory over New York.
Jordan Love threw two touchdown passes for the Packers (1-1), who had 14 accepted penalties and appeared on their way to another ugly loss after a fourth-quarter collapse at Minnesota last week.
But it was the Jets (1-1) who couldn’t hold on in the end after mostly outplaying the Packers and stifling Love and the offence for much of the game.
The Packers also overcame a scary start when wide receiver Jayden Reed and right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele were carted off the field with injuries on consecutive plays on the opening drive. Reed has a neck injury, while Bako-Bewele hurt a knee.
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BROWNS 23, BUCCANEERS 19
TAMPA, Fla. — Deshaun Watson earned at least a few more starts for the Cleveland Browns.
Watson threw two touchdown passes, including a go-ahead 17-yard toss to Blake Whiteheart in the fourth quarter, leading the Browns to a 23-19 comeback victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday in a game that was delayed two hours, 12 minutes because of lightning.
The Buccaneers (0-2) were driving and had a second-and-4 at the Cleveland 28 when the game was suspended at the two-minute warning.
When it finally resumed, heavy rain started falling again.
Bucky Irving ran twice and Baker Mayfield's pass to Ted Hurst got the Bucs to the 13 before a holding penalty set them back. Mayfield's pass on fourth-and-10 from the 20 to Emeka Egbuka in the end zone was out of his reach, sealing the win for the Browns (1-1).
49ERS 35, DOLPHINS 13
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Christian McCaffrey became the fourth-fastest player in the Super Bowl era with 100 career touchdowns, Brock Purdy played a near-perfect game and the San Francisco 49ers overwhelmed the Miami Dolphins 35-13 on Sunday.
The 49ers (2-0) showed no signs of fatigue after beating the Los Angeles Rams 27-7 in the opener in Australia and began the season with back-to-back wins of at least 20 points for the first time in franchise history.
They scored touchdowns on their first five drives and dominated the Dolphins (0-2), who spent the week since losing the opener in Las Vegas by practising in nearby Napa.
BRONCOS 20, JAGUARS 13
DENVER — Jaylen Waddle and Jonah Coleman's led a big second-half comeback by the Denver Broncos, who snapped the Jacksonville Jaguars' nine-game regular-season winning streak with a 20-13 victory Sunday.
After catching just one pass for 2 yards in his Denver debut, Waddle had eight catches for 138 yards and Coleman's 3-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter capped a 17-0 Broncos blitz after they'd fallen behind 13-3 early in the third quarter.
After allowing a field goal to open the second half, the Broncos (1-1) responded with a field goal, a 7-yard touchdown toss from Bo Nix to Nate Adkins and Coleman's first career TD, which came with 7:21 remaining after starter J.K. Dobbins had left with a hamstring injury.
The Jaguars (1-1), who had won their past nine regular-season games and by a combined 177 points, including a 34-20 win in Denver last December, punted on their next possession and the Broncos chewed up final 4:41 of game clock with Coleman running six times for 33 yards.
COWBOYS 37, COMMANDERS 20
ARLINGTON, Texas — Dak Prescott threw four touchdown passes to break Tony Romo's career franchise record, and the Dallas Cowboys beat Washington 37-20 on Sunday after the Commanders' Jayden Daniels went down with another gruesome-looking injury to the left elbow he dislocated last season.
Prescott's record-breaking 249th TD pass was his second TD of the game to CeeDee Lamb, who had 153 yards receiving. Tight end Jake Ferguson had the other two scoring catches.
The Cowboys (1-1) led 17-10 with the Commanders on the Dallas 1-yard line with 3 seconds remaining in the first half. Left guard Chris Paul stepped on Daniels’ foot as he backed away from centre, and Daniels’ left elbow appeared to bend the wrong way as he braced himself and threw a wild pass that was incomplete as time expired.
SEAHAWKS 31, CARDINALS 7
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Drew Lock threw for 235 yards and three touchdowns to Jaxon Smith-Njigba in a stellar first start subbing for the injured Sam Darnold and the Seattle Seahawks continued their dominance over the Arizona Cardinals with a 31-7 win on Sunday.
The defending Super Bowl champions have now won 10 straight over their NFC West rival dating to 2022 and closed this one by scoring the final 24 points. Smith-Njigba finished with nine catches for 155 yards and the career-high three TDs in one of the best performances of his four-year career.
Arizona has lost eight straight games at home in a streak that's lasted 360 days. The Cardinals finished with just 150 total yards.
Lock got off to a good start, taking advantage of a busted coverage by the Cardinals' secondary and hitting a wide-open Smith-Njigba in stride for an 82-yard touchdown on the team's second offensive play of the game for a 7-0 lead. Early in the third quarter, he found the reigning AP Offensive Player of the Year on a crossing route for a 7-yard score and a 14-7 advantage.
CHIEFS 33, COLTS 30 (OT)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Harrison Butker kicked two field goals in overtime, the second a 40-yarder as time expired that Patrick Mahomes and Kenneth Walker III set up with a series of big plays, giving the Kansas City Chiefs a 33-30 victory over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday night.
Mahomes finished with 382 yards passing and three touchdowns, Walker ran for 117 yards, and Travis Kelce looked like a younger version of himself with nine catches for 101 yards and a score as the Chiefs improved to 2-0.
“The ball bounces funny ways. Things happen,” said Chiefs coach Andy Reid, whose team was on the wrong end of a lot of one-score games last season. “I'm sure there are going to be other ones down the road that will be a fight like that.”
Daniel Jones had 210 yards passing with a touchdown and a pick for the Colts. Jonathan Taylor had 92 yards rushing and two TDs.
