The New England Patriots avoided mistakes and controlled the ball to pull off a 16-10 upset of the host Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday afternoon, giving Jerod Mayo a victory in his head coaching debut.
Players doused Mayo with a few gallons of blue Gatorade as the final seconds ticked off the clock in the first game the Patriots (1-0) played under a coach not named Bill Belichick in over two decades.
New England running back Rhamondre Stevenson rushed for 120 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries and Keion White had 2.5 sacks, leading a strong defensive effort that stunted Cincinnati’s big-play offense. Joey Slye converted three field goals, including two in the second half.
Joe Burrow was held to 164 yards on 21-of-29 passing for the Bengals (0-1). Ja’Marr Chase had six catches on six targets for 62 yards.
Patriots quarterback Jacoby Brissett completed 15 of 24 passes for 121 yards. Brissett was moved to tears — before and after the game — and credited Mayo with being a master motivator.
Chargers 22, Raiders 10
J.K. Dobbins rushed for 135 yards and a touchdown, Cameron Dicker made three field goals and Los Angeles opened the Jim Harbaugh era with a victory over Las Vegas in a defensive tussle in Inglewood, Calif.
Justin Herbert went 17-for-26 passing for 144 yards for the Chargers (1-0), throwing a 10-yard touchdown pass to Ladd McConkey with 3:40 remaining in McConkey’s first career NFL game. After winning a national championship at Michigan last season, Harbaugh made his return to the NFL after going 44-19-1 in four seasons with the San Francisco 49ers (2011-14).
New Raiders starting quarterback Gardner Minshew was 25-of-33 passing for 257 yards and one touchdown. New lead running back Zamir White had 44 yards on 13 carries while rookie tight end Brock Bowers had six receptions for 58 yards for Las Vegas (0-1).
Bears 24, Titans 17
Chicago scored 24 unanswered points, getting second-half touchdowns on special teams and defense, to beat visiting Tennessee in Bears quarterback Caleb Williams’ NFL debut.
Tyrique Stevenson gave the Bears (1-0) their first lead of the game on a 43-yard pick-6 with 7:35 to play. Chicago notched its first TD with 9:07 left in the third quarter. Daniel Hardy blocked a Ryan Stonehouse punt and Jonathan Owens recovered the ball and raced 21 yards for a touchdown.
Williams, the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft, went 14-of-29 passing for 93 yards. The Titans’ Will Levis was 19 of 32 for 127 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. Tony Pollard had 16 carries for 82 yards and a score for Tennessee (0-1), and Calvin Ridley contributed three catches for 50 yards.
Dolphins 20, Jaguars 17
Jason Sanders nailed a 52-yard field goal as time expired, giving Miami a victory over Jacksonville in Miami Gardens, Fla.
Miami (1-0) trailed 17-7 at the break. After the Jaguars’ Travis Etienne fumbled, Tua Tagovailoa connected with Tyreek Hill for an 80-yard score, pulling the Dolphins within 17-14 in the third quarter. Sanders later missed a 42-yard field goal but redeemed himself by making good on a 37-yarder with 4:22 left in the game.
Tagovailoa finished with 338 yards and one touchdown on 23-of-37 passing. Hill — who before the game was detained by police about a block from the stadium over a traffic violation and was cited for a moving violation — had seven catches for 130 yards. Trevor Lawrence completed 12 of 21 passes for 162 yards and a touchdown for the Jaguars (0-1), who were outgained 400-267.
Bills 34, Cardinals 28
Josh Allen passed for two touchdowns and rushed for two more as Buffalo rallied from a 14-point deficit to defeat Arizona in Orchard Park, N.Y.
Allen completed 18 of 23 passes for 232 yards and touchdowns to Mack Hollins and Khalil Shakir. Allen added 39 rushing yards on nine carries while Greg Rousseau had three sacks and a forced fumble. Allen had his left hand heavily taped after the game but said he expects X-rays will confirm that he won’t miss any time.
The Cardinals (0-1) led 17-3 late in the first half before the Bills (1-0) passed them by. Kyler Murray was 21-of-31 passing for 162 yards and one touchdown and had 57 yards on five rushes for Arizona. DeeJay Dallas returned a kickoff for a touchdown.
Steelers 18, Falcons 10
Chris Boswell made all six of his field-goal attempts, including three longer than 50 yards, to guide visiting Pittsburgh to a win over Atlanta.
In his team debut, Justin Fields completed 17 of 23 passes for 156 yards for Pittsburgh (1-0), adding 57 rushing yards on 14 attempts. Najee Harris ran for a team-high 70 yards while George Pickens caught six balls for 85 yards as the Steelers improved to 16-2-1 all-time vs. Atlanta.
Also making his first start with his new team, Kirk Cousins was 16-for-26 for 155 yards, throwing for one touchdown while getting picked off twice for the Falcons (0-1). Bijan Robinson ran for 68 yards. In a defensive battle, Pittsburgh totaled 270 yards to Atlanta’s 226.
Texans 29, Colts 27
High-profile acquisitions Stefon Diggs and Joe Mixon scored touchdowns as visiting Houston started the season with a Week 1 win over Indianapolis.
Mixon rushed 30 times for 159 yards and a score in his Texans debut while Diggs caught six passes for 33 yards and two touchdowns, including a 2-yard scoring pass from C.J. Stroud with 4:42 left that made it 29-20 Houston. Stroud completed 24 of 32 passes for 234 yards, while wide receiver Nico Collins had six catches for 117 yards.
Second-year quarterback Anthony Richardson hit on a trio of big plays to supply most of the Colts’ offense. He was 9 of 19 for 212 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Richardson also ran six times for 56 yards, including a 3-yard score with 2:14 remaining before the Texans closed out the game.
Saints 47, Panthers 10
Derek Carr threw three touchdown passes, the New Orleans defense forced three turnovers and the host Saints routed Carolina in the season opener for both teams.
Carr completed 19 of 23 passes for 200 yards while operating an offense implemented by new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak. Alvin Kamara finished with a touchdown and 83 yards on 15 carries and added five catches for 27 yards. Rashid Shaheed had three catches for a game-high 73 yards, including a 59-yard TD on the game’s opening drive.
Bryce Young, the No. 1 overall draft choice in 2023, completed 13 of 30 passes for 161 yards with two interceptions in former Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Dave Canales’ head coaching debut for the Panthers, who were an NFL-worst 2-15 last season.
Vikings 28, Giants 6
Sam Darnold completed 19 of 24 passes for 208 yards, two touchdowns and one interception and Minnesota pulled away to beat New York in East Rutherford, N.J.
Aaron Jones had 14 carries for 94 yards and a touchdown in his Minnesota debut after a seven-year tenure with the Green Bay Packers. Justin Jefferson added four catches for 59 yards and a score for the Vikings (1-0).
Daniel Jones completed 22 of 42 passes for 186 yards and two interceptions for New York (0-1). Giants first-round pick Malik Nabers caught five passes for 66 yards in his NFL debut. Jones finished with a 44.3 passer rating compared to Darnold’s 113.2.
Seahawks 26, Broncos 20
Kenneth Walker III rushed for 103 yards and a touchdown as Seattle defeated visiting Denver.
Geno Smith passed for one touchdown and rushed for another as the Seahawks (1-0) won in Mike Macdonald’s debut as head coach. Smith was 18-of-25 passing for 171 yards and an interception.
Broncos rookie Bo Nix, a first-round draft pick out of Oregon, completed 26 of 42 passes for 138 yards and two interceptions. Nix scored on a 4-yard run with 2:09 left in the game to pull the Broncos (0-1) within six, but the Seahawks were able to run out the clock.
Cowboys 33, Browns 17
Hours after agreeing to the richest contract in NFL history, Dak Prescott threw for 179 yards and one touchdown and visiting Dallas overwhelmed Cleveland’s punchless offense.
Prescott, who agreed to a four-year, $240 million extension, completed 19 of 32 passes but didn’t need to do much more. Dallas (1-0) limited Cleveland to one first down in taking a 20-3 halftime lead and held the hosts in check from then on. The Browns (0-1) managed just 230 yards on 70 plays for the game.
Deshaun Watson was largely ineffective until the Cowboys built a 24-point lead in the third quarter, finishing the day 24-of-45 passing for 169 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.
Buccaneers 37, Commanders 20
Baker Mayfield threw four touchdown passes and Tampa Bay never trailed in defeating Washington at Tampa, Fla., spoiling the Commanders debuts of coach Dan Quinn and rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels.
Mayfield completed 24 of 30 passes for 289 yards. Mike Evans had two touchdown grabs while Chris Godwin had a game-high 83 receiving yards with a touchdown. Jalen McMillan also caught a scoring pass for the Buccaneers (1-0).
Daniels, last year’s Heisman Trophy winner for LSU, was 17-for-24 passing for 184 yards and was sacked twice. He rushed for a game-high 88 yards, including a pair of 1-yard touchdown runs for Washington (0-1).
–Field Level Media
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