NFL Week 2: Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs get past early mistakes to beat Jaguars, avoid 0-2 start

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — 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 no-showed 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 one-year contract, dominated his one-on-one matchups. Jones finished with two sacks on five QB pressures.

Seahawks 37, Lions 31

DETROIT — Geno Smith threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Lockett on the opening drive of overtime, lifting Seattle past Detroit.

The Seahawks (1-1) allowed the Lions (1-1) to rally from a 10-point deficit late in the fourth quarter. Detroit extended the game with Riley Patterson’s 38-yard field goal on the final play of regulation.

Smith threw a go-ahead, 3-yard touchdown pass to Lockett early in the fourth. Tre Brown intercepted Jared Goff and returned it 40 yards for a score on the ensuring drive to give Seattle a 31-21 lead.

Goff showed his resilience after throwing his first interception in 383 attempts — 30 shy of the NFL record — by throwing a 4-yard touchdown pass to Josh Reynolds.

Detroit forced Seattle to punt on the ensuing possession, sacking Smith for the first and only time when Alex Anzalone tracked him down at the 3. That set up the tying field goal.

But the Seahawks won the overtime coin toss and Smith marched them 75 yards in nine plays for the game-ending score. Smith finished 32 of 41 for 328 yards and two touchdowns.

Goff went 28 of 35 for 323 yards, three touchdowns and the one costly pick.

Titans 27, Rams 24

NASHVILLE — Nick Folk kicked a 41-yard field goal in overtime in a sudden downpour and Tennessee beat Los Angeles to snap an eight-game skid.

The Titans (1-1) won for the first time since last Nov. 17 at Green Bay. They had to rally from an 11-3 deficit, at which point the Chargers had more points than Tennessee had yards (8).

Ryan Tannehill rebounded from the worst game of his career in the opener by throwing for 246 yards. He put Tennessee up 24-21 with a 4-yard touchdown pass to Nick Westbrook-Ikhine. He also ran for a touchdown and started the game-winning drive with a 49-yard toss to Chris Moore.

Derrick Henry rushed for 80 yards and a touchdown.

The Chargers fell to 0-2 for the first time since 2017. Justin Herbert threw for 305 yards and two touchdowns to Keenan Allen. With the ball and 2:22 left in regulation, he was sacked by Harold Landry, forcing the Chargers to settle for Cameron Dicker’s third field goal of the game to force overtime.

Los Angeles won the OT coin toss, but Herbert threw three straight incompletions.

Falcons 25, Packers 24

ATLANTA — Younghoe Koo booted a 25-yard field goal with 57 seconds remaining and rookie Bijan Robinson turned in another dynamic performance, rallying Atlanta past Jordan Love and Green Bay.

Robinson rushed for 124 yards on 19 carries and hauled in four catches for another 48 yards, showing why the Falcons (2-0) selected him No. 8 in the draft even though running backs aren’t supposed to go that high anymore.

The Packers (1-1) squandered a 24-12 lead and three more touchdown passes from Love, who now has a half-dozen scoring throws in his first two games as Aaron Rodgers’ replacement.

Atlanta’s young quarterback, Desmond Ridder, bootlegged for a 6-yard touchdown on fourth-and-4 with just under 12 minutes remaining.

Then it was Ridder and Robinson teaming up for two more drives that set up field goals by Koo, including a 39-yarder with 8:13 remaining.

The Packers’ offense dried up in the final quarter, allowing the Falcons to move to 2-0 for only the 11th time in franchise history.

Bills 38, Raiders 10

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Josh Allen rebounded from a four-turnover, season-opening dud by throwing three touchdown passes and Buffalo routed Las Vegas.

Allen completed his first 13 attempts for 94 yards, and finished 31 of 37 for 274 yards and no turnovers. His 13 consecutive completions to start the game set an individual record and matched his best run at any point of an outing. He improved to 13-4 in games following a loss, and 23-4 when he doesn’t turn the ball over.

Dawson Knox scored on a 2-yard catch to put Buffalo up 14-7 three minutes into the second quarter, and Khalil Shakir padded the lead with an 11-yard touchdown reception in the final seconds of the first half.

James Cook rushed for 123 yards on 17 carries for the Bills.

The Raiders (1-1) blew an opportunity to open a season with back-to-back road wins for the first time since 1982. Jimmy Garoppolo finished 16 of 24 for 185 yards, with a 16-yard touchdown pass to Davante Adams. He was intercepted twice, by linebackers Matt Milano and Terrel Bernard.

Josh Jacobs, last year’s NFL rushing leader, finished with minus-2 yards on nine carries for Las Vegas.

Buccaneers 27, Bears 17

TAMPA, Fla. — Baker Mayfield passed for 317 yards and a touchdown, adding to his strong debut with Tampa Bay, which beat Chicago.

With Mayfield playing turnover-free 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. He set up Rachaad White’s 1-yard TD run with a 70-yard completion to Evans in the first quarter. He also finished an 89-yard drive with a 32-yard scoring pass to Evansearly in the second half.

Tampa Bay’s defense did its job, too, after yielding a 75-yard TD drive on Chicago’s first possession. The Buccaneers sacked Justin Fields six times and picked him off twice.

The Bears (0-2) closed within 20-17 on Chase Claypool’s 20-yard TD catch, but saw any hope for a comeback fade when Fields tossed an interception that Bucs linebacker Shaquil Barrett returned 4 yards for a clinching TD.

Fields completed 16 of 29 passes for 211 yards. DJ Moore had six receptions for 104 yards, but the Bears were limited to just 67 yards rushing.

Colts 31, Texans 20

HOUSTON — Anthony Richardson rushed for two touchdowns before leaving with a concussion and backup Gardner Minshew threw for 171 yards and a TD as Indianapolis held off Houston.

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 eight-game skid dating to last season. It was their first win since Nov. 13 at Las Vegas.

Richardson gave the Colts (1-1) an early lead when he dashed 18 yards untouched on their first drive. Minshew took over for Richardson in the second quarter and orchestrated a 76-yard drive capped by an 11-yard scoring run by Zack Moss that made it 21-7.

Houston’s C.J. Stroud, the second overall pick in the draft, threw for 384 yards and two touchdowns . But he was sacked six times and hit nine other times playing behind a line filled with backups.

Collins finished with seven receptions for a career-high 146 yards for the Texans (0-2).

Cowboys 30, Jets 10

ARLINGTON, Texas — 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 Dallas Cowboys beat the New York Jets 30-10 on Sunday.

CeeDee Lamb had 143 yards receiving and Brandon Aubrey kicked five field goals in the 28-year-old rookie’s second game as the Cowboys (2-0) finished a season-opening sweep of the New York. Dallas routed the Giants 40-0 in the opener.

Wilson threw a 68-yard touchdown pass to Garrett Wilson to get the Jets (1-1) within three points in the second quarter and ran for 36 yards on a drive to a field goal for an eight-point halftime deficit.

But New York had just 147 yards outside the long TD, and four second-half turnovers left little doubt for Dallas.

Wilson, who was sacked three times a week after Dallas dropped the Giants’ Daniel Jones seven times, was picked off by Jayron Kearse, Malik Hooker and Trevon Diggs.

Dalvin Cook lost a fumble when Micah Parsons, who had two sacks, ripped the ball out of his arms just before Cook was tackled. Parsons got up and ran to the end zone, but was ruled down on review.

Prescott’s TD tosses were to tight ends, including rookie Luke Schoonmaker’s first career score on a 1-yarder after Brandin Echols was called for pass interference in the end zone. Jake Ferguson had the first score from 4 yards.

With new sidekick Brandin Cooks sidelined by a knee injury a week after his Dallas debut, Lamb didn’t look like he needed much help while tying a career high with 11 catches.

Lamb helped set up both Dallas touchdowns. The first was a 25-yard catch followed by a 20-yarder after Garrett Wilson’s TD when he hung on despite landing on a shoulder after getting upended by Tony Adams.

Giants 31, Cardinals 28

GLENDALE, Ariz. — 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 third-quarter deficit to stun the Arizona Cardinals 31-28 on Sunday.

It was the biggest comeback win for the Giants since a 21-point rally in 1949 — also against the Cardinals. Arizona blew its biggest lead since 2011.

The Giants (1-1) lost 40-0 in Week 1 against the Cowboys and didn’t look much better against the Cardinals during the first half, falling into a 20-0 hole at halftime. They trailed 28-7 in the third quarter but cut the margin to 28-14 on Saquon Barkley’s 1-yard touchdown run.

New York kept the pressure on in the fourth, pulling within 28-21 with 8:51 left on a 9-yard touchdown pass from Jones to Barkley. They tied the game on Jones’ perfectly placed 11-yard touchdown pass to a diving Isaiah Hodgins.

The Giants forced a three-and-out, then drove 56 yards in eight plays to set up Gano’s go-ahead kick.

Jones was 26 of 37 passing. He also ran for 59 yards and a 14-yard touchdown. Barkley ran for 63 yards and a touchdown, but hobbled off the field late in the fourth quarter with an apparent right ankle injury.

James Conner ran for 106 yards and a touchdown for the Cardinals.

Arizona (0-2) has lost six straight games at home dating to last October. The Giants denied quarterback Joshua Dobbs his first win as an NFL starter and coach Jonathan Gannon his first NFL victory.

Dobbs — making his second start with the Cardinals after being acquired in a trade with the Browns last month — pushed the Cardinals ahead 14-0 early in the second quarter on a 23-yard touchdown run, bowling through Giants safety Xavier McKinney on the way to the end zone.

Dobbs fell to 0-4 as a starter; he lost twice with Tennessee last season. He was 21 of 31 passing for 228 yards and a touchdown.

Arizona went ahead 7-0 midway through the first quarter after an impressive nine-play, 86-yard drive that ended with Conner’s 4-yard touchdown run.

Things got worse for the Giants late in the second quarter when Jones’ pass to Barkley bounced off the running back and into the arms of Arizona safety Jalen Thompson, who ran it back 35 yards to the New York 34. The Cardinals capitalized with Matt Prater’s 44-yard field goal.

49ers 30, Rams 23

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Brock Purdy passed for 206 yards and ran for an early touchdown, Deebo Samuel rushed for an 11-yard TD with 11:28 left and the San Francisco 49ers hung on for their ninth consecutive regular-season victory over the Los Angeles Rams, 30-23 Sunday.

Christian McCaffrey rushed for 116 yards and a score for the 49ers (2-0), whose only loss to the Rams since December 2018 was in the NFC championship game in January 2022.

Isaiah Oliver and Deommodore Lenoir intercepted passes by Matthew Stafford in the second half, finally allowing the 49ers to pull in front of their longtime rivals.

The 49ers’ defense overcame a record-setting performance by rookie Puka Nacua, who caught 15 passes for 147 yards for Los Angeles (1-1). The fifth-round pick broke the NFL’s single-game record for receptions by a rookie, and he set a new overall league mark with 25 catches in the first two games of his career.

Purdy went 17 for 25 with a handful of glaring mistakes in his first career game against the rebuilding Rams (1-1), who followed up their surprise season-opening win at Seattle by remaining competitive with their powerhouse opponent throughout the afternoon at SoFi Stadium. Purdy came through on fourth down at the Rams 1 on the final play before halftime, sneaking over the goal line to even the score 17-17.

Stafford passed for 307 yards and threw a TD pass to Kyren Williams for Los Angeles. Williams also rushed for a touchdown and had 100 combined offensive yards in his first NFL start, but he caused a key interception when a pass ricocheted off his hands in the third quarter, leading to Jake Moody’s go-ahead, 57-yard field goal.

Along with Nacua’s second spectacular game, Tutu Atwell added seven catches for 77 yards for Los Angeles as both receivers stepped up again in Cooper Kupp’s absence.

The 49ers are unbeaten after back-to-back road games to open the season, but they were tested in Inglewood. Los Angeles’ undertalented defense made several timely stops and forced San Francisco to settle for three field goals, including after both of the 49ers’ takeaways.

McCaffrey made a 14-yard touchdown run to cap San Francisco’s opening drive. McCaffrey then made a 50-yard run on the final play of the first quarter, but the Rams kept it even with a responding drive ending in Williams’ first TD.

Los Angeles went ahead 1:45 before halftime with an 88-yard drive ending in Williams’ TD run, but the Niners went 75 yards for Purdy’s fourth-down sneak for a 1-yard TD at the halftime gun.

Purdy missed receivers on long throws at least three times, keeping the game close and frustrating the 49ers fans in attendance. But Williams gifted an interception to Oliver in the third quarter when Stafford’s pass hit the running back in the hands and popped high in the air.

After kicking a field goal, the Niners went 74 yards for a score on their next drive, ending in Samuel’s sprint through two missed tackles.

The Rams got the ball back with 5:29 left, but Stafford’s third-down throw into traffic was picked off by Lenoir.

Commanders 35, Broncos 33

DENVER — Sam Howell threw for two touchdowns and the Washington Commanders rallied from an 18-point deficit to beat the Denver Broncos 35-33 on Sunday, holding on after Russell Wilson connected with Brandon Johnson on a 50-yard Hail Mary but failed to complete the tying 2-point try.

Washington cornerback Benjamin St-Juste broke up Wilson’s pass to Courtland Sutton on the 2-point conversion attempt. St-Juste appeared to get away with pass interference, but no flag was thrown and the Commanders celebrated the franchise’s first 2-0 start since 2011 while Sutton and his teammates argued vehemently for a foul.

Howell threw for 299 yards on on 27-of-39 passing in his first road start and led Washington to the second-biggest comeback in franchise history. Washington overcame a 21-point deficit to beat Detroit on Nov. 4, 1990.

The Commanders trailed 21-3 in the second quarter. Brian Robinson Jr. ran for two scores during a 32-6 scoring outburst before the Broncos made it interesting at the very end.

With 2 seconds left and the Broncos trailing 35-27, Wilson heaved a pass toward the end zone that was deflected by a scrum of players before Johnson snared it for the score.

The Broncos (0-2) have lost back-to-back home games for the first time, not the kind of history coach Sean Payton was hoping to make in his return to the sideline after a year in the broadcast studio following a highly successful 15-year stint in New Orleans, especially after he criticized predecessor Nathaniel Hackett for doing one of the worst coaching jobs in NFL history last year.

The Broncos jumped out to their big lead by scoring touchdowns on their first three possessions for the first time since Nov. 14, 2010, against Kansas City, a game they went on to win 49-29.

Payton got the ball into his young speedsters’ hands early on, and it paid off with undrafted rookie Jaleel McLaughlin scoring on a 5-yard pitch, rookie receiver Marvin Mims Jr. hauling in a 60-yard touchdown pass and second-year wideout Johnson hauling in a 16-yard score.

None of the three touched the ball again until Mims got a handoff midway through the third quarter with the score tied at 21.

Mims had two caches for 113 yards on two targets but wasn’t targeted again and spent much of the rest of the game on the sideline.

Robinson’s 2-yard TD run with 13:25 left gave Washington its first lead at 28-24 and his second score, from 15 yards out, made it 35-24 with 7:11 remaining.

The game turned when Howell threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Logan Thomas on fourth-and-goal and safety Kareem Jackson was ejected for launching himself at the tight end, who suffered a concussion on the play and didn’t return. Jackson also drew a 15-yard flag in the opener for a hit he put on Raiders receiver Jakobi Meyers.

With the flag moving the conversion try to the 1, Washington went for 2 and pulled within 21-11 when Robinson got the ball past the plane. Joey Slye’s 46-yard field goal as the first half expired made it 21-14.

The Commanders tied it on Terry McLaurin’s 30-yard TD grab on their first drive after halftime.