Go beyond the scoreboard
Get the latest on L.A.'s teams in the daily Sports Report newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
1
PITTSBURGH — Derek Carr threw for 382 yards and two touchdowns, including a 61-yard strike to Henry Ruggs midway through the fourth quarter, and the Las Vegas Raiders beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 26-17 on Sunday.
Carr completed 28 of 37 passes against a Pittsburgh defense that finished the game without a handful of starters, including All-Pro outside linebacker T.J. Watt, who exited in the second quarter because of a groin injury.
The Steelers (1-1) lost defensive tackle Tyson Alualu in the first quarter and played the entire game without veteran cornerback Joe Haden and inside linebacker Devin Bush, both of whom were inactive because of groin injuries of their own.
The Matthew Stafford-Cooper Kupp connection again delivered and the Rams’ defense twice stopped the Indianapolis Colts inside the 5 without surrendering a score to go 2-0. Here is a recap of the game.
Ben Roethlisberger passed for 295 yards for Pittsburgh, including a 25-yard catch-and-run early in the fourth quarter that rookie running back Najee Harris turned into the first touchdown of his career.
The Raiders (2-0) responded immediately. Carr uncorked a rainbow down the middle of the field, giving Ruggs plenty of time to run away from Pittsburgh’s Minkah Fitzpatrick and Ahkello Witherspoon and into the end zone.
2
Baltimore Ravens 36, Kansas City Chiefs 45
(Terrance Williams / Associated Press)
BALTIMORE — Lamar Jackson finally beat Patrick Mahomes, using his legs to rush for 107 yards and scoring twice, including flipping into the end zone for the winning score.
Jackson was 0-3 against the Chiefs, and he needed all of his multiple skills to break through to hand Mahomes his first loss in September after 11 victories. The matchup of NFL MVPs — Mahomes in 2018, Jackson the next year — was a wild affair from the start.
And the Ravens needed a fumble by Clyde Edwards-Helaire as Kansas City was marching into field goal range to clinch it.
With Jackson leading the Ravens’ 251 yards rushing and throwing for 239 and a score, Baltimore ensured that all four AFC North teams would have 1-1 records. Kansas City, which allowed 481 yards and gained 405, also is 1-1 in the rugged AFC West.
The dynamic Jackson twice got into the end zone to his right with dives — well, the last TD was more of a vault. Twice the Ravens misfired on 2-point conversions, but Jackson’s 2-yard run on fourth down after Edwards-Helaire fumbled secured the victory.
Jackson finished 18 for 26 with two interceptions. Mahomes was 24 for 31 for 343 yards and three TDs, with an interception.
3
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 48, Atlanta Falcons 25
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady, right, celebrates with wide receiver Mike Evans after the duo connected on a three-yard touchdown pass Sunday.
(Mark LoMoglio / Associated Press)
TAMPA, Fla. — Tom Brady threw for 276 yards and five touchdowns, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Atlanta Falcons 48-25 on Sunday to extend their win streak to a franchise-record 10 consecutive games.
Brady improved to 9-0 lifetime against the Falcons (0-2), who have dropped seven in a row going back to last season, with three of those losses coming against the Bucs (2-0). Rob Gronkowski caught a pair of TD passes for the third straight game, including the Super Bowl.
Mike Evans also scored on receptions of 3 and 1 yards, the latter set up by Shaquil Barrett’s third-quarter interception of Matt Ryan, who fell to 0-6 against teams led by Brady.
Ryan tossed TD passes to Calvin Ridley and Cordarrelle Patterson before running for a 2-point conversion to trim an 18-point deficit to 28-25 late in the third. But he also threw a pair of interceptions that Mike Edwards returned for fourth-quarter TDs that broke the game open.
4
Tennessee Titans 33, Seattle Seahawks 30 (OT)
(Ben VanHouten / Associated Press)
SEATTLE — Derrick Henry ran for 182 yards and two fourth-quarter touchdowns for Tennessee, and Randy Bullock hit a 36-yard field goal midway through overtime.
Down 30-16 early in the fourth quarter, the Titans leaned on their All-Pro running back, who carried them to a road win on the day Seattle welcomed fans back for a regular-season game for the first time since the end of the 2019 season.
They left in silence, thanks to Henry, a terrific fourth-quarter drive from Ryan Tannehill and Seattle’s own missed opportunities.
The Chargers, losers of 16 games by one score or less the previous two seasons, lost to the Dallas Cowboys 20-17 on Sunday on a last-second field goal.
Henry also had a career-high six receptions for 55 yards. Tannehill was 27 for 40 for 347 yards for Tennessee (1-1), and Julio Jones had six receptions for 128 yards.
Seattle’s Russell Wilson was 22 of 31 for 343 yards and two touchdowns. The Seahawks (1-1) led 24-9 at halftime.
5
Arizona Cardinals 34, Minnesota Vikings 33
(Ross D. Franklin / Associated Press)
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Kyler Murray threw for 400 yards and three touchdowns, and Arizona topped Minnesota when Greg Joseph missed a 37-yard field goal wide right in the final seconds.
It was a fitting ending to a seesaw game that saw the lead change hands eight times.
Murray also ran for a touchdown and threw two costly interceptions, including one that was returned for a touchdown.
The Cardinals (2-0) looked as if they were about to lose before Joseph’s last-second miss. He made two 52-yard field goals earlier in the game.
Kirk Cousins threw for 244 yards and three touchdowns for Minnesota (0-2). Dalvin Cook ran for 131 yards.
6
Buffalo Bills 35, Miami Dolphins 0
(Hans Deryk / Associated Press)
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Josh Allen threw two touchdown passes, Zach Moss ran for two scores and the Bills knocked out Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa early because of a rib injury.
Devin Singletary rushed for 82 yards and another touchdown for the Bills (1-1), who have won six consecutive games in the series.
It was the second-worst shutout loss by the Dolphins (1-1) at home, topped only by a 43-0 defeat to New England in 2019.
Tagovailoa lasted only two series, knocked out of the game on a failed fourth-down play near midfield in which Buffalo’s A.J. Epenesa blew past Dolphins right tackle Jesse Davis and was at full speed when he launched into Miami’s quarterback. Tagovailoa needed a couple of tries just to get to the sideline and was carted to the locker room not long afterward.
Jacoby Brissett took over, completing 24 of 40 passes for 169 yards. Allen completed 17 of 33 passes for 179 yards for Buffalo.
7
Cleveland Browns 31, Houston Texans 21
(David Richard / Associated Press)
CLEVELAND — Baker Mayfield came back after hurting his left shoulder to throw a touchdown pass and run for a TD, leading Cleveland to the victory.
Nick Chubb had a 26-yard touchdown run for the Browns (1-1), who bounced back from a Week 1 loss at Kansas City to thrill their first capacity home crowd since 2019.
Mayfield went 10 for 10 after a first-half interception — and injuring his non-throwing shoulder while making the tackle on the play — and finished 19 of 21 for 213 yards. Chubb had 95 yards on 11 carries.
The Texans (1-1) were tied at halftime and moving the ball with ease before losing quarterback Tyrod Taylor to a hamstring injury.
Taylor’s injury forced rookie Davis Mills into his first NFL action, and he threw an interception on his second series.
8
Denver Broncos 23, Jacksonville Jaguars 13
Denver Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton catches a pass in front of Jacksonville Jaguars safety Rayshawn Jenkins on Sunday.
(Phelan M. Ebenhack / Associated Press)
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Courtland Sutton had nine catches for 159 yards, and the Broncos handed the Jaguars their 17th consecutive loss.
In Denver’s first game without Jerry Jeudy (ankle), Sutton showed he can be Teddy Bridgewater’s go-to guy. Sutton’s big day included a shoestring grab in the third quarter that surely rates among his best plays in four seasons.
Sutton had nearly half of Bridgewater’s 328 yards passing. Bridgewater completed 26 of 34 passes, with TD tosses to Tim Patrick and Noah Fant.
The Broncos are 2-0 for the seventh time in the last nine years and the first since 2019.
No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence capped an 83-yard drive to open the game with a 25-yard TD pass to Marvin Jones. But Jacksonville (0-2) did little right the rest of the afternoon.
9
New England Patriots 25, New York Jets 6
(Adam Hunger / Associated Press)
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Mac Jones was smart and efficient, Damien Harris and James White had touchdown runs, and the Patriots took advantage of a nightmarish outing by Zach Wilson.
With the spotlight on the Mac vs. Zach matchup of rookie first-round quarterbacks, it was Jones who shined as Wilson was intercepted four times — twice by J.C. Jackson.
Jones, the No. 15 overall pick in the draft, went 22 of 30 for 186 yards for the Patriots (1-1) a week after going 29 for 39 for 281 yards and a touchdown in a loss to Miami. Sunday’s numbers were more than good enough for New England to beat New York for the 11th straight game.
Wilson was 19 of 33 for 210 yards for the Jets (0-2), who have lost 11 straight in September. It got so bad early in the fourth quarter when the No. 2 overall draft pick overthrew a receiver, the crowd at MetLife Stadium began booing the young QB.
10
San Francisco 49ers 17, Philadelphia Eagles 11
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is stopped by Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Genard Avery on Sunday.
(Matt Slocum / Associated Press)
PHILADELPHIA — Jimmy Garoppolo threw one touchdown pass and ran in for a score, leading San Francisco to the road win.
Nick Bosa had two sacks and San Francisco’s stingy defense shut down Jalen Hurts a week after Philadelphia dominated Atlanta in a 32-6 win.
Hurts completed just 12 of 23 passes for 190 yards. He ran for 82 yards, including a 1-yard TD in the fourth quarter.
The 49ers (2-0) return home after practicing all week at the Greenbrier resort in West Virginia with a pair of road wins on the East Coast to open the season.
The Eagles (1-1) got a reality check in coach Nick Sirianni’s first home game.
The 49ers went ahead 14-3 in the fourth on Garoppolo’s sneak from the 1. Robbie Gould’s 46-yard field goal made it 17-3.
11
Carolina Panthers 26, New Orleans Saints 7
(Jacob Kupferman / Associated Press)
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Sam Darnold threw for 305 yards and two touchdowns, and Carolina’s defense turned in another strong performance.
Darnold improved to 2-0 as Panthers starter, connecting on TDs to Brandon Zylstra and D.J. Moore as Carolina jumped to a 17-0 lead by outgaining the Saints 274-65 in the first half.
Christian McCaffrey added 137 yards from scrimmage and scored his first touchdown of the season as the Panthers (1-1) defeated the Saints (1-1) for only the second time in the last 10 tries.
Jameis Winston, who threw five TD passes in a 38-3 win over Green Bay in the season opener, was held to 111 yards passing, intercepted twice and sacked four times. Alvin Kamara was limited to 5 yards in eight carries as the Saints struggled with five of the team’s offensive coaches out due to COVID-19 protocols. In all, the Saints were missing eight assistant coaches due to COVID-19.
12
Chicago Bears 20, Cincinnati Bengals 17
Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields is tackled by Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Chidobe Awuzie during the second half Sunday.
(Nam Y. Huh / Associated Press)
CHICAGO — Justin Fields played the second half after Andy Dalton exited because of a knee injury against his former team, and the rookie quarterback used Chicago’s stellar defensive performance to direct the Bears to their first win of the season.
Roquan Smith returned an interception 53 yards for his first career touchdown, one of three straight picks thrown by Joe Burrow.
The Bears were up 20-3 before Burrow threw a 43-yard touchdown to Ja’Marr Chase. Fields then was intercepted at the Chicago 25 by Logan Wilson, who returned it to the 7. Burrow hit Tee Higgins with a TD on the next play, cutting it to 20-17 with 3:39 remaining. But the Bears (1-1) hung on for their third straight win over Cincinnati (1-1).
Fields, the No. 11 overall draft pick, completed just 6 of 13 passes for 60 yards. He also ran for 31 yards.
Dalton, facing his former team for the second time in as many seasons, threw a touchdown pass to Allen Robinson.
