Todd Bowles won his Tampa Bay head coaching debut and Tom Brady remained unbeaten against Dallas as the visiting Buccaneers beat the Cowboys 19-3 in Sunday night’s season opener in Arlington, Texas.
The loss may prove especially costly for Dallas, as it will be without quarterback Dak Prescott for multiple weeks due to a hand injury. Prescott exited the game in the fourth quarter, and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones told reporters after the game that the 29-year-old quarterback needs hand surgery to repair a joint above the thumb on his right (throwing) hand.
Brady improved to 7-0 against the Cowboys and at age 45, became the oldest starting quarterback in NFL history. He completed 18 of 27 passes for 212 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
Leonard Fournette rushed for 127 yards, Mike Evans caught five passes for 71 yards and a TD and Ryan Succop made four field goals. Prescott completed just 14 of 29 passes for 134 yards and a pick before leaving, replaced by Cooper Rush.
Browns 26, Panthers 24
Cade York kicked a 58-yard field goal with eight seconds left to rescue visiting Cleveland, which notched a victory over Baker Mayfield and Carolina in Charlotte, N.C.
The Browns went up 20-7 midway through the third quarter. Mayfield helped the Panthers rally for 17 fourth-quarter points and go ahead on Eddy Pineiro’s 34-yard field goal with 1:13 left in his first game with the team.
Kareem Hunt scored two touchdowns, Nick Chubb gained 141 yards on 22 carries and quarterback Jacoby Brissett was 18 for 34 for 147 yards and a touchdown for the Browns. Mayfield, who had been Cleveland’s starting quarterback until a chaotic offseason that resulted in his trade to Carolina, was 16 for 27 for 235 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He also ran in a touchdown.
Steelers 23, Bengals 20 (OT)
Chris Boswell’s 53-yard field goal as time expired in overtime pushed visiting Pittsburgh past Cincinnati in the season opener between AFC North rivals.
Joe Burrow nearly brought the Bengals back despite five turnovers and a career-worst four picks. He passed for 338 yards and two touchdowns for the defending AFC champions.
Burrow tossed a 4-yard scoring pass to Ja’Marr Chase to tie the score in the final seconds. Evan McPherson’s extra point was blocked by Pittsburgh’s Minkah Fitzpatrick to send the game into overtime.
It could’ve been a costly win for the Steelers, who finished the game without pass rusher T.J. Watt (pectoral) and running back Najee Harris (foot). Harris caught a touchdown pass but had just 23 yards on 10 rushes and left late in regulation.
Texans 20, Colts 20 (OT)
Rodrigo Blakenship pushed a 42-yard field goal attempt wide right with 1:57 remaining in overtime and Indianapolis failed to complete a second-half rally, settling for a season-opening tie with host Houston.
In his first game with the Colts, quarterback Matt Ryan passed for 352 yards while becoming the eighth quarterback to surpass 60,000 career passing yards. Jonathan Taylor rushed for 161 yards on 31 carries to help the Colts erase a 17-point, third-quarter deficit.
Davis Mills passed for 240 yards and two touchdowns for the Texans, whose offense stalled in the fourth quarter and overtime. Houston totaled 299 yards compared to the Colts’ 517 yards.
Saints 27, Falcons 26
Jameis Winston threw two fourth-quarter touchdown passes and Wil Lutz kicked a winning 51-yard field goal with 19 seconds left as visiting New Orleans overcame a 16-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat Atlanta.
The Saints blocked a 63-yard field goal attempt by Younghoe Koo as time expired, giving Dennis Allen a victory in his first game as Sean Payton’s successor as Saints head coach. Winston completed 23 of 34 for 269 yards, and Michael Thomas grabbed both touchdown receptions.
Marcus Mariota, making his debut as the Falcons’ quarterback, passed for 215 yards and rushed for 72 and a touchdown. Cordarrelle Patterson added 120 rushing yards and a touchdown.
Eagles 38, Lions 35
Jalen Hurts passed for 243 yards and rushed for 90 yards and a touchdown as Philadelphia held off host Detroit in the teams’ season opener.
Miles Sanders gained 96 yards on 13 carries with a touchdown for the Eagles. A.J. Brown caught 10 passes for 155 yards in his Philadelphia debut. The Eagles rushed for 216 yards and scored four touchdowns on the ground.
De’Andre Swift carried 15 times for 144 yards and a touchdown for the Lions. Jared Goff passed for 215 yards and two touchdowns but was also picked off for an Eagles score.
Ravens 24, Jets 9
Lamar Jackson threw three TD passes and Baltimore bullied former quarterback Joe Flacco in a dominant win over New York in East Rutherford, N.J.
The Ravens won for the first time in seven games in Jackson’s return from a 2021 season-ending injury, and he looked to be in prime health with a 55-yard scoring toss to Rashod Bateman and two TDs to Devin Duvernay, the second of which gave Baltimore a 17-3 lead midway through the third quarter.
Playing in place of injured Jets starter Zach Wilson, Flacco went 37-for-59 passing for 307 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He was Baltimore’s starting quarterback from 2008-18.
Commanders 28, Jaguars 22
Carson Wentz had his first four-touchdown game since 2017 to beat his former coach and guide Washington to a win over Jacksonville in the franchise’s first game as the Commanders in Landover, Md.
Doug Pederson and the Jaguars threatened to pull even in the fourth quarter before Trevor Lawrence was intercepted with 1:10 left by Commanders safety Darrick Forest.
Wentz completed 27 of 41 passes for 313 yards and four touchdowns, including two scores in the final 10 minutes, to ruin Pederson’s debut with Jacksonville. Wentz used to play for Pederson with the Philadelphia Eagles.
In a seesaw game, Washington came from eight points down in the fourth quarter after surrendering 19 straight points and blowing an 11-point halftime lead.
Bears 19, 49ers 10
Justin Fields passed for two touchdowns, including the go-ahead score with 12:45 remaining, and the defense forced a pair of turnovers to boost host Chicago to a victory against San Francisco.
The Bears fell behind 10-0 but Fields overcame early struggles to upstage 49ers counterpart Trey Lance, finishing 8-for-17 passing for 121 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in a soggy season opener.
Chicago took its first lead early in the fourth quarter, as Fields connected with Equanimeous St. Brown for an 18-yard TD. The Bears created a valuable cushion after Eddie Jackson intercepted Lance on the following possession, as Khalil Herbert capped a five-play, 21-yard scoring drive with a 3-yard TD run with 7:21 to go.
San Francisco turned the ball over on downs on its last two possessions and committed 12 penalties in the game.
Dolphins 20, Patriots 7
Tua Tagovailoa threw for 270 yards and the defense had a strong showing as host Miami defeated New England in Miami Gardens, Fla.
Mike McDaniel picked up his first win in his head-coaching debut, and the Dolphins won for the eighth time in their last 10 home games against New England.
Tagovailoa completed 23 of 33 passes with one touchdown, and Tyreek Hill finished with eight receptions for 94 yards in his Dolphins debut. Patriots quarterback Mac Jones threw for 213 yards on 21-for-30 passing with one touchdown and one interception.
Giants 21, Titans 20
New York rallied from a 13-point hole and took a risk by going for a two-point conversion for the winning points in an escape over host Tennessee to open the season in Nashville.
Titans kicker Randy Bullock missed wide left on a 47-yard field goal on the last play.
This came after New York’s Daniel Jones flipped a conversion pass to running back Saquon Barkley. The Giants did all their scoring in the second half in the head-coaching debut for Brian Daboll.
Vikings 20, Packers 7
Kirk Cousins went 23-of-32 passing for 277 yards and two touchdowns to lead Minnesota to a home win over Green Bay in Minneapolis.
Justin Jefferson caught nine passes for 184 yards and two touchdowns for Minnesota. The Vikings dominated the first half, taking a 17-0 lead into halftime and outgaining Green Bay 262-100 through the first 30 minutes of action.
Aaron Rodgers went 22-of-34 passing for 195 yards and an interception in defeat for Green Bay. Green Bay finally put up points when it cut Minnesota’s lead to 20-7 with 5:16 left in the third on a 2-yard touchdown run by AJ Dillon, which finished off a 7-play, 75-yard drive.
Chiefs 44, Cardinals 21
Patrick Mahomes threw for five touchdowns and Kansas City racked up 488 yards of total offense to cruise past Arizona in Glendale, Ariz.
The Chiefs, who have appeared in the AFC Championship Game in each of the past four seasons, won their eighth consecutive season opener.
Mahomes, who has played in the last five of those openers, moved the team with ease all afternoon, completing 30 of 39 passes for 360 yards. He was replaced by Chad Henne with just over five minutes remaining in the game.
Chargers 24, Raiders 19
Justin Herbert threw for 279 yards and three touchdowns, and Los Angeles never trailed in its victory over visiting Las Vegas.
Herbert was 26-for-34 passing with touchdown passes of 1, 23 and 18 yards, while Austin Ekeler was held to 36 rushing yards on 14 carries. Nine Chargers caught passes, led by Keenan Allen (four receptions, 66 yards) and DeAndre Carter (three catches, 64 yards, one TD), as Los Angeles outgained the Raiders 355-320.
Raiders quarterback Derek Carr went 22-for-37 passing for 295 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions. Davante Adams, who the Raiders acquired from the Green Bay Packers in the offseason, had 10 receptions for 141 yards and a touchdown in his team debut, while Darren Waller added four receptions for 79 yards.
–Field Level Media
