- Mahomes wins on birthday, Dallas & 49ers dominant.
Patrick Mahomes had to work hard for a victory on his birthday as the Kansas City Chiefs scrapped to a tight 17-9 win at the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Dallas Cowboys’ defence dominated again as they beat the New York Jets 30-10 while the San Francisco 49ers also moved to 2-0 by beating the Los Angeles Rams 30-23.
The Seattle Seahawks and the Tennessee Titans won overtime thrillers while Joe Burrow limped off as the Cincinnati Bengals lost to the Baltimore Ravens to drop to 0-2 for a second year in a row.
In an action-packed second Sunday of the NFL season, the New York Giants pulled off a record comeback and the Atlanta Falcons also came from behind to beat the Green Bay Packers.
The Miami Dolphins made it two away wins to start the season as they won 24-17 at the New England Patriots – who slipped to 0-2 for the first time since 2001.
A happy birthday for Mahomes
Patrick Mahomes celebrated his 28th birthday with a hard-fought win against the Jaguars as the Chiefs responded to losing their season opener despite continuing to struggle with mistakes, turnovers and penalties.
The returning Travis Kelce caught a touchdown pass and Chris Jones sacked Trevor Lawrence and caused mayhem as the Chiefs avoided becoming just the fifth Super Bowl champions to start 0-2 in the following season.
“You play bad and win, it’s a lot better than playing bad and losing,” said Mahomes to sum up the game. “So I was glad we were able to find a way to get a win at the end of the day, but there is a lot of stuff we have to be better at.”
Josh Allen had a point to prove after four turnovers cost the Buffalo Bills last week but he started with a career-best 13 straight completed passes and never looked back as they beat the Las Vegas Raiders 38-10.
“I love feeling how I felt last week. I really do, because it makes the good feel that much better,” said Allen. “I take the bad with the good, I understand it, and I’m just trying to let it fuel me and use it to my benefit.”
Cowboys dominant and 49ers sparkle in NFC
No team in the league is regularly put under more scrutiny than the Dallas Cowboys, but ‘America’s Team’, as they are known, look to have a defence that could be capable of carrying them to a first Super Bowl for 27 years.
Behind a dominant Micah Parsons, Dallas followed up last week’s 40-0 annihilation of the Giants with a 30-10 success over the New York Jets.
Zach Wilson managed to throw the only touchdown Dallas have allowed this season, but Aaron Rodgers’ stand-in was sacked three times and intercepted three times as the Cowboys became just the third team in NFL history to score more than 70 and allow 10 points or fewer in their first two games.
Fellow NFC big guns San Francisco also moved to 2-0 in style as the 49ers beat the Los Angeles Rams 30-23, with their defence also showing up big with two late turnovers earning a ninth straight regular-season victory against their divisional rivals.
Christian McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel both produced superb touchdown runs, with QB Brock Purdy also scoring as he remained unbeaten in seven regular-season starts and the 49ers made it two road wins to start the season.
Burrow hurt as Bengals start 0-2 – again
The Cincinnati Bengals recovered from an 0-2 start to finish 12-4 last season and got to within a game of the Super Bowl, but repeating that feat looks set to be a tougher task this year as QB Joe Burrow limped out of their 27-24 home loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
Burrow, who recently became the highest-paid player in the NFL, missed most of pre-season with a calf injury but said he had “just tweaked it” after hobbling off late in the game.
“It’s pretty sore right now,” said Burrow. “But no telling how it’s going to feel, so I think we’re going to take it day by day. I’m doing everything I can to get healthy and get that thing the way I need it to be so I can go out and perform the way I need to, to win.”
Overtime thrillers and comeback kings
The Detroit Lions sold out their season tickets for the first time in 21 years and there was standing room only at Ford Field as they were pipped 37-31 thanks to a walk-off Seattle Seahawks touchdown from Tyler Lockett in overtime.
Jared Goff’s first interception in 383 passes was run back by Seattle for a costly TD but the Lions still rallied from 10 points down to force overtime – only for Geno Smith to find Lockett for the killer blow.
The Los Angeles Chargers blew an 11-point lead as the Tennessee Titans won 27-24 in overtime to end their eight-game losing streak. The Chargers have plenty of talent but are 0-2 after losing both games by a combined five points.
Jordan Love had another decent game but Desmond Ridder had a better one as he led the Atlanta Falcons to a come from 12 points down in the fourth quarter to beat the Green Bay Packers 25-24, while the Washington Commanders went one better by erasing an 18-point deficit to beat the Broncos in Denver.
After losing 40-0 last week the New York Giants found themselves 20-0 and 28-7 down at the Arizona Cardinals before engineering the joint-record comeback in the team’s history with a 31-28 success – although it came at a cost, with Saquon Barkley picking up an ankle injury.
Rookie Richardson suffers concussion
CJ Stroud was picked second in the draft by the Houston Texans and Anthony Richardson fourth by the Indianapolis Colts – and the pair, both 21, met in just the NFL’s second meeting of two QBs under the age of 22.
Richardson showed his athletic ability by running in two early touchdowns as the Colts went on to win 31-20, but he took a big hit and despite playing for two more drives was eventually evaluated and taken out of the game.
The Chicago Bears lost their 12th game in a row as QB Justin Fields was sacked six times and threw two interceptions in a 27-17 defeat at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers – with former number one overall pick Baker Mayfield enjoying a resurgence in Florida.
