Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen dives into the end zone during a game against the Minnesota Vikings, in Minneapolis, on Sept. 23, 2018.Bruce Kluckhohn/The Associated Press
Bills 27, Vikings 6
Josh Allen played with the poise of a well-seasoned quarterback for the Buffalo Bills by accounting for three touchdowns in his first road start in the NFL. Allen made Minnesota’s Kirk Cousins look like the raw rookie in a stunning 27-6 upset of the Vikings on Sunday. Cousins had three turnovers, including a lost fumble on a third-down sack inside Minnesota’s 20-yard line, on each of the first two possessions. Buffalo turned those recoveries into 10 points and was on cruise control by midway through the second quarter as the crowd at U.S. Bank Stadium cranked up the boos. The Vikings (1-1-1) were 16 1/2-point favourites when the game began, allowing the Bills (1-2) to become only the sixth such underdog in the NFL’s last 81 point spreads that big. After being outscored 75-9 over their first six quarters of the season, the Bills have enjoyed a 41-9 advantage over the past six periods.
Eagles 20, Colts 16
Carson Wentz threw a touchdown pass on his first drive in nine months, then Wendell Smallwood ran in from the 4 for the go-ahead score. Adam Vinatieri tied Morten Andersen’s career record of 565 field goals by connecting on all three tries, but the Colts (1-2) couldn’t take advantage of two turnovers by Wentz inside the 20 in the second half. The Super Bowl defending champion Eagles (2-1) needed two defensive stops against Andrew Luck in the final 90 seconds. Indy had a first down at the Eagles 11 and two cracks from the 4, but Luck’s pass to T.Y. Hilton sailed over his shoulder in the left corner of the end zone on third down and Derek Barnett sacked Luck on fourth down. The Colts got the ball again at their 11 with 39 seconds remaining but couldn’t reach midfield. Jacoby Brissett threw a desperation pass on the final play that fell incomplete.
Chiefs 38, 49ers 27
After winning his first three starts, all away from Arrowhead Stadium, second-year pro Patrick Mahomes finally made his regular-season home debut and torched San Francisco’s banged-up pass defence for 314 yards and three touchdowns. Mahomes now has 13 touchdown passes without an interception, breaking the NFL record for TD passes in the first three weeks of a season. Peyton Manning threw 12 to start the 2013 campaign. Mahomes’s touchdown passes to Chris Conley, Demetrius Harris and Sammy Watkins, along with a pair of TD runs by Kareem Hunt, helped Kansas City (3-0) race to a 35-7 lead late in the first half.
Dolphins 28, Raiders 20
Receiver Albert Wilson threw a 52-yard touchdown pass to put the Dolphins ahead midway through the fourth quarter, and then turned a short reception into a 74-yard score that sealed it. Miami coach Adam Gase used creative play calling to overcome a wave of injuries and penalties, and a 17-minute deficit in time of possession. The Dolphins scored on a pair of shovel passes by Ryan Tannehill that each travelled less than a yard — one on the flip to Wilson, and an earlier similar pass that Jakeem Grant caught before turning the corner for an 18-yard score. Thanks to all the flashy plays, the Dolphins are 3-0 for only the third time since 1998. The Raiders, led by first-year coach Jon Gruden, are 0-3 for the first time since 2014, when they started 0-10.
Panthers 31, Bengals 21
Cam Newton threw for two touchdowns and ran for two others, while Christian McCaffrey racked up a career-high 184 yards rushing. Newton completed 15 of 24 passes for 150 yards and ran for 36 yards as the Panthers (2-1) won their seventh straight home game going back to last season. McCaffrey, who tied a franchise record with 14 receptions last week against Atlanta, did his damage on the ground this time with 28 carries. He surpassed his previous career high of 66 yards rushing and became the first Carolina player with a 100-yard receiving game and a 100-yard rushing game in back-to-back weeks.
Ravens 27, Broncos 14
Joe Flacco picked apart Denver’s depleted defence for 277 yards and a touchdown. Connecting with eight receivers, Flacco went 25 for 40 without an interception on a rainy afternoon. He threw 28 passes in the first half, when Baltimore (2-1) took control. The Ravens turned to their defence in the fourth quarter, twice stopping drives inside their 15. Flacco’s success came against a Denver backfield that began the day without injured cornerback Adam Jones (thigh) and lost cornerback Tramaine Brock (groin) in the first quarter. As a result, rookie Isaac Yiadom saw significant playing time at right cornerback. Javorious Allen caught a 12-yard touchdown pass and ran for a score for the Ravens.
Titans 9, Jaguars 6
Marcus Mariota came off the bench and directed three scoring drives, including one in the fourth quarter. Mariota replaced Blaine Gabbert in the first quarter after Gabbert was knocked out of the game with a concussion. Mariota sat out last week’s victory against Houston because of an elbow injury sustained in the season opener. He had been experiencing arm weakness along with numbness and tingling in two fingers. The injury affects the velocity and spin he gets on the football. Mariota wore a glove on his injured right hand and was able to do just enough to beat the Jaguars (2-1) for the third straight time and fifth time in the past six meetings.
Washington 31, Packers 17
Adrian Peterson ran for 120 yards and a pair of two-yard scores, Alex Smith threw two touchdown passes — all in the first half — and Washington held on over Aaron Rodgers and the Packers, who again had complaints about a roughing-the-passer penalty on Clay Matthews. On a rainy afternoon, the Redskins (2-1) moved out to leads of 14-0 and, at halftime, 28-10, by putting together TD drives of 74, 75, 79 and 98 yards. Smith connected for TDs of 46 yards to Paul Richardson on the game’s fourth play and of 9 to Jamison Crowder in the second quarter. Peterson, who ran 19 times, raised his career total to 102 rushing touchdowns, breaking a tie at 100 with Marshall Faulk and Shaun Alexander and moving him alone into seventh place in NFL history behind Emmitt Smith’s record of 164. This was Peterson’s 52nd game with at least 100 yards on the ground, and first since Nov. 5, 2017, for Arizona against San Francisco.
Giants 27, Texans 22
Eli Manning threw for 297 yards and two touchdowns and rookie Saquon Barkley added a score. The Giants (1-2) were up by 14 at halftime but had trouble moving the ball in the second half and the Texans (0-3) had cut the lead to five before Manning threw a seven-yard touchdown pass to Sterling Shepard with about two minutes left. Deshaun Watson threw a four-yard touchdown pass to Lamar Miller with one second left to cut the lead to 27-22, but New York recovered the onside kick.
Seahawks 24, Cowboys 13
Russell Wilson threw for two touchdowns in the first half, Chris Carson added a five-yard TD run in early in the fourth quarter, and the Seattle Seahawks avoided a 0-3 start with a win over the Dallas Cowboys. Wilson hit Jaron Brown on an 16-yard touchdown early in the second quarter, and later hit Tyler Lockett streaking up the sideline on a 52-yard scoring pass as Seattle (1-2) built a 17-3 halftime lead and cruised past the Cowboys.
Bears 16, Cardinals 14
Cody Parkey kicked his third field goal of the game, a 43-yarder with 4:31 to remaining, to rally the Chicago Bears over the winless Arizona Cardinals. Sam Bradford threw two first-quarter touchdown passes to put the Cardinals up 14-0, but was replaced by rookie Josh Rosen after fumbling the ball away deep in Chicago territory late in the game.
LIONS 26, PATRIOTS 10
Matt Patricia beat mentor Bill Belichick, seemingly making all the right moves to help Detroit defeat New England. The Lions (1-2) suddenly looked like a team with a plan on offence and defence under their first-year coach, and former New England assistant. They opened the season with a 31-point loss to the New York Jets at home and fell short in a comeback at San Francisco. The Patriots (1-2) have had weaknesses exposed on both sides of the ball, losing two of their first three games for the first time since 2012. Detroit was in control from the start, creating holes for rookie running back Kerryon Johnson and giving Matthew Stafford time to pass. Johnson had 101 yards rushing on 16 carries, becoming the first player to reach the mark for the Lions since Reggie Bush ran for 117 yards against Green Bay on Nov. 28, 2013. Detroit’s 70-game stretch without a 100-yard rusher was the longest since the NFL-AFL merger.