Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes celebrates his touchdown pass to wide receiver Demarcus Robinson on Sunday.The Associated Press
The Kansas City Chiefs rolled into Arrowhead Stadium to play the red-hot Baltimore Ravens without their best wide receiver, their lead running back and their stalwart left tackle.
They still had Patrick Mahomes, though.
The reigning league MVP threw for 374 yards and three touchdowns in another record-setting performance, and Kansas City’s defence corralled Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson most of the rain-soaked afternoon, allowing the Chiefs to squeak out a 33-28 victory on Sunday.
“Everyone gets reps with the starters, and guys just build that confidence that they can play,” said Mahomes, whose 13 games of at least 300 yards passing broke Kurt Warner’s mark for the most in the first 20 games of a career. “Whenever someone gets an opportunity, they make plays.”
Missed opportunities ultimately doomed the Ravens. They were stuffed once on fourth down, and three times they failed to convert on a two-point conversion, leaving them chasing points all game.
The last came after Jackson scrambled for a touchdown with 2:01 to go. The conversion would have gotten the Ravens (2-1) within a field goal, but Jackson was shoved out of bounds short of the pylon.
Baltimore tried to get the ball back with a rare dropkick, but the Chiefs (3-0) calmly called for a fair catch. Then they converted on third down moments later to run out the clock.
In other Sunday action:
BILLS 21, BENGALS 17
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Frank Gore scored on a one-yard run with 1:50 remaining in rallying the Bills. Tight end Dawson Knox set up the score by bowling over two Bengals for a 49-yard gain in Buffalo’s 21-17 win over Cincinnati on Sunday. And cornerback Tre’Davious White sealed the win by intercepting Andy Dalton’s tipped pass on third-and-5 from Buffalo’s 28 with 12 seconds remaining.
The Bills squandered a 14-0 lead and were forced to rally back after the Bengals scored 17 points to take the lead on three consecutive possessions.
Buffalo improved to 3-0 for the first time since 2011 and only third time in 26 years. The Bengals fell to 0-3.
LIONS 27, EAGLES 24
PHILADELPHIA — Matthew Stafford threw a touchdown pass to Marvin Jones, Jamal Agnew returned a kickoff 100 yards for a score and the Lions held on. The Eagles had a chance after Malcolm Jenkins blocked Matt Prater’s 46-yard field goal try with 1:53 left. Rasul Douglas returned it to the Lions 22, but an illegal block on Jenkins pushed it back to midfield. The Lions (2-0-1) remain undefeated and the Eagles (1-2) have lost two in a row.
COWBOYS 31, DOLPHINS 6
ARLINGTON, Tex. — Dak Prescott threw two touchdown passes to Amari Cooper before running for another score, and the Cowboys pulled out of a first-half funk as huge favourites. One of Prescott’s TD tosses to Cooper came before halftime, but the Dolphins had a great chance to lead at the break as 22-point underdogs. Kenyan Drake fumbled on first down from the Dallas 7-yard line in the final minute of the second quarter. DeMarcus Lawrence recovered to preserve a 10-6 lead. Josh Rosen was 18 of 29 for 200 yards without a touchdown or interception in his first start for Miami, which went with him over Ryan Fitzpatrick after getting outscored 102-10. No team since 1961 had a worse point differential through two games.
PACKERS 27, BRONCOS 16
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Aaron Rodgers threw for 235 yards and a touchdown, Aaron Jones tied a career high by running for two scores and Preston Smith matched a career high with three sacks. Green Bay got to Joe Flacco six times and forced three turnovers to lead the Packers (3-0) to the win despite being dominated in time of possession 35:34-24:26. Rodgers found Marquez Valdes-Scantling on a 40-yard strike on the opening drive and finished 17 of 29. Jones’ touchdown runs came from one yard and seven yards. Flacco was 20 of 29 for 213 yards with an interception and no touchdowns.
COLTS 27, FALCONS 24
INDIANAPOLIS — Jacoby Brissett threw two touchdown passes in the first half and Marlon Mack scored on a fouir-yard run in the fourth quarter. Indianapolis (2-1) has won two straight overall and seven in a row at home. The Falcons (1-2) rallied from a 20-3 halftime deficit to get within three on Matt Ryan’s 10-yard touchdown pass to Julio Jones with 4:11 to play. But the Falcons opted to kick deep and never got the ball back. Brissett closed it out with an 11-yard pass to Jack Doyle on third-and-4. He finished 28 of 37 with 310 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.
PATRIOTS 30, JETS 14
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Tom Brady threw a pair of touchdown passes and the Patriots didn’t allow an offensive touchdown for the third straight week. Sony Michel and Rex Burkhead each added a rushing touchdown for the Patriots (3-0), who won their seventh straight over the Jets and earned their ninth consecutive regular-season win at home over their AFC East rival. It was the Patriots’ first game since releasing receiver Antonio Brown. The four-time All-Pro was cut by the team on Friday after a second woman accused him of sexual misconduct. Brady was 28 of 42 for 306 yards.
VIKINGS 34, RAIDERS 14
MINNEAPOLIS — NFL rushing leader Dalvin Cook cruised past the 100-yard mark for the third straight game, while Kirk Cousins rebounded from his rattled performance the week before with a turnover-free afternoon. The defence had plenty to do with the victory, too. An interception by Harrison Smith of an overthrow by Oakland’s David Carr set up the second of two touchdowns by Adam Thielen to give the Vikings a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter. Eric Wilson had two of Minnesota’s four sacks.
PANTHERS 38, CARDINALS 20
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Kyle Allen threw for 261 yards and four touchdowns in place of the injured Cam Newton, Christian McCaffrey ran for a 76-yard touchdown, and Carolina beat Arizona. The 23-year-old Allen was outstanding in his second career start, making several big throws — even when there was tight coverage. He was 19 of 26, including two touchdowns to Greg Olsen and one each to Curtis Samuel and DJ Moore. McCaffrey had 24 carries for 153 yards, including the 76-yard score, which came in the third quarter when he darted straight through the middle of Arizona’s defence.
GIANTS 32, BUCCANEERS 31
TAMPA — The Daniel Jones era is off to a rousing start for the New York Giants. The rookie quarterback threw for 336 yards and two touchdowns and also ran for two TDs, including the go-ahead score with 1:16 remaining as New York rallied from an 18-point halftime disadvantage to beat Tampa Bay. Jameis Winston threw for 380 yards and put the Bucs (1-2) in position to pull out a dramatic win, but rookie Matt Gay’s 34-yard field goal sailed wide right as time expired.
49ERS 24, STEELERS 20
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Jimmy Garoppolo threw a five-yard touchdown pass to Dante Pettis with 1:15 remaining and San Francisco overcame five turnovers to beat Pittsburgh for its first 3-0 start in 21 years. The Niners gave the ball away four times in the first half and then lost a fumble again in the fourth quarter, but still managed to pull out the victory and spoil Mason Rudolph’s first career start in place of the injured Ben Roethlisberger for the Steelers (0-3).
SAINTS 33, SEAHAWKS 27
SEATTLE — Teddy Bridgewater threw two touchdown passes in his first start in place of Drew Brees, New Orleans also scored TDs on defence and special teams, and the Saints beat the Seahawks. With Brees out for several weeks following surgery to repair a ligament near his right thumb, the Saints pulled off a stunner by taking advantage of Seattle’s sloppiness and handing the Seahawks their first home loss in the month of September under Pete Carroll. Seattle had been 15-0 at home in September since 2010.
TEXANS 27, CHARGERS 20
CARSON, Calif. — Deshaun Watson threw for 351 yards and hit Jordan Akins with two of his three touchdown passes, and J.J. Watt had two of the Texans’ five sacks of Philip Rivers in their 27-20 victory over the Chargers. Akins made the first two TD catches of his career and fellow tight end Darren Fells also caught a TD pass for the Texans (2-1), who rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit with 20 consecutive points on the way to their franchise’s second-ever win over the Chargers (1-2). Keenan Allen caught 13 passes for a career-high 183 yards and two touchdowns from Rivers, who passed for 318 yards in the Bolts’ second straight loss.
RAMS 20, BROWNS 13
CLEVELAND — Cooper Kupp’s comeback is complete. The Rams have another weapon. The shifty wide receiver caught two touchdown passes from Jared Goff and Los Angeles stopped Baker Mayfield four times from the 4-yard line in the final minute as the Rams hung on over the short-handed Browns, who were missing their entire starting secondary. The Rams (3-0) remained unbeaten — and perfect against AFC teams in the regular season under coach Sean McVay — by barely holding back the Browns (1-2). On the Browns’ final drive, Mayfield, who was under pressure most of the night, tried to force a pass to receiver Damion Ratley on fourth down. Safety John Johnson III picked him off.