Denver Broncos 33, New Orleans Saints 10
It was Sean Payton’s first game back to the Superdome, this time as the head coach of the Denver Broncos. Payton’s Broncos came in and destroyed his former team 33-10, on a night that the Saints honored legendary quarterback Drew Brees. Javontae Williams led the Broncos offense rushing for 88 yards and two scores. Bo Nix was good enough for Denver, as he completed 16 of 26 passes for 164 yards, running for 75 yards, and didn’t turn the ball over. Kicker Wil Lutz booted field goals from 46, 32, 52, and 38 yards to contribute to the blowout win. The Broncos big win was capped off with a Cody Barton 52-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter. This was a part of a Denver defensive effort that had six sacks, and two takeaways and only allowed 271 total yards to New Orleans. The Saints were missing 32% of their roster due to injury including their top two wide receivers Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed, the latter going on injured reserve earlier in the day. Two starting linemen, center Erik McCoy and guard Cesar Ruiz were out. Also, versatile tight end Taysom Hill missed his third straight game. After starting the season 2-0 the Saints now find themselves at 2-5.
Jacksonville Jaguars 32, New England Patriots 16
Tank Bigsby rushed for two touchdowns as his Jaguars showed some fight and cruised to an easy victory over the lowly Patriots in Wembley. Bigsby finished the game with 118 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. At the same time, teammate Parker Washington had a 96-yard punt return touchdown and standout rookie wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr had another excellent game hauling in five passes for 89 yards and a touchdown. Trevor Lawrence finished with 193 yards and a touchdown and led 4 straight scoring drives after falling behind early. The Jaguars found themselves down 10-0 early to rookie Drake Maye in his second career start, but couldn’t do much as the Patriots dropped their sixth straight game for the first time since 1993. Maye finished with 276 yards and two touchdowns and no turnovers in the loss.
Seattle Seahawks 34, Atlanta Falcons 14
After suffering a three-game losing streak, the Seahawks led by Geno Smith and a stellar defense, walked into Atlanta and dismantled the Falcons en route to a 34-14 victory. The Seahawks ended Atlanta’s run of three straight victories, shutting down a Falcons offense that averaged 37 points the two previous weeks. Atlanta struggled to get much going against the beleaguered Seahawks defense, which gave up an average of nearly 36 points a game during the losing streak. Geno Smith finished with 207 yards and two touchdowns, he connected with Kenneth Walker on a 17-yard touchdown and a huge 31-yard scoring play to DK Metcalf just before halftime. After Walker’s TD catch made it 24-14 late in the third quarter, Seattle’s defense clinched the victory. Kirk Cousins was hit by Boye Mafe as he attempted to throw, with the ball squirting away from the Falcons quarterback before his arm went forward. Derrick Hall scooped it up in front of the Atlanta bench and rumbled to the end zone with 12:46 remaining. Cousins closed out a miserable day with interceptions on his final two possessions, to go along with three sacks. Bijan Robinson had a solid game for the Falcons, and finished with 103 rushing yards and a touchdown.
Buffalo Bills 34, Tennessee Titans 10
After a sluggish start that saw the Bills down 10-0 early Josh Allen and the Bills offense got going and scored 34 unanswered points en route to a huge win. Allen finished the game with 323 yards and two touchdowns. Allen celebrated his 100th career start, with his 26th 300-yard outing. He improved to 68-32 as a starter, matching four players: Joe Montana, Terry Bradshaw, Brett Favre, and Aaron Rodgers, for the sixth-most wins in a quarterback’s first 100 starts. One of those touchdowns went to newly acquired wide receiver from Cleveland, Amari Cooper, who finished his Bills debut with four catches for 66 yards and a score. Rookie wide receiver Keon Coleman had his first 100-yard game as a professional finishing with four catches for 125 yards. Ray Davis and James Cook capped off the route with each having a second half rushing touchdown as the Bills improved to 5-2 and a lead atop the AFC East and tied with the Steelers and Texans for the second best record in the AFC.
Cincinnati Bengals 21, Cleveland Browns 14
The Browns lost starting quarterback Deshaun Watson to a season-ending achilles injury, as the lowly Cleveland team lost yet another game, this time to Joe Burrow and the Bengals. Burrow threw 2 third quarter as the win snapped a 6-game losing streak for the Bengals in Cleveland. Coming into the game Burrow had a record of 1-5 vs the Browns and was 0-3 on the road. Burrow connected with Ja’Marr Chase for an 18-yard TD, and six minutes later he found Tee Higgins for a 25-yard score. Those touchdowns capped off a day in which Burrow threw for 181 yards and two scores. Charlie Jones returned the opening kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown for the Bengals, who have won three of four after a three-game slide to start the season.
Green Bay Packers 24, Houston Texans 22
Brandon McManus drilled a game winning 45-yard field goal as time expired to lift the Packers to a thrilling win over C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans. The Packers released rookie kicker Brayden Narveson and signed McManus on Wednesday. McManus has made over 90% of his career field-goal attempts from less than 50 yards, while Narveson had gone 12 of 17 without attempting any from beyond 49 yards. Despite turning the ball over three times, the Packers found a way to win their third straight, while snapping the Texans three game winning streak. Jordan Love was by no means perfect on the day, as he finished with 220 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions. Joe Mixon rushed for 115 yards and two touchdowns in a game that saw rising star Stroud throw for a career-low 86 yards on 10 of 21 passing and was sacked four times in a game that had seven lead changes. Ka’imi Fairbairn was three for three on field-goal attempts, and put the Texans ahead by making a 35-yarder with 1:44 left that would have won Houston the game had it not been for McManus.
Indianapolis Colts 16, Miami Dolphins 10
Entering the fourth quarter with the game tied 10-10 Anthony Richardson led the Colts on two field goal drives in the fourth quarter to cap off a low scoring 16-10 over the Dolphins. Richardson returned to action after missing almost three full games and with the help of Tyler Goodson’s first NFL touchdown helped lead Indianapolis to victory. Richardson finished with only 129 passing yards, 56 rushing yards and no touchdowns but made enough plays to help lead scoring drives in crunch time. The Colts have won three straight home games to pull within one game of AFC South-leading Houston. Miami, again, couldn’t overcome its miscues while losing yet another quarterback, Tyler Huntley, to an injury in the third quarter. Huntley did not return and Tim Boyle finished the game. Miami, though, could be getting back Tua Tagovailoa as early as next week if he is able to pass through concussion protocol.
Detroit Lions 31, Minnesota Vikings 29
In what might have been the preview of the NFC Championship game, the Detroit Lions walked into Minnesota and defeated the previously undefeated Vikings 31-29. Jake Bates hit a game winning field goal with 15 seconds left to lift Detroit to victory, and first place in the NFC North. Jahmyr Gibbs rushed for 116 yards and two of Detroit’s three second-quarter touchdowns. He also helped Jared Goff guide the Lions 48 yards in four plays to get in range for their rookie kicker while forcing the Vikings to burn their timeouts. Goff continues his amazing run as he finished 22 of 25 for 280 yards and two touchdowns. Amon-Ra St Brown hauled in eight passes for 118 yards and a score to aid in the win. This game was a game of runs that saw the Vikings score the first 10 points before Detroit rattled off 21 second half points to claim a 21-10 halftime lead. Both teams traded third quarter touchdowns before Minnesota went on a 12-0 run to start the fourth quarter and claim a 29-28 lead before Bates ultimately put the game away 31-29 on his field goal. Sam Darnold finished 22 of 27 for 259 yards, a touchdown, and a pick. Aaron Jones chipped in with 93 yards and a score on the ground but alas it wasn’t enough as the Vikings will have to wait until week 18 to another crack at the Lions.
Philadelphia Eagles 28, New York Giants 3
In Saquan Barkley’s return to the Meadowlands, he ran all over his former en route to victory for the Eagles. Barkley finished with 176 yards and 1 touchdown to lead the Eagles. Barkley had more yards by himself than the Giants had as a team as they could only muster 119 total yards and three for 14 on third down. Rookie Malik Nabers returned from his concussion but only managed four catches for 41 yards. Jalen Hurts also rushed for two touchdowns and tossed a nice 41-yard touchdown to A.J. Brown on fourth down in the second quarter.
Los Angeles Rams 20, Las Vegas Raiders 15
The Rams defense came up clutch and forced four turnovers after Raiders starting quarterback Aidan O’Connell broke his thumb. Kam Curl returned a fumble 33 yards for a touchdown and Kyren Williams rushed for 76 yards and two scores in the Rams ‘ 20-15 victory over Las Vegas on Sunday. Cobie Durant had an interception and later caused the fumble returned for a TD by Curl for the Rams, who forced Gardner Minshew to commit four turnovers, the same number harvested by Los Angeles in its first five games of the season combined. Matthew Stafford passed for 154 yards, his lowest total in four seasons with Los Angeles, as the Rams snapped a two-game skid during their worst start to a season in coach Sean McVay’s eight years in charge.
Washington Commanders 40, Carolina Panthers 7
Despite Commanders star rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels only lasting 12 plays, the Commanders still walloped the Panthers 40-7 behind two touchdown passes from Mariota and a 67-yard pick-six of Andy Dalton by Dante Fowler. With Mariota running the show, Washington chugged along and racked up 421 yards against the Panthers (1-6), who allowed the most points through of any team in the Super Bowl era through the first six games of a season. Brian Robinson Jr. also ran for a touchdown in his return from a knee injury, which caused him to miss the game last week at Baltimore. The 27-point halftime lead was the franchise’s biggest since being up 28-0 on Dallas on Dec. 18, 2005.
Kansas City Chiefs 28, San Francisco 49ers 18
Behind a stellar run game and a stout defense the Kansas City Chiefs walked out of a Super Bowl LIV and LVIII rematch winners 28-18. The Chiefs ran for 184 yards as a team led by 78 yards and two touchdowns from Kareem Hunt. Patrick Mahomes, who only threw for 154 yards and two interceptions, added 39 yards and a touchdown on the ground including a nifty 33-yard run down the sideline in the third quarter. Kansas City’s defense forced Brock Purdy to throw three interceptions including interceptions from rookies: Chris Roland-Wallace and Jayden Hicks. The Chiefs defense also tallied a sack, five tackles for loss, six quarterback hits and six pass deflections. Kansas City’s offense was also able to the most points it has scored this season down their top two wide receivers, their top running back, not very much prediction out of Travis Kelce and without Juju Smith-Schuster who left with a hamstring injury. Kansas City now remains as the NFL’s last unbeaten team and is the best in high leverage situations.
Pittsburgh Steelers 37, New York Jets 15
In a chaotic week for both teams, the Jets traded for Davante Adams, and the Steelers named Russell Wilson as their starting quarterback. Wilson and the Steelers came away Sunday night with a blowout victory. Wilson finished with 264 yards, two passing touchdowns, and a rushing touchdown in his Steelers debut. Aaron Rodgers passed for 276 yards with a touchdown and connected with Adams three times for 30 yards, but also had two passes intercepted by rookie cornerback Beanie Bishop, and the Steelers turned those into game-turning scores. The Jets were up nine and had a chance to extend their lead in the first half when Bishop stepped in front of Rodgers’ pass intended for Garrett Wilson at midfield for his first career interception. George Pickens first touchdown of the season soon followed. Rodgers tried to hit Garrett Wilson down the left sideline on New York’s next possession, but the ball bounced off Wilson and into Bishop’s hands. Bishop raced to the Jets one yard line, only failing to score because a sprinting Adams chased him down just short of the goal line. No matter, Wilson bulled his way into the end zone on the next play. A scoring toss to Jefferson early in the fourth gave the Steelers the kind of breathing room that’s been rare the last handful of seasons for a team that has played more one-score games than anyone since the start of 2021.
Baltimore Ravens 41, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31
Lamar Jackson threw for 281 yards and five touchdowns as he led the Ravens to a 41-31 win over the Buccaneers and improved his record over NFC opponents to 23-1. The Buccaneers held an early 10-0 lead after Mike Evans hauled in his 100th career touchdown reception. Evans joined Hall of Famers Jerry Rice, Randy Moss, Marvin Harrison, and Terrell Owens as the only players to have at least 100 TD receptions in the first 11 seasons of a career. Evans departed with a hamstring injury after Baker Mayfield tried to connect with him in the end zone again, and late in the fourth quarter with the game out of reach, leading Bucs receiver Chris Godwin was carted off the field with a left ankle injury. After trailing 10-0 Jackson and the Ravens came storming back. Derrick Henry also chipped in with 169 rushing yards, a catch for 13 yards, and a receiving touchdown. Mark Andrews also hauled in four passes for 41 yards and two receiving touchdowns in the win for Baltimore. Baker Mayfield finished with 370 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions in the loss.
Arizona Cardinals 17, Los Angeles Chargers 15
Kyler Murray ran for a 44-yard touchdown, and directed a game-winning field goal drive in the fourth quarter to lead the Cardinals to a 17-15 win over the Chargers on Monday night. Cameron Dicker kicked his fifth field goal of the night, from 40 yards out to give the Chargers a 15-14 lead with 1:54 left. But the Cardinals quickly moved into field goal range, aided by an unnecessary roughness call on Cam Hart that cost Los Angeles 15 yards. It was a frustrating night for the Chargers’ offense, which gained 395 yards but couldn’t find the end zone. Justin Herbert finished with 349 yards. It was coach Jim Harbaugh’s first loss on Monday night, dropping him to 6-1 for his career. Dicker booted field goals of 59, 50, 28, 47, and 40 yards, the first of which tied a franchise record for distance. Ultimately, it was Kyler and the Cardinals who made more plays and came away with the victory.
Week eight begins on Thursday night as the Minnesota Vikings fresh off their first loss of the season travel to Los Angeles to play the Rams and the week wraps up on Monday night as Daniel Jones and the Giants head to Pittsburgh to face off against Russell Wilson and the Steelers.
