Baltimore Ravens 35, Cincinnati Bengals 34
In a matchup of premier young quarterbacks, Lamar Jackson led his team back from a 21-7 deficit and defeated their NFC North rival Bengals 35-34. Jackson bolstered his MVP campaign finishing with 290 yards and four touchdowns including 197 yards and three touchdowns in the fourth quarter. The duo of Joe Burrow and Ja’Mar Chase did their best to keep Cincinnati in the game, as Burrow finished with 428 yards and four touchdowns and Chase hauled in 11 catches for 264 yards, and three touchdowns becoming the first player to have multiple games with 250+ receiving yards and two or more touchdowns in a game. However, the Bengals came up short as they elected to go for two and the win after scoring a touchdown with 38 seconds left but Burrow’s pass intended for Tanner Hudson fell incomplete. The Bengals defense continues to struggle against good offenses, as Jackson carved them up all night after a slow start in the first half.
Carolina Panthers 20, New York Giants 17
Eddy Pineiro’s 36-yard game-winning field goal in overtime lifted the Panthers to a 20-17 victory over the New York Giants in Munich Germany. For the first time since he was in college at Alabama, Bryce Young has won back-to-back games. Young finished with 126 yards and a touchdown, but most importantly, he didn’t turn the ball over. Chuba Hubbard led the Panthers’ offense, rushing for 153 yards and a score. The Giants won the coin toss in overtime, but on the first play running back Tyrone Tracy Jr fumbled giving Carolina the ball and a chance to win. The fumble was New York’s 3rd turnover of the day and soured an otherwise good performance from Tracy who finished with 103 yards and a score. The Giants rallied from a 17-7 deficit in the fourth quarter and forced overtime on Graham Gano’s 42-yard field goal with five seconds remaining but ended up coming up short.
New England Patriots 19, Chicago Bears 3
In another matchup of rookie quarterbacks, Drake Maye got the best of Caleb Williams as the Patriots beat the Bears 19-3. Maye finished with 184 yards, a touchdown, and a pick in the win. The Patriots defense shut down Chicago all day, holding them to 142 total yards and no touchdowns. They also sacked Williams nine times while they watched Maye lead New England’s offense on five scoring drives compared to one from Chicago. The schedule doesn’t get any easier for Chicago, who play six of their final eight games against NFC North opponents.
Buffalo Bills 30, Indianapolis Colts 20
Josh Allen and the Bills defense combined to lead Buffalo to its fifth straight win, which comes ahead of a highly awaited matchup in Orchard Park against the Kansas City Chiefs next Sunday. Allen finished with 280 yards, and two interceptions, but also ran for 50 yards and a score. Allen was without arguably his two best wide receivers in Amari Cooper and Keon Coleman. The Bills defense forced four turnovers including Taron Johnson who had a 23-yard pick-six in the first quarter. Buffalo also held Indianapolis to 4 for 13 on third and sacked Joe Flacco four times. Flacco finished with 272 yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions as the Colts dropped their third straight game. Buffalo also held Jonathan Taylor in check after tallying over 100 yards in the first half, Taylor finished with only 114 yards on 23 carries.
New Orleans Saints 20, Atlanta Falcons 17
The Saints finally snapped their seven-game losing streak in the first game with interim head coach Darrin Rizzi’s debut. Derek Carr led the Saints and finished with 269 yards and 2 touchdowns. Both scores went to Marquez Valdes-Scantling who finished with three catches for 109 yards and two scores, torching Atlanta’s secondary on multiple occasions. Alvin Kamara became New Orleans all-time leading rusher finishing with 55 yards on the ground, and also hauling in five passes for 54 yards. New Orleans defense sealed the win after Tyrann Mathieu picked off Kirk Cousins with just over two minutes to go in the game, and then stopped them again on fourth down on Atlanta’s ensuing drive. Atlanta out gained New Orleans 468-365 but couldn’t make plays when it mattered most. Cousins finished with 306 yards, and an interception. Bijan Robinson rushed for 116 yards and two touchdowns in the loss.
Kansas City Chiefs 16, Denver Broncos 14
The 1972 Dolphins will have to wait to pop the champagne celebrating being the only undefeated team as the Chiefs remained undefeated and improved to 9-0 after an unbelievable game, ending with Leo Chenal blocking Wil Lutz’s 34-yard game winning field goal attempt as time expired to keep Kansas City undefeated. The Broncos thoroughly outplayed Kansas City for much of the game but Kansas City’s defense shut out the Broncos in the second half and Patrick Mahomes and the offense did just enough to gain the lead. Harrison Butker did his part going 3/3 on his field goal attempts to aid in the win. Travis Kelce finished with eight catches for 64 yards and a score. That touchdown tied Kelce with Tony Gonzalez with 76 career career receiving touchdowns in the Chiefs history. Kelce had a chance to become the solo leader in Chiefs history but Mahomes missed him in the back of the end zone late in the fourth quarter and the Chiefs had to settle for a field goal. Bo Nix played a very sharp game in a hostile game finishing with 215 yards, two touchdowns, and no turnovers. Cortland Sutton had six catches for 70 yards and a score in the loss as Sutton torched all-pro corner Trent McDuffie on multiple occasions but it was all for not as Denver couldn’t finish and knock off Kansas City.
San Francisco 49ers 23, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20
Despite missing three field goals earlier in the game, Jake Moody hit the one that counted the most drilling a 44-yarder as time expired to lift the 49ers to victory in Christian McCaffery’s return from injury. McCaffery finished with 39 yards rushing but also hauled in six catches for 68 yards. Baker Mayfield did everything in his power to lift his injured Bucs’ to victory but for the second consecutive week, the game ended with Mayfield on the sideline watching his opponent score the game-winner. Mayfield finished with only 116 yards and a touchdown but led a drive to set up a tying field goal for Tampa Bay with help from three straight personal foul penalties. Brock Purdy finished with 353 yards and two touchdowns and led his team on a game winning drive that set up Moody for the game-winner. He moved his team into position for the winning field goal with two completions to Jauan Jennings and two more to Ricky Pearsall. Pearsall scored his first career NFL touchdown and finished with four catches for 73 yards and a score, just 10 months after being shot during the offseason.
Pittsburgh Steelers 28, Washington Commanders 27
Russell Wilson’s touchdown pass to Mike Williams with 2:22 left was the deciding factor as the Steelers went into out nations capital and took down Jayden Daniels and the Commanders 28-27. Wilson finished his day with 195 passing yards, three touchdowns, and a pick to lead the Steelers to a 7-2 record. He out dueled Daniels who finished with just 202 yards passing. George Pickens and Pat Freiertmuth each hauled in touchdowns besides Williams for Pittsburgh. Austin Ekeler rushed for two touchdowns for Washington and Terry McLaurin hauled in five passes for 113 yards. Washington had a chance to take the lead as with 1:30 left Daniels led his team to midfield and faced a 4th a 9, Daniels connected with Zach Ertz, but the catch was ruled just short of a first down. On the ensuing possession, Pittsburgh faced a 4th and 1 at Washington’s 49 with 1:02 on the clock and decided to line up as if to go for it. However, Wilson’s hard count got rookie defensive lineman Johnny Newton to jump too soon, and the penalty allowed the Steelers to keep the ball and run out the clock and win the game.
Minnesota Vikings 12, Jacksonville Jaguars 7
A stingy defense and an excellent kicking performance led the Vikings to a gritty 12-7 win over the Jaguars. The Vikings defense held Jacksonville to 143 total yards of offense, had three sacks, forced three turnovers, and only allowed 10 first downs the whole game. John Parker Romo was 4/4 on field goals on the day hitting from: 45, 33, 34, and 29 yards out. The overcame an abysmal performance in the red zone, going 0/5 and Sam Darnold throwing three interceptions. The win moves Minnesota to 7-2, and still in the hunt for the NFC North title. In his second game back from injury, T.J. Hockenson hauled in eight passes for 72 yards. The Vikings did avoid an injury scare as star running back Aaron Jones was knocked out of the game in the third quarter and had to be carted to the locker room with a chest injury.
Los Angeles Chargers 27, Tennessee Titans 17
The Chargers won their third straight game to move to 6-3 on the season on the back of Justin Herbert’s arm, and his legs. Herbert finished 14 of 18 for 164 yards and a touchdown through the air while also rushing for 32-yards and a score on the ground. The Chargers defense also continues to play well being the first team since the 2013 Chiefs to hold each of their first nine opponent to 20 points or less. They also tallied seven sacks in the game and stalled many Tennessee drives. The Chargers defense is currently holding opposing teams to 13.1 points per game. Calvin Ridley scored both of Tennessee’s touchdowns and had five catches for 84 yards. Will Levis, who missed the last three games with a shoulder injury, was 18 of 23 for 175 yards and two touchdowns in the loss.
Philadelphia Eagles 34, Dallas Cowboys 6
Jalen Hurts accounted for four touchdowns as the Eagles blasted the Cowboys 34-6. Hurts finished with 202 yards, two touchdowns, and a pick on the ground while also rushing for 56 yards and two scores on the ground. A.J. Brown hauled in five passes for 109 yards to lead Eagles receivers. The Cowboys offense, who lost Dak Prescott to a season ending hamstring injury, couldn’t do anything in the game only able to muster six points and no points in the second half. Cooper Rush lost two fumbles, among five turnovers, for the Cowboys, and was replaced briefly by Trey Lance early in the second half and then for good in the fourth quarter as frequent boos cascaded from the crowd. Lance also threw an interception in his limited action.
Arizona Cardinals 31, New York Jets 6
A brilliant performance by Kyler Murray led the Cardinals to their fourth straight win and a dominant win over Aaron Rodgers and the Jets. Murray finished with 266 passing yards, a touchdown, and 21 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. The Cardinals scored four touchdowns in their first five possessions, and never trailed during the game. Three different receivers hauled in at least four passes for Arizona, and Marvin Harrison Jr hauled in the one receiving touchdown. New York has lost six of its last seven, failing to build off the momentum of last week’s win over the Texans. Aaron Rodgers only had 151 yards passing as the Jets only tallied 207 total yards as this offense for much of the day looked stagnant and lethargic.
Detroit Lions 26, Houston Texans 23
A dramatic second half comeback was capped off by a game-winning 52-yard field goal as time expired lifted Detroit to a 26-23 win over the Texans. The Lions found themselves down 23-7 at halftime but rallied for a thrilling win. Jared Goff had one of the worst games of his career finishing with 240 yards, two touchdowns, and five interceptions. The Lions improved to 8-1 their best start since 1954. Despite the five interceptions from Goff, the Lions scored 16 straight points to tie it with about five minutes to go on a Jake Bates’ 58-yard field goal. The Texans, who fell to 6-4, had a chance to take the lead with just under two minutes left, but Ka’imi Fairbairn’s 58-yard try was wide left. C.J. Stroud threw for 232 yards and a touchdown, but he threw two interceptions in the second half as the Texans were shut out after the break to lose for the third time in four games.
Miami Dolphins 23, Los Angeles Rams 15
The Dolphins snapped their three-game losing streak behind a stellar defensive performance and their offense doing just enough as they beat the Rams 23-15 on Monday Night Football. Tyreek Hill caught a short touchdown pass from Tua Tagovailoa in the third quarter to end the longest scoring drought of his career, and the Dolphins kept Los Angeles out of the end zone and held them to five field goals on the night. Miami’s solid defense stepped up impressively at SoFi Stadium, forcing two turnovers and keeping the Rams touchdown-less despite yielding 327 yards. Tua Tagovailoa passed for only 207 yards, but he made a series of big throws while the Dolphins converted six third downs, most of them at key moments. Tagovailoa was 9 of 12 for 137 yards on third downs alone. Matthew Stafford passed for 293 yards and rookie Joshua Karty kicked five field goals for the Rams, whose three-game winning streak ended with a major offensive regression. Los Angeles failed to score a touchdown for only the eighth time in coach Sean McVay’s eight seasons. Puka Nacua had nine catches for 98 yards, and Cooper Kupp made seven receptions for 80 yards in the loss.
