DETROIT (AP) — Geno Smith threw a second touchdown pass to Tyler Lockett on the opening drive of overtime, lifting the Seattle Seahawks to a 37-31 win over the Detroit Lions on Sunday.
The Seahawks (1-1) earned the victory after the Lions (1-1) rallied from a 10-point deficit late in the fourth quarter, extending the game with Riley Patterson’s 38-yard field goal as regulation expired.
Smith threw a go-ahead, 3-yard touchdown pass to Lockett early in the fourth and Tre Brown returned a Jared Goff interception for a score on the ensuring drive to give Seattle a 31-21 lead.
Goff showed his resilience after throwing his first interception in 383 attempts — 30 shy of the NFL record — by throwing a 4-yard touchdown pass to Josh Reynolds to cap a drive that started with linebacker Darrell Taylor getting flagged for roughing the passer.
Detroit forced Seattle to punt on the ensuing possession on fourth-and-35, sacking Smith for the first — and only time — when Alex Anzalone tracked him down at his 3.
The Seahawks bounced back from a lopsided loss at home to the Los Angeles Rams with an impressive win against a suddenly relevant team.
The Lions failed to give their fired-up fans a reason to cheer after opening the season with a win on the road against the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.
Seattle started strong, going 75 yards on 12 plays in nearly 8 minutes with Walker scoring on a 1-yard run.
The Lions answered quickly on Goff’s 22-yard touchdown throw to Josh Reynolds. They took a 14-7 lead late in the second quarter when rookie cornerback Devon Witherspoon was fooled on a flea flicker in his NFL debut, allowing Kalif Raymond to get behind him to catch Goff’s 36-yard pass.
On Detroit’s first snap of the second half, David Montgomery fumbled at the Lions 22 and Seattle took advantage with Walker’s 3-yard touchdown run to pull into a tie. As the Lions did early in the game, they responded with a touchdown drive that ended with Montgomery’s 4-yard tiebreaking score.
The Seahawks’ second 12-play possession ended with Jason Myers, who missed a pair of field goals in the first half, making a 25-yard field goal late in the third quarter.
COBWOYS 30, JETS 10
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Dak Prescott threw for two touchdowns, Zach Wilson had three interceptions in his first start after Aaron Rodgers’ season-ending Achilles tendon injury, and the Dallas Cowboys beat the New York Jets 30-10 on Sunday.
CeeDee Lamb had 143 yards receiving and Brandon Aubrey kicked five field goals in the 28-year-old rookie’s second game as the Cowboys (2-0) finished a season-opening sweep of the New York. Dallas routed the Giants 40-0 in the opener.
Wilson threw a 68-yard touchdown pass to Garrett Wilson to get the Jets (1-1) within three points in the second quarter and ran for 36 yards on a drive to a field goal for an eight-point halftime deficit.
But New York had just 147 yards outside the long TD, and four second-half turnovers left little doubt for Dallas.
Wilson, who was sacked three times a week after Dallas dropped the Giants’ Daniel Jones seven times, was picked off by Jayron Kearse, Malik Hooker and Trevon Diggs.
BILLS 38, RAIDERS 10
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Josh Allen rebounded from a four-turnover, season-opening dud by throwing three touchdown passes and leading the Buffalo Bills to a 38-10 rout of the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday.
Linebackers Matt Milano and Terrel Bernard each intercepted Jimmy Garoppolo, and the Bills eased the lingering frustrations following a 22-16 overtime loss at the New York Jets on Monday and a week full of off-field distractions.
Coach Sean McDermott had to address his leadership group after team owner Terry Pegula was accused of making racially insensitive comments in a lawsuit filed by a former NFL Media reporter. Pegula denied the allegations.
And then on Wednesday, a Bills media reporter was overheard on an open microphone questioning receiver Stefon Diggs’ character. Diggs went to social media a day later by calling the comments “hurtful” and “insulting.”
It was an especially uplifting performance from Allen, who enjoyed his 21st three-or-more touchdown outing after spending much of last week facing questions about his sloppy performance, which he fully acknowledged cost the Bills a victory.
Allen completed his first 13 attempts for 94 yards, and finished 31 of 37 for 274 yards passing and no turnovers. His 13 consecutive completions to start a game set an individual record and matched his best run at any point of an outing. He improved to 13-4 in games following a loss, and 23-4 in games he doesn’t commit a turnover.
Dawson Knox scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 2-yard catch to put Buffalo up 14-7 three minutes into the second quarter, and Khalil Shakir padded the lead with an 11-yard touchdown reception in the final seconds of the first half.
Allen sealed the victory by opening the second half overseeing a 15-play, 75-yard drive that ate up 9:01 of the clock. He went 7 of 8 for 37 yards, and capped the drive by throwing across his body to hit Gabe Davis in double-coverage in the end zone to convert fourth-and-goal from the 2.
Whatever chance the Raiders had to get back into the game ended four plays from scrimmage later, when Milano jumped in front of Josh Jacobs to intercept Garoppolo’s pass at midfield.
The Raiders dropped to 1-1, following a season-opening 17-16 win at Denver, and blew an opportunity to open a season with back-to-back road wins for the first time since 1982.
Garoppolo finished 16 of 24 for 185 yards, with a 16-yard touchdown pass to Davante Adams. The touchdown was the 88th of Adams’ career to move him ahead of Larry Fitzgerald for the fifth-most by a player in his first 10 NFL seasons. The Raiders tweeted after the game that Adams was being evaluated for a concussion.
The Raiders running attack continues to be grounded with Jacobs finishing with minus-2 yards on nine carries. Though Jacobs had five catches for 51 yards, the NFL’s leading rusher last season now has combined for 46 yards rushing through two games.
49ERS 30, RAMS 23
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Brock Purdy passed for 206 yards and ran for an early touchdown, Deebo Samuel rushed for an 11-yard TD with 11:28 left and the San Francisco 49ers hung on for their ninth consecutive regular-season victory over the Los Angeles Rams, 30-23 Sunday.
Christian McCaffrey rushed for 116 yards and a score for the 49ers (2-0), whose only loss to the Rams since December 2018 was in the NFC championship game in January 2022.
Isaiah Oliver and Deommodore Lenoir intercepted passes by Matthew Stafford in the second half, finally allowing the 49ers to pull in front of their longtime rivals.
The 49ers’ defense overcame a record-setting performance by rookie Puka Nacua, who caught 15 passes for 147 yards for Los Angeles (1-1). The fifth-round pick broke the NFL’s single-game record for receptions by a rookie, and he set a new overall league mark with 25 catches in the first two games of his career.
COLTS 31, TEXANS 20
HOUSTON (AP) — Anthony Richardson rushed for two touchdowns before leaving with a concussion and Gardner Minshew threw for 171 yards and a TD as the Indianapolis Colts held off the Houston Texans for a 31-20 win on Sunday.
It was the first win for coach Shane Steichen, who was hired in February after spending the last two seasons as Philadelphia’s offensive coordinator.
The Colts led by 18 at halftime and managed only a field goal in the second half. But their dominant start was enough to snap an eight-game skid dating to last season. It was their first win since Nov. 13 at Las Vegas.
Richardson gave the Colts (1-1) an early lead when he dashed 18 yards untouched on their first drive.
C.J. Stroud fumbled when he was sacked by Samson Ebukam, and it was recovered by Indianapolis at the 15. Richardson made it 14-0 when he ran 15 yards for the score on the next play.
The rookie quarterback, who was selected by Indy with the No. 4 pick in the NFL draft, hit the back of his head when he was pushed down at the end of the score, but he popped right up to celebrate. He remained in the game for two more possessions before going to the medical tent and then to the locker room.
Stroud, the second overall pick in the draft, threw for 384 yards and two touchdowns . But he was sacked six times and hit nine other times playing behind a line filled with backups. The Texans (0-2) lost four starters on the line during camp and were also without star left tackle Laremy Tunsil on Sunday because of a knee injury.
The Texans closed to 31-20 on a 23-yard touchdown reception by rookie Tank Dell with about 10 minutes to go. It was the first career touchdown for the third-round pick from the University of Houston.
Houston got a stop after that but wouldn’t get any closer after missing a long field goal on the next possession.
Stroud threw his first career touchdown pass when he connected with Nico Collins for a 12-yard score that cut the lead to 14-7 with about three minutes left in the first quarter. Collins finished with seven receptions for a career-high 146 yards.
Minshew took over for Richardson in the second quarter and orchestrated a 76-yard drive capped by an 11-yard scoring run by Zack Moss that made it 21-7.
The Colts pushed it to 28-10 when Kylen Granson scored on a 4-yard pass just before halftime.
Richardson is the third QB in NFL history with three rushing touchdowns in his first two games, joining Daunte Culpepper and Jack Thompson. Richardson, who is 21 years and 118 days old, is also the youngest quarterback with two rushing touchdowns in a game.
Josh Jones filled in for Tunsil and had a holding penalty in the fourth quarter that negated a touchdown by Dell. The Texans settled for a field goal on that drive to cut the lead to 31-13.
CHIEFS 17, JAGUARS 9
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw two touchdown passes, including one to returning star Travis Kelce, and the Kansas City Chiefs overcame three early turnovers to beat Jacksonville 17-9 on Sunday for their third victory against the Jaguars in 10 months.
The Chiefs (1-1) won their eighth straight in the series and avoided becoming the first Super Bowl champions to start 0-2 since Denver in 1999.
The Jaguars (1-1), who insisted all week they owed the Chiefs because of a loss in the divisional round of the AFC playoffs in January, pretty much no-showed in their home opener.
Coach Doug Pederson’s team had another slow start, failed to capitalize on two of three turnovers and struggled to protect quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
Lawrence threw incomplete on a fourth-and-12 play with 4:16 remaining in an eight-point game, and Kansas City didn’t let the Jaguars get the ball back.
Chiefs All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones, making his season debut after ending his holdout and signing a one-year contract, dominated his one-on-one matchups. Jones manhandled rookie right tackle Anton Harrison and was equally effective against the rest of Jacksonville’s line. He finished with two sacks on five QB pressures.
With extra time to prepare following a loss to Detroit 10 days earlier in the NFL opener, the Chiefs had hoped to look a lot more like their normally dynamic selves on offense. But Richie James muffed a punt, Justin Watson fumbled and Mahomes threw an interception. Kadarius Toney, who dropped three passes in the opener, fumbled late in the third but was able to scoop up the loose ball and avoid another turnover.
Mahomes completed 29 of 41 passes for 305 yards. He found Kelce all alone in the end zone to extend KC’s lead to 14-6. CBS play-by-play announcer Ian Eagle slipped in a song reference to reports linking Kelce to pop superstar Taylor Swift by saying “Kelce finds a blank space for the score.” One of Swift’s many hits is “Blank Space.”
Kelce, who missed the opener because of a hyperextended knee, punted the ball into the end zone to celebrate. He finished with four catches on nine targets for 26 yards.
The Chiefs converted twice on fourth down and outgained Jacksonville 399 to 271 in total yards. The Jaguars had several chances but settled for field goals in two trips into the red zone, and they averaged a measly 4.2 yards per play.
BUCCANEERS 27, BEARS 17
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Baker Mayfield passed for 317 yards and a touchdown Sunday, adding to his strong debut with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a 27-17 victory over the struggling Chicago Bears.
With Mayfield playing turnover-free ball for the second straight week and Mike Evans catching six balls for 171 yards and a TD, the Bucs improved to 2-0 while handing the Bears a franchise-record 12th consecutive loss.
Mayfield completed 26 of 34 passes, looking quite comfortable in another new home. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft is playing with his fourth team in just over two years.
He set up Rachaad White’s 1-yard TD run with a 70-yard completion to Evans in the first quarter. He also finished an 89-yard drive with a 32-yard scoring pass to Tampa Bay’s all-time leading receiver early in the second half.
Tampa Bay’s defense did its job, too, after yielding a 75-yard TD drive on Chicago’s first possession of the game. The Buccaneers sacked Justin Fields six times and picked him off twice.
The Bears (0-2) closed to 20-17 on Chase Claypool’s 20-yard TD catch, but saw any hope for a comeback fade when Fields — throwing out of his own end zone — tossed an interception that Bucs linebacker Shaquil Barrett returned 4 yards for a clinching TD.
Mayfield, who spent his first four seasons with Cleveland before splitting 2022 between Carolina and the Los Angeles Rams, shrugged off a slow start to throw for 173 yards and two touchdowns without a turnover to beat Minnesota 20-17 on the road in the season opener.
The Bucs started more smoothly against the Bears, driving 77 yards in 12 plays to take an early 3-0 lead on Chase McLaughlin’s 26 -yard field goal. Mayfield drove his team to another field goal in the closing seconds of the second quarter for a 13-10 halftime lead.
Fields completed 16 of 29 passes for 211 yards. DJ Moore, acquired in the offseason in a bid to put more playmakers around Chicago’s young quarterback, had six receptions for 104 yards, but the Bears were limited to just 67 yards rushing.
RAVENS 27, BENGALS 24
CINCINNATI (AP) — Lamar Jackson tossed two touchdown passes, Gus Edwards ran for another score and the Baltimore Ravens held off the slow-starting Cincinnati Bengals 27-24 on Sunday.
The AFC North champion Bengals fell to 0-2 for the second consecutive season. The Ravens (2-0), their division rival, certainly looked like the better team.
Jackson was 24 for 33 for 237 yards. He ran for 54 more, and Edwards — with more chances because of a season-ending Achilles tendon injury to J.K. Dobbins — picked up 62 yards on 10 carries.
Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, looking as if he might still be suffering the effects of a calf injury in training camp, finished 27 for 41 for 222 yards and two TDs after passing for just 86 last week in the season-opening loss to Cleveland.
Burrow hooked up with Tee Higgins for a 4-yard touchdown on third-and-goal to cut the deficit to three with 3:28 left in the game.
But the Bengals couldn’t stop Jackson and the Ravens’ offense, which moved the chains twice after the ensuing kickoff to run out the clock.
Jackson completed all five passes he threw on a 70-yard opening drive that ate up nearly eight minutes, and Edwards bulled in from 1 yard out to finish it.
The Bengals tied it early in the second quarter on an electrifying 81-yard punt return for a touchdown by rookie Charlie Jones. It was Jones’ first NFL score and the first punt returned for a TD by a Cincinnati player since 2012.
The Bengals didn’t shake off their lingering offensive malaise until well into the second quarter. They didn’t record a first down until more than 10 minutes into the second, and that came on a defensive pass interference penalty.
But the drive stalled at the Ravens 9 when cornerback Rock Ya-Sin knocked away a pass into the end zone intended for Ja’Marr Chase. The Bengals had to settle for 27-yard field goal from Evan McPherson.
In the second half, Burrow engineered a drive that went to the Ravens 17, but he was picked off near the goal line by Geno Stone. Baltimore’s ensuing drive ended with a 3-yard TD pass from Jackson to Mark Andrews and a 20-10 Ravens lead.
The Bengals pulled within 20-17 while putting together their best drive of the season, with Burrow going 8 for 10 and tossing a 3-yard TD pass to Tee Higgins.
Baltimore pushed the lead back to 10 in the fourth quarter when Jackson connected with Nelson Agholor from 17 yards out.
Burrow finished 27 for 41 for 222 yards and two TDs after passing for just 86 last week in the season-opening loss to Cleveland.
FALCONS 25, PACKERS 24
ATLANTA (AP) — Younghoe Koo booted a 25-yard field goal with 57 seconds remaining and rookie Bijan Robinson turned in another dynamic performance Sunday, rallying the Atlanta Falcons to a 25-24 victory over Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers.
Robinson rushed for 124 yards on 19 carries and hauled in four catches for another 48 yards, showing why the Falcons (2-0) selected him No. 8 pick in the draft even though running backs aren’t supposed to go that high anymore.
The Packers (1-1) squandered a 24-12 lead and three more touchdown passes from Love, who now has a half-dozen scoring throws in his first two games as Aaron Rodgers’ replacement in Titletown.
Atlanta’s young quarterback, Desmond Ridder, bootlegged for a 6-yard touchdown on fourth-and-4 with just under 12 minutes remaining.
Then it was Ridder and Robinson teaming up for two more drives that set up field goals by Koo, including a 39-yarder with 8:13 remaining.
Robinson had 56 yards rushing and 27 yards receiving in his NFL debut, a 24-10 victory over the Panthers.
He was even better against the Packers.
Love wasn’t too shabby, either, especially considering the injury-depleted offense that was around him. He completed 14 of 25 passes for 151 yards and hooked up with a pair of rookies on his three TDs.
But the Packers offense dried up in the final quarter, allowing the Falcons to move to 2-0 for only the 11th time in franchise history.
Love went to second-round pick Jayden Reed for touchdowns of 10 and 9 yards — the first scores of the receiver’s young career.
Love also connected with Dontayvion Wicks on a 32-yard touchdown that gave the fifth-round pick his first TD as a pro.
The Packers were missing three injured starters on offense and lost another during the game, leaving Love to play behind a patched-together line.
Koo kicked four field goals to offset a missed extra point that left the Falcons down 10-9 at halftime.
TITANS 27, CHARGERS 24
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Nick Folk kicked a 41-yard field goal in overtime in a sudden downpour and the Tennessee Titans snapped an eight-game skid by beating the Los Angeles Chargers 27-24 Sunday.
The Titans (1-1) won for the first time since Nov. 17 in Green Bay last season. They had to rally from an 11-3 deficit at a point where the Chargers had more points than Tennessee had yards (eight).
Ryan Tannehill rebounded from the worst game of his career in the opener by throwing for 246 yards and put Tennessee up 24-21 with a 4-yard touchdown pass to Nick Westbrook-Ikhine. He also ran for a touchdown and started the game-winning drive with a 49-yard toss to Chris Moore.
Derrick Henry had 80 yards and also ran for a touchdown.
The Chargers (0-2) now are mired in their first winless start since 2017 when they lost their first four games in both their first season in Los Angeles and first with then-coach Anthony Lynn.
Justin Herbert threw for 305 yards and two touchdowns to Keenan Allen. With the ball and 2:22 left in regulation, he was sacked by Harold Landry forcing the Chargers to settle for Cameron Dicker’s third field goal of the game to force overtime.
The Chargers won the coin toss. But Herbert threw three straight incompletions as Tennessee forced just its third three-and-out of the game.
Both teams played without key starters because of injuries. For the Chargers, running back Austin Ekeler (ankle) and linebacker Eric Kendricks, their biggest offseason addition, was sidelined by a sore hamstring.
Los Angeles at least had linebacker Joey Bosa active after he had been questionable with an injured hamstring. He had two of the Chargers’ five sacks.
The Titans already declared out two starters in their secondary with safety Amani Hooker in the concussion protocol and cornerback Kristian Fulton’s hamstring an issue again. Rookie left guard Peter Skoronski, the No. 11 pick overall out of Northwestern in April, was declared out Saturday with an illness.
Tennessee started Xavier Newman, a second-year undrafted free agent out of Baylor at left guard. That didn’t last as the Chargers ended back-to-back drives with sacks getting to Tannehill untouched. Dillon Radunz, who tore an ACL last December, took over to start the second quarter.
Tennessee finally showed signs of life on offense. Tannehill hit Treylon Burks with a perfectly thrown 70-yard pass, and Henry capped the quick drive with 1-yard TD — Tennessee’s first TD of the season.
Folk kicked a 33-yard field goal as the half ended to pull Tennessee within 14-10. Tannehill capped a 75-yard drive to open the third with a 12-yard TD run, a drive kept alive by the Chargers’ first two penalties of the game both on third down.
Herbert capped an 80-yard drive with a 12-yard TD pass to Allen within the first minute of the fourth quarter.
The Titans tried to answer but went three-and-out on consecutive drives, the second ended by the Chargers’ fifth sack.
