NFL
roundup: Chiefs' Mahomes fires six TD passes
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[September 17, 2018]
In a game with wild swings and
pass-happy quarterbacks, Patrick Mahomes threw for 326 yards and six
touchdowns Sunday to lead the Kansas City Chiefs past the host
Pittsburgh Steelers 42-37.
The Chiefs (2-0) blew a three-touchdown lead, went back up by 14
points and held on. Kansas City's Travis Kelce had 109 receiving
yards and two touchdowns.
Mahomes has set an NFL record with 10 touchdown passes through the
first two games of a season, and he finished with more touchdown
passes than incompletions (five).
Ben Roethlisberger was 39 of 60 for 452 yards and three touchdowns,
and he rushed for another score. Jesse James had 138 receiving yards
with a touchdown for Pittsburgh (0-1-1), and JuJu Smith-Schuster
added 121 yards and a touchdown.
Jaguars 31, Patriots 20
Blake Bortles passed for 377 yards and four touchdowns as host
Jacksonville avenged last season's loss in the AFC Championship Game
with a win over New England.
Keelan Cole caught seven passes for 116 yards and one touchdown for
the Jaguars (2-0), his third career 100-yard receiving game. Donte
Moncrief, Austin Seferian-Jenkins and Dede Westbrook also caught
scoring passes for Jacksonville, which defeated the Patriots for the
first time in eight all-time regular-season meetings.
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Tom Brady passed for 234 yards for the Patriots (1-1) and threw two
touchdown passes to wideout Chris Hogan. Tight end Rob Gronkowski,
subject to recent criticism from Jacksonville cornerback Jalen
Ramsey, had just two receptions for 15 yards.
Broncos 20, Raiders 19
Brandon McManus kicked a 36-yard field goal in the final seconds,
and host Denver rallied in the fourth quarter to beat the Oakland.
Case Keenum completed 19 of 35 passes for 222 yards, 62 of which
came on the drive that set up the winning field goal. Keenum and
Royce Freeman ran for scores for the Broncos (2-0).
Derek Carr was 29 of 32 for 288 yards and a touchdown pass as
Marshawn Lynch and Seth Roberts scored for Oakland (0-2), which
remained winless in the return of head coach Jon Gruden. The Raiders
blew a 12-point, second-half lead against their division rivals.
Vikings 29, Packers 29 (OT)
Kirk Cousins came close to delivering a dramatic comeback in the
second half, but visiting Minnesota and Green Bay settled for a tie.
Cousins, who had 425 passing yards and four touchdowns, set up the
Vikings (1-0-1) for a game-winning 35-yard field goal, but rookie
Daniel Carlson missed wide right to end the game. That was his
second missed field goal in overtime and third on the day. Packers
kicker Mason Crosby missed a 52-yard field goal wide left as time
expired in regulation.
Cousins guided Minnesota to 22 points in the fourth quarter and led
the Vikings downfield to tie the game at 29 with a two-point
conversion toss to Stefon Diggs that followed Adam Thielen's 22-yard
touchdown with 31 seconds left. Aaron Rodgers, playing with an
injured left knee, was 30 of 42 for 281 yards for the Packers
(1-0-1).
Falcons 31, Panthers 24
Matt Ryan and the Atlanta offense bounced back impressively from a
subpar outing in the season opener, recording touchdowns on all four
red-zone possessions in a home victory over Carolina.
Ryan, who frequently misfired in a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles
in Week 1, threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more as the
Falcons (1-1) defeated the Panthers (1-1) for the fourth straight
time in Atlanta and fifth in six games overall.
Ryan completed 23 of 28 passes for 272 yards and Tevin Coleman,
filling in for Pro Bowl running back Devonta Freeman, gained 107
yards on 16 carries, becoming the first player to rush for 100 yards
against Carolina in 22 games. Panthers QB Cam Newton was 32 of 45
for 335 yards and three touchdowns and one interception.
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Buccaneers 27, Eagles 21
Ryan Fitzpatrick threw four touchdown passes, and host Tampa Bay
held on to defeat defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia and
move to 2-0.
Fitzpatrick, who also tossed four touchdown passes against the New
Orleans Saints last week, became the first quarterback in league
history to throw for at least 400 yards and four touchdowns in
consecutive games to open a season.
Quarterback Nick Foles received his second straight start for the
Eagles (1-1) in place of injured starter Carson Wentz and completed
35 of 48 passes for 334 yards and one touchdown.
Cowboys 20, Giants 13
Dak Prescott made a big early statement, and the Dallas defense
dominated New York for a win at Arlington, Texas.
Prescott launched a 64-yard touchdown pass to Tavon Austin on the
game's third play from scrimmage. The former Rams receiver's first
catch as a Cowboy made it 7-0 just 94 seconds into the game.
Prescott completed 16 of 25 passes for 160 yards and added a
career-high 45 rushing yards.
The Cowboys (1-1) sacked Eli Manning six times and held the Giants
to 255 yards of offense. New York is off to its fourth 0-2 start in
the past five years.
Dolphins 20, Jets 12
Ryan Tannehill threw two touchdown passes, and visiting Miami held
on for victory against New York and rookie quarterback Sam Darnold.
Tannehill was 17 of 23 for 168 yards, but he absorbed four sacks and
the Dolphins (2-0) didn't score in the second half after building a
20-0 lead.
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Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) passes against pressure
from Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Cameron Heyward (97)
during the fourth quarter at Heinz Field. Kansas City won 42-37.
Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
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Darnold couldn't get New York (1-1) into the end zone enough despite
completing 25 of 41 throws for 334 yards. He threw one touchdown
pass and was intercepted twice.
Chargers 31, Bills 20
Philip Rivers threw for 256 yards and three touchdowns to lead
visiting Los Angeles in a win over Buffalo in Bills rookie
quarterback Josh Allen's starting debut.
Rivers was surgical in the first half, completing 15 of 16 passes
for 178 yards and three touchdowns. He finished 23 of 27 and did not
throw an interception. Melvin Gordon found the end zone three times
for the Chargers (1-1).
Rookie quarterback Josh Allen was 18 of 33 passing for 245 yards,
one touchdown and two interceptions in his first career start for
the Bills (0-2). He connected with Kelvin Benjamin on a 3-yard pass
for his first career touchdown with 38 seconds left in the game.
Titans 20, Texans 17
Blaine Gabbert orchestrated a late drive that resulted in a field
goal to give Tennessee a tight victory against visiting Houston.
Ryan Succop's 31-yard field goal with 1:05 remaining broke a tie,
capping a 62-yard drive that consumed 12 plays and nearly six
minutes. The Texans (0-2) reached Tennessee territory but they were
out of timeouts and couldn't get another play off after making it to
the Titans 21-yard line on the last snap.
The Titans (1-1) were led by Gabbert, who had less than 100 passing
yards until the game-winning drive. He was filling in for
quarterback Marcus Mariota, whose status had been in question after
sustaining an elbow injury a week earlier. Gabbert ended up 13 of 20
for 117 yards.
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49ers 30, Lions 27
Matt Breida rushed for a career-best 138 yards, and Robbie Gould set
a franchise record for most consecutive made field goals with a
3-for-3 effort Sunday afternoon, propelling San Francisco over
Detroit in Santa Clara, Calif.
Jimmy Garoppolo threw two touchdown passes and remained unbeaten in
home games in his 49ers career with a third straight win as San
Francisco (1-1) rebounded from an error-filled loss at Minnesota
with a turnover-free performance.
Matthew Stafford amassed 347 passing yards and three scores for
Detroit (0-2). He threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Marvin Jones Jr.
and a 15-yarder to Michael Roberts in the final 8:36 to rally the
Lions, down 30-13 at one point, to within three.
Saints 21, Browns 18
Drew Brees connected on a pair of short touchdown passes to Michael
Thomas in a six-minute span of the fourth quarter, and Wil Lutz
kicked a 44-yard field goal with 21 seconds to lift host New Orleans
over visiting Cleveland.
The Browns (0-1-1) had a chance to force overtime for the second
consecutive week, but Cleveland kicker Zane Gonzalez pushed a
52-yard field-goal attempt wide right with three seconds remaining.
Gonzalez also missed two extra points and a 44-yard field-goal
attempt earlier in the game.
After the two Brees-Thomas scores, the Browns drove 75 yards to tie
the game 18-18 on a 47-yard pass from Taylor to rookie Antonio
Callaway with 1:16 left. However, Gonzalez hooked the potential
go-ahead extra point to the left. Brees then took the Saints 49
yards in six plays, and Lutz nailed his 44-yarder, putting the
Saints (1-1) up 21-18 with 21 seconds left.
Colts 21, Redskins 9
Andrew Luck threw a pair of touchdown passes, and the Indianapolis
defense kept host Washington out of the end zone.
After surrendering 34 points to the Bengals in Week 1, the Colts
(1-1) contained Alex Smith and Co. Smith passed for 292 yards, but
Washington (1-1) was 5-for-15 on third down and 0-for-2 in the red
zone.
Adrian Peterson, who ran for 96 yards in Week 1, was held to 20
yards on 11 carries, and the Redskins gained just 65 yards on the
ground. Luck completed 21 of 31 passes for 179 yards and was
intercepted twice.
Rams 34, Cardinals 0
Todd Gurley rushed for three touchdowns, and Jared Goff passed for
354 yards and a score as host Los Angeles rolled over Arizona.
The Rams' defense held the Cardinals to 60 yards of total offense in
the first half and 137 for the game. It was the second consecutive
season the Rams (2-0) pinned a shutout on the Cardinals (0-2), doing
so last year in a game at London.
The Cardinals' offense did not cross the 50-yard line until
quarterback Sam Bradford connected on a pass with Ricky Seals-Jones
on the second-to-last play of the game.
--Field Level Media
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