Rounding up Week Two in the 2024 NFL season as Justin Jefferson scores in the Minnesota Vikings' win over the San Francisco 49ers while Aaron Rodgers gets his first win as a New York Jet; watch the Atlanta Falcons against the Philadelphia Eagles in MNF, live on Sky Sports NFL
Monday 16 September 2024 19:41, UK
Sam Darnold led the Minnesota Vikings to an upset win over the San Francisco 49ers, Alvin Kamara dazzled in a thumping victory for the New Orleans Saints over the Dallas Cowboys and the Kansas City Chiefs left it late to beat the Cincinnati Bengals on a dramatic NFL Sunday...
Harrison Butker kicked a 51-yard field goal as time expired as Patrick Mahomes and the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs beat the Cincinnati Bengals 26-25 to stay perfect in their quest for a three-peat.
The Bengals looked to be closing in on victory while leading by two with under a minute to play, only to see rookie safety Daijahn Anthony give away a pass interference penalty to gift the Chiefs a first down on fourth-and-16 from their own 35.
It arrived as the latest edition of a familiar rivalry between the two AFC heavy-hitters, Andy Reid's side getting the better of their opponents on this occasion.
Patrick Mahomes threw for 151 yards and touchdown passes to Rashee Rice and offensive tackle Wanya Morris, as well as throwing two interceptions - including a stunning one-handed grab from Cam Taylor-Britt.
Joe Burrow meanwhile went 23 of 36 for 258 yards and two touchdown strikes to Andrei Iosivas, whose second score gave Cincinnati a 22-17 lead late in the third quarter after Mahomes' one-yard pass to Morris had lifted Kansas City to their first lead of the game at 17-16.
The Bengals were pegged back again when Chamarri Conner returned Burrow's fumble for a 38-yard touchdown at the beginning of the fourth quarter.
Isiah Pacheco had 19 carries for 90 yards on the ground for the Chiefs, while Rice's 44-yard touchdown contributed to his team-high 75 yards. Tight end Mike Gesicki finished as Cincinnati's leading receiver with seven catches for 91 yards.
Justin Jefferson scored a 97-yard touchdown to help the Minnesota Vikings towards an upset victory over the San Francisco 49ers.
Jefferson, the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history, finished with four catches for 133 yards, including his 97-yard catch-and-run score for a 10-0 lead early in the second quarter.
Quarterback Sam Darnold was 17 of 26 passing for 268 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, his other scoring strike going to Jalen Nailor.
Brock Purdy was 28 of 36 for 319 yards, one touchdown and one interception, while Jordan Mason had 20 carries for 100 yards and a touchdown in the absence of Christian McCaffrey, who was placed on injured reserve this week.
The 49ers moved within 10-7 with two minutes to play in the first half as Purdy found tight end George Kittle for a seven-yard touchdown, but the day would belong to Kevin O'Connell's Vikings and, in particular, an inspired Brian Flores defense.
Ka'imi Fairbairn booted four field goals - including three that went for 50-plus yards - as the host Houston Texans rode a stifling defensive performance to a 19-13 victory over the Chicago Bears.
Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams threw two interceptions and absorbed seven sacks, with Texans defensive ends Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson Jr. combining for three of those to pace the suffocating attack.
Williams passed for 174 yards as the Bears (1-1) totaled just 205 yards of offense.
Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud passed for 260 yards and a touchdown to Nico Collins, who finished with eight catches for 135 yards.
Houston (2-0) extended their lead to 19-10 with 13:39 remaining when Fairbairn drilled a 53-yard field goal after Derek Stingley Jr. intercepted Williams' pass.
The third quarter was a slog, with the teams combining for nine penalties and six punts. While the Bears totaled nine penalties for 60 yards for the game, Houston finished with 12 penalties for 115 yards.
Alvin Kamara scored four touchdowns as the New Orleans Saints stunned the Dallas Cowboys to end the hosts' 16-game home winning streak.
Derek Carr finished 11 of 16 for 243 yards and two touchdowns, as well as rushing for a score from the one-yard line to help the Saints improve to 2-0 to start the season.
Rashid Shaheed struck again with a career-long 70-yard touchdown before Kamara found the end zone with a 57-yard catch-and-run to give New Orleans a 35-16 lead at half-time.
Dak Prescott went 27 of 39 passing for 293 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions to Paulson Adebo and Tyrann Mathieu.
CeeDee Lamb scored the only Cowboys touchdown of the game, ducking two tacklers before racing away for a 65-yard house call.
Aiden Hutchinson's 4.5 sacks went unrewarded as the Detroit Lions were beaten by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at home.
Baker Mayfield threw for 185 yards and a touchdown as well as rushing for a score, while Chris Godwin was instrumental with seven catches for 177 yards and a touchdown to extend Tampa's perfect start to the season.
Jared Goff was 35 of 55 passing for 307 yards and two interceptions, with the Lions offense coming up shy while attempting to go for it on fourth down in the final minute of the game.
Amon-Ra St Brown led the Lions with 11 catches for 119 yards.
Jason Myers kicked a 31-yard field goal in overtime to secure a win for the Seattle Seahawks over the New England Patriots.
New England came up shy on their opening possession in overtime before Seattle marched 71 yards downfield to tee up their game-winner.
Myers converted three field goals on the day, including a 38-yarder to make it 20-20 inside the final minute of regulation.
Rhamondre Stevenson carried the ball 21 times for 81 yards and a one-yard touchdown that earned the Patriots a 20-17 lead early in the fourth quarter.
Antonio Gibson also impressed on the ground for the Patriots with 11 carries for 96 yards, alongside 109 receiving yards from tight end Hunter Henry.
Geno Smith finished 33 of 44 for 327 yards and a touchdown to DK Metcalf, who had 129 yards off 10 catches alongside Jaxon Smith-Njigba's 12 receptions for 117 yards.
Aaron Rodgers clinched his first win as a New York Jets quarterback as he threw two touchdowns in a victory over the Tennessee Titans.
Rookie running back Braelon Allen found the end zone twice including a 20-yard burst to round off a 74-yard drive inside the final five minutes to put the Jets on top.
Rodgers' other touchdown pass came in the form of a beauty to running back Breece Hall as he finished 18 of 30 for 176 yards.
Will Levis was 19 of 28 for 192 yards and a 40-yard touchdown to Calvin Ridley for the Titans, the latter scoring twice for Tennessee.
The Carolina Panthers' woes continued as they suffered a defeat at home to the Los Angeles Chargers, who moved to 2-0 under new head coach Jim Harbaugh.
Justin Herbert threw two touchdown passes to his second-year receiver Quentin Johnston, while JK Dobbins produced a second-straight 100-yard rushing game with 131 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
The Chargers quarterback was 14 of 20 for 130 yards, two scores and an interception on a day when Dobbins again controlled things on the ground, his 43-yard run putting Los Angeles up 20-0 in the second quarter.
It proved another laboured day for Bryce Young, who finished 18 of 26 for 84 yards and an interception.
Rookie wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. exploded into life during his second NFL outing as he scored two touchdowns to inspire the Arizona Cardinals to a 41-10 rout of the Los Angeles Rams.
Harrison had reached 130 yards receiving inside the first quarter, finding the end zone on 23 and 60-yard scores to put the Cardinals in control early.
It featured as part of a perfect night for Kyler Murray, who was pulled early with the game done and dusted after throwing 17 of 21 for 266 yards and three touchdowns for a perfect rating of 158.3.
Arizona built on their commanding start courtesy of Elijah Higgins' 18-yard touchdown to build a 21-0 advantage in the the third quarter.
Matthew Stafford was 19 of 27 passing for 216 yards, while second-year running back Kyren Williams scored the Rams' only touchdown on a quiet day on the ground.
Rams receiver Cooper Kupp exited with an ankle injury in the second quarter, adding to Sean McVay's injury woes after Puka Nacua was placed on injured reserve.
Malik Willis led the Green Bay Packers to victory on his first start as Matt LaFleur's side edged the Indianapolis Colts.
Willis was making his Packers bow as he stepped in for the injured Jordan Love having only arrived via a trade from the Tennessee Titans at the end of August.
He threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Dontayvion Wicks in the first quarter on the way to a stats line of 12-of-14 for 122 yards.
Offseason addition Josh Jacobs led the way on the ground with 32 carries for 151 yards while kicker Brayden Narveson nailed three field goals.
Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson was 17 of 34 passing for 204 yards, a touchdown and three interceptions, his one scoring strike coming in a four-yard connection with Alec Pierce.
Jonathan Taylor chipped in with 103 yards on 12 carries for the Colts, who fall to 0-2.
Daniel Carlson kicked a 38-yard field goal with 27 seconds remaining as the Las Vegas Raiders battled to a win over the Baltimore Ravens.
Davante Adams led the way with nine catches for 110 yards and a touchdown, with quarterback Gardner Minshew completing 30 of 38 passes for 276 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
Lamar Jackson was 21 of 34 for 248 yards, an eight-yard touchdown pass to Zay Flowers and an interception as the Ravens fell to 0-2 following their opening-day loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Derrick Henry carried the ball 18 times for 84 yards and a touchdown alongside seven catches for 91 yards and a score from Flowers.
Austin Seibert kicked a 30-yard field goal as time expired to hand Jayden Daniels his first win as an NFL quarterback as the Washington Commanders beat their division rival New York Giants.
Seibert kicked a franchise-record seven field goals on the day having replaced Cade York as starting kicker.
Daniels was 23 of 29 for 226 yards while Brian Robinson Jr starred on the ground with 17 carries for 133 yards alongside four catches for 62 yards from veteran tight end Zach Ertz.
Daniel Jones threw for two touchdowns to rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers - who had 127 yards through the air - and Wan'Dale Robinson.
Deshaun Watson threw for 186 yards and scored a rushing touchdown as the Cleveland Browns beat the Jacksonville Jaguars on the road.
Dustin Hopkins kicked three field goals for Cleveland, Jerome Ford had seven carries for 64 yards on the ground and Jerry Jeudy made five catches for 73 yards as the Browns picked up their first victory of the campaign to leave Jacksonville winless.
Trevor Lawrence was 14 of 30 for 220 yards. Travis Etienne accounted for his side's only touchdown with a rushing score.
Bo Nix threw two interceptions on a gruelling day against the Pittsburgh Steelers and their TJ Watt-led defense as the Denver Broncos fell to a 13-6 defeat.
Nix was 20 of 35 passing for 246 yards as he was picked off by Cory Trice Jr. in the end zone at the end of the third quarter in one of two picks from the rookie quarterback.
Justin Fields threw for 117 yards and a touchdown pass to tight end Darnell Washington, while Najee Harris led Pittsburgh on the ground with 17 carries for 69 yards.
Watch the Atlanta Falcons at the Philadelphia Eagles in Monday Night Football, live on Sky Sports NFL from 1.15am in the early hours of Tuesday morning; Also stream with NOW.
