Round-up of NFL Sunday as Saquon Barkley, Malik Nabers and Malik Willis all star; watch the Jacksonville Jaguars at the Buffalo Bills and Washington Commanders at Cincinnati Bengals in an MNF double-header live on Sky Sports
Monday 23 September 2024 06:53, UK
Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry ran all over the Dallas Cowboys, Saquon Barkley dazzled for the Philadelphia Eagles, Malik Willis starred for the Green Bay Packers and the New York Giants have a new star by the name of Malik Nabers. Round-up from a dramatic NFL Sunday...
The Baltimore Ravens survived a late Dallas Cowboys fightback as they held on to reward their dominant start with a 28-25 victory.
Derrick Henry was instrumental on the ground as he ran for 151 yards and two touchdowns on a day that saw Baltimore amass 274 total rushing yards, including 87 yards and a score from Lamar Jackson.
Jackson also threw 12 passes for 182 yards and a 13-yard touchdown pass to Rashod Bateman in the second quarter.
Henry followed up a brutal stiff arm by bursting away for a 26-yard touchdown run that handed the Ravens a 28-6 lead in the third quarter.
The Cowboys proceeded to threatened a dramatic comeback when Dak Prescott scored on a one-yard quarterback sneak, before C.J. Griffin recovered the onside kick. Prescott then connected with Jalen Tolbert for a 15-yard touchdown to make it 28-18, before KaVontae Turpin hauled in a 16-yard scoring strike to reduce the deficit to three.
Jackson decided to put a stop to the drama, icing the game with a third-down pass to Zay Flowers followed by a 10-yard run as Baltimore closed out the win.
Saquon Barkley scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to inspire the Philadelphia Eagles to a 15-12 win over the New Orleans Saints after a dramatic late finish.
A defensive stalemate had been split by just Blake Grupe's 34-yard field goal in the first quarter until Barkley burst away for a 65-yard touchdown with 13 minutes on the clock in the fourth.
Grupe kicked the Saints within one point with a 38-yard field goal before Derek Carr's 13-yard touchdown pass to Chris Olave gave the hosts a 12-7 lead with two minutes to play.
The Eagles would not be denied, Barkley punching in a game-winning four-yard score followed by a two-point conversion after Dallas Goedert had flipped the field with a 61-yard catch-and-run.
Barkley finished with 147 yards and two scores on the ground, while tight end Goedert starred with 10 catches for 170 yards.
Reed Blankenship iced the game with an interception off Carr, who was 14 of 25 passing for 142 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Jalen Hurts meanwhile went 29 of 38 for 311 yards, an interception and a fumble.
Joshua Karty kicked a 37-yard field goal with two seconds to play as the Los Angeles Rams stunned the San Francisco 49ers with a late comeback to win 27-24.
Kyren Williams rushed four yards for his third touchdown of the day with 1:50 left for the Rams, who came back from a 14-point deficit in the second half for their second straight win over San Francisco (1-2) after losing 10 of the NFC West arch-rivals' previous 12 meetings.
Jauan Jennings set career highs with 11 catches for 175 yards and three touchdowns for the 49ers, who blew a lead of at least 14 points for the first time since 2018.
Los Angeles trailed 24-14 midway through the fourth quarter, but Jake Moody missed a 55-yard field goal attempt for San Francisco with 2:43 to play. Matthew Stafford quickly hit Tutu Atwell for a 50-yard completion to the San Francisco five, and Williams took it in two plays later.
Ronnie Bell then dropped a long pass with 1:02 to play that would have put San Francisco in field goal range, and Xavier Smith - elevated from the Rams' practice squad for this game - took his first career punt return 38 yards to midfield moments later.
A 25-yard pass interference penalty against linebacker De'Vondre Campbell would put the Rams in field goal range, with rookie Karty making no mistake.
Malik Willis had a rushing and passing touchdown as he impressed again in the absence of Jordan Love to lead the Green Bay Packers to a 30-14 win over the Tennessee Titans.
The former Titans quarterback shone against his former team, having arrived via trade from Tennessee at the end of August before being thrown into the lineup in light of Love's injury in Week One.
He threw for 202 yards and rushed for 73, Emanuel Wilson accounting for his passing touchdown and Christian Watson amassing a team-high 67 yards through the air.
Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander chipped in with a first career pick-six touchdown to give Green Bay a 17-7 lead in the first quarter.
Titans quarterback Will Levis was 26 of 34 for 260 yards, touchdown passes to DeAndre Hopkins and Nick Vannett, and two interceptions.
Sam Darnold threw four more touchdown passes to continue his sparkling start as the Minnesota Vikings routed the Houston Texans 34-7.
The Vikings quarterback finished 17 of 28 or 181 yards and scoring strikes to Justin Jefferson, Jalen Nailor, Aaron Jones and Johnny Mundt.
Jones meanwhile had 19 carries for 102 yards alongside his five catches for 46 yards. CJ Stroud completed 20 of 31 passes for 215 yards, a touchdown pass to Cam Akers and two rare interceptions.
Jared Goff threw two touchdown passes, David Montgomery ran for 106 yards and a score and the Detroit Lions held on late to beat the Arizona Cardinals 20-13.
Detroit's defense kept Kyler Murray and Arizona out of the end zone in the second half, giving up just one field goal.
Goff completed his first 14 passes before an incompletion in the third quarter. It was his longest streak without an incompletion to start a game in his nine-year career and he finished 18 of 23 for 196 yards.
Goff's two scoring strikes went to Amon-Ra St Brown and Jahmyr Gibbs, while Murray was 21 of 34 for 205 yards, a touchdown pass to rookie receiver Marvin Harrison Jr and an interception.
Matt Prater kicked a 45-yard field goal to cut Detroit's lead to 20-13 with 3:52 left, but the Lions were able to run out the clock on the ensuing drive. Goff scrambled for an eight-yard gain for the first down that sealed the win.
Malik Nabers caught two touchdown passes while Deshaun Watson was sacked eight times as the New York Giants beat the Cleveland Browns 21-15 to clinch their first win of the campaign.
Daniel Jones connected on 24 of 34 passes for 236 yards and two scores to his rookie wide receiver, who had eight catches for 78 yards including his stunning leaping catch in the end zone.
Devin Singletary also had 16 carries for 65 yards and a touchdown, and could have had another as he raced clear in the final moments before stopping at the one-yard line in order to see out the clock.
Watson was 21 of 37 for 196 yards and two touchdowns to Amari Cooper, the first of which arrived 10 seconds into the game after Giants running back Eric Gray lost a fumble on the opening kickoff return.
Bo Nix enjoyed his best outing as an NFL quarterback to date as the Denver Broncos rookie completed 25 of 36 passes for 216 yards while rushing for a touchdown in an interception-free 26-7 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The pre-game talk had been the continued resurgence of Baker Mayfield in Tampa, but it was Denver who dominated to clinch a surprise win and swerve a 0-3 start.
Mayfield was sacked seven times and intercepted once as well as throwing a touchdown pass to Chris Godwin, while Bucky Irving had 70 yards on the ground.
Tyler Badie impressed out of the backfield for Denver with nine carries for 70 yards, alongside Courtland Sutton's seven catches for 68 yards. Jaleel McLaughlin also had a one-yard rushing touchdown to give Denver a 14-point lead in the first quarter.
Jonathan Taylor exploded with two rushing touchdowns to help the Indianapolis Colts overcome the Chicago Bears in a meeting of the league's two youngest quarterbacks in Caleb Williams and Anthony Richardson.
Taylor had 23 carries for 110 yards and two touchdowns alongside another rushing score from Trey Sermon, while Richardson was 10 of 20 for 167 yards and two poor interceptions.
No 1 pick Williams went 33 of 52 for 363 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions while also being sacked four times on the day.
Geno Smith threw for 289 yards and a 71-yard touchdown to DK Metcalf, while Zach Charbonnet rushed for two touchdown as the Seattle Seahawks beat the Miami Dolphins 24-3.
The Dolphins lost quarterback Skylar Thompson to a chest injury in the second half after he had entered the fold in the absence of Tua Tagovailoa, who was placed on injured reserve after suffering a concussion in Week Two against the Buffalo Bills.
Tim Boyle came in to replace Thompson - who was 13 of 19 for 107 yards having also been sacked five times - with the Dolphins already trailing 17-3.
Andy Dalton threw for 319 yards and three touchdowns as the Carolina Panthers produced one of the shocks of the weekend in a 36-22 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders, who just a week earlier had downed Lamar Jackson's Ravens.
The win comes at the end of a week in which Dalton was named started quarterback after No 1 Bryce Young was moved to the bench following a 0-2 start.
Chuba Hubbard rushed for 114 yards on the ground while making five catches for 55 yards and a touchdown.
Gardner Minshew finished 18 of 28 for 214 yards, a touchdown pass and an interception, before Aidan O'Connell entered the game for the Raiders to complete nine of 12 for 82 yards and a touchdown.
Calvin Austin III raced away for a 55-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter as the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Los Angeles Chargers 10-20.
Steelers quarterback Justin Fields also rushed for a five-yard touchdown in addition to his pass to Austin, while throwing for 245 yards.
Najee Harris ran for 70 yards, Chris Boswell kicked a pair of field goals and Pittsburgh's defense racked up five sacks while handing the Chargers (2-1) their first loss.
Justin Herbert, who had been nursing an ankle issue, threw for 12 of 18, 125 yards and a touchdown to Quentin Johnston before hobbling off injured in the third quarter as he was replaced by Taylor Heinicke.
Watch the Jacksonville Jaguars take on the Buffalo Bills while the Cincinnati Bengals face the Washington Commanders in a Monday Night Football double-header live on Sky Sports.
