What happened in Week Four in the NFL? Trevor Lawrence's Jacksonville Jaguars remain in search of their first win after late heartbreak against the Houston Texans, while Caleb Williams leads the Chicago Bears to victory over the Los Angeles Rams
Monday 30 September 2024 06:18, UK
Sam Darnold and the Minnesota Vikings continued their blistering start, Baker Mayfield dominated the Philadelphia Eagles, Younghoe Koo was the hero in Atlanta and the Kansas City Chiefs maintained their perfect record in a thrilling Week Four in the NFL...
The defending champions march on. They were far from perfect yet again, and that might be the most pressing concern of all to their closest rivals.
Samaje Perine scored a two-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter as the back-to-back Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs overcame an early 10-point deficit to beat the Los Angeles Chargers 17-10.
In doing so they extended their perfect start to 4-0, with Patrick Mahomes throwing for 245 yards and a 54-yard touchdown pass to rookie receiver Xavier Worthy.
Travis Kelce meanwhile responded emphatically to criticism of his quiet start to the season with seven catches for 89 yards as he broke the franchise record for career receptions.
His production proved vital as the Chiefs lost lead receiver Rashee Rice to injury, head coach Andy Reid admitting it 'doesn't look good' for the 2023 second-round pick.
The Chargers established a 10-0 lead after Justin Herbert connected with Ladd McConkey for a seven-yard touchdown to punish Carson Steele's fumble before Cameron Dicker kicked a 50-yard field goal after a Mahomes interception.
Kansas City and Mahomes responded through Worthy's deep touchdown catch, before Steve Spagnuolo's defense starred again to limit Herbert and the Chargers offense. Herbert finished the game 16 of 27 for 179 yards and a touchdown, while being hit 10 times on 31 dropbacks and sacked twice by Chris Jones.
Sam Darnold threw three more touchdown passes while Jordan Love tossed four touchdowns and three interceptions on his return from injury as the Vikings held off a Packers fightback to win 31-29 and extend their perfect start to the season.
Minnesota moved to 4-0 on the year after taking advantage of an early 28-point lead, within which Jordan Addison scored two touchdowns.
The Packers, having trailed 28-0 in the first 25 minutes, moved within 31-29 with 56 seconds to play after Dontayvion Wicks' 17-yard touchdown catch, his second score of the final quarter.
Alongside his strikes to Addison, Darnold also threw touchdowns to Josh Oliver and a 14-yard dime to Justin Jefferson as he finished with 275 yards as well as throwing an interception and losing a fumble.
Love was playing for the first time since suffering a knee injury in Week One against the Eagles, reigniting his connection with Jayden Reed, who had seven catches for 139 yards and a touchdown.
Aaron Jones had 22 carries for 93 yards and four catches for 46 yards in his first appearance against the Packers since his exit at Lambeau Field during the offseason.
Brock Purdy threw a touchdown pass, Fred Warner returned an interception for a score and the San Francisco 49ers snapped a two-game skid by beating the New England Patriots 30-13.
San Francisco got field goals from Jake Moody on the opening two drives before Warner delivered his latest big play of the season, making a diving interception against Jacoby Brissett and returning it 45 yards for his second career touchdown.
Brissett went 19 for 32 for 168 yards and was sacked six times for 25 yards. New England have been held under 150 yards passing in each of the first four games of the season for the first time since 1971.
Purdy threw for 288 yards and a touchdown to George Kittle, who made a stunning catch between three defenders in the corner of the end zone to make it 20-0.
Running back Jordan Mason had 123 rushing yards and a touchdown from 24 carries as the 49ers continued without the injured Christian McCaffrey.
Jayden Daniels threw for 233 yards and a touchdown and ran for a score as the Washington Commanders extended their winning streak to three games with a 42-14 victory over the Arizona Cardinals.
Daniels - the No. 2 overall pick last spring - became the fourth quarterback in the Super Bowl era to run for four touchdowns in his first four career games, joining Cam Newton, Robert Griffin III and Anthony Richardson.
Daniels also completed 26 of 30 passes and has an 82 per cent completion percentage in his short career. He hit Terry McLaurin for a 10-yard touchdown strike midway through the fourth quarter, and found Zach Ertz in the back of the end zone on the two-point conversion, for a 35-14 lead.
Jeremy McNichols ran for two touchdowns and Brian Robinson Jr. had 101 yards on the ground.
Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray was 16 of 22 for 142 yards and a touchdown pass to Marvin Harrison Jr, while James Conner had 18 carries for 104 yards and a score.
The Tampa Bay crowd erupted in cheers at the sight of Tom Brady as their former Super Bowl-winning quarterback returned to Raymond James Stadium in the latest stop of his young broadcast career, but yet again it was a day that belonged to Baker Mayfield.
Mayfield was outstanding yet again as he threw 30 passes for 347 yards and two touchdowns as well as rushing for a score to inspire the Bucs to a 33-15 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles.
One of his two passing strikes saw Mike Evans become the franchise's career scoring leader, his two-yard reception helping Tampa build a 24-0 lead as he finished with eight catches for 94 yards. Mayfield also threw a first-quarter touchdown to Trey Palmer.
Parris Campbell reduced the deficit with a one-yard touchdown catch for the Eagles, before Philadelphia found rare joy on offense when Saquon Barkley's 59-yard burst set up Hurts' one-yard rushing score to make it a 10-point game at 24-14. Kelee Ringo gave the Eagles more hope when he collected a blocked extra-point attempt before racing downfield for a two-point defensive extra point that made it 30-16.
Hurts finished 18 of 30 for 150 yards for the Eagles, who could not build on last week's win over the Saints.
Younghoe Koo kicked a 58-yard field goal with two seconds remaining as the Atlanta Falcons beat the New Orleans Saints 26-24 without scoring an offensive touchdown.
Koo kicked four field goals in all, also connecting from 53, 44 and 42 yards to give the Falcons a home victory.
Alvin Kamara scored on a one-yard run with a minute remaining to push the Saints to a 24-23 lead, before a 30-yard pass interference penalty on Paulson Adebo gave the Falcons hope at the New Orleans 40. Up stepped Koo to hold his nerve and secure the win for Atlanta over their division rivals.
Cousins finished 21 of 35 for 238 yards and one interception, while Derek Carr was 28 of 36 for 239 yards and a pick. Drake London led Atlanta with six catches for 64 yards across from Chris Olave's eight receptions for 87 yards for the Saints.
Linebacker Troy Anderson produced one of the game's flashpoints when he scored a 47-yard pick-six off Matthew Judon's deflection to hand the Falcons a 17-14 lead at half-time.
Taysom Hill had two rushing touchdowns for the Saints, who lost for the second week in a row.
No 1 Draft pick Caleb Williams clinched his first home victory at Soldier Field as he helped the Chicago Bears to a 24-18 win over the Los Angeles Rams.
Williams completed 17 of 23 passes for 157 yards and a clinical touchdown pass to DJ Moore - the pair's first scoring connection in the NFL - while D'Andre Swift and Roschon Johnson each had rushing touchdowns.
Swift starred from scrimmage with 16 carries for 93 yards and a score as well as making a team-high seven catches for 72 yards.
Jaquan Brisker iced the game when he intercepted Matthew Stafford with a minute to play, having also sacked the Rams quarterback in the game.
Stafford was 20 of 29 for 224 yards and an interception, Tutu Atwell his leading receiver with four catches for 82 yards in the continued absence of Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua. Kyren Williams rushed for 94 yards and a touchdown from 19 carries.
Dare Ogunbowale caught a one-yard touchdown pass with 18 seconds remaining as the former Jaguar broke Jacksonville hearts in a 24-20 victory for the Houston Texans.
CJ Stroud finished the game with 345 yards and two touchdowns - including his winning strike to Ogunbowale - as the Texans improved to 3-1 while denying Jacksonville their first win of the campaign.
Nico Collins starred yet again as the NFL's leader in receiving yards, making 12 catches for 151 yards and a touchdown while Cam Akers had 13 carries for 53 yards in the absence of Joe Mixon.
Trevor Lawrence threw for 169 yards and touchdowns to Brian Thomas Jr and Christian Kirk, with Tank Bigsby chipping in with seven carries for 90 yards out of the backfield.
The Indianapolis Colts overcame the loss of Anthony Richardson as they rallied to fend off the Pittsburgh Steelers 27-24 behind veteran quarterback Joe Flacco.
Richardson exited the game early not once but twice, the second time seeing him head to the locker room for treatment on his hip.
Among Flacco's early contributions was a four-yard touchdown pass to Josh Downs as the Colts built a 17-3 half-time advantage. The 2023 Comeback Player of the Year eventually finished 19 of 30 for 166 yards and two touchdowns, the second of which was a short pitch to tight end Alec Ogletree.
Justin Fields battled hard to bring Pittsburgh back into the game, producing two rushing touchdowns in the second half as well as connecting with Pat Freiermuth in the end zone as the Steelers moved within 27-24 with 3.40 to play, only for the Colts to hold on for their second win of the year.
Michael Pittman Jr led the Colts with six catches for 113 yards, while Jonathan Taylor rushed for 88 yards and a touchdown to help inflict Pittsburgh's first loss.
Andy Dalton and the Carolina Panthers were denied a second straight win as the Cincinnati Bengals got their season up and running with a hard-fought 34-24 victory.
Joe Burrow threw for 232 yards and touchdown passes to Zack Moss and Ja'Marr Chase, the latter of whom ricocheted off two defenders on his way to a stunning 63-yard catch-and-run house call.
Chase had three catches for 85 yards on the day alongside Chase Brown's 15 carries for 80 yards and two rushing touchdowns as the Bengals finally established some ground control.
Dalton, who replaced the benched Bryce Young last week, threw for 220 yards, two touchdowns - to Diontae Johnson and Xavier Legette - and an interception in his second start. Chuba Hubbard meanwhile ran for 104 yards and a touchdown.
The Las Vegas Raiders used a strong defense as well as a balanced running game to hold off a late rally to beat the Cleveland Browns 20-16.
Cleveland drove to the Raiders nine-yard line, but Deshaun Watson was sacked by Charles Snowden with 41 seconds left to seal the victory.
Alexander Mattison rushed for 60 yards for the Raiders - missing star receiver Davante Adams and marquee pass rusher Maxx Crosby - while Gardner Minshew was just 14 of 24 for 130 yards as both offenses struggled to move the ball.
Watson completed all eight passes in leading the Browns to a touchdown drive to open the game that lasted 9:22, but finished 24 for 32 for 176 yards.
Bo Nix and the Denver Broncos followed up their surprise win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week Three as they held off Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets for a 10-9 victory.
In a game dominated by defense, Rodgers had the chance to orchestrate a game-winning drive in the final two minutes after Wil Lutz kicked a 50-yard field goal wide for the Broncos. But the four-time MVP would come up empty as Greg Zuerlein dragged his 50-yard field goal to the right to hand Denver the win.
Rodgers finished 24 of 42 for 225 yards as he was sacked five times, while Nix went 12 of 25 passing for just 60 yards and a first career touchdown to Courtland Sutton to give the Broncos a 7-6 lead late in the third quarter.
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