Chris Boswell kicked a 53-yard field goal as time expired in overtime and the Pittsburgh Steelers overcame T.J. Watt’s injury late in the fourth quarter to beat the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 in a sloppy season opener for both teams Sunday.
Watt had one of four interceptions off Joe Burrow, who rebounded from a lousy start and rallied Cincinnati from a 17-6 halftime deficit. His six-yard touchdown pass to Ja’Marr Chase tied it at 20 with 2 seconds left in regulation, but the game went to overtime after Minkah Fitzpatrick blocked Evan McPherson’s point-after try.
McPherson and Boswell missed potential winning field goals in overtime before Steelers quarterback Mitch Trubisky completed passes of 9, 26 and 10 yards in the final 56 seconds.
Chris Boswell for the win. What a game! <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/HereWeGo?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#HereWeGo</a> <a href=”https://t.co/uxMKHrVE18″>pic.twitter.com/uxMKHrVE18</a>
—@NFL
Watt, the Defensive Player of the Year, left the field and headed to the locker room shortly before the game went to overtime with a pectoral injury. Before that, he was his usual disruptive self, with a sack and a pick.
Burrow’s four interceptions were a career worst, and he was sacked seven times in front of what was supposed to be an improved offensive line.
McPherson made a 59-yard field goal in the first quarter, but Watt made a leaping interception at the line on the next series. That set up Trubisky’s two-yard TD pass to Najee Harris for a 17-3 edge.
Trubisky, the first quarterback to start for the Steelers after Ben Roethlisberger’s retirement, was 21 for 38 for 194 yards and the short TD pass to Harris as first-round pick Kenny Pickett watched from the sideline.
Chase had 10 catches for 129 yards for the Bengals, while Burrow was 33 for 53 for 338 yards and two touchdowns.
Kansas City dominates Cardinals
Patrick Mahomes threw for 360 yards and five touchdowns, lifting Kansas City to an impressive 44-21 road win over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday in the opener for both teams.
The student put on quite a show for his mentor: The 2018 MVP threw three touchdown passes on Kansas City’s first three drives.
Tight end Travis Kelce caught eight passes for 121 yards and a touchdown. It was his 30th career game with at least 100 yards receiving. Clyde Edwards-Helaire hauled in two touchdown passes.
Kansas City outgained Arizona 488 yards to 282. Mahomes completed 30 of 39 passes.
Chargers take down Raiders
Justin Herbert threw for 279 yards and three touchdowns, Khalil Mack had three sacks in his Chargers debut and Los Angeles defeated Las Vegas 24-19 on Sunday, spoiling Josh McDaniels’ first game as the Raiders’ coach.
Herbert completed 26 of 34 passes and had a 129.4 passer rating despite Keenan Allen leaving with a hamstring injury in the first half and Mike Williams not having a catch until the fourth quarter.
Derek Carr was 22 of 37 for 295 yards and two touchdowns but was picked off three times. He connected 10 times with former Fresno State teammate Davante Adams, who was acquired from Green Bay in the offseason. Adams had 141 receiving yards, including a 2-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Giants rally past Titans
Daniel Jones hit Chris Myarick for a 1-yard touchdown pass, then found Saquon Barkley on a shovel pass for the 2-point conversion with 1:06 left, giving the New York Giants a 21-20 win over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday and making Brian Daboll a winner in his coaching debut.
The Titans, the AFC’s No. 1 seed with a 12-5 record a year ago, had a chance to win as time expired. But Randy Bullock pushed a 47-yard field goal wide left after making two field goals earlier against one of his former teams.
Barkley ran for 164 yards and a 4-yard TD, his best game since Dec. 22, 2019, after topping 100 yards rushing only once in 13 games last season.
Mayfield’s Panthers fall to Browns
Rookie Cade York kicked a go-ahead 58-yard field goal with eight seconds left, Kareem Hunt scored two touchdowns and the Cleveland Browns spoiled Baker Mayfield’s bid for vengeance with a 26-24 win over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.
Mayfield overcame a slow start by leading the Panthers back from a 13-point fourth quarter deficit by running for a 7-yard touchdown and finding Robbie Anderson for a 75-yard touchdown strike. He then led the Panthers on a 64-yard drive in seven plays to set up Eddy Pineiro’s go-ahead field goal with 1:13 left in the game.
Jacoby Brissett, filling in for suspended Browns star Deshaun Watson, completed passes for 13 yards to Donovan Peoples-Jones and 9 yards to Amari Cooper to set up York’s winning kick, the longest for the franchise since 1984.
Mayfield, who spent four seasons with Cleveland prior to being traded in July, finished 16 of 27 for 235 yards.
The Browns harassed Mayfield for most of the game, sacking him four times and tipping five passes at the line of scrimmage.
The No. 1 overall draft pick in 2018 also fumbled two shotgun snaps, took a delay of game penalty and threw an interception that led to Cleveland’s first touchdown.
Mayfield kept his emotions mostly in check until early in the fourth quarter when — trailing 20-7 — he dropped back to pass, saw an opening and raced up the middle for a touchdown, and then celebrated by riffling the ball off the inside wall of the stadium.
Eberflus gets 1st win as Bears defeat 49ers
Justin Fields threw for two second-half touchdowns, Eddie Jackson set up a TD with an interception and the Chicago Bears gave Matt Eberflus a win in his head coaching debut, beating the San Francisco 49ers 19-10 on a rain-soaked Sunday.
San Francisco running back Elijah Mitchell left the game in the first half with a knee injury and did not return. Niners star tight end George Kittle missed the game because of a groin issue.
Fields, the No. 11 overall pick in 2019, was 8 of 17 for 121 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. The former Ohio State star is trying to convince Eberflus and new general manager Ryan Poles he can solidify a position that has long been a weakness for Chicago.
Saints pull off improbable comeback against Falcons
A new coach. A bunch of guys coming back from injuries. A 16-point deficit in the fourth quarter.
None of it flustered the New Orleans Saints, who pulled off a stunning comeback Sunday.
Wil Lutz kicked a 51-yard field goal with 19 seconds remaining after Jameis Winston guided a pair of lighting-quick touchdown drives, giving the Saints a 27-26 victory over the Atlanta Falcons in Dennis Allen’s coaching debut.
Winston hooked up with Thomas on touchdown passes of thre and nine yards. The Saints converted one 2-point try, but failed on the other, leaving the Falcons clinging to a 26-24 lead.
New Orleans got the ball back one more time, taking over at its own 20 with 48 seconds remaining and no timeouts.
Winston connected on a 40-yard pass to Jarvis Landry and a 17-yarder to Juwan Johnson to set up Lutz’s winning field goal.
A personal foul on the Saints gave the Falcons a chance to pull out the victory, but Younghoe Koo’s 63-yard field goal attempt was blocked as the clock ran out.
Hurts, Brown lift Eagles over Lions
Jalen Hurts accounted for 333 yards and a touchdown and A.J. Brown had a career-high-tying 155 yards receiving in his Philadelphia debut, helping the Eagles hold on for a 38-35 win over the Detroit Lions on Sunday.
Philadelphia sealed the win with Miles Sanders’ 24-yard run on third-and-2 from the Eagles 27 just before the two-minute warning and Hurts’ sneak that converted a fourth-and-1 from the Detroit 40 with 50 seconds left.
Sanders finished with 96 yards rushing and was one of three Philadelphia running backs to score.
The Lions started strong, opening the game with a nine-play, 75-yard touchdown drive and forcing Philadelphia to turn it over on downs.
Hurts, though, proved to be too tough to stop on the ground and through the air.
He ran 17 times, one short of his career high, for 90 yards and a 1-yard touchdown early in the second quarter. The third-year quarterback was 18 of 32 for 243 yards, including a 54-yard pass to Brown that set up Jake Elliott’s 23-yard field goal that gave Philadelphia a 24-14 lead at halftime.
Vikings shut down Packers
Justin Jefferson started his third season with Minnesota by smashing rival Green Bay for 184 receiving yards and two touchdowns, giving new Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell a 23-7 victory over the Packers in his first game on Sunday.
Kirk Cousins completed 23 of 32 passes for 277 yards without a turnover, targeting Jefferson on more than a third of his throws and keeping the Packers on their heels for most of the afternoon.
Aaron Rodgers’ first game without Davante Adams was a struggle, and the three-time defending NFC North champion Packers fell flat in their opener for the second straight season. Last year, they deftly rebounded from a 38-3 defeat by New Orleans, but a repeat will require some new wide receivers to quickly emerge in rhythm with Rodgers.
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