September 9 – The New England Patriots avoided turnovers and beat the host Cincinnati Bengals 16–10 on Sunday afternoon, giving Jarrod Mayo a win in his head coaching debut.
Players poured gallons of blue Gatorade into Mayo in the final seconds of the Patriots’ first game in more than two decades under a coach other than Bill Belichick (1-1).
New England running back Lamond Stevenson rushed for 120 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries, and Cohen White had 2.5 sacks, leading the team’s strong defense to stifle Cincinnati’s big rushing attack. Joey Slay kicked three field goals, two of which came in the second half.
Joe Burrow completed 21 of 29 passes for 164 yards for the Bengals (0-1). Jamar Chase had six catches for 62 yards on six targets.
Patriots quarterback Jacoby Brissett completed 15 of 24 passes for 121 yards. Brissett was emotional before and after the game and credited Mayo as a great motivator.
CHARGERS 22, RAIDERS 10
JK Dobbins ran for 135 yards and a touchdown, Cameron Dicker kicked three field goals and Los Angeles beat Las Vegas in a defensive game in Inglewood, California, kicking off the Jim Harbaugh era.
Justin Herbert went 17-of-26 for the Chargers (1-0) while passing for 144 yards, including a touchdown pass to Ladd McConkey with 3:40 left in his first career NFL game. After winning a national title at Michigan State last season, Harbaugh returned to the NFL after going 44-19-1 in four seasons with the San Francisco 49ers (2011-14).
Freshman Raiders starting quarterback Gardner Minshew passed for 25-33 yards, 257 yards and 1 touchdown. Freshman leading back Zamir White rushed for 44 yards on 13 carries, while freshman tight end Brock Bowers had six catches for 58 yards for Las Vegas (0-1).
Bears 24, Titans 17
Chicago scored 24 points, scored touchdowns on special teams and defense in the second half and defeated Tennessee in the NFL debut of Bears quarterback Caleb Williams.
Tyrique Stevenson gave the Bears (1-0) their first lead of the game on a 43-yard run from 6 yards out with 7:35 left. Chicago scored its first touchdown with 9:07 remaining in the third quarter. Daniel Hardy blocked a Ryan Stonehouse punt and Jonathan Owens recovered the ball and ran 21 yards for a touchdown.
Williams, the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft, completed 14 of 29 passes for 93 yards. The Titans’ Will Lewis completed 19 of 32 passes with a touchdown and two interceptions. Tony Pollard rushed for 82 yards on 16 carries and a score for Tennessee (0-1), and Calvin Ridley had three catches for 50 yards.
Lions 26, Rams 20 (overtime)
David Montgomery ran for 1 yard in overtime to help host Detroit defeat Los Angeles.
Montgomery rushed five times for 45 yards on the game-winning drive. He also ran for 91 yards on 17 carries. Detroit’s Jared Goff threw for 217 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Jamison Williams caught five passes for 121 yards and a touchdown for the Lions (1-0).
Matthew Stafford passed for 317 yards, a touchdown and an interception for Los Angeles (0-1). Cooper Kupp caught 14 passes for 110 yards and a touchdown. Rams wide receiver Puka Naikua missed the second half with a knee injury.
Dolphins 20, Jaguars 17
Jason Sanders kicked a 52-yard field goal as time expired to help Miami defeat Jacksonville in Miami Gardens, Florida.
Miami (1-0) trailed 17-7 at halftime. After the Jaguars lost a point to Travis Etienne, Tua Tagovailoa connected with Tyreke Hill for 80 yards to help the Dolphins go ahead 17-14 in the third quarter. Sanders then missed a 42-yard field goal but made up for it by making a 37-yard field goal with 4:22 left.
Tagovailoa completed 37 passes for 23 touchdowns and 338 yards. Hill, who was pulled over by police a block away from the stadium for a traffic violation before the game and cited for a moving violation, had seven catches for 130 yards. Trevor Lawrence completed 12 of 21 passes for 162 yards and a touchdown (0-1) as the Jaguars lost 400-267.
Bills 34, Cardinals 28
Josh Allen threw two touchdowns and ran for two more, helping Buffalo overcome a 14-point deficit to beat Arizona in Orchard Park, N.Y.
Allen completed 18 of 23 passes for 232 yards and touchdowns to Mack Hollins and Khalil Shakir. Allen also rushed for 39 yards on nine carries, while Greg Russo had three sacks and a forced fumble. After the game, Allen’s left hand was heavily bandaged, but he hoped X-rays would confirm he would not miss any games.
The Cardinals (0-1) led 17-3 in the first half but the Bills (1-0) pulled away. Kyler Murray completed 21 of 31 passes for 162 yards and a touchdown and rushed five times for 57 yards for Arizona. DJ Dallas returned a kickoff for a touchdown.
Steelers 18, Falcons 10
Chris Boswell made all six field goals, three of them from 50 yards or longer, to lead Pittsburgh past Atlanta.
In his team debut, Justin Fields completed 17 of 23 passes for 156 yards for Pittsburgh (1-0) and added 57 yards on 14 carries. Najee Harris rushed for a team-high 70 yards and George Pickens caught six balls for 85 yards, helping the Steelers improve to 16-2-1 all-time against Atlanta.
Kirk Cousins made his first start with his new team and went 16 of 26 for 155 yards and a touchdown with two picks for the Falcons (0-1). Bijan Robinson ran for 68 yards. On defense, Pittsburgh gained 270 yards compared to Atlanta’s 226 yards.
Texans 29, Colts 27
High-profile acquisitions Stefon Diggs and Joe Mixon scored touchdowns as Houston opened the season with a Week 1 win over Indianapolis.
Mixon rushed 30 times for 159 yards and a score in his Texans debut, while Diggs had six catches for 33 yards and two touchdowns, one of which was a 2-yard score pass to C.J. Stroud with 4:42 remaining in the game to tie the score 29–29. Stroud completed 24 of 32 passes for 234 yards, and wide receiver Nico Collins had six catches for 117 yards.
Second-year quarterback Anthony Richardson had three big plays and powered most of the Colts’ offense. He completed 9 of 19 passes for 212 yards, including two touchdowns and an interception. Richardson rushed six times for 56 yards, including a 3-yard score as the Texans tied the game with 2:14 remaining.
Saints 47, Panthers 10
Derek Carr threw three touchdowns, New Orleans’ defense forced three turnovers, and the host Saints beat Carolina in the first game of the season for both teams.
Carr completed 19 of 23 passes for 200 yards in new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak’s offense. Alvin Kamara rushed 15 times for 83 yards and a touchdown and added five catches for 27 yards. Rasheed Shaheed had three catches for a game-high 73 yards, including a 59-yard touchdown on the opening drive.
2023 No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young caught 30 passes in former Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Dave Canales’ debut with the Panthers, carrying the ball 13 times for 161 yards, as the Panthers finished with a 2-15 record last season, worst in the NFL.
Vikings 28, Giants 6
Sam Darnold completed 19 of 24 passes for 208 yards, two touchdowns and one interception as Minnesota defeated New York in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Aaron Jones rushed 14 times for 94 yards and a touchdown in his debut in Minnesota after seven years with the Green Bay Packers. Justin Jefferson had four catches for 59 yards and a score for the Vikings (1-0).
Daniel Jones completed 22 of 42 passes for 186 yards and two interceptions for New York (0-1). Giants first-round pick Malik Neighbors caught five passes for 66 yards in his NFL debut. Jones earned a 44.3 passer rating, while Darnold had a 113.2 rating.
Seahawks 26, Broncos 20
Kenneth Walker III ran for 103 yards and a touchdown to help Seattle defeat Denver.
Geno Smith passed for a touchdown and ran for another touchdown to lead the Seahawks (1-0) to a win in Mike McDonald’s first victory as head coach. Smith completed 18 of 25 passes for 171 yards and an interception.
Broncos rookie Bo Nix, a first-round draft pick out of Oregon State, completed 26 of 42 passes for 138 yards and two interceptions. Nix scored on a 4-yard run with 2:09 remaining to pull the Broncos (0-1) within six points, but the Seahawks eventually ran out of time.
Cowboys 33, Browns 17
Just hours after agreeing to the most expensive contract in NFL history, Dak Prescott threw for 179 yards and a touchdown to destroy Cleveland’s weak offense against visiting Dallas.
Prescott, who agreed to a four-year, $240 million extension, completed 19 of 32 passes but wasn’t required to do much more. Dallas (1-0) let Cleveland fall behind for the first time, took a 20-3 lead at halftime and the home team took control from then on. The Browns (0-1) rushed for only 230 yards on 70 carries for the game.
Deshaun Watson struggled until the third quarter when the Cowboys lost a 24-point lead, he completed 24 of 45 passes for 169 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions.
Pirates 37, Commanders 20
Baker Mayfield threw four touchdown passes and Tampa Bay never trailed in a win over Washington in Tampa, Florida, that marked the debut of coach Dan Quinn and new quarterback Jayden Daniels.
Mayfield completed 24 of 30 passes for 289 yards. Mike Evans scored two touchdowns and Chris Godwin had a game-high 83 yards receiving and a touchdown. Jalen McMillan also caught a scoring pass for the Buccaneers (1-0).
Daniels won the Heisman Trophy for LSU last year, completing 17 of 24 passes for 184 yards and two sacks. He also threw for a game-high 88 yards, including two 1-yard touchdowns, for Washington (0-1).
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