SCOREBOARD
Monday, Sept. 28
Kansas City at Baltimore, 8:15 p.m. EDT. It’s a Monday night matchup between Patrick Mahomes and the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs (2-0) against Lamar Jackson and the Ravens (2-0), a team that has won 14 straight regular-season games. It’s also a showdown between the past two NFL MVPs, with Mahomes winning the award in 2018 and Jackson last season. The game is also the first in NFL history featuring two MVPs under the age of 26,
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STARS
Passing
- Russell Wilson, Seahawks, threw five touchdown passes in Seattle’s 38-31 win over Dallas and set an NFL record for most scoring passes in the first three games of a season with 14.
- Josh Allen, Bills, finished with four touchdown passes, including a 3-yard toss to Tyler Kroft with 15 seconds remaining, and also scored on a 1-yard run - making up for two turnovers - to help Buffalo top the Los Angeles Rams 35-32.
- Tom Brady, Buccaneers, tossed three touchdown passes and had 297 yards passing in Tampa Bay’s 28-10 win at Denver.
- Nick Mullens, 49ers, threw for 343 yards and a touchdown while playing in place of the injured Jimmy Garoppolo, leading San Francisco past the New York Giants 36-9.
- Nick Foles, Bears, came in for an ineffective Mitch Trubisky and tossed three TD passes to help Chicago rally from a 16-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat Atlanta 30-26.
- Aaron Rodgers, Packers, was 21 of 32 for 283 yards and three TDs in Green Bay’s 37-31 victory at New Orleans.
- Dak Prescott, Cowboys, passed for 472 yards and three touchdowns, but also had two interceptions in Dallas’ 38-31 loss at Seattle.
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Rushing
- Dalvin Cook, Vikings, ran for 181 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries in Minnesota’s 31-30 loss to Tennessee.
- Derrick Henry, Titans, rushed for 119 yards and two third-quarter touchdowns in Tennessee’s 31-30 win at Minnesota.
- Sony Michel, Patriots, had 117 yards rushing on just nine carries in New England’s 36-20 victory over Las Vegas.
- Darrell Henderson Jr., Rams, rushed for 114 yards and a TD in Los Angeles’ 35-32 loss at Buffalo.
- Nick Chubb, Browns, had two touchdown runs and finished with 108 yards rushing in Cleveland’s 34-20 victory over Washington.
- James Conner, Steelers, ran for 109 yards and the go-ahead touchdown midway through the fourth quarter to help Pittsburgh stay perfect with a 28-21 win over Houston.
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Receiving
- Tyler Lockett, Seahawks, caught three touchdown passes and finished with nine receptions for 100 yards in Seattle’s 38-31 win over Dallas.
- Allen Lazard, Packers, had 146 yards receiving and a TD on six catches in Green Bay’s 37-30 victory at New Orleans.
- Alvin Kamara, Saints, had 13 catches for 139 yards and two scores, and also ran for 58 yards in New Orleans’ 37-30 loss to Green Bay.
- Justin Jefferson, Vikings, had seven catches for 175 yards and a touchdown in Minnesota’s 31-30 loss to Tennessee.
- Allen Robinson, Bears, had 10 receptions for 123 yards and a TD in Chicago’s 30-26 victory at Atlanta.
- Tyler Boyd, Bengals, caught 10 passes for 125 yards in Cincinnati’s 23-23 tie at Philadelphia.
- Keenan Allen, Chargers, caught 13 passes for 132 yards and a TD in Los Angeles’ 21-16 loss to Carolina.
- DeAndre Hopkins, Cardinals, had 137 yards receiving on 10 receptions in Arizona’s 26-23 loss to Detroit.
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Special Teams
- Stephen Gostkowski, Titans, made his career-high sixth field goal of game, a 55-yarder with 1:48 left that lifted undefeated Tennessee past Minnesota 31-30.
- Matt Prater, Lions, booted a 39-yard field goal as time expired, helping Detroit beat Arizona 23-20 to snap an 11-game losing streak dating to last season.
- Joey Slye, Panthers, kicked five field goals to offset a missed extra point in Carolina’s 21-16 win over the Los Angeles Chargers.
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Defense
- Xavier Rhodes and T.J Carrie, Colts. Each returned interceptions of Sam Darnold for touchdowns in Indianapolis’ 36-7 rout of the New York Jets. Rhodes added a second interception.
- Aldon Smith, Cowboys, had three sacks in Dallas’ 38-31 loss at Seattle.
- Shilique Calhoun and Deatrich Wise Jr, Patriots. Calhoun had two forced fumbles and Wise a fumble recovery for a score in New England’s 36-20 win over Las Vegas.
- Shaquil Barrett, Buccaneers, had two sacks and a safety to help Tampa Bay top Denver 28-10.
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MILESTONES
Bill Belichick became the third coach in NFL history to reach 275 regular-season victories with New England’s 36-20 win over Las Vegas. Belichick joined George Halas (318) and Don Shula (328) as the only coaches to reach the mark. … Russell Wilson threw five touchdown passes in Seattle’s 38-31 win over Dallas, setting an NFL record for most scoring passes in the first three games of a season with 14. Wilson also became the first QB to have at least four TD passes in each of the first three games. … Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger threw for 237 yards and two touchdowns in a 28-21 win over Houston in his franchise-record 221st appearance, breaking the record set by Hall of Fame center Mike Webster. … Indianapolis’ Philip Rivers went 17 of 21 with 217 yards in a 36-7 win over the New York Jets, becoming the sixth player in league history to throw 400 TD passes and the sixth to top 60,000 yards. He passed Hall of Famer Dan Marino for fifth all-time in completions and broke a tie with Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton for eighth in league history with win No. 125.
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STREAKS & STATS
Buffalo’s Josh Allen passed for 311 yards with four touchdowns and one interception for a 128.9 rating, and added a rushing touchdown in the Bills’ 35-32 win over the Los Angeles Rams. He has 1,038 yards passing with 10 TDs and a 124.8 rating, along with two rushing TDs. He’s the first player in NFL history with at least 10 touchdown throws and two TD runs in his team’s first three games. … Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow, the No. 1 overall pick in April, has 91 completions through his first three career games. That surpasses Arizona’s Kyler Murray (84 completions in 2019) for the most completions by a rookie quarterback in his first three career games in NFL history. … Chicago’s Jimmy Graham had two touchdown catches in the Bears’ 30-26 victory. It was his 16th game with two TD receptions, tying Rob Gronkowski for the third-most such games by a tight end. Only Antonio Gates (21) and Tony Gonzalez (18) have more.
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STARTS
Pittsburgh improved to 3-0 for the first time in a decade by beating Houston 28-21. … Chicago beat Atlanta 30-26 to improve to 3-0 for the first time since 2013. … Green Bay topped New Orleans 37-31 to start 3-0 for the first time since 2015.
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FALCONS FOLLIES
Atlanta suffered its second straight fourth-quarter collapse after leading by two touchdowns, this time to backup quarterback Nick Foles and the Chicago Bears, who rallied from a 16-point deficit for a 30-26 win. The Falcons (0-3) became the first team in NFL history lose back-to-back games in which it led by 15 or more points in the final period, according to STATS. A week ago, Atlanta became a national laughingstock after failing to pounce on an onside kick, allowing the Dallas Cowboys to finish off their comeback from a 39-24 deficit to win 40-39 on a field goal as time expired.
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REDEMPTION
DK Metcalf made up for a huge first-half blunder by catching a 29-yard touchdown pass from Russell Wilson with 1:47 remaining, and Seattle held off Dallas. Metcalf appeared to have a walk-in touchdown after hauling in a deep pass from Wilson late in the first quarter. But he was careless with the ball in the final few steps before the goal line, and Dallas cornerback Trevon Diggs came up from behind and knocked the ball free. It went out of the end zone for a touchback.
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FAMILY REUNION
The Watt family reunion - just the second game in the NFL in 93 years to feature three brothers - began with a group photo well before kickoff and included Pittsburgh linebacker T.J. Watt and big brother, Houston defensive end J.J. Watt, meeting at midfield for the opening coin toss. Middle brother Derek, a fullback for the Steelers, watched Pittsburgh’s 28-21 from the sidelines and spent most of the afternoon there. Derek played occasionally in the first half before leaving with a hamstring injury. T.J. Watt earned family bragging rights, picking up a key sack on Watson to push back the Texans at the start of their final possession.
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SIDELINED
Washington rookie defensive end Chase Young’s outlook is uncertain after the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s draft left in the second quarter of a loss to Cleveland with a groin injury. The former Ohio State star was to be evaluated Monday. … Philadelphia tight end Dallas Goedert left in the first quarter of a 23-23 tie against Cincinnati with an ankle injury. Receiver DeSean Jackson didn’t play in the second half because of a hamstring injury. … Seattle safety Jamal Adams injured his groin in a 38-31 win over Dallas. Running back Chris Carson sprained a knee in the fourth quarter, and right guard Damien Lewis left early with an ankle injury. … Tampa Bay receiver Chris Godwin was ruled out with a hamstring injury after scoring a touchdown against Denver. He had missed the previous week with a concussion. … New York rookie left tackle Mekhi Becton left the Jets’ 36-7 loss at Indianapolis with a shoulder injury.
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SPEAKING
“This is a loss to me. We didn’t win, that’s all it is to me. If you don’t win, you lose. That’s the mind-set to me.” - Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow after the Bengals and Philadelphia Eagles played to a 23-23 tie.
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“It doesn’t get no worse than this. We probably found the two worst ways you can lose a football game.” - Atlanta defensive end Dante Fowler Jr. after the Falcons suffered its second straight fourth-quarter collapse after leading by two touchdowns, this time 30-26 to Chicago.
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