Sam Darnold led the Minnesota Vikings to an upset win over the San Francisco 49ers while Alvin Kamara dazzled in a thumping victory for the New Orleans Saints over the Dallas Cowboys on NFL Sunday.
San Francisco 49ers 17-23 Minnesota Vikings
Justin Jefferson scored a 97-yard touchdown to help the Minnesota Vikings towards an upset victory over the San Francisco 49ers.
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Jefferson, the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history, finished with four catches for 133 yards, including his 97-yard catch-and-run score for a 10-0 lead early in the second quarter.
Quarterback Sam Darnold was 17 of 26 passing for 268 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, his other scoring strike going to Jalen Nailor.
Brock Purdy was 28 of 36 for 319 yards, one touchdown and one interception, while Jordan Mason had 20 carries for 100 yards and a touchdown in the absence of Christian McCaffrey, who was placed on injured reserve this week.
The 49ers moved within 10-7 with two minutes to play in the first half as Purdy found tight end George Kittle for a seven-yard touchdown, but the day would belong to Kevin O’Connell’s Vikings and, in particular, an inspired Brian Flores defense.
New Orleans Saints 44-19 Dallas Cowboys
Alvin Kamara scored four touchdowns as the New Orleans Saints stunned the Dallas Cowboys to end the hosts’ 16-game home winning streak.
Derek Carr finished 11 of 16 for 243 yards and two touchdowns, as well as rushing for a score from the one-yard line to help the Saints improve to 2-0 to start the season.
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Rashid Shaheed struck again with a career-long 70-yard touchdown before Kamara found the end zone with a 57-yard catch-and-run to give New Orleans a 35-16 lead at half-time.
Dak Prescott went 27 of 39 passing for 293 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions to Paulson Adebo and Tyrann Mathieu.
CeeDee Lamb scored the only Cowboys touchdown of the game, ducking two tacklers before racing away for a 65-yard house call.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20-16 Detroit Lions
Aiden Hutchinson’s 4.5 sacks went unrewarded as the Detroit Lions were beaten by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at home.
Baker Mayfield threw for 185 yards and a touchdown as well as rushing for a score, while Chris Godwin was instrumental with seven catches for 177 yards and a touchdown to extend Tampa’s perfect start to the season.
Jared Goff was 35 of 55 passing for 307 yards and two interceptions, with the Lions offense coming up shy while attempting to go for it on fourth down in the final minute of the game.
Amon-Ra St Brown led the Lions with 11 catches for 119 yards.
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Seattle Seahawks 23-20 New England Patriots (OT)
Jason Myers kicked a 31-yard field goal in overtime to secure a win for the Seattle Seahawks over the New England Patriots.
New England came up shy on their opening possession in overtime before Seattle marched 71 yards downfield to tee up their game-winner.
Myers converted three field goals on the day, including a 38-yarder to make it 20-20 inside the final minute of regulation.
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Rhamondre Stevenson carried the ball 21 times for 81 yards and a one-yard touchdown that earned the Patriots a 20-17 lead early in the fourth quarter.
Antonio Gibson also impressed on the ground for the Patriots with 11 carries for 96 yards, alongside 109 receiving yards from tight end Hunter Henry.
Geno Smith finished 33 of 44 for 327 yards and a touchdown to DK Metcalf, who had 129 yards off 10 catches alongside Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s 12 receptions for 117 yards.
New York Giants 18-21 Washington Commanders
Austin Seibert kicked a 30-yard field goal as time expired to hand Jayden Daniels his first win as an NFL quarterback as the Washington Commanders beat their division rival New York Giants.
Seibert kicked a franchise-record seven field goals on the day having replaced Cade York as starting kicker.
Daniels was 23 of 29 for 226 yards while Brian Robinson Jr starred on the ground with 17 carries for 133 yards alongside four catches for 62 yards from veteran tight end Zach Ertz.
Daniel Jones threw for two touchdowns to rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers – who had 127 yards through the air – and Wan’Dale Robinson.
Los Angeles Chargers 26-3 Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers’ woes continued as they suffered a defeat at home to the Los Angeles Chargers, who moved to 2-0 under new head coach Jim Harbaugh.
Justin Herbert threw two touchdown passes to his second-year receiver Quentin Johnston, while JK Dobbins produced a second-straight 100-yard rushing game with 131 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
The Chargers quarterback was 14 of 20 for 130 yards, two scores and an interception on a day when Dobbins again controlled things on the ground, his 43-yard run putting Los Angeles up 20-0 in the second quarter.
It proved another laboured day for Bryce Young, who finished 18 of 26 for 84 yards and an interception.
New York Jets 24-17 Tennessee Titans
Aaron Rodgers clinched his first win as a New York Jets quarterback as he threw two touchdowns in a victory over the Tennessee Titans.
Rookie running back Braelon Allen found the end zone twice including a 20-yard burst to round off a 74-yard drive inside the final five minutes to put the Jets on top.
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Rodgers’ other touchdown pass came in the form of a beauty to running back Breece Hall as he finished 18 of 30 for 176 yards.
Will Levis was 19 of 28 for 192 yards and a 40-yard touchdown to Calvin Ridley for the Titans, the latter scoring twice for Tennessee.
Indianapolis Colts 10-16 Green Bay Packers
Malik Willis led the Green Bay Packers to victory on his first start as Matt LaFleur’s side edged the Indianapolis Colts.
Willis was making his Packers bow as he stepped in for the injured Jordan Love having only arrived via a trade from the Tennessee Titans at the end of August.
He threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Dontayvion Wicks in the first quarter on the way to a stats line of 12-of-14 for 122 yards.
Offseason addition Josh Jacobs led the way on the ground with 32 carries for 151 yards while kicker Brayden Narveson nailed three field goals.
Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson was 17 of 34 passing for 204 yards, a touchdown and three interceptions, his one scoring strike coming in a four-yard connection with Alec Pierce.
Jonathan Taylor chipped in with 103 yards on 12 carries for the Colts, who fall to 0-2.
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Las Vegas Raiders 26-23 Baltimore Ravens
Daniel Carlson kicked a 38-yard field goal with 27 seconds remaining as the Las Vegas Raiders battled to a win over the Baltimore Ravens.
Davante Adams led the way with nine catches for 110 yards and a touchdown, with quarterback Gardner Minshew completing 30 of 38 passes for 276 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
Lamar Jackson was 21 of 34 for 248 yards, an eight-yard touchdown pass to Zay Flowers and an interception as the Ravens fell to 0-2 following their opening-day loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Derrick Henry carried the ball 18 times for 84 yards and a touchdown alongside seven catches for 91 yards and a score from Flowers.
Cleveland Browns 18-13 Jacksonville Jaguars
Deshaun Watson threw for 186 yards and scored a rushing touchdown as the Cleveland Browns beat the Jacksonville Jaguars on the road.
Dustin Hopkins kicked three field goals for Cleveland, Jerome Ford had seven carries for 64 yards on the ground and Jerry Jeudy made five catches for 73 yards as the Browns picked up their first victory of the campaign to leave Jacksonville winless.
Trevor Lawrence was 14 of 30 for 220 yards. Travis Etienne accounted for his side’s only touchdown with a rushing score.
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