New York Giants 29, Washington Football Team 30

In an intense Thursday night matchup between NFC East division rivals, the Washington Football Team, led by new starting quarterback Taylor Heinicke, picked up a home win against the NY Giants. The 43-yard game-winning field goal came off the foot of Washington kicker Dustin Hopkins. Giants quarterback Daniel Jones, not normally recognized for his running ability, finished with 95 rushing yards on nine carries and a touchdown. The Giants had multiple opportunities to win the game, including one on a dropped pass by wide receiver Darius Slayton, which would have been a touchdown. A controversial offsides call on a field goal miss also would have given the Giants the victory.

New England Patriots 25, New York Jets 6

In a battle between two first-round rookie quarterbacks, Alabama product Mac Jones came away with the win for New England. Jets QB Zach Wilson had trouble dealing with the defensive might of the Patriots, coughing up four interceptions for a passer rating of 37.0. Patriots cornerback J.C. Jackson snagged two interceptions, contributing to the squad’s dominant defensive performance.

Denver Broncos 23, Jacksonville Jaguars 13

Broncos quarterback Teddy Bridgewater continued to cement his status as an NFL-caliber starter with his stat line saturday: 328 passing yards, two touchdowns, and a passer rating of 125.6 and a win over the Jaguars. Former Clemson All-American QB Trevor Lawrence struggled in his second start for the Jaguars, passing for 118 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton had a stand-out performance with nine catches for 159 yards. In a lone moment of excellence for Jacksonville, kick returner Jamal Agnew took a kickoff to the house, covering 102 yards on the play.

Buffalo Bills 35, Miami Dolphins 0

With starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa knocked out of the game early in the first quarter, the Miami Dolphins had no answers against a hungry Bills defense. Coming off of a disappointing loss at home against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Buffalo silenced the doubters in their rout of the well-respected Dolphins. Bills running back Devin Singletary ran for 82 yards on 13 carries, including a 46-yard touchdown run that opened the scoring. Bills QB Josh Allen added two passing TDs and one rushing score to solidify the result. The Dolphins offense — led most of the game by backup QB Jacoby Brissett — lacked any killer instinct; they failed to score in their three red zone opportunities. 

San Francisco 49ers 17, Philadelphia Eagles 11

In a defensive showcase, the 49ers made the most of their scoring opportunities, winning in a low-scoring affair. 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa totaled two sacks along with two QB hits and limited Philadelphia QB Jalen Hurts’ scrambling ability all game long. Special teams also played a factor sunday – the 49ers blocked a Jake Elliot 47-yard field goal attempt near the beginning of the second quarter. The Eagles did have one big highlight moment with a 91-yard pass from Hurts to wide receiver Quez Watkins. Watkins was tackled a few yards shy of the goal line.

Los Angeles Rams 27, Indianapolis Colts 24

The Los Angeles Rams, following a dominant primetime win over the Chicago Bears, went the distance with the Indianapolis Colts and came away with a win on the road. Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp had a highlight performance with 163 receiving yards, nine receptions and two touchdowns. With Colts QB Carson Wentz out injured, the decisive moment in the game came when backup Jacob Eason threw a killer interception to Rams CB Jalen Ramsey, setting up a game-winning field goal for Rams kicker Matt Gay.

Las Vegas Raiders 26, Pittsburgh Steelers 17

After an impressive win over the Buffalo Bills, the Pittsburgh Steelers struggled offensively against the Las Vegas Raiders in a disappointing home loss. Raiders quarterback Derek Carr continued to disprove his critics with a performance consisting of 382 passing yards, two touchdowns and a passer rating of 126.2. Carr’s best throw came on a fantastic 61-yard ball to the speedy wide receiver Henry Ruggs that went for a touchdown. Las Vegas kicker Daniel Carlson added four field goals, ensuring the victory for the Raiders. Pittsburgh’s wide receiver Dionte Johnson collected 105 receiving yards on nine catches before leaving the game with an injury.

Cincinnati Bengals 17, Chicago Bears 20

In a similar style to the 49ers-Eagles game, the Bengals and Bears spent most of the contest in a defensive stalemate. Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow had a disappointing game, at least for his personal standards. Burrow threw three interceptions on three consecutive drives in the fourth quarter. One of these interceptions, caught by Bears linebacker Roquan Smith, was returned for a 53-yard touchdown. The Bengals fought back late in the fourth quarter, making it a three-point game with 3:43 left, but the Bears were able to run out the clock and walk away with a home victory. Bears rookie quarterback Justin Fields took over after starter Andy Dalton got injured and was able to seal the victory.

Houston Texas 21, Cleveland Browns 31

One week after a disappointing loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, the Cleveland Browns rode their running back tandem to victory — halfbacks Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt totaled 146 yards on 24 carries. In a recurring theme of the week, Texans starter Tyrod Taylor went down with an injury, allowing Stanford product Davis Mills to gain some valuable experience in a tough situation. Mills finished with 102 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield proved to be very efficient in his work, completing 19 out of his 21 passing attempts. Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski improves to 6-0 in games following a loss.

New Orleans Saints 7, Carolina Panthers 26

Christian McCaffrey and the Carolina Panthers dominated the New Orleans Saints in all facets of the game in their latest home performance. Panthers QB Sam Darnold continued to excite fans, posting a passer rating of 99.1 in the victory. Following a fantastic performance against the Packers, Saints QB Jameis Winston showed his ugly side, passing for only 111 yards and throwing two interceptions. He finished with a passer rating of 26.9. McCaffrey totaled 137 all-purpose yards and a touchdown, while his Saints counterpart, Alvin Kamara, only earned 30 all-purpose yards, including a measly 5 rushing yards on 8 carries. The Panthers are now 2-0 to begin a season for the first time since their last playoff appearance, which came in 2017.

Minnesota Vikings 33, Arizona Cardinals 34

In a game that felt like it was being played between a pair of Big 12 schools, the Cardinals eventually prevailed at home over the Vikings after Minnesota kicker Greg Joseph missed a potential game-winning 37-yard field goal as time expired. Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray racked up 400 passing yards, 31 yards rushing, four total touchdowns and two interceptions. Vikings QB Kirk Cousins had a solid performance himself, with 244 passing yards and three touchdowns, including a 64-yard-deep pass to receiver K.J. Osborn.

Atlanta Falcons 25, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 48

The Buccaneer offense dominated the Falcons defense in this game. The age-defying quarterback, Tom Brady, threw for five passing touchdowns, including two to receiver Mike Evans, and another pair to his tight end, Rob Gronkowski. At the start of the fourth quarter, the Falcons cut the deficit to three, but three fourth quarter touchdowns (including two separate pick-sixes by Buccaneers safety Mike Edwards) completely iced the game for Tampa Bay. Falcons receiver and rusher Cordarrelle Patterson netted two total touchdowns and totaled 58 receiving yards on five catches.

Tennessee Titans 33, Seattle Seahawks 30

In a game where the home team was up 24-9 at halftime, the visiting Tennessee Titans looked like they were going to collect a second straight loss. However, the Titans’ offense ignited just in the nick of time, with running back Derrick Henry collecting a total of 182 rushing yards and three touchdowns, including a 60-yard touchdown run. The Titans eventually won the game off of a Randy Bullock 36-yard field goal in overtime. Seahawks QB Russell Wilson had 343 passing yards and two touchdowns. One of his top targets, Tyler Lockett, collected 178 receiving yards on eight catches, including a 63-yard touchdown grab. The Titans’ big offseason addition, wide receiver Julio Jones, finally got cooking, gaining 128 yards on six catches.

Dallas Cowboys 20, Los Angeles Chargers 17

Dallas Cowboys kicker Greg Zuerlein was able to shrug off his missed kicks from the previous week’s game and hit a tough 56-yard game-winning field goal to seal the Cowboys’ first victory. Quarterback play was a general mixed bag. Cowboys QB Dak Prescott and Chargers QB Justin Herbert combined for three interceptions. Cowboys RB Tony Pollard challenged starting running back Ezekiel Elliot in production with a solid 109 rushing yards on 13 attempts, 31 receiving yards on three catches and a rushing touchdown. Chargers receivers Mike Williams and Keenan Allen combined for 11 catches and 199 yards, but all that was still not enough for the Chargers offense to score consistently.

Kansas City Chiefs 35, Baltimore Ravens 36

The agreed-upon game of the week by most NFL experts lived up to its hype, and Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson finally got his highlight victory over the Chiefs. Jackson, though he threw two interceptions, was fantastic in the run game, racking up 107 yards and two touchdowns on the ground – including the eventual game-winning goal line touchdown with 3:18 left in the game. Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes had another great performance with 343 passing yards and three touchdowns, good for a fantastic passer rating of 131.5. The costly moment for the Chiefs came on a fumble by running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire, which sealed the Ravens victory. Chiefs safety Tyran Mathieu continues to be a daunting presence for opposing quarterbacks, adding two interceptions to his collection, including a 34-yard pick-six.