Chris Boswell kicked a career-long 60-yard field goal with 1:03 remaining for the seventh and final lead change as the Pittsburgh Steelers edged the New York Jets 34-32 in Sunday’s opener in East Rutherford, N.J.
The franchise-record boot made for a winning Steelers debut for Aaron Rodgers, who passed for 244 yards and four touchdowns while playing against his former teammates. Calvin Austin, Ben Skowronek, Jonnu Smith and Jaylen Warren caught the touchdown passes that pushed Rodgers’ career total to 507 — one behind Brett Favre for fourth on the NFL’s all-time list.
Justin Fields rushed for two touchdowns and passed for one in his Jets debut. Fields, who played for the Steelers last year, completed 16 of 22 passes for 218 yards and added 48 on the ground. His 1-yard bootleg gave the Jets a 32-31 edge with 7:01 to play.
Garrett Wilson caught seven passes for 95 yards and a touchdown, Braelon Allen rushed for a score and Breece Hall had 145 scrimmage yards (107 rushing, 38 receiving).
Buccaneers 23, Falcons 20
Baker Mayfield found rookie Emeka Egbuka for a go-ahead 25-yard touchdown pass with 59 seconds left to propel visiting Tampa Bay over Atlanta.
Mayfield completed 17 of 32 passes for 167 yards and three touchdowns while Egbuka had four catches for 67 yards and two scores to lead the Buccaneers to a season-opening win.
Michael Penix Jr. threw for 298 yards and a touchdown and Bijan Robinson had 100 receiving yards and a score in the loss. The Falcons had a chance to force overtime, but Younghoe Koo’s 44-yard field-goal attempt drifted right with two seconds to go.
Bengals 17, Browns 16
Joe Burrow was held to 113 yards passing, but two key Joe Flacco interceptions helped Cincinnati hold on for its first season-opening win in four years, over host Cleveland.
Burrow was just 14 of 23 for 113 yards and a touchdown while Flacco finished 31-of-45 for 290 yards with one touchdown and the pair of interceptions in an AFC North clash that the Browns had chances to win.
Evan McPherson had what would be the game-winning points with a 35-yard field goal with 2:48 to play in the third quarter. The kick was set up by a Jordan Battle interception that the safety returned to the Cleveland 29. Neither team scored the rest of the way.
Raiders 20, Patriots 13
New quarterback Geno Smith threw for 362 yards, rookie running back Ashton Jeanty scored the go-ahead touchdown, and visiting Las Vegas gave new coach Pete Carroll a win in his first game, stopping New England.
Smith completed 24 of 34 passes with a touchdown and an interception. Jeanty had just 38 yards on 19 carries, but one of them was a 3-yard run with 9:39 left in the third quarter that put the Raiders ahead for good.
Drake Maye hit 30 of 46 attempts for 287 yards with a touchdown and an interception, but it wasn’t enough to give Mike Vrabel a win in his first game as New England’s coach. Wasted in the loss were 2 1/2 sacks from Harold Landry and 103 receiving yards from Kayshon Boutte.
Colts 33, Dolphins 8
Daniel Jones threw one touchdown pass and ran for two more in his team debut to lead host Indianapolis to a comfortable victory over Miami.
Jones completed 22 of 29 passes for 272 yards. Receiver Michael Pittman led all Colts receivers with six catches for 80 yards and rookie tight end Tyler Warren had a stellar debut with seven catches for 76 yards. Jonathan Taylor ran for 71 yards on 18 carries for a Colts team which ran 70 plays on offense as opposed to Miami’s 46.
Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was responsible for three giveaways, throwing two interceptions and losing a fumble on a strip sack. Tagovailoa completed 14 of 23 passes for 114 yards and finished with a 51.7 passer rating.
Cardinals 20, Saints 13
Kyler Murray threw two touchdown passes and visiting Arizona beat New Orleans, spoiling Kellen Moore’s debut as an NFL head coach.
Murray threw for just 163 yards while completing 21 of 29, but his scoring passes to Marvin Harrison Jr. (1 yard) and James Conner (4 yards) made the difference for the Cardinals.
Spencer Rattler finished 27 of 46 for 214 yards with no touchdowns for the Saints. Alvin Kamara rushed for 45 yards and a score.
Commanders 21, Giants 6
Jayden Daniels passed for 233 yards, rushed for 68 more and threw for one touchdown as Washington opened its season with a win over visiting New York.
Commanders wide receiver Deebo Samuel caught seven passes for 77 yards and ran for a 19-yard touchdown in his Washington debut. Daniels completed 19 of 30 passes, and rookie Jacory Croskey-Merritt had 82 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries as Washington ran for 220 yards.
In his first game for the Giants, Russell Wilson was 17 of 37 passing for 168 yards and led the Giants with 44 rushing yards. Malik Nabers had five catches for 71 yards.
Jaguars 26, Panthers 10
Jacksonville scored on four of its five first-half possessions to win head coach Liam Coen’s debut versus visiting Carolina.
Linebacker Foye Oluokun racked up 10 tackles, one interception and one forced fumble as the Jaguars kept the Panthers out of the end zone until 4:47 remained. Trevor Lawrence hit 19 of 31 passes for 178 yards, one touchdown and one interception while Travis Etienne Jr. rushed for 143 yards.
The Panthers’ Bryce Young completed 18 of 35 for 154 yards and one score, but he tossed two interceptions and lost a fumble. Chuba Hubbard rushed for 57 yards and caught three passes for 32 yards and one score. First-round pick Tetairoa McMillan had five receptions for 68 yards.
49ers 17, Seahawks 13
Backup tight end Jake Tonges caught a 4-yard touchdown pass from Brock Purdy with 1:34 remaining to help San Francisco rally to defeat host Seattle.
The Seahawks drove to San Francisco’s 9-yard line in the final minute before defensive end Nick Bosa pushed tackle Abraham Lucas into quarterback Sam Darnold, forcing a fumble. Bosa recovered the ball to clinch the victory. Darnold, making his first start for the Seahawks after being signed as a free agent in the offseason, was 16 of 23 for 150 yards.
Tonges, filling in for the injured George Kittle, made his first three career receptions on the deciding drive. On the last, Purdy scrambled and threw a jump ball into the back-right corner of the end zone, where Tonges took the ball away from cornerback Riq Woolen. Purdy, who signed a $265 million extension in the offseason, completed 26 of 35 passes for 277 yards with two TDs and two interceptions.
Packers 27, Lions 13
Jordan Love threw two touchdown passes and host Green Bay kept Detroit’s potent offense out of the end zone until the final minute Sunday in a season opener between teams expected to challenge for the NFC North title.
Love completed 16 of 22 passes for 188 yards, spreading the ball to 10 different receivers. His two first-half touchdowns paced the Packers to a 17-3 halftime lead. Green Bay star edge rusher Micah Parsons recorded his first sack late in the fourth quarter after being acquired in a blockbuster trade with Dallas in late August.
Lions QB Jared Goff completed 31 of 39 passes for 225 yards with one interception and a 13-yard touchdown pass to rookie receiver Isaac TeSlaa with 55 seconds left.
Rams 14, Texans 9
Matthew Stafford passed for 245 yards and a touchdown, and a stifling defensive performance propelled Los Angeles to a victory over visiting Houston.
Puka Nacua led the Rams offensively with 10 catches for 130 yards. Kyren Williams had 18 carries for 66 yards and a score on the ground. The Rams sacked Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud three times and forced two turnovers, one to seal the win with less than two minutes to play.
Stroud passed for 188 yards and was intercepted once as the Rams collectively kept top receiver Nico Collins (three receptions, 25 yards) in check. Running back Nick Chubb led the Texans with 13 carries for 60 yards.
Broncos 20, Titans 12
Bo Nix threw for a touchdown, J.K. Dobbins ran for a score and the Denver defense made life miserable for rookie quarterback Cam Ward in a season-opening win over visiting Tennessee.
The Broncos overcame four turnovers, including two picks and a fumble by Nix, thanks to 133 rushing yards from rookie RJ Harvey (70) and Dobbins (63), whose fourth-quarter score provided some insurance.
Ward, the No. 1 overall pick in April’s NFL draft, completed only 12 of 28 passes for 112 yards while absorbing six sacks. All of the Titans’ scoring came on a quartet of field goals from Joey Slye.
–Field Level Media
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