The 49ers are 3-0 for the third time in four seasons after outlasting Arizona 36-30. Brock Purdy threw four touchdowns on just 15 completions, George Kittle caught two of them, and the scoring opened with a trick play lateral that went 80 yards. The concern is health: Mike Evans left with a rib injury and Trent Williams with a stinger.
Three games, three wins, and the defense is the best story in football. Minnesota sacked Baker Mayfield six times in a 23-16 win at Tampa Bay and added two interceptions. Myles Price returned a punt 86 yards for a score and Kyler Murray, back from his concussion, hit Jordan Addison for 41 yards. Justin Jefferson left the game injured.
The Bills turned it over five times and still beat the Chargers 24-16, which tells you how much margin this roster has. Josh Allen threw two interceptions and ran for two scores, James Cook carried 24 times for 154 yards, and Greg Rousseau had two sacks. C.J. Gardner-Johnson ended it with an interception at the goal line.
Kansas City is 3-0 after a workmanlike 24-10 win in Miami. Patrick Mahomes was efficient at 20 of 24 for 246 yards and two scores, Kenneth Walker III ran for one touchdown and caught another, and Travis Kelce added a 48-yard scoring catch. The Chiefs have not been at their explosive best and it has not mattered yet.
The Raiders already have as many wins as they had all of last season. They erased an 11-point second half deficit in New Orleans to win 35-27, with Kirk Cousins throwing three more touchdowns and Brock Bowers catching 10 passes for 116 yards. Jeremy Chinn sealed it with a strip sack. Klint Kubiak's first month has been the surprise of the year.
Jacksonville answered the Denver loss with a 35-6 demolition of New England. Trevor Lawrence threw three touchdowns, Bhayshul Tuten and Chris Rodriguez Jr. each ran one in, and the defense picked off Drake Maye twice, including one by Travis Hunter in the end zone. Liam Coen has won 15 of his first 20 games, the fastest start since Matt LaFleur in 2020.
The 12-game winning streak is over. Seattle lost 33-31 in Washington despite Sam Darnold returning to throw for 379 yards and four touchdowns, with Jaxon Smith-Njigba catching 10 for 128 and two scores. Darnold also threw two interceptions, and the Seahawks ran for only 44 yards. A pick six with under four minutes left decided it.
Talanoa Hufanga had the game of his life on Sunday night: two interceptions including a 66-yard pick six, a sack and three pass breakups in a 30-26 win over the Rams. Bo Nix was quiet through the air and then scored the winner on a quarterback keeper with 47 seconds left. Denver has won two straight after the opening night embarrassment.
The Ravens won a classic in Rio de Janeiro, beating Dallas 34-31 on Tyler Loop's 56-yard field goal as time expired. Lamar Jackson was ruthless at 15 of 20 for 186 yards and two touchdowns with a 136.7 rating, and Derrick Henry carried 26 times for 89 yards and two scores. The winning drive took all of seven seconds.
Jahmyr Gibbs scored three times, including the go-ahead 11-yard catch with 2:25 left, as Detroit held off the Jets 31-24. Jared Goff was sharp with a 122.5 rating and the defense sacked Geno Smith five times. This is the version of the Lions that was supposed to show up in September, and they arrived just in time.
Joe Burrow threw three touchdowns with no interceptions and a 123.9 rating and the Bengals still lost 30-27 at Pittsburgh, undone by two lost fumbles. Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins combined for 188 yards and two scores, and Dexter Lawrence II had two sacks. Cincinnati outplayed the Steelers for long stretches and left with nothing.
Three straight wins, and after Thursday's 27-24 win over Pittsburgh the Browns sit alone atop the AFC North. Andre Szmyt won it from 56 yards with 10 seconds left, the defense sacked Aaron Rodgers five times, and Grant Delpit intercepted him to finish it. A week earlier Deshaun Watson threw the game winner to Harold Fannin Jr. to beat Carolina.
With Caleb Williams out, third-string quarterback Case Keenum made his first start in nearly three years and beat Philadelphia 27-7 on Monday night. He threw for 247 yards and two scores and ran one in himself, his first rushing touchdown since 2019. T.J. Edwards and Dillon Thieneman each intercepted Jalen Hurts. Nobody saw that coming.
A 27-7 loss at Soldier Field to a third-string quarterback is the worst night of Philadelphia's season. Jalen Hurts threw for 153 yards with an interception and the Eagles' only points came on his own 1-yard run. Saquon Barkley managed 82 yards on 15 carries. The defense held up early and the offense never gave it any help.
In a nor'easter and without Jaxson Dart, the Giants won 12-7 on four Dominic Zvada field goals. Jameis Winston did not turn it over, Cam Skattebo and Najee Harris ground out 112 rushing yards between them, and Jevon Holland intercepted Cam Ward with 17 seconds left. Ugly, effective, and a second win in three weeks under John Harbaugh.
A split of the last two leaves Pittsburgh at .500. Aaron Rodgers answered the New England dud with 292 yards and three touchdowns to beat Cincinnati 30-27 on a late Chris Boswell field goal, then threw for 299 and three more in Thursday's 27-24 loss at Cleveland. Two interceptions and five sacks taken cost him that one.
Matthew Stafford threw for 390 yards in Denver and it was not enough, because both of his interceptions went to Talanoa Hufanga and one came back for a touchdown. Davante Adams had 137 yards, Kyren Williams totaled 158 from scrimmage, and Harrison Mevis made all four field goals. Los Angeles has lost two of three and the turnovers are the reason.
Dallas went to Rio and lost 34-31 on a 56-yard field goal as time expired. Dak Prescott threw for 276 yards, CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens combined for 194, and Javonte Williams ran for 98 and a score. The defense did not record a sack and gave up the ball in seven seconds at the end. Painful way to fall to 1-2.
Arizona went into Levi's Stadium and pushed the unbeaten 49ers to the wire before losing 36-30. Jacoby Brissett completed 38 of 52 for 280 yards and two touchdowns and ran in another, Michael Wilson caught 11 passes, and Chad Ryland made all three field goals. The defense produced no sacks and no takeaways, which is why it was not enough.
Washington ended Seattle's 12-game winning streak 33-31 in its home opener, and it did it with Marcus Mariota starting for the injured Jayden Daniels. Mariota threw three touchdowns, Kain Medrano returned an interception 50 yards for the decisive score with 3:57 left, and the defense forced three turnovers. Leo Chenal was carted off with a neck injury.
Michael Penix Jr. returned from his knee injury and Atlanta looked like a different team, winning 35-14 at Lambeau Field. Bijan Robinson ran 29 times for 194 yards and two scores, Drake London caught 9 passes for 194 yards, and the Falcons piled up 498 total yards. One week after scoring three points, they scored 35 on the road.
The longest active losing streak in the NFL is over at nine games. Spencer Shrader made all four field goals, including a 43-yarder with 16 seconds left, to beat Houston 19-17. Daniel Jones threw for 235 yards with three fumbles, and the defense got 1.5 sacks each from DeForest Buckner and Adetomiwa Adebawore. First win since last November.
Tyler Shough threw four touchdown passes and the Saints still lost 35-27 to Las Vegas, because they put the ball on the ground three times. Chris Olave caught 9 for 107, and Juwan Johnson and Noah Fant each caught two scores. New Orleans has now lost a double digit lead and a four touchdown passing game in consecutive weeks.
The Panthers followed their best game in years with a 21-18 loss in Cleveland that came down to a touchdown with 1:48 left. Bryce Young threw 48 times for 291 yards and took three sacks, and Ryan Fitzgerald kicked four field goals. Carolina has not scored a touchdown in the first half in either of its last two games.
Geno Smith played maybe his best game as a Jet, throwing for 321 yards and three touchdowns with a 129.8 rating, and New York still lost 31-24 in Detroit. Garrett Wilson caught 10 for 107 and rookie tight end Kenyon Sadiq added 105. The offensive line gave up five sacks and Breece Hall was held to 32 yards.
The trip to Jacksonville was a disaster. Drake Maye threw two interceptions and lost a fumble in a 35-6 loss, finishing with a 20.2 QBR before Tommy DeVito relieved him. New England managed 81 rushing yards and six points, all from Andy Borregales field goals. A promising Week 2 defensive performance now looks like the outlier.
Getting run over at home by a one-win team is not what anyone expected. Atlanta gained 498 yards in a 35-14 Thursday night win at Lambeau, and Green Bay managed 17 rushing yards on nine carries. Jordan Love threw 53 times for 312 yards and two scores because he had no other option. The run defense is a genuine emergency.
Houston won the turnover battle by three, sacked Daniel Jones four times, got 2.5 sacks from Will Anderson Jr., and still lost 19-17 in Indianapolis on a field goal with 16 seconds left. C.J. Stroud threw for 167 yards. An 0-3 team that cannot score with that defense playing this well is wasting its best unit.
The Chargers forced five Buffalo turnovers and lost 24-16 anyway. Justin Herbert threw a late interception at the goal line, Genesis Smith had two picks on the other side, and Tuli Tuipulotu led a four sack afternoon. Los Angeles is 0-3 with a defense playing well enough to win and an offense that cannot finish drives.
Baker Mayfield was sacked six times and hurt his throwing hand on a desperation throw late in a 23-16 loss to Minnesota, with rookie Jalon Daniels finishing the game. Tampa Bay managed one touchdown, a 40-yard catch by Ted Hurst III. Three games, three losses, and now a quarterback question on top of everything else.
Miami hung around for a half before losing 24-10 to Kansas City, and lost De'Von Achane to an injury along the way. Malik Willis threw for 210 yards with an interception and added 56 on the ground, and Ollie Gordon II scored the lone touchdown. The Dolphins are 0-3 and now thin at the position that was carrying them.
Seven points in a nor'easter, and the season is slipping away. Cam Ward threw for 181 yards with an interception on the final meaningful snap in a 12-7 loss to the Giants, and Tennessee's only score came on a Wan'Dale Robinson catch. Chimere Dike lost a fumble and Joey Slye missed his only field goal. The defense deserved better.