Mitch Trubesky came in to replace the injured Kenny Pickett to throw a six-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter, and a poor Pittsburgh Steelers defense made him stand up in a stunning 20-18 win over Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.
The Steelers (2-4) snapped a four-game losing streak by relying on a largely unknown defense that was almost missing his junior start.
Brady struggled to cash in on an attacking streak he had problems protecting. The 45-year-old criticized the streak for poor performance against a team that had only three sacks in its last four games.
“You are so much better than the way you play,” Brady told his pursuers before unleashing more insults.
He completed 25 of 40 passes for 243 yards and an 11-yard drop to Leonard Fortnite with 4:38 left to cut Pittsburgh’s lead to two. Steelers midfielder Devin Bush broke his two-point conversion attempt and Pittsburgh ran out of the clock behind Trubisky to avoid their first 1-5 start since 1988.
Buffalo Bills 24-20 Kansas City Chiefs
Josh Allen threw for 329 yards and three touchdowns, including a green-lighted layup for Dawson Knox with 1:04 minutes remaining, and the Buffalo Bills beat the Kansas City Chiefs to get a modicum of revenge for their epic overtime loss in last year’s playoffs.
Stefon Diggs had 10 catches for 148 yards and a touchdown, and Gabe Davis also had a TD after setting fire to Kansas City for four of them in January, with the Bills (5-1) finally coming out of Arrowhead Stadium a winner. Besides losing the league last year, the Bills had finished their season against Kansas City in the previous game for the AFC title. Patrick Mahomes had one last chance to rally the Chiefs (4-2) in the last minute. But after an incomplete pass, Buffalo cornerback Taron Johnson jumped Mahomes’ pass to Skye Moore, picking him up with 51 seconds left.
Dallas Cowboys 17-26 Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles maintained their perfect record of the season after beating their NFC East rival, the Dallas Cowboys, at Sunday Night Football.
The Eagles jumped to a 20-3 lead in the first half and halted the return of the Cowboys (4-2), who got close to 20-17 in the fourth quarter. The Eagles’ defense was stifling, and he intercepted Cooper Rush three times. Jalen Hurts was solid for Philly, dropping two 155 yards.
New York Jets 27-10 Green Bay Packers
Bryce Hall ran for 116 yards, including a 34-yard touchdown, Gates fired Aaron Rodgers four times and New York won their third in a row with a 27-10 victory over the Green Bay Packers.
The Jets (4-2) got off to their best start in six games since 2015, when they were also 4-2 before finishing with a 10-6 record. New York has not reached the playoffs since the 2010 season, the longest active dry spell in the NFL. Green Bay (3-3) has lost consecutive regular season games in the same season for the first time since head coach Matt Lafleur arrived in 2019.
Baltimore Ravens 20-24 New York Giants
Julian Love’s interception and a 27-yard return knocked Saquon Barkley down one yard with 1:43 to play, and the New York Giants recovered from a 10-point delay in the fourth quarter to beat the Pattimore Ravens.
The New York defense, led by former Baltimore coordinator Wink Martindale, was forced into two turns by Lamar Jackson late in the fourth quarter. After Barkley’s go-ahead, rookie Kevin Tibodo was sacked and forced into his confusion as the Ravens (3-3) suffered their third collapse late this season and handed the Giants (5-1) another shock win. Led by new coach Brian Dabol, the Giants have already surpassed their winning total in 2021.
Cincinnati Bengals 30-26 New Orleans Saints
Joe Borough passed for three touchdowns and rushed 19 yards for a score, and the Cincinnati Bengals (3-3) rallied to beat the New Orleans Saints (2-4). Two touchdowns went from Burrow to Ja’Marr Chase just like the last time the pair played in college at the Superdome in a National Championship game victory with LSU. The second came in a quick pass to the left sideline, as Chase turned 60 yards in, and scored the go-ahead with 1:57 to leave a play as the star receiver pulled away from cornerback Bradley Robbie before edging out safety Terran Mathieu.
Minnesota Vikings 24-16 Miami Dolphins
Dalphin Cook scrambled to secure a 53-yard lock in the fourth quarter, and the Minnesota Vikings (5-1) beat the Miami Dolphins (3-3). Cook was quiet most of the afternoon until he reclaimed his goal with a 3:25 left Minnesota lead in the second moments.
New England Patriots 38-15 Cleveland Browns
Rookie Backup Bailey Zappe threw for 309 yards and two touchdowns in his third NFL game, Bill Belichick tied George Halas for second on the all-time list with a 324 win, and the New England Patriots buried the Cleveland Browns.
Zappe, who started his second game in place of injured Mac Jones, threw second-half TD passes to Tyquan Thornton and Hunter Henry as the Patriots (3-3) pulled back from the lean Browns (2-4). Ramondry Stephenson rushed to New England twice. Zabby finished 24 of 34 passes a week after throwing for 188 yards and landing on his first start last week in a 29-0 win over Detroit.
Carolina Panthers 10-24 Rams Los Angeles
Matthew Stafford passed for 253 yards, Daryl Henderson and home guard Ben Skoronic rushed to touch down in the second half, and the Los Angeles Rams kicked off their game with a 24-10 victory over the Carolina Panthers. Allen Robinson earned a TD pass for the defending Super Bowl champion Rams (3-3), who rebounded from two back-to-back defeats and another injury for his offensive streak to spoil Steve Wilkes’ debut as interim head coach for the Panthers.
Arizona Cardinals 9-19 Seattle Seahawks
Rookie Kenneth Walker rushed third for an 11-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter, and the Seattle Seahawks beat the Arizona Cardinals. The Seahawks (3-3) jumped for a share of the lead in the NFC West. Walker, a second-round pick from Michigan State, took over the Seattle role again due to Rashad Penny’s broken leg at the end of the season. He had 21 carry in most seasons for 97 yards.
Jacksonville Jaguars 27–34 Indianapolis Colts
Matt Ryan threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to Alec Pierce 17 seconds before the game, leading the Indianapolis Colts to a 34-27 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
This victory ends Indy’s two-match slump against his South Asian rival and marks the third time this season that Ryan has led the Colts (3-2-1) to a victory from behind. It’s Jaguar’s fifth straight loss in Indy (2-4). The home team has won 11 in a row in this series.
Ryan followed a completely different script in this game than in the previous five. Instead of relying on the ground game, the Colts asked the 15-year-old veteran to lean hard on short, fast throws and it worked. He finished with a franchise record of 42 completions in 58 attempts with three touchdowns and 389 yard passes. Dan Marino is seventh on the NFL professional passing yard list.
San Francisco 49ers 14-28 Atlanta Falcons
Marcus Mariota threw a pair of touchdown passes and ran for another hit against the NFL defense, resulting in the Atlanta Falcons winning the San Francisco 49ers. He finished 129 yards in the air in the conservative pass game in Atlanta, and also rushed for 50 yards on six Trolleys. The Niners (3-3) couldn’t get over two interceptions by Jimmy Garoppolo and the confusion the Falcons brought back for relegation.