Packers 14, Buccaneers 12: The Packers got out to an early lead by scoring touchdowns on their first two drives, but Aaron Jones fumbled a short pass on the third drive and the Green Bay did not cross the 50-yard line again until there were 3 minutes 35 seconds left in the fourth quarter, save for one drive where they started at midfield after recovering a Bucs fumble.
Falcons 27, Seahawks 23: Kyle Pitts, who had been blanketed in coverage and used as a blocker through the first two weeks, finally led the Falcons in receiving yards (87) and the rookie wideout Drake London barreled his way through an attempted tackle for the go-ahead touchdown in the third quarter. Geno Smith played a sharp, accurate game to keep it close, but ended the game with a sack and an interception on a desperate throw on Seattle’s final two plays.
Ravens 37, Patriots 26: Lamar Jackson’s contract campaign continues. Even with the Ravens on their fourth left tackle (Daniel Faalele), Jackson was stellar from the pocket, throwing for four touchdowns. He tacked on another 107 yards (on 11 carries) and a fifth touchdown on the ground, some runs coming as a scrambler and some as a designed runner. The Patriots’ offense made this one a shootout, but the Ravens’ volatile secondary finally hit some highs to match their lows, picking off Mac Jones three times despite surrendering 10 yards a pass.
Bears 23, Texans 20: The Bears continue to do everything they can to keep the game out of Justin Fields’s hands. Fields threw only 17 passes, completing eight, while eating five sacks and being intercepted twice. None of that mattered, at least this week, as the backup running back Khalil Herbert had a huge day, taking 20 carries for 157 yards and scoring the team’s only two touchdowns. With the game tied, 20-20, with less than two minutes to go, Bears linebacker Roquan Smith snagged an interception off Davis Mills to immediately put the Bears within range for Cairo Santos’s game-winning 30-yard field goal.
Titans 24, Raiders 22: The Raiders’ defense did the Titans’ offense a solid by giving Derrick Henry a “get right” game. Through Week 2, Tennessee had perhaps the worst rushing offense in the league because of faulty offensive line play and Henry’s looking less explosive than he did in his peak years from 2018 to 2020. Henry ripped off a number of rushes of 10 or more yards through the first half, barreling over linebackers on a few occasions just like old times. Getting an effective running game back allowed Ryan Tannehill to do everything he is good at in the play-action passing game, including slowing down the pass rush off the edge.
Colts 20, Kansas City 17: Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes should have teed off against Gus Bradley and Indianapolis’s vanilla defense. But Kansas City’s running game was shut out entirely, sticking with too many shotgun formations and with the Colts’ interior duo of DeForest Buckner and Grover Stewart dominating the trenches. The Colts’ offense wasn’t much of a force, either, but it mustered a 16-play, 76-yard touchdown drive in the fourth quarter to finish things off. Indianapolis squeezed 8 minutes 14 seconds off the clock, leaving just 24 seconds for Mahomes to respond. That is usually more than enough, just not with Kansas City stuck in the mud this season.
