Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs get past early mistakes to beat Jaguars, avoid 0-2 start

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By The Associated Press

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw two touchdown passes, including one to returning star Travis Kelce, and the Kansas City Chiefs overcame three early turnovers to beat Jacksonville 17-9 on Sunday for their third victory against the Jaguars in 10 months.

The Chiefs (1-1) won their eighth straight in the series and avoided becoming the first Super Bowl champions to start 0-2 since Denver in 1999.

The Jaguars (1-1), who insisted all week they owed the Chiefs because of a loss in the divisional round of the AFC playoffs in January, pretty much no-showed in their home opener.

Coach Doug Pederson’s team had another slow start, failed to capitalize on two of three turnovers and struggled to protect quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

Lawrence threw incomplete on a fourth-and-12 play with 4:16 remaining in an eight-point game, and Kansas City didn’t let the Jaguars get the ball back.

Chiefs All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones, making his season debut after ending his holdout and signing a one-year contract, dominated his one-on-one matchups. Jones finished with two sacks on five QB pressures.

RAVENS 27, BENGALS 24

CINCINNATI (AP) — Lamar Jackson tossed two touchdown passes, Gus Edwards ran for another score and Baltimore held off slow-starting Cincinnati.

The AFC North champion Bengals fell to 0-2 for the second consecutive season. The Ravens (2-0), their division rival, certainly looked like the better team.

Jackson was 24 for 33 for 237 yards. He ran for 54 more, and Edwards — with more chances because of a season-ending Achilles tendon injury to J.K. Dobbins — picked up 62 yards on 10 carries.

Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, looking as if he might still be suffering the effects of a calf injury in training camp, finished 27 for 41 for 222 yards and two TDs after passing for just 86 last week in the season-opening loss to Cleveland.

Burrow hooked up with Tee Higgins for a 4-yard touchdown on third-and-goal to cut the deficit to three with 3:28 left in the game.

But the Bengals couldn’t stop Jackson and the Ravens’ offense, which moved the chains twice after the ensuing kickoff to run out the clock.

SEAHAWKS 37, LIONS 31, OT

DETROIT (AP) — Geno Smith threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Lockett on the opening drive of overtime, lifting Seattle past Detroit.

The Seahawks (1-1) allowed the Lions (1-1) to rally from a 10-point deficit late in the fourth quarter. Detroit extended the game with Riley Patterson’s 38-yard field goal on the final play of regulation.

Smith threw a go-ahead, 3-yard touchdown pass to Lockett early in the fourth. Tre Brown intercepted Jared Goff and returned it 40 yards for a score on the ensuring drive to give Seattle a 31-21 lead.

Goff showed his resilience after throwing his first interception in 383 attempts — 30 shy of the NFL record — by throwing a 4-yard touchdown pass to Josh Reynolds.

Detroit forced Seattle to punt on the ensuing possession, sacking Smith for the first and only time when Alex Anzalone tracked him down at the 3. That set up the tying field goal.

But the Seahawks won the overtime coin toss and Smith marched them 75 yards in nine plays for the game-ending score. Smith finished 32 of 41 for 328 yards and two touchdowns.

Goff went 28 of 35 for 323 yards, three touchdowns and the one costly pick.

TITANS 27, CHARGERS 24, OT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Nick Folk kicked a 41-yard field goal in overtime in a sudden downpour and Tennessee beat Los Angeles to snap an eight-game skid.

The Titans (1-1) won for the first time since last Nov. 17 at Green Bay. They had to rally from an 11-3 deficit, at which point the Chargers had more points than Tennessee had yards (8).

Ryan Tannehill rebounded from the worst game of his career in the opener by throwing for 246 yards. He put Tennessee up 24-21 with a 4-yard touchdown pass to Nick Westbrook-Ikhine. He also ran for a touchdown and started the game-winning drive with a 49-yard toss to Chris Moore.

Derrick Henry rushed for 80 yards and a touchdown.

The Chargers fell to 0-2 for the first time since 2017. Justin Herbert threw for 305 yards and two touchdowns to Keenan Allen. With the ball and 2:22 left in regulation, he was sacked by Harold Landry, forcing the Chargers to settle for Cameron Dicker’s third field goal of the game to force overtime.

Los Angeles won the OT coin toss, but Herbert threw three straight incompletions.

FALCONS 25, PACKERS 24

ATLANTA (AP) — Younghoe Koo booted a 25-yard field goal with 57 seconds remaining and rookie Bijan Robinson turned in another dynamic performance, rallying Atlanta past Jordan Love and Green Bay.

Robinson rushed for 124 yards on 19 carries and hauled in four catches for another 48 yards, showing why the Falcons (2-0) selected him No. 8 in the draft even though running backs aren’t supposed to go that high anymore.

The Packers (1-1) squandered a 24-12 lead and three more touchdown passes from Love, who now has a half-dozen scoring throws in his first two games as Aaron Rodgers’ replacement.

Atlanta’s young quarterback, Desmond Ridder, bootlegged for a 6-yard touchdown on fourth-and-4 with just under 12 minutes remaining.

Then it was Ridder and Robinson teaming up for two more drives that set up field goals by Koo, including a 39-yarder with 8:13 remaining.

The Packers’ offense dried up in the final quarter, allowing the Falcons to move to 2-0 for only the 11th time in franchise history.

BILLS 38, RAIDERS 10

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Josh Allen rebounded from a four-turnover, season-opening dud by throwing three touchdown passes and Buffalo routed Las Vegas.

Allen completed his first 13 attempts for 94 yards, and finished 31 of 37 for 274 yards and no turnovers. His 13 consecutive completions to start the game set an individual record and matched his best run at any point of an outing. He improved to 13-4 in games following a loss, and 23-4 when he doesn’t turn the ball over.

Dawson Knox scored on a 2-yard catch to put Buffalo up 14-7 three minutes into the second quarter, and Khalil Shakir padded the lead with an 11-yard touchdown reception in the final seconds of the first half.

James Cook rushed for 123 yards on 17 carries for the Bills.

The Raiders (1-1) blew an opportunity to open a season with back-to-back road wins for the first time since 1982. Jimmy Garoppolo finished 16 of 24 for 185 yards, with a 16-yard touchdown pass to Davante Adams. He was intercepted twice, by linebackers Matt Milano and Terrel Bernard.

Josh Jacobs, last year’s NFL rushing leader, finished with minus-2 yards on nine carries for Las Vegas.

BUCCANEERS 27, BEARS 17

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Baker Mayfield passed for 317 yards and a touchdown, adding to his strong debut with Tampa Bay, which beat Chicago.

With Mayfield playing turnover-free for the second straight week and Mike Evans catching six balls for 171 yards and a TD, the Bucs improved to 2-0 while handing the Bears a franchise-record 12th consecutive loss.

Mayfield completed 26 of 34 passes. He set up Rachaad White’s 1-yard TD run with a 70-yard completion to Evans in the first quarter. He also finished an 89-yard drive with a 32-yard scoring pass to Evansearly in the second half.

Tampa Bay’s defense did its job, too, after yielding a 75-yard TD drive on Chicago’s first possession. The Buccaneers sacked Justin Fields six times and picked him off twice.

The Bears (0-2) closed within 20-17 on Chase Claypool’s 20-yard TD catch, but saw any hope for a comeback fade when Fields tossed an interception that Bucs linebacker Shaquil Barrett returned 4 yards for a clinching TD.

Fields completed 16 of 29 passes for 211 yards. DJ Moore had six receptions for 104 yards, but the Bears were limited to just 67 yards rushing.

COLTS 31, TEXANS 20

HOUSTON (AP) — Anthony Richardson rushed for two touchdowns before leaving with a concussion and backup Gardner Minshew threw for 171 yards and a TD as Indianapolis held off Houston.

It was the first win for coach Shane Steichen, who was hired in February after spending the last two seasons as Philadelphia’s offensive coordinator.

The Colts led by 18 at halftime and managed only a field goal in the second half. But their dominant start was enough to snap an eight-game skid dating to last season. It was their first win since Nov. 13 at Las Vegas.

Richardson gave the Colts (1-1) an early lead when he dashed 18 yards untouched on their first drive. Minshew took over for Richardson in the second quarter and orchestrated a 76-yard drive capped by an 11-yard scoring run by Zack Moss that made it 21-7.

Houston’s C.J. Stroud, the second overall pick in the draft, threw for 384 yards and two touchdowns . But he was sacked six times and hit nine other times playing behind a line filled with backups.

Collins finished with seven receptions for a career-high 146 yards for the Texans (0-2).

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