Antonio Brown scored on his New England Patriots debut in a 43-0 win over AFC East rivals the Miami Dolphins.
Brown joined the reigning Super Bowl champions last weekend, having been traded from the Pittsburgh Steelers and cut by the Oakland Raiders this off-season. He was then accused of rape in a lawsuit filed by his former physical trainer Britney Taylor but was active for Sunday’s game.
His four catches netted a team-high 56 receiving yards and one of Tom Brady’s two passing scores, the other going to James White. Quarterback Brady also ran for a touchdown, as did Sony Michel, while Stephon Gilmore and Jamie Collins scored on interception returns.
Eddy Pineiro kicked a 53-yard field goal as time expired to give the Chicago Bears a 16-14 win at the Denver Broncos.
The Broncos had thought they had the game won, as they held a 14-13 win as play apparently ended with the stadium clock showing all zeroes. But officials announced there was still one second remaining. Chicago used its last time-out to snatch the victory.
The Green Bay Packers held off a stop-start fightback attempt from the Minnesota Vikings to win 21-16 at Lambeau Field.
Aaron Rodgers threw touchdowns to Geronimo Allison and Jamaal Williams as his side took a 21-0 lead and though Dalvin Cook and Stefon Diggs scored for the Vikings, quarterback Kirk Cousins threw two interceptions – including one in the end zone to Kevin King – and lost a fumble.
The Steelers lost quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and running back James Conner to injuries as they lost 28-26 to the Seattle Seahawks. Tight end Vance McDonald caught two touchdowns from Roethlisberger’s replacement Mason Rudolph but was matched by opposite number Will Dissly.
Lamar Jackson continued his hot start to the season by passing for 272 yards and two touchdowns and running for another 120 yards as the Baltimore Ravens beat the Arizona Cardinals 23-17.
The Houston Texans beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 13-12 in a dramatic finale. Gardner Minshew, starting at quarterback in place of the injured Nick Foles, led the Jags on a touchdown drive in the last minute but they passed up a game-tying extra point in favour of a two-point attempt, which was stuffed by the Houston defence.
Dak Prescott threw three touchdown passes as the Dallas Cowboys beat NFC East rivals the Washington Redskins 31-21. Ezekiel Elliott ran for 111 yards and a score while tight end Jason Witten scored for the second game in succession since coming out of retirement.
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen joined running backs Frank Gore and Devin Singletary in running for a touchdown as his side beat the New York Giants 28-14, despite Saquon Barkley’s touchdown and 135 yards from scrimmage.
TY Hilton’s touchdown settled the Indianapolis Colts’ 19-17 win over the Tennessee Titans, who enjoyed a poignant moment when offensive tackle David Quessenberry – who overcame non-Hodgkins lymphoma in 2017 – caught a touchdown pass.
The Detroit Lions won against the Los Angeles Chargers 13-10, Jimmy Garoppolo threw for three touchdowns as the San Francisco 49ers hammered the Cincinnati Bengals 41-17, while Jared Goff passed for 283 yards as the Los Angeles Rams thrashed the visiting New Orleans Saints 27-9.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes rebounded from his first scoreless opening quarter to throw four touchdown passes in the second term to help the Kansas City Chiefs to a 28-10 win at the Oakland Raiders, and the Atlanta Falcons beat the visiting Philadelphia Eagles 24-20, when Julio Jones ran 54 yards to touch down with 2:10 minutes remaining.
