Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – Buffalo’s Josh Allen finally managed his first triumph at Houston in a thrilling win over the Texans on Sunday, while Chicago bested Carolina in the highest-scoring opening weekend game in NFL history. Allen had been 0-4 in prior games at Houston, but the 2024 NFL Most Valuable Player kicked off his 2026 campaign with a masterclass — passing for 334 yards and two touchdowns and running for two more touchdowns.
“We do like Reliant Stadium. Woohoo,” joked Allen, after wrapping up the last-gasp 36-31 victory on new coach Joe Brady’s debut. “Feels good to start the season off right. Obviously, coach Joe getting his first win as an NFL head coach… really happy for him. Called a heck of a game.”
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Allen gave Buffalo the lead in the dying seconds on a stunning 34-yard pass to Joshua Palmer, who raced through the Texans’ vaunted defense for a touchdown. But it was the Bills’ own great defensive stand that secured the win. Houston drove to the Bills’ nine-yard line and appeared set to push in for the winning score until Buffalo’s Greg Rousseau sacked Houston quarterback C.J. Stroud, and Terrel Bernard recovered a fumble to ensure victory. “Our defense shows up big when they need it the most,” said Allen.
Chicago’s Caleb Williams threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more in the Bears’ madcap 59-37 victory at Carolina — the 12th-highest scoring NFL game of all time, and a record for opening weekend. The Bears’ explosive offense managed two touchdowns in each quarter, pulling clear in the second half. D’Andre Swift rushed for three touchdowns but still insisted his team should have won by more. “We’ll take the win. Fifty-nine points is amazing, it’s awesome. But should have been worse,” he said.
Detroit edged visiting New Orleans 31-30 in an overtime thriller. Jared Goff threw a four-yard touchdown pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown in overtime, but New Orleans answered when Tyler Shough hit Noah Fant on an eight-yard touchdown pass. The Saints rejected a tying conversion kick attempt and went for a two-point conversion. But Shough — who had passed for a monster 410 yards including three touchdowns — could not find his man, and the Lions were winners. “We’re always going to be aggressive. That’s our mindset,” said Shough. “It just sucks… It was just one play away. It’s football.”
Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson completed 17-of-25 passes for 324 yards and a touchdown and ran for another touchdown, as the Ravens comfortably won their first game under new coach Jesse Minter 41-23 at Indianapolis. Derrick Henry’s three rushing touchdowns propelled the veteran running back to 125 across his career — rising to third on the all-time NFL list, behind Emmitt Smith’s record 164 and LaDainian Tomlinson’s 145. “It’s cool… shout-out to everybody that helped me get to this point,” said Henry, hailing his quarterback Jackson as “the best player in the league for a long time.”
Mike LaFleur steered Arizona to a surprise 26-14 road win over the Chargers in his first-ever game as head coach. Leading 16-14 in the fourth quarter, the Cardinals’ special teams unit blocked a punt for a turnover just three yards from the Los Angeles end zone, and converted for a touchdown. Minnesota lost new starting quarterback Kyler Murray to concussion from a gruesome tackle early against NFC North rivals Green Bay. But the Vikings scored 29 unanswered points in a late rampage to win 39-22. Philadelphia survived a Washington rally to win 24-22, after the Commanders’ game-tying two-point conversion attempt failed.
Aaron Rodgers’ Pittsburgh beat Atlanta 20-13, while Trevor Lawrence threw for four touchdowns as Jacksonville crushed Cleveland 34-10. Joe Burrow steered Cincinnati to a 33-27 victory over Tampa Bay, the New York Jets beat Tennessee 23-10, and Las Vegas beat Miami 27-13. In the night’s final contest, John Harbaugh’s first game in charge of the New York Giants resulted in an impressive 28-20 victory over the Dallas Cowboys. And the Los Angeles Rams were hit by news that star defensive end Myles Garrett will undergo knee surgery following their loss to San Francisco in Australia.
© 2024 AFP
