Miami (AFP) – Defending Super Bowl champions the Kansas City Chiefs suffered their first loss of the NFL season on Sunday, falling 30-21 at Buffalo after winning their first nine games. The result ends any talk of the Chiefs matching the 1972 Miami Dolphins team with a perfect season and was a reminder of the class of the Bills and their quarterback Josh Allen.
With the Bills leading 23-21, Allen secured the victory in stunning fashion with a 26-yard rush on fourth down and two, demonstrating not only his footwork and speed but also his strength as he broke two tackles to power into the end zone. “I’m just trying to make a play, help our team win a football game,” Allen told CBS. “There are some things we want to clean up, some throws I wish I had back, but we’re going into the bye week 9-2. We’ll take it.” Knowing how things usually play out, we’ll probably see this team again at some point.
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While the Bills have beaten Kansas City in each of the past four NFL seasons, the Chiefs have eliminated the Bills from the playoffs in three of the past four seasons. The Bills opened a 23-14 lead early in the fourth when Allen found Curtis Samuel with a 12-yard touchdown pass. Patrick Mahomes responded, finding Noah Gray with a one-yard pass to make it a two-point game. Then came Allen’s inspired touchdown run, which left Mahomes in need of one of his famous comebacks. But on fourth down, his pass intended for Travis Kelce was intercepted by Buffalo’s Terrel Bernard.
– Steelers down Ravens –
The Pittsburgh Steelers continued their domination of AFC North divisional rivals Baltimore, enjoying an 18-16 win. The Steelers survived a late Baltimore rally as they moved to 8-2 on the season while the Ravens fell to 7-4 with their eighth loss in nine games against Pittsburgh. The Steelers managed the win without scoring a touchdown thanks to six field goals from Chris Boswell. Boswell’s successful 50-yard kick late in the fourth quarter gave the Steelers an 18-10 lead but Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson found Zay Flowers with a 16-yard pass in the end zone with 1:06 remaining. Jackson was unable to make the two-point conversion attempt, and the Steelers closed out the game.
Jared Goff threw for 412 yards and four touchdowns as the Detroit Lions crushed the struggling Jacksonville Jaguars 52-6. Running back David Montgomery rushed for two scores for the Lions and put up 75 yards on the ground in what became a rout. The Jacksonville defense was ineffective on the ground and in the air, with Lions receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown scoring twice and putting up 161 yards receiving.
Sam Darnold threw for two touchdowns and 246 yards as Detroit’s NFC North rivals, the Minnesota Vikings, beat the Tennessee Titans 23-13. The outcome was settled when Titans quarterback Will Levis attempted a deep pass to Calvin Ridley on Tennessee’s final possession, but Harrison Smith showed great agility to make the interception. Quarterback Jordan Love ran in the go-ahead touchdown for the Green Bay Packers against NFC North rivals Chicago. Love’s rush made it 20-19, after the two-point attempt failed, leaving the Bears knowing a field goal would win the game.
Chicago advanced 42 yards in seven plays to leave Cairo Santos with a 46-yard chance for a walk-off winner. But the Brazilian’s kick was brilliantly blocked by Karl Brooks to give the Packers a win, sending them to 7-3 on the season. A last-minute touchdown, with a 13-yard scramble from quarterback Geno Smith, kept the Seattle Seahawks playoff hopes alive with a 20-17 win at the San Francisco 49ers. The result leaves the two teams on 5-5 records in the NFC West.
Aaron Rodgers’ disappointing season continued as his New York Jets fell to 3-8 with a 28-27 loss at home to the Indianapolis Colts. The Los Angeles Chargers survived a strong second-half comeback from the Cincinnati Bengals to emerge with a 34-27 win that moves them to 7-3. The Chargers were up 27-6 early in the third before Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow threw three unanswered touchdowns to tie up the game. But Evan McPherson missed two field goals for the Bengals, and the Chargers won the game when J.K. Dobbins rushed in from 29 yards with 18 seconds left.
© 2024 AFP
