Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – The Kansas City Chiefs righted the ship with a convincing 30-17 NFL victory over the in-form Detroit Lions on Sunday as the Baltimore Ravens remained in free-fall. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw for three touchdowns and ran for another as Kansas City rebounded from a shock loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars and snapped Detroit’s four-game winning streak.
The night ended in a mass shoving match after Lions safety Brian Branch took a swing at Chiefs wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster — who appeared irked that Branch had ignored Mahomes’s offer of a post-game high-five. That didn’t stop Mahomes from savoring a victory in which the Chiefs looked more like the team that reached the last three Super Bowls, winning two straight before falling to Philadelphia last season.
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“That’s a good football team and it showed what we can do,” Mahomes said. “We’ve been getting better and better each and every week. The results haven’t been paying off but it’s good to get one here at home and we’ll try to carry this momentum into the next game.”
Mahomes threw for 257 yards, notching his 300th career touchdown pass when he connected with Xavier Worthy on a six-yarder to put Kansas City up 6-3. Detroit responded with a touchdown, but Kansas City took the lead for good on a one-yard TD run by Mahomes, who later found Marquise “Hollywood” Brown for two TDs.
Pop superstar Taylor Swift was at Arrowhead Stadium to cheer on Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, who caught six passes for a season-high 78 yards. It was the first time Swift has been caught on camera at a game since she and Kelce announced their engagement in August.
There was no bouncing back for the reeling Ravens, who lost 17-3 to the Los Angeles Rams to fall to 1-5. The Rams shook off a slow start in Baltimore and seized control with a pair of rapid-fire touchdowns in the third quarter. Los Angeles had thwarted Baltimore on four attempts to score from less than five yards out to end the first half tied 3-3.
They took the lead on Kyren Williams’ three-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter and after Baltimore’s Zay Flowers fumbled, the Rams capitalized with a drive capped by Matthew Stafford’s eight-yard pass to Tyler Higbee. The Ravens’ second straight game without injured quarterback Lamar Jackson cast further doubt on their chances of reaching the postseason.
“We’re the kind of team that can do it,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh insisted, adding that the expected return of Jackson after the team’s bye week could be a deciding factor. “We’re going to have healthy players back,” he said. “Our quarterback’s going to be back. That’s a big one.”
– Bucs down 49ers – Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield piloted the Buccaneers to a 30-19 victory over the San Francisco 49ers in a battle of banged-up teams. Tampa Bay, whose four prior victories came on last-gasp scores, didn’t need those kind of heroics to improve to 5-1. Mayfield threw for 256 yards and two touchdowns, scrambling for a first down late in the third quarter to extend the drive capped by a 45-yard scoring pass to a leaping Tez Johnson — the rookie’s first NFL TD.
“Guys just doing their job,” Mayfield said. “Young guys stepping up big-time for us.” The 49ers, already without quarterback Brock Purdy, defensive end Nick Bosa, and tight end George Kittle among others, lost linebacker Fred Warner for the rest of the season with an ugly right ankle injury in the first quarter. Coach Kyle Shanahan said after the game he would need season-ending surgery to repair a broken and dislocated ankle.
San Francisco dropped to 4-2, tied in the NFC West with the Rams and Seattle Seahawks. The Seahawks beat the Jaguars 20-12 in Jacksonville, where Seattle quarterback Sam Darnold’s two touchdown passes included a 61-yard bomb to Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
The Indianapolis Colts improved to 5-1 with a 31-27 home victory over the Arizona Cardinals, remaining unbeaten at home. Last-minute field goals lifted the Carolina Panthers and Los Angeles Chargers to victories, the Panthers shocking the Cowboys 30-27 in Charlotte and the Chargers edging the Dolphins 29-27 in Miami.
The day’s action started in London, where the Denver Broncos sacked New York Jets quarterback Justin Fields nine times on the way to a 13-11 victory.
© 2024 AFP
