Zac Taylor was "just really proud" of the Cincinnati Bengals after they toppled the Miami Dolphins 27-15 – as he expressed concern for the injured Tua Tagovailoa.
The Bengals head coach saw opposition quarterback Tagovailoa taken away to hospital in the second quarter after sustaining what the Dolphins said were head and neck injuries.
Tagovailoa took a blow to the back of his head in a Josh Tupou sack and appeared to suffer a seizure upon initial contact with the pitch. It came after he also took a heavy hit in last week's win over the Buffalo Bills.
After tight losses to the Steelers and the Cowboys in the opening two weeks, there was relief in the Bengals camp that they had got back to 2-2 for the season, but concern too about the health of Tagovailoa.
Asked about how he handled talks with his players as Tagovailoa received medical attention, Taylor said: "It's a heavy moment. He's a guy with tremendous character, and you hate to see that happen.
"It's a tough moment for everybody, especially them, then to take it to third-and-long, and you've got to come out there and respond. I won't say that there's in-depth conversations going on, but certainly thinking about Tua, and that's a horrible thing to see."
It soon emerged Tagovailoa was to be discharged from hospital in what looked to be a positive update from the Dolphins.
Taylor said Thursday night's win for his Bengals players was "expected, just because we've got a great team", as a record home crowd of 67,260 watched on.
"I love this team. I love everything about them. They didn't hesitate for one second after those first two weeks when all the noise was getting out about expectations," Taylor added.
"They didn't let that affect them for one second. They just came out and answered the bell, and responded for two consecutive weeks. I'm just really proud of them on this stage, against that team. That's a really good football team – they're going to win a lot of games.
"I thought they handled every moment in this game exactly how they needed to, especially in the second half. Capitalising on turnovers, touchdowns, special teams stepping up big – that was just a great way to win a Thursday night game."
The coach rates his group as "championship calibre players" and saluted a "lights-out" performance from quarterback Joe Burrow, who completed 20 of 31 attempts for 287 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions.
When it comes to defense, Taylor is confident the Bengals are among the best in the business.
"I've got a lot of faith in our defense," he said. "It's like comparing your children, so I'm not comparing them to the other [units], but we know that when need them to step up, they're going to do it. Whether that's putting pressure on the quarterback, being tight in coverage, creating those turnovers they did – that's a really explosive team."
Browns score late touchdown to end Steelers' streak in snowy contest
Nick Chubb ran for a 2-yard touchdown in heavy snow with 57 seconds left, and the Cleveland Browns stunned division rival Pittsburgh 24-19 on Thursday night, ending the Steelers' five-game winning streak.
Chubb's score came in his first game against the AFC North-leading Steelers (8-3) since the running back sustained a season-ending left knee injury on a carry last year at Pittsburgh.
The Browns (3-8) had blown a 12-point lead in the fourth quarter and were down 19-18 before getting the ball back with 3:22 remaining after Pittsburgh punter Corliss Waitman shanked a 16-yarder.
With snow piling up and covering the yard lines on the field, Cleveland's Jameis Winston completed a third-down pass to Jerry Jeudy to the Pittsburgh 9. Two plays later, Chubb barrelled into the end zone.
The Steelers had one last chance, but quarterback Russell Wilson's Hail Mary on the final play was knocked down by Browns safety Grant Delpit in the end zone, touching off a wild celebration at Huntington Bank Field.
NFL: Texans bounce back, extend Cowboys' woes
Joe Mixon's 109 rushing yards and three touchdowns helped get the Houston Texans back on track with Monday's 34-10 win over the floundering Dallas Cowboys.
Houston (7-4) snapped a two-game losing streak behind Mixon's powerful running and a defence that sacked Cowboys' fill-in quarterback Cooper Rush five times and forced two turnovers, including a fumble Derek Barnett returned 28 yards for a touchdown that gave the Texans a 27-10 lead in the fourth quarter.
Dallas (3-7) has now lost five straight, its longest skid since dropping seven in a row in 2015, and fell to 0-5 at home. The Cowboys have been outscored by 118 points (187-69) at AT&T Stadium, the third-largest negative differential through five home games in a season in NFL history.
Rush did throw a 64-yard touchdown pass to KaVontae Turpin in his second straight start subbing for an injured Dak Prescott, and finished with a career-high 354 passing yards with one interception while completing 32 of 55 attempts.
C.J. Stroud threw for 257 yards with an interception for Houston, which extended its lead over the second-place Indianapolis Colts to two games in the AFC South.
The Texans never trailed after Mixon ripped off a 45-yard touchdown run on the game's opening drive, and the veteran running back added a 1-yard scoring plunge late in the first quarter to give Houston a 14-0 lead.
Turpin got Dallas on the board by taking a short pass from Rush and breaking free from the Houston defence nine seconds into the second quarter, but the Cowboys were shut out in the second half after pulling to within 17-10 on Brandon Aubrey's 53-yard field goal with just under six minutes left before half-time.
Burnett's strip sack of Rush and return of the resulting fumble helped put the game away with 12:31 left, and Mixon tacked on his final touchdown of the night with 3:16 remaining to cap a 35-yard drive that began after the Texans stopped the Cowboys on downs.
Mahomes to use Chiefs' first loss of 2024 as 'spark'
Patrick Mahomes said the Kansas City Chiefs will use their first loss since Christmas Day 2023 as fuel after the Buffalo Bills halted their unbeaten start to the season.
Josh Allen scrambled for a stunning 26-yard touchdown with just over two minutes to play as the Bills improved to 9-2 with a 30-21 win over the reigning Super Bowl champions.
The result ended the Chiefs' 15-game winning streak, a run that began after they lost to the Los Vegas Raiders on Christmas Day last year and included their dramatic triumph over the San Francisco 49ers at Super Bowl LVIII.
The Chiefs had started this season 9-0 to take control of the race for the AFC's top seed, but they could have few complaints about Sunday's result.
The Bills outgained the Chiefs by 366 yards to 259, also recording 24 first downs to Kansas City's 19 and enjoying almost nine more minutes in possession.
Mahomes, however, was relaxed about the end of his team's winning streak, saying: "The undefeated thing was cool, but that's not our ultimate goal.
"It's a good football team, so there's nothing to hang your head about. We feel like we can play better, so we will get back to work and try to use this as a spark so that we can be a better football team in the end."
The Chiefs rank just 16th in the NFL for yards per game (337.9) and 11th for points per game (24) in 2024, with many of their victories – including against the Denver Broncos in Week 10 and the Baltimore Ravens in Week 1 – coming via last-gasp defensive or special teams plays.
Mahomes actually feels the team could benefit from a reality check, adding: "I'm hoping that [losing] is a benefit.
"I'm not going to say I or we are relaxed, but at the same time I feel like we were just coming away with these wins at the end of the games.
"I think it's going to spark us to have more urgency, especially at the start of football games, especially with the offense, and that comes from me and turning the ball over on the first drive. It's something you can't do in big games like this."
No quarterback has thrown more interceptions than Mahomes' 11 (level with Geno Smith and Jordan Love) this season, while a passer rating of 90.3 ranks him a lowly 20th among all players at the position.
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