The Buffalo Bills took advantage of a questionable fourth-quarter decision to defeat the Baltimore Ravens 23-20 on the road on Sunday.
In a game played in difficult, rainy conditions, both star quarterbacks completed one touchdown pass each.
Baltimore's Lamar Jackson dished off a shovel pass to J.K. Dobbins in the first quarter, and Dobbins' second touchdown, this time on the ground, helped build a 20-3 lead in the second period.
Buffalo's Josh Allen found Isaiah McKenzie in the seconds before half-time for what would end up being his only touchdown pass of the game, but he scored with his legs on an 11-yard rush late in the third to tie things at 20-20.
With scores even in the fourth quarter, the Ravens put together a 14-play, 93-yard drive starting from their own five-yard line, but after Dobbins' attempt at his third touchdown was stopped for a loss, the home side were forced into a tough decision.
While they could have kicked a chip-shot field goal and taken the lead, they instead opted to throw for it on fourth down, resulting in a turnover, handing the Bills the ball with four minutes remaining, needing just a field goal to win it.
A 20-yard completion to Dawson Knox and a roughing the passer call on the Ravens defense moved the ball up the field quickly, and with the ball on the one-yard line, the road team decided to play it smart and kneel to set up a game-winning field goal from Tyler Bass as time expired.
Both quarterbacks also ended up leading their teams in rushing, with Allen totalling 70 rushing yards from 11 carries, while Jackson finished with 11 carries for 73 yards.
Eagles force five turnovers to remain undefeated
The last undefeated team in the league stayed that way after the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the rising Jacksonville Jaguars 29-21.
Philadelphia's defense was the story of the game, recovering four fumbles and securing one interception, with Haason Reddick posting two sacks, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.
On offense, Miles Sanders was a workhorse in the Eagles backfield, carrying the ball 27 times for 134 yards and two touchdowns, while A.J. Brown led both teams in receiving with five catches for 95 yards.
For the Jaguars, Jamal Agnew caught both of Trevor Lawrence's touchdown passes, although the impressive young quarterback completed just 11 of his 23 passes in the rain.
Pickett debuts as Steelers fall to the Jets
After a lacklustre first half where the Pittsburgh Steelers could only score a pair of field goals, first-round draft pick Kenny Pickett was brought in for his NFL debut as his side ended up losing to the New York Jets 24-20.
Pickett, who replaced Mitchell Trubisky, enjoyed a bright start as he ran in for two short-range rushing touchdowns to turn a 10-6 deficit into a 20-10 lead. While he completed 10 of his 13 passes, those three incompletions ended up as three interceptions to allow the Jets back into the game.
In his first game this season after returning from injury, Zach Wilson manufactured a touchdown pass to Corey Davis to cut the margin to 20-17, before going six-for-six through the air on the final drive to set up a one-yard, game-winning touchdown run from rookie Breece Hall.
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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