Baker Mayfield called it a "pretty damn good story" after he produced a stunning fourth-quarter comeback against the Las Vegas Raiders to win 17-16 in his Los Angeles Rams debut on Thursday.
Having been cut by the Carolina Panthers on Monday following news he was no longer the starter or the backup, he was claimed by the Rams on Tuesday, and just two days later he was thrust into the action.
John Wolford started the game at quarterback for the Rams, but after two quick Raiders scores, Mayfield trotted out in the first quarter trailing 10-0 and began to figure things out.
His very first play went for a 21-yard completion, and his first drive ended in a field goal, but the Rams were unable to score again until the final minutes of the game.
Trailing 16-3 to begin the fourth quarter, Mayfield put together a 17-play, 75-yard drive, with Cam Akers' short-range touchdown cutting the margin to six points, and he got the ball back with 98 yards to go and just 1:45 on the clock.
He went on to produce the longest go-ahead drive beginning in the final two minutes in the past 45 seasons, culminating in his first touchdown pass as a Ram, a 23-yard dime down the left sideline to Van Jefferson as the Raiders opted to play man coverage with no safety help over the top.
Speaking to the media after the fairytale result, Mayfield reflected on the long, winding journey to Los Angeles.
"I don't know if you can write it any better than that," he said. "Obviously, we'd like to be a little bit more stress-free, but it's a pretty damn good story, I'll be honest with you. It's special.
"It feels really good right now, but there's a lot to get fixed, that's for sure. Throughout my career so far there's been a lot of ups and downs, so this is one I'm going to enjoy right now, but there's a lot of things to get ironed out and learn from.
"I'm extremely thankful. It's been a tough year, to be honest with you, and this has been a good way to kick-start this journey here. It's wild."
Joining the Amazon Prime coverage immediately after the win, the former number one overall draft pick was asked where this ranks out of the moments in his career.
"This is up there, to be honest with you," he said. "I didn't think it was going to play out like this, but I'm sure happy [the coaches and I] covered the two-minute operation, my goodness.
"It's been a wild year, I'm not going to say otherwise. From being in limbo at the beginning, not knowing where it's going to go, to the last 48 hours here.
"I'm thankful to the guys back in Carolina, to be honest with you, I love those guys, and it sucks I had to leave. But when it works out like this, it's for the best, and I think they understand that."
Mayfield added that he has history with Jefferson, and that him coming down with the winning touchdown catch makes up for any past indiscretions.
"Van and I go back, I'm not very happy with Van until now," he said in jest. "I was trying to get him to come to Oklahoma, but he wouldn't text or call back. He owes me one, and he got me right there.
"I was truly shocked they pressed him up with 15 seconds left, knowing we had no timeouts left. He did a great job winning off the line of scrimmage, and I just put it up for him to go make a play."
The 27-year-old will likely start the remainder of the season with starting quarterback Matthew Stafford out injured, and with Stafford's future up in the air, the Rams' low-cost gamble could end up producing their new number one.
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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