Giving Patrick Mahomes another chance rarely works out well for the opposition.

A pass interference call on the Cincinnati Bengals on a fourth-and-16 with 38 seconds left allowed the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs to keep the ball, setting up Mahomes and company to steal a win.

Harrison Butker delivered the winner, kicking a 51-yard field goal as time expired to send the Chiefs to a 26-25 victory over the Bengals on Sunday.

Butker's game-winning kick came four plays after it appeared Kansas City turned the ball over on downs at their own 35-yard line, but Cincinnati safety Daijahn Anthony was called for pass interference, giving the Chiefs a fresh set of downs on the 29-yard penalty.

 

The game featured five lead changes in the second half, with the Chiefs taking their first lead on Mahomes' one-yard TD pass to offensive tackle Wanya Morris at 8:21 in the third quarter to make the score 17-16.

The Bengals then went back in front 22-17 on a three-yard touchdown pass from Joe Burrow to Andrei Iosivas with just over two minutes remaining in the quarter.

The game's final touchdown came when Chamarri Conner returned a Burrow fumble 37 yards for a touchdown to put Kansas City ahead 23-22 just 20 seconds into the final period.

Evan McPherson's fourth field goal of the game gave the Bengals a 25-23 lead with 5:12 to play, but Cincinnati couldn't hold on and dropped to 0-2 while Kansas City improved to 2-0.

Burrow finished with 258 yards passing, two touchdowns without an interception, while Mahomes completed 18-of-25 passes, but only threw for 151 yards - the second fewest of his career - with two TDs and two picks.

Mahomes had a 44-yard touchdown pass to Rashee Rice, who finished with 75 yards on five receptions.

Isiah Pacheco also had five catches for 21 yards, and rushed for 90 yards on 19 carries.

 

Kamara has 4 TDs as Saints make statement by demolishing Dallas

Beating a woeful team by 37 points at home in Week 1 was one thing.

Winning by 25 on the road against a reigning division champ in Week 2 is another.

The New Orleans Saints put the rest of the NFL on notice with an impressive 44-19 trouncing of the Dallas Cowboys, with Alvin Kamara scoring four touchdowns.

A week after setting a franchise record by starting the season with points on nine consecutive possessions in last Sunday's 47-10 dismantling of the lowly Carolina Panthers, the Saints scored touchdowns on their first six drives against the Cowboys and were in control all the way as they led 35-16 at half-time.

 

Derek Carr threw for 243 yards on just 11 completions with two touchdowns - including a 57-yard screen pass to Kamara and a 70-yarder to Rashid Shaheed.

Kamara finished with 115 rushing yards and another 65 yards receiving, while Shaheed led New Orleans with 96 receiving yards on four receptions.

The Saints racked up 432 total yards of offence against Dallas (1-1) and became the first NFL team to score 44 or more points in each of their first two games since the 2009 Saints did it on the way to winning the franchise's only Super Bowl.

Paulson Adebo and Tyrann Mathieu each intercepted Dak Prescott once and the New Orleans defence sacked him three times en route to snapping the Cowboys' home winning streak in the regular season at 16 games.

 

Buccaneers win at Detroit to avenge play-off loss

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers earned a measure of revenge, beating the Detroit Lions 20-16 in a play-off rematch.

Baker Mayfield put the Buccaneers (2-0) ahead with a dazzling 11-yard touchdown run in the final minute of the third quarter for the game's final score and Tampa Bay's defence stepped up late.

 

Christian Izien intercepted Jared Goff at the Tampa Bay nine-yard line midway through the fourth quarter, and the Lions (1-1) turned the ball over on downs at the Bucs' six-yard line with 53 seconds remaining and again at their 26 with two seconds to play.

Detroit also had an opportunity late in the first half to score points but couldn't get a play off after Goff completed an eight-yard pass to Amon-ra St. Brown in the middle of the field without a timeout remaining.

The Lions, who ended Tampa Bay's 2023 season with a 31-23 win in the divisional round of the play-offs, outgained the Buccaneers 463-216 in total yards but only scored one touchdown on a David Montgomery one-yard run.

Goff completed 34-of-55 passes for 307 yards but threw a pair of costly interceptions.

Mayfield was 12 of 19 for 185 yards with a 41-yard touchdown to Chris Godwin, who finished with seven catches for 117 yards.

 

Rodgers gets first win with Jets

Aaron Rodgers threw for 176 yards and two touchdowns as the New York Jets beat the Tennessee Titans 24-17.

The four-time league MVP earned his first win with the Jets after his 2023 season ended when he tore his left Achilles tendon on his fourth snap of the year and this year began with a 32-19 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Monday.

The 40-year-old quarterback threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to a 20-year-old Braelon Allen, making it a score between the NFL's oldest and youngest players. At 20 years and 239 days, Allen is the youngest NFL player to score a scrimmage touchdown since Arnie Herber was the exact same age in 1930.

Allen also scored on a 20-yard run, while Breece Hall rushed for 62 yards and had 52 yards receiving with a 26-yard touchdown reception.

 

New York took advantage of some sloppy play by the Titans, including another head-scratching decision by Will Levis.

A week after throwing a pick-6 while being sacked in a season-opening loss to the Chicago Bears, Levis tried to shovel a backward pass to Tyjae Spears and Jets defensive lineman Quinnen Williams ended up recovering the loose ball at the New York 12-yard line.

 

Fairbairn's big leg, Texans' defence leads way in win over Bears

In a matchup between two of NFL's most highly regarded young quarterbacks, C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans got the better of Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears, holding on for a 19-13 win.

Stroud threw for 260 yards with Nico Collins on the receiving end of eight of those passes for 135 yards as the Texans improved to 2-0.

The two hooked up for a 28-yard touchdown on the first play of the second quarter, and Houston got the rest of its scoring from kicker Ka'imi Fairbairn.

The kicker with the big leg connected from 47, 53, 56 and 59 yards after drilling field goals from 50, 51 and 51 yards in Houston's 29-27 win over the Indianapolis Colts in Week 1.

Fairbairn is the first player in NFL history to have two games with three field goals of at least 50 yards in his entire career, and he's done it in the first two games of this season.

 

The Texans' defence harassed Williams all night in his second career start. Houston intercepted this year's No. 1 overall draft pick twice and sacked him seven times.

Williams completed 23-of-37 passes for 174 yards and ran for 44 yards, while running back D'Andre Swift was limited to 18 rushing yards on 14 carries.

The Bears (1-1) finished with just 205 total yards of offence after being held to a mere 148 total yards in their comeback win over the Tennessee Titans in Week 1.

 

Darnold leads surprising Vikings over 49ers

The Minnesota Vikings took out the defending NFC champion San Francisco 49ers, winning 23-17.

Taking over the offence after rookie J.J. McCarthy suffered a season-ending knee injury last month, Sam Darnold helped the Vikings improve to 2-0.

Darnold was 17 of 26 for 268 yards with a pair of touchdowns, including a 97-yarder to Justin Jefferson.

Jefferson finished with 133 yards receiving on four catches, and Ty Chandler rushed for 82 yards on just 10 carries for a Minnesota team that compiled 146 yards on the ground.

 

Jordan Mason led the 49ers (1-1) with 100 yards rushing and scored on a 10-yard run in his second start in place of All-Pro Christian McCaffrey, who has been placed on injured reserve and will miss at least two more games with lower leg injuries.

Brock Purdy completed 28-of-36 passes for 319 yards, but only one throw went for a touchdown - a seven-yarder to tight end Geroge Kittle in the second quarter.

The San Francisco 49ers placed star running back Christian McCaffrey on injured reserve Saturday, ensuring that he will miss at least the next four games with calf and Achilles injuries.

The move is a shocking departure from the optimism of less than two weeks ago, when McCaffrey was a last-minute scratch for the 49ers’ season-opening win over the New York Jets.

McCaffrey missed the entire pre-season with what was reported as calf soreness. In the regular season, teams are required to submit official injury reports, and McCaffrey’s designation included Achilles tendonitis.

Last year’s rushing champion will miss a minimum of four more games, with the earliest possible return date coming on Oct. 10.

The 49ers face the Minnesota Vikings, Los Angeles Rams, New England Patriots and Arizona Cardinals over their next four, but there is no guarantee that McCaffrey will return when first eligible.

San Francisco ruled McCaffrey out for Sunday’s game in Minnesota on Friday, with head coach Kyle Shanahan publicly acknowledging for the first time that the 2023 Offensive Player of the Year could end up on IR.

“Yesterday was his worst day,” Shanahan told reporters. “It's on and off, but with yesterday having the most pain. It's something we're going to be discussing together in the next 24 hours.”

The loss is a massive one for the reigning NFC champions, who went 12-5 in McCaffrey’s first full season with the team last year.

With Elijah Mitchell already placed on IR before the start of the season, the only trusted running back on San Francisco’s roster is Jordan Mason, who ran the ball 28 times for 147 yards and a touchdown.

McCaffrey’s extended absence could also result in Deebo Samuel getting more snaps at running back, a look that was more common before the 49ers traded for McCaffrey during the 2022 season.

This is McCaffrey’s first IR stint since joining the 49ers. The Stanford product played a combined 10 games in the 2020 and 2021 seasons due to ankle and hamstring injuries.

McCaffrey led the NFL with 2,023 yards from scrimmage last season and tied with Raheem Mostert for the league lead at 21 touchdowns.

The Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange, has said that Sheldon Clarke former student of Munro College, deserves hearty congratulations and best wishes for his history making advance to the National Football League's International Player Pathway (NFL-IPP) Combine in the United Kingdom.

The NFL International Player Pathway programme offers the opportunity for athletes to bridge the gap between their current skills and the demands of professional American football.

The Combine is scheduled for October 10-12, 2024.

If successful at the Combine, Clarke who is 21, could earn a place in a training programme designed to prepare international athletes for the rigours of the NFL.

Minister Grange said, “This selection is not just a personal triumph for Sheldon, but an inspiration for every young athlete in Jamaica who aspires to play American football."

At the Combine, he will undergo rigorous physical tests, skill evaluations, and interviews with NFL personnel.

 

 

 

The San Francisco 49ers are considering placing star running back Christian McCaffrey on injured reserve as he continues to battle calf and Achilles issues.

McCaffrey missed the Niners' season-opening victory over the New York Jets on Monday, having struggled with soreness in his right calf and tendinitis in his Achilles. 

On Thursday, head coach Kyle Shanahan ruled McCaffrey out of the team's Week 2 trip to face the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, and conversations are now taking place about placing him on the injured reserve list.

If they do so, he will have to sit out at least four more games, leaving San Francisco without one of their foremost offensive weapons for a significant period of the season.

"It's something we're considering now," Shanahan told reporters. "Yesterday was his worst day. 

"It's on and off, but with yesterday having the most pain. It's something we're going to be discussing together in the next 24 hours."

McCaffrey won the NFL's Offensive Player of the Year award for 2023 after helping San Francisco reach Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas, where they suffered a dramatic overtime defeat against the Kansas City Chiefs.

He led the NFL in rushing with 1,459 yards with 14 touchdowns in his first full season with the 49ers, having arrived in a blockbuster trade from the Carolina Panthers in 2022.

McCaffrey admitted his injury problems were causing him plenty of frustration earlier this week, telling reporters: "My mindset every week is that I'm going to play.

"There's been weeks when I'll go the full week, not even feeling good enough to do the walk-through, and then I wake up and the body's capable of a lot of cool things. 

"Mentally, I'm always prepared to play, and then I woke up and it was a group decision, a very tough one. 

"I hate not playing, but I look at it as a chess move and something that hopefully you can benefit from the rest of the season."

Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel has said the team will bring in another quarterback in the absence of Tua Tagovailoa.

Tagovailoa suffered a concussion in Thursday's 31-10 loss to the Buffalo Bulls in the third quarter, the third of his career with all of them occurring in the past 24 months. 

The 26-year-old was 17-for-25 passing for 145 yards against the Bills, with one touchdown and three interceptions, one of which was returned for a Buffalo score, before he got hurt.

Until they can bring in a new recruit, Skylar Thompson will be considered the Dolphins' starter, and McDaniel believes he can perform well in the absence of his main man.

He said: "The team and the organisation are very confident in Skylar."

McDaniel was unsure about whether to place Tagovailoa on injured reserve, suggesting his chances of featuring in their next match against the Seattle Seahawks on September 22nd were very slim.

"I have no idea, and I'm not going to all of a sudden start making decisions that I don't even see myself involved in the most important parts of!" McDaniel said.

"There won't be any talk about where we're going in that regard, none of that will happen without doctors' expertise and the actual player."

 

Thompson feels ready to step up in Tagovailoa's absence and be an important member of the side for the foreseeable future.

He said: "I feel like I'm ready for whatever's to come. I'm going to prepare and work hard and do everything I can to lead this team and do my job."

 

 

 

Miami Dolphins offensive lineman Austin Jackson said he was "crushed" after seeing Tua Tagovailoa suffer another concussion in Thursday's loss to the Buffalo Bills.

The Dolphins were beaten 31-10 at Hard Rock Stadium, with Tagovailoa throwing for 145 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions before his third-quarter exit.

Tagovailoa collided with Bills defensive back Damar Hamlin on a fourth-down keeper before hitting the back of his head on the turf, staying down for two minutes as several Dolphins players crowded around him.

The quarterback was able to walk to the locker room but was swiftly ruled out as Skylar Thompson finished the game in his place, throwing for 80 yards and no scores.

Tagovailoa previously suffered two concussions during the 2022 season, when the NFL and NFLPA opened a joint investigation into how one of Tagovailoa's injuries was handled.

Asked about the mood in the Miami locker room after the game, Jackson said: "Crushed. I hate to see him like that. Even with his history already with that type of stuff, I hate to see it. 

"I hate that it was him rushing out of the pocket. Wish I could get that back for all of us. I could have been better."

Tagovailoa previously missed two games after being concussed in a 2022 game versus the Cincinnati Bengals, then was shut down for the rest of the season when he sustained another concussion in a Christmas Day meeting with the Green Bay Packers.

Coach Mike McDaniel was in no mood to think about the timeline of his recovery after the game, saying: "Right now it is more about getting a proper procedural evaluation tomorrow and taking it one day at a time.

"The furthest thing from my mind is what the timeline is. We just need to evaluate him and I just worry about my team-mate. 

"We'll get more information tomorrow and then take it day by day from there."

McDaniel added Tagovailoa's past head injuries will not inform the way Miami handle his latest blow, saying: "I think it's important to approach each and every situation with the mindset of, 'we're going to handle this particular situation with this particular player'. 

"Every situation is unique. I am not worried about anything that's out of my hands, I'm just worried about the human being, and he'll drive the ship when we get the appropriate information. But it's day-by-day health, particularly with concussions."

Tua Tagovailoa threw three interceptions before leaving with a concussion and James Cook had three touchdowns as the Buffalo Bills rolled to a 31-10 rout of the Miami Dolphins on Thursday night.

Tagovailoa, who has a history of dealing with head injuries, collided with Bills defensive back Demar Hamlin in the third quarter on a fourth-down keeper and hit the back of his head against the turf.

He remained down for about two minutes before getting to his feet and walking to the sideline. Tagovailoa made his way to the tunnel not long afterward, looking into the stands, appeared to smile and departed for the Dolphins' locker room.

The Dolphins needed almost no time before announcing it was a concussion.

Tagovailoa positioned himself for a big pay bump with an injury-free and productive 2023. He threw for 29 touchdowns and a league-best 4,624 yards.

Cook caught a 17-yard touchdown pass from Josh Allen and scored on runs of 1 and 49 yards in the first half, flipping into the end zone when he gave the Bills a 24-7 lead.

Allen, playing with a glove on his left non-throwing hand after hurting it in Buffalo's opener, completed 13 of 19 passes for 139 yards. He's 12-2 against the Dolphins and the Bills are 14-2 against Miami since coach Sean McDermott’s first year as head coach in 2017.

Miami’s star receiver Tyreek Hill was held to three catches for 24 yards during a week in which he dominated national headlines.

Hill was pulled from his sports car by Miami-Dade County police officers, pushed face-first onto a street and handcuffed during a traffic stop outside the Dolphins’ home stadium hours before their season opener. 

Tua Tagovailoa threw three interceptions before leaving with a concussion and James Cook had three touchdowns as the Buffalo Bills rolled to a 31-10 rout of the Miami Dolphins on Thursday night.

Tagovailoa, who has a history of dealing with head injuries, collided with Bills defensive back Demar Hamlin in the third quarter on a fourth-down keeper and hit the back of his head against the turf.

He remained down for about two minutes before getting to his feet and walking to the sideline. Tagovailoa made his way to the tunnel not long afterward, looking into the stands, appeared to smile and departed for the Dolphins' locker room.

The Dolphins needed almost no time before announcing it was a concussion.

Tagovailoa positioned himself for a big pay bump with an injury-free and productive 2023. He threw for 29 touchdowns and a league-best 4,624 yards.

Cook caught a 17-yard touchdown pass from Josh Allen and scored on runs of 1 and 49 yards in the first half, flipping into the end zone when he gave the Bills a 24-7 lead.

Allen, playing with a glove on his left non-throwing hand after hurting it in Buffalo's opener, completed 13 of 19 passes for 139 yards. He's 12-2 against the Dolphins and the Bills are 14-2 against Miami since coach Sean McDermott’s first year as head coach in 2017.

Miami’s star receiver Tyreek Hill was held to three catches for 24 yards during a week in which he dominated national headlines. Hill was pulled from his sports car by Miami-Dade County police officers, pushed face-first onto a street and handcuffed during a traffic stop outside the Dolphins’ home stadium hours before their season opener. 

Joe Burrow insists the wrist injury that ended his 2023 season is not preventing him from making downfield throws after struggling in the Cincinnati Bengals' Week 1 loss.

The Bengals' 2024 campaign got off to a miserable start as they were beaten 16-10 by the New England Patriots, who had the joint-second worst record in the league last year at 4-13.

Burrow threw for 164 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions, being sacked three times. He did complete 21 of his 29 attempted passes, but only six of those completed passes travelled more than 10 yards in the air.

Burrow – who was recently surpassed as the NFL's highest-paid player by Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott – was repeatedly seen flexing his wrist during the game.

He suffered a wrist ligament injury versus the Baltimore Ravens in Week 11 last season, leading him to undergo reconstructive surgery.

However, he is adamant he is no longer feeling the effects of that issue, saying: "It feels better this week than it did last week, than it did the week before, so it's continually getting better.

"That's part of ligament injuries. If you don't move it, you're going to lose it. 

"I'm always moving it around, keeping it loose, keeping my mobility the way it's supposed to be, so it's going to continue to happen."

Having sat out the final seven games of 2023 as the Bengals missed the playoffs for the first time since 2020, Burrow is simply grateful to be back out on the field.

"It's a luxury right now to be criticised by you guys about how we played on Sunday, because I was sitting in the wings for seven weeks last year," he said. "I'm just excited to be out there."

The Bengals face the Kansas City Chiefs in a rematch of the AFC Championship games from the 2021 and 2022 seasons on Sunday, before taking on the Washington Commanders in Week 3.

Micah Parsons is confident he will remain with the Dallas Cowboys but is currently more focused on winning than signing a lucrative extension.

The Cowboys have already signed Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb to new deals, with Parsons next in line to be given a new contract.

He is in the final year of his four-year rookie contract, with Dallas already exercising their $21million fifth-year option on his deal.

The former Defensive Rookie of the Year could land a deal that makes him the NFL's richest defensive player.

However, Parsons is in no hurry to put pen to paper as he knows his future lies in Texas.

"I know I'm going to be a Cowboy," he said on Monday on his 'The Edge with Micah Parsons' podcast. "There's nothing like Cowboy Nation. I think the love is very mutual.

"As for me, I'm just focused on winning games. I want to win those big games. I want to win those playoff games, get to the Super Bowl. For me, the contract is not really what I'm worried about."

Prescott and the Cowboys agreed to a four-year deal worth $240m hours before they opened the season with a win over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, while Lamb signed his four-year, $136m contract two weeks earlier, making him the second-highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history.

Parsons was happy to see his team-mates commit their future to the club, in particular heaping praise on Prescott's influence.

"We're happy it gets done because now, it puts a lot of talk to the side," Parsons added. "We're like, 'Man, we got our quarterback now.'

"We can really just focus, like Dak said, on winning games. ... So, having our guys, CeeDee Lamb and Dak done, it means the world to us.

"Dak is that guy, no BS. He deserves everything that he [gets]. He never cheated the game, he comes in every day with a positive attitude, great work ethic, and he's always first one in, last one out. Consistently being the best person/player you could possibly be.

"He never cheats the game, and that's the most important part. So, when a guy like that gets his money, you say he earned every single dollar. I could not be more happy for him."

The Cowboys will play their first NFL home game of the season against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday. 

Kirk Cousins and the Atlanta Falcons made a disappointing start to the NFL season with a defeat, but coach Raheem Morris says he was not hindered by injury.

The quarterback struggled in an 18-10 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, playing his first game since suffering a torn Achilles in week 8 last season.

Against the Steelers, he was 16-of-26 for 155 yards, with one touchdown and two interceptions overall. In the second half, Cousins had just 19 passing yards, the lowest total of his career.

The 36-year-old did not play in pre-season, but Morris believes his performance likely came from "some rust from not playing for so long".

"I feel like Kirk is healthy," Morris said on Monday. "He's been healthy since he's been here.

"With Kirk being here, we've been doing the same thing since he's been here, and that's how we've planned on playing and we've played that way throughout."

Many thought new offensive coordinator Zac Robinson's play-calling was designed to protect Cousins after his lengthy lay-off, though it did not pay off as the Steelers' defense dominated much of the game.

"We played, I thought, winning football in two phases of the game, and we didn't play winning football in our offensive phase of the game," Morris added.

"The plan was to go out there and win the football game, but it exposed some things inside for us.

"We want to get better. But we got to play better at the [quarterback] position, we got to play better around him."

The Falcons’ next game is against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Aaron Rodgers says there are "no excuses" for the New York Jets after mistakes saw them fall to a 32-19 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in their NFL opener.

Rodgers, making his first appearance since rupturing his Achilles tendon in the Jets' first game of 2023, struggled for much of his return.

He was held to just 167 yards on 13-of-21 passes and had an interception that led to one of five field goals for San Francisco, though he did throw one touchdown pass to Allen Lazard in the third quarter. 

The 40-year-old was less than impressed with his first start in 20 months and is already looking for improvements.

"That's an excuse [none of the starters playing in pre-season]. I'm not going to use that," Rodgers said. "I don't think we should. We expect greatness when we step on the field.

"This is a tough opener for us, travel-wise and schedule-wise, but no excuses. We have to play better, and I have to play better, and we'll bounce back."

Rodgers became just the 22nd quarterback in the Super Bowl era (since 1966) to play after his 40th birthday, and despite the disappointing result, he was pleased to be back out on the field.

"It felt great," he added. "A lot of gratitude just to be back in pads. So many people helped me get to this spot.

"I'm really thankful for my surgeon, my loved ones, my friends, the staff and the training staff to help me get back. Obviously, I wanted to take a shot and feel the physicality of it.

"Once I threw a couple of balls and took a shot, it felt good."

The 49ers played without star running back Christian McCaffrey, who was ruled out shortly before kick-off due to a calf and Achilles injury.

Jordan Mason stepped up in his absence, playing a starring role for the Super Bowl runners-up as he finished with a career-high 28 carries for 147 yards and a touchdown.

"I thought he runs like he always does," coach Kyle Shanahan said.

"When you get him the ball, he breaks tackles, usually gets more than we block for. When we had the good lanes, he always hit them, and we got a bunch."

Jordan Mason filled in superbly for an injured Christian McCaffrey by rushing for a career-high 147 yards and a touchdown, and the San Francisco 49ers made Aaron Rodgers' return to the field a frustrating one with a dominant 32-19 season-opening win over the New York Jets on Monday.

The 49ers made McCaffrey inactive with a calf injury that limited the reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year in the pre-season, but still managed to bully New York's usually stout defence for 180 rushing yards and two touchdowns. 

Mason did most of the work by logging 28 attempts, and San Francisco also received a rushing touchdown from wide receiver Deebo Samuel to win its first game since a tough 25-22 overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in last February's Super Bowl.

Rodgers threw a 36-yard touchdown pass to Allen Lazard, but struggled for much of his first appearance since rupturing his Achilles tendon in the Jets' 2023 opener. The four-time NFL MVP was held to 167 yards on 13-of-21 passing along with an interception that led to one of five field goals by 49ers kicker Jake Moody.

The 40-year-old quarterback did look like his vintage self on the Jets' third drive of the night, a 12-play, 70-yard sequence in which Rodgers completed 6 of 7 passes for 62 yards. Breece Hall capped the series with a 3-yard touchdown run that gave New York a 7-3 lead with 3:51 left in the first quarter.

New York's offence mostly sputtered from there, however, as the 49ers scored 23 consecutive points to move ahead comfortably.

After Moody hit a 51-yard field goal in the opening minute of the second quarter to get San Francisco within a point, the 49ers defence forced a three-and-out before Mason made his presence felt on the ensuing possession.

The backup running back rushed six times for 43 yards on the 12-play drive, which ended in Samuel's 2-yard touchdown run on a jet sweep that put San Francisco up 13-7 with 6:54 left in the first half.

Another three-and-out by the Jets followed by another long drive by San Francisco set up Moody's 31-yard field goal that sent the 49ers into the break with a 16-7 advantage.

San Francisco started the second half in much the same fashion, going 70 yards in 11 plays to increase its margin on Mason's 5-yard touchdown run.

Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles then picked off Rodgers on the following series, which led to Moody's 53-yard field goal that extended the lead to 26-7 with 3:28 left in the third quarter.

The Jets did answer on Rodgers' deep touchdown pass to Lazard on the next possession, though the 49ers stopped Hall on the resulting 2-point conversion try. New York's next drive again went nowhere, however, and Rodgers was pulled in favour of backup Tyrod Taylor with under 4 1/2 minutes to play.

San Francisco had a 32-13 lead at that point after Moody knocked home his fourth and fifth field goals of the game.

Lazard also caught a 3-yard touchdown pass from Taylor in the game's final minute, though the Jets again misfired on the 2-point attempt.

Moody's first field goal, a 46-yarder, opened the scoring just over four minutes into the contest. The kick came shortly after 49ers linebacker Fred Warner jarred the ball loose from Hall on a reception and San Francisco recovered at the New York 32-yard line.

Brock Purdy threw for 231 yards on 19-of-29 passing for San Francisco, while Lazard led the Jets with 89 yards on six catches in addition to his two touchdowns.

The Los Angeles Rams placed star wide receiver Puka Nacua on injured reserve Monday after he re-aggravated a right knee injury in Sunday night’s season opener.

Nacua will miss a minimum of four games. With the Rams’ bye Week falling in Week 6, the earliest Nacua could be back on the field is Oct. 20.

Nacua missed most of training camp due to a PCL sprain in his right knee. He re-injured the knee in the second quarter of Los Angeles’ Week 1 overtime loss against the Detroit Lions.

“It’s unfortunate for him, and I’m bummed out for the person,” Rams coach Sean McVay told reporters on Monday.

With Nacua missing the entire second half Sunday, Cooper Kupp was targeted 21 times and made 14 catches for 110 yards and a touchdown. Tyler Johnson finished second on the team in receiving with five receptions for 79 yards.

Johnson will be among the receivers asked to step up in Nacua’s absence, along with DeMarcus Robinson and rookie Jordan Whittington.

Nacua will miss division games against the Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers, as well as dates against the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers.

A fifth-round pick out of BYU last year, Nacua had arguably the best rookie receiving season in NFL history. Nacua set rookie records with 105 receptions for 1,486 yards in 2023.

The Carolina Panthers not only suffered a 47-10 blowout defeat to the New Orleans Saints in their 2024 opener on Sunday, but they also may have lost Pro Bowl defensive lineman Derrick Brown for the remainder of the season due to a knee injury.

NFL Network reported Monday that Brown will undergo surgery to repair a meniscus injury, and a timeline to return will be determined following the procedure.

Brown was a bright spot for the league-worst Panthers last season, leading all NFL defensive linemen with 103 tackles and tying for fourth with six passes defenced to earn his first Pro Bowl selection.

In April, the seventh overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft was rewarded with a four-year, $96million contract extension through the 2028 season.

Brown’s only missed game of his NFL career came in 2021. He’s started 64 of 67 contests while recording 248 tackles, eight sacks, two interceptions and 21 passes defenced.