Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs gained some manner of revenge on Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with an electric display in their Super Bowl rematch.
Mahomes was nullified on his previous visit to Raymond James Stadium for Super Bowl LV in 2021, but this time he led his side to a 41-31 victory.
Elsewhere, there was high drama as the NFL hit London, while Aaron Rodgers hit another career milestone as the Green Bay Packers held off the New England Patriots at Lambeau Field.
Brady’s Buccaneers became the first team to win a Super Bowl on home turf when their defence dominated Mahomes in February 2021, but it was a different story from the very start of their rematch.
After suffering an upset against the Colts in week three, Mahomes came out all guns blazing and produced some of his very best form with unorthodox moments of magic, some elusive running and laser throws.
That Super Bowl defeat was one of just two in Mahomes’ 77 starts where he failed to lead a touchdown drive – it took him just 46 seconds this time around as he sliced a Bucs defence that had only allowed 27 points in their first three games.
Rodgers reaches 500 and pips Patriots rookie Zappe in overtime
Rodgers joined an exclusive NFL club as he became the fifth quarterback in league history to throw 500 touchdown passes – but his night was almost ruined by Patriots rookie QB Bailey Zappe, who was making his NFL debut.
Rodgers threw his second touchdown to hit Romeo Doubs and tie the game against the Pats and third-choice QB Zappe – who made a promising debut when he came off the bench to replace Brian Hoyer, who was himself playing in place of injured starter Mac Jones.
Patriots head coach Bill Belichick saw Zappe keep pace with Rodgers, who eventually had to settle for overtime before leading a drive for Mason Crosby to kick them to a 27-24 victory as time expired.
Rodgers joins Tom Brady (716), Drew Brees (608), Peyton Manning (579) and Brett Favre (552) in reaching the 500 club.
Green Bay will make the journey to London next week as they become the 32nd and final team to play a game outside the United States with their fixture against the New York Giants at Tottenham.
100th NFL game outside the USA ends with ‘double doink’ thriller
The 100th NFL game to be played outside of the USA had a fitting end to it at a deafening Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as two smacks of the goalposts decided the Minnesota Vikings’ 28-25 victory over the New Orleans Saints.
The game burst into life in the fourth quarter with touchdowns, field goals, multiple lead changes and then the dreaded ‘double doink’ – NFL parlance for a kick bouncing off the uprights twice and failing to drop.
That’s exactly what happened to Saints kicker Wil Lutz as he attempted a 61-yarder to force overtime but saw the ball bounce off the post, then the crossbar and then in almost slow motion just tumble the wrong side of the target.
Bills finally win a close one as Ravens blow another big lead
The Buffalo Bills remain one of the Super Bowl favourites after they ended a worrying run of losing close games by coming from behind to beat the Baltimore Ravens 23-20.
The Bills had lost seven straight games decided by seven points or fewer, but MVP candidate Josh Allen finally won as they came from 20-3 down to score 20 straight points and finish off with a Tyler Bass field goal as time expired.
Now it’s Baltimore who have the problems to solve, as their woeful defence has seen them lose a 17-point lead against Buffalo just two weeks after blowing a 21-point fourth-quarter lead against the Miami Dolphins.
Best of the rest as Philly go 4-0
Not many had the Philadelphia Eagles down as the last undefeated team standing, but they overcame a slow start against the Jacksonville Jaguars to win 29-21 in teeming rain.
Quarterback Jalen Hurts is playing at an MVP level and the Eagles also have a strong run game and plenty of power on defence too – although the fixtures have been kind as they’re yet to face a genuine contender.
The Jaguars could have a decent year under the Eagles’ former Super Bowl-winning coach Doug Pederson if their QB Trevor Lawrence can keep hold of the ball better – he became the first player this century to lose four fumbles as he struggled in the wet conditions.
The Pittsburgh Steelers lost 24-20 at home to the New York Jets, but there is cause for optimism in rookie Kenny Pickett after he became the first QB in history to have multiple rushing touchdowns in his first NFL game.
If you want guaranteed points then watch the Detroit Lions, who played in yet another shootout as they lost to the Seattle Seahawks in the first NFL game to end with a 48-45 scoreline.
There has been 281 points scored in Detroit’s four games so far this season – that’s the most ever in the NFL for a team at this stage.
The Las Vegas Raiders finally won their first game of the season as they beat the Denver Broncos 32-23, while the Los Angeles Chargers bounced back from two losses to beat the still winless Houston Texans 34-24.
Meanwhile, the Monday night game saw reigning NFL champions the Los Angeles Rams fall to a heavy 24-9 defeat at the hands of the San Francisco 49ers.
The Rams are attempting to become the first team to win two Super Bowls in a row since the Patriots managed the feat in 2004 and 2005.
Kicker Matt Gay accounted for all nine of the visitors’ points as they failed to score a touchdown for the first time since week 16 of the 2020 season.
The result leaves both teams at 2-2 after four weeks, level with NFC West division rivals Seattle and the Arizona Cardinals.
