Ravens 1-3 after defeat to Chiefs
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Kansas City Chiefs are getting healthier, deeper and more dynamic as the season presses on.
The Baltimore Ravens? Pretty much the opposite of all of that.
Patrick Mahomes threw for 270 yards and four touchdowns in a turn-back-the-clock kind of performance, and the Chiefs jumped on a Ravens team missing seven defensive starters by the end -- to say nothing of quarterback Lamar Jackson, who had to leave with a hamstring injury -- for a 37-20 victory in a matchup of AFC behemoths desperate for a win.
Four different players caught TD passes for the Chiefs, while Xavier Worthy returned from a shoulder injury to catch five passes for 83 yards, igniting a Kansas City offense that had been struggling to find its footing through the first three weeks.
"We've been making little mistakes here and there and that causes frustration," Mahomes said, "but we've been learning from them. I've been proud of the guys for the way they've responded, getting better every week."
The Chiefs (2-2) built a 20-10 halftime lead against Baltimore before cruising to their seventh win in the past eight meetings. The most recent time the Ravens (1-3) beat them was back on September 2021, and their previous win in Kansas City was on Oct. 7, 2021.
Jackson threw for 147 yards with a touchdown and his first interception of the season before hurting his hamstring midway through the third quarter, though by that point the game was mostly decided. Cooper Rush played the rest of the way for the Ravens, who suddenly find themselves in a dire situation just four weeks into the season.
Only five teams in the 14-team playoff era have started 1-3 and made the postseason.
"I'm concerned but I'm not overwhelmed by it. Three losses to probably three of the top teams in the league," said Ravens coach John Harbaugh, who explained that Jackson sustained a strain to his hamstring and will be evaluated further today. "We've got to win the next game, and then once you win the next game, then you have a chance to start stacking some wins."
Derrick Henry finished with just eight carries for 42 yards. Justice Hill had a late 71-yard touchdown run. Otherwise, the Chiefs shut down a Baltimore offense that had scored an NFL-best 111 points over the first three weeks.
"It was a big step forward for us," said Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones, who flew back from a family funeral in Mississippi on Sunday, and whose police escort got him to Arrowhead Stadium with about 20 minutes left before kickoff.
While the Chiefs were getting healthier with the return of Worthy, the Ravens defense -- already decimated by injuries -- thinned even more when linebacker Roquan Smith, Marlon Humphrey and Nate Wiggins got hurt. That left the Ravens without seven defensive starters -- among them two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike and pass rusher Broderick Washington Jr., who went on injured reserve Saturday -- by the early minutes of the fourth quarter.
"It's part of the game," Hill said of the injuries. "I mean, not everything would be sunshine and rainbows. Last year we started off slow and (made the) playoffs and went deep. So I don't think it's difficult. We just know what we need to do going forward to be in the place we want to be. It just kind of shows you the character of the team."
Still, the Chiefs took advantage of a team that was wounded.
Their own offense had been inconsistent through the first three weeks but scored on its first four possessions on Sunday. Harrison Butker knocked through a pair of field goals, then Mahomes hit JuJu Smith-Schuster with a short TD throw and Isiah Pacheco with another touchdown pass to give Kansas City a 20-7 lead late in the first half.
The Chiefs nearly made it 5 for 5 on scoring drives, but Butker missed a 56-yarder wide left. That opened the door for Baltimore to get a 43-yard field goal from Tyler Loop and make it a 10-point game at the break.
But the mounting injuries, coupled with a red-hot Kansas City offense, were far too much to overcome.
The Chiefs needed just six plays to drive 65 yards for Tyquan Thornton's touchdown reception to start the second half. And after the Ravens added Loop's second field goal, the Chiefs answered with one of their own, before Mahomes threw a nifty pass to Marquise Brown in the end zone early in the fourth quarter to put the game well out of reach.
"These two teams, I mean, the competition -- you love it," Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. "That's why we play this game."
Injuries
Ravens: Along with Jackson, Smith, Humphrey and Wiggins, LT Ronnie Stanley (ankle) also left the game and did not return.
Chiefs: There were no injuries for Kansas City.
Up next
Baltimore plays Houston next Sunday. Kansas City visits Jacksonville next Monday night.
Eagles 31, Buccaneers 25
TAMPA, Fla. -- The Philadelphia Eagles used a fake tush push, another special teams touchdown and a late defensive stop to stay undefeated.
Jalen Hurts tossed two touchdown passes, Sydney Brown returned a blocked punt for a score and the Eagles beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for their 20th victory in 21 games.
The only loss in that span for the reigning Super Bowl champions was against Washington last December in a game Hurts left with a concussion in the first half.
Bills 31, Saints 19
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Josh Allen threw two touchdown passes and ran for a score, and Buffalo shook off a sloppy first three quarters to stay undefeated while beating winless New Orleans.
James Cook had 117 yards rushing and a touchdown in a game that wasn't decided until midway through the fourth quarter. The Bills never trailed, but were clinging to a 21-19 lead when Allen hit a wide-open Dalton Kincaid for a 28-yard touchdown with 7:07 left.
Allen asserted himself on the previous play by putting his head down, breaking two tackles and dragging three defenders before finally going down for a 27-yard gain to convert a third-and-5.
Texans 26, Titans 0
HOUSTON -- Rookie Woody Marks had a touchdown reception and ran for another score and Houston beat Tennessee for its first win this season.
It's the third time the Texans have shut out a team and the first time since blanking the Titans 29-0 on Nov. 28, 2010. The Titans (0-4) were shut out for the first time since a 16-0 loss at Denver on Oct. 13, 2019.
Falcons 34, Commanders 27
ATLANTA -- Michael Penix Jr. bounced back from his worst NFL start, Bijan Robinson had a career-high 181 yards from scrimmage as Atlanta beat short-handed Washington, which played without quarterback Jayden Daniels.
The Falcons (2-2) were coming off a 30-0 loss to the Panthers in which Penix and the offense were totally ineffective. Against the Commanders (2-2), Penix completed 20 of 26 passes for a career-high 313 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.
Robinson had 75 rushing yards on 17 carries, including a 14-yard touchdown run.
Patriots 42, Panthers 13
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Marcus Jones had an 87-yard punt return for a touchdown, Drake Maye added two touchdown passes and ran for another, and New England rolled to a win over Carolina.
TreVeyon Henderson and Antonio Gibson added touchdown runs and Jones had a 61-yard punt return that set up another TD to help the Patriots (2-2) avoid their fifth straight 1-3 start.
Panthers quarterback Bryce Young finished 18 of 30 for 150 yards and a touchdown before being replaced by Andy Dalton with just over eight minutes remaining.
Lions 34, Browns 10
DETROIT -- Jared Goff threw two touchdown passes to Amon-Ra St. Brown, Kalif Raymond returned a punt 65 yards for another score and Detroit beat Cleveland.
The Lions (3-1) intercepted Joe Flacco twice in the first half and scored 20 straight points for a 13-point lead at halftime. Detroit forced Flacco to fumble in the fourth, setting up another score.
The Browns (1-3) opened with an 88-yard, 13-play touchdown drive, then had 44 yards with three punts and two turnovers the rest of the half. They finished with 249 yards of offense, gaining an average of 3.8 yards per play.
Rams 27, Colts 20
INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- Tutu Atwell caught an 88-yard touchdown pass from Matthew Stafford with 1:33 to play, and Los Angeles rallied to end Indianapolis' unbeaten start to the season with a victory.
Daniel Jones passed for 262 yards for the Colts (3-1), but Indy couldn't overcome receiver Adonai Mitchell's mind-boggling fumble right before he crossed the goal line with what was about to be a 76-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter.
Stafford passed for 375 yards and three touchdowns, including the longest TD throw of his 17-year NFL career. Los Angeles tied it on his 9-yard TD pass to Puka Nacua, who finished with 13 catches for a career-high 170 yards.
After the Rams' defense quickly got the ball back following Nacua's score, Stafford made a brilliant throw on the next snap for the decisive score by Atwell, who frequently goes underutilized in Sean McVay's offense. Atwell's TD catch was only his second reception of the season.
Jaguars 26, 49ers 21
SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Parker Washington had Jacksonville's first punt return touchdown in eight seasons and the Jaguars opportunistic defense delivered four more takeaways in a victory over San Francisco.
Former Niners star Arik Armstead's strip-sack of Brock Purdy with less than three minutes to play sealed the win for the Jaguars (3-1).
The Jaguars have generated at least three takeaways in all four games this season, and have four more takeaways than they had in the entire 2024 season.
They turned those into 17 points against the 49ers (3-1) highlighted by Travis Etienne's 48-yard run one play after Dennis Gardeck forced a fumble by Luke Farrell in the second quarter.
The Jaguars have generated at least three takeaways in all four games this season, and have four more takeaways than they had in the entire 2024 season. They turned those into 17 points against the 49ers (3-1).
Bears 25, Raiders 24
LAS VEGAS -- Josh Blackwell blocked a 54-year-old field-goal attempt by Daniel Carlson in the final minute to preserve a fourth-quarter rally led by Caleb Williams, and Chicago stunned Las Vegas.
After D'Andre Swift's 2-yard touchdown run with 1:34 left put the Bears (2-2) in front, Geno Smith led the Raiders (1-3) into position for Carlson's kick with 38 seconds left, who came up empty.