Around the NFL: SNF Barn Burner, Finally a Double-Doink for Someone Else, Kenny Pickett’s Rough Debut, More

Someone must file a missing person’s report for the entire Tampa Bay backfield. Six carries, three net yards. That’s it. Tom Brady was airing it out for the Bucs on Sunday Night Football, but it wasn’t enough to beat the Chiefs last night.

Sunday Night Football Barn Burner

We’ve had a few primetime games come in on the under-side of things of late, so Sunday night’s blowout in Tampa Bay was a bit of a surprise. Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs came into Tampa Bay and bulldozed their way to their third win of the season on Sunday

It was all Chiefs, right from the jump, with Kansas City recovering a fumble on the opening drive and then scoring on a Patrick Mahomes touchdown pass to Travis Kelce a few plays later, which was not an enjoyable experience for me, because I chose another Sloppy Joe over money:

Mahomes put on a clinic, completing 23-of-37 passes for 249 yards and three touchdowns. Here’s the play where I really felt the pain as a Bears fan who has watched decades of ineptitude under center in Chicago:

He’s just a magician and watching through the lens of a Bears fan is painful. Six-plus hours of Rodgers, Mahomes, and Brady after watching Justin Fields and Daniel Jones combine for 215 passing yards was not a fun experience.

The Chiefs went on to beat the Bucs 41-31 in a game that crushed the over-under and propelled Kansas City to a 3-1 start. Tampa Bay fell to 2-2 on the season with the loss.

Tom Brady completed 39-of-52 passes for 385 yards and three touchdowns in the losing effort. The Buccaneers’ rushing game was missing in action, with Rachaad White picking up six yards and a touchdown on three carries and Leonard Fournette finishing with negative three yards on three carries.

Justin Jefferson, Vikings Top the Saints Across the Pond

You likely caught the Vikings and Saints across the pond if you braved the early wake-up on Sunday. For Bears fans, it reminded them of what’s coming their way next week. Justin Jefferson will give Jaylon Johnson his first real test of the season next week. The Vikings’ other-worldly receiver caught 10 passes for 147 yards (14.7 YPC).

The Vikings moved to 3-1 on the season with a narrow 28-25 victory over the Saints, courtesy of a double-doink (finally it’s not us!) from Will Lutz with just seconds remaining. Here’s a look at the missed 31-yard attempt from Lutz that would have sent the game to ovetime:

Lutz’s kick was just short, quite literally a yard short, which is ironic because just minutes before, Lutz hit a 60-yarder to tie the game at 25-a-piece.

Bills Erase 17-Point Deficit to Beat Ravens

Lamar Jackson’s bet on himself is playing off like Aaron Judge’s recent bet. The Baltimore quarterback is balling this season (yep, I used that word there), and he’s going to force the Ravens to back up the Brinks truck.

Jackson completed 20-of-29 passes for 144 yards, a touchdown through the air, and 73 yards on the ground in likely his worst season performance. Jackson has thrown for 893 yards and completed 76 percent of his passes while throwing for 11 touchdowns and just four interceptions through four games. Jackson has also run for 316 yards, two touchdown, and 15 first downs.

There was plenty of luck involved in the back end of this play, but it doesn’t happen without Jackson’s Houdini-like escape on the front end:

Unfortunately for Lamar, the Ravens defense has failed him this season. Josh Allen and the Bills were able to erase a 17-point deficit to top Baltimore. Allen completed 19-of-36 passes for 213 yards and a touchdown while picking up 70 yards and a score on the ground.

Baltimore’s defense is in the bottom-third of the NFL in scoring, allowing 25 points per game. For context, only the Detroit Lions have allowed more than 115 points this season, and the Ravens are part of a cluster of teams that have allowed between 100-115 points.

Extra Points

  • Speaking of that Lions defense … woof. Detroit is giving up 35.2 points per game, and they surrendered 48 to the Seahawks on Sunday in the season’s highest-scoring game. They also scored 45 points, and the offense is the NFL’s top scoring offense, putting up 35 points per game through the first four weeks. The good news for Detroit is they play the Bears twice, so they’ll undoubtedly bring down that league-worst defensive scoring mark.
  • Let’s run down the rest of the action on Sunday, starting with the Falcons topping the Browns 23-20 in one of the most “I couldn’t care less” matchups of the week.
  • The Titans topped the Colts 24-17 on Sunday thanks to a strong game by Derrick Henry (114 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries):
  • Trevor Lawrence coughed up four fumbles and the Eagles rolled to 4-0 with a victory over the Jaguars on Sunday. Jalen Hurts threw for 204 yards and picked up 38 yards and a score on the ground. For Lawrence, it was a forgettable performance that included five turnovers and an undesirable place in the record books:
  • Justin Herbert was slinging it again on Sunday, racking up 340 yards and two scores in a 34-24 victory over the Houston Texans. Herbert leads the NFL in passing and is on the verge of writing his name in the record books:
  • Cooper Rush continues to do a good job for the Cowboys in place of Dak Prescott, and he got some help from Carson Wentz, who threw a pair of picks in Dallas’ 25-10 victory over the Commanders:
  • If you were looking for solid QB play this weekend, this game was not your friend. Zach Wilson threw a pair of picks, Mitchell Trubisky threw one (before he was benched), and Steelers rookie Kenny Pickett threw three interceptions. The Jets won 24-20:
  • The Cardinals topped the Panthers, 26-16:
  • The Raiders picked up their first win of the season, beating the Broncos 32-23:
  • Aaron Rodgers and the Packers almost lost to a Madden create-a-player Bailey Zappe:
  • We’ve all been there:
  • written by

    Patrick grew up in Chicago's Bridgeport and Garfield Ridge neighborhoods before moving to the Western Suburbs of Chicago before eventually relocating to the Las Vegas area with his family in 2023. He started with Bleacher Nation in 2021 and has spent time as a Staff Writer and on the Chicago Blackhawks beat. He is currently a writer and editor at Bleacher Nation covering the Chicago Bears and the NFL at large and the author of the Bleacher Nation Newsletter. Patrick is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA).

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