MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Drake Maye threw for two touchdowns and rushed for another, Antonio Gibson returned a kickoff 90 yards for a score, and the Patriots beat the Miami Dolphins 33-27 on Sunday for Mike Vrabel’s first win as New England’s coach.
Maye completed 19 of 23 passes for 230 yards. He had an 8-yard TD pass to former Dolphin Mack Hollins and a 16-yard scoring toss to Kayshon Boutte.
The Dolphins took a 27-23 lead midway through the fourth when Malik Washington returned a punt 74 yards for a touchdown. Before Miami fans were even done celebrating the play, Gibson took the ensuing kickoff to the house to give the Patriots a three-point lead.
Drake Maye & Kayshon Boutte extend the Patriots lead!
NEvsMIA on CBS/Paramount https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/R9tXMsK5jL
— NFL (@NFL) September 14, 2025
Linebacker Marte Mapu intercepted Tua Tagovailoa on Miami’s next drive, and Maye drove the Patriots into field-goal range to set up a 53-yarder by Andy Borregales, who had missed two extra points earlier.
On Miami’s last chance, Tagovailoa was sacked on fourth-and-12, and the Dolphins fell to 0-2 for the first time under Mike McDaniel.
Tagovailoa completed 26 of 32 passes for 315 yards. He threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Jaylen Waddle and a 29-yard TD pass to De’Von Achane. Tyreek Hill caught six passes for 109 yards, including a 47-yard catch in the third quarter — the star receiver’s first reception of more than 30 yards since last season’s opener.
After an embarrassing season-opening loss at Indianapolis, the Dolphins again came out flat, punting on their opening possession and falling behind 12-0 in the first quarter.
The Dolphins couldn’t stop Maye and the Patriots, giving up scores on New England’s first three drives and extending a dubious season-opening streak of possessions without a stop to 10. The Colts scored on all seven drives in Week 1.
"He was comfortable. He was confident." - @M_Ryan02 was impressed with Drake Maye's performance pic.twitter.com/I29yYRtwlt
— NFL on CBS ???? (@NFLonCBS) September 14, 2025
That streak ended with a kneel-down at the end of the first half, and the Dolphins forced their first punt of the season on the Patriots’ first drive of the second half.
Lions 52, Bears 21
DETROIT — The Detroit Lions showed they can pile up points just fine without Ben Johnson calling plays.
Jared Goff threw for 334 yards and matched a career high with five touchdown passes, including a career-high three scores to Amon-Ra St. Brown, to help Detroit bounce back with a 52-21 win over the Chicago Bears on Sunday.
The Lions (1-1) dropped the opener at Green Bay and displayed resilience as they have consistently under coach Dan Campbell, avoiding consecutive losses in the regular season over the last 2 1/2 years.
“I knew the guys would respond,” Campbell said.
Detroit had more than 500 yards on offense with five passing touchdowns and two scores on the ground for the first time in franchise history, and averaged a team-record 8.8 yards per play with offensive coordinator John Morton calling plays.
“This train keeps rolling and it’s always going to start with the players,” Campbell said.
The Bears (0-2) turned the ball over twice in the first half, leading to a 28-14 deficit that was too large to overcome in Johnson’s return to the city where he became an offensive coordinator and one of the NFL’s top coaching candidates.
“It is not demoralizing at all,” Johnson insisted. “We have to play better.”
There’s no doubt about that.
Chicago turned it over on downs in each half, had eight penalties and gave up four sacks.
The Lions were three points from matching a franchise record for points in a game in the regular season, and the Bears were three points from tying the most they’ve allowed.
Chicago’s Caleb Williams was 19 of 30 for 207 yards with two touchdowns to Rome Odunze, a 28-yard pass to answer Detroit’s game-opening touchdown and a 6-yard throw to make it 21-14 late in the first half.
Williams, selected No. 1 overall last year when the NFL draft was in Detroit, also threw an ill-advised pass that was intercepted and was taken out midway through the fourth quarter because Johnson said the game was out of reach.
“You always point the finger at yourself before you point a finger at anybody else,” Williams said.
Goff, who completed 23 of 28 passes, also watched the final minutes from the sideline after helping last year’s highest-scoring team get back on track.
Goff got the ball to Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery in the running game and St. Brown and Jameson Williams through the air.
Bills 30, Jets 10
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Josh Allen’s nose might have taken the biggest hit by the Buffalo Bills against the New York Jets.
The defending NFL MVP shook off a bloody nose that sidelined him for two plays, James Cook ran for 132 yards and two touchdowns and the Bills cruised to a 30-10 victory on Sunday.
“We can breathe, so it’s good,” Allen said with a grin, his nose swollen and sporting a black and blue mark.
Buffalo, coming off a 41-40 comeback win over Baltimore, needed no late rally in this one as the Bills (2-0) shut down Justin Fields and the Jets’ offense from the start.
With the Bills leading 10-0, Allen left late in the first quarter after he scrambled and was stopped for no gain. Micheal Clemons appeared to get a hand under the quarterback’s facemask.
“I pulled (the football) when I probably should’ve handed it off,” Allen said. “I tried to throw it and I saw them push, so I decided to tuck it. I don’t know what hit me — it was a knee, it was a hand, it was somebody — and the helmet just kind of came down on the bridge of my nose and just started leaking.”
Allen, with blood flowing from his nose, ran to the sideline and was examined by trainers. Mitchell Trubisky came in and immediately completed a 32-yard pass to Joshua Palmer for a first down. Trubisky then handed off to Ty Johnson as Allen continued to be looked at.
Allen, with his left nostril packed with gauze, then jogged back onto the field on the next play to start the second quarter. The drive ended with a 52-yard field goal by Matt Prater that gave the Bills a 13-0 lead.
With the game well in hand and the Bills leading 30-3 with 8:23 left, Allen came out and Trubisky finished. Allen was 14 of 25 for 148 yards and ran for 59 yards on six carries.
Fields, coming off a promising Jets debut in the opener, struggled to move the ball before leaving in the fourth quarter with a concussion.
After being sacked by Joey Bosa, Fields was checked in the injury tent and then walked to the locker room. Tyrod Taylor replaced Fields with 12:03 remaining. Fields was only 3 of 11 passing for 27 yards and had 49 yards rushing on five carries.
Taylor got the Jets, who fell to 0-2 under new coach Aaron Glenn, into the end zone for the only time when he tossed a 5-yard touchdown pass to Jeremy Ruckert with 3:28 left.
“When it comes to this game, very disappointed,” Glenn said. “Like, very disappointed. All three phases, to be honest with you.”
After allowing 238 yards rushing in the win over Baltimore, Buffalo gave up just 100 to New York even with defensive tackle Ed Oliver out. The Jets finished with 154 total yards, the fewest allowed by the Bills in a road game since giving up 127 at Indianapolis in 1990.
“It was important for us to get off to a good start,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said. “And I thought we did that in a complementary way.”
Cowboys 40, Giants 37, OT
ARLINGTON, Texas — Brandon Aubrey kicked a 46-yard field goal on the final play of overtime after a tying 64-yarder to end regulation, and the Dallas Cowboys beat the New York Giants 40-37 in a thrilling duel between star quarterbacks Dak Prescott and Russell Wilson on Sunday.
The Cowboys (1-1) extended their winning streak against the NFC East rivals to nine games — the longest active streak in the NFL among division opponents — and Prescott beat the Giants (0-2) for the 14th consecutive time since losing both starts against them as a rookie in 2016.
Overtime was on the verge of going scoreless after the teams combined for five go-ahead TDs in the final 12 minutes of the fourth quarter.
That included a go-ahead TD apiece for Prescott and Wilson in the final minute before Prescott got the Cowboys just far enough for Aubrey’s tying kick on the last play of regulation.
Wilson, who threw for 450 yards and three touchdowns, connected with Malik Nabers on a 48-yard TD for a 37-34 New York lead with 25 seconds remaining after Prescott threw a 6-yarder to George Pickens with 52 seconds to go.
The Giants just needed a field goal to win when Wilson threw an ill-advised deep ball with pressure, and Donovan Wilson intercepted at the Dallas 30 with 2 minutes left in OT. Prescott’s 14-yard scramble moved Dallas into what is chip-shot range for the overpowering Aubrey.
The wild fourth quarter overshadowed what had been a penalty fest to that point, courtesy mostly of the Giants.
Backup left tackle James Hudson III, playing because Andrew Thomas was out with a foot injury, drew four penalties in a span of six plays on New York’s first drive, which covered 110 yards but ended in a field goal thanks to 60 yards in penalties.
The Giants finished with 14 penalties for 160 yards, their most yardage since getting 175 against a team called the Boston Yankees in 1947. Dallas wasn’t much better, finishing with 12 penalties for 106 yards.
Rookie Cam Skattebo’s first career TD on a 1-yard plunge put the Giants up 23-20 early in the fourth quarter before Miles Sanders put Dallas back in front with a 4-yard run.
Wilson and Prescott took it from there.
After Wilson’s 32-yard scoring toss to Wan’Dale Robinson on fourth down with less than three minutes to go, Prescott led Dallas to Pickens’ first TD with the Cowboys.
With Prescott standing on a bench imploring the crowd to make more noise, Wilson dropped a perfect pass into Nabers in the end zone with 25 seconds to go.
Prescott got the Cowboys to the New York 46-yard line, close enough for the second-longest kick of Aubrey’s career. He hit a 65-yarder — 1 yard shy of Justin Tucker’s NFL record — last season.
Nabers finished 4 yards short of his career high with 167 yards on nine catches with two TDs. Robinson did have a career high with 142 yards on 10 grabs.
Dallas receiver CeeDee Lamb had his fourth consecutive 100-yard game going back to last season, finishing with 112 while making two contested catches in big moments in the dramatic fourth quarter.
Wilson was 30 of 41 while finishing with the second-most passing yards of his 14-year career. Prescott was 38 of 52 for 361 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.
49ers 26, Saints 21
NEW ORLEANS — Mac Jones threw for 279 yards and a career-high-tying three touchdowns, and the banged-up San Francisco 49ers defeated the rebuilding New Orleans Saints 26-21 on Sunday.
Pressed into service this week because of a toe injury to Brock Purdy, Jones had his best game since Week 1 of the 2023 season, when the former Alabama star played for New England and threw for 316 yards and three TDs against Philadelphia. It was Jones’ second career game with as many as three touchdowns and more than 250 yards passing.
Jones’ scoring passes went for 11 yards to Luke Farrell, 7 yards to Christian McCaffrey and 42 yards to Jauan Jennings — the last giving the Niners a 26-14 lead in the fourth quarter.
For the fourth time since 2019, the 49ers (2-0) have begun a regular season with two straight road victories. In two of those seasons (2019 and 2023), they made the Super Bowl. In the other (2021), they advanced to the NFC title game.
The Saints (0-2), meanwhile, are still looking for their first victory under rookie coach Kellen Moore after losing their first two of this season at home by a touchdown or less.
Jones did not have star tight end George Kittle (hamstring) at his disposal. Fullback Kyle Juszczyk went out with a concussion in the first half.
Still, Jones completed 26 of 39 passes to eight different receivers.
Farrell had his first NFL touchdown catch (his last TD catch in college came in the 2020 Sugar Bowl, also played in the Superdome, against Clemson in what was a College Football Playoff semifinal game). Jennings had five catches for 89 yards. McCaffrey caught six passes for 52 yards while also rushing 13 times for 55 yards.
Saints QB Spencer Rattler, now in his second NFL season, passed for 207 yards and a career-high three TDs but dropped to 0-8 in his career as a starter. He was sacked three times, and the last of those — by Bryce Huff — came on fourth down to end the Saints’ final possession of the game.
Rattler’s scoring passes went to Juwan Johnson, Rashid Shaheed and Devaughn Vele.
Alvin Kamara rushed for 99 yards on 21 carries and added 21 yards receiving.
Rams 33, Titans 19
NASHVILLE — Matthew Stafford threw for 298 yards and two touchdowns and the Los Angeles Rams spoiled rookie Cam Ward’s NFL home opener, scoring 20 straight points to beat the Tennessee Titans 33-19 Sunday.
Wide receiver Puka Nacua also ran 45 yards for a touchdown. Davante Adams had 106 yards receiving and a touchdown catch. Joshua Karty also kicked two field goals.
The Rams (2-0) sacked the No. 1 overall draft pick five times. Linebacker Byron Young had two, and he also stripped Ward of the ball at the Titans 21 on his second sack.
Tennessee, which led 13-10 at halftime, was up 16-13 when the Rams made their almost perfunctory comeback.
Stafford put the Rams ahead to stay with an 8-yard TD pass to Davis Allen late in the third quarter. After Ward’s fumble, Stafford needed three plays to put the Rams up 27-16 with 9:40 left on a 16-yard TD pass to Davante Adams.
Blake Corum added a 1-yard TD run with 6:45 left.
The Titans (0-2) now have lost eight straight going back to last season. They didn’t have right tackle JC Latham or nose tackle T’Vondre Sweat. John Ojukwu, promoted from the practice squad Saturday, replaced Latham.
Ward was 19 of 33 for 175 yards and his first NFL touchdown pass.
Linebacker Cody Barton had an interception, and Joey Slye kicked four field goals for Tennessee.
The Rams played without a pair of key offensive players in starting left guard Steve Avila and tight end Colby Parkinson.
Los Angeles opened the scoring with Nacua going around the left end and to the end zone on fourth-and-1. It was the Rams’ longest TD run since Week 15 of the 2017 season and their longest run since Week 12 of 2023.
Titans rookie Chimere Dike had a 57-yard punt return for a touchdown wiped out by a late flag for a blindside block. It would’ve been Tennessee’s first punt return for a TD since Darius Reynaud had two on Dec. 30, 2012.
Ward and fellow rookie Elic Ayomanor teamed up on the ensuing drive. Ward found Ayomanor for a one-handed catch on a 23-yard gain on third-and-6. Three plays later, Ward scrambled right under pressure, then throwing back across the field left to Ayomanor for a 9-yard TD — his first in the NFL.