PATRICK MAHOMES dazzled in a duel of young quarterbacks, throwing for 374 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Kansas City Chiefs to a 33-28 NFL victory over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday.
Third-year star Mahomes led three second-quarter touchdown drives, connecting on scoring passes to Demarcus Robinson and rookie Ecole Hardman.
Mahomes’s 18-yard scoring pass to Robinson in the corner of the end zone was highlight reel material, Robinson stretching for a spectacular one-handed catch as the Chiefs stretched their lead to 17-6.
LeSean McCoy and Darrel Williams combined for 116 yards rushing and a TD as the Chiefs managed admirably without starting running back Damien Williams, number one receiver Tyreek Hill and starting left tackle Eric Fisher.
Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson and the Ravens kept the pressure on. Jackson put the Ravens on the board first with a 14-play, 84-yard touchdown drive — although the two-point conversion attempt failed.
Trailing 23-6 at halftime, the Ravens scored 22 points after the break.
That included Jackson’s run for a touchdown with just over two minutes remaining that cut Kansas City’s lead to 33-28.
But Baltimore’s two-point conversion attempt was stopped and Kansas City recovered an onside kick to seal the win.
The Chiefs improved to 3-0 in the young season, as did the reigning Super Bowl champion New England Patriots, Buffalo Bills, Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers.
In Foxboro, Massachusetts, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady threw for 306 yards and two touchdowns, passing Drew Brees for second place in career TD passes in a 30-14 victory over the New York Jets.
Brady’s first-half scoring passes to Phillip Dorsett and Julian Edelman gave him 524 for his career — two more than Brees in NFL history trailing only now retired Peyton Manning’s 539.
Sony Michel and Rex Burkhead ran for touchdowns for New England, who have out-scored their first three opponents 106-17 have not given up an offensive touchdown.
The Patriots didn’t miss a beat after a tense week that saw controversial receiver Antonio Brown unceremoniously released on Friday amid an ongoing NFL investigation into allegations of rape and sexual assault.
In Dallas, Dak Prescott passed for 246 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a third TD as the Cowboys beat the winless Miami Dolphins 31-6.
Amari Cooper caught both of Prescott’s scoring passes. Ezekiel Elliott ran for 125 yards and Tony Pollard added 103 yards and a touchdown as the Cowboys posted back-to-back games with 200 yards rushing for the first time since 2009.
The Bills remained perfect in the young season with a 21-17 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals while the Packers beat the Denver Broncos 27-16 at Lambeau Field.
A sterling defensive effort lifted the Packers, who sacked Broncos quarterback Joe Flacco six times and forced three turnovers.
