Josh Allen led Buffalo to three scores in the final four minutes, the last a 32-yard field goal by Matt Prater as time expired, and the Bills rallied from 15 points down to stun the Baltimore Ravens 41-40 in a season-opening Sunday night thriller.
Buffalo scored 16 points in the last 3:56, with Prater’s kick capping a nine-play, 66-yard drive over the final 1:26.
“Our team doesn’t quit,” Allen told NBC. “There’s people that left the stadium. And that’s OK, we’ll be fine. But have some faith next time.”
Allen went 33 of 46 for 394 yards with two touchdowns and scored two more rushing in a matchup of the NFL’s past two MVPs. He spoiled a strong performance by Lamar Jackson, the 2023 MVP who went 14 of 19 for 210 yards and two scores while adding 70 yards rushing and another TD. Derrick Henry rushed for 169 yards and two touchdowns for Baltimore but also contributed to the loss by fumbling with 3:06 left.
After the Bills got within 40-32 on Allen’s 10-yard touchdown pass to Keon Coleman, Henry lost the ball and the Bills capitalized, with Allen scoring on a one-yard run. The two-point conversion attempt failed, but Buffalo got the ball back and Allen led his team to a memorable victory.
This prime-time matchup lived up to the preseason hype as a rematch of Buffalo’s 27-25 win over Baltimore the divisional round of last season’s AFC playoffs.
The Ravens scored on seven of their first eight possessions and went ahead 40-25 on Henry’s 46-yard run with 11:42 left.
The fans even got involved, with Jackson shoving back at a man in the end zone while celebrating DeAndre Hopkins’ 29-yard touchdown catch late in the third quarter. The fan struck Hopkins in the helmet, and attempted to do so to Jackson, who responded by pushing the man back into his seat.
Allen oversaw last-minute scoring drives to close each half, with Prater hitting a 43-yard field goal on the final play of the second quarter.
The 41-year Prater, who didn’t have a team at the end of August, made his Bills debut, replacing the injured Tyler Bass.
“It wasn’t me. It was everybody,” Prater said. “Offense setting it up. The snap, the hold. They were money all day. So I just had to come in and swing my leg … I was just fortunate to be in the opportunity to kick it.”
Detroit Lions 13–27 Green Bay Packers Jordan Love threw a pair of touchdown passes and Micah Parsons produced a sack in his Green Bay debut as the Packers delivered an exceptional defensive performance in their victory over the Detroit Lions. The Packers won their 13th consecutive home opener. The Packers scored points on their first three drives to pull ahead for good. The Packers’ convincing win over the two-time defending NFC North champions represented a fresh start after they went 1-5 in divisional games last season.
Pittsburgh Steelers 34-32 New York Jets Aaron Rodgers threw four touchdown passes in his Steelers debut, leading Pittsburgh to an enthralling victory over the New York Jets. Chris Boswell kicked a go-ahead 60-yard field goal with just over a minute remaining. The Jets, who lost in coach Aaron Glenn’s debut, had a chance to drive for a potential winning field goal when they got the ball back with 56 seconds remaining. On fourth-and-three, Justin Fields connected with Garrett Wilson for what could have been a first down – but Jalen Ramsey smacked into the Jets receiver, who couldn’t hold on to the ball. Fields, also playing against his former team, ran for two touchdowns and threw for another. Rodgers was 22 of 30 for 244 yards with four TD passes.
Miami Dolphins 8–33 Indianapolis Colts Daniel Jones threw one touchdown pass and ran for two more in his Indianapolis debut to lead the host Colts to a comfortable victory over the Miami Dolphins.
Jones, who won the job over Anthony Richardson in preseason, completed 22 of 29 passes for 272 yards, and the Colts forced three early turnovers to score 30 unanswered points. The Colts scored on all seven of their possessions while the Dolphins turned the ball over on three of their first four possessions leading to 17 Indianapolis points. Tua Tagovailoa was responsible for all three of those giveaways, throwing two interceptions and losing a fumble on a strip sack by Kenny Moore II that was recovered by former Dolphins safety Xavien Howard.
San Francisco 49ers 17–13 Seattle Seahawks Third-string tight end Jake Tonges caught a deflected pass for a touchdown with 1:34 remaining, and the San Francisco 49ers rallied for a narrow season-opening win. He finished with three catches in relief of injured All-Pro tight end George Kittle and came down with a 50-50 ball from a scrambling Brock Purdy for a four-yard TD. Seahawks cornerback Riq Woolen got a hand on the ball but it bounced off him and Tonges grabbed it. Sam Darnold moved the Seahawks into position to win his debut with the franchise but was strip-sacked by Nick Bosa on the San Francisco nine-yard line.
New York Giants 6–21 Washington Commanders Jayden Daniels threw for 233 yards and a touchdown, Deebo Samuel scored in his Washington debut, and the Commanders kept the New York Giants out of the end zone in a comfortable victory. Last seen allowing 55 points to Philadelphia in the NFC championship game, Washington’s defense had a much better time of it against the Giants. New York managed only 231 yards of offense and was particularly ineffective running the ball. Daron Payne had a sack and batted down a third-down pass, and the Commanders never let Russell Wilson look comfortable in his first start with New York. Wilson went 17 of 37 for 168 yards.
Cincinnati Bengals 17–16 Cleveland Browns Cincinnati’s defense secured a narrow win over the Cleveland Browns. The Bengals, under new coordinator Al Golden, forced two second-half turnovers, including DJ Turner’s interception with 1:24 left. Cincinnati won an opener for the first time since 2021. New Cleveland kicker Andre Szmyt missed two crucial kicks, including a potential game-winning field-goal attempt. Joe Burrow completed 14 of 23 passes for 113 yards and a touchdown. The Browns outgained the Bengals 327-141 but fell short on the day. Joe Flacco passed for 290 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.
Tennessee Titans 12–20 Denver Broncos Bo Nix overcame three turnovers as the Denver Broncos spoiled Cam Ward’s debut with a win over the Tennessee Titans. Nix threw a touchdown pass to Courtland Sutton, and rookie RJ Harvey’s 50-yard run set up JK Dobbins’ 19-yard touchdown. Ward finished with no touchdowns or interceptions. Quarterbacks taken first overall are now 4-14-1 in season openers since the start of the common draft era. Tennessee had a chance to tie late but went three-and-out.
Houston Texans 9–14 Los Angeles Rams Matthew Stafford threw for 245 yards and a touchdown while becoming the 10th quarterback in NFL history with 60,000 yards in the air, and Braden Fiske recovered a fumble forced by Nate Landman with 1:43 to play in the Los Angeles Rams’ victory over the Houston Texans. Puka Nacua had 10 catches for 130 yards for the Rams, who went ahead on Davis Allen’s TD catch on the opening drive of the third quarter. Neither team scored again in a choppy opener. CJ Stroud passed for 188 yards for the Texans with several sharp throws despite playing behind a struggling offensive line.
Las Vegas Raiders 20–13 New England Patriots Geno Smith threw for 362 yards and a touchdown, rookie Ashton Jeanty rushed for his first career touchdown and the Las Vegas Raiders rallied to beat the New England Patriots. Tight end Brock Bowers had five catches for 103 yards before leaving in the fourth quarter with a knee injury. Jakobi Meyers added eight catches for 97 yards. Maxx Crosby and Malcolm Koonce also added sacks to help give Pete Carroll his first victory as Raiders coach.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23–20 Atlanta Falcons Rookie Emeka Egbuka caught two touchdown passes, including a go-ahead 25-yarder with 59 seconds remaining, and Tampa Bay recovered after losing the lead on a marathon drive by Atlanta to beat the Falcons in a dramatic game. Following Baker Mayfield’s 25-yard pass to Egbuka, Chase McLaughlin’s missed extra point gave the Falcons an opening to force overtime with a field goal. Michael Penix Jr moved the Falcons into field goal position in the final minute. Younghoe Koo was wide right on the 44-yarder.
Carolina Panthers 10–26 Jacksonville Jaguars Trevor Lawrence threw a touchdown pass, Travis Etienne ran for 143 yards and the Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Carolina Panthers to give their new regime a debut victory. Brian Thomas Jr also ran for a score for Jacksonville, who controlled both lines of scrimmage and kept Lawrence upright all afternoon. The game was delayed for nearly 90 minutes because of nearby lightning strikes. Bryce Young turned in another season-opening stinker. He had a TD pass to Chuba Hubbard, two interceptions and a fumble. He also made a head-scratching throw out of the back of the end zone on a fourth-down play.
Arizona Cardinals 20-13 New Orleans Saints Kyler Murray threw two touchdown passes and the visiting Arizona Cardinals spoiled Kellen Moore’s debut as an NFL head coach.
Murray passed for just 163 yards while completing 21 of 29, but his scoring passes to Marvin Harrison Jr and James Conner made the difference for the Cardinals, who were 8-9 last season. Spencer Rattler completed 27 of 45 for 214 yards with no touchdowns for Moore, who was hired by New Orleans after being Philadelphia’s offensive coordinator during the Eagles’ Super Bowl title run last season. The Saints, who were 5-12 last season, were penalized 13 times for 89 yards as their NFL-leading streak of six consecutive wins in season openers came to an end.