Caleb Williams had a rough debut for Chicago, but his defense bailed him out. Tyrique Stevenson returned an interception 43 yards for the game-winning touchdown, giving the Bears a 24-17 victory over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.
The Bears, who are eyeing a playoff spot after going 10-24 the previous two seasons, trailed 17-0 in the first half and held off the Titans from there, spoiling Tennessee coach Brian Callahan’s debut.
Williams, the No. 1 overall pick, finished 14 of 29 for 93 yards with a 55.7 passer rating. The former Heisman Trophy winner out of Southern California still became the first quarterback drafted first overall to win his first start since 2002, when David Carr led Houston past Dallas. The last 15 No. 1 picks have been a combined 0-14-1 in their first starts, beginning with Cincinnati’s Carson Palmer in 2003.
The Bears had just cut it to 17-16 on a Cairo Santos field goal when Stevenson put Chicago ahead midway through the fourth quarter. With DeMarcus Walker about to tackle him, Will Levis threw the ball in desperation, and Stevenson grabbed it and ran untouched down the sideline. A two-point conversion pass from Williams to D’Andre Swift made it 24-17.
Jaylon Johnson secured the win with just over a minute left in the game when he intercepted a deep pass intended for Tyler Boyd on fourth down at the Tennessee 40-yard line, giving fans who had been booing for much of the afternoon a reason to cheer.
Jacksonville Jaguars 17-20 Miami Dolphins
Jason Sanders hit a 52-yard field goal as time expired and the Miami Dolphins defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars to win their fourth straight season opener.
Fresh off a big offseason payday, Tua Tagovailoa threw for 336 yards and a touchdown to lead Miami on an eight-play, 31-yard drive in the final 2:09. Tyreek Hill started the comeback with an 80-yard touchdown catch that sparked Miami’s sluggish third-quarter offense and pulled the Dolphins within 17-14. After the score, Hill placed his hands behind his back as if in handcuffs, hours after he was found facedown and handcuffed in the street by Miami-Dade police officers after being pulled over for a traffic violation near Hard Rock Stadium.
Arizona Cardinals 28-34 Buffalo Bills
Josh Allen had three of his four touchdowns in the second half and the Buffalo Bills rallied from a 14-point deficit to beat the Arizona Cardinals. Greg Rousseau had a career-best three sacks, including one that forced a fumble. The Bills defense preserved the win with Damar Hamlin and Ja’Marcus Ingram breaking up Kyler Murray’s pass attempt to Greg Dortch at the goal line on fourth-and-7 from Buffalo’s 29 with 26 seconds left. The outing featured the first kickoff return for a touchdown under the NFL’s new rules with Arizona’s DeeJay Dallas running one back for 96 yards to cut Buffalo’s lead to 31-28.
Houston Texans 29-27 Indianapolis Colts
Stefon Diggs caught two touchdown passes and Joe Mixon rushed for 159 yards and another score to help the Houston Texans secure the victory in Indianapolis. Houston won its second straight road game in the series for the first time in franchise history. The Colts extended the NFL’s longest active Opening Day winless streak to 11 despite getting two TD passes of 50-plus yards from Anthony Richardson. But Richardson also missed two wide-open receivers on what could have been scoring plays.
Pittsburgh Steelers 18-10 Atlanta Falcons
Justin Fields stepped in to lead the Steelers to a win over the Atlanta Falcons, with Russell Wilson’s Pittsburgh debut delayed by a calf injury. He got a big assist from Chris Boswell’s powerful right leg. Boswell fired six field goals, three of which were longer than 50 yards, and the Steelers made life difficult for Kirk Cousins ​​in his first game as Atlanta’s big-money quarterback. Boswell accounted for all of the Steelers’ scoring. Cousins ​​passed for just 155 yards and was intercepted twice in Raheem Morris’ first game as Falcons coach.
Minnesota Vikings 28-6 New York Giants
Sam Darnold threw two touchdowns in a very efficient performance and linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel scored on a spectacular one-handed 10-yard interception return to lead the Minnesota Vikings to an easy win over the New York Giants. Darnold had touchdown passes of three yards to Justin Jefferson and 21 to Jalen Nailor. He also had a 22-yard pass to tight end Josh Oliver to set up Aaron Jones’ TD run. Graham Gano kicked two field goals for the Giants in a poor performance to open their 100th season.
Carolina Panthers 10-47 New Orleans Saints
Derek Carr threw three touchdowns and the New Orleans Saints scored on their first nine possessions in a lopsided win over the Carolina Panthers. Alvin Kamara and Jamaal Williams each ran for touchdowns and Blake Grupe kicked four field goals in an extraordinary debut for new Saints offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak. The season opener couldn’t have gone much worse for new Carolina coach Dave Canales. Sophomore quarterback Bryce Young was 13 of 30 passing for 161 yards, was intercepted twice and had four sacks. Carr’s first TD pass was a 59-yarder to Rashid Shaheed on the game’s first series.
New England Patriots 16-10 Cincinnati Bengals
hamondre Stevenson rushed for 120 yards and a touchdown in the first quarter, Joey Slye kicked three field goals and the New England Patriots won Jerod Mayo’s debut as coach, beating the mistake-prone Cincinnati Bengals. Veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett was not exceptional for New England, but he kept the Patriots moving well enough against a slow-starting Cincinnati. The Bengals went three-and-out on their first three possessions and didn’t score a touchdown until late in the third quarter. Joe Burrow threw for just 164 yards and star receiver Ja’Marr Chase had six catches for 62 yards.