CHICAGO — Caleb Williams had a rough debut for Chicago but got bailed out by his defense, with Tyrique Stevenson returning an interception 43 yards for the go-ahead touchdown to give the Bears a 24-17 victory over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.
The Bears, who have their sights set on a playoff spot after going 10-24 over the previous two seasons, trailed 17-0 in the first half. They shut down the Titans from there and spoiled the debut of Tennessee coach Brian Callahan.
Williams, the No. 1 overall pick, finished 14 of 29 for 93 yards with a 55.7 passer rating. The former Heisman Trophy winner at Southern California still became the first quarterback drafted first overall to win his debut start since 2002, when David Carr led Houston past Dallas. The past 15 No. 1 picks were a combined 0-14-1 in initial starts, beginning with Cincinnati’s Carson Palmer in 2003.
The Bears had just cut it to 17-16 on a field goal by Cairo Santos when Stevenson put Chicago on top midway through the fourth quarter. With DeMarcus Walker about to sack him, Will Levis flung the ball in desperation, and Stevenson grabbed it and ran untouched down the sideline. A 2-point conversion pass from Williams to D’Andre Swift made it 24-17.
Jaylon Johnson sealed the win with just over a minute remaining when he intercepted a deep pass intended for Tyler Boyd on fourth down at the Tennessee 40, giving fans who spent a big portion of the afternoon booing a reason to cheer.
BILLS 34, CARDINALS 28
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Josh Allen had three of his four touchdowns in the second half and the Buffalo Bills overcame a 14-point deficit to defeat the Arizona Cardinals 34-28 on Sunday.
Greg Rousseau had a career-best three sacks, including one that forced a fumble. The defense preserved the Bills’ win when Damar Hamlin and Ja’Marcus Ingram broke up Kyler Murray’s pass attempt to Greg Dortch near the goal line on fourth-and-7 from Buffalo’s 29 with 26 seconds remaining.
This was a thrilling back-and-forth affair between two non-conference rivals on a blustery day with temperatures in the low 60s and heavy winds gusting up to 30 mph (45kph) from the west off of nearby Lake Erie.
The outing featured the first kickoff return for a touchdown under the NFL’s new rules. DeeJay Dallas fielded the ball at his own 4, and worked his way up the middle through a barrage of Bills before finding a lane up the left side with 8:31 remaining in cutting Buffalo’s lead to 31-28.
TEXANS 29, COLTS 27
INDIANAPOLIS — Stefon Diggs caught two touchdown passes and Joe Mixon rushed for 159 yards and another score Sunday to help the Houston Texans close out a 29-27 victory against the Indianapolis Colts.
Houston (1-0) won its second straight road game in the series for the first time in franchise history and its ninth straight road game in division play.
The Colts (0-1), meanwhile, extended the NFL’s longest active opening day winless streak to 11 despite getting two TD passes of more than 50 yards from Anthony Richardson, who also ran for a late score.
He was 9 of 19 with 212 yards and one interception and, ran six times for 56 yards including a 3-yard scoring run with 2:14 left to trim the deficit to 29-27.
The Texans, meanwhile, leaned heavily on Mixon’s 30 carries to wear down a defense that spent 40 minutes on the field. Ka’imi Fairbairn also made three field goals from 50 or more yards.
C.J. Stroud, last year’s AP Offensive Rookie of the Year, finished 24 of 32 with 234 yards and two TD passes. Diggs caught six passes for 33 yards and Nico Collins had six catches for 117 yards.
But Houston controlled most of the game.
SAINTS 47, PANTHERS 10
NEW ORLEANS — Derek Carr passed for three touchdowns and the New Orleans Saints scored on their first nine possessions in a 47-10 victory over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.
Alvin Kamara and Jamaal Williams each ran for touchdowns and Blake Grupe kicked four field goals — two from beyond 50 yards — in an extraordinary debut for new Saints offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak.
The Panthers, who went 2-15 last season, made front office, coaching and key roster changes in hopes of showing more promise this season. But this season opener could not have gone much worse for new coach Dave Canales and second-year quarterback Bryce Young.
Young was 13 of 30 passing for 161 yards and was intercepted twice — once each by safeties Will Harris and Jordan Howden.
Carr was 19 of 23 for 200 yards, highlighted by his 59-yard touchdown pass to Rashid Shaheed on the game’s opening series. Carr also found tight ends Foster Moreau and Juwan Johnson for touchdowns of 3 and 16 yards, the latter putting New Orleans up 30-0 before Carolina scored its first points on a field goal as the first half ended.
DOLPHINS 20, JAGUARS 17
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Jason Sanders nailed a 52-yard field goal as time expired, and the Miami Dolphins rallied past the Jacksonville Jaguars 20-17 on Sunday to win their fourth straight season opener.
Fresh off a big offseason payday, Tua Tagovailoa threw for 336 yards and a touchdown and led Miami on an 8-play, 31-yard drive over the final 2:09.
Tyreek Hill started the comeback with an 80-yard touchdown catch that sparked Miami’s sluggish offense in the third quarter and got the Dolphins within 17-14. After the score, Hill placed his hands behind his back as if to simulate being handcuffed, hours after he was placed facedown and handcuffed on a street by Miami-Dade Police officers after being stopped for a traffic violation near Hard Rock Stadium.
Hill finished with seven catches for 130 yards. Devon Achane seven catches for 75 yards and ran for 25 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries.
Lawrence, who also signed a big contract extension in the offseason, completed 12 of 21 passes for 162 yards and a touchdown. Tank Bigsby had 73 yards on 12 carries.
PATRIOTS 16, BENGALS 10
CINCINNATI — Rhamondre Stevenson rushed for 120 yards and a first-quarter touchdown, Joey Slye kicked three field goals and the New England Patriots won Jerod Mayo’s debut as coach, beating the mistake-prone Cincinnati Bengals 16-10 on Sunday.
Quarterback Jacoby Brissett, who got the starting nod for the Patriots over first-round draft pick Drake Maye, was not exceptional, but he held onto the ball and kept the Patriots moving well enough against slow-starting Cincinnati.
The nine-year veteran directed a methodical 80-yard drive in the first quarter that included six first downs was capped by a 3-yard TD run by Stevenson.
Cincinnati went three-and-out on its first three possessions. Joe Burrow moved the Bengals into the red zone in the second quarter and came away with nothing.
In the second half, Cincinnati’s Charlie Jones fumbled away a punt, which led to a Patriots field goal. Then the Bengals came up a yard short on a fourth-down pass and turned the ball over.
The Bengals got the ball back with 2:56 left, did not get a first down and elected to punt. Stevenson rushed for two first downs and the Patriots ran out the clock.
Bengals receiver Ja’Marr Chase, whose participation was in doubt as he awaits an expected contract extension, had six catches for 62 yards. Burrow was 21 of 29 for 164 yards.
Brissett went 15 of 24 for 121 yards.
STEELERS 18, FALCONS 10
ATLANTA — With Russell Wilson’s Pittsburgh debut put on hold by a calf injury, Justin Fields stepped in to lead the Steelers to a 18-10 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday — with a big assist from Chris Boswell’s strong right leg.
Boswell booted six field goals, three of them longer than 50 yards, and the Steelers made life miserable for Kirk Cousins in his first game as Atlanta’s big-money quarterback.
Boswell connected from 57, 56, 51, 44, 40 and 25 yards to account for all the Steelers’ scoring.
Cousins hardly looked like a quarterback worthy of the four-year, $180 million deal the Falcons gave him in free agency, including $100 million in guaranteed money. He didn’t play at all in the preseason while coming back from an Achilles injury that cut short his final season with the Minnesota Vikings.
In his first game since Oct. 29, Cousins was just 16 of 26 for 155 yards with two interceptions, including a pick by Donte Jackson and a 49-yard return with about 2 1/2 minutes that finished off any hopes of an Atlanta comeback. In an appropriate finish, Cousins was sacked on the last play of the game.
VIKINGS, GIANTS
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Sam Darnold threw two touchdown passes in a highly efficient performance and Andrew Van Ginkel scored on a spectacular one-handed 10-yard interception return to lead the Minnesota Vikings to an easy 28-6 victory over the woeful New York Giants on Sunday.
Darnold, who played his home games at MetLife Stadium for three seasons after being taken No. 3 overall by the Jets in 2018, had touchdown passes of 3 yards to Justin Jefferson and 21 to Jalen Nailor in his Vikings debut.
Darnold also had a 22-yard pass to Josh Oliver to help set up Aaron Jones’ 3-yard TD run that put Minnesota ahead 7-3 late in the first quarter and got Kevin O’Connell’s team off to a good start as it looks to rebound from a disappointing 7-10 season.
Darnold, who signed as a free agent after being a backup in San Francisco last season, was 19 of 24 for 208 yards and one interception that came on a deflected pass. He’s starting because first-round draft pick J.J. McCarthy was lost for the season with a knee injury.
Jefferson had four catches for 59 yards, with his TD coming on a quick slant on a fourth-down pass. It capped a 99-yard drive that he ignited with a 44-yard catch.
Jones, who was coming off major knee surgery, did not play well and got little help from either his new revamped offensive line or his receivers. First-round draft pick Malik Nabers had five receptions for 66 yards, including two for 25 yards.
Jones finished 22 of 42 for 186 yards and two interceptions.
