NFL 2023 regular season |
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Dates: 7 September 2023-7 January 2024 |
BBC coverage: Listen to live commentary on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra and the BBC Sport website every Sunday. |
The Kansas City Chiefs survived a second-half Miami Dolphins fightback to win 21-14 in the NFL’s first visit of the season to Germany.
The Philadelphia Eagles lead the NFL on 8-1 after edging a titanic battle with rivals the Dallas Cowboys 28-23.
The Baltimore Ravens also showed their Super Bowl credentials with a dominant 37-3 rout of the Seattle Seahawks, while the Buffalo Bills lost on their first return to the Cincinnati Bengals since Damar Hamlin’s cardiac arrest in January.
Another hectic Sunday in the NFL saw a rookie record and stellar display from CJ Stroud, a crazy debut for Josh Dobbs and more misery for the New England Patriots.
Eagles deny Dallas in thriller
Jalen Hurts battled through a knee injury and Dak Prescott produced arguably his best game of the season as the Eagles and Cowboys treated us to a classic in Philadelphia.
Hurts went over from a yard as Philly’s ‘brotherly shove’ play, based on a rugby union rolling maul, paid off yet again, and he threw two more TD passes in the third quarter to open up an 11-point lead.
Prescott hit Jalen Tolbert for a fourth-quarter score before a manic closing drive saw Dallas come close but come up just short. Both sides look capable of deep play-off runs but both also have questions to answer before they meet again in week 14.
After another slow start to the season, Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals are again looking like contenders after two TD passes from their star quarterback and a stifling defensive display in their 24-18 victory over the Bills.
All eyes were on a player not on the field though, with Hamlin making an emotional return to the scene of his cardiac arrest back in January, although he was not part of the final matchday squad on this occasion.
Chiefs hang on for Frankfurt victory
After the huge success of Germany’s NFL debut in Munich last year, the first of two matches in Frankfurt this season saw two 6-2 teams collide with two leading MVP candidates Patrick Mahomes and Tua Tagovailoa at quarterback.
Mahomes threw two touchdowns as Kansas City raced into a 21-0 lead at half-time, before Tagovailoa led Miami’s comeback as two scores reduced the gap to seven points.
Miami missed the chance to tie or even win the game though when Tagovailoa fumbled a fourth-down snap with just over a minute left, enabling the defending champions to leave Germany with the win.
The Chiefs are joined at 7-2 in the AFC by the Baltimore Ravens after their totally dominant 37-3 rout of a Seattle Seahawks side that rarely gets blown out like that under head coach Pete Carroll.
Undrafted rookie running back Keaton Mitchell had 138 yards and a TD in his first carries in the NFL, Odell Beckham Jr caught his first TD pass since the Super Bowl two seasons ago and the Ravens continued to show they’re among the very best teams in the league right now.
Stroud sets rookie record
The future looks bright for the Houston Texans as young QB CJ Stroud again showed he’s the real deal with a rookie record 470 passing yards along with five TD throws – including one in the final few seconds to secure a wild 39-37 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Bucs went ahead with just 46 second left on the clock, but Stroud looks built for moments like that and led a 75-yard drive in just 40 seconds, culminating in a TD pass to Tank Dell for an epic win.
A game that had everything even saw Houston running back Dare Ogunbowale kick a field goal after Texans kicker Kaʻimi Fairbairn was injured – becoming the first non-kicker or punter to convert a field goal since 2004.
Stunning Vikings debut for Dobbs
Minnesota only traded for QB Josh Dobbs five days ago to replace the injured Kirk Cousins, but he had a tremendous winning debut as he lifted the Vikings to a last-gasp 31-28 win at the Atlanta Falcons.
Dobbs came off the bench in the first quarter when Jaren Hall left with concussion, was tackled in his own end zone for a safety, but responded by running in a TD and throwing for two – including the winner just 22 seconds from the end.
Dobbs summed up the game aptly as a “learn as you go, hair on fire, hold on to your seat” type of game.
Even though Washington traded away two star defenders Chase Young and Montez Sweat on deadline day, they picked off Mac Jones in the final seconds of a 20-17 win over the struggling New England Patriots.
The Green Bay Packers snapped a four-game losing streak with a much-needed 20-3 win over the Los Angeles Rams – who were missing Super Bowl winning QB Matthew Stafford.
The versatile Taysom Hill caught his 10th TD pass for the New Orleans as they beat the Chicago Bears 24-17. The Swiss Army knife of the league became just the fifth player ever to record 10 touchdown passes, runs and catches, and the first since 1964.
The Las Vegas Raiders responded to sacking head coach Josh McDaniels with a 30-6 win over the New York Giants, the Cleveland Browns shut out the Arizona Cardinals 27-0 and the Indianapolis Colts were 27-13 winners at the Carolina Panthers.
