The Kansas Metropolis Chiefs and the Baltimore Ravens got here into Sunday’s slate in very uncommon circumstances – two of the perfect groups of the previous few years have been struggling. Each have been 1-2, and after the Chiefs’ 37-20 blowout win on Sunday, the Ravens are within the sort of actual bother one doesn’t normally anticipate from such a usually steady franchise.
First, the Chiefs. This offense has been an issue transcended by Patrick Mahomes for a very long time, for all kinds of causes, however there was a minimum of a one-week reprieve from such worries. Mahomes was dynamite, finishing 25 of 37 passes for 270 yards, 4 touchdowns, no interceptions, and a passer score of 124.8. It helped that speedy receiver Xavier Worthy was again in motion for the primary time since Week 1, and Worthy lived as much as his … properly, value with 5 catches for 83 yards. Mahomes threw landing passes to 4 totally different receivers and for the primary time in goodness is aware of how lengthy, Andy Reid’s offense was a enjoyable watch.
Mahomes additionally made NFL historical past (once more), however the revival of the KC offense as a complete was much more vital. On throws previous the sticks, Mahomes – who by metrics was the NFL’s least efficient deep passer final season – accomplished 9 of 14 passes for 133 yards, three of his touchdowns, and a passer score of 134.8.
Not that the Ravens hit the sphere at Arrowhead Stadium with something approaching a wholesome roster, and it bought worse as the sport went alongside – particularly when Lamar Jackson left the sport within the third quarter with a hamstring problem. Linebacker Roquan Smith and cornerback Marlon Humphrey additionally went out, and Baltimore’s protection was already with out pass-rusher Kyle Van Noy, and defensive tackles Travis Jones and Nnamdi Madubuike.
So possibly a victory towards a battered opponent doesn’t imply Kansas Metropolis are utterly again. However a minimum of, at 2-2, they’ll nonetheless take into consideration playoff tickets. We’ll discover out extra about what this actually means when Mahomes and his crew journey to Jacksonville for subsequent Monday night time’s sport towards a surprisingly stingy Jaguars protection.
In the meantime, the Ravens – 1-3 for the primary time since 2015 – should battle their approach out of a deep gap. And if they’ve to take action with out Jackson for any size of time, their odds turn out to be for much longer: 1-3 groups don’t precisely go on to make the postseason repeatedly, by no means thoughts with out their star participant. For what it’s value, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh’s description of the harm was: “There’s nothing that appears prefer it’s season-ending by any stretch for anyone”.
If the Ravens do have one fleeting hope, it’s that the remainder of the AFC North isn’t precisely beautiful. The Browns (extra on them in a minute) are losing an awesome protection, the Bengals are Joe Burrow-less, and the Steelers are a giant bag of who-knows-what from week to week. A loss would have been much more damning for the Chiefs, who reside within the AFC West with the Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Chargers.
MVP of the week
Ashton Jeanty, RB, Las Vegas Raiders. It’s not usually {that a} participant on a shedding crew will get this award, but when Dallas Cowboys linebacker Chuck Howley can do it in Tremendous Bowl V, Jeanty can achieve this regardless of his crew shedding a 25-24 heartbreaker to the Chicago Bears. Whereas Raiders quarterback Geno Smith was busy extracting defeat from the jaws of victory with three interceptions, Jeanty – the sixth general decide within the 2025 draft after a transcendent profession at Boise State – lastly appeared just like the again the Raiders wished. By his first three video games, Jeanty had no shot behind a horrid offensive line, however some personnel and schematic modifications – together with offensive coordinator Chip Kelly permitting Jeanty to make use of the identical standup pre-snap type that was so profitable in school – lastly paid off. Jeanty gained 138 yards and scored a landing on 21 carries, and he caught a few passes for 17 yards and two extra scores.
When you’re mortally offended by the idea of MVP “losers,” there’s one other MVP of the week on the Bears’ aspect – security Kevin Byard, who picked off Smith twice.
Video(s) of the week
There is just one alternative for this, and Indianapolis Colts receiver Adonai Mitchell would clearly want that there wasn’t. Mitchell had first-round expertise, however developed a status of not at all times being on the identical web page because the playbook dictates and he was taken within the second spherical final yr. However he was on monitor for his first NFL landing towards the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, till he wasn’t. Within the third quarter, Mitchell made top-of-the-line catches you’ll see this season on a deep go from Daniel Jones, had a free path to the top zone, after which engaged in a untimely celebration.
Former Philadelphia Eagles receiver DeSean Jackson is essentially the most (in)well-known for this specific mistake, however he’s removed from the one one. Final December, I wrote about an epidemic of gamers fumbling the ball earlier than they reached the top zone, together with Colts working again Jonathan Taylor.
It was a very tough day for Mitchell – within the first quarter, Rams security Kam Curl gave Jones his first interception of the season on one other deep goal to Mitchell, and it didn’t seem that Mitchell was conscious of the truth that Curl was about to leap the route. Then, with 2:25 left within the sport – which was tied at 20-20 at that time – Mitchell’s holding penalty negated what would have been a 53-yard landing run by Jonathan Taylor.
The Rams scored a landing on their subsequent drive, it ended 27-20, and Mitchell has to take care of the truth that he value his crew two touchdowns on in the future in a profession during which he’s by no means scored one. That’s powerful to beat.
Stat of the week
45. The variety of instances in his NFL profession that Josh Allen has had a minimum of one passing landing and one speeding landing in the identical sport. Allen reached that mark within the Payments’ 31-19 win over the New Orleans Saints, and that tied him with Cam Newton for essentially the most such video games in league historical past. It took Newton 11 seasons to get there; Allen has achieved that feat in seven full seasons and 4 video games. He is not only an incredible quarterback – the defending NFL MVP is a nonpareil energy runner as properly, and there are occasions when he resembles an athletic edge-rusher at his measurement.
Elsewhere across the league
— Of their Sunday night time sport towards the Inexperienced Bay Packers, the Dallas Cowboys noticed their company a 13-point lead, which appeared particularly beneficiant after handing Micah Parsons to the Pack a month in the past in a commerce that had the Cowboys’ protection wanting terrible via the primary three video games of the season. However they fought again as the sport ended 40-40, the second-highest rating in a tie in professional soccer historical past, and also you’d be hard-pressed to discover a extra thrilling sport within the annals of soccer than this one.
Eighty factors would recommend the Cowboys protection remains to be lacking Parsons badly – and maybe that he hasn’t made the Packers D right into a world-beating unit both. However that might be a disservice to glorious quarterback play from Dak Prescott and Jordan Love, who threw for 3 touchdowns every … and nil interceptions. When a sport is as glorious as this – this catch was only one spotlight – it’s greatest to overlook the off-field wrangles and admire what an exhilarating expertise soccer will be. That appeared to be the case for Parsons and his previous teammates too, a lot of whom he warmly greeted on the finish of the sport.
— The sport between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Minnesota Vikings, which marked the NFL’s first regular-season foray into Eire, started as an surprising quarterback effectivity pageant. Neither Carson Wentz nor Aaron Rodgers threw an incompletion till Wentz was picked off by Steelers security DeShon Elliott with 5:58 left within the first half. Wentz, who has been with a special crew each season since 2020, then continued his standard dichotomy between “wow” performs and ones deserving of far stronger (and unprintable) adjectives.
In the long run, this 24-21 win for the Steelers got here all the way down to Wentz’s last drive, which started with 1:08 left. With the ball at his personal 20-yard line, and the necessity to get in field-goal vary in a rush, Wentz grew to become a sufferer of his personal worst tendencies. He bought his crew so far as the Minnesota 39-yard line earlier than delay of sport and intentional grounding penalties derailed every part. On fourth-and-17, Wentz threw over the center right into a gaggle of Steelers, and Elliott’s go breakup ended the sport.
Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell could be the NFL’s greatest passing sport designer, however with a man like Wentz, you possibly can solely lead him to water. In the meantime, the Steelers have been Riverdancing their approach residence.
— New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll did the suitable factor this week by saying that Jaxson Dart would exchange Russell Wilson as his quarterback, and the rookie pulled out a 21-18 win (the Giants’ first of the season) over the Los Angeles Chargers with rather a lot lined up towards him. Dart needed to play many of the sport with out Malik Nabers after the receiver, one of many NFL’s greatest, suffered a torn ACL on MetLife Stadium’s disastrous turf. Furthermore, Dart was additionally dealing with a protection that got here into Sunday ranked seventh within the NFL in opponent-adjusted effectivity.
It mattered to not the rookie, who accomplished 13 of 20 passes for 111 yards, a landing, no interceptions, and a passer score of 96.0. Dart additionally rushed for 54 yards and one other landing. On the 2025 scouting mix, Dart stated that his supreme quarterback is Jalen Hurts, and this was a really Hurts-like debut: Do exactly sufficient as a rusher and as a passer to win.
— There was one pitched battle of 3-0 groups on Sunday, because the Philadelphia Eagles outlasted the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31-25 after working out to leads of 24-3 and 31-13 earlier than Baker Mayfield and the Bucs wakened. This was an old-school pier-sixer all the best way, to the purpose the place you anticipated Brian Dawkins and Warren Sapp to come back out and commerce punches.
Whereas the Bucs took far too lengthy to get rolling offensively and have been surprisingly compliant on protection, the Eagles merely did what they do – sufficient to maintain the wins coming, spectacular or not. Hurts accomplished 15 of 24 passes for 130 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions and a passer score of 104.5 – this with out finishing a single go within the second half. Saquon Barkley ran 19 instances for 43 yards and a landing, and nonetheless the Eagles practically gained this one going away. Whereas the Bucs have sufficient to impress most weeks, this was an occasion during which they realized a lesson in the way to win when you could – irrespective of the way it appears.
— One week after they have been blanked 30-0 by the Carolina Panthers, who’ve one of many NFL’s worst defenses, the Atlanta Falcons got here out towards the Washington Commanders in decided temper. This time, in a 34-27 win that pushed his crew to 2-2 on the season, Michael Penix Jr accomplished 20 of 26 passes for 313 yards, two touchdowns, one interception, and a passer score of 126.0. Perhaps it was a wakeup week for Atlanta’s offense, however Penix appeared extra in management than at every other time in his NFL profession, and working again Bijan Robinson (who may make an NFL roster as a slot receiver) added a career-high 181 yards from scrimmage. The NFC South is a little more open after the Bucs’ loss, and the Falcons have already got a playoff-level protection. If that is the true turnaround, Atlanta are out of the blue a crew to look at.
— It’s been a pleasant profession for Joe Flacco, nevertheless it’s time for the 18-year veteran to hold ‘em up. The Cleveland Browns are losing an awesome protection with abysmal quarterback play, and it occurred as soon as once more of their 34-10 loss to the Detroit Lions. Solely this time, the protection’s wafer-thin margin for error busted via towards Detroit’s dynamic offense. Flacco accomplished 16 of 34 passes for 184 yards, no touchdowns, two interceptions, and a passer score of 39.3. Flacco has been a catastrophe all season, turning down throws NFL quarterbacks should make, and if head coach Kevin Stefanski desires any likelihood of competitiveness, he must put Dillon Gabriel on the market as soon as and for all. Testing a rookie QB labored for the Giants, in spite of everything.
