Key events
TOUCHDOWN! Panthers 0-10 Browns 1:38, 2nd quarter
Bengals 10-17 Steelers 2:26, 2nd quarter
After a Bengals punt the Steelers are back on offense and the laundry is flying with three flags on one play. Two on the Bengals and one one on the Steelers, somehow that means they offset. You do the math …
Steelers sneak it on the next play and they move the chains.
TOUCHDOWN! Seahawks 7-14 Commanders 6:41, 2nd quarter
Backup QB doing just fine so far. Mariota is 8/13 for 72 yards, two TDs, no picks.
TOUCHDOWN! Texans 7-10 Colts 4:30, 2nd quarter
TOUCHDOWN! Patriots 3-14 Jaguars 4:23, 2nd quarter
Jacksonville running away from New England now.
TOUCHDOWN! Jets 7-10 Lions 1:36, 2nd quarter
Who else? Goff fires it out to St Brown on the right side of the end zone who makes a terrific contested catch for the score.
It’s GOOD! Titans 0-6 Giants 4:48, 2nd quarter
It’s GOOD! Bengals 10-17 Steelers 7:06, 2nd quarter
After some penalty and timeout shenanigans Pittsburgh open up the touchdown lead again.
It’s GOOD! Panthers 0-3 Browns 5:41, 2nd quarter
It’s GOOD! Chargers 10-3 Bills 6:02, 2nd quarter
Buffalo on the board after some stour LA defense.
It’s GOOD! Patriots 3-7 Jaguars 9:09, 2nd quarter
Bengals 10-14 Steelers 10:16, 2nd quarter
Who saw this coming? Pittsburgh are rampaging on offense as Jaylen Warren breaks off a massive 35-yard run leaving only 30 yards for another Steelers score.
TOUCHDOWN! Jets 7-3 Lions 5:33, 2nd quarter
Jets have the lead in Lions country.
TOUCHDOWN! Texans 0-10 Colts 11:08, 2nd quarter
The 34-year-old has still got it. Allen scores his 72nd career touchdown.
TOUCHDOWN! Seahawks 7-7 Commanders 13:28, 2nd quarter
The QB rolls to his right and finds his star man to level it up.
It’s GOOD! Bengals 10-14 Steelers 10:15, 2nd quarter
Bengals 7-14 Steelers 10:50, 2nd quarter
Three Pittsburgh defenders smash into tight end Mike Gesicki who struggles to get up after the hit(s). That brings up 3rd down. Another injury for the Bengals receiving crew who are also without Andrei Iosivas. An illegal formation penalty brings back what would have been a 1st down. 3rd and 9 now. Burrow dumps it short but Perine is stopped well short. Field goal try on the way,
It’s GOOD! Jets 0-3 Lions 9:35, 2nd quarter
The Jets get a big stop to keep the Lions out of the end zone.
TOUCHDOWN! Chiefs 14-7 Dolphins 12:59, 2nd quarter
Kenneth Walker already has doubled up for Kansas City with a grab to match his rushing TD. Congratulations fantasy owners.
TOUCHDOWN! Patriots 0-7 Jaguars 13:25, 2nd quarter
First blood to Jacksonville in the battle of the division champs of last season.
It’s GOOD! Chargers 10-0 Bills 0:34, 1st quarter
Early doors but fantastic start for the 0-2 Chargers to be leading against the mighty Bills.
Bengals 7-14 Steelers 0:52, 1st quarter
A meaty stop on 2nd down for the Bengals to force 3rd and 6. Rodgers drops back and completes to Michael Pittman for eight yards and new set of downs. Next on play action Rodgers waits for the decoy blocker to head upfield and again he finds his receiver in open air. Skowronek comes down with it to give the Steelrs the lead again. Three possessions, three touchdowns in this one. Cracker.
It’s GOOD! Texans 0-3 Colts 4:29, 1st quarter
Bengals 7-7 Steelers 3:36, 1st quarter
Roman Wilson snatches a 17-yard pass and Jaylen Warren scampers for 13 to take Pittsburgh quickly over midfield. Oooh and Wilson almost catches another deep ball. Just can’t hold on.
TOUCHDOWN! Chiefs 7-7 Dolphins 3:27, 1st quarter
Miami hit back with a massive 17-play 91 yard drive. Malik Willis doing nicely at the controls and some big runs from Gordon.
It’s GOOD! Titans 0-3 Giants 6:34, 1st quarter
TOUCHDOWN! Seahawks 0-7 Commanders 9:08, 1st quarter
The Comannders in … er … command in DC.
TOUCHDOWN! Bengals 7-7 Steelers 5:51, 1st quarter
Too easy for the Bengals as Chase drifts out to the right and makes the catch over his defender and falls over the line to level the scores.
Bengals 0-7 Steelers 6:18, 1st quarter
Burrow takes the yardage in six-yard chunks leaving two to go on third down. Samaje Perine barrels over for 1st & Goal.
Bengals 0-7 Steelers 8:08, 1st quarter
Joe Burrow steps up in the pocket and extends the play then finds Tee Higgins for 10. Bengals hunting in the red zone, 16 yards to go for the score until Meyers gives up a false start penalty. 21 for the score.
Bengals 0-7 Steelers 9:31, 1st quarter
Cincinnati respond with a strong Chase Brown run up the middle for a first down but Brown gets swallowed up behind the line on his second attempt. Ja’marr Chase gives them a 3rd and short. Dohnte Meyers then collects a 24-yard pass to take the Bengals into enemy territory.
TOUCHDOWN! Chargers 7-0 Bills 10:33, 1st quarter
Buffalo make two good stands on the goalline but can’t stop the Chargers in the end.
TOUCHDOWN! Bengals 0-7 Steelers 13:10, 1st quarter
Pittsburgh bunch their receivers on 3rd down after taking a very early timeout and Rodgers finds his man in the open field who makes the easy catch and waltzes in for the early score. Magic start for the Steelers.
TOUCHDOWN! Chiefs 7-0 Dolphins 12:54, 1st quarter
Ominous start for Kansas City who march 67 yards on four plays for the score. Travis Kelce’s 48-yard grab set the score up.
Bengals 0-0 Steelers 14:01, 1st quarter
So much for that hyped Bengals defense. Jaylen Warren rips off 30 yards on a swing pass and the Steelers are over midfield.
Let’s drop in on the Bengals against their AFC North rival Steelers to start things off. It’s a beautiful day in Pittsburgh with Cincinnati kicking things off. Aaron Rodgers will take over on offense a few yards shy of the 30-yard line.
Some pre-match reading comes in the form of a stirring Colin Kaepernick interview. It is hard to believe it has been 10 years since his refusal to stand for the US national anthem. Kap talks about that moment and how he inspired a global gesture of civil rights.
In more quarterback injury news it looks like Caleb Williams will be back for the Chicago Bears quite soon … phew.
Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams is expected to be sidelined for three to four weeks with a grade two hamstring injury, multiple media outlets reported on Sunday.
The reports, however, noted that Williams could return sooner than that timeline, with head coach Ben Johnson saying earlier this week that the quarterback has been known as a quick healer.
Williams has been ruled out for the Monday night game pitting the Bears (1-1) against the visiting Philadelphia Eagles (2-0).
Williams sustained a hamstring injury during the fourth quarter of Chicago’s 9-3 loss to the Minnesota Vikings last Sunday. He sat out his third straight practice session on Saturday.
Should Williams sit out three games, he would be in line to return against the host Atlanta Falcons on 18 October. The New England Patriots will visit the Bears the following week.
Williams, 24, made 36 consecutive regular-season starts since the Bears drafted him No 1 overall in 2024. He has completed 65.5% of his passes for 407 yards, two touchdowns and one interception this season. Reuters
Some big news today is Super Bowl winning quarterback Sam Darnold returning for the Seattle Seahawks. Drew Lock deputised in style with good wins over the Patriots and Cardinals but the main man returns from a glute injury to face the winless Washington Commanders.
There are no layups in the NFL but, with Washington missing their star QB Jayden Daniels, the pressure won’t be quite so high on Darnold to come out swinging for the fences. He can rely on arguably the NFL’s best defense to shutdown Commanders backup passer Marcus Mariota and keep it conservative through the air. Though hopefully he will still let a few bombs go to Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
So what has been the difference for Cincinnati on defense? The acquisition of tackle Dexter Lawrence from the New York Giants. The Bengals traded the 10th overall pick for him in the offseason as they searched for an elite gamechanger. And they seem to have found exactly that after beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Houston Texans. Lawrence has been a rock solid base for Cincinnati to go to work and lead the NFL in both sacks (eight) and turnovers (three).
Lawrence and company will be feeling good about continuing their impressive start against the Pittsburgh Steelers today. Mike McCarthy’s team are 1-1 but struggling on offense and have retooled the whole right side of their offensive line to remedy having scored the league’s fewest points (23) after two games.
Preamble
Hello there, pig-skin-istas and welcome to week three of the NFL. Missing the Premier League? Real football would never leave you hanging for three weeks with only scraps like England v Spain (who?) to watch. Yes, the intimidatingly large muscle of the National Football League is here to fill the hole in your sporting heart and put a smile on your face for the foreseeable with a ridiculous compendium of nine games starting at 11am CST/12pm EST/6pm BST (home teams listed second):
(0-2) Los Angeles Chargers v Buffalo Bills (2-0)
(1-1) Carolina Panthers v Cleveland Browns (1-1)
(1-1) New York Jets v Detroit Lions (1-1)
(0-2) Houston Texans v Indianapolis Colts (0-2)
(1-1) New England Patriots v Jacksonville Jaguars (1-1)
(2-0) Kansas City Chiefs v Miami Dolphins (0-2)
(0-2) Tennessee Titans v New York Giants (1-1)
(2-0) Cincinnati Bengals v Pittsburgh Steelers (1-1)
(2-0) Seattle Seahawks v Washington Commanders (0-2)
We are going to get a really good luck at some early standouts. Are the 2-0 club of Buffalo, Kansas City, Cincinnati and Seattle are legit or a little lucky? My money is on legit. The Bills’ offense looks ferocious, ditto the Chiefs while the Seahawks’ stopping power remains unmatched. The Bengals have surprised the most with huge improvements on defense after being one of the NFL’s worst last season. All four will be confident of making it 3-0 when the evening is over, but you never know …
