CHICAGO — Jordan Love looked like he might be ready to follow in the footsteps of Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers, throwing for three touchdowns to lead the Green Bay Packers to a 38-20 season-opening victory over the Chicago Bears on Sunday.
Aaron Jones ran for a touchdown and caught one, helping the Packers pull away in the second half for their ninth straight win over the Bears. Green Bay was 25-5 against Chicago with Rodgers, counting an NFC championship game win at Soldier Field in the 2010 season, and the Packers were 22-10 in games Favre started.
The Bears came in thinking bigger things are in store for them and quarterback Justin Fields after a busy offseason. But for a team that set a franchise record for losses with 14 last year, this was a discouraging start.
Love completed 15 of 27 passes for 245 yards and posted a 123.2 rating. It was a promising outing for a quarterback whose only other start was a loss at Kansas City in 2021 when Rodgers was sidelined with COVID-19.
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BROWNS 24, BENGALS 3: Deshaun Watson ran for a touchdown and threw for another, and Cleveland’s defense bottled up Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow — the NFL’s new highest-paid player — as the Browns opened the season with a home victory over the Bengals.
Watson bolted for a 13-yard TD late in the first half, making the kind of dynamic play the Browns envisioned when they signed him to a $230 million contract in 2022. He missed 11 games last season for violating the league’s personal conduct policy.
Watson is in uniform from the start this season, and his presence has Cleveland expecting big things.
He added a 3-yard TD pass in the fourth quarter to tight end Harrison Bryant, and Watson celebrated by skipping down the field in front of Cincinnati’s sideline before converting the 2-point try with a run up the middle.
49ERS 30, STEELERS 7: Brock Purdy threw for 220 yards and two touchdowns to Brandon Aiyuk in his return from offseason elbow surgery and visiting San Francisco drilled Pittsburgh.
Purdy, who went from the last pick in the 2022 draft to entrenched starter in San Francisco after leading the 49ers to the NFC championship game, was crisp while completing 19 of 29 passes, including scoring strikes of 8 and 19 yards to Aiyuk.
Christian McCaffery ran for 151 yards and caught three passes for 17 more for the 49ers, who looked every bit the dominant force it was down the stretch last season when Purdy took over at quarterback.
COWBOYS 40, GIANTS 0: Noah Igbinoghene returned a blocked field goal 58 yards for a touchdown on the opening series, DaRon Bland scored on a pick-six later in the first quarter, and Dallas embarrassed host New York again.
Tony Pollard scored on two short touchdown runs and the Cowboys forced three turnovers, and sacked Daniel Jones seven times while shutting down the Giants' supposedly improved offense.
Dallas has beat New York five straight times and it has won 12 of the past 13 meetings. The shutout loss was the largest between the teams, topping the Cowboys 35-0 win over Giants in 1995, also in a season opener in the Meadowlands.
FALCONS 24, PANTHERS 10: Bijan Robinson outshined top overall pick Bryce Young in their NFL debuts, leading host Atlanta over Carolina.
Young was intercepted twice by Jessie Bates in a rough start for the former Alabama star who is being counted on to lead a resurgence in Carolina.
Robinson, selected at No. 8 by the Falcons in defiance of those who say running backs shouldn’t go that high, showed his versatility by taking a swing pass for an 11-yard touchdown.
COMMANDERS 20, CARDINALS 16: Sam Howell threw a touchdown pass and ran for another score to make up for two turnovers and Washington came back to beat Arizona at home, avoiding what would have been an embarrassing season-opening loss in their first game under new ownership.
In front of a sellout crowd and with several prominent alumni back to celebrate the start of a new era, the Commanders were sloppy with a pair of turnovers and several penalties along the offensive line that allowed Howell to be sacked six times.
Washington’s defense eventually took over and made game-changing plays. Montez Sweat strip-sacked Joshua Dobbs early in the fourth quarter to set up Howell’s go-ahead 6-yard TD run, and Abdullah Anderson recovered another fumble by Arizona with under five minutes left.
RAVENS 25, TEXANS 9: J.K. Dobbins ran for an early touchdown before leaving with a torn Achilles tendon, Justice Hill scored twice in the second half and host Baltimore pulled away to beat Houston.
Lamar Jackson turned the ball over twice, and Baltimore looked out of sync for much of its first game with new offensive coordinator Todd Monken. But the Ravens kept Houston and rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud out of the end zone.
The Texans made a game of it for a half under new coach DeMeco Ryans, and Stroud directed a couple of solid drives, but Houston couldn’t move the ball consistently enough.
SAINTS 16, TITANS 15: Derek Carr passed for 305 yards and a touchdown in a difficult but successful Saints debut, and New Orleans beat Tennessee at home.
The Saints’ defense did not allow a touchdown, intercepted Ryan Tannehill three times, sacked him three times, and stopped Tennessee on 10 of 12 third down plays.
BUCCANEERS 20, VIKINGS 17: Baker Mayfield recovered from a rough start to throw two touchdown passes without a turnover in his Tampa Bay debut, and the Buccaneers won at Minnesota.
Chase McLaughlin matched his career long with a 57-yard field goal for the lead with 5:10 left, and the Buccaneers forced a three-and-out on each of Minnesota’s last two possessions.
JAGUARS 31, COLTS 21: Tank Bigsby made up for a big mistake by scoring the go-ahead touchdown and Travis Etienne Jr. added a 26-yard scoring run to seal Jacksonville’s rare victory at Indianapolis.
The defending AFC South champs snapped a five-game losing streak at Lucas Oil Stadium.
RAMS 30, SEAHAWKS 13: Matthew Stafford threw for 334 yards even without favorite target Cooper Kupp, Kyren Williams and Cam Akers combined for three touchdown runs and Los Angeles stunned Seattle on the road.
Stafford was brilliant picking apart Seattle’s secondary for the 58th 300-yard passing game of his career in the regular season. He did so despite Kupp being sidelined for the first four games of the season while on injured reserve due to a hamstring injury.
RAIDERS 17, BRONCOS 16: Jimmy Garoppolo threw two touchdown passes to fellow newcomer Jakobi Meyers in their Las Vegas debut and the Raiders spoiled Sean Payton’s first game as Denver’s coach by winning on the road.
The Raiders stretched their winning streak over their AFC West rivals to seven games despite the absence of star pass rusher Chandler Jones, who’s involved in a feud with the front office.
DOLPHINS 36, CHARGERS 34: Tua Tagovailoa threw for 466 yards and three touchdowns and Tyreek Hill had 215 yards and two scores and Miami rallied for a road victory over Los Angeles.
Hill caught a 4-yard pass in the right corner of the end zone with 1:45 remaining for the clinching touchdown as the Dolphins finished with 536 yards
EAGLES 25, PATRIOTS 20: Jalen Hurts threw a touchdown pass and Darius Slay had a 70-yard interception return for a score as Philadelphia built a big early lead, then hung on at the finish beat New England in Foxborough.
The Eagles capitalized on two early turnovers by the Patriots, spoiling a day in which New England honored former quarterback Tom Brady at halftime.
