Another Tom Brady comeback came up just short as his Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost to Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers 14-12.
Although two of the NFL’s greatest ever quarterbacks were the headline act, the two defences dominated in what could be the last meeting between Brady and Rodgers.
The other big game of the day saw the Miami Dolphins outlast the Buffalo Bills in the heat of Florida to move to 3-0 for the season.
In another exciting Sunday of NFL action, the Philadelphia Eagles also moved to 3-0, the Chicago Bears won with the last kick of the game and the Las Vegas Raiders became the only team to slip to 0-3.
Rodgers wins battle of the legends
In what could be the last meeting of two of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, Rodgers had a hot start and threw two touchdowns as the Packers bottled up Brady, who with two minutes left in the game had more Super Bowl wins than points on the board as the Bucs trailed 14-6.
Nobody has managed more fourth-quarter comebacks since the NFL merger in 1970 than Brady, and he led an 89-yard drive that finished with him hitting Russell Gage Jr for a touchdown with just 14 seconds left on the clock.
A two-point conversion was needed to force overtime, but Brady was just unable to find his man and Rodgers could celebrate his second win in five games against his fellow QB legend.
“It’s been a lot of fun competing against Tom over the years, and it’s always nice coming out on top because it hasn’t happened too many times,” said Rodgers.
“I have a ton of respect for him, he’s been a trailblazer in our position over such a long period of time.”
Miami too hot for the Buffalo Bills
The Super Bowl favourite Buffalo Bills wilted in the extreme heat of south Florida to lose to the Miami Dolphins 21-19 in the battle of two unbeaten teams.
Bills quarterback Josh Allen threw for 400 yards as the league’s top scorers dominated the ball, having twice as much possession and running 90 plays to Miami’s 39 – but Miami proved it’s what you do with the ball that counts.
QB Tua Tagovailoa returned after leaving the game with a suspected concussion to drag Miami into a fourth-quarter lead, and Buffalo simply had nothing left as several players left the game with designated “heat illness” while others went down with cramp in temperatures of around 30C.
Even after Miami comically gave away two points when their punter booted the ball against his own man in the end zone, the Dolphins hung on to move to 3-0, while the Bills have big injury issues to deal with and a wider worry that they’ve now lost the last seven close games they’ve played in.
Among the fallout from the game, Bills assistant coach Ken Dorsey became a social media sensation for his angry reaction to the end of the game, as he trashed his notes and computer.
More upsets as Colts stun Chiefs and Jags win again
There’s usually a shock or two each week and this week a big one came in Indianapolis as the Colts stunned the previously unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs 20-17.
The Colts had drawn with Houston and lost 24-0 to Jacksonville, but this time they capitalised on a number of errors by the Chiefs as veteran QB Matt Ryan threw the winning touchdown pass with just 24 seconds left on the clock.
The Jacksonville Jaguars also produced a big upset as they emphatically beat the well-fancied Chargers 38-10 in Los Angeles to move to a promising 2-1 and show signs that the rebuilding process is heading in the right direction.
Second-year quarterback Trevor Lawrence won successive games for the first time, but the way the Jaguars defence handled Justin Herbert, even while playing with fractured rib cartilage, will be the biggest plus for Jacksonville.
Are the 3-0 Eagles and Jalen Hurts the real deal?
The Philadelphia Eagles are 3-0 after a dominant display against the Washington Commanders where they sacked former QB Carson Wentz nine times and hit him 17 times.
New Eagles QB Jalen Hurts is the toast of Philadelphia as the threw another three touchdowns, while receiver DeVonta Smith produced a one-man highlight reel showing as Philly look to have their best squad since their Super Bowl success five seasons ago, but just a word of caution that their early schedule has been kind.
The Minnesota Vikings had the comeback of the day as they recovered from 10 points down in the fourth quarter to beat the Detroit Lions, while Lamar Jackson shone again as the Baltimore Ravens beat the New England Patriots – who look to have lost their QB Mac Jones to an ankle injury.
There were first wins of the season for the Cincinnati Bengals against the Jets, Tennessee Titans against Raiders, Carolina Panthers over the Saints and the Atlanta Falcons, who surprised a few with victory in Seattle.
