Carolina Panthers @ Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals rode a 24-point third-quarter lead to a 27-22 win over the Carolina Panthers, whose miraculous comeback effort fell short. Though Carolina scored 22 unanswered points in the second half and recovered an onside kick, it wouldn’t be enough to earn a victory.
It was a disastrous start for the Panthers. Quarterback Bryce Young gave the ball away on a strip-sack fumble that was picked up and returned three yards for a touchdown to put the Panthers in a 7-0 hole with only 1:33 gone in the game. On their next possession, Young threw an interception that was returned to the Carolina 48 yard line, which set up a 29-yard field goal attempt to make it 10-0.
The Panthers finally settled in and put together a 55-yard drive that led to a field goal after the series stalled out at Arizona’s nine yard line. Bryce Young hooked up with rookie wideout Tet McMillan for a 40-yard catch on that possession. He had six catches for 100 yards in the game.
The scoring died down until the second quarter, when the Cards hit on another field goal to extend their lead to 13-3.
Arizona found the end zone again just before halftime. Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray hit wide receiver Michael Wilson on an 11-yard touchdown pass to increase the lead to 20-3 just with four seconds left before the break.
The Cards kept the pedal to the metal coming out of halftime. Tight end Elijah Higgins made two catches for 45 yards, which eventually resulted in running back James Conner scoring from two yards out to increase the lead to 27-3. Coming into this game, Higgins had one catch for three yards on the campaign.
The Panthers responded to the challenge with a furious comeback effort. Bryce Young found wide receiver Hunter Renfrow for a two-yard TD pass to cut the lead to 27-9 after a failed two-point conversion. That was Hunter Renfrow’s first touchdown reception since January 7th, 2023, when he was a member of the Las Vegas Raiders.
Carolina continued to put the pressure on Arizona. Bryce Young threw his second touchdown pass of the day, this one to running back Chuba Hubbard, to narrow the gap and make it 27-15 after the failed two-point conversion. Bryce Young had 328 passing yards, three TDs, an INT, and a lost fumble in this one.
The Cards were once again sweating after the Carolina Panthers scored on a one-yard touchdown pass to Hunter Renfrow, making it 27-22. He finished the game with seven receptions for 48 yards and two touchdowns.
Amazingly, the Panthers weren’t done. They recovered their onside kick attempt, giving the offense one more chance to take the lead. However, on a 4th and 15, Calais Campbell sacked Bryce Young to end the game.
With the win, the Cards are 2-0 for the first time since the 2021-22 season, which also marks the last time they made the playoffs. That victory also improves the NFC West’s overall record to 7-1 through the first two weeks of the season, with the only loss being the San Francisco 49ers’ Week One victory over the Seattle Seahawks.
Denver Broncos @ Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts defeated the Denver Broncos 29-28 thanks to a game-winning field goal and a wild penalty call on the second-to-last play of the contest.
The Colts first attempted a 60-yard field goal that their kicker missed as time expired. However, the Broncos were penalized for a leverage personal foul, which moved the ball forward 15 yards and allowed the Colts to try the game-winning field goal once again on an untimed down. Indy hit the second attempt, improving its record to 2-0 for the first time since 2009.
In a matchup that featured two of the best defenses we saw in Week One, it was the offenses that were the story of the game. These squads combined for 57 points and 797 yards.
Second-year Broncos quarterback Bo Nix was able to easily move past his poor performance from last week by tossing three touchdown passes in the first half of this game. His first TD, a 23-yarder to Marvin Mims, put Denver on top 7-3.
Following an Indianapolis field goal to cut the lead to 7-6, Colts running back Jonathan Taylor picked up 43 yards on a short pass to give Indy possession of the ball at the Broncos’ 11 yard line. A few plays later, quarterback Daniel Jones plunged into the end zone for a one-yard touchdown and a 13-7 advantage.
Denver would cobble together two consecutive touchdown drives of 67 and 50 yards, respectively, which allowed the Broncos to retake the lead and go up 21-13. One of those TDs was caught by rookie wideout Troy Franklin, giving him his first career touchdown at the NFL level.
Indy wouldn’t stay down, though. The Colts moved the ball 81 yards in just 1:32, which set up a seven-yard touchdown pass from Daniel Jones to Jonathan Taylor to make it 21-20 at halftime. That was JT’s first TD catch since Week 13 last season.
The offensive fireworks continued into the third quarter. Denver scored a touchdown on its first series of the second half on a five-yard rush by running back J.K. Dobbins. That was his second rushing TD in as many games.
The Broncos’ defense, which had a league-high six sacks last week, didn’t tally its first quarterback takedown until more than midway through the third quarter. It would be a well-timed sack, though, because it forced the Colts to settle for a field goal and a 28-23 deficit, which is how things would stand to start the fourth quarter.
One of the biggest defensive plays of the game came early in the fourth quarter, when Denver’s defense forced a turnover on downs on a 4th and 2 at midfield. The Colts were 0/2 on fourth-down attempts this afternoon.
Indy’s defense didn’t waver when the chips were down. An overthrown Bo Nix pass intended for wideout Courtland Sutton was intercepted by safety Cam Bynum, ending a drive that could’ve made it a two-score game.
Jonathan Taylor’s impressive afternoon resumed when Indy’s offense took the field. He bounced a handoff outside and picked up 68 yards to get the ball into the red zone. The Broncos’ defense stood strong, though, and forced a field goal to make it 28-26. Jonathan Taylor had 215 total yards and two touchdowns in this game.
The Broncos had a chance to improve on their lead, but Will Lutz missed a 42-yard field goal attempt that would’ve given Denver a five-point advantage.
Daniel Jones, who had 316 passing yards, connected with wideout Alec Pierce for a third-down conversion, which allowed the Colts to attempt a 60-yard game-winning field goal. Indianapolis missed the try, but the Broncos were flagged for a personal foul, which moved the ball 15 yards closer and allowed the Colts to try again from 45 yards, which Indy made.
Philadelphia Eagles @ Kansas City Chiefs
The Philadelphia Eagles edged out the Kansas City Chiefs 20-17 in a rematch of Super Bowl LIX. With the loss, the Chiefs will start a season 0-2 for the first time in 11 years.
Unlike the Super Bowl, this game was much closer. It helped that it took a while for either offense to get things going. This contest started with three straight punts followed by a missed field goal.
With a little under five minutes left in the first quarter, the action picked up. Philly orchestrated a 52-yard scoring drive that was capped off with a 13-yard touchdown run by Saquon Barkley, his second rushing TD of the season. He finished the day with 94 total yards and a ground touchdown.
The Kansas City Chiefs clapped right back at the Eagles. Patrick Mahomes scrambled for 22 yards to get to Philly’s 29 yard line. However, he took an 11-yard sack on 3rd down, forcing them to settle for a field goal and a 7-3 deficit.
Patrick Mahomes made it happen again with his legs on KC’s next offensive series. He picked up 19 yards on back-to-back runs, including a 13-yard touchdown to give the Chiefs their first lead of the day, 10-7. At no point during Super Bowl LIX did Kansas City have a lead over Philly.
The Eagles got the ball back with 2:24 left in the half, which would be enough time to put together a 38-yard drive that let Philadelphia kicker Jake Elliott hit a 58-yard field goal as time expired to tie things up at 10-10 going into halftime. Interestingly, Patrick Mahomes led all players in first-half rushing yards with 60.
The Chiefs wanted to keep up the momentum in the third quarter, so they elected to go for it on a 4th and 1 from their own 35 yard line. However, that decision came back to bite them after they were stuffed for a one-yard loss. Though the defense only allowed two yards, it would be enough to set up a successful 51-yard field goal to put Philly ahead 13-10.
The Eagles’ defense again made life difficult for Patrick Mahomes. On a 2nd and goal at Philly’s six, Patrick Mahomes threw a pass that bounced out of Travis Kelce’s hands and was intercepted by rookie safety Andrew Mukuba. He returned the INT to the Eagles’ 41 yard line.
On the very next play, the Chiefs were flagged for a facemask penalty, which helped Philly’s offense make it to Kansas City’s side of the field. Eventually, the Eagles got the ball to the one yard line, where they attempted their famous tush push play on a 3rd and goal, but it was stopped by the Chiefs. Philly tried the play again on fourth down, with a better result this time as Jalen Hurts found the end zone to extend the lead to 20-10 with 7:48 left in the fourth quarter.
KC would score one more time on a long bomb play. Patrick Mahomes hit wide receiver Tyquan Thornton for a 49-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 20-17 with three minutes left in the game. Thornton has recorded plays of 35+ yards in back-to-back games.
Unfortunately for Chiefs fans, the Eagles would get the ball and never give it back. They executed a perfect three-minute drive to close out the game and move to 2-0 on the season.
*Author’s note: all information and statistics are tracked in real time and are provided by the game’s broadcaster, NFL.com, and ESPN.com*
