The Kansas City Chiefs are the only undefeated team left in the NFL after winning their Super Bowl rematch with the San Francisco 49ers to go to 6-0.
Quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes and Brock Purdy both struggled in a far more defensive scuffle than their Super Bowl meeting in February – but the defending champions keep finding ways to win behind a defence that’s carrying them game after game.
The Minnesota Vikings lost their unbeaten tag to divisional rivals Detroit as Jared Goff produced another high-quality quarterback display, while Josh Allen also shone as he celebrated a century of starts for the Buffalo Bills.
A late kick gave Green Bay a tough win over the Houston Texans, Saquon Barkley returned to New York to haunt the Giants and Aaron Rodgers’ reunion with Davante Adams was ruined by Pittsburgh.
Mahomes’ Chiefs win ugly Super Bowl rematch
Mahomes has thrown more interceptions than touchdowns this season but the Chiefs continue to win ugly with their 28-18 win over San Francisco powered by four rushing touchdowns and more excellence on defence.
The Chiefs are the 10th Super Bowl champions to start the season 6-0 with Mahomes making more plays with his legs than his arm.
He recorded a career-best regular season run of 33 yards and also barged into the end zone himself, but no doubt that Steve Spagnulo’s defence – with 27 straight games conceding 28 points or less – is the current star for Kansas City.
“It’s not always pretty, it not always looks the best but we’re going to find a way to get the win,” Mahomes told Fox Sports.
It was even uglier for the 49ers, despite having rookie receiver Ricky Pearsall make his debut just 50 days after being shot. They lost star receivers Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel while Purdy really struggled and was intercepted three times.
Goff ends Vikings unbeaten run
Two of the best teams in the NFL just happen to be division rivals who served up a beauty with Detroit kicker Jake Bates settling a ding-dong battle 31-29 with his last-minute field goal.
Fast starters Minnesota opened up a 10-point lead for the fifth game running, before the Lions turned the game on its head with 21 straight points.
The Vikings had only trailed for three minutes 26 seconds all season, and not since the first quarter of the first game of the season, but responded to lead late on until finally losing their unbeaten streak in the dying seconds.
Goff excelled again for the red-hot Lions, becoming just the fourth quarterback to record three straight 140-plus passer ratings with more precise passing that has him right in the early MVP conversation.
Packers cure kicking woes
Kicking has been a sore point for Green Bay, who cut Brayden Narveson after missing five field goals in six games – and the move paid off as veteran Brandon McManus slotted the game winner with his first field goal for his new team as time expired.
Texans quarterback CJ Stroud managed just 86 yards in his worst career game thanks to a smothering Packers defence that sacked him four times, but three sloppy Green Bay turnovers led to seven lead changes and almost cost them the game.
But Jordan Love found a late game-winning drive as the Packers won 24-22 to join the Texans on 5-2 and earn their first win over a side with a winning record this season.
Packers running back Josh Jacobs ended an unwanted streak as he scored a touchdown reception on his 212th career catch – with his 211 catches without scoring an NFL record.
Century for Allen, QB injuries elsewhere
Allen celebrated his 100th regular season start for the Bills with his 68th victory as two touchdown passes took his total to 236 – just one fewer than Mahomes managed in his first 100 games and the third-most in NFL history.
New signing Amari Cooper’s first catch with the Bills was a touchdown grab as his new team advanced to 5-2 and sink the Tennessee Titans, who have a solid defence but poor attack, to 1-5.
Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson’s season could well be over after he was carted off with an Achilles tendon injury during their defeat by Ohio rivals Cincinnati.
And there was a potentially big injury to Washington Commandeers rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, who hurt his ribs and left the field early in their dominant 40-7 victory over Carolina.
NFL round-up – Saquon stars in New York return
Barkley was booed by Giants fans as he returned to New York with bitter rivals Philadelphia, and responded with a touchdown and a monster 176 yards rushing – the second-most by a player against his former team in NFL history.
Aaron Rodgers was all smiles when the Jets traded for his former Packers star receiver Davante Adams, but their reunion was ruined by a 37-15 loss at the Pittsburgh Steelers – who had Russell Wilson making his first start of the season.
Miami’s quarterback struggles continued as they lost Tua Tagovailoa’s back-up Tyler Huntley during another sobering defeat – this time 16-10 at the Indianapolis Colts.
Without Tagovailoa, last season’s second best scorers are bottom in scoring this season having managed just 70 points. They scored 70 in one game against Denver last season.
The Seattle Seahawks sprung the upset of the night with a dominant 34-14 win at the Atlanta Falcons – who had won three in a row previously.
There was no surprise though to see the Las Vegas Raiders throw in another bad game as they went down 20-15 at the Los Angeles Rams.
NFL results – Week Seven
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Seattle Seahawks 34-14 Atlanta Falcons
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Tennessee Titans 10-34 Buffalo Bills
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Cincinnati Bengals 21-14 Cleveland Browns
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Houston Texans 22-24 Green Bay Packers
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Miami Dolphins 10-16 Indianapolis Colts
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Detroit Lions 31-29 Minnesota Vikings
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Philadelphia Eagles 28-3 New York Giants
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Las Vegas Raiders 15-20 Los Angeles Rams
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Carolina Panthers 7-40 Washington Commanders
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Kansas City Chiefs 28-18 San Francisco 49ers
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New York Jets 15-37 Pittsburgh Steelers
