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The Detroit Lions withstood a fourth-quarter Los Angeles Rams comeback to snatch an opening-day victory in overtime.
The Rams fought back from 17-3 down late in the third quarter and the Lions needed a field goal by Jake Bates 17 seconds from time to level matters.
David Montgomery claimed the win for the Lions, running in from a yard in overtime after a four-play drive to start the extra period.
Touchdowns from Jahmyr Gibbs and Jameson Williams, on a 52-yard pass from former Rams quarterback Jared Goff, had given the Lions a 14-point cushion.
Kyren Williams and Cooper Kupp replied, either side of a Joshua Karty field goal, to swing the match before the Lions’ late rally.
The Dallas Cowboys had a comfortable opening win, beating the Cleveland Browns 33-17 hours after signing quarterback Dak Prescott to a record-breaking contract.
Prescott threw for a touchdown and 179 yards as the Cowboys raced out to a 27-3 lead following KaVontae Turpin’s 60-yard punt return for a touchdown, the quarterback spending much of the second half watching from the sidelines.
His $240million (£182.7million)), four-year contract makes him the first player to average $60million (£45.7million) per season.
Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson, playing his first game since November after a broken shoulder, threw two interceptions as he was sacked six times by a dominant Cowboys defence.
Miami Dolphins star Tyreek Hill played a starring role in a 20-17 comeback victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars, having been released after he was briefly detained by police for a traffic incident while on the way to Hard Rock Stadium.
Brian Thomas and Travis Etienne Jr scored touchdowns to give the Jaguars an early lead but the Dolphins responded through De’Von Achane.
Hill then took centre stage. Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa found his wide receiver and he charged away for an 80-yard touchdown to cap off a fine 130-yard performance.
Baker Mayfield threw for four touchdowns as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers eased past the Washington Commanders 37-20.
Mayfield found Mike Evans twice for scores as he completed 24 of 30 passes, outshining 2023 Heisman Trophy winner and number two overall draft pick Jayden Daniels who ran for a pair of touchdowns on his NFL debut for the Commanders.
The Seattle Seahawks came from behind to beat the Denver Broncos while JK Dobbins rushed for 135 yards and a touchdown in the second half as the Los Angeles Chargers beat the Las Vegas Raiders 22-10 in Jim Harbaugh’s first match as coach – avenging a 63-21 defeat last season.
The Minnesota Vikings scored four touchdowns as they blew away the New York Giants 28-6 at the MetLife Stadium.
Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold was the star, completing 19 of 24 passes for 208 yards.
The Atlanta Falcons scored the only touchdown of their encounter with the Pittsburgh Steelers but went down 18-10.
Kirk Cousins threw to Kyle Pitts for the only touchdown of the contest to give the Falcons a half-time lead in a closely fought first period.
But the Falcons were scoreless in the second half and Steelers kicker Chris Boswell did the damage for his side with six field goals.
Josh Allen threw two touchdowns and ran two in himself as the Buffalo Bills came from 17-3 down against the Arizona Cardinals to win 34-28.
Scores from James Conner and Kyler Murray helped give the Cardinals a 14-point advantage but Allen threw touchdown passes to Khalil Shakir and Mack Hollins while adding two himself to help put the Bills 31-20 up.
A late Cardinals touchdown made it a contest in the closing stages but the Bills held on as Allen finished with 18 of 23 passing for 232 yards alongside 39 rushing yards.
Last season’s basement side Carolina Panthers were thrashed 47-10 by the New Orleans Saints.
The Saints were out of sight before the half-time interval after establishing a 30-3 lead as the Panthers never got to grips with the contest.
Saints quarterback Derek Carr pulled all the strings in a crushing victory and completed 19 of 23 passes for 200 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions, while Alvin Kamara racked up 15 carries for 83 yards while scoring a touchdown.
The Chicago Bears rallied from 17-0 down to beat the Tennessee Titans 24-17 to open their campaign.
The Titans were red-hot in the first half and limited the Bears to just a solitary field goal, but that all changed in the second half.
Chicago’s fortunes started to change when Jonathan Owens returned the ball 21 yards for a touchdown and a pair of Cairo Santos field goals pulled them to within a point.
Cornerback Tyrique Stevenson intercepted and returned 43 yards for the go-ahead touchdown, and the Titans could not respond.
Joe Mixon and Stefon Diggs led the Houston Texans to a narrow 29-27 victory over the Indianapolis Colts.
Mixon rushed for 159 yards and a touchdown while Diggs caused carnage with two touchdown catches to give the Texans a ninth consecutive division win on the road.
The New England Patriots clung on to earn a 16-10 win over the Cincinnati Bengals to give head coach Jerod Mayo a first victory in charge.
