Tom Brady ended his four-game losing run against the New Orleans Saints as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won an ill-tempered game 20-10.
Brady’s Buccaneers are joined on 2-0 by the Miami Dolphins after they came from 21 points down in the fourth quarter to stun the Baltimore Ravens in one of a number of big comebacks on Sunday.
The Arizona Cardinals came from 20-0 down at half-time to beat the Las Vegas Raiders in overtime, and the New York Jets scored 14 late points to beat the Cleveland Browns.
Defending champions the Los Angeles Rams held off a strong Atlanta Falcons finish and the Dallas Cowboys upset the Cincinnati Bengals with the last kick of the game.
The San Francisco 49ers won their game with the Seattle Seahawks but lost their starting quarterback, while Russell Wilson was booed by his own fans despite leading the Denver Broncos to a scrappy win over the Houston Texans.
Brady ends Saints run as Packers continue Bears streak
Brady’s four straight regular season defeats against the Saints was the longest run of the seven-time Super Bowl champion’s career, and he again struggled until a late fourth-quarter touchdown throw to Breshad Perriman provided the breakthrough.
A fourth-quarter scuffle that saw both Tampa Bay’s Mike Evans and Marshon Lattimore of the Saints ejected seemed to spark something in the visitors, with Brady putting them ahead soon after before the Buccaneers defence sealed the game.
It meant Brady became the first player to record a 2-0 start in 10 NFL seasons.
The Green Bay Packers managed to maintain their winning run over oldest rivals Chicago, with Aaron Rodgers engineering a 27-10 victory at Lambeau Field to make it eight in a row against the Bears.
Running back Aaron Jones scored twice as the Packers responded to a bad opening weekend loss by dominating the 205th game of the NFL’s oldest and most-played rivalry.
Big comebacks and frantic finishes in week two
The 2006 season had been the last time a team came from 21 points behind in the fourth quarter to win, but that’s exactly what the Miami Dolphins did to beat the Baltimore Ravens 42-38.
Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa threw six touchdown passes to outshine a stellar display from opposite number Lamar Jackson, who had put Baltimore into a big lead with three touchdown throws and a rushing touchdown of his own.
The Cleveland Browns looked well on their way to a first 2-0 start since 1993 when they led the New York Jets by 13 points with under 90 seconds left on the clock.
However, Joe Flacco found two touchdown passes, to Corey Davis and Garrett Wilson, as the Jets secured an unlikely 31-30 victory in Cleveland.
Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray showed why the team handed him a huge new contract in the summer as he inspired a 29-23 win at the Las Vegas Raiders after being 20-0 down at half-time.
Murray scored a touchdown on the last play of the game to force overtime – where Byron Murphy ran in a fumble recovery to win it for Arizona.
Coupled with Miami’s victory, it’s the first time in NFL history that two teams have overturned 20-point half-time deficits to win on the same day.
Super Bowl champions survive, but Bengals in a spot of bother
The Los Angeles Rams raced into a 28-3 lead in the third quarter but were made to sweat it out by the Atlanta Falcons before holding on to a 31-27 win at SoFi Stadium.
Super Bowl runners-up the Cincinnati Bengals are the first AFC champions to start 0-2 since 1999 after they lost to a last-gasp kick for the second week running.
The Dallas Cowboys were big home underdogs but their defence sacked Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow six times before Brett Maher kicked a 50-yard field goal as time expired to win 20-17.
The 49ers lost their young quarterback Trey Lance for the season as he broke his ankle early in their 27-7 victory over the Seattle Seahawks, but in Jimmy Garoppolo they have someone who has already taken them to the Super Bowl once before.
Russell Wilson was booed by his old fans in Seattle last week, and his new supporters in Denver also voiced their frustration as the Broncos laboured to a 19-6 win over the Houston Texans.
Patriots pip Pittsburgh as Jags haunt Colts again
The New England Patriots avoided a first 0-2 start since 2001 as they edged a defensive battle with the Steelers, 17-14 in Pittsburgh.
Things went from bad to worse for the Indianapolis Colts, who followed up a tie with the Houston Texans last week with an embarrassing 24-0 defeat at the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Colts lost out on last season’s play-offs because of a humiliating final game defeat in Jacksonville, and their bogey side struck again as the Jaguars made it eight straight home wins against Indianapolis.
The Detroit Lions scored at least 35 points in three straight games for the first time since 1953 as they defeated the Washington Commanders 36-27.
Elsewhere, the New York Giants defeated the Carolina Panthers 19-16.
