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Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger starred. SIPA USA/PA Images
Seventh Heaven

Steelers edge Ravens to maintain perfect start to NFL season, Chiefs win and Patriots lose again

Pittsburgh remain the only unbeaten team in the league.

LAST UPDATE | Nov 2nd 2020, 8:45 AM

PITTSBURGH’S BEN ROETHLISBERGER threw for 182 yards and two touchdowns, and the Steelers remained the NFL’s only undefeated club by edging the host Baltimore Ravens 28-24 on Sunday.

Pittsburgh’s Robert Spillane returned an interception at 33 yards for a touchdown only 54 seconds into the game as the Steelers improved to 7-0 on the NFL season, their best start since 1978.

“Much respect to Baltimore, they bring the best out in us,” said Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin. “This rivalry is what it is. Hopefully, it was entertaining to football fans worldwide.”

Lamar Jackson threw for 208 yards and two Baltimore touchdowns and ran 16 times for 65 yards, but the Ravens fell to 5-2 and two games adrift of the Steelers in the AFC North division.

Baltimore seized a 17-7 half-time lead on Jackson’s six-yard touchdown pass to Miles Boykin, a Gus Edwards one-yard touchdown run and a 51-yard Justin Tucker field goal.

But Roethlisberger, who completed 21 of 32 passes, found Eric Ebron on an 18-yard touchdown pass, and James Conner added a one-yard touchdown run to lift the Steelers ahead 21-17 entering the fourth quarter.

The Ravens answered on Jackson’s three-yard touchdown pass to Marquise Brown, but “Big Ben” struck again midway into the final period on an eight-yard touchdown toss to Chase Claypool, and a Jackson throw into the end zone on the final play fell incomplete to seal Pittsburgh’s triumph.

“It’s big,” linebacker T.J. Watt said. “These are very hard wins to come by in the National Football League. Every team is phenomenal, and an in-division game like this, a rivalry like this, to be able to walk out of a building on the road with a win gives us a lot of momentum.” 

- Cook makes history -

In other NFL contests, the Kansas City Chiefs improved to 7-1 by routing the winless New York Jets 35-9; Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints beat the Chicago Bears 26-23 in overtime; and Buffalo moved to 6-2 by edging New England 24-21, dropping the Patriots to 2-5.

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes passed for 416 yards, going 31 of 42 with five touchdowns in the Chiefs’ lopsided win over the Jets at Kansas City, Missouri.

The victory allowed Chiefs coach Andy Reid to earn his 229th career victory, tying legendary Green Bay coach Curly Lambeau for fifth on the all-time NFL list.

At one stage, Mahomes completed passes on all six plays of an 83-yard scoring march. He connected on a 26-yard touchdown to Demarcus Robinson for a 28-9 lead.

Tight end Travis Kelce caught eight passes for 109 yards.

Playing his second game since he was released by the Jets and acquired by the Chiefs, running back Le’Veon Bell gained just 38 yards.

Upset losses saw the Green Bay Packers and Tennessee Titans each fall to 5-2, the Packers falling 28-22 to visiting rival Minnesota while the Titans were downed 31-20 at Cincinnati.

Rookie quarterback Joe Burrow threw for 249 yards and two touchdowns as the Bengals stopped the Titans at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati.

Burrow completed 26 of 37 passes with no interceptions, leading Cincinnati (2-5-1) to its best performance of the year by surprising the AFC South leaders.

Derrick Henry rushed for 112 yards and a touchdown for the Titans (5-2), who lost their second straight game after a 5-0 start.

Vikings running back Dalvin Cook, who was playing in his first game since suffering an adductor strain injury three weeks ago, made history in Minnesota’s upset win over Green Bay.

Cook became the first player to score a touchdown on each of his team’s first four possessions of a game since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970.

In Miami, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa won his first career NFL start, leading the Miami Dolphins to a 28-17 victory over the Los Angeles Rams.

Tagovailoa threw his first NFL touchdown pass to receiver DeVante Parker and then the Dolphins’ solid defense and special teams unit took over.

© – AFP, 2020 

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