NFL Winners and Losers: Lamar Jackson cannot beat the Kansas City Chiefs again while Puka Nacua and Jaxson Dart shine | NFL News

Patrick Mahomes toppled Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens yet again, while the Atlanta Falcons and their star-studded offense finally feasted. Here are some of the winners and losers from Sunday in the NFL…

Winners

Jaxson Dart

It would not be the New York Giants if a breathe of fresh air did not arrive accompanied by a major setback, new life at the quarterback position overshadowed on Sunday by a suspected torn ACL for star wide receiver Malik Nabers. Cruel and untimely. Nonetheless, the Giants still managed to deliver what will go down as one of the finer moments in the Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen era, no matter how much longer that might last.

Dart injected long-lost oomph into a long-stagnant Giants offense as he completed 13 of 20 passes for 111 yards and a touchdown while also rushing for 54 yards and a score to lead New York to a 21-18 win over the Los Angeles Chargers. Sure, modest numbers on paper but it was the forgotten sense of excitement that mattered most as the second-round rookie made his first start since taking over from Russell Wilson, becoming the first quarterback in the last 20 years to beat a 3-0 or better team on his first career start. He had set the tone early by orchestrating a nine-play 75-yard drive culminating in his 15-yard scoring run; Giants fans could not remember what a drive such as that looked like.

Shane Bowen’s defense meanwhile starred to thwart Herbert’s commanding start to the campaign as Abdul Carter, Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux combined for 20 pressures. The Chargers quarterback threw two interceptions on the day, including one from big defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence that he almost returned for a dream touchdown.

The Falcons offense

Atlanta were dreaming of this moment. The moment their talent-rich offense played like it. The moment a star-studded pool of weapons matched their reputations and projections with meaningful numbers. The moment their offense feasted as one to bury a team.

Drake London made eight catches for 110 yards and a touchdown, Bijan Robinson had 181 scrimmage yards and a touchdown, Kyle Pitts had five catches for 70 yards, Tyler Allgeier had 51 rushing yards and a touchdown and quarterback Michael Penix Jr steadied last week’s rocking ship by going 20 of 26 for 313 yards, two touchdowns and an interception as the Falcons beat the Jayden Daniels-less Washington Commanders. It was the perfect response to last Sunday’s bizarre 30-0 blowout debacle against the Carolina Panthers, who were just dismantled 42-13 by the New England Patriots; football, you just never know. Damning inconsistencies have made for obscure projections of this Falcons team, but Sunday was an example of efficiency and ruthless prolificacy they must seek to emulate. While Robinson reminded all that he remains a defining focal point of the Falcons set-up, Penix Jr drew on his arm talent with brave throws downfield and into challenging avenues across the game. Fearless is his thing. And when it’s on, it’s really on.

Puka Nacua

No wide receiver in the NFL is playing better football than Los Angeles Rams talisman Nacua, who leads the league in catches (42), targets (49) and receiving yards (503) while also holding the tied NFL record for the most catches through the first four games. Nacua posted NFL rookie records in receptions and receiving yards in 2023 before being held to 990 yards in 11 games due to injury in 2024. But he has resumed his lightning start to life in the NFL this season and finds himself on pace to surpass 2,000 yards after making 13 catches for a career-high 170 yards and a touchdown in Sunday’s 27-20 win over the Indianapolis Colts.

He is a quarterback’s dream as a zone coverage crusher with a knack for buying separation, one of the safest pairs of hands in football and the ability to wrestle contested catches in his favour. He isn’t the fastest, nor is he the stronger, or the biggest, but he plays the position beautifully. Nacua now also notably has eight 100-yard receiving games since the beginning of last season, more than any other player, after helping the Rams end Daniel Jones and the Colts’ perfect start to the campaign. The league wondered if the arrival of Davante Adams may see the Rams stray from their focal point, but it has only seemed to elevate Nacua as something of a perfect complement.

Losers

Lamar Jackson

Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo has concocted a fiercely-coveted formula with which to nullify Jackson. By now it is no joke to speculate about mystical arts in which only he is seemingly trained; Spagnuolo has had the double league MVP’s number for some time now, and he had it yet again on Sunday as the Chiefs threatened to ignite their campaign.

Jackson fell to 1-6 against the Chiefs in his career as Baltimore were swept aside 37-20 to fall to 1-3 on the year, among his recent shortcomings against Kansas City being an agonising AFC Championship Game defeat back in January 2024. He is one of the greatest quarterback talents in NFL history armed with every weapon in the book, but he just cannot work out the Spagnuolo puzzle. Jackson had zero answers for Spagnuolo’s persistent blitzes as he was pressured on 48.1 per cent of dropbacks while being sacked three times on his way to finishing 14 of 20 for 147 yards, a touchdown and an interception before exiting with a hamstring injury late in the third quarter. Kansas City’s linebackers were expertly primed to quash Jackson’s ground threat outside the pocket as well as restricting Derrick Henry to 42 yards in the defense’s best performance of the season.

More uncomfortable questions of Zach Orr loom as his last-ranked Ravens defense endured another miserable outing, surrendering 382 yards to a Chiefs team that has hobbled through the first three weeks on offense. Patrick Mahomes threw for 270 yards and four touchdowns in a subtle ‘have it’ to those too quick to squeeze him out of the best quarterback conversation alongside Jackson and Josh Allen. He’s still the guy.

The Tennessee Titans

“If we keeping it a buck right now, we’re ass,” said Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward.

The No 1 overall draft pick had just gone a measly 10 of 26 for 108 yards and an interception as the Titans were beaten 26-0 by the Houston Texans. The result came after Brian Callahan announced he was handing over play-calling duties to quarterbacks coach Bo Hardegree during the week; it didn’t make a difference.

“We’re 0-4. At this point, we have nothing to lose. We’ve dropped a quarter of our f****** games and have yet to do anything. We have to lock, especially myself. In all three phases, we have to play together and have not done it this year yet. I just want to win. When is the last time Tennessee won? I don’t know. Everybody in this locker room, we have to win.”

It took all of four weeks for the rookie quarterback to realise the enormity and the full frightening extent of the mess in which he finds himself in Nashville. Callahan’s tenure as Titans head coach is snowballing towards an unflattering, forgettable conclusion, but while it would be easy to look at the current mess with a grimace, the franchise and its fans will hold encouragement they have seen enough to believe in Ward. His menu is loaded with eye-catching throws defiant of angles, alignments, pressures, platforms and traditional football lessons that teach you not to throw across your body – the league has already learned that he will do it anyway. There is a spark there, but he is surrounded by nothing.

Brian Flores

Bad days for a Flores defense have become something of an anomaly, for the Minnesota Vikings’ all-blitzing coverage-disguising string-puller tends to torment much of the league for fun. He did just that in October last year when his unit intercepted Aaron Rodgers three times in a win over the New York Jets at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium; it had served as a prominent talking point heading into Sunday’s historic regular-season matchup at Dublin’s Croke Park.

This time, it was to be Rodgers who prevailed. The 41-year-old rolled back the years as he proved he can still decipher a defensive maze as swiftly and as efficiently as any quarterback in the league while guiding the Pittsburgh Steelers to a 24-21 victory. There had been a moment midway through the first quarter when Rodgers directed a fist pump towards his sideline in mini-celebration having identified Flores’ intentions to retreat simulated rushers off the line of scrimmage while rolling his coverage look. Rodgers found his hot route on the slant to move the chains and extend a drive ending in Kenneth Gainwell’s opening touchdown.

Minnesota’s defense, granted, at times was undone by a tough day for Kevin O’Connell’s offense in the face of a rampant Steelers pass rush. The Carson Wentz experience might have been perfectly typified in the second half when he ate back-to-back sacks before throwing a horrendous interception to TJ Watt as the dwarfing outside linebacker stared him down on the line of scrimmage. He’s hard to miss. The Steelers had been tasked with honouring their Irish roots, and they could not have played with more pride if they tried. Nick Herbig was flying around like his passport home depended on it, Payton Wilson was a consistent pest during a performance that saw him reach 22.48mph to miraculously chase down Jordan Addison on an 81-yard catch-and-run bound for the end zone, and Kenny ‘split the G’ Gainwell was the surprise star of Dublin.

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