NFL Week 3: Broncos Beat Rams 30-26, Commanders End Seahawks Streak

Twelve of 14 games finished within eight points to tie an NFL mark as Denver edged the Rams, Washington upset champion Seattle and Baltimore won in Rio de Janeiro.

The NFL's third Sunday brought a share of league history, with 12 of 14 games finishing within eight points to match the single-day record for one-score outcomes. Five clubs stayed perfect, the defending Super Bowl champions lost, and Brazil hosted the second of a record nine international games this season.

Denver's matchup with the Los Angeles Rams paired two teams that fell in last season's conference title games and, after sluggish openers, won in week two. The Rams controlled the first half and carried a 16-0 lead into the break, but the Broncos pulled even in the third quarter to set up a frantic finish.

Over the final five minutes the lead changed hands three times. Broncos safety Talanoa Hufanga opened the stretch by taking an interception back 66 yards for a touchdown, and after Matt Stafford — last season's league MVP — answered with a 48-yard scoring pass to Konata Mumpfield, Denver quarterback Bo Nix finished a long drive by reaching the end zone. Stafford then had 47 seconds and drove the Rams into scoring range, but his throw toward the end zone from 19 yards with two seconds remaining was picked off by Hufanga again, wrapping up a 30-26 win. It was the first multi-interception game of Hufanga's six-year career.

Washington played without quarterback Jayden Daniels, who dislocated his left elbow last week but could return within three weeks, and still handed defending champion Seattle a 33-31 defeat at home. Veteran reserve Marcus Mariota threw three touchdown passes as the Commanders built a 24-10 advantage, and after Seattle tied the game in the fourth quarter, Sam Darnold — back after missing a game — threw his second interception, which linebacker Kain Medrano ran back 50 yards for a touchdown. Washington held on from there, ending Seattle's 12-game winning streak — a run that included last season's championship — and leaving the Commanders at 1-2.

New England, the club Seattle beat in that Super Bowl, dropped a 35-6 decision at Jacksonville and benched quarterback Drake Maye along the way. After committing only 11 turnovers last season, Maye already has seven this year, three of them coming against the Jaguars.

The league's return to Brazil brought a first game to Rio de Janeiro after two seasons in Sao Paulo, and the field-condition concerns surrounding the Maracana proved unfounded. Brazilian footballer Neymar watched from the stands, with Ricky Martin and Pedro Sampaio performing at halftime. Two Derrick Henry touchdowns had Baltimore ahead of Dallas 24-13 in the third quarter before the Cowboys, making only the second international appearance in franchise history, climbed back into the game.

The fourth quarter brought two more changes of lead, and a Dallas field goal with seven seconds left tied the score and seemed set to force overtime. Instead, Lamar Jackson completed a 27-yard pass over the middle to move the Ravens into kicking range, and Tyler Loop converted from 56 yards as time ran out for a 34-31 victory that left all four AFC North teams at 2-1.

Deshaun Watson kept winning over a fan base that cheered his 2024 season-ending injury and booed his preseason return. One week after directing a comeback at Tampa Bay, the 31-year-old did so again in a 21-18 win over Carolina in Cleveland's first home game, escaping the pocket to deliver a 14-yard touchdown to tight end Harold Fannin Jr at the end of a 65-yard drive that decided it. "The past is the past," Watson said. "I know we've been through some ups and downs. But if we look forward, build off this win, come back Thursday night and get another big one, we can make something special for this city."

Cleveland hosts Pittsburgh on Thursday, with the Steelers arriving off a 30-27 home win over Cincinnati in which Aaron Rodgers threw three touchdown passes — after their offense had produced just one through two games — and Derrick Harmon clinched things with a strip-sack of Joe Burrow. Three of the league's five unbeatens are regular playoff qualifiers: Buffalo overcame a 10-0 deficit to beat the Los Angeles Chargers 24-16 behind two Josh Allen touchdowns, Travis Kelce scored in Kansas City's 24-10 win at Miami, and Brock Purdy threw four touchdown passes in San Francisco's 36-30 home victory over Arizona. Minnesota, expected by few to be 3-0, won 23-16 at Tampa Bay.