(WGEN/AP) - Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen was back to himself after a terrible Week 1 performance against the New York Jets.
New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones and Tennessee Titans signal caller Ryan Tannehill also rebounded from awful games to lead comeback wins, while Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith got back on the winning track.
Sunday was filled with impressive bounce-back performances.
The Bills, Giants and Titans avoided 0-2 starts, as did the defending champion Chiefs and Seahawks.
Allen, coming off a four-turnover effort in Buffalo’s disappointing loss to the Jets, completed 83.8% of his passes for 274 yards and three touchdowns with no turnovers to lead the Bills to a 38-10 rout of the Raiders.
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“The thing is with this game, man, it gives you the lowest lows and it gives you the highest highs,” Allen said.
Jones, who posted a career-low 32.4 passer rating in the Giants’ 40-0 loss to Dallas last week, led New York back from a 20-0 halftime deficit to a 31-28 win over the Arizona Cardinals. Jones threw for 321 yards and two touchdowns, while running for 59 yards and a score.
“We got a resilient, tough-minded group, so we trust everyone to get back focused and know what they got to do to make the play,” Jones said.
Tannehill was 20-of-24 (83.3%) for 246 yards and one touchdown in Tennessee’s 24-21 overtime win over the Las Angeles Chargers. Last week, Tannehill threw three picks and had a career-worst 28.8 passer rating in a 16-15 loss to the New Orleans Saints.
“I knew last week wasn’t who I am as a player,” Tannehill said. “I knew I was going to bounce back this week. But it’s nice to feel that support from your teammates throughout the week.”
Smith had 328 yards passing and two touchdowns, leading Seattle to a 37-31 overtime win in Detroit over the Lions. Mahomes and Kansas City’s offense still aren’t clicking but he threw for 305 yards and two scores, including one to the returning tight end Travis Kelce, in a 17-9 win against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Several other quarterbacks, including Lamar Jackson, Dak Prescott, Baker Mayfield and Sam Howell, stepped up to help their teams get to 2-0.
Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens shook off a rusty first game and upset Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals on the road, 27-24. Jackson tossed two touchdowns, including a perfect 17-yarder to Nelson Agholor for an over-the-shoulder catch in the fourth quarter.
Prescott didn’t have to do too much last week when the Dallas Cowboys dominated the Giants. Dallas routed the New York Jets, 30-10, and Prescott still wasn’t happy with the offense’s red zone efficiency. However, he was 31-of-38 for 255 yards and two touchdowns against the NFL’s No. 1 pass defense in 2022.
“We left a lot out there still,” Prescott said. “That’s the standard of this offense, standard of this team. We expect to score touchdowns on every drive. ... but overall a very efficient team win.”
Mayfield overcame a slow start and played efficient in a road win over the Minnesota Vikings in Week 1. He followed up with a big game in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 27-17 victory over the Chicago Bears. Mayfield had 317 yards passing, one touchdown and, again, played mistake-free ball.
The Buccaneers are 2-0 in their first season without Tom Brady.
“Our guys are motivated,” Mayfield said. “That’s kind of been the narrative the whole time that (there were) low expectations for this team. But, inside of our locker room, we have an extremely high standard. So, we’ve got to continue to grow.”
Mayfield sees plenty of room for improvement. His confidence level is high, as usual.
“When we grow in this offense, continue to get better and better, we’re going to be able to do whatever we want,” Mayfield said.
Howell and the Washington Commanders showed plenty of growth and resilience in Denver, rallying from a 21-3 deficit for a 35-33 victory over the Broncos. Howell had 299 yards passing and two touchdowns, leading Washington to its first 2-0 start since 2011.
The Saints and Cleveland Browns will look to join them Monday night, while the Pittsburgh Steelers and Carolina Panthers try to avoid going 0-2.