The Denver Broncos produced one of the most dramatic finishes of the NFL season so far, edging the Los Angeles Rams 30-26 as the Seattle Seahawks’ 12-game winning streak came to an end on a thrilling Sunday of action.
Denver overcame a 16-0 half-time deficit before Talanoa Hufanga delivered the decisive moment with his second interception of the game in the final seconds to deny the Rams a late comeback.
The Broncos and Rams, who both lost last season’s Conference Championship games, traded three lead changes in the final five minutes in a contest that underlined their ambitions for another deep playoff run.
Hufanga first returned an interception 66 yards for a touchdown to put Denver ahead.
Los Angeles responded almost immediately, with quarterback Matt Stafford driving the Rams downfield before Konata Mumpfield caught a 48-yard touchdown to restore their lead.
Denver answered again, with quarterback Bo Nix reaching the end zone after another long drive.
Stafford then had 47 seconds to put the Rams in position for a winning score. He reached the Denver 19-yard line, but Hufanga intercepted him with two seconds remaining to secure the Broncos’ victory.
The drama was repeated elsewhere as the defending Super Bowl champions, the Seattle Seahawks, suffered their first defeat of the season.
The Washington Commanders, playing without injured quarterback Jayden Daniels, shocked Seattle 33-31 after building a 24-10 lead before the champions fought back.
Seattle levelled the game in the fourth quarter, but quarterback Sam Darnold then threw an interception that linebacker Kain Medrano returned 50 yards for a touchdown, giving Washington the decisive advantage.
The defeat ended Seattle’s 12-game winning streak, which included their Super Bowl triumph last season.
There was another high-scoring thriller in Rio de Janeiro, where the Baltimore Ravens edged the Dallas Cowboys 34-31 in the NFL’s first game at the iconic Maracana stadium.
The Ravens led 24-13 in the third quarter after two Derrick Henry touchdowns, but Dallas fought back and twice took the lead in the final period.
A Cowboys field goal with seven seconds left appeared to send the game into overtime after levelling the scores.
Lamar Jackson, however, immediately moved Baltimore into field-goal range with a 27-yard completion, allowing Tyler Loop to kick a 56-yard winner as time expired.
The result left all four AFC North teams with 2-1 records.
Elsewhere, the Las Vegas Raiders continued their surprising unbeaten start by rallying from 27-16 down to defeat the New Orleans Saints 35-27.
Veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins threw three touchdown passes for the third consecutive game as the Raiders improved to 3-0, matching their entire win total from last season.
The Buffalo Bills also maintained their perfect start, recovering from a 10-0 deficit to beat the Los Angeles Chargers 24-16, while the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Miami Dolphins 24-10.
Brock Purdy threw four touchdown passes as the San Francisco 49ers beat the Arizona Cardinals 36-30, while the Minnesota Vikings moved to 3-0 with a 23-16 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers despite losing receiver Justin Jefferson to an early ankle injury.
The Cleveland Browns also came from behind to beat the Carolina Panthers 21-18, with Deshaun Watson completing the comeback with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Harold Fannin Jr after a 65-yard winning drive.
The Pittsburgh Steelers edged the Cincinnati Bengals 30-27, with Aaron Rodgers throwing three touchdown passes and Derrick Harmon sealing the win with a strip-sack of Joe Burrow.
The New England Patriots, meanwhile, endured another difficult outing as the Jacksonville Jaguars thrashed them 35-6. Patriots quarterback Drake Maye threw three interceptions and has now committed seven turnovers this season after recording only 11 last year.
Twelve of Sunday’s 14 games were decided by eight points or fewer, tying the NFL record for the most one-score games in a single day.
The Philadelphia Eagles had an opportunity to join the group of unbeaten teams when they faced the Chicago Bears in the final game of Week 3 on Monday.
