Chase Claypool didn’t wait long to set a Canadian NFL record.
In just his second career game with Pittsburgh, the Steelers receiver had an 84-yard touchdown reception — the longest TD from scrimmage in league history by a Canadian-born player — in Sunday’s 26-21 victory over the Denver Broncos.
Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger hit the Abbotsford, B.C., product with a rainbow down the left sideline that put the Steelers ahead 13-3 midway through the second quarter.
The 22-year-old Claypool finished the game with three receptions for a total of 88 yards. He has five receptions for 127 yards in his first two career games.
1st career TD for 🇨🇦’s <a href=”https://twitter.com/ChaseClaypool?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@ChaseClaypool</a> and it was INCREDIBLE. 🤩 <a href=”https://t.co/41hnuiqefA”>pic.twitter.com/41hnuiqefA</a>
—@NFLCanada
Claypool, picked in the second round of this year’s NFL draft by the Steelers, was a big-play performer in college at Notre Dame.
He was the school’s leading receiver in 2019 with 66 catches for 1,037 yards and 13 TDs, and finished with 150 career receptions for 2,159 yards and 19 touchdowns.
When the NFL tweeted about his milestone TD on Sunday, Claypool responded simply: “Ohhhhh Canadaaaa.”
Ohhhhh Canadaaaa <a href=”https://t.co/9IprvpYfPY”>https://t.co/9IprvpYfPY</a>
—@ChaseClaypool
Seahawks 35, Patriots 30
Cam Newton was stopped at the 1-yard line on the final play and the Seattle Seahawks held off the New England Patriots 35-30.
Newton led New England 80 yards in the closing moments, trying to spoil the performance of Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson, who matched his career high with five touchdown passes.
Newton and the Patriots reached the 1 on a pass to N’Keal Harry with 3 seconds left. On the final play, Newton tried to run power to the left, but was upended by L.J. Collier in the biggest play of his young career. Newton, who had two rushing touchdowns in the game, never got close to the goal line and Seattle’s sideline erupted in celebration.
Newton was excellent in his first road game with the Patriots throwing for 397 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He ran for another 47 yards, but couldn’t get the last three feet to give New England a victory.
Cowboys 40, Falcons 39
Greg Zuerlein kicked a 46-yard field goal as time expired after Dallas recovered and onside kick, and the Cowboys overcame four fumbles and a 20-point deficit in the first quarter to beat the Atlanta Falcons 40-39 in coach Mike McCarthy’s home debut.
The Falcons were still up 12 in the fourth quarter when Dak Prescott became the first quarterback in NFL history to pass for more than 400 yards and rush for three touchdowns in the same game, getting the Cowboys (1-1) within two.
C.J. Goodwin recovered the onside kick with 1:48 remaining after several Falcons let it roll, and rookie receiver CeeDee Lamb’s 24-yard catch got the Cowboys in field goal position.
Matt Ryan threw four touchdown passes, two off lost fumbles from the Cowboys, on the way to a 20-0 lead in the first quarter. But the Falcons couldn’t avoid their first 0-2 start under coach Dan Quinn in a performance reminiscent of their blown 28-3 lead in a Super Bowl loss to New England in Houston.
The successful onside kick for Dallas came after two failed fake punts and a gamble from McCarthy in going for the 2-point conversion.
Kansas City 23, Chargers 20 (OT)
Harrison Butker kicked a 58-yard field goal with 1:55 remaining in overtime, and Kansas City survived a superlative first start by rookie Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert.
Butker’s winner was his third field goal of the day and his second from 58 yards, which tied a Kansas record for distance. He nailed a 30-yarder on the final play of regulation.
In overtime, Butker sent the ball through the uprights from 53 yards, but KC was called for a false start. Then the Chargers called timeout, giving him a rehearsal kick from 58 that he also made before the one that counted.
Patrick Mahomes completed less than half of his passes in the first half for only the third time in his career but rallied to finish 27 of 47 for 302 yards and two touchdowns. Tyreek Hill (five catches, 99 yards) and Travis Kelce (nine receptions, 90 yards) each had TD receptions.
49ers 31, Jets 13
Raheem Mostert ran for an 80-yard touchdown on San Francisco’s first play from scrimmage and Jimmy Garoppolo threw two TD passes — before both players sat out the second half with injuries.
It was a costly victory for San Francisco, which was already short-handed before losing Garoppolo to an ankle injury and Mostert to an injured knee. Defensive end Nick Bosa and defensive tackle Solomon Thomas were both carted off the field two plays apart with left knee injuries in the first quarter.
The 49ers (1-1) also came in without star tight end George Kittle (knee), wide receiver Deebo Samuel (foot), cornerback Richard Sherman (calf) and defensive end Dee Ford (neck).
It didn’t matter against the Jets (0-2), who have also been hit hard by injuries and couldn’t muster much.
Ravens 33, Texans 16
Lamar Jackson threw a touchdown pass, Mark Ingram ran for a TD and the Ravens added a score on defence.
The victory is Baltimore’s 14th straight in the regular season, the longest streak in the NFL since since Carolina won 18 in a row in 2014-15.
The Ravens (2-0) were up by 10 early in the fourth quarter when Ingram took a direct snap on fourth-and-1 and dashed 30 yards to make it 30-13. Ingram punched and roundhouse-kicked a picture of Houston’s mascot on the wall in the end zone to celebrate the score that was the knockout blow.
The Ravens built a 20-10 halftime lead with the help of a fumble return for a touchdown in the second quarter by L.J. Fort.
Deshaun Watson threw for 275 yards and a touchdown, but also threw an interception and was sacked four times and hit 13 other times for the Texans (0-2), who played their home opener without fans because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Packers 42, Lions 21
Aaron Jones rushed for a career-high 168 yards and scored three touchdowns, including a 75-yard breakaway. Jones also had a team-high 68 yards receiving on four catches as the Packers (2-0) won their home opener for an eighth consecutive year. Jones had a 14-yard touchdown run and a 7-yard touchdown catch to go along with his 75-yarder.
Jones’ 75-yard burst was the longest touchdown run by a Packer since Ahman Green had a 90-yarder against Dallas in 2004.
Aaron Rodgers was 18 of 30 for 240 yards with touchdown passes to Jones and Robert Tonyan.
One week after blowing a 17-point, fourth-quarter lead in a 27-23 loss to the Chicago Bears, the Lions (0-2) allowed an 11-point advantage to vanish by halftime as they fell for the 11th consecutive time.
Buccaneers 31, Panthers 13
Tom Brady got his first win with the Buccaneers, throwing for 217 yards, one touchdown and an interception.
With another recent acquisition, Leonard Fournette, rushing for 103 yards and two TDs, Brady rebounded from a less-than-stellar debut for his new team to avoid starting a season with consecutive losses for the first time in a 21-year career.
Brady tossed a 23-yard TD pass to Mike Evans in the first quarter. Fournette scored on runs of 1 and 46 yards, the latter coming after Carolina stormed back from a 21-0 halftime deficit to 24-17 on a pair of TD runs by Christian McCaffrey and Joey Slye’s 23-yard field goal.
Brady completed 23 of 35 passes, and Evans finished with seven receptions for 104 yards. Fournette averaged 8.6 yards per carry on 12 rushing attempts.
Teddy Bridgewater was 33 of 42 for 367 yards and two interceptions for the Panthers (0-2), who had four turnovers.
McCaffrey spent most of the fourth quarter on the sideline with an apparent ankle injury.
Titans 33, Jaguars 30
Stephen Gostkowski kicked a 49-yard field goal with 1:36 left. Gostkowski, who hit the left upright on an extra point, also made a 51-yarder at the end of the first half after an ugly performance in the opener.
Jeffery Simmons batted a pass by Gardner Minshew, and Harold Landry III grabbed the ball out of the air with 47 seconds left to seal the victory.
This is the Titans’ first 2-0 start since 2008, the most recent season this franchise won the AFC South. The Titans also won their seventh straight against division rival Jacksonville (1-1) in Nashville after nearly blowing a 24-10 halftime lead.
Ryan Tannehill threw for 239 yards and four touchdowns. The Titans sacked Minshew twice and picked him off twice.
Jaguars undrafted rookie James Robinson ran for a TD and 102 yards.