J.J. McCarthy threw two fourth-quarter touchdown passes and ran for another in his long-awaited NFL debut, and the Minnesota Vikings rallied for a season-opening 27-24 win over the Chicago Bears. Chicago’s Caleb Williams had his first career rushing touchdown and threw for a score in Ben Johnson’s first game as the Bears’ head coach. McCarthy delivered down the stretch after struggling through the first three quarters. The Vikings and coach Kevin O’Connell are counting on the former Michigan star after he missed his rookie season because of a knee injury, and he delivered when it mattered.
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C.J. Stroud began his first NFL gameday in his native Los Angeles area by gratefully reflecting on the people and places that made him into the Houston Texans’ franchise quarterback. He ended his Sunday with measured frustration about the state of the Texans after their season-opening 14-9 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. Stroud went 19 of 27 for 188 yards with several impressive throws, but Houston was held scoreless in the second half and kept out of the end zone entirely. He says the Texans were “lollygagging and going through the motions,” and he didn't like their practices last week.
Aaron Rodgers looked right at home in his debut with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The 41-year-old quarterback threw four touchdown passes against his former team in a 34-32 victory over the New York Jets on Sunday. Rodgers’ first game with Pittsburgh to begin his 21st NFL season came after a two-year stint with the Jets that included Super Bowl dreams and mostly disappointing results. Rodgers joined the Steelers after being released by the Jets in the offseason. He threw two touchdown passes in a 50-second span that put the Steelers up in the fourth quarter.
Daniel Jones ran for two touchdowns and threw for another, and the Indianapolis Colts snapped the NFL’s longest active opening-day winless streak at 11 with a 33-8 rout of the Miami Dolphins. The Colts are 1-0 for the first time since 2013 and did it in Jones’ first game with the team. He went 22 of 29 for 272 yards as Indy scored on all seven possessions. New defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo also had a splashy debut as the Colts came within 6 1/2 minutes of delivering their first shutout since December 2021. Nothing went right for the Dolphins as their Week 1 winning streak ended at four.
Natasha Howard scored 17 points and the Indiana Fever beat the Washington Mystics 94-65 on Sunday to clinch a spot in the 2025 WNBA playoffs. The Fever (23-20) advance to the postseason for the second consecutive year, despite losing five players — including the 2024 WNBA rookie of the year Caitlin Clark (groin) — to season-ending injuries. Aliyah Boston had 12 points, 11 rebounds and five assists. Aerial Powers finished with 15 points and Shey Peddy had 13. Sonia Citron led Washington (16-27) with 17 points. Shakira Austin and Kiki Iriafen scored 11 apiece. Citron set Washington’s single-season scoring record with 644 points. Brittney Sykes set the previous mark of 636 points in 2023.
Parker Navarro threw one touchdown pass and Ohio overcame his three interceptions and held on to beat West Virginia 17-10 on Saturday. Ohio of the Mid-American Conference beat a Big 12 opponent for the second time in three seasons and improves to 1-1. West Virginia lost preseason all-Big 12 running back Jahiem White to a second-quarter injury and never recovered. The Mountaineers fell to 1-1. The Bobcats went ahead to stay with two touchdowns in the final three minutes of the first half. Navarro’s 15-yard scramble set up Sieh Bangura’s 1-yard TD run. Navarro later hit Chase Hendricks with a 31-yard scoring pass for a 17-7 halftime lead.
Justin Herbert threw for three touchdowns, leading the Los Angeles Chargers to a 27-21 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs on Friday night in Sao Paulo. The win snaps a seven-game losing streak against the Chiefs. The game, streamed on YouTube, marks the NFL's second in South America. Herbert's performance includes a crucial 19-yard run late in the game. The Chiefs struggle to make big plays in the first half, trailing 13-6. Injuries impact both teams, with the Chiefs losing receiver Xavier Worthy early and the Chargers' Denzel Perryman leaving in the third quarter.
Struggling pitcher Kodai Senga has been optioned to Triple-A Syracuse by the New York Mets, who also reinstated catcher Francisco Alvarez from the 10-day injured list. The team announced the moves hours before the opener of a critical three-game series Friday night at Cincinnati. Brandon Sproat, one of New York’s top pitching prospects, is expected to be called up from Syracuse to start the series finale Sunday in Senga's place. Senga, an All-Star in 2023 and runner-up for NL Rookie of the Year, was the Mets’ best starter early this season — but he’s been largely ineffective since returning from a hamstring injury in mid-July.
Joe Burrow and Zac Taylor spent the offseason talking about the importance of the Cincinnati Bengals getting off to a fast start. They get a chance to back it up on Sunday. The Bengals are 5 1/2-point favorites for their season opener at Cleveland. Last year, Cincinnati was a nine-point favorite at home against New England but lost 16-10. The Bengals ended up falling one game short of the playoffs. Cincinnati is 1-5 in openers under Taylor, including losses in its last three. Cleveland went 3-14 last season. The Browns brought back quarterback Joe Flacco, who led them to the playoffs in 2023.
Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka will face Amanda Anisimova in the U.S. Open women's final. The No. 1-seeded Sabalenka defeated No. 4 Jessica Pegula 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the semifinals Thursday night in a rematch of last year’s final. Then Anisimova eliminated No. 23 Osaka 6-7 (4), 7-6 (3), 6-3 to reach her second major final in a row after being the runner-up at Wimbledon in July. Sabalenka is one victory away from becoming the first woman to win consecutive championships at Flushing Meadows since Serena Williams collected a trio from 2012 to 2014. Sabalenka is a three-time Grand Slam champion. Anisimova is seeking her first major title.