NFL Winners and Losers: Kansas City Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes are back while Tua Tagovailoa’s Miami Dolphins suffer more humiliation | NFL News

The Kansas City Chiefs are boosted by the return of their star receiver, while New York’s Irish kicker has a day to forget in a staggering fourth-quarter comeback from the Denver Broncos. Here are some of the winners and losers from NFL Sunday…

Winner: Rashee Rice and the Chiefs

I watched Patrick Mahomes fake the fake snap, later crediting his role in State Farm Commercials for his expert acting. I watched him fool an entire Las Vegas Raiders defense with his no-look toss to Rashee Rice. I watched him manipulate and navigate messy pockets better than any other quarterback in the NFL. I watched him throw for 286 yards and three touchdowns to guide the Kansas City Chiefs to a 31-0 shut-out win in the latest underscore of a reviving offense and renewed Championship credentials.

Mahomes has now completed 124 of 180 passes (68.8 per cent) for 1,355 yards, 14 total touchdowns and one interception over the last five games as the Chiefs continue to iron out their earlier season struggles. It could not have been a more perfect return for Rashee Rice, who delivered two touchdowns in his first game back from suspension. Andy Reid’s attack finished with 30 first downs to the Raiders’ three, with Pete Carroll’s team running just 30 plays.

“You don’t really know how much you love something until it’s gone, or possibly could be gone,” Rice said of absence. “I was able to get a glimpse of that. I don’t ever want to feel that again. Just being able to be out here with my brothers, that’s the most love I’ve had in a long time.”

Reading too much into a win over these Raiders comes with caution. Regardless, the Chiefs are trending upwards again.

Loser: Jude McAtamney

Jaxson Dart and the New York Giants were on the brink of another potential springboard moment in a new chapter for the organisation, who are riding with a mounting belief they may have found a solution at quarterback. The Giants had led 19-0 through three quarters, only to allow Denver to snatch victory at the death after scoring 33 points in the fourth quarter alone.

Bo Nix appeared to put the game to bed when he scurried in for an 18-yard touchdown with 50 seconds left, before a 38-yard defensive pass interference penalty along with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on a furious Sean Payton set up Dart’s one-yard go-ahead touchdown run for a 32-30 lead with 30 seconds remaining. Disaster ensued when Irish kicker Jude McAtamney missed his crucial extra point – his second of the day – for a 33-30 lead, paving the way for Nix to lead the Broncos into position for Wil Lutz’s game-winning 39-yard field goal as time expired.

“It’s on me,” McAtamney said post-game. “I missed vital points at vital times today. I’m not gonna shy away from that.”

Dart himself later shouldered some blame for a costly fourth-quarter interception that resulted in RJ Harvey’s touchdown run. But it shouldn’t deter from another major nod to fresh hope at quarterback behind Dart, who has the Giants looking like a team reborn.

Winner: Eagles offense

Despite their recent stutters, there has always been a feeling that champions will figure it out at some point. The Philadelphia Eagles, minus injuries, still boast the best roster in football, as they sought to remind the league on Sunday. First-year Kevin Patullo has come in for criticism of late for a lack of aggression to his play-calling, as much prompting a disgruntled AJ Brown and a quiet Saquon Barkley. Jalen Hurts responded emphatically in the face of Brian Flores’ famed defense as he threw for 326 yards and three touchdowns for a perfect passer rating, with both Brown and DeVonta Smith – who had 183 yards – hitting three figures.

“He’s got so much swag,” said left tackle Jordan Mailata. “When he’s in control, you can see a look in his eye.

Philadelphia entered the week ranked 30th in passing offense but feasted against Minnesota’s blitz-heavy pressure. The two teams from last season’s Super Bowl are beginning to wake up again, and it’s on the rest of the league’s unconvincing contenders to stay with them.

Loser: Mike McDaniel

The Mike McDaniel era in Miami feels on the verge of outright collapse, if it isn’t already there. What was once one of the league’s most exciting and explosive playoff contenders has fizzled into demoralising irrelevance. The final nail might have been applied on Sunday when the Dolphins slumped to a 31-6 loss to the Cleveland Browns to fall to 1-6, Tua Tagovailoa eventually being benched for Quinn Ewers afrer throwing three interceptions in the wake of criticising teammates for turning up late to player meetings. The dreary atmosphere and a rocky culture is that of a team teetering on the edge of wide-scale change, potentially at both coach and quarterback.

“There’s a lot of guys that will have an important work week,” McDaniel said. “I mean, if you are negatively affecting the football team routinely, I don’t have a choice but to assess a different player and I have to coach a lot better as well. So we’re going to find out who and what we’re made of.”

Make of that quote what you will.

Winner: Matthew Stafford and Sean McVay

Some had questioned whether it was wise for the Los Angeles Rams to fly into London as late as the Saturday on the eve of their game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley. A resounding, second-gear 35-7 win silenced those concerns pretty handily. The opening drive of the game alone was testament to the genius of Sean McVay, his relationship with Matthew Stafford and the solid championship credentials of the Rams, who responded to the absence of Puka Nacua immediately with heavy set personnel packages driven by tight end production in a methodical opening drive that culminated in Konata Mumpfield’s first career touchdown. Tone set.

Stafford threw for 182 yards and a London game-record five touchdowns, three of which went to Davante Adams as a dominant red zone threat for whom the Jaguars and their struggling defensive backs had no answer. Having opened with Mumpfield, McVay took it upon himself to show off his depth down the stretch when he unleashed rookie tight end Terrance Ferguson – who delivered a beautiful double-move to escape Andrew Wingard – for a 31-yard touchdown.

Safety Quentin Lake meanwhile emerged as an unsung hero to the Rams performance with six tackles, one sack, one tackle for loss, a third-down pass breakup and a quarterback hit as he jumped between coverage asset, blitz-disruptor and downhill tackler.

Loser: Trevor Lawrence and the Jags

Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars just can’t seem to get it right, at least not for a sustained period of success. The team that took to the field at Wembley on Sunday was a concerning shade of the team that beat the Chiefs a few weeks ago. Discipline issues in the form of 13 penalties for 119 yards were a leading headline for Liam Coen, who this week stressed the importance of his team not beating themselves.

Brian Thomas Jr was guilty of key drops again, the Jags defensive backs were getting beaten all game. Jacksonville still don’t know how to use Travis Hunter – who did albeit post a career-best 101 yards and a maiden 34-yard touchdown – and Lawrence was getting swarmed by a rampant Los Angeles defense that finished with seven sacks.

But for his soaring draft stock and for the heights at which he was billed coming out of college, the NFL is still waiting for much more from Lawrence, who was slow in reads, overthrew receivers at times and never looked like swinging momentum. The Jags enter their bye having lost two straight while sitting 4-3.

Watch the 2025 NFL season live on Sky Sports, including every London and European game as well as every minute of the playoffs and Super Bowl LX; Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOW.