NFL Week 8: Rookie Will Levis throws 4 TDs in his debut as Titans beat Falcons
Share this post:
NASHVILLE — Rookie Will Levis threw for 238 yards and four touchdowns in his NFL debut, and the Tennessee Titans scored their most points since 2021 in beating the Atlanta Falcons 28-23 on Sunday.
The Titans (3-4) capped an alumni weekend wearing Houston Oilers’ throwback uniforms down to an oil derrick logo at midfield with the old nickname in each end zone.
Levis became the seventh rookie quarterback to start this season, the most rookies to start in the first eight weeks since the NFL merger, excluding the 1987 strike season. Six rookie quarterbacks started in that span in both 1971 and 2021.
WILL LEVIS! 4 TD PASSES!
????: #JAXvsPIT on CBS
????: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/Quwvdzpx7G pic.twitter.com/18G0sx962C— NFL (@NFL) October 29, 2023
The Titans quarterback became the third rookie to start in the AFC South alone, joining Anthony Richardson and C.J. Stroud. Levis joined Marcus Mariota (2015) as the only quarterbacks to throw at least four TD passes in their NFL debuts — both for the Titans — since the merger in 1970.
Two-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons had two of Tennessee’s six sacks, including a strip-sack of Desmond Ridder that the Titans turned into a touchdown. Harold Landry had two sacks as well.
DeAndre Hopkins finished with 128 yards and three TDs on four catches to match his career high. Nick Westbrook-Ikhine caught Levis’ fourth TD pass, a 33-yarder in the fourth. Derrick Henry also ran for 101 yards.
Atlanta (4-4) came in atop the NFC South. The Falcons now have lost two of their past three and dropped to 1-3 on the road.
Ridder was evaluated for a concussion and cleared after throwing for 71 yards in the first half.
The Falcons switched to Taylor Heinicke in the third quarter. He threw for 175 yards driving Atlanta to points on four of his first five possessions. He pulled Atlanta within 28-23 with 3:46 left with an 8-yard TD pass to Scotty Miller.
When the Falcons got the ball back with 2:19 left and no timeouts, they turned it over on downs.
Titans coach Mike Vrabel stuck to his promise in playing second-year quarterback Malik Willis. He came in on the fifth play of Tennessee’s opening series and promptly fumbled the snap. Calais Campbell recovered for Atlanta at the Titans 28. Atlanta was held to the first of three field goals by Younghoe Koo.
The Titans stuck with Levis, and the No. 33 pick overall out of Kentucky showed why they traded up for him. He had more TD passes through three quarters than Ryan Tannehill (two), who started the first six games.
WILL LEVIS! 4 TD PASSES!
????: #JAXvsPIT on CBS
????: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/Quwvdzpx7G pic.twitter.com/18G0sx962C— NFL (@NFL) October 29, 2023
Levis’ first NFL TD pass was a 47-yarder to the three-time All-Pro wide receiver Hopkins late in the first quarter that put the Titans ahead to stay. After Simmons’ strip-sack of Ridder, Levis capped the drive with a 14-yard TD pass to Hopkins.
Jets 13, Giants 10, OT
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Greg Zuerlein kicked a 35-yard field goal on the final play of regulation and added a 33-yarder with 6:09 left in overtime as the Jets staged an unlikely comeback in a defensive struggle to stun the Giants 13-10 Sunday.
The Jets (4-3) moved 46 yards in six plays with the game-winning kick set up by a pass interference penalty against Adoree Jackson that gave them a first down at the 15.
Coach Robert Saleh didn’t give his offense a chance to make a mistake and Zuerlein came out and put his kick just inside the left upright for the Jets’ third straight win.
The loss was disappointing for the Giants (2-6), who gave up the tying field goal by allowing the Jets to move 58 yards in four plays without a timeout in the final 24 seconds.
Zach Wilson hit Garrett Wilson and Allen Lazard on consecutive 29-yard passes, allowing the Jets to spike the ball and stop the clock with 1 second to play.
Wilson was 17 for 36 for 240 yards. Garrett Wilson had seven catches for 100 yards.
Kayvon Thibodeaux had three sacks for the Giants.
Practice squad quarterback Tommy DeVito, who took over for an injured Tyrod Taylor (ribs) in the second quarter, had given the Giants a 10-7 lead with a 6-yard run to cap a 75-yard drive on the opening possession of the second half.
Taylor, who was making his third straight start with Daniel Jones (neck) out, had hurt his ribs going to the ground on a scramble next to the Jets bench.
Saquon Barkley finished with 128 yards on 36 carries, but the Giants finished with minus-9 net yards passing, the fewest in a game since the Browns had minus-9 against the Jaguars on Dec. 3, 2000.
Graham Gano kicked a 31-yard field goal on the opening drive to put the Giants ahead.
Breece Hall gave the Jets a 7-3 lead with a 50-yard catch and run for a touchdown late in the first quarter.
Both teams were playing excellent defense coming into the game and they dominated the first half. The teams combined for 201 yards in total offense, eight first downs and 0-for-18 on third-down conversions.
There was only one big play, Hall’s TD catch on a pass that traveled 1 yard. The running back sidestepped Bobby Okereke, ran around fellow lineback Micah McFadden and then weaved his way the final 45 yards through the Giants defenders for the only touchdown of the half.
Saints 38, Colts 27
INDIANAPOLIS — Derek Carr threw for 310 yards and two touchdowns in a bounce-back performance, Taysom Hill and Alvin Kamara scored two TDs apiece, and the New Orleans Saints beat the Indianapolis Colts 38-27 on Sunday.
The Saints (4-4) snapped a two-game skid with their fifth consecutive win in the series — a streak that began with their lone Super Bowl victory after the 2009 season — and moved into a share of the NFC South lead with Atlanta.
Carr, who went 19 of 27, spent this week answering questions about scolding teammates on the sideline and shouting at offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael. Rashid Shaheed caught three passes for a career-best 153 yards and one TD, and for the second time this year, he helped seal the win with a long third-down catch in the final minutes.
Indy (3-5) has lost three straight and four of its five home games. Jonathan Taylor rushed for 95 yards, and Zack Moss added 66 yards rushing and a touchdown. Gardner Minshew went 23 of 41 for 213 yards, with two TDs and one interception.
While Indy’s second straight shootout was entertaining, Indy’s young, battered secondary struggled — and Carr took full advantage.
He threw TD passes of 18 yards to Kamara and 58 yards to Shaheed as the Saints took a 21-20 halftime lead. Kamara’s 25-yard reception late in the second half set up his powerful 16-yard burst to make it 28-20. And when Shaheed was awarded a 44-yard catch after a replay review of an apparent interception, Hill capped the drive with a 1-yard scoring run for a 35-20 lead with 10:49 to play.
Minshew answered with a 33-yard TD pass to Drew Ogletree with 8:19 left that got the Colts within 35-27. But after a defensive stop, Minshew couldn’t drive Indy for a potential tying score, and the Saints closed it out with a short field goal.
Panthers 15, Texans 13
CHARLOTTE — Bryce Young outdueled C.J. Stroud in a battle of the NFL’s top two draft picks, and Eddy Pineiro made a 23-yard field goal as time expired to send the Carolina Panthers over the Houston Texans 15-13 on Sunday for their first win of the season.
Young, the No. 1 overall pick, threw for 235 yards and a touchdown. He led a winning 15-play, 86-yard drive that took more than six minutes off the clock in helping the Panthers (1-6) snap a 56-game losing streak in games they trailed at any point in fourth quarter, the longest in NFL since at least 1991.
Carolina’s last fourth-quarter comeback win was Oct. 21, 2018, against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Stroud, the second overall pick, was 16 of 24 for 140 yards and ran for a touchdown for Houston (3-4).
The ending was filled with drama with the Panthers lining up for three different field-goal attempts.
On a 38-yarder, Tavierre Thomas ran into the backfield early in an attempt to block the kick and ran into holder Johnny Hekker. That moved the Panthers 10 yards closer. Then Thomas was flagged again for unsportsmanlike conduct for trying to stop the clock by jumping offsides again, moving the ball another 5 yards closer.
Pineiro made his third attempt, even as another flag for offsides was thrown on the Texans.
Young overcame six sacks and three drops by his wide receivers to record his first win since coming into the NFL out of Alabama.
Young had his two biggest completions of the season — 40 and 31 yards.
Adam Thielen had eight catches for 72 yards for Carolina. Tommy Tremble caught a touchdown pass for the second straight game as the Panthers won in their first game with offensive coordinator Thomas Brown as play-caller.
The win kept Carolina from matching its worst start in franchise history. The Panthers were 0-7 to start the 1998 season.
The Panthers trailed 7-6 at the halftime after Pinero missed an extra point following Young’s 1-yard touchdown pass to Tremble.
But Young’s 40-yard strike to fellow rookie Jonathan Mingo set up one Pineiro field goal and Donte Jackson’s forced fumble on fullback Andrew Beck led to another field goal to give Carolina a 12-7 lead.
But Stroud put the Texans back on top 13-12, completing a 31-yard pass to Noah Brown to set up a 1-yard TD run on a quarterback sneak. Brown was initially flagged for stepping out of bounds, but officials later allowed the catch after determining the ball was tipped at the line of scrimmage. The 2-point conversion was no good.
Dolphins 31, Patriots 17
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Tua Tagovailoa threw for 324 yards and three touchdowns, Jalen Ramsey intercepted a pass in his Dolphins debut, and Miami beat the New England Patriots 31-17 on Sunday.
Miami won for the 16th time in its past 18 home games, and Tagovailoa moved to 6-0 in his career against Patriots coach Bill Belichick. The Dolphins, 6-2 for the first time since 2001, have a one-game lead over Buffalo for the AFC East lead.
Tagovailoa completed 30 of 45 passes and moved his league-leading yardage total to 2,416. Jaylen Waddle had seven catches for 121 yards and a touchdown, and Tyreek Hill had eight receptions for 112 yards and a score, becoming the first player in the Super Bowl era to top 1,000 receiving yards through eight games.
Mac Jones had another uneven day for the Patriots (2-6), throwing for 161 yards on 19-of-29 passing with two touchdowns and one interception.
The Patriots trailed 24-10 midway through the fourth quarter when they drove inside the Miami 3 and scored on fourth down. Jones connected with JuJu Smith-Schuster for the receiver’s first touchdown this season to get the Patriots within seven.
The Dolphins responded with a 10-play, 75-yard drive, and Waddle waltzed into the end zone for an easy 31-yard score.
Ramsey intercepted Jones on a pass intended for Bourne and returned it 49 yards in the second quarter. Ramsey missed the first seven games of the season after having surgery in July to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee.
Smith-Schuster made a hard hit on Dolphins safety Brandon Jones on the Patriots’ final drive as Jones was attempting to come down with an interception. The play resulted in a brief skirmish between the teams near the Patriots’ sideline before Miami ran out the clock.
The Dolphins turned the ball over twice, and the Patriots scored both times.
Tagovailoa was sacked on Miami’s second drive and threw an interception on the next play, which the Patriots turned into a 7-0 lead when Jones found Kendrick Bourne for a 24-yard touchdown.
Raheem Mostert fumbled at Miami’s 19 on the first play of the third quarter with the Dolphins up 17-7. That resulted in a 38-yard field goal by Chad Ryland. Mostert later contributed his NFL-best 10th rushing touchdown of the season — a 1-yard score on Miami’s next offensive possession that put the Dolphins ahead 24-10.
Hill, who was limited by a hip injury this week, has made clear his goal to surpass 2,000 receiving yards, and he’s more than halfway there at 1,014.
After his 42-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter, Hill simply sat on the Dolphins’ bench. He had been flagged in Miami’s previous two home games for unsportsmanlike conduct for his celebrations.
Eagles 38, Commanders 31
LANDOVER, Md. — Jalen Hurts threw for four touchdowns while gutting through a knee injury, A.J. Brown had 130 yards receiving and the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Washington Commanders 38-31 Sunday to improve to 7-1 this season.
Hurts was noticeably limping and reluctant to run because of his gimpy left knee, but that didn’t stop him from completing 29 of 38 passes for 319 yards and the TD passes to Brown twice, DeVonta Smith and Julio Jones. Before kneeling twice to end the game, his 7 yards rushing on two attempts were Hurts’ fewest since Dec. 26, 2021.
One of those rushes was a “Tush Push” attempt when Hurts fumbled at the Washington 1-yard line, one of two Philadelphia turnovers inside the 5. Kenneth Gainwell lost a fumble at the 4 in the first half.
With not much going on the ground, Hurts had plenty of options passing, starting with Brown, who became the first player in NFL history with 125-plus yards receiving in six consecutive games. Brown made a terrific one-handed grab on his first touchdown and caught the ball through double coverage on his second.
After allowing Sam Howell to complete 24 passes in the first half, Philadelphia’s defense responded down the stretch. Reed Blankenship intercepted Howell in the fourth quarter, and Haason Reddick sacked him with just over two minutes left — the Eagles’ first of the game — to set the stage for D’Andre Swift’s TD run.
Washington (3-5) lost for a fifth time in six games despite Howell throwing for a career-high 397 yards and four TDs behind a revamped offensive line. Coach Ron Rivera did not challenge a key fourth-down catch by Smith in the third quarter that replays showed should have been incomplete, and top receiver Terry McLaurin had consecutive drops that led to a turnover on downs late.
Vikings 24, Packers 10
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Kirk Cousins threw a pair of touchdown passes before leaving with an ankle injury in the fourth quarter and the Minnesota Vikings beat the slumping Green Bay Packers 24-10 on Sunday.
Cousins walked gingerly to the sideline after getting sacked on consecutive plays during a series that ended with Green Bay’s Karl Brooks blocking Greg Joseph’s 44-yard field-goal attempt. Jaren Hall, a rookie fifth-round pick from BYU, took over for the rest of the game.
This marked the first Packers-Vikings matchup since 2006 in which both teams entered the game with losing records, but Minnesota got back to .500 on Sunday with its third consecutive victory.
Kirk Cousins has torn his achilles, his season is over.
He was having the best season of his career up until this moment.
Heartbreaking for the #Vikings. ????pic.twitter.com/gGmaLuhuYu
— NFC North News (@NFCNorthNewss) October 29, 2023
Now the Vikings (4-4) must wonder whether they’re going to have to try continuing this surge without Cousins, who went 23 of 31 for 274 yards. Cousins has never missed a game because of injury in his 12-year career, though he did sit out a game at Green Bay during the 2021 season because of a positive covid-19 test.
Minnesota’s T.J. Hockenson and Jordan Addison had touchdown receptions less than two minutes apart early in the third quarter. Cam Akers put Minnesota ahead for good in the opening period by giving the Vikings their first touchdown run of the season.
The Packers (2-5) lost their fourth straight and continued their penchant for slow starts. The Packers have been outscored 73-9 in the first half of their past five games and haven’t scored a touchdown before halftime in any of them.
Minnesota dominated the first two quarters, but only led 10-3 at the break largely because of missed opportunities. But the Vikings wasted no time breaking the game open early in the third quarter.
Cousins’ 2-yard touchdown pass to Hockenson capped a 13-play, 75-yard drive to begin the second half. On the Packers’ ensuing possession, Jordan Love threw deep to Jayden Reed, but Josh Metellus made a spectacular catch with his back to the quarterback and then delivered a 43-yard interception return to give the Vikings the ball at the Green Bay 20.
On the next play, Cousins connected with Jordan Addison in the end zone to extend Minnesota’s lead to 24-3 with 7:48 left in the third.
Green Bay finally reached the end zone on Love’s 1-yard pass to Romeo Doubs on fourth-and-goal late in the third quarter to cut the lead to 24-10, but the Packers couldn’t get any closer despite continually reaching Vikings territory in the fourth quarter.
The drive that followed Brooks’ blocked field goal ended with the Packers losing the ball on downs at the Minnesota 10-yard line. Hall fumbled while getting sacked on his third snap to give Green Bay the ball at the Minnesota 15, but the Packers again lost the ball on downs. The Packers’ final series ended with a fourth down incompletion from the Minnesota 34.
Love ended up going 24 of 41 for 229 yards with one touchdown and an interception.
Minnesota could have put this game out of reach much earlier.
With five minutes left in the second quarter, the Vikings had a 182-26 advantage in total offense and a 13-0 edge in first downs. The Packers already had committed eight of their 11 penalties by that point.
Green Bay didn’t get a first down until its fifth series when Love threw an 11-yard completion to Christian Watson with just over four minutes left in the first half. The play drew a heart and sarcastic round of applause from a Lambeau Field crowd frustrated by Green Bay’s first-half failures.
Cowboys 43, Rams 20
ARLINGTON, Texas — Dak Prescott threw two of his four touchdown passes to CeeDee Lamb, DaRon Bland recorded his NFL-leading third interception return for a score and the Dallas Cowboys beat the Los Angeles Rams 43-20 on Sunday.
It was a rough-and-tumble homecoming for Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, who was replaced by Brett Rypien late in the third quarter after injuring a thumb on a failed 2-point conversion pass and ending up with a bloody elbow after catching another.
Sam Williams blocked a punt for a safety before KaVontae Turpin returned the ensuing punt 63 yards to set up Lamb’s first TD grab, helping the Cowboys (5-2) to a 33-3 lead late in the first half in their 11th consecutive home victory.
The streak matches the club’s longest since an 11-game run at Texas Stadium in 1991-92, almost two decades before AT&T Stadium opened.
Stafford led scoring drives on either side of halftime to help the Rams (3-5) trim a 30-point deficit to 16. But the former Dallas high school standout, visiting his hometown team for the first time as a Super Bowl champion, sent the Cowboys on their way with an early mistake.
Stafford threw behind Cooper Kupp to a waiting Bland for an easy 30-yard return and a 17-3 Dallas lead in the first quarter. Bland brought an interception back 22 yards for a score against the New York Giants in the opener before a 54-yarder in Week 4 against the Patriots.
The second-year cornerback is the third player since the 1970 merger with three pick-6s in the first seven games of a season. The NFL record for an entire season is four, last accomplished 30 years ago.
Despite getting sacked three times in the first quarter — with a fourth wiped out by a defensive penalty — Prescott finished the first half 17 of 21 for 225 yards. He ended up with his first 300-yard game of the season (25 of 31 for 304 yards with an interception).
Lamb had career highs with 12 catches for 158 yards, including another personal best with 122 yards before the break.
Dallas kicker Brandon Aubrey tied an NFL record with two field goals, giving him 18 consecutive makes to start his career. Travis Coons made his first 18 with Cleveland in 2015.
Stafford injured the thumb on his throwing (right) hand when it jammed into a Dallas helmet on an errant throw in the final seconds of the first half.
The 35-year-old’s elbow was bloodied after he caught a 2-point pass from Tutu Atwell just above the turf and fell across the goal line following his 20-yard scoring toss to Ben Skowronek.
Rams receiver Puka Nacua had three catches to set a league record for the most catches through the first eight games of a career with 61. But he fell short of the 51 yards needed to set that mark as well, finishing with 43.
Broncos 24, Chiefs 9
DENVER — Russell Wilson threw three touchdown passes, Justin Simmons had two of Denver’s five takeaways and the Broncos stymied an ill Patrick Mahomes in snapping their 16-game losing streak to Kansas City with a 24-9 win over the Chiefs on Sunday.
The Broncos (3-5) were serenaded off the field to the sound of Taylor Swift’s “Shake it Off” blaring throughout Empower Field. Swift wasn’t on hand to witness Travis Kelce’s six catches for 58 yards and the awful day by the Chiefs (6-2).
The Broncos handed Mahomes his first AFC West road loss in beating Kansas City’s quarterback for the first time in 13 tries.
Denver made a 14-9 halftime lead hold up by controlling the clock and keeping Mahomes and Kelce cooling their cleats on the sideline in the second half. Kansas City had just three second-half possessions before getting the ball back for one meaningless snap at the end.
The Chiefs punted, muffed a punt that led to a touchdown, turned it over on downs and lost the ball on an interception in the second half.
The Broncos came in averaging a meager 22 carries per game, next to last in the league, but on a bitterly cold day they ran it 40 times for 153 yards and threw it just 19 times.
Javonte Williams led the way with 85 yards on 27 carries and added three receptions for 13 yards and a touchdown. Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton also caught TD passes for the Broncos, who won back-to-back games for the first time since Weeks 2-3 of last season.
The Broncos blew the game open when rookie Drew Sanders recovered Mecole Hardman’s muffed punt at the Chiefs 10-yard line, and two plays later Wilson hit Sutton in the left corner to make it 21-9.
Nobody had scored more than 20 points on Kansas City this season.
Mahomes drove the Chiefs (6-2) to the Denver 27 but Skyy Moore couldn’t bring in a perfectly placed toss in the end zone on fourth down with 7:35 left.
Simmons, who had a fumble recovery in the first half, intercepted Mahomes with about 5 minutes left and the Broncos added a short field goal with 31 seconds left.
The Chiefs, who never trailed by more than 10 points in any of their 16 consecutive victories against Denver, fell behind 14-3 early on and never recovered despite pulling to 14-9 on a Harrison Butker field goal as the first half expired.
The Broncos ate up almost 8 1/2 minutes on the opening drive in the third quarter, but they came away empty-handed when safety Justin Reid got away with an early jump to block Wil Lutz’s 38-yard field goal try.
Reid was whistled for a similar infraction in the waning minutes.
The Broncos had a trio of first-half takeaways, including two turnovers by Mahomes, who was intercepted by cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian and strip-sacked by Baron Browning with Jonathon Cooper recovering the loose ball.
Wilson threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Williams and connected with Jeudy from 11 yards out for a 14-3 lead early in the second quarter.
That marked the biggest lead by Denver since their 16-game skid against the Chiefs began on Nov. 15, 2015.
The Broncos couldn’t capitalize on McMillian’s interception at midfield when Wilson fumbled out of bounds short of the first-down marker on fourth-and-2 from the Kansas City 40.
Mahomes threw a 39-yard pass to Rashee Rice, setting up Butker’s 34-yard field goal to make it 14-6.
Browning’s strip-sack gave Denver another prime scoring opportunity but Wilson was sacked by George Karlaftis and linebacker Willie Gay recovered the loose ball at the Denver 48 with 9 seconds left.
That was enough time for Mahomes to throw an 11-yard pass to Jerick McKinnon, setting up Butker’s 56-yarder as the first half expired.
Mahomes completed 24 of 38 passes for 241 yards with two interceptions and three sacks. It was the first time he was held without a touchdown throw since Dec. 5, 2021, in a 22-9 win over Denver.
Mahomes played the entire game despite feeling under the weather and despite the frigid conditions. It was in the 20s after an overnight storm dumped up to 10 inches of snow on the city.
Mahomes’ wife, Brittany, recently posted on social media that the couple’s two children had been ill with a stomach bug and that she had contracted the illness as well.
Chargers 30, Bears 13
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Justin Herbert passed for 298 yards and three touchdowns, including a 39-yarder to Austin Ekeler, and the Los Angeles Chargers stopped a two-game slide by routing the Chicago Bears 30-13 on Sunday night.
Herbert, who had struggled with accuracy the past two games after breaking the middle finger of his left, non-throwing hand four weeks ago, completed his first 14 passes and was 31 of 40 in front of a prime-time audience.
Herbert directed the Chargers to points on their first five drives, marking the first time in six seasons they have accomplished that feat.
It was the first time in two years that Herbert passed for three TDs in the first half, finding Ekeler, Simi Fehoko and Donald Parham to help stake the Chargers to a 24-7 lead at the break.
Cameron Dicker added three field goals, including two in the second half. Ekeler finished with seven receptions for 94 yards and 15 carries for 29 yards on the ground.
Chicago’s Tyson Bagent had a more difficult time in his second NFL start. After leading the Bears to a win over Las Vegas last weekend, the undrafted rookie was 25 of 37 for 232 yards with two interceptions against the Chargers.
He did have a 1-yard sneak late in the fourth quarter to get the Bears within 30-13. Bagent’s 2-point pass attempt was incomplete.
Bagent — who didn’t have a throw over 15 air yards last weekend — got off to a great start with a 41-yard completion down the right sideline to Darnell Mooney on the first play, but the Bears’ drive stalled at midfield and they were forced to punt.
From there, the Chargers took control.
Los Angeles scored on its opening drive for the fourth time this season when Ekeler took Herbert’s screen pass down the left sideline. That made Ekeler the first running back in the Super Bowl era to reach 30 TD catches with the same team and the seventh player in NFL history to have 30 touchdowns rushing and 30 receiving.
Near the end of the first quarter, the Chargers took a two-score lead when Fehoko caught his first pass as a Charger. On third-and-3 from the Chicago 9, Fehoko got open on a drag route, caught it at the 7 and went untouched into the end zone.
Dicker made it 17-0 on a 43-yard field goal before Chicago’s Darrynton Evans took Bagent’s toss and went 11 yards to get the Bears (2-6) within 17-7 with 1:47 remaining.
However, the Chargers regained momentum before halftime with a nine-play, 75-yard drive, culminating in Parham’s 11-yard score. Parham broke out of Tyrique Stevenson’s attempted tackle at the Bears 5 and then was able to outmuscle T.J. Edwards and Duron Harmon as he reached the goal line.