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The first Sunday of the 2021 NFL season saw plenty of drama as the Kansas City Chiefs won a thriller against the Cleveland Browns and the Pittsburgh Steelers also fought back to beat a team expected to be in Super Bowl contention, the Buffalo Bills.

Aaron Rodgers' future was the biggest story of the off-season and although last year's MVP agreed to stay with the Green Bay Packers for 2021, they suffered a dismal start against the New Orleans Saints. The Arizona Cardinals and the San Francisco 49ers were also impressive.

Scroll down to follow all the action as it happened, including video clips. You can also watch highlights and analysis on the NFL This Week on Tuesday night. We'll be back next Sunday for live text coverage of week two (from 17:30 BST). Hope you'll join us again.

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The Cleveland Browns threatened to produce a big opening Sunday upset before a classic Patrick Mahomes comeback engineered a stunning victory for the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium.

The Browns are among the biggest challengers to the Chiefs in the AFC this season and they dominated the first half to lead 22-10, but Mahomes hit back with three second-half touchdown throws – two to Travis Kelce and one 75-yard strike to Tyreek Hill.

Cleveland still had a chance to win the game inside the final two minutes, but Baker Mayfield was unable to get the job done as he threw an interception to hand the game to last season's Super Bowl runners-up.

The win maintained Mahomes’ impeccable record in September. The Chiefs are now 11-0 in the month with their star quarterback at the helm, with Mahomes throwing 35 touchdowns and no interceptions.

The 2018 MVP threw for 337 yards and those three touchdowns, while also running in a first-half score himself in another dynamic match-winning performance as the Chiefs yet again proved they’re the team to beat in the AFC.

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Jameis Winston tied a career-high with five touchdown passes and the New Orleans Saints intercepted Aaron Rodgers twice in a 38-3 victory over their NFC rivals, the Green Bay Packers.

Winston made his first start for the Saints in the wake of Drew Brees' retirement while Rodgers had a passer rating of just 36.8 before the reigning MVP was replaced by Jordan Love in the fourth quarter.

Tua Tagovailoa passed for 202 yards and a go-ahead three-yard touchdown to Jaylen Waddle as the Miami Dolphins spoiled quarterback Mac Jones' NFL debut with a 17-16 win at the New England Patriots.

Teddy Bridgewater threw for 264 yards and two touchdowns as the Denver Broncos recorded a 27-13 win at the New York Giants, Melvin Gordon finishing it off with a 70-yard TD.

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Dominant defence and a special teams touchdown helped the Pittsburgh Steelers overcome a scoreless first half and fight back to win 23-16 at the Buffalo Bills.

Joe Burrow found CJ Uzomah with a 32-yard pass late in overtime to set up the Cincinnati Bengals' 27-24 win over the Minnesota Vikings. Two plays after Burrow's pass, rookie Evan McPherson nailed a 38-yard game-winning field goal as time expired.

Jimmy Garoppolo threw for 314 yards and rookie Trey Lance tossed a touchdown pass on his first NFL attempt as the San Francisco 49ers held on for a 41-33 win at the Detroit Lions.

Chandler Jones notched a career-high five sacks and Kyler Murray threw four touchdown passes as the Arizona Cardinals dominated the Tennessee Titans 38-13. Titans running back Derrick Henry, who last year became the eighth player in NFL history to rush for more than 2,000 yards, was held to just 58 yards on 17 attempts.

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Russell Wilson threw four touchdown passes, two to Tyler Lockett, as the Seattle Seahawks opened their season with a 28-16 victory at the Indianapolis Colts.

Jalen Hurts passed for 264 yards and three touchdowns to help the Philadelphia Eagles claim a 32-6 win at the Atlanta Falcons.

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Sam Darnold had a solid debut for the Carolina Panthers in a 19-14 win against his old team the New York Jets, ruining rookie Zach Wilson's first NFL game for the Jets.

Top draft pick Trevor Lawrence made his debut for the Jacksonville Jaguars and the quarterback finished with 332 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions as the Houston Texans won 37-21, with Tyrod Taylor passing for 291 yards and two touchdowns.

And last season's rookie of the year Justin Herbert picked up from where he left off, passing for 337 yards and a fourth-quarter touchdown to lead the Los Angeles Chargers to a 20-16 win at Washington.

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And breathe....What a game that was, we'd love to see that again and chances are these two will meet again in the play-offs.

For now, Patrick Mahomes claims the spoils with that 12-point comeback the largest he's achieved in the regular season and his 10th career comeback of 10 points or more.

The game was there to be won for Cleveland behind a stout defence and power run game, but Baker Mayfield just couldn't get it done when it really mattered.

Kansas City and Mahomes' ability to strike from anywhere on the field, though, is why they're the Super Bowl favourites this season.

Baker Mayfield has the ball with two minutes left to find the touchdown that wins the game, but after a good run gets them to midfield, Mayfield sends out a bad throw that Mike Hughes gathers for the Chiefs.

And that's the game!

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Daniel Jones runs in a touchdown on the final play of the game but all it does is add a bit more respectability to the scoreline in New York.

Well, not many will have had this scoreline in their predictions....

New Saints starting QB Jameis Winston played like the MVP with five touchdowns, while the actual MVP Aaron Rodgers was benched in the fourth quarter!

Rodgers threw for 133 yards, was sacked once and threw two interceptions, and just looked a little lost out there today in a woeful performance all round for the Packers. His back-up, Jordan Love, made five of seven passes for 68 yards but fumbled after being sacked on Green Bay's final drive, which kind of summed it up.

The Saints go marching on after an impressive outing.

They were one of the top turnover defences in the league last season and that could have just won them the game here as the Dolphins get the ball off the Patriots with just over two minutes left.

Damien Harris is the unlucky Patriot who coughs the ball up on the Miami nine-yard line and it's recovered by Miami's Xavien Howard.

From looking like going ahead, possibly winning the game late on, New England now look like they've lost it right at the death.

This summer Aaron Rodgers admitted that the Packers' decision to select Jordan Love in the first round of the 2020 draft - without giving him a heads-up - "put things in motion" with questioning his future.

Rodgers and the team seemed to sort out their differences in the off-season, but Green Bay have just benched last season's MVP to give Love his first game time in the NFL. He makes one pass for a first down before Green Bay have to punt.

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Uh oh! The noise at Arrowhead is cranked up to ear-bleeding levels and Cleveland Browns punter Jamie Gillam fumbles the ball under the pressure.

The Scottish kicker hasn't had to do anything all day, but then thrown in the red-hot atmosphere for the first time he's just had a lapse in concentration and it's forced the Browns back into the own territory and in big trouble.

Broncos Field goalpublished at 23:48 BST 12 September 2021

23:48 BST 12 September 2021

Denver Broncos 20-7 New York Giants

A 10-play drive by Denver is halted, before Brandon McManus makes a 36-yard field goal to boost the Broncos' buffer early in the fourth quarter.

Chiefs Field goalpublished at 23:46 BST 12 September 2021

23:46 BST 12 September 2021

Cleveland Browns 22-20 Kansas City Chiefs

A fumble by Nick Chubb gives the Chiefs another chance to close the gap, and this time they settle for a field goal to get within three points.