Washington have pulled off an almighty NFL upset despite missing their first-choice quarterback, beating reigning Super Bowl champions Seattle 33-31.
The Commanders were without Jayden Daniels at Northwest Stadium on Sunday (Monday AEST) after he suffered a freak elbow injury last round.
Seattle, who were on a 12-game winning streak, were also buoyed by the return of superstar quarterback Sam Darnold after he went down with a glute injury in week one.
Despite the odds being stacked against Washington, back-up quarterback Marcus Mariota threw three touchdown passes and linebacker Kain Medrano returned an interception 50 yards to score late in the fourth quarter.
Darnold was busy, nailing 31-of-45 for 379 yards and four touchdowns, although Mariota was courageous, posting 183 yards with no interceptions.
Elsewhere, Cleveland's quarterback Deshaun Watson threw two touchdown passes to power the Browns to a 21-18 victory over Carolina.
The Panthers led by five points with less than three minutes remaining, and thought they had stopped the Browns when they intercepted Watson's throw.
But Carolina linebacker Bobby Okereke was penalised for roughing the passer, and three plays later tight-end Harold Fannin Jr received Watson's spearing throw to steal victory.
The Panthers will also sweat on quarterback Bryce Young, who has an unspecified lower-body injury.
“It was nothing, just football,” Young said.
“We’re all out there dealing with stuff. Tough one, just didn’t get it done, but none of that stuff had anything to do with (the outcome).”
The second of nine international games for the season also took place on Sunday, with Baltimore scoring a last-gasp field goal to take down Dallas 34-31 in Rio de Janeiro.
In a pulsating clash at Maracana Stadium, Tyler Loop booted a 56-yard field goal on the last play of the game, despite the Cowboys having scored their own field goal with 10 seconds remaining in the final term.
At Levi's Stadium, San Francisco will count the cost of a 36-30 victory over division rivals Arizona, after Mike Evans suffered a rib injury in the first half.
It comes after the wide receiver missed a significant chunk of last season with a number of injuries before returning fresh this campaign, where he has dazzled for the 49ers.
Super Bowl finalists New England suffered an ugly 35-6 loss to Jacksonville, as Patriots quarterback Drake Maye continued to struggle with turnovers, recording two interceptions and one lost fumble.
In Denver, Broncos quarterback Bo Nix dived into the end zone with 0:48 remaining to secure a 30-26 prime-time win over the Los Angeles Rams.
Nix's effort capped off a stirring comeback by the home team, who were scoreless at halftime but made four touchdowns before safety Talanoa Hufanga (one interception touchdown, two interceptions) picked off their opponents' final drive.
- with AP and Reuters
