Seahawks shade Niners, get into win column
Seattle’s offence finally scores a TD, hangs on to beat San Francisco 12-9
SEATTLE — After 7 1/2 quarters of offensive inefficiency, the Seattle Seahawks finally broke the seal on the goal line.
It took some more magic from quarterback Russell Wilson to make it happen and avoid an 0-2 start.
Wilson avoided two potential sacks and found Paul Richardson in the front corner of the end zone for a nine-yard touchdown with 7:06 left and the Seahawks held on for an unsightly 12-9 win over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
It was an offensive nightmare as both teams had combined for 14 total quarters without a touchdown this season before the Seahawks finally broke through. Wilson avoided Arik Armstead in the pocket and got his pass away before DeForest Buckner could pull him down.
Seattle (1-1) snapped a streak of more than 112 minutes without a touchdown, despite missing on opportunities twice inside the 49ers’ 10-yard line earlier in the game.
“We had to find a way to get into the end zone and capitalize,” Wilson said. “We had been down there a few times earlier in the game and missed our opportunities there, so this was all we got. We’ve got to go make it happen right now.”
Wilson was erratic at times and magical at the end. He was 23 of 39 passing for 198 yards. He rushed for another 34 yards, 27 coming on the decisive scoring drive. Wilson was 4 of 5 on the drive and aided by a 20-yard pass interference penalty against Dontae Johnson.
Richardson suffered a dislocated right ring finger in the first quarter that popped through the skin. The finger was put back in place and the skin stitched up so he could return and eventually made the winning catch.
“That was the goal once I got it sewed up, still go win,” Richardson said. “I wasn’t just trying to get out there, ‘Oh he’s tough, he’s finishing out the game.’ I wanted to go make a difference.”
Blair Walsh added field goals of 25 and 27 yards, but missed the extra point after Richardson’s TD that could have given the Seahawks a four-point lead.
The 49ers (0-2) only needed a field goal to tie but never got into position to have a chance. San Francisco went three-and-out after the TD, punted and never got the ball back.
Robbie Gould kicked three field goals to amount for San Francisco’s output.
Carlos Hyde rushed for 124 yards, including a 61-yard run in the first half, but Brian Hoyer was 15 of 27 for 99 yards passing and an interception.
DOLPHINS 19, CHARGERS 17
CARSON, Calif. — Cody Parkey hit his fourth field goal from 54 yards with 1:05 to play, and the Miami Dolphins rallied in the fourth quarter to spoil the Los Angeles Chargers’ home opener.
Younghoe Koo missed a 44-yard field goal attempt with five seconds left after Philip Rivers manoeuvred the Chargers (0-2) into scoring range in the final minute before a crowd of 25,381 in their first home game since relocating to the Los Angeles area after 56 seasons in San Diego.
Jay Cutler passed for 230 yards and Jay Ajayi rushed for 122 in the delayed season opener for the Dolphins, who spent the past nine days in California after leaving South Florida early to avoid Hurricane Irma.
Rivers passed for 331 yards, and Antonio Gates set an NFL record with his 112th touchdown reception as a tight end. Gates broke his tie with Tony Gonzalez on an eight-yard throw from Rivers in the third quarter.
PATRIOTS 36, SAINTS 20
NEW ORLEANS — Bouncing back with a vengeance from a season-opening loss, Tom Brady threw three touchdown passes in the first quarter for the first time in his career and eclipsed 300 yards passing in the first half for only the second time.
Brady finished 30 of 39 for 447 yards without an interception — joining Warren Moon as the only QBs age 40 or older to pass for at least 400 yards and three TDs in a game.
Rob Gronkowski had a six-catch, 116-yard performance, but left the game in the second half with a groin injury.
RAIDERS 45, JETS 20
OAKLAND, Calif. — Marshawn Lynch ran for a touchdown in his first home game with Oakland and Derek Carr threw three TD passes to Michael Crabtree.
Cordarrelle Patterson and Jalen Richard added long touchdown runs to help put the game away and give the Raiders (2-0) wins in the opening two games of the season for the first time since their AFC championship season in 2002.
CHIEFS 27, EAGLES 20
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Chiefs rookie Kareem Hunt reached the end zone twice, Travis Kelce took a shovel pass 15 yards for the go-ahead touchdown and Kansas City held on.
Hunt had 81 yards on the ground, building on a record-setting debut in which he piled up 246 yards from scrimmage in a seasonopening victory in New England.
CARDINALS 16, COLTS 13 (OT)
INDIANAPOLIS — Carson Palmer’s late rally got the Cardinals into overtime and Tyrann Mathieu’s interception set up Phil Dawson for a 30-yard field goal to win it.
Dawson made the most of his second chance after pushing a 42-yard attempt wide right as regulation time expired.
STEELERS 26, VIKINGS 9
PITTSBURGH — Ben Roethlisberger threw a pair of first-half touchdown passes, Le’Veon Bell ran for 87 yards and the Steelers kept Minnesota in check.
Roethlisberger finished 23 of 35 for 243 yards and the two scores as the Steelers (2-0) improved to 10-1 in home openers under Mike Tomlin.
REDSKINS 27, RAMS 20
LOS ANGELES — Kirk Cousins threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Grant with 1:49 to play to give the Redskins the victory.