Overturned touchdown gives Ryan, Falcons win
DETROIT — Matthew Stafford’s pass to Golden Tate was ruled to be just short of the goal line in the final seconds, overturning the call on the field and allowing the Atlanta Falcons to hold on for a 30-26 win over the Detroit Lions on Sunday.
Stafford threw a slant to Tate and a video review determined he was down just inside the 1 with 8 seconds left. By rule, 10 seconds had to run off the clock, and that ended the game because the Lions didn’t have any timeouts.
Former NFL officiating chief Dean Blandino, now a Fox analyst, explained the call in a tweet:
“To recap in DET: ruling on the field was a TD which stops the clock. After review, Tate was short which would have kept the clock running ... This carries a 10-sec runoff. Had the call on the field been correct initially, the clock would have run out. That’s the spirit of the rule.”
The defending NFC champion Falcons (3-0) overcame Matt Ryan’s three interceptions and many other mistakes, including on Detroit’s last drive.
Detroit (2-1) never led in the game and failed to pull off another comeback in the fourth quarter.
Eagles 27, Giants 24
Jake Elliott kicked a 61-yard field goal as the clock expired.
Eli Manning threw three touchdown passes in the fourth quarter, including a 77-yard score to Sterling Shepard, but Philadelphia (2-1) rallied twice.
Carson Wentz tossed a 19-yard pass to Alshon Jeffery to set up Elliott’s kick. The rookie was a fifth-round pick by the Bengals and joined the Eagles after Caleb Sturgis was injured in Week 1. He was carried off the field by two teammates.
Elliott hit a 46-yard field goal to tie it with 51 seconds left after Aldrick Rosas kicked a 41-yarder to put the Giants ahead.
The Giants (0-3) hadn’t scored 20 points in eight straight games before Manning led them to 21 in a span of 5:21. He tossed TD passes of 10 yards and 4 yards to Odell Beckham Jr. to tie it at 14. Manning then connected over the middle to Shepard, who broke a couple tackles and sprinted all the way for a 21-14 lead.
But Philadelphia (2-1) answered quickly. A 36-yard penalty for pass interference on Eli Apple put the ball at the 15 and rookie Corey Clement ran in on the next play for his first career TD to make it 21-21.
Patriots 36, Texans 33
Tom Brady connected with Brandin Cooks for a 25-yard touchdown pass with 23 seconds left, his fifth TD throw of the game.
Brady finished 25 of 35 for 378 yards as New England (2-1) won its fifth straight regular-season meeting with Houston (1-2) and seventh of eight overall.
Cooks caught five passes for 131 yards and pair of scores. It was the fifth multi-touchdown game and eighth 100-yard game of his career.
Texans rookie Deshaun Watson was strong in his second career start. The Patriots were thin on the edge without linebacker Dont’a Hightower for the second straight week, and Watson took advantage, completing 22 of 33 passes for 301 yards and two touchdowns.
But he did have two interceptions, including one that set up a New England first-half touchdown.
The Patriots extended their halftime lead to 28-20 in the third quarter before Houston used a 12-yard TD pass from Watson to Ryan Griffin, and a 31-yard Ka’imi Fairbairn field goal to edge back in front 30-28 early in the fourth quarter.
Bears 23, Steelers 17, Ot
Jordan Howard scored on a 19-yard run in overtime to lead the Bears.
Howard’s winning score came two plays after rookie Tarik Cohen broke off an electric run for what appeared to be a 73-yard winning touchdown. But he was ruled out at the Pittsburgh 37. Howard took over from there, and the Bears (1-2) came away with a surprising victory.
Howard had 138 of Chicago’s 220 yards rushing, making up for a lacklustre performance by quarterback Mike Glennon.
The Steelers (2-1) stayed off the sideline for the national anthem in the wake of President Donald Trump’s comments that players who kneel in protest should be fired. Left tackle Alejandro Villanueva, an Army veteran, stood near the tunnel with his hand over his heart.
Once the game ended, they found themselves in a familiar spot — losing to a lesser team and losing in Chicago, where they are 1-13.
Marcus Cooper committed an inexplicable fumble after the Bears blocked a field goal in the closing seconds of the half. With a clear path to the end zone, he slowed down and had the ball poked away at the 1.
Bills 26, Broncos 16
Tyrod Taylor threw two touchdowns and the Bills intercepted Trevor Siemian twice in the final 19 minutes.
Taylor went 20 of 26 for 213 yards with a 2-yard touchdown to Andre Holmes and a 6-yarder to Charles Clay. Taylor got lucky on the touchdown pass to Holmes , as the ball deflected off the hands of Zay Jones just inside the goal line and bounced directly to Holmes in the back of the end zone.
The Bills (2-1) overcame their struggling running attack courtesy of Taylor’s arm and a stout defence in a game LeSean McCoy was limited to 21 yards on 14 carries. Though he had seven catches for 48 yards, McCoy’s latest poor outing came after he was limited to 9 yards rushing in a 9-3 loss at Carolina.
The Bills allowed just one touchdown, while Brandon McManus rounded out Denver’s scoring with three field goals.
In falling to 2-1, the Broncos turned over the ball on each of their final four possessions, with Siemian being intercepted by E.J. Gaines and Tre’Davious White. The Broncos also turned the ball over twice on downs.
Jets 20, Dolphins 6
Josh McCown threw a 69-yard touchdown pass to Robby Anderson, Bilal Powell ran for a score, and the Jets’ defence dominated Jay Cutler and the Dolphins.
While a lot of the focus heading into the season was on whether the revamped Jets roster would be good enough to win any games, New York made Miami look like the team in the middle of a rebuild.
McCown finished 18 of 23 for 249 yards, Chandler Catanzaro kicked two field goals, and the Jets (1-2) forced Cutler and the Dolphins (1-1) into mistakes all game. The Jets also avoided their first 0-3 start since 2003.
Jaguars 44, Ravens 7
Marcedes Lewis caught three of Blake Bortles’ four touchdown passes as the Jaguars won in their fifth game in Britain’s capital.
Allen Hurns and Leonard Fournette also scored touchdowns for the Jaguars (2-1), who have won each of their last three games played at the venue. This one, by far, was the easiest. The Ravens (2-1) managed just 186 yards of total offence, including minus-1 yard in the first quarter. They managed 15 yards in the first half, and picked up only 12 first downs.
A 6-yard pass from Ryan Mallett, who entered in relief of Joe Flacco in the fourth quarter, to Benjamin Watson with 3:24 remaining prevented the shutout. It was their worst defeat since Nov. 9, 1997, when they lost 37-0 at Pittsburgh.
Baltimore crossed midfield three times — and not until the third quarter, when Terrance West gained 7 yards to reach the Jaguars 45.
On the next play, West failed to secure a handoff and fumbled, leading to linebacker Telvin Smith returning it 52 yards to set up Lewis’ third touchdown.
Vikings 34, Buccaneers 17
Case Keenum gave Minnesota a brilliant performance in relief of Sam Bradford, passing for three touchdowns and a career-high 369 yards without a turnover.
Stefon Diggs had 173 yards receiving and caught two of Keenum’s throws for scores, one short and one long .
Dalvin Cook produced 169 total yards plus his first NFL touchdown, which capped a 75-yard drive by the Vikings (2-1) to start the game.
They never slowed down, building a 28-3 lead by early in the third quarter on their way to compiling 494 yards.
Trae Waynes and Harrison Smith each picked off Jameis Winston in the end zone, and Andrew Sendejo returned an interception 36 yards in the fourth quarter to set up one of two field goals by Kai Forbath.
Colts 31, Browns 28
Jacoby Brissett ran for two touchdowns, threw for another and the Colts held off Cleveland’s late charge.
Brissett, acquired in a trade with New England earlier this month, looked much more comfortable in his second start, going 17 of 24 with 259 yards and running five times for 14 yards. Indy (1-2) avoided its first 0-3 start in six years.
Cleveland (0-3) lost its 15th consecutive road game despite being favoured for the first time since 2015 and a road favourite for the first time since 2012.
Brissett was the primary reason for the Browns’ latest loss. He started the scoring with a 5-yard TD run, broke a 7-7 tie by spinning away from pressure and scooting 7 yards for his second score, then hooked up with T.Y. Hilton on a 61-yard TD pass to make it 21-7 — all in the first half.
Saints 34, Panthers 13
Drew Brees shredded the league’s top-ranked defence, throwing for three touchdowns and 220 yards. Brees led six scoring drives and threw TD passes to Michael Thomas, Brandon Coleman and ex-Panthers wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr. as the Saints avoided an 0-3 start. Rookie Alvin Kamara put the game away with a 25-yard TD run with 4:42 left.
Carolina (2-1) had allowed six points in its previous two games.
The Saints’ defence, which came in ranked 32nd in the league, intercepted Cam Newton three times and sacked him four times before he was replaced late in the fourth quarter. Many of Newton’s throws were either too hard or high as the seventh-year quarterback continued to struggle with his rhythm following off-season shoulder surgery. The Associated Press