Clayborn sacks it to Cowboys
Adrian Clayborn set a franchise record with six sacks, Matt Ryan threw a pair of short touchdown passes and the host Atlanta Falcons romped to a 27- 7 victory over theDallas Cowboys.
The Cowboys looked anemic offensively in their first game without suspended running back Ezekiel Elliott.
Ryan hooked up with Justin Hardy on a three- yard pass for the Falcons’ first offensive touchdown in the third quarter this season. Early in the fourth, Ryan put the game away for the Falcons by tossing one to Austin Hooper for a one- yard score.
While the Cowboys sure missed Elliott, who finally began serving a six- game suspension for allegations of domestic abuse after three legal reprieves, they really noticed the absence of left tackle Tyron Smith. He sat out the game with back and groin injuries, leaving third- year player Chaz Green to protect Dak Prescott’s blind side.
It didn’t go well. Beating Green time after time, Clayborn forced two fumbles, recovered one of them and surpassed the team record of five sacks, held by Chuck Smith and Hall of Famer Claude Humphrey. More impressively, Clayborn’s performance matched the secondmost sacks in NFL history.
49ers 31, Giants 21
C. J. Beathard threw for 288 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a third score to lead host San Francisco to its first victory of the season, topping New York.
Beathard connected on an 83- yard touchdown to Marquise Goodwin and a 47- yarder to Garrett Celek in the second quarter as the 49ers took advantage of another listless effort by the Giants to win for the first time under coach Kyle Shanahan.
This performance by the Giants will heighten the questions about whether the team needs
• NFL summaries, Pages 43- 44.
to change coaches. Ben McAdoo has been under fire after a media report that quoted an anonymous player as saying the players have given up on the season and don’t view him as a leader.
Rams 33, Texans 7
Robert Woods caught two of Jared Goff’s three touchdown passes during a dominant third quarter, and surging Los Angeles returned after a month away from home to take its fourth consecutive victory, romping over depleted Houston. After struggling to a 9- 7 lead in the first half, the NFL’s highest- scoring team ran away with a series of big throws by Goff, who passed for a career- high 355 yards.
Steelers 20, Colts 17
Ben Roethlisberger’s 32- yard completion to Antonio Brown with 35 seconds set up a 33- yard field goal from Chris Boswell as time expired, giving host Pittsburgh a victory over Indianapolis. The Steelers have won four straight overall and five in a row in the series but needed two secondhalf TD passes from Roethlisberger to fight its way out of a 17- 3 third- quarter deficit.
Titans 24, Bengals 20
Marcus Mariota tossed a sevenyard touchdown pass to DeMarco Murray with 36 seconds left as Tennessee rallied for its fourth consecutive victory. Visiting Cincinnati lost for the third time in four games, despite sacking Mariota four times
Patriots 41, Broncos 16
Tom Brady threw three touchdown passes, and the Patriots matched their own AFC record with their 12th consecutive road victory by pummeling the Broncos.