Jets 20, Dolphins 6:
Drew Brees shredded the league’s top-ranked defense, throwing for 220 yards and three touchdowns as the New Orleans Saints defeated the previously unbeaten Carolina Panthers 34-13 on Sunday in North Carolina.
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 had only allowed six points in its previous two games.
The Saints’ defense, 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.
The Panthers, who were already without injured Pro Bowl tight end Greg Olsen, lost wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin in the first quarter to a knee injury. His leg got bent back awkwardly after being dragged down from behind. Carolina’s only real offense came from rookie running back Christian McCaffrey, who had 101 yards receiving on nine catches.
The Saints led 17-6 when Ginn beat cornerback James Bradberry for a 40-yard touchdown reception to break it open. It was the same type of big play Ginn provided for the Panthers in previous seasons.
Brees was sharp all day, completing 22 of 29 passes.
Newton entered the game with 19 career touchdown passes and seven interceptions against the Saints. This marked the first time he’s ever thrown more than one interception in a game vs. New Orleans.
Josh McCown threw a 69-yard touchdown pass to Robby Anderson, Bilal Powell ran for a score, and the New York defense dominated Jay Cutler and the visiting Dolphins.
While a lot of the focus heading into the season was on whether the revamped Jets 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.
New York just missed having its first shutout since blanking Cincinnati 37-0 on Jan. 13, 2010 — in the Jets’ last game at old Giants Stadium. Cutler threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to DeVante Parker on the final play. Cody Parkey missed the extra point, capping a miserable day for Miami in 88-degree heat at MetLife Stadium.
Cutler, making his second start for Miami, struggled to connect with his receivers throughout. Miami failed to convert its first eight thirddown opportunities, not getting one until early in the fourth quarter, and finishing 1 for 12. Cutler was 26 of 44 for 220 yards with an interception and the TD toss.
After running for 122 yards in the Dolphins’ opener against the Los Angeles Chargers, Jay Ajayi managed just 16 yards on 11 carries against the Jets.
Bills 26, Broncos 16:
Tyrod Taylor threw two touchdowns and Buffalo intercepted Trevor Siemian twice in the final 19 minutes of a win over Denver (2-1).
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 his pass 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 defense in a game where 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.
Eagles 27, Giants 24:
Jake Elliott kicked a 61-yard field goal as the clock expired to lift Philadelphia. Eli Manning threw three touchdown passes in the fourth quarter for the visiting Giants, 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.
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. looked this season, and it was largely because of steady progress Brissett’s made since being traded from New England to Indy on Sept. 2.
After acknowledging he spent his first two weeks in Indy learning new names, new faces and a new playbook, Brissett managed to get in sync with Hilton and it made a huge difference. Hilton caught seven passes for 153 yards. He scored on a catch-and-run by cutting from the sideline across the field to take advantage of over-pursuing safety Jabrill Peppers. And Hilton set up a second score by drawing a pass interference penalty at the Browns’ 11-yard line.
The Browns got a 19-yard TD run from Duke Johnson Jr. and two TD passes from DeShone Kizer — a 1-yarder to David Njoku just before halftime and an 11-yarder to Kenny Britt. Kizer scored on a 1-yard plunge with 2:04 left to cut the deficit to 31-28.
Cleveland got one last chance after stopping Indy on the Browns 45. But Malik Hooker picked off Kizer’s desperation heave on the game’s final play.
Kizer finished 22 of 47 with 242 yards and threw three interceptions. He also ran seven times for 44 yards.
Gore ran 25 times for 57 yards and became the ninth player in NFL history with 3,000 carries. The milestone came on his 4-yard TD run.
The Browns’ Myles Garrett missed his third straight game (ankle) and linebacker Jamie Collins Sr. sat out with a concussion. Johnson left in the first half but returned in the second half.