Patriots rout Dolphins in Brown’s debut, 43-0
Antonio Brown caught a 20-yard touchdown pass in his debut for the New England Patriots, and they scored twice on interception returns in a two-minute fourth-quarter span Sunday to beat the Miami Dolphins, 43-0.
Brown also made an 18-yard catch on his first play for the Patriots, who signed him Monday. He finished with 56 yards on four receptions, all in the first half.
The NFL allowed the four-time All-Pro receiver to play despite a civil lawsuit filed Tuesday by his former trainer accusing him of sexually assaulting her on three occasions.
New England’s defense outscored Miami with interception returns for touchdowns of 54 yards by Stephon Gilmore and 69 yards by Jamie Collins Sr. The Patriots totaled seven sacks and four interceptions and earned their most lopsided win in the 108-game history of the series.
Tom Brady threw for 264 yards and two scores for the Pats, who are 2-0 for the first time since 2016, winning by a combined score of 76-3.
Seahawks 28, Steelers 26: Russell Wilson threw for three touchdowns, including a 28-yard rainbow to DK Metcalf midway through the fourth quarter for Seattle (2-0).
The Steelers lost starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to a right elbow injury late in the first half and fell to 0-2 for the first time since 2013 despite solid play from backup Mason Rudolph, who threw a pair of second-half touchdown passes to Vance McDonald in relief.
Roethlisberger began flexing his right arm after an incompletion late in the second quarter. He stayed in to finish the drive before jogging to the locker room.
Wilson was 29 of 35 for 300 yards and the three TDs.
Packers 21, Vikings 16: Kirk Cousins threw a costly interception in the fourth quarter to blunt a Vikings comeback Sunday as the Green Bay Packers held off the Vikings.
The Vikings rallied from a 21-point deficit, trailed by five, and were in position to take a lead with five minutes remaining in the game. But on a first-and-goal from the Green Bay 8, Cousins scrambled right and threw a pass into a crowd in the right corner of the end zone that was intercepted by Kevin King.
Cowboys 31, Redskins 21: Dak Prescott carved up the Washington Redskins’ defense with his arm and his legs, completing 26 of 30 passes for 269 yards and three touchdowns and rushing for 69 yards for the Cowboys (2-0).
A week after putting up a perfect 158.3 QB rating, Prescott responded from an interception to lead Dallas on consecutive touchdown drives of 97, 83 and 75 yards. He’s the first Cowboys quarterback to compile seven touchdown passes in the first two games of the season since Don Meredith in 1966.
Lions 13, Chargers 10: Matthew Stafford threw a go-ahead, 31-yard touchdown pass to Kenny Golladay midway through the fourth quarter and Darius Slay made an interception in the end zone with 1:03 left for the Lions (1-0-1).
Detroit overcame Stafford’s two interceptions, Slay giving up a lot of receptions and Matt Prater missing an extra point and a field goal.
The Chargers (1-1) were in a position to attempt a 45-yard field goal to tie the game, but Philip Rivers tried to force a pass to Keenan Allen and Slay picked it off.
Ravens 23, Cardinals 17: Lamar Jackson threw for 272 yards and two touchdowns, ran for 120 yards and helped the Ravens beat the Cardinals in a showdown between two of the league’s most exciting young quarterbacks.
The 2016 Heisman Trophy winner outdid the 2018 Heisman winner, Arizona rookie quarterback Kyler Murray, who went 25 for 40 for 349 yards.
Colts 19, Titans 17: Jacoby Brissett became the latest Indianapolis quarterback to top Tennessee, throwing a 4-yard touchdown pass to T.Y. Hilton with 4:38 left to lead the Colts.
Brissett had come up empty for Indianapolis against Tennessee, losing both games he started against the Titans in 2017. After Andrew Luck retired with a perfect 11-0 record against the Titans, Brissett picked up right where Luck left off. He passed for 146 yards and three TDs.
Bills 28, Giants 14: Somewhat maligned Josh Allen ran for a touchdown, threw for another, and the Bills claimed the bragging rights of New York.
Buffalo has its first 2-0 start since 2014 and only the third in 11 mostly fruitless years.
Texans 13, Jaguars 12: Justin Reid stopped Leonard Fournette on a 2-point conversion attempt with 36 seconds left, and the Houston Texans held on to edge the Jacksonville Jaguars.