Displaced Saints roll over struggling Rodgers and Packers
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jameis Winston and the hurricane-displaced Saints looked right at home in northeast Florida against Green Bay with a 38-3 victory — no doubt to the delight of fans rebuilding homes and lives back in New Orleans.
Winston passed for five touchdowns, New Orleans intercepted reigning NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers twice, and the Saints kicked off the post-Drew Brees era with a strikingly dominant opening victory over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.
CHIEFS 33, BROWNS 29
In Kansas City, Mo., Patrick Mahomes threw for 337 yards and three touchdowns while running for another score, and the Chiefs came back from a dismal first half in a rematch of their divisional playoff game from January.
Tyreek Hill caught 11 passes for 197 yards and a touchdown, and Travis Kelce hauled in a pair of TD catches, including the go-ahead score as the Chiefs finished off their rally from a 22-10 halftime deficit.
The Chiefs won their fifth straight against Cleveland, including their 22-17 playoff victory, and their 15th consecutive game in September. They also pushed Andy Reid within one win of reaching 100 with two franchises.
As for the Browns? They fell to 1-21 in season openers since returning to Cleveland in 1999, extending their NFL mark to 17 consecutive defeats. They haven’t won an opener on the road since the 1994 season.
DOLPHINS 17, PATRIOTS 16
In Foxborough, Mass., Tua Tagovailoa threw a go-ahead touchdown pass to Jaylen Waddle in the third quarter and Xavien Howard recovered a fumble with New England driving in the fourth.
It was Miami’s second straight win over the Patriots. Tagovailoa also led the Dolphins to a victory in the second meeting between the teams last season.
Tagovailoa finished 16 of 27 for 202 yards, a touchdown and one interception, and also had a 3-yard TD run to lead a revamped offense that kept the Patriots’ rebuilt defense guessing, mixing in no-huddle and empty backfield formations.
STEELERS 23, BILLS 16
In Orchard Park, N.Y., Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers’ new-look offense overcame a slow start, Ulysees Gilbert returned a blocked punt 9 yards for a touchdown, and Pittsburgh rallied.
Down 10-0, the Steelers scored on each of their first four possessions of the second half, with Roethlisberger putting Pittsburgh ahead for good by lobbing a 5-yard touchdown pass to Diontae Johnson in the left corner of the end zone.
CARDINALS 38, TITANS 13
In Nashville, Tenn., Kyler Murray threw four touchdown passes and had another score on a run, and linebacker Chandler Jones had a career-high five sacks.
Jones, who tied the franchise record, had three sacks in a first quarter so good LeBron James chimed in on social media for his Defensive Player of the Year candidacy. Jones, who wants a new contract, also forced two fumbles the Cardinals turned into 14 points.
SEAHAWKS 28, COLTS 16
In Indianapolis, Russell Wilson threw three of his four touchdowns in the first half as the defending NFC West champions won the 12th of their past 13 games in the early Sunday timeslot.
Indy lost its eighth straight opener, the past five with different starting quarterbacks.
RAMS 34, BEARS 14
In Inglewood, Calif., Matthew Stafford passed for 321 yards and three touchdowns in a dynamic debut with his new team, leading Los Angeles past Andy Dalton and the Chicago Bears.
Stafford found Van Jefferson for a 67-yard touchdown on his second pass for the Rams, who swung a blockbuster offseason trade to acquire the 13-year veteran quarterback from Detroit. Stafford then hit a wide-open Cooper Kupp for a 56-yard TD to open the third quarter, and he found Robert Woods for a clinching score with 3:17 to play.
49ERS 41, LIONS 33
In Detroit, Dre Greenlaw returned an interception for a touchdown to help the 49ers score 17 points over two-plus minutes late in the first half.
San Francisco led 38-10 early in the fourth quarter and allowed Detroit to score 23 points in threeplus minutes to pull within eight points. But the Lions turned the ball over on downs at the San Francisco 24 with 12 seconds left after getting it back on a fumble by Deebo Samuel.
TEXANS 37, JAGUARS 21
In Houston, Tyrod Taylor threw for 291 yards and two touchdowns filling in for Deshaun Watson in a win over Trevor Lawrence and the mistake-prone Jaguars.
Taylor took over at quarterback for Houston with Watson’s future with the team uncertain after 22 women filed lawsuits alleging sexual assault or harassment after he requested a trade.
CHARGERS 20, WASHINGTON 16
In Landover, Md., Justin Herbert threw for 337 yards and a touchdown in an ugly Week 1 matchup full of turnovers and big penalties.
Herbert led scoring drives of 75, 76 and 68 yards, and a go-ahead touchdown pass to Mike Williams made up for his fumble into the end zone and red zone interception on consecutive possessions. The reigning AP Offensive Rookie of the Year and the Chargers went 14 of 19 on third downs, wearing down Washington’s defense led by last year’s top defensive rookie, Chase Young.
EAGLES 32, FALCONS 6
In Atlanta, Jalen Hurts threw three touchdown passes, the first of them to Heisman Trophy winner DeVonta Smith, and the Eagles made a winner of Nick Sirianni in his head coaching debut.
Now firmly entrenched as the Eagles starter after Carson Wentz was traded, Hurts certainly looked the part with touchdown passes of 18 yards to Smith, 9 yards to Dallas Goedert and 23 yards to Jalen Reagor. Another Philadelphia rookie, fifth-round pick Kenneth Gainwell, scored his first TD as a pro with an 8-yard run late in the third quarter.
BENGALS 27, VIKINGS 24 (OT)
In Cincinnati, Evan McPherson kicked a 33-yard field goal as time expired in overtime. The winning kick was set up by a gutsy call. On fourth-and-inches from the Cincinnati 48, Joe Burrow rolled out and hit tight end C.J. Uzomah in stride for a 32-yard gain and get McPherson well within his range. McPherson had a 53-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter.
Cincinnati’s Germaine Pratt recovered Dalvin Cook’s fumble to set up the winning drive. Minnesota challenged the ruling that Cook had fumbled, but it was upheld after a replay review.
PANTHERS 19, JETS 14
In Charlotte, N.C., Sam Darnold threw for 279 yards and a touchdown and ran for another score against his former team. Darnold connected on a 57-yard touchdown pass with fellow ex-Jet Robby Anderson and took full advantage of a healthy Christian McCaffrey, who piled up 187 yards from scrimmage on 30 touches after missing 13 games last season with injuries.
Carolina’s defense brought the pressure on Jets rookie quarterback Zach Wilson, sacking the No. 2 pick in the NFL draft six times and intercepting him once. Wilson kept battling, though, and finished 20 of 37 for 258 yards with two touchdown passes to Corey Davis in his first career start.