Dallas rallies from 20 down to stun Atlanta
One gamble after another failed for coach Mike McCarthy in his home debut with the Dallas Cowboys. A successful onside kick made them all moot. Greg Zuerlein kicked a 46-yard field goal as time expired, and the Cowboys overcame four fumbles and a 20-point deficit in the first quarter to beat the Atlanta Falcons 40-39 on Sunday. The Falcons were still up 15 in the fourth quarter before Dak Prescott became the first quarterback in NFL history to pass for more than 400 yards and rush for three touchdowns in the same game, the third TD getting Dallas within two. Zuerlein did not use a tee for his slow-rolling onside attempt, a rare tactic. But even more curious was Atlanta’s players surrounding the ball when they could have recovered it. As soon as it crossed the 10-yard mark, C.J. Goodwin pounced — and later emerged from the big pile with the ball and 1:48 on the clock. Rookie receiver CeeDee Lamb’s 24-yard catch got the Cowboys in field goal position, and they ran down the clock before “Greg the Leg” touched off a wild celebration for the players and the socially distanced 21,708 fans who booed Dallas off the field with Atlanta up 29-10 at halftime. The crowd was 27 percent of AT&T Stadium’s 80,000-seat capacity. “I don’t know if I’ve been in many games like this thing,” Prescott said. “But to be able to get the win, and in front of those fans that were there, stayed the whole game, they didn’t give up on us. That was a huge difference.” Matt Ryan threw four TD passes, two off the three lost fumbles from the Cowboys in the first quarter, which ended with Atlanta in front 20-0. In the past nine seasons, Atlanta now has two of the three instances in which a team lost after leading by at least 15 points in the fourth quarter. “It’s tough to put a loss like that in place,” Quinn said. “I told the team there has to be a lesson in the pain of that loss. We’ll work into that as we put in preparation for next week, but definitely that one stings.”
Green Bay 42, Detroit 21: Aaron Jones rushed for a career-high 168 yards and scored three touchdowns, including a 75-yard breakaway. Jones also had a team-high 68 yards receiving on four catches as the Packers won their home opener for an eighth consecutive year. Aaron Rodgers was 18 of 30 for 240 yards with touchdown passes to Jones and Robert Tonyan. Tennessee 33, Jacksonville 30: Stephen Gostkowski kicked a 49-yard field goal with 1:36 left to push the Titans to victory. Gostkowski also made a 51-yarder at the end of the first half after an ugly performance in Tennessee’s opener. Jeffery Simmons batted a pass by Gardner Minshew, and Harold Landry III grabbed the ball out of the air with 47 seconds left to seal the victory. Indianapolis 28, Minnesota 11: Jonathan Taylor, a 21-year-old rookie running back, rushed 26 times for 101 yards and scored a touchdown in his first NFL start. Taylor celebrated his first win inside Lucas Oil Stadium, after losing three Big Ten championship games with Wisconsin in the stadium. He became the first Colts rookie in eight years to top the 100-yard mark. L.A. Rams 37, Philadelphia 19: Jared Goff threw three touchdown passes to Tyler Higbee and completed his first 13 passes, including a pair of TDs to Higbee, and the Rams jumped to a 21-3 lead minutes into the second quarter. After the Eagles pulled within one score, Goff’s 28-yard TD pass to Higbee in the fourth period iced it for Los Angeles. Pittsburgh 26, Denver 21: Ben Roethlisberger threw for 311 yards with two touchdowns and an interception and the Steelers fended off a spirited comeback by Denver. The Steelers knocked out Denver starting quarterback Drew Lock in the first quarter but didn’t secure the win until Terrell Edmunds sacked Broncos backup Jeff Driskel on fourth-and-2 with less than two minutes to go. Tampa Bay 31, Carolina 17: Tom Brady got his first win with the Buccaneers, throwing for 217 yards, one TD and an interception. With another recent acquisition, Leonard Fournette, rushing for 103 yards and two TDs, Brady rebounded from a less-than-stellar debut for his new team to avoid starting a season with consecutive losses for the first time in a 21-year career. Arizona 30, Washington 15: Kyler Murray threw for 286 yards and a TD and ran for two more scores to lead Arizona. The Cardinals were dominant in their push to a 2-0 record, jumping to a 14-0 lead by the end of the first quarter. They led 20-0 by halftime and 20-3 following the third. DeAndre Hopkins caught eight passes for 68 yards and a touchdown. Zane Gonzalez made three field goals. Kansas City 23, L.A. Chargers 20 (OT): Harrison Butker kicked a 58-yard field goal with 1:55 remaining in overtime, and Kansas City survived a superlative first start by rookie Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert.Butker’s game-winner was his third field goal of the day and his second from 58 yards, which tied a Chiefs record for distance. He nailed a 30-yarder on the final play of regulation. Baltimore 33, Houston 16: Lamar Jackson threw a TD pass, Mark Ingram ran for a TD and the Ravens added a score on defense. The win is Baltimore’s 14th straight in the regular season, the longest streak in the NFL since Carolina won 18 in a row in 2014-15. The Ravens were up by 10 in the fourth when Ingram took a direct snap on fourth-and-1 and dashed 30 yards to the end zone to make it 30-13.