Chargers lose their LA debut
Parkey’s late 54-yard field goal wins it for Miami
CARSON, Calif. - Cody Parkey hit his fourth field goal from 54 yards with 1:05 to play, and the Miami Dolphins rallied in the fourth quarter to spoil the Los Angeles Chargers’ home opener with a 19-17 victory Sunday.
Younghoe Koo missed a 44-yard field goal attempt with 5 seconds left after Philip Rivers maneuvered the Chargers (0-2) into scoring range in the final minute before a crowd of 25,381 in their first home game since relocating to the Los Angeles area after 56 seasons in San Diego.
Jay Cutler passed for 230 yards and Jay Ajayi rushed for 122 in the delayed season opener for the Dolphins, who spent the past nine days in California after leaving South Florida early to avoid Hurricane Irma. Parkey did most of their scoring, connecting from 30, 28 and 35 yards before burying his longest kick in the waning moments.
Rivers passed for 331 yards, and Antonio Gates set an NFL record with his 112th touchdown reception as a tight end.
Rivers and the Chargers moved 54 yards in 52 seconds to set up Koo, whose potential tying field goal was blocked in Denver last week. The undrafted rookie kicker pushed this one barely right.
Kenny Stills caught a 29-yard TD pass in the third quarter from Cutler, who went 24 of 33 without an interception in his Dolphins debut.
Gates broke his tie with Tony Gonzalez on an 8-yard throw from Rivers in the third quarter. Melvin Gordon scored the Chargers’ first touchdown in their new home from 1 yard in the second quarter to cap a 70-yard drive, but both teams struggled to put together sustained scoring marches.
At Falcons 34, Packers 23: Matt Ryan and the Falcons picked up where they left off against the Packers, building a big halftime on the way to a dominating victory.
The rematch of last season’s NFC championship game was essentially a repeat: Ryan threw for 252 yards and a touchdown, Devonta Freeman had a couple of scoring runs, and Desmond Trufant raced to the end zone off an attempted pass by Aaron Rodgers that was ruled a fumble.
Last season, Atlanta earned a trip to the Super Bowl by racing to a 24-0 halftime lead and a 31-0 edge early in the third quarter on the way to a 44-21 blowout of the Packers.
In the first regular-season NFL game at $1.5 billion Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and the first sporting event with in which the facility’s camera lens-like roof was open, the Falcons put on a show to mark the occasion.
They were ahead 24-7 at halftime and 31-7 less than a minute into the third period.
Patriots 36, at Saints 20: Bouncing back with a vengeance from a seasonopening loss, Tom Brady threw three touchdown passes in the first quarter for the first time in his career and eclipsed 300 yards passing in the first half for only the second time.
Brady’s maiden Super Bowl triumph in the Superdome back in February 2002 is bound to be one of his fondest memories. But the 18-year veteran looked like a superior QB in his latest visit. He finished 30 of 39 for 447 yards without an interception — at least not one that counted. Saints defenders caught Brady’s passes twice, but both plays were wiped out by New Orleans penalties.
Brady joined Warren Moon as the only QBs age 40 or older to pass for at least 400 yards and three TDs in a game, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Rob Gronkowski had a 53-yard catch and run to highlight his six-catch, 116yard performance, but left the game in the second half with a groin injury.
At Seahawks 12, 49ers 9: Russell Wilson avoided two potential sacks and found Paul Richardson in the front corner of the end zone for a 9-yard touchdown with 7:06 left.
It was an offensive nightmare as both teams had combined for 14 total quarters without a touchdown this season before the Seahawks finally broke the seal on the goal line. Wilson avoided Arik Armstead in the pocket and got his pass away before DeForest Buckner could pull him down. Seattle (1-1) snapped a streak of more than 112 minutes without a touchdown.
At Raiders 45, Jets 20: Marshawn Lynch ran for a touchdown in his first home game with Oakland and Derek Carr threw three TD passes to Michael Crabtree.
Redskins 27, at Rams 20: Kirk Cousins threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Grant with 1:49 to play to give the Redskins the victory against their former assistant coach, Rams and rookie head coach Sean McVay.
At Chiefs 27, Eagles 20: Chiefs rookie Kareem Hunt reached the end zone twice, Travis Kelce took a shovel pass 15 yards for the go-ahead touchdown and Kansas City held on.
At Steelers 26, Vikings 9: Ben Roethlisberger threw a pair of first-half touchdown passes, Le’Veon Bell ran for 87 yards and the Steelers kept Minnesota in check.
At Buccaneers 29, Bears 7: Jameis Winston threw for 204 yards and one touchdown, helping the Buccaneers return from an unscheduled bye week forced by Hurricane Irma.
At Ravens 24, Browns 10: Baltimore relentlessly harassed two Cleveland quarterbacks, Joe Flacco ramped up his production with a pair of touchdown passes and the Ravens breezed.
Titans 37, at Jaguars 16: Derrick Henry, Delanie Walker and Jalston Fowler each ran for touchdowns, and the Titans dominated the Jaguars.
At Panthers 9, Bills 3: Carolina’s defense allowed only three points for the second straight week, and Graham Gano converted three field goals.
At Broncos 42, Cowboys 17: Trevor Siemian tied a career high with four touchdown passes and Denver held Ezekiel Elliott to the worst game of his career — 8 yards on nine carries — in a blowout that included an hour-long lightning delay.
— Wire services