FALCONS WIN ON FINAL STAND
CHICAGO» Matt Ryan threw an 88-yard touchdown pass to Austin Hooper and led two fourth-quarter scoring drives, and the Falcons held on to beat the Bears 23-17 on Sunday.
The butt of jokes following their epic Super Bowl collapse against New England, the Falcons survived as the Bears missed several chances to score a touchdown in the final seconds.
The Bears had a first down at the Atlanta 5 in the closing minute. Mike Glennon’s pass to a lunging Josh Bellamy on first down hit off the receiver’s hands in the end zone. Jordan Howard then dropped a catch at the 1.
After another incompletion on third down, Glennon was sacked by Brooks Reed to end the drive.
HIGHLIGHTS
Green Bay defensive lineman Mike Daniels’ strip sack of Russell Wilson deep in Seattle territory in the third quarter set up Ty Montgomery’s 6-yard touchdown run on the next play to spark the Packers’ 17-9 win over the Seahawks. Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was 28-of-42 for 311 yards and added a 32-yard touchdown pass to Jordy Nelson to make it an eight-point game late in the third quarter. … Matthew Stafford threw two of his four touchdown passes to rookie Kenny Golladay in the fourth quarter, helping the Lions rally to beat the Cardinals 35-23. The Lions picked off three of Carson Palmer’s passes, returning one for a score. They also knocked running back David Johnson out of the game with a wrist injury after forcing him to fumble in the third quarter. X-rays came back negative and Johnson will have an MRI on Monday. According to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen, the MRI will determine whether he misses “a few weeks” or “half the season or more.”… Ben Roethlisberger threw two touchdown passes to tight end Jesse James as the Steelers, with minimal help from Le’Veon Bell, held off the Browns 21-18. Cleveland rookie quarterback DeShone Kizer finished 20-of-30 for 222 yards, with a touchdown pass and an interception. He also ran five times for 17 yards and scored. … Tyrod Taylor threw two touchdown passes as the Bills beat the Jets 21-12 in Sean McDermott’s debut as Buffalo’s coach. Mike Tolbert also scored on a 1-yard run. Taylor was 16-of-28 for 224 yards and an interception. … Baltimore’s rebuilt defense picked off Andy Dalton four times and forced him to fumble, making it easy for Joe Flacco in his return from a back injury as the Ravens pulled away to a 20-0 victory over the Bengals. The Ravens ended a five-game losing streak in Cincinnati by pressuring Dalton into matching his career high for interceptions, three of them in the first half. … Carson Wentz threw for 307 yards and two touchdowns as the second-year quarterback guided the Eagles to a 30-17 victory over the Redskins ina sloppy, mistake-filled game between NFC East rivals. Wentz was 26-of-39. … Jared Goff passed for a career-high 306 yards and a touchdown in his first victory as an NFL starter, and the Rams routed the Colts 46-9 in Sean McVay’s impressive debut as the youngest head coach in modern league history. Todd Gurley had 40 yards rushing and a score.