Brees injured as Saints lose rematch with Rams

When Drew Brees went to the sideline holding his injured throwing hand, this NFC championship game rematch — and maybe this season’s Super Bowl race — dramatically changed in an instant.

Jared Goff and the Los Angeles Rams didn’t waste the opportunity created by Brees’ absence to beat the Saints again. And with no help from a no-call this time.

Goff passed for 283 yards and a touchdown and rushed for another score, and the Rams stopped visiting New Orleans from scoring an offensive touchdown for the first time since 2016 during Los Angeles’ 27-9 victory Sunday.

A strong performance by the Rams’ defense, an impressive second half from Goff’s offense, and another officiating decision that hurt the Saints were all overshadowed by Brees’ departure late in the first quarter.

“I told him I’m hoping for the best,” Goff said of his postgame chat with Brees. “He’s a great player for this league, a face of the league, and somebody we need in the league.”

Brees’ throwing hand collided with Aaron Donald’s outstretched hand while he threw an incompletion on the Saints’ second drive, and the NFL’s career leader in yards passing spent the afternoon on the Coliseum sideline with his thumb heavily wrapped. PATRIOTS 43, DOLPHINS 0 >> Antonio Brown caught a 20-yard touchdown pass in his debut for the Patriots, and they scored twice on interception returns in a two-minute fourth-quarter span. Brown also made an 18-yard catch on his first play for the Patriots (2-0), who signed him Monday. He finished with 56 yards on four receptions, all in the first half.

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. Devin Singletary scored on a 14-yard run and Frank Gore iced the game with a 1-yard plunge into the end zone with 5:53 to play as the Bills completed the New York/New Jersey sweep at MetLife Stadium. They beat the Jets last weekend. 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. Detroit (1-0-1) overcame Stafford’s two interceptions, Slay giving up a lot of receptions and Matt Prater missing an extra point and a field goal. TEXANS 13, JAGUARS 12 >> Justin Reid stopped Leonard Fournette on a 2-point conversion attempt with 36 seconds left in Houston. Houston led by 13-6 in the fourth quarter when Jacksonville rookie Gardner Minshew led a long drive that included an 18-yard run on fourth-and-10, and he capped it with a 4-yard TD pass to DJ Chark. Instead of trying to tie it with a kicked extra point, Jaguars coach Doug Marrone opted to go for the potential win. But Fournette was stopped by Reid.

BEARS 16, BRONCOS 14 >> Eddy Pineiro kicked a 53yard field goal as time expired, giving visiting Chicago a wild win over the Broncos and their former defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, whose gutsy 2-point call 31 seconds earlier had given Denver the lead. The Broncos thought time had expired when Mitchell Trubisky stepped up and threw a 25-yard pass to Allen Robinson on fourth-and-15 from his 40yard line. Robinson was tackled at the Denver 35 by Chris Harris Jr. The clock showed all zeroes and both teams milled around on the field not knowing whether to celebrate a win or lament a loss. Then referee Adrian Hill announced there was 1 second remaining and Chicago was using its last timeout.

RAVENS 23, CARDINALS 17 >> Lamar Jackson kept the Cardinals guessing all afternoon, supplementing an effective passing attack with more than an occasional jaunt out of the pocket. Jackson threw for 272 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 120 yards in a showdown between two of the league’s most exciting young quarterbacks. Arizona rookie QB Kyler Murray went 25 for 40 for 349 yards. COWBOYS 31, WASHINGTON 21 >> Dak Prescott carved up the Washington defense with his arm and his legs, completing 26 of 30 passes for 269 yards and three touchdowns and rushing for 69 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. FALCONS 24, EAGLES 20 >> Julio Jones hauled in a short pass on fourth down and took it 54 yards to the end zone with 2:10 remaining, giving host Atlanta a wild victory over Philadelphia.