NFL ROUNDUP
RAIDERS 26, STEELERS 17
PITTSBURGH — Derek Carr threw for 382 yards and two touchdowns, including a 61-yard strike to Henry Ruggs midway through the fourth quarter, and the Las Vegas Raiders beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 26-17 on Sunday.
Carr completed 28 of 37 passes against a Pittsburgh defense that finished the game without a handful of starters, including All-Pro outside linebacker T.J. Watt, who exited in the second quarter with a groin injury.
The Steelers (1-1) lost defensive tackle Tyson Alualu in the first quarter and played the entire game without veteran cornerback Joe Haden and inside linebacker Devin Bush, both of whom were inactive with groin injuries of their own.
Ben Roethlisberger passed for 295 yards for Pittsburgh, including a 25-yard catchand-run early in the fourth quarter that rookie running back Najee Harris turned into the first touchdown of his career.
The Raiders (2-0) responded immediately. Carr uncorked a rainbow down the middle of the field, giving Ruggs plenty of time to run away from Pittsburgh’s Minkah Fitzpatrick and Ahkello Witherspoon and into the end zone.
RAMS 27, COLTS 24
INDIANAPOLIS — Matthew Stafford led Los Angeles on two late scoring drives and Matt Gay made a tiebreaking 38-yard field goal with 2:23 to play.
The Rams have won three straight in this series and have taken all five road openers under coach Sean McVay.
Stafford wasn’t as proficient as he was in the season-opening victory over Chicago but he did play well — even after appearing to hit his right thumb on the helmet of Colts defensive tackle DeForest Buckner in the first half. He finished 19 of 30 for 278 yards, two TD passes and one interception.
Cooper Kupp caught nine passes for 163 yards and two scores for the Rams (2-0).
The Colts are 0-2 for the first time in coach Frank Reich’s four-year tenure and now face a daunting three-game road trip.
Indy tied it on a 35-yard field goal with 7:22 left, but quarterback Carson Wentz injured his right ankle on the play before the field goal and did not return. The injury doomed Indy’s comeback hopes as Jacob Eason was intercepted on his second NFL pass.
BILLS 35, DOLPHINS 0
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Josh Allen threw two touchdown passes, Zach Moss ran for two scores and the Bills knocked out Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa early with a rib injury.
Devin Singletary rushed for 82 yards and another touchdown for the Bills (1-1), who have won six consecutive games in the series.
It was the second-worst shutout loss by the Dolphins (1-1) at home, topped only by a 43-0 defeat to New England in 2019.
Tagovailoa lasted only two series, knocked out of the game on a failed fourthdown play near midfield where Buffalo’s A.J. Epenesa blew past Dolphins right tackle Jesse Davis and was at full speed when he launched into Miami’s quarterback. Tagovailoa needed a couple tries just to get to the sideline and was carted to the locker room not long afterward.
COWBOYS 20, CHARGERS 17
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Greg Zuerlein connected on a 56-yard field goal as time expired to give the Dallas Cowboys a 20-17 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday.
After Tristan Vizcaino tied the game with a 29-yard field goal with 3:58 remaining, Dallas went 49 yards in 11 plays to get just barely into Zuerlein’s range.
Troy Pollard ran for 109 yards on 13 carries for the third 100-yard game of his career. Dak Prescott completed 23 of 27 passes for 237 yards as the Cowboys evened their record at 1-1 despite being without five players who started the opener.
Justin Herbert had his 10th 300-yard game — completing 31 of 41 passes for 338 yards — tying him for the most by a quarterback in his first two seasons. He had one touchdown pass but threw two interceptions.
BROWNS 31, TEXANS 21
CLEVELAND — Baker Mayfield came back after hurting his left shoulder to throw a touchdown pass and run for a TD, leading Cleveland to the victory.
Nick Chubb had a 26-yard touchdown run for the Browns (1-1), who bounced back from a Week 1 loss at Kansas City to thrill their first capacity home crowd since 2019.
Mayfield went 10 for 10 after a first-half interception — and injuring his non-throwing shoulder while making the tackle on the play — and finished 19 of 21 for 213 yards. Chubb had 95 yards on 11 carries.
The Texans (1-1) were tied at halftime and moving the ball with ease before losing quarterback Tyrod Taylor to a hamstring injury.
Taylor’s injury forced rookie Davis Mills into his first NFL action, and he threw an interception on his second series. BRONCOS 23, JAGUARS 13
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Courtland Sutton had nine catches for 159 yards, and the Broncos handed the Jaguars their 17th consecutive loss.
In Denver’s first game without Jerry Jeudy (ankle), Sutton showed he can be Teddy Bridgewater’s go-to guy. Sutton’s big day included a shoestring grab in the third quarter that surely rates among his best plays in four seasons.
Sutton had nearly half of Bridgewater’s 328 yards passing. Bridgewater completed 26 of 34 passes, with TD tosses to Tim Patrick and Noah Fant.
The Broncos are 2-0 for the seventh time in the last nine years and the first since 2019.
PATRIOTS 25, JETS 6
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Mac Jones was smart and efficient, Damien Harris and James White had touchdown runs, and the Patriots took advantage of a nightmarish outing by Zach Wilson.
With the spotlight on the Mac vs. Zach matchup of rookie first-round quarterbacks, it was Jones who shined as Wilson was intercepted four times — twice by J.C.
Jackson.
Jones, the No. 15 overall pick in the draft, went 22 of 30 for 186 yards for the Patriots (1-1) a week after going 29 for 39 for 281 yards and a touchdown in a loss to Miami. Sunday’s numbers were more than good enough for New England to beat New York for the 11th straight game.
PANTHERS 26, SAINTS 7
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Sam Darnold threw for 305 yards and two touchdowns, and Carolina’s defense turned in another strong performance.
Darnold improved to 2-0 as Panthers starter, connecting on TDs to Brandon Zylstra and D.J. Moore as Carolina jumped to a 17-0 lead by outgaining the Saints 274-65 in the first half.
Christian McCaffrey added 137 yards from scrimmage and scored his first touchdown of the season as the Panthers (1-1) defeated the Saints (1-1) for only the second time in the last 10 tries.
Jameis Winston, who threw five TD passes in a 38-3 win over Green Bay in the season opener, was held to 111 yards passing, intercepted twice and sacked four times. Alvin Kamara was limited to 5 yards on eight carries as the Saints struggled with five of the team’s offensive coaches out due to COVID-19 protocols. In all, the Saints were missing eight assistant coaches cue to COVID-19.
BEARS 20, BENGALS 17
CHICAGO (AP) — Justin Fields played the second half after Andy Dalton exited with a knee injury against his former team, and the rookie quarterback used Chicago’s stellar defensive performance to direct the Bears to their first win of the season.
Roquan Smith returned an interception 53 yards for his first career touchdown, one of three straight picks thrown by Joe Burrow.
The Bears were up 20-3 before Burrow threw a 42-yard touchdown pass to Ja’Marr Chase. Fields then got intercepted at the Chicago 25 by Logan Wilson, who returned it to the 7. Burrow hit Tee Higgins with a TD on the next play, cutting it to 20-17 with 3:39 remaining.