The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Falcons blast powerless Cowboys
Adrian Clayborn set an Atlanta record with six sacks, Matt Ryan threw a pair of short touchdown passes and the Falcons romped to a 27-7 victory Sunday over the Dallas Cowboys, who looked anemic offensively in their first game without suspended running back Ezekiel Elliott.
Ryan hooked up with Justin Hardy on a 3-yard pass for Atlanta’s first offensive touchdown in the third quarter this season. Early in the fourth, Ryan put the game away for the Falcons by tossing one to Austin Hooper for a 1-yard score.
While the Cowboys sure missed Elliott, who began serving a six-game suspension for allegations of domestic abuse after three legal reprieves, they really noticed the absence of left tackle Tyron Smith. He sat out the game with back and groin injuries, leaving third-year player Chaz Green to protect Dak Prescott’s blind side.
It didn’t go well for Dallas. Beating Green time after time, Clayborn forced two fumbles, recovered one of them and surpassed the team record of five sacks, held by Chuck Smith and Hall of Famer Claude Humphrey.
Dallas jumped ahead 7-0 on Prescott’s 11yard touchdown run in the first quarter, which was set up by Xavier Woods’ interception off a deflected pass.
The Falcons took control from there. After Matt Bryant’s 50-yard field goal, Tevin Coleman powered over from the 1 to give Atlanta a 10-7 halftime lead.
The third quarter was a trouble spot for the Falcons, whose only touchdown in the period had come way back in Week 2 on Desmond Trufant’s return of a fumble against the Green Bay Packers.
Coleman, who took over the running duties after Devonta Freeman went out early in the game with a concussion, got the Falcons rolling on the first play of the second half with a 17-yard romp. Ryan went to Julio Jones with a 24-yard pass on the next play, and just like that Atlanta was in Dallas territory.
On third-and-goal at the 3, Hardy slipped free in the back of the end zone and hauled in the scoring pass that pushed Atlanta’s lead to 17-7.
Vikings 38, Redskins 30: Case Keenum threw touchdowns to four different receivers to build a big lead, and the NFC North-leading Vikings won their fifth in a row. With Teddy Bridgewater active for the first time since January 2016 after a devastating knee injury, Keenum was 21 of 29 for 304 yards including TD passes to Stefon Diggs, Adam Thielen, David Morgan and Jarius Wright. Latavius Murray also ran for a score.
Packers 23, Bears 16: Brett Hundley threw for 212 yards and a TD, Nick Perry had three sacks and Green Bay snapped a three-game losing streak. Hundley, starting his third game for an injured Aaron Rodgers, threw a 17-yard touchdown to Davante Adams to make it 23-13 with 5:29 to play, and the Packers hung on to beat the Bears for the eighth time in nine games. It was the first victory for a Packers QB not named Rodgers or Brett Favre since 1989.
Jaguars 20, Chargers 17 (OT): Josh Lambo kicked a 30-yard field goal with 3:12 remaining in overtime, lifting the Jaguars in a wild game. Lambo’s kick got tipped at the line of scrimmage and still cleared the crossbar. The former soccer player and one-time Charger ran the other way and slid on both knees near midfield before getting mobbed by teammates. It gave Jacksonville its first threegame winning streak since 2013.
Rams 33, Texans 7: Robert Woods caught two of Jared Goff’s three TD passes during a dominant third quarter, and surging Los Angeles returned after a month away from home for its fourth straight victory. After struggling to a 9-7 lead during a quiet first half, the Rams ran away with a series of big throws by Goff, who passed for a career-high 355 yards. Woods caught a 94-yard TD pass to break it open before Sammy Watkins and Woods made TD catches 19 seconds apart late in the third quarter.
Steelers 20, Colts 17: Ben Roethlisberger’s 32-yard completion to Antonio Brown with 35 seconds set up a 33-yard field goal from Chris Boswell as time expired. Pittsburgh has won four straight overall and five in a row in the series. The Steelers needed two second-half TD passes from Roethlisberger to fight its way out of a 17-3 third-quarter deficit. Roethlisberger was 19 of 31 for 236 yards with one interception.
Titans 24, Bengals 20: Marcus Mariota tossed a 7-yard touchdown pass to DeMarco Murray with 36 seconds left, and Tennessee rallied for its fourth consecutive victory. It’s the longest winning streak for the Titans since taking five straight in 2009, and it’s their best start to a season since 2008 when the Titans last reached the playoffs as the AFC’s No. 1 seed. Murray ran for two touchdowns, and Mariota finished with 264 yards passing.
Lions 38, Browns 24: Matthew Stafford lofted a 29-yard, tiebreaking touchdown to Eric Ebron early in the fourth quarter and Detroit went on to beat winless Cleveland. The Lions rallied from first- and second-half deficits to earn consecutive victories for the first time since winning the first two games this season. The Browns, who fell to 0-9 on the season, led 10-0 early in the game for their first double-digit lead of the season.