The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Brees beats Falcons in OT with his feet
On the day he became the NFL’s career leader in completed passes, Drew Brees’ biggest plays came as a runner.
Brees’ 1-yard run capped an 80-yard touchdown drive to open overtime that lifted the New Orleans Saints to a 43-37 win over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.
That came after his 7-yard score late in the fourth quarter forced the overtime. After the Saints won the coin toss, Brees and the Saints held the ball for more than seven minutes.
Brees jumped over the pile on a quarterback keeper after his apparent 3-yard TD pass to Alvin Kamara was overturned. A review determined Kamara’s knee was down before he crossed the goal line. Brees scored on the following play, giving the Saints (2-1) the win.
“This was a wild one,” said Brees, who passed for 396 yards and three touchdowns and ran for two scores. Kamara had 15 catches for 124 yards and ran for 66 yards.
Brees’ biggest play before the winner might have been his improbable 7-yard scoring run with 1:15 remaining that forced overtime. He ran to his left and then spun to avoid tackle attempts by Brian Poole and Robert Alford.
“At some point, I felt they were coming to take my head off and I could probably spin out of it,” Brees said, adding he now has film evidence to show the youth flag football team he coaches that “spin moves work. Spin moves are good.”
With his 14th completed pass, the 39-year-old Brees broke the record of 6,300 career completions set by Hall of Famer Brett Favre.
Seahawks 24, Cowboys 13: Russell Wilson threw for two first-half touchdowns, Chris Carson added a 5-yard TD run in early in the fourth quarter, and Seattle avoided a 0-3 start by beating Dallas. Wilson hit Jaron Brown on an 18-yard TD early in the second quarter, and later hit Tyler Lockett streaking up the sideline on a 52-yard scoring pass as Seattle built a 17-3 halftime lead and cruised.
Redskins 31, Packers 17: Adrian Peterson ran for 120 yards and a pair of 2-yard scores, Alex Smith threw two TD passes — all in the first half — and Washington held on. On a rainy afternoon, the Redskins moved out to leads of 14-0 and, at halftime, 28-10, by putting together TD drives of 74, 75, 79 and 98 yards. Smith connected with Paul Richardson for a 46-yard TD to on the game’s fourth play.
Eagles 20, Colts 16: Philadelphia’s Carson Wentz threw a TD pass on his first drive in nine months, and Wendell Smallwood ran in from the 4 for the go-ahead score, but the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles still needed two defensive stops against Andrew Luck in the final 90 seconds. Indy had a first down at the Eagles 11 and two cracks from the 4 but both passes fell incomplete.
Chiefs 38, 49ers 27: After winning his first three starts, all away from Kansas City, Patrick Mahomes finally made his regular-season home debut and torched San Francisco’s banged-up pass defense for 314 yards and three scores. Jimmy Garoppolo, the 49ers QB, was carted off after a hit late in the game. “We fear an ACL (injury),” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “We’ll find out more tomorrow.”
Dolphins 28, Raiders 20: Miami receiver Albert Wilson threw a 52-yard touchdown pass to put the Dolphins ahead midway through the fourth quarter, and then turned a short reception into a 74-yard score that sealed it. Oakland outgained the Dolphins 434-373, and Derek Carr threw for 345 yards, but Xavien Howard intercepted him twice deep in Miami territory,
Panthers 31, Bengals 21: Cam Newton threw for two touchdowns and ran for two others, while Christian McCaffrey racked up a career-high 184 yards rushing. Newton completed 15 of 24 passes for 150 yards and ran for 36 yards as Carolina won its seventh straight home game going back to last season. Cincinnati’s Andy Dalton was 29 of 46 with two TDs, but was intercepted four times.
Bears 16, Cardinals 14: Cody Parkey kicked his third field goal, a 43-yarder with 4:31 remaining, to rally Chicago past winless Arizona. Sam Bradford threw two first-quarter TD passes to put the Cardinals up 14-0, but was replaced by rookie Josh Rosen after fumbling in Chicago territory late in the game. Rosen drove Arizona, but on fourth-and-5 from the Bears 45, his pass was intercepted with 1:10 to play.
Rams 35, Chargers 23: Jared Goff passed for 354 yards and three touchdowns, and Todd Gurley rushed for 105 yards and another score, leading the Rams over the Chargers in the franchises’ first meeting since their relocations to Los Angeles. Cory Littleton blocked a punt in the end zone and Blake Countess recovered it for an early Rams TD. Ravens 27, Broncos 14: Joe Flacco picked apart Denver’s depleted defense for 277 yards and a touchdown. Connecting with eight receivers, Flacco went 25 for 40 without an interception on a rainy afternoon. He threw 28 passes in the first half, when Baltimore took control. The Ravens turned to their defense in the fourth quarter, twice stopping drives inside their 15.
Titans 9, Jaguars 6: Marcus Mariota came off the bench and directed three scoring drives, including one in the fourth quarter. Mariota replaced Blaine Gabbert in the first quarter after Gabbert was injured. Mariota completed 12 of 18 passes for 100 yards and ran for 51 more, including a 15-yard gain on third-and-1 late. The Titans milked the clock and ended up celebrating an early lead in the AFC South.