Prescott, Cowboys defense leads Dallas to 20-13 win over Giants
ARLINGTON, Texas — Dak Prescott threw a 64-yard touchdown pass to Tavon Austin on the third play of the game and the Dallas Cowboys sacked Eli Manning six times in a 20-13 victory over the Giants on Sunday night.
The Dallas defense was strong again, just as in an opening loss at Carolina, as the Cowboys (1-1) avoided the first 0-2 start in seven seasons under coach Jason Garrett.
Manning and the Giants have started 0-2 for the fifth time in the past six seasons.
Dallas running back Ezekiel Elliott outgained Saquon Barkley in the first meeting in the pros between the former college rivals and high NFL draft picks. Elliott, who starred at Ohio State, rushed for 78 yards with a touchdown. Barkley, from Penn State, had just 28.
Even Prescott outrushed Barkley, finishing with a career-high 45 yards on the ground while throwing for 160.
The Cowboys shared the wealth on the sacks, with six different players recording a sack apiece: the linebacker Wilson, safety Kavon Frazier and defensive linemen Charlton, DeMarcus Lawrence, Antwaun Woods and Tyrone Crawford.
The Giants settled for Rosas’ 38-yard field goal to get within a touchdown with 11 seconds remaining, but the next onside kick went out of bounds.
Manning finished 33 of 44 for 279 yards. Austin had two catches and led Dallas with 79 yards receiving.
Saints 21, Browns 18
NEW ORLEANS — Wil Lutz kicked a 44-yard field goal for New Orleans with 21 seconds left, Cleveland kicker Zane Gonzalez pushed the second of his two missed field goals wide right in the final seconds, and the Saints held on for a 21-18 victory that extended the Browns’ winless streak to 19 games.
Gonzalez also missed two extra points, one week after his potential winning field goal was blocked in a season-opening tie with Pittsburgh.
Cleveland (0-1-1) carried a two-score lead into the final nine minutes before its latest collapse.
Receiver Michael Thomas had two fourth-quarter touchdowns for the Saints (1-1), who scored 40 points in a Week 1 loss to Tampa Bay, but didn’t find the end zone against Cleveland until 8:41 remained.
Thomas’ 2-yard catch cut Cleveland’s lead to 12-10.
Marcus Williams’ interception of Tyrod Taylor with just less than five minutes
remaining set up Thomas’ leaping 5-yard touchdown catch with 2:40 to go, and Alvin Kamara’s run for a 2-point conversion put the Saints up 18-12.
That conversion made all the difference after Taylor found Antonio Callaway with a
47-yard, all-or-nothing heave on fourth-and-5 with 1:16 to go. Gonzalez missed a point-after kick for the second time, and Drew Brees’ 42yard completion to Ted Ginn Jr. set up Lutz’ go-ahead kick.
Titans 20, Texans 17
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Ryan Succop kicked a 31-yard field goal with 1:00 left, and the battered Titans held off the Texans 20-17 to give Mike Vrabel his first victory as an NFL head coach.
Succop also kicked a tying 42-yarder in the fourth quarter as Tennessee (1-1) pulled out the win with quarterback Marcus Mariota watching from the sideline. The Titans also were missing their top three offensive tackles.
Deshaun Watson and Houston (0-2) had the ball last. With 17 seconds left, Watson ran around the field looking for a receiver. He found DeAndre Hopkins for a 31-yard completion to the Tennessee 21, but time expired before the Texans could run another play.
Blaine Gabbert, starting for his fourth NFL team, threw for 117 yards and a touchdown.
With Mariota watching because of an elbow injury that created numbness in his throwing hand, Vrabel and the Titans (1-1) got creative. They dipped into the playbook for some wildcat with Derrick Henry on offense, and All-Pro safety Kevin Byard set an NFL record when he tossed a 66-yard touchdown pass on a fake punt.
On Tennessee’s opening drive, Byard hit a wide-open Dane Cruikshank down the right sideline. Byard’s TD pass was the longest by a defensive player in the Super Bowl era , easily topping the mark set by Rams defensive back Ed Meador on Nov. 19, 1967.
Vikings 29, Packers 29
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Daniel Carlson missed two field goals in overtime, including one from 35 yards as time expired, and the Vikings had to settle for a 29-29 tie after rallying from a late 13-point deficit.
The rookie pushed his final kick wide right, just like his attempt from 49 earlier in overtime.
Packers kicker Mason Crosby matched a career high with five field goals, but his potential game winner from 52 went wide left as time expired in regulation.
Both teams are 1-0-1.
The tie overshadowed memorable performances from both quarterbacks.
Green Bay star Aaron Rodgers played with a brace on his injured left knee and threw for 281 yards and a score.
Minnesota’s Kirk Cousins threw for 425 yards and four touchdowns, including three in the fourth quarter.
Chiefs 42, Steelers 37
PITTSBURGH — Patrick Mahomes tied a franchise record with six touchdown passes. The 22-year-old Mahomes finished 23 of 28 for 326 yards in his third career start as the Chiefs (2-0) won in Pittsburgh for the first time since 1986. Mahomes has 10 touchdown passes through two weeks, the most ever by a quarterback through two games.
Trevor Kelce caught seven passes for 109 yards and two scores. Tyreek Hill, Chris Conley, Kareem Hunt and Demarcus Robinson also hauled in touchdown passes as the Chiefs recovered in the second half after blowing an early 21-pont lead.
Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger shook off an achy right elbow that limited him in practice during the week, completing 39 of 60 passes for 452 yards and three touchdowns. The 36-year-old also leapt into the end zone for a 3-yard score with 1:59 to go that got the Steelers (0-1-1) within five.
Rather than attempt an onside kick, Pittsburgh sent it deep. Two runs by Hunt gave Kansas City a big first down and Steelers linebacker Tyler Matakevich was flagged for roughing the punter as the Chiefs ended a sixgame losing streak in Pittsburgh.
Buccaneers 27, Eagles 21
TAMPA, Fla. — Ryan Fitzpatrick threw for more than 400 yards and four touchdowns for the second straight week.
Filling in for suspended quarterback Jameis Winston, the 35-year-old Fitzpatrick completed 27 of 32 passes for 402 yards and has the suddenly explosive Bucs off to a 2-0 start for the first time since 2010.
DeSean Jackson scored on a 75-yard reception on the first play of the game. O.J. Howard also had a 75-yard TD catch in the first half for Tampa Bay, which stunned New Orleans 48-40 on the road in its season opener.
Nick Foles threw for 338 yards for the Eagles (1-1), who rallied from a 20-point, third-quarter deficit.
The Super Bowl MVP’s 2-yard TD pass to Nelson Agholor on fourth down trimmed Tampa Bay’s lead to 27-21 with 2:46 remaining. The Bucs didn’t give the Eagles’ injury-decimated offense a chance to finish the comeback.
Fitzpatrick, a 14-year veteran and one of four players in NFL history to throw TD passes for seven franchises, produced a couple first downs on Tampa Bay’s ensuing possession to drain all but 19 seconds off the clock.