Bills avoid disaster after late collapse
After remarkably blowing a 28-3 lead in third quarter, Buffalo pulled out a miracle for a 35-32 win against the Los Angeles Rams.
Matt Prater has been one of the most clutch kickers in the NFL for most of his career, and though he had long misses in each of the first two games, the Lions had no qualms with putting their game against the Cardinals on his leg Sunday.
Prater made a 39-yard field goal as time expired to lift the visiting Lions to their first win of the season 26-23 over the previously unbeaten Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. The win snaps an 11-game Lions losing streak dating to last season.
The Lions got their best defensive effort of the young season Sunday, intercepting three Kyler Murray passes and getting a key stop in the game’s final minutes.
Murray, who generated some earlyseason MVP buzz with his play the first two weeks, threw incomplete passes on second and third down near midfield with just over 5 minutes to play
Detroit Free Press
Bucs 28, Broncos 10: Tom Brady threw three touchdown passes and Shaq Barrett celebrated his homecoming to Denver with a pair of sacks, one for a safety. With his first road win for the Bucs (2-1), Brady evened his career record against the Broncos at 9-9 with just his fifth win in a dozen trips to Denver. Before Sunday, the Broncos were the only team in the NFL with a winning record against the six-time Super Bowl champion.
This also marked the first time since in almost a decade – Nov. 14-21, 2010 – that the Buccaneers won back-to-back games by 14 or more points.
Associated Press
Panthers 21, Chargers 16: Carolina’s defense forced three Los Angeles turnovers, Joey Slye kicked five field goals and the visiting Panthers gave coach Matt Rhule his first NFL victory. The Panthers had not recorded a sack and allowed 65 points in their first two games but looked like a different unit. They sacked Justin Herbert twice and converted three turnovers into 12 points.
Teddy Bridgewater was 22 of 28 for 235 yards and a touchdown in his first win with Carolina (1-2). The seven-year veteran helped the Panthers snap a 10game losing streak dating to last season
Associated Press
Titans 31, Vikings 30: The Tennessee Titans in 2020 are living by the mantra, “A win is a win.” Because none of their three games to this point could be considered well-rounded – certainly not Sunday’s at Minnesota. Again, it was the Titans offense – and kicker Stephen Gostkowski – bailing out a defense that still hasn’t figured things out, despite the addition of Jadeveon Clowney ahead of Week 1 and the debut on Sunday of offseason signee Vic Beasley.
Gostkowksi made 6-of-6 field goals, including three from 50 yards or more in the second half. The last was a 55-yarder with 1:44 left to give the Titans a 3130 lead, a margin that would stand up. Nashville Tennessean
Brown 34, Washington 20: Cleveland didn’t light up the visiting Washington Football Team with an electric performance by quarterback Baker Mayfield and the rest of the offense. But Mayfield and Co. were very opportunistic, scoring touchdowns off all three of the defense’s interceptions and a field goal off a fumble recovery.
With the state of Ohio limiting attendance to 6,000 fans because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Browns defeated Washington for the first time since Sept. 3, 2004. The Browns had lost their previous three games in the series.
The Browns have started a season with a record of 2-1 for the first time since 2011, when Pat Shurmur was their new head coach. They went on to finish 4-12. They also have a record above .500 since Week 14 of the 2014 season, when they were 7-6 under coach Mike Pettine. They finished 7-9.
Mayfield went 16 of 23 passing (69.6%) for 156 yards and two touchdowns. He snapped his streak of eight consecutive games with an interception. It had been the NFL’s longest active streak, according to CBS Sports. Washington quarterback Dwayne Haskins went 21 of 37 passing for 224 yards and two touchdowns with three interceptions for a rating of 58.8.
Akron Beacon Journal
Patriots 36, Raiders 20: Rex Burkhead scored three touchdowns and Bill Belichick became the third coach in NFL history to reach 275 regular-season victories. Sony Michel finished with nine carries for 117 yards. Burkhead had two rushing scores and an 11-yard TD catch.
Cam Newton was 17 of 28 passing for 162 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Shilique Calhoun had two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery for a score.
The Patriots have won the last six meetings with the visiting Raiders and improved to 47-9 in regular-season games following a loss. Raiders coach Jon Gruden dropped to 0-3 against Belichick.
Derek Carr finished 24 of 32 for 261 yards and a two TDs for Las Vegas. But he had two fumbles which led to a New England field goal and a late touchdown when he lost the ball in the end zone and it was recovered by Calhoun. Josh Jacobs also had a fumble.
Las Vegas opened the season by scoring at least 34 points in its first two games with six red zone touchdowns. The Raiders were also second in the NFL, converting on 57 percent of third downs. They went just 2 for 5 in the red zone and 3 of 9 on third down Sunday. Providence Journal
Bills 35, Rams 32: For about 37 minutes Sunday, the Bills looked every bit like the AFC championship contender they believe themselves to be. Better, in fact. From most of the rest of the way, well, let’s just say whatever the opposite of that is, that was the Bills.
However, the key word there is “most” because after blowing a 28-3 lead midway through the third quarter, the Bills pulled the game out in somewhat miraculous fashion when Josh Allen threw a three-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Kroft with 15 seconds left. Thus, the Bills avoided what would have gone down as one of the most deplorable losses in team history – and that is really saying something with the Bills.
On the winning drive, Allen overcame all kinds of adversity, including his own 15-yard facemask penalty, and then caught a game-deciding break as Rams’ cornerback Darious Williams was flagged for pass interference at the 3-yard line on fourth down. That gave the Bills a first down, and Kroft caught the winner on the next play.