COWBOYS COMPLETE ONE WILD COMEBACK
46-yard field goal on final play caps dramatic win over Falcons
Dak Prescott threw for 450 yards and a touchdown and ran for three scores and the Dallas Cowboys pulled off an improbable comeback with a 40-39 win over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday in Arlington, Texas.
Greg Zuerlein's 46-yard field goal on the game's final play completed a wild comeback after the Cowboys trailed by 20 points in the first half, by 15 in the fourth quarter and by nine with two minutes left.
But the Cowboys scored with 1:49 left to pull within two, then recovered an onside kick to give them one more chance to complete the rally.
The kick rolled slowly, giving the Falcons plenty of time to recover before it went 10 yards, but Atlanta didn't make a play for the ball and as soon as it hit the 10-yard mark, C.J. Goodwin jumped on it to give Dallas the ball.
Prescott's 24-yard pass to rookie Ceedee Lamb on the second play of the drive put the Cowboys in field-goal position and four plays later Zuerlein split the uprights.
Lamb had six catches for 106 yards and Amari Cooper added 100 yards on six receptions.
Ezekiel Elliott rushed for 89 yards and a touchdown.
Dallas (1-1) avoided its first 0-2 start since 2010. Atlanta is 0-2 for the first time since 2007.
It was Prescott's third-highest passing output of his career.
Meanwhile, it was a crushing loss for the Falcons, who jumped ahead 20-0 in the first quarter and had several chances in the second half to put the game away. Atlanta linebacker Foye Oluokun forced three Dallas fumbles in the first quarter, each turnover leading to points.
Oluokun, who later in the first half suffered a hamstring injury that kept him out for the rest of the game, became the first player with three forced fumbles in a quarter since Green Bay's Vonnie Holliday in 2002.
The Falcons' Matt Ryan threw for 273 yards and four touchdowns.
Calvin Ridley caught seven passes for 109 yards and two scores.
Dallas had not allowed 39 or more points since early in the 2017 season and hadn't allowed that many at home since a 2015 loss to Atlanta.
BRADY GETS FIRST WIN WITH BUCS
Tom Brady threw a touchdown pass and Leonard Fournette scored two touchdowns as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the visiting Carolina Panthers 31-17 in Tampa, Fla.
It was the home opener and the first victory for Brady, a six-time Super Bowl winner, with an NFL team other than the New England Patriots.
A week after receiving criticism from coach Bruce Arians, Brady completed 23 of 35 passes for 217 yards with an interception.
Fournette's 46-yard touchdown ramble with 1:48 to go put him at 103 rushing yards on 12 carries for the Buccaneers (1-1).
The Panthers (0-2) committed turnovers on their first two possessions under first-year coach Matt Rhule, whose team fell into a 21-0 hole.
Christian Mccaffrey scored on second-half runs of one and seven yards for Carolina.
Teddy Bridgewater completed 33 of 42 passes for 367 yards with two interceptions.
Bridgewater's interception and fumble marked the first two Carolina turnovers.
Tampa Bay opened the scoring on a seven-yard run by Ronald Jones II. Then Brady connected with Mike Evans for a 23-yard touchdown play on the first snap following Bridgewater's lost fumble. The Buccaneers scored their third touchdown following Carolina's failed fake punt in the second quarter. Fournette capped a 65-yard drive with a one-yard run with 3:01 left in the half.
Mccaffrey put the Panthers on the board with his first touchdown run at the 8:36 mark of the third quarter.
Carolina then converted on fourth-and-2 from the Tampa Bay 7 when Mccaffrey took a pitchout and ran to the end zone with 13:25 remaining. Mccaffrey injured an ankle on the play and didn't return. The Buccaneers stretched their edge to 24-14 on Ryan Succop's 33-yard field goal with 6:18 left. That came a play after Lesean Mccoy dropped a would-be touchdown pass in the end zone.
Joey Slye's 23-yard field goal with two minutes left cut the margin to 24-17, but the Panthers had only two timeouts left. Tampa Bay's Rob Gronkowski recovered Carolina's onside kick before Fournette's second touchdown run.
Tampa Bay played minus receiver Chris Godwin, who led the team in receiving yards in the opener but is in the concussion protocol.
The Panthers were without veteran defensive tackle Kawann Short due to an ankle injury.