Rams stifle shaky Seahawks in overtime
Lynch stopped at goal line; Jets win big in Bowles’ debut; Denver’s defence gets it done
Needing just one yard again, Seattle handed off to Marshawn Lynch this time. And it still didn’t work. The Rams stopped the running back short of a first down Sunday, making Greg Zuerlein’s 37-yard field goal in overtime decisive in a 34-31 victory in St. Louis.
The Rams survived an 18-point fourth quarter rally by the Seahawks.
Down 31-24 with 53 seconds left, the Rams tied the game after Seahawks defensive back Dion Bailey stumbled on Lance Kendricks’ 37yard touchdown catch. Cary Williams’ strip of Nick Foles and eightyard return had put Seattle up by a touchdown.
The Seahawks opened overtime with an onside kick; Bradley Marquez caught Steven Hauschka’s popped-up attempt. Officials ruled the ball was kicked directly in the air, so Marquez was OK to signal for a fair catch. PACKERS 31, BEARS 23: Aaron Rodgers threw for three touchdowns, two to James Jones, as the Packers beat Chicago to spoil John Fox’s debut as Bears coach.
Rodgers improved to 13-3 lifetime against Chicago. The 2014 MVP completed 18 of 23 passes for 189 yards. CHIEFS 27, TEXANS 20: Alex Smith threw for 243 yards and three touchdowns in the first half againts the mistake-prone Texans.
Travis Kelce caught two touchdown passes in the first quarter, the first coming after Kansas City intercepted Brian Hoyer on his first throw as a Texan.
Hoyer struggled in his debut before Ryan Mallett took over with about six minutes left and led Houston on two scoring drives to cut the lead to a touchdown. DOLPHINS17, REDSKINS10: Jarvis Landry returned a punt 69 yards for a touchdown with 10:22 left to give Miami its first lead.
Kirk Cousins went 21 for 31 for 196 yards and two interceptions for Washington. Robert Griffin III was inactive after only recently recovering from a concussion. JETS 31, BROWNS 10: Ryan Fitzpatrick threw two touchdown passes and Chris Ivory ran for two scores in coach Todd Bowles’ debut.
The Jets (1-0) had five takeaways against the Browns, including an interception of Johnny Manziel, who came in late in the first quarter for the injured Josh McCown.
Jets rookie linebacker Lorenzo Mauldin was taken to a hospital after being carted off the field with head and neck injuries.
Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker had touchdown catches for the Jets, who sent the Browns (0-1) to their 11th straight opening-day loss. Fitzpatrick, who became the starter last month after Geno Smith’s jaw was broken by a teammate’s punch, finished 15 of 24 for 179 yards. PANTHERS 20, JAGUARS 9: Josh Norman returned an interception for a touchdown and the Panthers did just enough offensively.
Norman provided the big play in the third quarter when he stepped in front of a pass intended for rookie running back T.J. Yeldon near the sideline and went untouched the other way for a 30-yard score. Norman pointed at Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles as he trotted toward the end zone and then waved byebye.
Carolina managed just 263 yards in winning its second consecutive opener.
Cam Newton, playing in his first game since signing a five-year, $104 million (U.S.) contract that included $60 million guaranteed, completed 18 of 31 passes for 175 yards and a touchdown. CARDINALS 31, SAINTS 19: Carson Palmer threw three touchdown passes in his first game back from a torn ACL and the Cardinals opened their season with a victory over New Orleans.
Drew Brees threw for 355 yards, but the Saints had to settle for Zach Hocker’s field goals after four drives. BRONCOS19, RAVENS13: The debut of Peyton Manning’s new mashup offence was a dud. Not so Denver’s dazzling defence, which came up huge over Baltimore.
Former Ravens safety Darian Stewart, who followed Gary Kubiak from Baltimore to Denver over the winter, snatched the ball from tight end Crockett Gillmore in the end zone with 28 seconds left to seal the win for the four-time defending AFC West champs.
The Ravens lost six-time Pro Bowl linebacker Terrell Suggs for the season with a ruptured Achilles. BENGALS 33, RAIDERS 13: Andy Dalton, Jeremy Hill and the Cincinnati Bengals took little time to turn the optimism around coach Jack Del Rio’s debut in Oakland into a laugher.
Dalton threw for 269 yards and two touchdowns and Hill ran for two scores. CHARGERS 33, LIONS 28: Philip Rivers rallied San Diego to 30 straight points, including throwing a go-ahead,13-yard touchdown pass to tight end Ladarius Green early in the fourth quarter as the Chargers stunned Detroit.