Patriots dominate Falcons in Super Bowl rematch
Patriots dominate Falcons in Super Bowl rematch
PITTSBURGH: Ben Roethlisberger threw for 224 yards and two touchdowns, Le’Veon Bell added 192 total yards, and Pittsburgh’s defense dominated the Cincinnati Bengals in the second half of a 29-14 victory on Sunday. The Steelers (5-2) relied on their stars to take the lead, then on their reinvigorated defense to blunt Cincinnati and give themselves a significant cushion over the rest of the underwhelming AFC North. The Bengals (2-4) came in looking to add some street cred to their resurgence after their 0-3 start, but instead spent the second half reverting to the kind of ineffective offense that got offense coordinator Ken Zampese fired two weeks into the season. The Steelers picked off Andy Dalton twice and sacked him three times over the final two quarters to pull away. Chris Boswell added five field goals for Pittsburgh, which posted its highest points total and appears to be rounding into form as Halloween nears.
PATRIOTS 23, FALCONS 7
The New England Patriots didn’t need a comeback in their Super Bowl rematch with the Atlanta Falcons. With the fog rolling in at Gillette Stadium on Sunday night, the Patriots were clearly in control in a 23-7 triumph. The Pats authored the greatest Super Bowl comeback ever in February, when they rallied from 283 down in the third quarter to beat the Falcons 34-28. No such heroics were required as they cruised to a 23-0 lead before the Falcons finally found the end zone in the final five minutes of the game. After a scoreless first quarter, Brady connected with Brandin Cooks on an 11-yard scoring pass. Stephen Gostkowski followed with the first of his three field goals before Brady capped the first half with a twoyard touchdown pass to James White that put New England up 17-0 at the break.
COWBOYS 40, 49ERS 10 Ezekiel Elliott gained 219 yards from scrimmage and tied a career high with three touchdowns just days after a legal reprieve put his suspension on hold. Elliott was granted his second temporary restraining order on Tuesday, putting his six-game suspension over domestic violence allegations on hold, and then gave the Cowboys (3-3) a big boost on the field. Elliott matched his season total of rushing touchdowns with two in the first quarter, then took a short pass from Dak Prescott 72 yards for another touchdown on Dallas’ first possession of the second half to put away the 49ers (0-7). Elliott ran for 147 yards on 26 carries to go with the big catch, setting a career high in scrimmage yards in a game. That performance spoiled the starting debut of rookie quarterback C.J. Beathard , who was sacked five times, lost two fumbles and failed to lead the 49ers into the end zone until he scored on a run with the game out of hand in the fourth quarter.
CHARGERS 21, BRONCOS 0 Travis Benjamin returned a first-quarter punt 65 yards for a touchdown and caught a 42-yard TD pass in the fourth, and the Chargers played a dominant defensive game in the first home victory of their relocation season. Joey Bosa had two of the Chargers’ five sacks while they sent the Broncos (33) to the franchise’s first shutout defeat since a 24-0 loss to the Los Angeles Raiders on Nov 22, 1992. Philip Rivers passed for 183 yards in his 100th victory, hitting Austin Ekeler for an early TD and Benjamin for the late clincher. The Chargers (3-4) have won three straight under new coach Anthony Lynn following a winless opening month in their first season back in Los Angeles after 56 years in San Diego. Trevor Siemian passed for 207 yards, but Denver lost to the Chargers for the third time in the AFC West rivals’ past 14 meetings - and did so in historic fashion.—AP