The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Carr throws 2 TDS as Raiders beat Steelers
PITTSBURGH — Derek Carr threw for 382 yards and two touchdowns, including a 61-yard strike to Henry Ruggs midway through the fourth quarter, and the Las Vegas Raiders beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 26-17 on Sunday.
Carr completed 28 of 37 passes against a Pittsburgh defense that finished the game without a handful of starters, including Allpro outside linebacker T.J. Watt, who exited in the second quarter with a groin injury.
The Steelers (1-1) lost defensive tackle Tyson Alualu in the first quarter and played the entire game without veteran cornerback Joe Haden and inside linebacker Devin Bush, both of whom were inactive with groin injuries of their own.
Ben Roethlisberger passed for 295 yards for Pittsburgh, including a 25-yard catchand-run early in the fourth quarter that rookie running back Najee Harris turned into the first touchdown of his career.
The Raiders (2-0) responded immediately. Carr uncorked a rainbow down the middle of the field, giving Ruggs plenty of time to run away from Pittsburgh’s Minkah Fitzpatrick and Ahkello Witherspoon and into the end zone.
Rams 27, (at) Colts 24:
Former UGA star Matthew Stafford led Los Angeles on two late scoring drives, and Matt Gay made a tiebreaking 38-yard field goal with 2:23 to play.
The Rams have taken all five road openers under coach Sean Mcvay.
Stafford finished 19 of 30 for 278 yards with two TD passes and one interception. Cooper Kupp caught nine passes for 163 yards and two scores for the Rams (2-0).
The Colts are 0-2 for the first time in coach Frank Reich’s four-year tenure.
Indy tied it on a 35-yard field goal with 7:22 left, but quarterback Carson Wentz injured his right ankle on the play before the field goal and did not return. The injury doomed Indy’s comeback hopes, as Jacob Eason was intercepted on his second NFL pass.
Bills 35, (at) Dolphins 0:
Josh Allen threw two touchdown passes, Zach Moss ran for two scores, and the Bills knocked out Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa early with a rib injury.
Devin Singletary rushed for 82 yards and another touchdown for the Bills (1-1).
It was the second-worst shutout loss by the Dolphins (1-1) at home.
Tagovailoa lasted only two series and was knocked out of the game on a failed fourthdown play near midfield when Buffalo’s A.J. Epenesa blew past Dolphins right tackle Jesse Davis and was at full speed when he launched into the quarterback. Tagovailoa was carted to the locker room.
Jacoby Brissett took over, completing 24 of 40 passes for 169 yards. Allen completed 17 of 33 passes for 179 yards for Buffalo.
(At) Browns 31, Texans 21: Baker Mayfield came back after hurting his left shoulder to throw a touchdown pass and run for a TD, leading Cleveland to the victory.
Former UGA star Nick Chubb had a 26-yard touchdown run for the Browns (1-1), who bounced back from a Week 1 loss at Kansas City to thrill their first capacity home crowd since 2019.
Mayfield went 10 for 10 after a first-half interception — and injuring his non-throwing shoulder while making the tackle on the play — and finished 19 of 21 for 213 yards. Chubb had 95 yards on 11 carries.
The Texans (1-1) were tied at halftime and moving the ball with ease before losing quarterback Tyrod Taylor to a hamstring injury. Taylor’s injury forced rookie Davis Mills into his first NFL action, and he threw an interception on his second series.
Broncos 23, (at) Jaguars 13: Courtland Sutton had nine catches for 159 yards, and the Broncos handed the Jaguars their 17th consecutive loss.
In Denver’s first game without Jerry Jeudy (ankle), Sutton showed he can be Teddy Bridgewater’s go-to guy. Sutton’s big day included a shoestring grab in the third quarter that surely rates among his best plays in four seasons.
Sutton had nearly half of Bridgewater’s 328 yards passing. Bridgewater completed 26 of 34 passes, with TD tosses to Tim Patrick and Noah Fant.
No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence capped an 83-yard drive to open the game with a 25-yard TD pass to Marvin Jones. But Jacksonville (0-2) did little right the rest of the afternoon.
49ers 17, (at) Eagles 11: Jimmy Garoppolo threw one touchdown pass and ran in for a score, leading San Francisco to the road win. Nick Bosa had two sacks, and San Francisco’s stingy defense shut down Jalen Hurts a week after Philadelphia dominated Atlanta in a 32-6 win.
Hurts completed just 12 of 23 passes for 190 yards. He ran for 82 yards, including a 1-yard TD in the fourth quarter.
The 49ers (2-0) return home with a pair of road wins on the East Coast to open the season.
The Eagles (1-1) got a reality check in coach Nick Sirianni’s first home game.
(At) Bears 20, Bengals 17: Justin Fields played the second half after Andy Dalton exited with a knee injury against his former team, and the rookie quarterback used Chicago’s stellar defensive performance to direct the Bears to their first win of the season.
Former Bulldog Roquan Smith returned an interception 53 yards for his first career touchdown, one of three straight picks thrown by Joe Burrow.
The Bears were up 20-3 before Burrow threw a 43-yard touchdown to Ja’marr Chase. Fields then got intercepted at the Chicago 25 by Logan Wilson, who returned it to the 7. Burrow hit Tee Higgins with a
TD on the next play, cutting it to 20-17 with 3:39 remaining. But the Bears (1-1) hung on for their third straight win over Cincinnati (1-1).
Fields, the No. 11 overall draft pick, completed just 6 of 13 passes for 60 yards. He also ran for 31 yards.
(At) Cardinals 34, Vikings 33: Kyler Murray threw for 400 yards and three touchdowns to lead Arizona over Minnesota after Greg Joseph missed a 37-yard field goal wide right in the final seconds.
It was a seesaw game that saw the lead change hands eight times. The dizzying offensive pace — Arizona had a 24-23 halftime lead — slowed considerably in the final minutes, and there were no touchdowns scored in the final quarter.
Murray also ran for a touchdown and threw two costly interceptions, including one that was returned for a touchdown.
The Cardinals (2-0) looked as if they were about to lose before Joseph’s last-second miss. He made two 52-yard field goals earlier in the game, giving no indication he’d have trouble pushing the Vikings to a win.
It’s another dispiriting setback for the Vikings (0-2), who lost in overtime at Cincinnati last weekend. Kirk Cousins threw for 244 yards and three touchdowns while Dalvin Cook ran for 131 yards on 22 carries.
Cowboys 20, (at) Chargers 17: Greg Zuerlein connected on a 56-yard field goal as time expired to lift Dallas. After Tristan Vizcaino tied the game with a 29-yard field goal with 3:58 remaining, Dallas went 49 yards in 11 plays to get just barely into Zuerlein’s range.
Troy Pollard ran for 109 yards on 13 carries for the third 100-yard game of his career. Dak Prescott completed 23 of 27 passes for 237 yards as the Cowboys evened their record at 1-1 despite being without five players who started the opener.
Justin Herbert had his 10th 300-yard game — completing 31 of 41 passes for 338 yards — tying him for the most by a quarterback in his first two seasons. He had one touchdown pass but threw two interceptions.
Penalties loomed large for the Chargers (1-1), who were flagged 12 times for 99 yards and had a pair of touchdowns taken away.
Titans 33, (at) Seahawks 30 (OT): Derrick Henry ran for 182 yards and two fourth-quarter touchdowns, Randy Bullock hit a 36-yard field goal midway through overtime, and Tennessee rallied from a 14-point deficit to stun Seattle.
Down 30-16 early in the fourth quarter, the Titans leaned on their All-pro running back, who carried them to a road win.
Henry also had a careerhigh six receptions for 55 yards. Tannehill was 27 for 40 for 347 yards and Julio Jones had the 59th 100-yard game of his career with six receptions for 128 yards.
Russell Wilson was 22 of 31 for 343 yards and two touchdowns.