Tom Brady set an NFL passing record Sunday, which isn’t exactly surprising.
Less expected was that rookie Cam Newton held the mark for a few hours before the reigning MVP broke it.
Brady’s Patriots and the defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers are 2-0 _ and so are some less likely candidates, including the Buffalo Bills and Detroit Lions.
The Peyton Manning-less Indianapolis Colts are 0-2 in what is already an unpredictable post-lockout season.
The Baltimore Ravens followed up an emphatic win over the rival Steelers with a stinker at Tennessee. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers bounced back from a tough opening loss to rally for victory at Minnesota.
A week after throwing for 422 yards, Carolina’s Newton topped himself by passing for a rookie-record 432 yards and a touchdown in his home debut. But again it wasn’t enough for victory, as the Panthers lost 30-23 to the Packers.
Newton briefly held the NFL mark for the most yards passing in the first two games of the season by any quarterback, before Brady broke it a few hours later with 940.
Aaron Rodgers threw for 308 yards and two scores as Green Bay’s defense came up big by forcing the rookie into three interceptions _ two by Charles Woodson.
Brady threw for 423 yards six days after setting a single-game team record of 517, leading New England to a 35-21 win over the San Diego Chargers.
Brady had three touchdown passes, going 31 of 40 with no interceptions as the Patriots scored on each of their four first-half possessions.
The Chargers (1-1) turned the ball over inside the Patriots 35 three times, leading to 17 points. They also were stopped on a fourth-and-goal at the 1, and the Patriots started a 99-yard drive that ended with one of Brady’s two scoring passes to Rob Gronkowski.
Philip Rivers threw for 378 yards for the Chargers.
In other games, it was Browns 27, Colts 19; Saints 30, Bears 13; Bills 38, Raiders 35; Cowboys 27, 49ers 24, OT; Redskins 22, Cardinals 21; Steelers 24, Seahawks 0; Titans 26, Ravens 13; Titans 26, Ravens 13; Lions 48, Chiefs 3; Texans 23, Dolphins 13; Buccaneers 24, Vikings 20; Jets 32, Jaguars 3; Broncos 24, Bengals 22.
The Rams play at the Giants on Monday night.
Browns 27, Colts 19
At Indianapolis, Peyton Hillis ran for 94 yards and two touchdowns, Colt McCoy threw for 211 yards and a score and Cleveland ended a five-game losing streak against Peyton Manning-less Indianapolis.
The Colts are 0-2 for the first time since 1998, and Manning likely will miss two months following his third neck surgery in 20 months. The Browns rebounded with their first win for new coach Pat Shurmur after a loss to the Bengals last week.
With Kerry Collins starting again, the Colts never seriously challenged the Browns after falling behind 14-9 late in the first half. Collins finished 19 of 38 for 191 yards with one interception, one TD and a lost fumble.
Falcons 35, Eagles 31
At Atlanta, Matt Ryan threw a career-high four touchdown passes and the Falcons rallied to beat the Eagles after Michael Vick was knocked out with an injury late in the third quarter.
Ryan hit Tony Gonzalez with a pair of TDs, the tight end going past Terrell Owens for fifth on the NFL’s career receiving list. Then, Ryan hooked up with Ovie Mughelli on a 1-yarder that brought Atlanta to 31-28 with just over 6 minutes remaining.
The Falcons (1-1) completed the comeback with Michael Turner breaking off a 61-yard run, then powering over from the 3 with 3:24 remaining.
Vick left with a neck injury after getting spun by a Falcons rusher into a Philadelphia blocker. He staggered off the field and Mike Kafka came in for his first NFL game.
Saints 30, Bears 13
At New Orleans, Drew Brees threw for three touchdowns and New Orleans’ defense beat up on Jay Cutler.
Brees’ scoring strikes included a 79-yarder to Devery Henderson. Darren Sproles scored on a 12-yard swing pass and Robert Meachem had a 4-yard TD reception as the Saints (1-1) bounced back from an opening week loss to Green Bay.
Facing heavy blitzing and without injured receiver Roy Williams, Cutler passed for 244 yards and a score, but was sacked six times and fumbled once.
Running back Matt Forte had 117 yards receiving to go with 49 yards rushing for Chicago (1-1), which lost guard Gabe Carimi and safety Major Wright to injuries after entering the game without several other injured starters.
Bills 38, Raiders 35
At Orchard Park, N.Y., Ryan Fitzpatrick threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to David Nelson with 14 seconds left to cap a wild back-and-forth fourth quarter.
The Bills scored touchdowns on all five of their second-half possessions to overcome a 21-3 first-half deficit. The teams traded leads five times over the final 14:10.
Fred Jackson scored twice and had 117 yards rushing for the Bills (2-0) in their home opener. Fitzpatrick finished 28 of 46 for 264 yards and three touchdowns.
Jason Campbell went 23 of 33 for 323 yards and two scores for the Raiders (1-1) before having a final desperation pass intercepted by Da’Norris Searcy in the end zone. Officials needed 10 minutes to review the play to determine the call on the field was correct.
Cowboys 27, 49ers 24, OT
At San Francisco, Tony Romo, playing with a fractured rib, hit Jesse Holley on a 77-yard completion in overtime to set up Dan Bailey’s winning 19-yard field goal for Dallas.
Bailey kicked a tying 48-yard field goal as time expired in regulation after missing an early 21-yard attempt. Romo completed five of six passes on the tying drive, connecting on consecutive throws to Holley before finding him again in OT.
The third of Miles Austin’s three TD catches came with 6:55 left and pulled the Cowboys (1-1) within 24-21. The 49ers are 1-1.
Redskins 22, Cardinals 21
At Landover, Md., Graham Gano kicked a 34-yard field goal with 1:45 remaining as Washington rallied from an eight-point, fourth-quarter deficit.
The Redskins (2-0) beat the Cardinals (1-1) for the eighth time in a row. Santana Moss’ 18-yard catch on fourth down with 5:17 remaining pulled Washington within two, but the 2-point conversion attempt failed.
After a Cardinals punt, the Redskins got the ball back at their own 36 with 4:20 to play and drove to Arizona’s 16 to set up Gano’s kick.
The Cardinals had one final possession to try to win, but Chansi Stuckey fumbled after making a catch at Arizona’s 32.
Steelers 24, Seahawks 0
At Pittsburgh, Ben Roethlisberger threw for 298 yards and a touchdown as the Steelers put their opening week loss to Baltimore behind them.
Mike Wallace caught eight passes for 126 yards and a score and Rashard Mendenhall ran for 67 yards and a touchdown for the Steelers (1-1), who limited the listless Seahawks (0-2) to 164 total yards.
A week after committing seven turnovers while getting whipped by rival Baltimore, the Steelers worked with relentless efficiency against Seattle. Roethlisberger shook off a gimpy right knee to complete 22 of 30 passes, and the defense kept Seattle from taking an offensive snap on Pittsburgh’s side of the field until midway through the fourth quarter.
The Seahawks were shut out for the first time since their last visit to the Steel City in 2007.
Titans 26, Ravens 13
At Nashville, Tenn., Matt Hasselbeck threw for 358 yards and a touchdown, and Tennessee gave new coach Mike Munchak a big win in the home opener.
With the Ravens (1-1) focused on stopping Chris Johnson, Hasselbeck attacked through the air. Kenny Britt caught nine passes for 135 yards and a TD, while Nate Washington caught seven passes for 99 yards. Rob Bironas also kicked four field goals as Tennessee (1-1) held the ball for more than 35 minutes and outgained Baltimore 432-229 in total offense.
Lions 48, Chiefs 3
At Detroit, Matthew Stafford threw two of his four TD passes to Calvin Johnson and Detroit came away with its largest margin of victory in a regular season game.
The Lions broke the mark they set with a 44-0 win over expansion Jacksonville in 1995 and matched the record set in the 1957 NFL title game when they beat Cleveland 59-14.
The Lions (2-0) led Kansas City 20-3 at halftime and 41-3 early in the fourth quarter after turning two fumbles into TDs.
The Chiefs (0-2) lost more than the game when All-Pro running back Jamaal Charles was carted off the field midway through the first quarter with what appeared to be a serious left knee injury.
Texans 23, Dolphins 13
At Miami, Andre Johnson caught a 23-yard touchdown pass from Matt Schaub that helped Houston get off to a 2-0 start.
Miami’s sieve-like pass defense was no match for Johnson and Schaub, who threw for 230 yards and had a quarterback rating of 118.5. Johnson made seven catches for 93 yards.
The Dolphins committed two turnovers, had a 22-yard field-goal attempt blocked and missed a 34-yarder. Daniel Thomas rushed for 107 yards, but Chad Henne went 12 for 30 and was especially erratic in the red zone.
Miami is 0-2 for the fifth time in the past six years.
Buccaneers 24, Vikings 20
At Minneapolis, LeGarrette Blount’s 4-yard touchdown run with 31 seconds left lifted Tampa Bay and completed another comeback by quarterback Josh Freeman _ this time from a 17-0 halftime deficit.
Eight of Freeman’s 14 career victories have come when the Bucs (1-1) went ahead in the fourth quarter or overtime. Given how overwhelmed they were before halftime, outgained 284 yards to 62 during the first two quarters, this might have been the most impressive.
Freeman found Arrelious Benn for a 25-yard touchdown pass over Cedric Griffin with 6:39 remaining to cut the lead to three points. A 19-yard leaping catch by Dezmond Briscoe and a 15-yard late hit penalty on Jared Allen set up the score.
Adrian Peterson had 25 carries for 120 yards and two touchdowns in the first half for the Vikings (0-2), who blew a healthy lead for the second straight week.
Jets 32, Jaguars 3
At East Rutherford, N.J., Mark Sanchez threw two touchdown passes as the offense started quickly and Antonio Cromartie had two of New York’s four interceptions of Luke McCown.
After having not scored an offensive TD in the first quarter in 16 games, the Jets (2-0) won the toss, elected to receive _ a rarity under the defensive-minded Rex Ryan _ and scored on a 17-yard catch by Santonio Holmes.
First-round pick Muhammad Wilkerson had his first NFL sack for a safety early in the game, helping set the tone for a long day for McCown and the Jaguars (1-1). Eric Smith and Josh Mauga also intercepted McCown, who was replaced by rookie Blaine Gabbert early in the fourth quarter after posting a dismal 1.8 quarterback rating.
Broncos 24, Bengals 22
At Denver, Kyle Orton threw two TD passes to Eric Decker, Willis McGahee ran for another score and John Fox gained his first win as Denver’s coach.
The Broncos (1-1) lost two more players to injury _ giving them nine, including six starters _ but still topped the Bengals (1-1) for the ninth straight time in Denver, where Cincy hasn’t won since 1975.
Andy Dalton, who bruised his right wrist and forearm in Cincinnati’s win at Cleveland a week earlier, threw for 332 yards for the Bengals, hitting fellow rookie A.J. Green 10 times for 124 yards and Jerome Simpson four times for 136 yards.
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