SEATTLE (AP) — Marshawn Lynch scored on a 6-yard TD run on the first possession of overtime and the Seattle Seahawks beat the Denver Broncos 26-20 on Sunday in a Super Bowl rematch that lived up to expectations.
Seattle (2-1) blew a 17-3 fourth-quarter lead, watching Denver tie the game at 20 on Peyton Manning’s 26-yard touchdown pass to Jacob Tamme with 18 seconds left in regulation and his 2-point conversion pass to Demaryius Thomas.
But Manning never saw the ball in overtime thanks to Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson. After nearly getting sacked for a safety and throwing an interception in the fourth quarter, Wilson was brilliant in overtime. Wilson rushed for 21 yards and was 4 of 6 passing in overtime. Lynch went the final 6 yards.
Manning led the rally for Denver (2-1) helped by a number of Seahawks mistakes.
COWBOYS 34, RAMS 31
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Terrance Williams scored the go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter, Bruce Carter returned an interception 25 yards for a TD on the next snap, and the Dallas Cowboys matched the largest comeback in team history to stun the St. Louis Rams.
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DeMarco Murray’s 1-yard run late in the first half began the rally for Dallas (2-1), which trailed 21-0. Dez Bryant caught a 68-yard scoring pass in the third quarter, and Carter’s first career interception and touchdown came not long after he was evaluated for concussion-like symptoms on the bench.
Janoris Jenkins’ 25-yard interception return, the fifth defensive touchdown in his three seasons, put the Rams (1-2) up 21-0 with 6:06 to go in the first half.
CARDINALS 23, 49ERS 14
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Drew Stanton threw a pair of third-quarter touchdown passes to rookie John Brown and Arizona rallied to beat San Francisco, snapping a four-game losing streak to the 49ers.
Tommy Kelly blocked a field goal for the Cardinals (3-0), who outscored San Francisco 17-0 in the second half.
The 49ers (1-2) mounted 80-yard touchdown drives the first two times they had the ball, then didn’t score again, blowing a halftime lead for the second week in a row.
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Stanton, starting for injured Carson Palmer for the second straight week, completed 18 of 33 for 244 yards and two scores. Michael Floyd caught five for 114 yards.
The 49ers’ Colin Kaepernick completed 29 of 37 for 245 yards and a touchdown and ran for another 54.
COLTS 44, JAGUARS 17
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Andrew Luck threw four touchdown passes — three of them in a lopsided first half — and the Indianapolis Colts dominated the Jacksonville Jaguars for their first win.
It was a home opener to forget for the Jaguars (0-3), who trailed 30-0 at the break and benched quarterback Chad Henne.
The only positive for Jacksonville was getting rookie Blake Bortles on the field. The third overall pick in May’s NFL draft played the entire second half, finishing with two touchdown passes and two interceptions. He completed 14 of 24 passes for 223 yards, including fourth-quarter scores to Allen Hurns and Cecil Shorts III.
Indianapolis (1-2) made plays from start to finish, including Greg Toler returning an interception 47 yards for a touchdown with 2:58 to play. Luck did most of the damage, though. He completed 31 of 39 passes for 370 yards.
SAINTS 20, VIKINGS 9
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Drew Brees passed for 293 yards and two touchdowns, and the New Orleans Saints won for the first time this season, taking their home opener against the Minnesota Vikings.
For the Vikings, the loss capped a week of distractions as the club first announced that star running back Adrian Peterson would play, then later changed course and said Peterson would leave the team indefinitely to deal with child abuse allegations.
Minnesota then lost starting quarterback Matt Cassel with a toe injury early in the second quarter. He was replaced by rookie Teddy Bridgewater, who completed 12 of 20 for 150 yards while leading two scoring drives that both ended with field goals.
Brees’ scoring passes went for 34 yards to tight end Josh Hill and 18 yards to receiver Marques Colston. It was the 64th time Brees and Colston connected for a score. Only six other quarterback-receiver tandems have combined for more in NFL history.
CHARGERS 22, BILLS 10
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — A week after throwing three touchdown passes to tight end Antonio Gates to knock off the Seattle Seahawks, Philip Rivers hit Eddie Royal for two scores in a win over the Buffalo Bills.
Royal scored on 3- and 5-yard receptions and finished with four catches 42 yards. Malcom Floyd had two catches for 98 yards in a game the Chargers (2-1) never trailed. Rivers finished 18 of 25 for 256 yards and extended his touchdown streak to 23 games to match the team record he set over the 2009-10 seasons.
San Diego beat Buffalo (2-1) despite a depleted offensive backfield. Already missing starting running back Ryan Mathews (right knee), the Chargers lost backup Danny Woodhead to a right ankle injury. Woodhead did not return after being carted off following a 1-yard run 3-1/2 minutes in.
Fred Jackson scored on an 11-yard catch and run for Buffalo, which blew an opportunity to get off to a 3-0 start for only the third time since 1993.
GIANTS 30, TEXANS 17
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Rashad Jennings ran for a career-high 176 yards and a touchdown and Eli Manning threw two TD passes as the New York Giants overcame some early mistakes and beat the suddenly error-prone Houston Texans.
The victory not only put some life back into the Giants (1-2) after two disappointing efforts, it also ended any chance of a second straight horrible start for Tom Coughlin’s team which opened 0-6 last season.
Victor Cruz made a 26-yard touchdown catch, his first since Game 4 of last season, and danced the salsa. The defense intercepted three of Ryan Fitzpatrick’s passes, and the special teams blocked a punt, setting up Manning’s second TD.
Fitzpatrick threw a 44-yard scoring pass to Damaris Johnson and ran for another score for the Texans (2-1), who played without halfback Arian Foster (hamstring).
BENGALS 33, TITANS 7
CINCINNATI (AP) — Andy Dalton caught a touchdown pass — the first Bengals quarterback to pull off that feat — and Cincinnati stayed undefeated with a victory over the Tennessee Titans.
The Bengals (3-0) head into their bye week with their best start in eight years and a chance to get some of their many injured players healthy. They got a lot of big plays, a few breaks and plenty of help from a team dealing with the death of a long-time player.
A few hours before kickoff, the Titans (1-2) learned that kicker Rob Bironas had died overnight in a one-car crash in Nashville. He’d been released in March after his ninth season with Tennessee.
On the final play of the first quarter, Dalton flipped the ball to receiver Mohamed Sanu, who ran to his right while the quarterback sneaked toward the other side of the field. Sanu stopped and threw a cross-field pass that hung in the air. Cornerback Blidi Wreh-Wilson had a chance to pick it off or level the quarterback, but Dalton made the catch and ran 18 yards, diving inside the pylon at the goal line to score. He was the first NFL quarterback to score on a catch since Kansas City’s Tyler Thigpen in 2008.
PATRIOTS 16, RAIDERS 9
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Tom Brady threw a touchdown pass, Stephen Gostkowski kicked three field goals and the sluggish New England Patriots held on to beat the Oakland Raiders when defensive tackle Vince Wilfork intercepted a pass near his goal line.
Darren McFadden’s potential tying touchdown run was nullified by a holding penalty. A play later, Wilfork grabbed the ball when Logan Ryan jarred it loose from intended receiver Denarius Moore with 51 seconds left.
The Patriots (2-1) won their 12th home opener in 13 seasons, while the Raiders (0-3) lost their 15th straight game in the Eastern time zone. They were held to three field goals by Sebastian Janikowski.
Brady became the third quarterback with 150 regular-season wins behind Brett Favre (186) and Peyton Manning, who came into Sunday with 169. He is 57-5 in his last 62 home games, including the playoffs.
LIONS 19, PACKERS 7
DETROIT (AP) — Don Carey returned a fumble 40 yards for a touchdown, and Detroit’s defensive front stuffed Green Bay, leading the Lions over Aaron Rodgers and the Packers.
The Lions (2-1) came in with a secondary decimated by injuries, but that didn’t much matter with Rodgers under constant pressure. He was sacked twice and threw for only 162 yards, and Green Bay (1-2) wasn’t any better when running the ball.
Reggie Bush added a 26-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter for Detroit, which had never beaten Green Bay with Rodgers healthy for the whole game.
The Packers managed only 223 yards of offense and lost despite forcing three turnovers.
Detroit linebacker Stephen Tulloch left with a knee injury that appeared to occur as he was celebrating a sack.
CHIEFS 34, DOLPHINS 15
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Alex Smith shook off five sacks to throw three touchdown passes and help Kansas City earn its first victory.
Smith led touchdown drives of 62, 76 and 66 yards in a span of four possessions as Kansas City took leads of 14-0 and 21-10.
The Chiefs improved to 1-2 and won for only the third time in their past 11 games, including postseason.
The Dolphins fell to 1-2, another wobbly start for a team that hasn’t won a postseason game since 2000.
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