Joe Flacco’s 15-yard touchdown pass to rookie Garrett Wilson with 22 seconds left rallied the New York Jets to a 31-30 win over the Cleveland Browns, who blew a two-touchdown lead in the final two minutes.
On 3rd-and-10 Flacco, who had four TD passes, found a streaking Wilson over the middle. Earlier, the 10th overall pick had dropped a crucial pass, allowing the Browns (1-1) to open their lead.
Nick Chubb’s third rushing TD put Cleveland up by 13 with 1:55 left. However, rookie kicker Cade York, who made a 58-yard field goal in the final seconds to beat Carolina last week, pushed his extra point to the right. The miss would come back to haunt the Browns.
Flacco hit Corey Davis for a 66-yard TD with 1:22 left to pull the Jets (1-1) within six at 30-24. New York recovered the onside kick and Flacco, who’s filling in while starter Zach Wilson recovers from a knee injury, drove to the 15 without any timeouts before hooking up with Wilson. Greg Zuerlein made the deciding extra point to make it 31-30.
Your complete guide to all the festive sporting action including TV details
Irish Times Sportswoman of the Year Awards: ‘The greatest collection of women in Irish sport in one place ever assembled’
Two-time Olympic champion Kellie Harrington named Irish Times/Sport Ireland Sportswoman of the Year 2024
Pub staff struggled to keep up with giddy Shamrock Rovers fans who enjoyed every moment of Chelsea trip
In a game that finished shortly afterwards, Tua Tagovailoa threw for 469 yards and six touchdowns, four of which came during a spectacular fourth quarter, and the Miami Dolphins rallied from a 21-point deficit to beat Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens 42-38.
Tagovailoa’s seven-yard touchdown pass to Jaylen Waddle with 14 seconds left completed the incredible comeback after Miami (2-0) trailed 35-14 with under 13 minutes remaining.
Tyreek Hill had touchdown catches of 48 and 60 yards during that rally, the latter of which tied the game with 5:19 to play. Justin Tucker kicked a 51-yard field goal with 2:18 remaining to put Baltimore ahead, but that was far too much time for Miami’s offence, which the Ravens (1-1) didn’t come close to stopping in the final quarter.
Seattle Seahawks 7-27 San Francisco 49ers
Jimmy Garoppolo threw a touchdown pass on his first full drive after replacing an injured Trey Lance and ran for another score to help the San Francisco 49ers beat the Seattle Seahawks
Lance was taken off the field on a cart with his injured right ankle in an air cast after getting hurt on a run on the second drive of the game for San Francisco (1-1). That set the stage for Garoppolo to come in and reclaim the job he held for most of the past four seasons as the surprising decision to keep Garoppolo on a reduced contract paid nearly immediate dividends for the Niners.
He completed his first five passes in his first game since last season’s NFC title game, including a 38-yard touchdown pass to Ross Dwelley that put San Francisco up 13-0. The Niners mostly coasted from there as the Seahawks (1-1) looked rather flat six days after their emotional, season-opening victory over former quarterback Russell Wilson and the Broncos.
Cincinnati Bengals 17-20 Dallas Cowboys
Brett Maher kicked a 50-yard field goal as time expired, and the Dallas Cowboys held on to beat the Cincinnati Bengals after losing a two-touchdown halftime lead.
Joe Burrow got the Bengals even at 17-17 by leading a 19-play, 89-yard drive in the fourth quarter, throwing a five-yard touchdown pass to Tee Higgins and finding Tyler Boyd for the two-point conversion. After the Cowboys stopped the Bengals with about a minute remaining, Cooper Rush got the Cowboys in range for Maher to help Dallas win for the second time in his two career starts filling in for an injured Dak Prescott.
Las Vegas Raiders 23-29 Arizona Cardinals
Byron Murphy Jr scooped up Hunter Renfrow’s fumble and returned it 59 yards for a touchdown with 3:51 left in overtime, and the Arizona Cardinals rallied from a 20-point deficit in the second half before running away with a wild victory over the Las Vegas Raiders.
Kyler Murray scrambled for a three-yard touchdown on the final snap of regulation before hitting AJ Green for the tying two-point conversion for the Cardinals (1-1), who trailed 23-7 with less than nine minutes left in regulation.
The Raiders stopped Murray on downs on Arizona’s opening drive of overtime, but Renfrow then made a catch and fumbled for the second consecutive play. Isaiah Simmons knocked it loose, and Murphy snagged the ball and sprinted down the Cardinals’ sideline to the end zone with his ecstatic team-mates in pursuit for a frenzied celebration.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20-10 New Orleans Saints
Tom Brady helped incite a skirmish that led to the ejections of Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore and Buccaneers receiver Mike Evans, then threw a go-ahead touchdown pass to Breshad Perriman that helped lift Tampa Bay to victory over New Orleans.
Brady, who had lost four straight regular-season meetings with the Saints, again struggled for the first three quarters of this latest, testy encounter between the NFC South rivals.
Brady’s frustration was clear when he was caught on camera throwing a tablet in the bench area. And after his third-down incomplete pass early in the fourth quarter, Brady was shouting at Lattimore when running back Leonard Fournette entered the fray and shoved the Saints’ star cornerback. Lattimore responded by shoving Fournette, and Evans rushed in and flattened Lattimore much like he did in a 2017 game between these teams. Evans was ejected, as he was five seasons ago. But this time, so was Lattimore.
Atlanta Falcons 27-31 Los Angeles Rams
Matthew Stafford threw for 272 yards and three touchdowns, Jalen Ramsey intercepted a potential go-ahead touchdown pass in the end zone and the Los Angeles Rams held off a second-half rally attempt by the Atlanta Falcons.
Cooper Kupp had two TD catches for the defending Super Bowl champions, who bounced back from a disappointing defeat against the Buffalo Bills in their season opener. Atlanta who have started 0-2 for the third straight year trailed 28-3 early in the third quarter before mounting a comeback of sorts.
Houston Texans 9-16 Denver Broncos
Russell Wilson overcame a slow start and a cascade of boos in his Denver debut to lead the bungling Broncos past the Houston Texans.
The Broncos (1-1) were flagged 13 times for 100 yards, marking the first time in four years they’ve had back-to-back games with double-digit penalties. But they pulled it out on defence, holding Houston (0-1-1) to a trio of field goals by Ka’imi Fairbairn.
After completing just six of his first 20 throws, Wilson went four-for-four on the Broncos’ go-ahead scoring drive that featured a 35-yard strike to a wide-open Courtland Sutton and a 22-yard pay-off to tight end Eric Saubert that put Denver ahead 13-9 early in the fourth quarter. Wilson, who finished 14 of 31 for 219 yards with one TD and an interception, followed that up by directing a clock-chewing drive that ended with Brandon McManus’ 50-yard field goal for a seven-point lead with 3:41 remaining.
Washington Commanders 27-36 Detroit Lions
Jared Goff threw two of his four touchdown passes to Amon-Ra St Brown, lifting the Detroit Lions to a 36-27 win over Washington. Aidan Hutchinson had three sacks in the first half to help the Lions (1-1) lead 22-0 at halftime, and Will Harris had an interception in the second half to stunt the Commanders (1-1) as they tried to rally.
Washington made adjustments to give Carson Wentz more time in the second half. Wentz took advantage, pulling his team within seven points in the third quarter with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Curtis Samuel, a 20-yard pass to Logan Thomas and two-point conversion to rookie Jahan Dotson.
New England Patriots 17-14 Pittsburgh Steelers
Mac Jones threw for 253 yards and a touchdown and the New England Patriots edged the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Patriots (1-1) haven’t lost consecutive games to start a season since 2001. They took advantage of a handful of mistakes by the Steelers (1-1), including a muffed punt in the third quarter by ex-Patriot Gunner Olszewski that set up a two-yard touchdown run by Damien Harris. That gave New England an 11-point lead they didn’t relinquish.
Carolina Panthers 16—19 New York Giants
Graham Gano kicked a 56-yard field goal with 3:34 to play and the Giants beat Carolina, giving New York their first 2-0 start since 2016 and sending the Panthers to their ninth straight loss. Gano also hit from 52, 36 and 33 yards and Daniel Jones found rookie tight end Daniel Bellinger on a 16-yard touchdown pass as the Giants responded in the second half after being booed off the field at halftime of a 6-6 game.
Indianapolis Colts 0-24 Jacksonville Jaguars
Trevor Lawrence threw two touchdown passes to Christian Kirk, and Jacksonville dominated short-handed Indianapolis 24-0 for their eighth consecutive home victory in the series. The Jaguars sacked Matt Ryan five times, intercepted three of his passes, held reigning NFL rushing champion Jonathan Taylor to 54 yards and notched their eighth shutout in franchise history. The past three have come against Indianapolis (0-1-1), who haven’t won in Jacksonville since 2014. — Guardian
