Falcons edge Saints in overtime; 49ers beat sloppy Cowboys

ATLANTA -- Matt Bryant kicked a 51-yarder field goal on the final play of regulation, then booted a 52-yarder in overtime to give the Atlanta Falcons a 37-34 victory over the New Orleans Saints.

In another thriller between the NFC South rivals Sunday, Matt Ryan threw for a franchise-record 448 yards, leading the Falcons to just their fourth victory over the Saints in the last 17 meetings. This one was particularly sweet for Atlanta coming off a miserable 4-12 season, its first losing campaign since 2007.

The teams combined for 17 points in the final 2:50 of the fourth quarter to force overtime. The Saints got the ball first, but Marques Colston fumbled after catching a pass over the middle. The Falcons recovered at the Saints 38; after three plays gained only 4 yards, Bryant booted through another long field goal.

49ers 28, Cowboys 17

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Colin Kaepernick threw two touchdown passes to Vernon Davis, one right after the first of three interceptions by Tony Romo, and the San Francisco 49ers opened the season with a win over the sloppy Dallas Cowboys.

The 49ers (1-0) also got a 35-yard fumble return on the second play of the game when Chris Culliver picked up a loose ball stripped from DeMarco Murray. They led 21-3 after the first quarter despite running just four offensive plays.

Coming off a spotty preseason for his offense, Kaepernick was efficient if not prolific, going 16 of 23 for 201 yards without an interception.

Romo was playing his first meaningful game for the Cowboys (0-1) since back surgery in December.

Panthers 20, Buccaneers 14

TAMPA, Fla. -- Derek Anderson filled in nicely for injured Cam Newton, throwing for 230 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Carolina Panthers to a victory.

Despite rallying with two late TDs, it was an ugly debut for the Bucs (0-1) under coach Lovie Smith. The defense applied little pressure on Anderson, and an offense that was among the worst in the NFL in 2013 showed few signs of improvement until midway through the fourth quarter.

With Newton cheering from the sideline after being held out because of a rib injury suffered in preseason, Anderson completed 24 of 34 passes with no interceptions and one sack. The 10th-year pro tossed threw for TDs of 5 yards to Greg Olsen and 26 yards to rookie Kelvin Benjamin.

Carolina’s defense did its part, too.

Jets 19, Raiders 14

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- Chris Ivory burst through a few tackle attempts for a 71-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter, and the New York Jets’ defense clamped down on Oakland rookie quarterback Derek Carr.

With still a one-score game, Ivory rushed up the middle and appeared stopped, but slipped a few would-be tacklers on his way to the end zone. A 2-point conversion failed, but the Jets held on to win their season opener.

Geno Smith threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Chris Johnson as the Jets sent the Raiders to their 14th straight loss in the Eastern time zone.

Carr held his own in the first half, but the Jets pressured him throughout the final two quarters. He finished 20 of 32 for 151 yards and touchdown throws to Rod Streater and James Jones.

Steelers 30, Browns 27

PITTSBURGH -- Shaun Suisham drilled a 41-yard field goal as time expired to lift the Pittsburgh Steelers to a victory over the Cleveland Browns.

The Steelers blew a 24-point halftime lead as the Browns rallied behind quarterback Brian Hoyer, but escaped thanks to some great plays from quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and wide receiver Markus Wheaton.

Roethlisberger hit Wheaton twice on the game-winning drive, including a 20-yard completion that put Suisham in range to send the Browns to their 10th straight season-opening loss.

Roethlisberger passed for 365 yards and a touchdown for Pittsburgh.

Hoyer threw for 230 yards and a score and played brilliantly at times in the second half in a performance that should strengthen his grip on the starting job over rookie Johnny Manziel.

Dolphins 33, Patriots 20

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- Knowshon Moreno rushed for 134 yards and a touchdown, Ryan Tannehill threw for two scores and the Miami Dolphins overpowered New England after halftime on the way to a win over the Patriots.

The Dolphins outscored New England 23-0 in the second half.

Tannehill had touchdown throws to Lamar Miller and Mike Wallace as Miami debuted a faster-paced offense. The Dolphins’ defense recorded four sacks — all in the second half — and recovered two fumbles.

Tom Brady threw a scoring pass to Rob Gronkowski, and Shane Vereen had a rushing touchdown for New England.

It was New England’s first loss in an opener since 2003, and marks the first time the Patriots will not be at least tied for the AFC East lead since Week 3 of 2012.

Bills 23, Bears 20

CHICAGO -- Fred Jackson set up Dan Carpenter’s field goal in overtime with a 38-yard run to the 1, and the Buffalo Bills stunned the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field.

The Bears had just punted to open the extra period and Buffalo took over on its 22 to start the winning possession. The Bills got the ball to the Chicago 39 when Jackson turned toward the left side and broke off his big run, pushing safety Chris Conte out of the way twice inside the 10 before being knocked out of bounds at the 1.

Buffalo’s EJ Manuel backed up 2 yards and put the ball in the middle of the field. After a delay of game, Carpenter won it with a 27-yarder.

Bengals 23, Ravens 16

BALTIMORE -- A.J. Green caught a 77-yard touchdown pass from Andy Dalton with 4:58 left, and the Cincinnati Bengals blew a 15-point lead before bouncing back to beat the Baltimore Ravens.

Green got behind cornerback Chykie Brown, who was pressed into a starting role for the injured Lardarius Webb. The ball popped from Green’s grasp before he gathered it in. That TD, along with the 2-pont conversion, came just 48 seconds after Baltimore newcomer Steve Smith caught an 80-yard touchdown pass from Joe Flacco.

Following Green’s score, Flacco took the Ravens to the Cincinnati 16 before he was sacked on a fourth down play with 55 seconds left.

Mike Nugent kicked five field goals to give the Bengals a 15-0 halftime lead. Dalton went 25 for 38 for 301 yards for the Bengals, who ended a four-game losing streak in Baltimore.

Flacco overcame a poor first half to finish 35 for 62 for 345 yards and an interception.

Texans 17, Redskins 6

HOUSTON-- Rookie Alfred Blue blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown and J.J. Watt lived up to his massive new contract to help the Houston Texans snap a 14-game losing streak.

The Texans led 7-6 after a 76-yard touchdown reception by DeAndre Hopkins in the second quarter. Blue blocked Washington’s punt on the next drive, scooped it up and returned it five yards for a touchdown to push the lead to 14-6.

Watt had a sack, blocked an extra point, recovered a fumble and swatted down a pass in his first game since signing a six-year, $100 million contract Monday. First overall pick Jadeveon Clowney had a tackle for a loss in the first half before leaving with a knee injury.

Robert Griffin III threw for 267 yards, but Washington was done in by two second-half fumbles.

Vikings 34, Rams 6

ST. LOUIS -- Wide receiver Cordarelle Patterson ran for 102 yards on three carries with a 67-yard scoring run off a simple pitchout and the Minnesota Vikings shut down the St. Louis Rams, opening impressively under new coach Mike Zimmer.

The Rams handled Adrian Peterson, limiting the All-Pro to 75 yards on 21 carries. They had zero luck with Patterson, who had three touchdowns rushing as a rookie.

Rams quarterback Shaun Hill lasted one half as the stand-in starter for Sam Bradford, missing the rest of the game with a thigh injury and leaving untested Austin Davis in charge. Hill’s last pass was intercepted by Josh Robinson with 1:09 to go in the half, setting up Matt Cassel’s 8-yard pass to Greg Jennings for a 13-0 lead.

Eagles 34, Jaguars 17

PHILADELPHIA -- Nick Foles threw a 68-yard touchdown pass to Jeremy Maclin in the fourth quarter and the Philadelphia Eagles rallied from a 17-0 second-half deficit to beat the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Chad Henne threw two touchdown passes to rookie Allen Hurns in the first quarter and the Jaguars (0-1) dominated the defending NFC East champion Eagles (1-0) in the first two quarters.

But whatever Chip Kelly said to his players at halftime worked.

The Eagles scored TDs on their first two possessions in the third quarter. Cody Parkey hit a 51-yard field goal on his first career attempt in the fourth quarter to tie it 17-17.

Then Foles made a perfect deep throw to a wide-open Maclin for the longest pass of his career to put the Eagles ahead 24-17.

Titans 26, Chiefs 10

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Jake Locker threw for 266 yards and two touchdowns, Alex Smith was intercepted three times and the Tennessee Titans rolled to a 26-10 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.

Locker picked apart a Chiefs defense that lost linebacker Derrick Johnson and defensive tackle Mike DeVito to Achilles injuries. Locker was 22 of 33 and found eight different players, including former Chiefs wide receiver Dexter McCluster.

Kendall Wright and Delanie Walker had TD catches for the Titans, and Ryan Succop was perfect on four field-goal attempts against the team that released him last weekend.

Smith was 19 of 35 for 202 yards and a touchdown for a Chiefs offense missing suspended wide receiver Dwayne Bowe and right tackle Donald Stephenson.