NFL roundup: Baker Mayfield and Myles Garrett lead Browns to win over Cowboys
ARLINGTON, Texas — Baker Mayfield and Myles Garrett each had a homecoming gift waiting when Cleveland visited Dallas in their home state Sunday.
For Mayfield, it was a porous Cowboys pass defense that was poor against the run this time as well. For Garrett, it was an undrafted rookie right tackle who was overmatched against the star defensive end.
Mayfield threw for two touchdowns, one of which was set up when Garrett had a strip sack for the third straight game, and the Browns held on for a 49-38 victory over the Cowboys to improve to 3-1 for the first time since 2001.
Jarvis Landry had his first career touchdown pass in the receiver’s 100th career game, a 37-yard toss to Odell Beckham Jr. in Beckham’s first multi-TD game with the Browns.
Beckham finished with his first three-score game in nearly five years, capped by a 50-yard run on a reverse after the Cowboys had cut a 41-14 deficit to three points with less than four minutes remaining. He had five catches for 81 yards and two scores.
The Browns added an inadvertent 2-point conversion after Beckham’s third TD when a blocked PAT was touched by the Cowboys and recovered in the end zone by Cleveland.
Rookie quarterback Justin Herbert made some impressive throws, but turnovers doomed the Chargers in their 38-31 loss to Tom Brady and the Buccaneers.
The Browns ran for 307 yards and three touchdowns despite losing lead back Nick Chubb to a knee injury in the first quarter.
Kareem Hunt, who has been battling a groin injury, had 71 yards and two touchdowns, and D’Ernest Johnson doubled his career yardage of 26 yards in the first half alone, finishing with a team-high 95 yards. Beckham had 73 on two carries.
Dak Prescott had his first 500-yard game, finishing with 502 yards passing, and became the first NFL player to throw for at least 450 yards in three consecutive games.
Prescott set that record because the Cowboys (1-3) have played from way behind three straight weeks and now have lost the first of three straight home games in what could prove to be a critical stretch if coach Mike McCarthy wants to get Dallas to the playoffs in his first season. Cleveland’s Kevin Stefanski is in his first season as well.
Playing at the home of the Cowboys for the first time since winning a Big 12 championship there with Oklahoma three years ago on his way to being Cleveland’s No. 1 overall pick, Mayfield 19 of 30 for 165 yards about 200 miles from his hometown of Austin.
Bills 30, Raiders 23
LAS VEGAS — Shaking off a banged-up left shoulder, Josh Allen threw for two touchdowns and rushed for another, leading Buffalo to victory.
Buffalo has opened consecutive seasons with 4-0 records, just the third time in team history and first since the 1991 and ‘92, both season when the Bills lost in the Super Bowl.
The Bills have scored 30 points in three consecutive games, and are averaging 30.75 points per game, third highest in the NFL.
Las Vegas (2-2) lost its second straight game after falling in New England last week. It marked the Raiders’ first loss inside the shiny new $2 billion Allegiant Stadium.
Off to a sensational start to the season, Allen carved up a Raiders secondary with precision passes over the middle, to the sidelines, or between defenders. Allen continued to mesh well with offseason acquisition Stefon Diggs, who finished with six receptions for 115 yards.
Derek Carr had a strong performance for the Raiders, going 32 for 44 for 311 yards and two touchdowns. Carr, who has yet to throw an interception this season, surpassed Ken Stabler and set a franchise record with 151 career touchdown passes.
Eagles 25, 49ers 20
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — A couple of unlikely players helped deliver the Philadelphia Eagles their first win of the season.
Travis Fulgham caught a go-ahead 42-yard touchdown pass from Carson Wentz with 5:50 remaining and Alex Singleton returned an interception for a score to lift the Eagles to a win.
“It’s a huge relief. Big team win,” Wentz said. “It’s fun to see these young guys step up and make plays in big moments like this.”
With the Eagles (1-2-1) missing their top three receivers and No. 2 tight end Dallas Goedert, the little-known Fulgham, who came into the game with no career catches, delivered the play of the game for Philadelphia.
The Eagles were backed up with a second-and-18 from the 42 after Jalen Hurts botched a shotgun snap. But Fulgham got past backup cornerback Dontae Johnson and Wentz delivered a perfectly placed pass for the score that gave Philadelphia an 18-14 lead.
“After we broke the huddle, Carson said: `Be ready,’“ Fulgham said. “At first, I lost the ball, but since Carson gave me a great throw, I was able to locate it and caught in the bread basket.”
Nick Mullens then threw an interception that Singleton returned for a TD on the next drive for the 49ers (2-2), who were sent to their second loss in as many home games. Singleton had played only 11 defensive snaps coming into the game.
Colts 19, Bears 11
CHICAGO — Philip Rivers threw a touchdown pass on Indianapolis’s first possession, and the Colts shut down Nick Foles and Chicago.
After Rivers connected with Mo Alie-Cox on a 13-yard score, the NFL’s top-ranked defense took over from there.
The Colts (3-1) kept the Bears (3-1) out of the end zone until Allen Robinson caught a 16-yard pass with 1:35 remaining. Indianapolis recovered the onside kick and came away with its third straight win, their best streak since beating Kansas City, Houston and Denver last October.
As for the Bears, their offense didn’t look much better with Foles starting instead of Mitchell Trubisky. There was no big comeback this time by the team that became the first, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, with two wins in the same season after trailing by 16 or more in the fourth quarter.
Saints 35, Lions 29
DETROIT — Drew Brees threw two touchdown passes to Tre’Quan Smith 2:19 apart in the second quarter, helping short-handed New Orleans overcome a 14-point deficit.
New Orleans (2-2) started the game without six injured starters after a short night of rest. The Saints had a player test falsely positive for the coronavirus Saturday, according to a person familiar with the situation, leading to another round of tests for players and staff overnight in the Motor City.
Early in the game at fan-free Ford Field, the Lions (1-3) looked as though they might take advantage of facing a tired team without three starters on both sides of the ball as they led 14-0 lead 4:37 after kickoff.
New Orleans, though, responded by scoring 35 straight points from late in the first period to midway through the third to take control.
Matthew Stafford ended the Saints’ run with a 1-yard TD pass to T.J. Hockenson late in the third quarter. The Lions pulled within six points with 3:36 left in the fourth on Adrian Peterson’s 5-yard run and Hockenson’s 2-point conversion catch.
The Saints sealed the win with Brees converting a third-and-5 from his 27 with a 19-yard pass to Smith and Alvin Kamara running for 5 yards on third-and-3 from midfield.
Seahawks 31, Dolphins 23
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Russell Wilson threw for 360 yards and two touchdowns, and Seattle improved to 4-0 on the season.
The Seahawks have won their first four games only one other time in franchise history — in 2013, when they won their only Super Bowl. They’ve scored 30 or more points in four consecutive games for the first time since 2015.
Jet lag and subtropical heat weren’t issues for the Seahawks. Neither were injuries that left them short-handed in the secondary, and five times Seattle forced Miami to settle for a field goal before the Dolphins finally reached the end zone in the final minutes.
Chargers rookie Justin Herbert threw for three touchdowns with a lofty passer rating of 137.9, but it wasn’t enough to beat Tom Brady and Tampa Bay.
Wilson connected with David Moore for 57 yards in the final seconds of the first half to set up a touchdown that gave Seattle a 17-9 halftime lead.
Wilson, who went 24 for 34, tied Peyton Manning’s record of 15 touchdown passes in the first four games of a season. Manning did it 2013.
DK Metcalf had four catches for 106 yards, Moore had three for 95 yards, and Chris Carter rushed for 80 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Ravens 31, Washington 17
LANDOVER, Md. — Lamar Jackson ran for a 50-yard touchdown and threw for two scores in a bounce-back performance by the reigning NFL MVP for Baltimore.
Coming off a humbling loss to Kansas City on Monday night, the Ravens (3-1) built a 21-10 halftime lead before opening the third quarter with a drive that ended with Mark Andrews’ second touchdown catch.
That was enough to hand Washington (1-3) its third straight defeat.
The game was tough to watch for Washington coach Ron Rivera, and not just because of the score. Weakened by treatment he received during the week for lymph node cancer, Rivera occasionally took a break by sitting on the bench.
Washington’s first-year coach wore a shirt that read: “RIVERA STRONG.”
After throwing three interceptions last week, Washington’s Dwayne Haskins Jr. went 32 for 45 for a career-high 314 yards. He was sacked three times, twice by Matthew Judon.
Jackson’s numbers weren’t as big, but he managed the Baltimore offense as required while completing 14 of 21 passes for 193 yards.
Bengals 33, Jaguars 25
CINCINNATI — Joe Mixon ran for 151 yards and two touchdowns and caught Joe Burrow’s pass for another score as Cincinnati rolled up 505 yards to beat Jacksonville for its first win of the season.
The Bengals (1-2-1) worked around their recent offensive line problems and Mixon broke through with his first big game of the season, which opened up the field for Burrow to hit some big passes. The Heisman Trophy-winning rookie was sharp again, throwing for 300 yards and the touchdown to Mixon, but also made significant mistakes.
After being hit 18 times and sacked eight times last week in the 23-23 tie against the Philadelphia last week, Burrow went about his business without much trouble from the Jaguars pass rush.
But the start was inauspicious for Cincinnati. After linebacker Jordan Evans intercepted a tipped Minshew pass, the Bengals started on Jacksonville’s 40 and got nowhere, Burrow overthrowing an open A.J. Green on third down.
Panthers 31, Cardinals 21
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Teddy Bridgewater threw for 276 yards and two touchdowns, ran for his first score since a devastating knee injury in 2016, and Carolina solved their red-zone woes.
The Panthers (2-2) scored touchdowns on their first four trips inside the Cardinals’ 20-yard line to build a 28-7 lead one week after settling for five short field goals in a 21-16 victory over the Chargers last week.
Carolina controlled the clock, putting together scoring drives of 13, 9, 10, 8 and 15 plays.
Bridgewater scored his first rushing touchdown since Dec. 20, 2015 on an 18-yard scramble, sidestepping several tacklers to reach the end zone and give Carolina a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. It was his first TD rushing since tearing an ACL and suffering a dislocated left kneecap during a training camp practice with the Vikings.
Mike Davis, filling in for the injured Christian McCaffrey, had 111 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown. Reggie Bonnafon and Ian Thomas caught short TD tosses from Bridgewater and Robby Anderson had eight catches for 99 yards.
The Panthers’ defense limited Kyler Murray to 133 yards passing, although he did throw for three touchdowns.
Vikings 31, Texans 23
HOUSTON — Dalvin Cook ran for 130 yards and two touchdowns and Minnesota withstood a late rally from winless Houston to get its first victory.
The Texans cut the lead to 8 when Deshaun Watson connected with Kenny Stills on a 24-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-10 with about six minutes remaining.
Houston’s defense got a stop and Will Fuller made an acrobatic one-handed catch on fourth down for what was initially ruled a touchdown with about a minute left. But after a review it was determined that the ball hit the ground before Fuller gained control, and Minnesota (1-3) ran out the clock from there.
Alexander Mattison added a rushing touchdown and Kirk Cousins threw for 260 yards and a touchdown for the Vikings.
Houston’s NFL-worst run defense continued to struggle, giving up 162 yards as the Texans dropped to 0-4 for the first time since 2008. The loss at home to a previously winless team after a brutal season-opening schedule will ratchet up pressure on coach Bill O’Brien, whose team won the AFC South the previous two seasons.
Watson threw for 300 yards and two touchdowns and Fuller had 108 yards receiving and a touchdown before he was unable to corral the last ball thrown to him.
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