Browns' next opponent, Tennessee, wins, but might have lost star receiver Kenny Britt to a knee injury. Giants defeat Eagles, whose quarterback, Michael Vick, left with a broken right hand. Bills stun Patriots. Lions continue on upswing.
Associated PressThe 49ers' Kendall Hunter (32) runs for a seven-yard touchdown past Bengals defensive end Michael Johnson (93) and linebacker Thomas Howard (53) during San Francisco's 13-8 win at Cincinnati.
San Francisco 49ers 13, Cincinnati Bengals 8
CINCINNATI, Ohio -- Kendall Hunter ran 7 yards for the game's only touchdown with 3:59 to go, rallying the San Francisco 49ers to a 13-8 victory in front of the Cincinnati Bengals' smallest crowd for a home opener in 30 years.
Hunter's run completed the only noteworthy drive by the 49ers (2-1), who didn't even cross midfield until midway through the third quarter.
Cincinnati (1-2) was limited to a pair of field goals by Mike Nugent during rookie quarterback Andy Dalton's first dismal performance. He threw two interceptions in the fourth quarter, the first of his career.
There were only 43,363 fans at 65,500-seat Paul Brown Stadium, the Bengals' smallest crowd for a home opener since they played at Riverfront Stadium in 1981. The 49ers sent them heading for the exits when Reggie Smith intercepted Dalton's forced throw with 1:45 left.
David Akers kicked three field goals for San Francisco, including a 53-yarder after Dalton's first interception, pushing the lead to 13-6. After Smith intercepted Dalton again with 1:45 to go, punter Andy Lee ran out of the end zone for a safety to finish it off with 2 seconds left.
It was a satisfying start to the 49ers' weeklong stay in the Buckeye State. They'll practice at Youngstown State the next few days, then head to Philadelphia for their next game.
An ugly arrival ended with Alex Smith's only good moments. He led a 10-play, 72-yard drive, hitting tight end Vernon Davis with a 20-yard pass on a misdirection play to set up the winning touchdown.
Until the closing minutes, it appeared the 49ers had forgotten to pack their West Coast offense. Ugliness abounded. Running back Frank Gore fumbled to set up Cincinnati's field goal for a 6-3 lead in the fourth quarter. He also had a pass hit him in the facemask. Referee Jerome Boger said one 49ers false-start penalty was on "the entire offensive line." The late drive saved them.
Smith was under constant pressure and finished 20 of 30 overall for 201 yards and five sacks. The 49ers blunted drives with penalties, and Kevin Huber's punts pinned them at their own 10, 11, 12, 14 and 17, leaving too much ground for one of the NFL's least-productive offenses to cover. Also, the 49ers were missing receiver Braylon Edwards, who hurt his right knee during an overtime loss to Dallas last Sunday.
The Bengals were at full-strength after deciding to let receiver Jerome Simpson play. He missed two days of practice because he's the focus of an investigation into a drug shipment to his home. He got into the game on the opening series and finished with only one catch for 6 yards.
Dalton had passer ratings above 100 in his first two starts, but repeatedly forced throws against the 49ers' defense. He went 17 of 32 for 157 yards and a rating of 40.8.
Tennessee Titans 17, Denver Broncos 14
NASHVILLE, Tennessee -- The Tennessee Titans won the game. How long they'll lose receiver Kenny Britt remains to be seen, though it didn't look good as he limped to the sideline.
Matt Hasselbeck threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Daniel Graham with 4:24 left, and the Titans rallied for a 17-14 victory over the Denver Broncos.
The Titans (2-1) lost Britt, the AFC's leading receiver, when his right knee buckled underneath him in the second quarter, and he was carted to the locker room. Hasselbeck found other players to throw to, including Graham, whose first catch of the season came against his former team.
The Cleveland Browns (2-1) host Tennessee next Sunday at Browns Stadium.
Hasselbeck passed for 311 yards and two touchdowns to lead Tennessee to its second straight win.
The Titans intercepted Kyle Orton twice, sacked him once and also stopped Willis McGahee on fourth-and-goal at the 1 early in the fourth quarter.
Denver (1-2) drove to the Titans 38 before Will Witherspoon sacked Orton, and two plays later, Jason Jones batted Orton's pass into the air. Witherspoon picked it off with 1:39 left to seal the victory.
A veteran signed to mentor rookie Jake Locker and to win now, Hasselbeck did just that as Denver held Chris Johnson to only 21 yards on 13 carries in his third game back from his contract holdout. Hasselbeck took control on the go-ahead drive that started at the Tennessee 5, completing passes to five different receivers, with the longest a 58-yarder to tight end Craig Stevens. He also tossed a 14-yard TD to Nate Washington.
Britt, who had 271 yards receiving coming into the game, was hurt with 5:55 left in the second quarter. He had just caught a swing pass from Hasselbeck, eluded a tackler and tried to turn upfield when he fell to the ground and lost the ball. The Titans forced Denver to go three-and-out, then punter Brett Kern came up with Tennessee's longest rush this season.
Tennessee outgained the Broncos 333-231, and Denver didn't score a point off two fumbles recovered. That included a fumble by Hasselbeck recovered at the Titans 13 late in the third quarter.
At the end of that drive, Denver coach John Fox took a timeout, pulled kicker Matt Prater off the field and went for it on fourth-and-goal. Derrick Morgan, Tennessee's first-round pick a year ago, stopped McGahee for no gain.
The Titans led 10-7 at halftime before Orton took control of the third quarter with a 16-play drive using up more than eight minutes. He converted four third downs with completions, the last a 5-yarder to McGahee for a TD and a 14-10 lead with 1:17 left in the quarter. Orton was 9 of 10 for 51 yards on the drive.
Denver rookie Von Miller sacked Hasselbeck, knocking the ball loose, on the ensuing drive. That gave Denver the ball at the Titans 13 and seemingly all the momentum.
Hasselbeck completed 10 of his first 11 passes for 125 yards and a TD. He even connected with Johnson on a 34-yard pass down the left sideline that Fox challenged to make sure the running back got both feet in on the catch.
Buffalo Bills 34, New England Patriots 31
ORCHARD PARK, New York -- Rian Lindell hit a 28-yard field goal as time expired to cap a stunning comeback by the Buffalo Bills for a 34-31 victory over the New England Patriots. The win snapped Buffalo's 15-game losing streak against the Patriots that dated to 2003, and sparked a wild celebration in which stadium officials guarded the goal posts to ensure fans didn't bring them down.
As Lindell's kick sailed through the uprights, holder Brian Moorman jumped on Lindell's shoulders, and receiver David Nelson went running down the other end of the field pumping his fist.
The Bills (3-0) won courtesy of yet another Ryan Fitzpatrick-led rally, overcoming a 21-0 second-quarter deficit. It was reminiscent to what the Bills did in a 38-35 win over Oakland a week earlier, when they scored touchdowns on their final five possession to overcome a 21-3 deficit.
This time, they did it against their longtime AFC East nemesis.
Tom Brady went 30 of 45 for 386 yards and four scores for New England (2-1), which had a 10-game regular-season winning string ended. Wes Welker had 16 catches for a franchise record 217 yards and two scores.
Despite setting a league record for most yards passing over a three-game stretch, Brady matched a career worst with four interceptions. That included Drayton Florence's 27-yard interception return for a touchdown with 10:22 left that came 14 seconds after Buffalo's Fred Jackson tied the game at 24 with a 1-yard plunge.
Though Brady led the Patriots back to tie the score at 31 on a 6-yard touchdown pass to Welker -- on fourth-and-goal, no less -- the Bills would not be denied.
Getting the ball back with 3:25 remaining, Fitzpatrick needed only three plays to get the Bills into scoring position.
Facing first-and-10 at the Patriots 39, Fitzpatrick hit Jackson on a short crossing pattern over the middle. Jackson broke lose and was attempting to dive into the end zone before being tackled from behind by Devin McCourty.
Officials initially ruled Jackson had scored before having it overturned on video review.
That wound up an advantage to the Bills, who ran down the clock by kneeling. The Patriots ran out of timeouts -- and composure as an unsportmanlike conduct penalty against Vince Wilfork gave Buffalo another set of downs at the 1.
Dating to 1950, the Bills became the only team to overcome deficits of at least 18 points to win in consecutive weeks, according to STATS LLC. In fact, only six teams have won twice in one season when trailing by 18 or more points.
The last team to do so: the Patriots in 1996.
This comeback started before halftime. Down 21-0, Fitzpatrick capped a 96-yard drive by hitting Stevie Johnson for an 11-yard touchdown. Brady's first interception came on the following possession, which led to Lindell's 42-yard field goal.
Johnson had eight catches for 94 yards and a touchdown for Buffalo. Tight end Scott Chandler also scored on a 3-yard catch.
It was a back-and-forth game featuring two of the NFL's top-scoring teams. The Bills racked up 448 yards on offense and 24 first downs. The Patriots were even more productive, finishing with 495 yards offense and 30 first downs.
Brady's 387 yards passing gave him 1,326 in three games. That eclipsed the record of 1,257 set in 2006 by New Orleans QB Drew Brees. It was also Brady's 37th 300-yard career game, moving him into ninth place, one ahead of John Elway.
Detroit Lions 26, Minnesota Vikings 23 (overtime)
MINNEAPOLIS, MNinnesota -- The old Detroit Lions would have wilted after falling behind 20-0 at halftime. These are not the same old Lions.
Matthew Stafford threw two touchdown passes in the second half to rally Detroit from the big halftime deficit, and Jason Hanson kicked a 32-yard field goal in overtime for a 26-23 victory over the Minnesota Vikings.
Calvin Johnson had seven catches for 108 yards and two touchdowns for the Lions, who are 3-0 for the first time since 1980. They won in the Metrodome for the first time since 1997, snapping a 13-game skid.
Adrian Peterson rushed for 78 yards and a touchdown, but only 5 of those yards came in the second half as the Vikings (0-3) gave away a large halftime lead for the third week in a row.
Stafford completed 32 of 46 passes for 378 yards, and he saved his best throw of the day for his last.
With blitzing Vikings linebacker Chad Greenway right in Stafford's grill, the young quarterback heaved a pass off his back foot in Johnson's direction. The 6-foot-5 Johnson made a brilliant 40-yard catch with Cedric Griffin all over him, and Hanson calmly drilled the field goal for the winning score.
Stafford looked completely lost against the Vikings' aggressive array of zone blitzes in the first half, throwing for just 64 yards.
He was a different quarterback in the second half, certainly closer to the No. 1 overall pick in 2009 who led the Lions so capably in the first two weeks. He calmly dissected the Vikings defense, completing 14 of 23 passes for 257 yards, with much of his damage done to Brandon Pettigrew over the middle.
Pettigrew had 11 catches for 112 yards for the Lions, who were favored in Minnesota for the first time since 1981.
Jared Allen had three sacks, Brian Robison added two and Donovan McNabb threw for 211 yards and a touchdown for the Vikings.
For the third week in a row, the Vikings came out of the gates flying. Peterson had a 6-yard touchdown run, and the defense sacked Stafford, who had hardly been touched in the first two weeks, three times in the first half.
The Lions had minus-7 yards of offense in the first quarter, and Marcus Sherels' 53-yard punt return set up McNabb's 8-yard TD to Visanthe Shiancoe for a 20-0 lead.
Stafford hit Johnson for a 32-yard TD, and Hanson's 27-yard field goal cut the lead in half at 20-10.
Jahvid Best's 60-yard screen pass gave the Lions a first-and-goal at the 5 as the quarter came to an end, one that saw the Lions outgain the Vikings 190-6.
Stafford's 5-yard TD to Johnson made it 20-17 early in the fourth quarter, and Frazier decided to go for it on fourth-and-1 from the Detroit 17 rather than kick a field goal. Toby Gerhart was stuffed by DeAndre Levy.
Stafford drove the Lions right back down the field, and Hanson's 50-yard field goal tied the game with 5:20 to play.
New York Giants 29, Philadelphia Eagles 16
PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania -- With Michael Vick knocked out of another game, Eli Manning and the New York Giants wouldn't let the Philadelphia Eagles finish off their comeback.
Manning threw four touchdown passes, including two to Victor Cruz, in the Giants' (2-1) 29-16 win over the Eagles.
Vick started despite suffering a concussion in last week's 35-31 loss at Atlanta. He left with a broken right hand in the fourth quarter after helping the Eagles overcome a 14-0 first-quarter deficit to take a 16-14 lead.
It's uncertain how long Vick will be out. Without their Pro Bowl quarterback, the Eagles (1-2) hardly look like the "Dream Team" that entered the season with Super Bowl or bust expectations.
Manning threw for 254 yards, and Ahmad Bradshaw ran for 86 and had 53 more receiving, including a TD. Filling in for the injured Mario Manningham, Cruz had three catches for 110 yards and his first two career scores.
Aaron Ross, who was benched in the second half of New York's win over St. Louis last Monday, had two interceptions that led to 14 points.
LeSean McCoy had 128 yards rushing and one TD for Philadelphia, which has blown two fourth-quarter leads in consecutive games.
After McCoy was stopped for a 3-yard loss by Michael Boley on fourth-and-1 from the Giants 43, Manning drove New York in for the go-ahead score. He tossed a 28-yard TD pass to a well-covered Cruz to put the Giants up 20-16. Jacobs ran in for the 2-point conversion to make it 22-16.
Cruz outfought Nnamdi Asomugha and Jarrad Page to make the catch near the goal line and fell into the end zone, losing the ball after he crossed.
Mike Kafka replaced Vick on the ensuing possession and Ross intercepted his first pass. Manning connected with Bradshaw for an 18-yard TD pass to put the game away.
Vick finished 16 of 23 for 176 yards and one interception. He ran for 31 yards. Vick looked shaky early, but made a few nice throws before leaving. He didn't seem all that happy after the Eagles kicked a field goal to pull within 14-13 at halftime. Vick looked angry as he walked off the field, waving his arms and pointing. Jackson tried to calm him down, but Vick didn't seem interested in listening.
The Eagles dominated time of possession by a nearly 3-1 margin throughout the first three quarters, but didn't take the lead until the final minute of the third when Alex Henery kicked a 21-yard field goal. It was a disappointing end to a drive that began at the 10 and stalled at the Giants 1. The Eagles had a first down at the 2 and failed on four runs to get it in.
Vick left the game for X-rays on his right hand after that drive and was temporarily replaced by Kafka. But he returned during a time out while Kafka was in the huddle and played one more drive before going to the bench.
Steve Smith made a crucial mistake on the first ball that came his away against his former team. Smith left the Giants for Philadelphia and returned ahead of schedule from knee surgery to be ready for Week 1. Vick's third-down pass on Philadelphia's first drive hit Smith in the hands and bounced in the air to Ross, who caught it at the Giants 8. Ross returned the interception 19 yards, and Manning needed six plays to lead New York into the end zone.
Rookie linebacker Casey Matthews, who was moved from the middle to the weakside spot earlier in the week, bit badly on a play-fake that allowed Jacobs to get wide open. Manning's perfect throw hit him in stride and the Giants went up 7-0.
Manning connected with Cruz late in the first to give New York a 14-0 lead. Cruz caught a short pass at the Giants 34, but broke Kurt Coleman's tackle and sprinted down the sideline. Cruz again got away from Coleman, when he collided with Asomugha at the Eagles 46, and the second-year pro cruised into the end zone for his first career score.
Philadelphia answered with a long drive that resulted in a 21-yard field goal by Henery. After the Giants turned it over on downs at the Eagles 29, Vick got going. He had completions of 13 and 17 yards on a drive that was finished off by McCoy's nifty 11-yard TD run. McCoy broke a tackle, cut outside and ran into the end zone to get the Eagles within 14-10. Henery nailed a 38-yard field goal before the half ended to cut it to 14-13.
New Orleans Saints 40 , Houston Texans 33
NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana -- Drew Brees passed for 370 yards and three touchdowns, and twice led the Saints back from fourth-quarter deficits in a 40-33 victory over the Houston Texans.
Mark Ingram's first career touchdown on a 13-yard run gave the Saints (2-1) the lead for good with under 3 minutes left. Brees was intercepted twice, but redeemed himself with three touchdown passes in the second half, including a 27-yarder to tight end Jimmy Graham and a 16-yarder to Lance Moore.
Matt Schaub passed for 373 yards and three TDs of his own, and the Texans' prolific offense moved the ball well for most of the game. Houston (2-1) was doomed in the end by four drives inside the 20 that resulted in only field goals, along with Schaub's lone interception that Jabari Greer snagged near midfield in the fourth quarter, setting up Moore's touchdown.
The lead changed hands five times in a thrilling second half that included a slew of big plays and one bizarre touchdown in which Saints linebacker Jonathan Casillas' bobbled interception attempt put the ball in the lap of Kevin Walter. The receiver then darted into the end zone for a 20-yard score that gave Houston a late 33-32 lead and stunned the Louisiana Superdome crowd.
New Orleans marched right back down the field, though, covering 93 yards in eight plays for Ingram's winning score. The key play on the drive was Brees' 23-yard pass on third-and-10 to Jimmy Graham, who absorbed a late hit that was called for a personal foul and got up flexing both arms. Brees capped the drive by hitting Moore on a 2-point conversion on the same out-route they had used for a 2-point conversion after a previous touchdown.
Houston, which was trying to improve to 3-0 for the first time, finished with a 473-454 advantage in total yards and had a lead as large as 26-17 after Schaub found James Casey for a diving 20-yard catch along the right sideline early in the fourth quarter.
The play capped a drive that began when Danieal Manning picked off a pass that Graham never saw and returned it to the New Orleans 42. Graham redeemed himself, though, hauling in a scoring pass that capped a four-catch, 100-yard, one touchdown performance for the second-year converted basketball player out of Miami.
The comeback brought a joyous end to the fifth anniversary of the Saints' first game in the rebuilt Superdome after Hurricane Katrina. That victory over Atlanta five years ago featured a blocked punt by Steve Gleason, who is now struggling with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, but who was able to participate on the coin toss as an honorary captain while the crowd stood in an emotional applause.
Houston's Ben Tate, who was trying to become only the second running back to open his NFL career with three 100-yard rushing games, was held to 82 yards on 19 carries. Andre Johnson had seven catches for 128 yards and Casey finished with five receptions for 126, including a 62-yarder to set up Houston's first TD.
Brees' first touchdown pass went to Robert Meachem, who made a diving catch for a 2-yard score when Brees threw while rolling to his right. That gave New Orleans its first lead at 19-17 early in the second half.
Houston went back in front 19-17 on Neil Rackers' fourth field goal of the game. Of five Houston drives inside the Saints 20, only one ended with a touchdown, a disappointment for a club that looked to improve in that area after scoring only four TDs on 11 trips inside an opponents' 20 in its previous two games.
Carolina Panthers 16, Jacksonville Jaguars 10
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina -- Cam Newton didn't come close to matching those impressive passing numbers from his first two games. Instead, he overcame a shaky performance by directing a clutch fourth-quarter drive to earn his first NFL victory.
Newton found Greg Olsen over the middle for a 16-yard touchdown with 4:20 left to help the Carolina Panthers to a 16-10 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Newton, the No. 1 overall draft pick, also found Olsen for the ensuing 2-point conversion that helped Carolina rally from a 10-5 halftime deficit. The win also marked the first for coach Ron Rivera with the Panthers.
Newton threw for more than 400 yards in each of the first two weeks, setting an NFL record with 854 yards passing in the opening two games of his career. He finished with just 158 yards on 18-for-34 passing against the Jaguars and their own highly drafted rookie quarterback in Blaine Gabbert. But he completed all three of his passes on the go-ahead drive for the winning score.
Gabbert, the 10th pick in the draft, threw for 139 yards in his starting debut, including a 36-yard touchdown pass to Mike Thomas on the final play of a rain-drenched first half. He even had a chance to snatch the victory away from Newton in the final minute, driving the Jaguars all the way to the Carolina 35-yard line in the final seconds. But Carolina linebacker Thomas Williams batted away Gabbert's final pass for Jason Hill as the clock expired.
After the Jaguars took over at their own 10 on their first series, offensive lineman Eugene Monroe was penalized for illegal use of hands to wipe out a chain-moving completion on Gabbert's first throw. That backed the Jags up even more, and Greg Hardy got past Guy Whimper on the right side to trip up Gabbert in the end zone for a safety.
His next drive wasn't much better, starting at the Jacksonville 6 and ending when Charles Johnson sacked Gabbert on third down. He got the Jaguars on the board by directing a field goal drive, aided by the Panthers jumping offside on a punt to give Jacksonville a first down after what was going to be a three-and-out.
Conditions got even tougher for both passers when a heavy downpour of rain arrived in the second quarter, sending fans fleeing to the concourse for cover and leaving massive puddles on the field and around the sidelines.
But Gabbert and the Jaguars came up with a stunning scoring drive right before the half, with Thomas catching a long pass from Gabbert and leaping across the goal line as time expired for the 10-5 lead.