NFL roundup: Kyler Murray gets 5 TDs, Chandler Jones 5 sacks as Cards rout Titans 38-13

NASHVILLE — Kyler Murray scored five touchdowns and linebacker Chandler Jones had a career-high five sacks as the Arizona Cardinals simply dominated the Tennessee Titans 38-13 Sunday for a big road win to open the season.

Jones, who tied the franchise record, had three sacks in a first quarter so good LeBron James chimed in on social media for his Defensive Player of the Year candidacy. Jones, who wants a new contract, also forced two fumbles the Cardinals turned into 14 points.

Murray tormented the Titans throwing for 289 yards with two TD passes apiece to All-Pro wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins and Christian Kirk. Murray’s best pass came came early in the third quarter off his back foot to Kirk on a beautiful floater Kirk simply ran under.

Chandler Jones has THREE sacks in the first quarter ????

(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/4o2JCTvvbe

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 12, 2021

Arizona scored the first 17 points and moved the ball almost at will against Tennessee. Murray either bought time scrambling around until he could find an open receiver or just kept the ball. Murray was so wide open on a keeper he held the ball up almost immediately on a 2-yard TD for a 24-6 lead.

The Titans not only won the AFC South last year, they had one of the NFL’s best offenses in 2020 with Derrick Henry the AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year after rushing for 2,027 yards. They tied Buffalo for the second-most yards per game and ranked fourth in scoring, then traded for wide receiver Julio Jones in June.

They dismissed talk of rust after offensive starters had little time together this preseason. They couldn’t have been much worse when it counted. The Titans started with a three-and-out, Jones sacked Ryan Tannehill on the second play of the next drive and stripped him of the ball.

Taylor Lewan kept it real after the Titans' loss to the Cardinals ???? pic.twitter.com/eecgWzULbd

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 12, 2021

Tannehill was under constant pressure, with Michael Dogbe getting the sixth sack.

About the only thing that didn’t go Arizona’s way was when Matt Prater missed a 43-yard field goal in the fourth quarter.

Panthers 19, Jets 13

CHARLOTTE — Sam Darnold threw for 279 yards and a touchdown and ran for another score against his former team as the Carolina Panthers defeated the New York Jets 19-14 on Sunday to win their first season opener since 2018.

Darnold connected on a 57-yard touchdown pass with fellow ex-Jet Robby Anderson and took full advantage of a healthy Christian McCaffrey, who piled up 187 yards from scrimmage on 30 touches after missing 13 games last season with injuries.

Carolina’s defense brought the pressure on Jets rookie quarterback Zach Wilson, sacking the No. 2 pick in the NFL draft six times and intercepting him once. Wilson kept battling, though and finished 20 of 37 for 258 yards with two touchdown passes to Corey Davis in his first career start.

The loss also spoiled the head coaching debut of Robert Saleh for the Jets.

Darnold, acquired from the Jets for three draft picks this past offseason, struggled in the red zone early. He turned over the ball on a botched handoff that hit his fullback’s arm and the Panthers had to settle for a short field goal by Ryan Santoso on another possession.

But the momentum changed midway through the second quarter when the Jets went for it on fourth-and-inches near midfield and Panthers defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos tackled Tevin Coleman behind the line of scrimmage.

On the next play, Darnold found Anderson streaking down the middle of the field for a 57-yard score. Darnold then made it 16-0 on the next drive when he scored on a 5-yard touchdown run on a quarterback draw as the Panthers outgained the Jets 282-72 in the first half.

Wilson spent the better part of the game under heavy duress, pressured on 10 of his 19 dropbacks in the first half. He was 0 for 7 passing with three sacks on those pressures, according to ESPN Stats Info.

Wilson’s final sack came with 2 minutes left when his head hit the turf hard after getting landed on by 320-pound defensive tackle Derrick Brown. But he stayed in the game and connected with Davis for with 1:56 left to cut Carolina’s lead to 19-14 and give his team a chance.

But the Panthers put the game away on the final drive on an 18-yard run by McCaffrey.

Despite the pressure, Wilson had some bright spots including the late TD toss and a 22-yard touchdown pass to Davis late in the third quarter when he rolled out of the pocket to buy time.

Texans 37, Jaguars 21

HOUSTON — Tyrod Taylor threw for 291 yards and two touchdowns filling in for Deshaun Watson to lead the Houston Texans to a 37-21 win over Trevor Lawrence and the mistake-prone Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.

Taylor took over at quarterback for Houston with Watson’s future with the team uncertain after 22 women filed lawsuits alleging sexual assault or harassment after he requested a trade.

Expectations for the Texans were low entering this season with Watson out and star defensive end J.J. Watt gone to Arizona. But Taylor and Houston’s revamped running game were more than enough to handle a Jaguars team that didn’t look much better than it was last season when it got just one win despite the addition of top overall pick Lawrence.

The former Clemson standout became the first rookie quarterback to start an opener in franchise history. It was a bumpy debut during which he threw for 332 yards and three touchdowns but also tossed three interceptions, often overthrew open receivers and was the victim of several drops.

It was also the NFL debut for Jaguars coach Urban Meyer, who lost the first season opener of his head coaching career after entering the game having won 17 straight openers as a college coach.

His streak was halted by another coach making his NFL head coaching debut in Houston’s David Culley, a 65-year-old who spent decades as an assistant in the league before being hired by the Texans.

Brandin Cooks had 132 yards receiving and Mark Ingram had 85 yards rushing and a TD in his Houston debut.

Ingram gave Houston an early lead with a 1-yard run that made it 7-0 with about seven minutes left in the first quarter.

Josh Lambo missed a 55-yard field goal on Jacksonville’s second possession.

The Texans pushed the lead to 14-0 when Taylor connected with David Johnson on 7-yard TD later in the first.

Chargers 20, Washington 16

LANDOVER, Md. — Brandon Staley and Justin Herbert shared a smile and shook hands outside the locker room before the new Los Angeles Chargers coach congratulated the second-year quarterback on a job well done.

“You were outstanding,” Staley told him.

Herbert and the Chargers excelled on third down to give Staley a victory in his first game running the sideline, beating Washington 20-16 Sunday in a sloppy Week 1 matchup full of turnovers and big penalties. Herbert threw for 337 yards and a touchdown, overcoming a fumble into the end zone and a red zone interception and leading an offense that went 14 of 19 on third down.

“Fourteen of 19 — that’s unheard of,” said Herbert, who completed 31 of 47 passes and joined Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes as the only players in league history with 4,500 yards passing in his first 16 career starts. “For us to be that efficient … that’s big for our offense.”

Herbert led scoring drives of 75, 76 and 68 yards, and a go-ahead touchdown pass to Mike Williams made up for his mistakes on consecutive possessions. There was also the 6-plus-minute drive late in the fourth quarter that salted away the clock and ended with Herbert kneeling in the victory formation, a major improvement for L.A. after losing so many close games last season.

“In that huddle on the last drive, we were telling each other, ‘Hey, we’ve got to make all the plays, do whatever we need to do so we can go home happy,’” wide receiver Keenan Allen said.

The teams combined for 14 penalties for 151 yards and three giveaways. Antonio Gibson’s fumble inside the Washington 5-yard line set up the Chargers’ shortest but most important scoring drive that ended with Herbert’s TD pass to Williams.

Los Angeles also got a 3-yard TD run from Austin Ekeler, who rushed 15 times for 57 yards and showed he was good to go after being questionable with a left hamstring injury.

“Fantasy football owners, we made it to Week 1,” said Ekeler, who had more than 50 text messages earlier in the week when he missed practice for what he called precautionary reasons. “We made it through. Hopefully I got points for y’all.”

Staley became just the second Chargers coach to win his debut, an emotional victory that came on his late mother’s birthday.

“She would be happy, but not satisfied because we didn’t play our best,” Staley said. “I love and miss her dearly, and I’m really good that we’re leaving here on a positive note.”

Washington lost veteran starting quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick to a right hip injury midway through the second quarter. Coach Ron Rivera did not have an update on Fitzpatrick and said he hopes to know more about the 38-year-old’s status Monday.

“He’s in good spirits,” tight end Logan Thomas said. “Obviously not real sure what it is yet, but hoping for the best for him.”

Fitzpatrick was replaced by popular backup Taylor Heinicke, whose name was chanted by fans still remembering his surprise playoff heroics in the wild-card round loss to eventual Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay.

Even though the FitzMagic never materialized, Heinicke had some of his own special moments, including a perfect pass to top receiver Terry McLaurin and a TD throw to tight end Logan Thomas. Heinicke was 11 of 15 for 122 yards and could be Washington’s starter moving forward.

Eagles 32, Falcons 6

ATLANTA — Jalen Hurts threw three touchdown passes, the first of them to Heisman Trophy winner DeVonta Smith, and the Philadelphia Eagles made a winner of Nick Sirianni in his head coaching debut with a 32-6 rout of the hapless Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.

Now firmly entrenched as the Eagles starter after Carson Wentz was traded, Hurts certainly looked the part with touchdown passes of 18 yards to Smith, 9 yards to Dallas Goedert and 23 yards to Jalen Reagor.

Another Philadelphia rookie, fifth-round pick Kenneth Gainwell, scored his first TD as a pro with an 8-yard run late in the third quarter to essentially seal the victory.

In an often sloppy matchup between rookie head coaches and the NFC’s two worst teams a year ago, the Eagles limited the Falcons to a pair of field goals and got more than enough production from a revamped offense with Hurts calling the shots.

Hurts completed 27 of 35 passes for 264 yards and used his mobility to repeatedly neutralize Atlanta’s attempt to shake him up with a wide variety of blitzes. He rushed for 62 yards on seven carries.

The first TD of the Sirianni Era signaled the changing times in Philadelphia after the Eagles slumped to a 4-11-1 last season, leading to the firing of Super Bowl-winning coach Doug Pederson.

Hurts, now the undisputed starter, lofted a pass to Smith, the No. 10 overall pick, along the left side of the end zone to give the Eagles a lead they never relinquished just past the midway point of the first quarter.

Smith took advantage of a nifty, pick-like move from tight end Zach Ertz to get just enough separation on cornerback Fabian Moreau to haul in the throw from Hurts. In an interesting twist, it was same end zone at Mercedes-Benz Stadium where Smith caught a championship-winning touchdown pass for Alabama in overtime in the 2018 national title game.

Hurts and Smith were teammates for two years with the Crimson Tide. The Eagles hope this is the first of many touchdowns they’ll team up for in the NFL.

Seahawks 32, Colts 6

INDIANAPOLIS — Russell Wilson threw three of his four touchdowns in the first half Sunday and Seattle clamped down in the second half to close out a 28-16 season-opening victory at Indianapolis.

The defending NFC West champions have won 12 of their past 13 games in the early Sunday timeslot.

Indy lost its eighth straight opener, the past five with different starting quarterbacks.

Wilson was sensational in his first action with new offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, shredding a top-10 defense that entered the season with even higher aspirations.

But against Seattle’s revamped offense, Wilson made sure the Colts defense never had a chance.

Despite taking no preseason snaps, the eight-time Pro Bowler led the Seahawks to touchdowns on their first two drives, hooking up with Tyler Lockett on a twisting, over-the-shoulder catch for a 23-yard TD pass to make it 7-3 and finding Gerald Everett for a 9-yard score to give Seattle a 14-3 lead.

Carson Wentz answered with a 10-yard TD pass to Zach Pascal, cutting Indy’s deficit to 14-10.

But Wilson capped the half with a 69-yard scoring throw to Lockett after he broke free behind two Colts safeties. Wilson finished the half with a perfect passer rating of 158.3 and wound up 18 of 23 with 254 yards. His final rating of 152.3 was the second highest of his 10-year career and his best mark in a September game.

Wilson sealed the victory with a 15-yard scoring pass to Pro Bowl receiver DK Metcalf with 6:41 left to make it 28-10.

While the Colts defense played better in the second half, the offense bogged down. Wentz was under constant pressure and Indy didn’t score until Wentz connected with Pascal on an 11-yard TD pass with 2:08 to go.

Wentz was 25 of 38 with 251 yards and two scores in his Colts debut.

49ers 41, Lions 33

DETROIT — Dre Greenlaw returned an interception for a touchdown to help the San Francisco 49ers score 17 points over two-plus minutes late in the first half, and they barely held on for a 41-33 win over the Detroit Lions on Sunday.

San Francisco led 38-10 early in the fourth quarter and allowed Detroit to score 23 points in three-plus minutes to pull within eight points. But the Lions turned the ball over on downs at the San Francisco 24 with 12 seconds left after getting it back on a fumble by Deebo Samuel.

For most of the afternoon, the 49ers performed more like the Super Bowl-contending team they were two years ago than the 10-loss squad they had last season when injuries took a major toll.

Meanwhile, it looked like the many changes the Lions made might be moot in coach Dan Campbell’s debut — until the comeback provided some hope.

San Francisco welcomed back Jimmy Garoppolo and George Kittle on offense and Nick Bosa on defense after each missed much of last season with injuries.

Garoppolo, who helped San Francisco win the 2019 NFC championship, is 23-8 in the regular season since being acquired from New England. Kittle had four receptions for 78 yards. Bosa had four tackles, including a drive-ending sack early in the fourth quarter.

Garoppolo, who lost a fumble on his first snap, was 17 of 25 for 314 yards. He threw a 79-yard touchdown pass to Samuel, who took advantage of cornerback Jeff Okudah falling. That gave the Niners a 28-point cushion midway through the third quarter. They needed it.

Samuel had nine catches for a career-high 189 yards. Rookie Elijah Miller, filling in for injured Raheem Mostert, had a tiebreaking, 38-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter and finished with 104 yards rushing.

In his Detroit debut, Jared Goff was 38 of 57 for 338 three touchdowns and a costly interception. T.J. Hockenson had a career-high eight receptions for 97 yards and scored in the season-opening game for the third time in three years.

Goff, the former Los Angeles Rams quarterback acquired along with first-round draft picks for Matthew Stafford, was picked off late in the second quarter by Greenlaw. The linebacker returned the interception 39 yards to give San Francisco a 28-10 lead.

The Niners led 31-10 at halftime, their highest total after two quarters since 2008.

Broncos 27, Giants 13

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Teddy Bridgewater threw two touchdowns in his first start for Denver and the Broncos dominated possession and beat the Giants 27-13 on Sunday, spoiling the return of New York running back Saquon Barkley after a long ACL rehabilitation.

Acquired in the offseason from Carolina, Bridgewater completed 28 of 36 passes for 264 yards, sharing the ball with nine receivers. The 28-year-old hit Tim Patrick on a go-ahead 2-yard TD pass in the closing seconds of the first half. Bridgewater eluded pressure and found tight end Albert Okwuegbunam on a 4-yard, fourth-down toss during a 16-play, 75-yard drive to open the second half, extending the lead to 17-7 with 6:48 to go in the quarter.

Melvin Gordon III added a late 70-yard TD run and Brandon McManus kicked two field goals for the Broncos, who have had four straight losing seasons since their Super Bowl 50 title.

Daniel Jones threw a 37-yard touchdown pass play to Sterling Shepard for New York and ran for a 4-yard touchdown on the final play. The third-year quarterback finished 22 of 37 for 253 yards. He also lost a fumble in the red zone with the Giants trailing 20-7 in the third quarter.

Like the offense, Barkley never got going. The 2018 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year finished with 10 carries for 26 yards. His longest run was 5 yards.

The Giants, who are coming off a 6-10 season under then first-year coach Joe Judge, have not been to the playoffs since 2016, and only once since winning their fourth Super Bowl in February 2012.

Denver won the ball possession battle 35:08 to 24:52 as its offense converted 7 of 15 on third down and 3 of 3 on fourth down.

The Broncos came into the season opener off a perfect preseason and they showed that was not a fluke. Von Miller, playing for the first time since 2019, had an early sack and finished with two sacks. Aided by his big run, Gordon finished with 101 yards on 11 carries.

Denver took a 10-7 lead on a 2-yard pass from Bridgewater to Patrick with 8 seconds left in the first half. It capped a 7-play, 57-yard drive that featured a 14-yard pass from Bridgewater to Courtland Sutton on a fourth-and-2 from the Giants 49.

New York had taken the lead on the catch and run by Shepard on the series after McManus’ field goal.

Dolphins 17, Patriots 16

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Tua Tagovailoa threw a go-ahead touchdown pass to Jaylen Waddle in the third quarter and Xavien Howard recovered a fumble with New England driving in the fourth to help the Miami Dolphins hold on for a 17-16 win over the Patriots on Sunday.

It was Miami’s second straight win over the Patriots. Tagovailoa also led the Dolphins to a win in the second meeting between the teams last season.

Tagovailoa finished 16 of 27 for 202 yards, a touchdown and one interception, and also had a 3-yard TD run to lead a revamped offense that kept the Patriots’ rebuilt defense guessing, mixing in no-huddle and empty backfield formations. DeVante Parker caught four passes for 81 yards.

Miami’s win spoiled the debut of New England’s Mac Jones, who became the first rookie quarterback to start for the Patriots since Drew Bledsoe in 1993. Jones was 29 of 39 for 281 yards and a touchdown. Damien Harris rushed 23 times for 100 yards, but had the costly fumble to end New England’s comeback hopes.

Miami took a 17-10 lead in the third quarter on a 3-yard touchdown from Tagovailoa to Waddle.

The Patriots cut it to 17-13 in the fourth when they ate up more than five minutes of the clock to drive inside the Dolphins 15. But it stalled there and Nick Folk’s third field goal made it 17-16 with 10:36 left.

On their ensuing drive, the Dolphins were facing third-and-7 on their own 43 when Tagovailoa was flushed out of the pocket and heaved a pass toward the sideline. The ball was tipped and intercepted by Jonathan Jones, giving the ball back to the Patriots at midfield with just over eight minutes remaining.

New England moved all the way to the Miami 11. But on the next play, a 2-yard run by Harris ended with him losing the ball on a hit by Howard. Howard recovered it and the Dolphins took over on their own 9. They were able to run out the clock.

Tagovailoa completed several deep passes on the Patriots secondary, taking advantage of the absence of cornerback Stephon Gilmore. The 2019 NFL Defensive Player of Year started the season on the physically unable to perform list and will miss at least the first six games.

Jones was efficient for most of the game, spreading the ball around to multiple receivers and finding soft spots in the Miami defense for chunk plays. Penalties hurt the Patriots, though, negating big gains and forcing the offense to settle for field goals.

Both offenses had early success moving the ball, but the Dolphins got on the scoreboard first.

Harris had the first big play of the day, slipping through a big hole in middle of Miami’s defense on the game’s opening snap for a 35-yard gain.

It was one of four straight running plays by New England before Jones dropped back to pass for the first time. The play ended with him forcing an awkward throw behind the line of scrimmage that was batted to the turf by Christian Wilkins. The ball rolled free before being recovered by Jonnu Smith for a loss of 9 yards. New England punted two plays later.

Miami took over and mixed in some short passes by Tagovailoa and runs by Myles Gaskin to quickly get into the red zone.

The 10-play, 80-yard drive ended with a 3-yard touchdown run by Tagovailoa to help put Miami in front 7-0.

Saints 38, Packers 3

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jameis Winston and the hurricane-displaced Saints looked right at home in northeast Florida against Green Bay with a 38-3 victory — no doubt to the delight of fans rebuilding homes and lives back in New Orleans.

Winston passed for five touchdowns, New Orleans intercepted reigning NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers twice, and the Saints kicked off the post-Drew Brees era with a strikingly dominant opening victory over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.

The game, originally scheduled for the Superdome, was moved while the New Orleans area continues to clean up wreckage left by Hurricane Ida, which struck southeast Louisiana as a Category 4 storm on Aug. 29, 16 years to the day after Hurricane Katrina devastated the same region.

After canceling their final preseason game and practicing two weeks in the Dallas area, the Saints looked as sharp and inspired as any club with such distractions could have hoped.

Winston, who led the NFL with 30 interceptions in his last season as a starter with Tampa Bay in 2019, was largely judicious and accurate in going 14 of 20 for 148 yards without an interception. The only risky throw that backfired on him — a deflected pass caught by Packers defensive back Darnell Savage in the end zone — was negated by a contested roughing-the-passer penalty called against edge rusher Z’Darius Smith.

The penalty set up the second touchdown catch of the game by Juwan Johnson, who came in with four career catches and was converted from receiver to a tight end this offseason.

On the day before his 25th birthday, Johnson also converted a screen pass into a 12-yard, first-down gain on fourth-and-7 in the second quarter, when the game was still in doubt. He capped that drive with a leaping catch in the end zone on fourth-and-2. The two fourth-down conversions highlighted a pivotal 14-play drive that consumed 10 minutes.

Green Bay fans seemed to outnumber Saints fans in a crowd announced at 35,242 for what was officially a Saints home game. But they left disappointed in a day that could not have gone much worse for Rodgers, who was pulled with nearly 11 minutes left.

He finished 15 of 28 for 133 yards and no TDs. He led one drive to a field goal at the end of the first half.

The Packers squandered a chance to trim their deficit when Rodgers’ wobbly pass under pressure was intercepted by rookie defensive back Paulson Adebo at the New Orleans 7 early in the third quarter.

On Green Bay’s next drive, Marcus Williams intercepted Rodgers’ deep overthrow and returned it to the Packers 12, setting up Winston’s 10-yard TD to Chris Hogan.

Rams 34, Bears 14

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Matthew Stafford passed for 321 yards and three touchdowns in a dynamic debut with his new team, leading the Los Angeles Rams past Andy Dalton and the Chicago Bears for a 34-14 victory on Sunday night.

Stafford found Van Jefferson for a 67-yard touchdown on his second pass for the Rams, who swung a blockbuster offseason trade to acquire the 13-year veteran quarterback from Detroit. Stafford then hit a wide-open Cooper Kupp for a 56-yard TD to open the third quarter, and he found Robert Woods for a clinching score with 3:17 to play.

With Stafford in place of Jared Goff, the Rams again looked like the offensive powerhouse of their first two seasons under coach Sean McVay, who improved to 5-0 in season openers. The Rams scored on six of Stafford’s first seven full drives while racking up 375 yards of offense, and Kupp finished with seven catches for 108 yards.

Dalton passed for 206 yards in his Bears debut, and rookie quarterback Justin Fields rushed for a 3-yard score while getting a handful of snaps in his NFL debut. Chicago moved the ball steadily, but Dalton’s end-zone interception after a solid opening drive left the Bears playing from behind all night.

David Montgomery rushed for 108 yards and a touchdown for the Bears, who dropped to 1-3 in season openers under coach Matt Nagy.

Dalton has begun his Bears career in a competition with Fields, the touted Ohio State rookie who looked impressive in the preseason. Nagy used both quarterbacks against the Rams, intermittently substituting Fields from the opening drive onward. Fields completed both of his passes for 10 yards.

But Stafford was the center of attention in the first regular-season NFL game with fans at palatial SoFi Stadium, which opened last year. The 33-year-old quarterback left the Lions six months ago for Los Angeles, which traded Goff and two first-round picks to acquire an undeniable talent with no career playoff victories and everything to prove.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Stafford became the first player with two touchdown passes of more than 50 yards in his debut for a new team since Lee Grosscup did it for the AFL’s New York Titans in 1962.

Stafford opened his Rams career with his long, beautiful throw to Jefferson on his third offensive snap. The ball hung 53 yards in the air and dropped straight to Jefferson, who fell, rose and scored when two Bears defenders failed to touch him.

Dalton moved Chicago’s offense from the start, but the Bears’ opening drive ended with the first career interception for David Long Jr., who picked off a pass tipped by Kenny Young.

Los Angeles settled for two field goals in the first half, while Montgomery finally scored Chicago’s first points 34 seconds before halftime.

Kupp put the Rams up 20-7 early in the third when Chicago’s secondary left him completely unguarded 10 yards behind its safeties. Goff threw only two touchdown passes longer than 40 yards for Los Angeles all of last season.

Chicago kept it close with an 81-yard drive capped by Fields’ TD run, but Darrell Henderson punched in another TD for the Rams late in the third after another smooth 75-yard drive. Woods then made a late 2-yard TD catch after a bit of impressive decision-making by Stafford.

Los Angeles scored at least 34 points only twice last season, making the playoffs largely with the NFL’s No. 1 defense.