NFL Week 2: Matthew Stafford leads Rams to late scores in win over Colts

INDIANAPOLIS — Matthew Stafford led Los Angeles on two late scoring drives and Matt Gay made a tiebreaking 38-yard field goal with 2:23 to play Sunday, giving the Rams a 27-24 victory.

The Rams have won three straight in this series and have taken all five road openers under coach Sean McVay.

Stafford wasn’t as proficient as he was in the season-opening victory over Chicago but he did play well — even after appearing to hit his right thumb on the helmet of Colts defensive tackle DeForest Buckner in the first half. He did not miss a play. He finished 19 of 30 for 278 yards, two TD passes and one interception.

Cooper Kupp caught nine passes for 163 yards and two scores for the Rams (2-0).

.@CooperKupp has 8 catches for 160 yards and 2 TDs ???? #RamsHouse

????: #LARvsIND on FOX
????: NFL app pic.twitter.com/e7f5QDn6Bk

— NFL (@NFL) September 19, 2021

The Colts are 0-2 for the first time in coach Frank Reich’s four-year tenure and now face a daunting three-game road trip.

Indy charged back from a 17-6 deficit to take the lead at 21-17 when Rams long snapper Matt Orzech hit protector Nick Scott in front of punter Johnny Hekker. The ball bounced into the end zone and was recovered by Ashton Dulin.

Stafford only needed four plays to find Kupp for a 10-yard TD pass to make it 24-21.

Indy tied it again on a 35-yard field goal with 7:22 left, but quarterback Carson Wentz injured his right ankle on the play before the field goal and did not return. The injury doomed Indy’s comeback hopes as Jacob Eason was intercepted on his second NFL pass.

Bills 35, Dolphins 0

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Another Buffalo-Miami game, another lopsided Bills victory. And this one might wind up hurting the Dolphins more than most of the others.

Josh Allen threw two touchdown passes, Zach Moss ran for two scores and the Bills knocked out Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa early with a rib injury on the way to a 35-0 win on Sunday.

Devin Singletary rushed for 82 yards and another touchdown for the Bills. Buffalo has won six consecutive games in the series, doing so by an average of 20 points per game. This marks only the second time the Bills have won six in a row against the Dolphins.

The last time the teams met was in Buffalo to end last season, a 56-26 romp by the Bills. This, somehow, was worse for Miami. It was the second-worst shutout loss by the Dolphins at home, topped only by a 43-0 defeat to New England in 2019.

Tagovailoa lasted only two series, knocked out of the game on a failed fourth-down play near midfield where Buffalo’s A.J. Epenesa blew past Dolphins right tackle Jesse Davis and was at full speed when he launched into Miami’s quarterback. Tagovailoa needed a couple tries just to get to the sideline, was carted to the locker room not long afterward and didn’t return.

Jacoby Brissett took over, completing 24 of 40 passes for 169 yards. Allen completed 17 of 33 passes for 179 yards for Buffalo.

Tagovailoa got sacked twice on a three-and-out opening possession, setting up a punt and Buffalo taking over with a short field. Singletary scored on a 46-yard run, the second-longest score of his career, on Buffalo’s second play from scrimmage.

The next drive ended when Tagovailoa got hurt. Buffalo took the ball and before long Allen found Stefon Diggs — running away from Xavien Howard, who lost a shoe — in the back of the end zone for a quick 14-0 lead.

Miami’s defense tightened for the rest of the half, yielding 38 yards and no points on Buffalo’s next six possessions. But Buffalo made it 21-0 when Allen found Dawson Knox for a score on the first possession of the third quarter, and Moss scored twice in the fourth.

Panthers 26, Saints 7

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Sam Darnold threw for 305 yards and two touchdowns, and the Carolina defense turned in another strong performance in a 26-7 win over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.

Darnold improved to 2-0 as Panthers starter, connecting on TDs to Brandon Zylstra and D.J. Moore as Carolina jumped to a 17-0 lead by outgaining the Saints 274-65 in the first half.

Christian McCaffrey added 137 yards from scrimmage and scored his first touchdown of the season as the Panthers defeated the Saints for only the second time in the last 10 tries.

Jameis Winston, who threw five TD passes in a 38-3 win over the Green Bay Packers in the season opener, was held to 111 yards passing, intercepted twice and sacked four times. Alvin Kamara was limited to 5 yards on eight carries as the Saints struggled with five of the team’s offensive coaches out due to covid-19 protocols. In all, the Saints were missing eight assistant coaches because of covid-19.

The Panthers outgained the Saints 383-128 for the game and had 28 first downs to New Orleans’ 6. The Saints’ total yards are their fewest ever under Sean Payton since he took over as coach in New Orleans.

For the second straight week, the Panthers’ defense set the tone by pitching a shutout in the first half. Carolina has outscored its two opponents 33-0 in the opening half.

The Panthers used rollouts and bootlegs to free up Darnold and the fourth-year quarterback responded well. On the game’s first score Darnold rolled out on a bootleg and found an open Zylstra for a 20-yard TD pass. He completed several other passes on the run, including a strike to tight end Dan Arnold to set up another score.

Darnold was solid, but not perfect.

The Panthers were in complete control until late in the third quarter when Darnold nearly allowed the Saints back in the game. He attempted a shovel pass that defensive end Malcolm Roach intercepted and returned to the Carolina 18. Winston cashed in five plays later with an 8-yard touchdown run to cut Carolina’s lead to 17-7.

But the Panthers regained their composure and put the Saints away after McCaffrey returned to the game following missing two series with leg cramping. He scored on an 11-yard run.

Patriots 25, Jets 6

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Mac Jones was smart and efficient, Damien Harris and James White had touchdown runs and the New England Patriots took advantage of a nightmarish outing by Zach Wilson in a 25-6 victory over the New York Jets on Sunday.

With the spotlight on the Mac vs. Zach matchup of rookie first-round quarterbacks, it was Jones who shined as Wilson was intercepted four times — twice by J.C. Jackson.

Jones, the No. 15 overall pick in the draft, went 22 of 30 for 186 yards for the Patriots (1-1) a week after going 29 for 39 for 281 yards and a touchdown in a loss to Miami. Sunday’s numbers were more than good enough for New England to beat New York for the 11th straight game.

Especially with Wilson throwing the ball to the wrong team in the home opener for the Jets (0-2), who have lost 11 straight in September.

It got so bad early in the fourth quarter when the No. 2 overall draft pick overthrew a receiver, the crowd at MetLife Stadium — boisterous and excited early at their first game since Dec. 22, 2019, because of the pandemic — began booing the young QB.

Wilson (19 of 33 for 210 yards and the four INTs) struggled right away, and the troubles might have been expected. Bill Belichick improved to 22-6 against rookie quarterbacks since taking over as Patriots coach in 2000.

After Marcus Maye’s sack pushed the Patriots out of field goal position on their opening possession, the Jets got the ball at their 8. Wilson threw downfield to Corey Davis in traffic and Jackson tipped it into the air, Devin McCourty deflected it and the ball landed in Jackson’s hands.

The Patriots capitalized with Nick Folk’s 46-yard field goal.

Wilson’s second pass was also picked off, this time Adrian Phillips grabbing the ball after the high throw went off Davis’ hands. New England got into the end zone, with White running it in up the middle for a 10-0 lead.

Wilson finally completed a pass to a teammate early in the second quarter, a 27-yard toss to a wide-open Elijah Moore. Despite the big gain, it should have been more — Wilson’s pass led Moore to the sideline rather than downfield, where he might have had a touchdown.

The Jets got down to the Patriots 8 and ran three times before settling for Matt Ammendola’s 21-yard field goal.

Wilson made another poor decision on New York’s next drive at the Patriots 28, an underthrown pass to Moore that was easily picked off by Jackson again.

Wilson was the first player since at least 1991 to throw INTs on each of his first two pass attempts in a game, according to NFL Research. He was also the first player since at least ‘91 to throw three INTs in his first five pass attempts in a game.

The fourth interception opened the second half when he floated a pass downfield that was easily picked off by McCourty. Two plays later, Harris shed what appeared to be seven — yes, seven! — tackle attempts by the Jets for a 26-yard touchdown.

After Ammendola missed a 53-yarder, Jones marched the Patriots downfield again and Folk, a former Jet, made a 32-yarder. It was Folk’s franchise-record 32nd consecutive field goal.

Broncos 23, Jaguars 13

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Courtland Sutton’s career day helped the Denver Broncos beat woeful Jacksonville 23-13 on Sunday, handing the Jaguars a 17th consecutive loss.

Sutton finished with nine catches for 159 yards, including a shoe-string grab in the third quarter that surely rates among his best plays in four seasons. In Denver’s first game without Jerry Jeudy (ankle), Sutton showed he can be Teddy Bridgewater’s go-to guy.

The Broncos, who are 2-0 for the seventh time in the last nine years and the first since 2019, waited years to see this kind of performance from Sutton. The second-round pick in 2018 missed 15 games last season because of a torn knee ligament. It was just the third 100-yard receiving game of his career.

He looked unstoppable against the Jaguars (0-2), who struggled to keep pace with him down the field.

Sutton had nearly half of Bridgewater’s 328 yards passing. Bridgewater completed 26 of 34 passes, with TD tosses to Tim Patrick and Noah Fant, and played mistake-free football for the second straight week.

The Broncos has plenty else go right.

First-round draft pick Patrick Surtain II, making his first career start in place of cornerback Ronald Darby (hamstring), notched his first career interception. The rookie made a great grab near the sideline in front of Tyron Johnson.

Surtain’s pick was then second of the day and fifth of the season for No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence.

Lawrence capped an 83-yard drive to open the game with a 25-yard pass to Marvin Jones. But Jacksonville did little right the rest of the afternoon.

Jamal Agnew returned a kickoff 102 yards late in the game, but then promptly got flagged for delay of game on the ensuring kickoff.

Jacksonville’s home opener wasn’t as much of a debacle as their season opener a week early, but it wasn’t a whole lot better, either.

49ers 17, Eagles 11

PHILADELPHIA — Jimmy Garoppolo threw one touchdown pass and ran in for a score, leading the San Francisco 49ers to a 17-11 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.

Nick Bosa had two sacks and San Francisco’s stingy defense shut down Jalen Hurts a week after Philadelphia dominated Atlanta in a 32-6 win.

Hurts completed just 12 of 23 passes for 190 yards. He ran for 82 yards, including a 1-yard TD in the fourth quarter.

The 49ers (2-0) return home after practicing all week at The Greenbrier resort in West Virginia with a pair of road wins on the East Coast to open the season.

The Eagles (1-1) got a reality check in coach Nick Sirianni’s first home game.

A sellout crowd greeted the Eagles for the first time since a playoff loss to Seattle on Jan. 5, 2020. With covid-19 restrictions lifted, fans were tailgating six hours before kickoff. One guy brought a 49ers helmet and walked it around a parking lot on a dog leash. White “Go Birds” T-shirts were placed on every seat inside the Linc, though it was a sea of green once the stadium filled up.

They had little to cheer after the defense held the 49ers to three straight three-and-out possessions to start the game.

San Francisco’s offense finally got going after its own strong defensive stand. Garoppolo drove the 49ers 97 yards on 12 plays, capping it with an 11-yard TD pass to Jauan Jennings — his first career catch — for a 7-3 lead in the final minute of the first half.

The drive began after Philadelphia missed a huge opportunity to go up 10-0. After Hurts connected with Quez Watkins for a 91-yard gain to the Niners 6, the Eagles had a first down at the 1 following a pass interference penalty on Josh Norman. But, on fourth down from the 3, wide receiver Greg Ward took a flip on a reverse and threw an incomplete pass to Hurts in the back of the end zone. Ward was a quarterback in college.

The 49ers went ahead 14-3 in the fourth on Garoppolo’s sneak from the 1. Robbie Gould’s 46-yard field goal made it 17-3.

After Hurts scored, Miles Sanders ran in for the 2-point conversion. But the Eagles didn’t get the ball back.

Garoppolo finished 22 of 30 for 189 yards.

Hurts threw a 38-yard TD pass to Jalen Reagor that was overturned because the 2020 first-round pick stepped out of bounds before he made the catch down the right sideline.

Javon Kinlaw then blocked Jake Elliott’s 47-yard attempt.

Titans 33, Seahawks 30

SEATTLE — Derrick Henry ran for 182 yards and two fourth-quarter touchdowns, Randy Bullock hit a 36-yard field goal midway through overtime, and the Tennessee Titans rallied from a 14-point deficit to stun the Seattle Seahawks 33-30 on Sunday.

Down 30-16 early in the fourth quarter, the Titans leaned on their All-Pro running back, who carried them to a road win on the day Seattle welcomed fans back for a regular-season game for the first time since the end of the 2019 season.

They left in silence, thanks to Henry, a terrific fourth-quarter drive from Ryan Tannehill and Seattle’s own missed opportunities.

Seattle led 30-16 after Freddie Swain busted free from coverage for a 68-yard touchdown with 13:06 left. But Jason Myers missed the extra point, hitting the upright and setting the stage for a wild conclusion in Seattle.

Henry rumbled 60 yards for his second touchdown of the game less than a minute after Swain’s TD catch. His 1-yard run with 29 seconds left in regulation and the extra point from Bullock tied the game at 30.

And when Tennessee needed yards in overtime after nearly ending the game with a safety, Henry had four runs for 21 yards to set up Bullock’s winning kick.

Henry also had a career-high six receptions for 55 yards. Tannehill was 27 for 40 for 347 yards and Julio Jones had the 59th 100-yard game of his career with six receptions for 128 yards.

Most important, the Titans avoided an 0-2 start.

Russell Wilson was splendid for three-plus quarters, but struggled in the closing minutes of regulation and overtime when Seattle had chances to put the game away.

Wilson was 22 of 31 for 343 yards and two touchdowns, including a 63-yard strike to Tyler Lockett in the first half. Chris Carson added a pair of short TD runs, but Seattle saw a 24-9 halftime lead evaporate.

It was Seattle’s first loss when leading by at least 15 points at halftime since losing to the St. Louis Rams 33-27 in overtime in 2004 at home.

Seattle also had its 12-game win streak in home openers snapped.

It was a disastrous fourth quarter for Seattle and overtime wasn’t much better. Tennessee nearly won the game when Ola Adeniyi sacked Wilson on Seattle’s only overtime possession. It appeared to be a safety, but Wilson was ruled down at the 1. The resulting short field led to an easy winning drive for the Titans.

Seattle’s first home regular-season game with fans since Week 17 of the 2019 season was a giant party from the pregame concert with hometown hip-hop artist Macklemore to the roar after Lockett’s long touchdown reception that left the stadium swaying.

But the atmosphere turned tense in the fourth quarter and downright sour as fans headed for the exits.

Tannehill was 7 for 7 on the final drive of regulation, six of the seven passes going to running backs. The Titans faced just one third down and on first-and-goal, Henry plunged in from the 1.

Tennessee finished with 532 total yards, including 345 in the second half and overtime.

Buccaneers 48, Falcons 25

TAMPA, Fla. — Tom Brady threw for 276 yards and five touchdowns, helping the Tampa Bay Buccaneers extend their winning streak to a franchise-record 10 consecutive games with a 48-25 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.

Brady improved to 9-0 lifetime against the Falcons (0-2), who’ve lost seven in a row going back to last season, with three of those setbacks coming against the Bucs (2-0), who’ve outscored their NFC South rivals 124-62 over the past 10 quarters of those outings.

Rob Gronkowski caught a pair of TD passes for the third straight game, including the Super Bowl, as he and Brady continued to climb the career list for regular-season TDs by a passing duo with 88 — one behind Philip Rivers and Antonio Gates for second place behind Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison (112).

Mike Evans also scored on receptions of 3 and 1 yards, the latter set up by Shaquil Barrett’s third-quarter interception of Matt Ryan, who fell to 0-6 against teams led by Brady, who rallied New England from a 28-3 deficit to beat Atlanta in Super Bowl 51.

Ryan, who tossed TD passes to Calvin Ridley and Cordarrelle Patterson before running for a 2-point conversion to trim an 18-point deficit to 28-25 late in the third, threw a pair of interceptions that Mike Edwards returned for fourth-quarter TDs that broke the game open.

Since trailing the Falcons 17-0 at halftime of their Week 15 meeting in Atlanta last December, Brady has thrown for 11 touchdowns vs. one interception in guiding the Bucs to three victories in a series that’s seen Tampa Bay win four of the past five meetings.

Gronkowski, who spent nine seasons with Brady in New England before coming out of retirement to rejoin his long-time teammate with the Bucs last year, scored on receptions of 20 and 1 yard in the first half.

Brady’s fifth TD pass — a 12-yarder to Chris Godwin with just over nine minutes remaining, put the Bucs over 30 points for a ninth straight game. Edwards scored on interception returns of 31 and 15 yards to finish the rout.

Brady completed 24 of 38 passes without an interception. He was sacked three times, losing a fumble on one of them.

Ryan finished 35 of 46 for 300 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions.

Cowboys 20, Chargers 17

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Greg Zuerlein connected on a 56-yard field goal as time expired to give the Dallas Cowboys a 20-17 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday.

After Tristan Vizcaino tied the game with a 29-yard field goal with 3:58 remaining, Dallas went 49 yards in 11 plays to get just barely into Zuerlein’s range.

Troy Pollard ran for 109 yards on 13 carries for the third 100-yard game of his career. Dak Prescott completed 23 of 27 passes for 237 yards as the Cowboys evened their record at 1-1 despite being without five players who started the opener.

Justin Herbert had his 10th 300-yard game — completing 31 of 41 passes for 338 yards — tying him for the most by a quarterback in his first two seasons. He had one touchdown pass but threw two interceptions.

Penalties loomed large for the Chargers (1-1), who were flagged 12 times for 99 yards and had a pair of touchdowns taken away.

Herbert’s 37-yard TD pass to a wide-open Donald Parham was nullified when Jared Cook was called for holding. Three plays later, Herbert was intercepted in the end zone by Damontae Kazee on third-and-6 from the Dallas 9 after Keenan Allen appeared to slip on his route.

In the fourth quarter, a motion penalty took away a 2-yard score for Cook. The Chargers had to settle for Vizcaino’s third field goal to even it at 17.

Los Angeles is 8-17 in one-score losses since the start of the 2019 season.

Dallas went 78 yards in 15 plays on the opening drive to take a 7-0 lead. Troy Pollard scored on a jet sweep from 4 yards out. The drive was kept alive when Chargers linebacker Kyzir White was called for pass interference after Prescott threw an incomplete pass on fourth-and-1 from the Dallas 48.

Vizcaino’s 46-yard field goal put Los Angeles on the board before the Cowboys extended their lead to 14-3 during the final minute of the first quarter when Ezekiel Elliott went 5 yards off right tackle.

The Chargers closed to within a field goal on Mike Williams’ 12-yard TD on a wide receiver screen after he had a 27-yard reception to get them into the red zone. An interception by Herbert earlier in the drive was nullified by a pass interference penalty on Dallas’ Jayron Kearse. Los Angeles then made the 2-point conversion on Austin Ekeler’s run up the middle.

Vizcaino tied it at 14 with a 32-yard field goal midway through the third quarter.

Cardinals 34, Vikings 33

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Kyler Murray threw for 400 yards and three touchdowns, and the Arizona Cardinals topped the Minnesota Vikings 34-33 on Sunday after Greg Joseph missed a 37-yard field goal wide right in the final seconds.

It was a fitting ending to a seesaw game that saw the lead change hands eight times. The dizzying offensive pace — Arizona had a 24-23 halftime lead — slowed considerably in the final minutes, and there were no touchdowns scored in the final quarter.

Murray also ran for a touchdown and threw two costly interceptions, including one that was returned for a touchdown.

The Cardinals (2-0) looked as if they were about to lose before Joseph’s last-second miss. He made two 52-yard field goals earlier in the game, giving no indication he’d have trouble pushing the Vikings to a win.

It’s another dispiriting setback for the Vikings (0-2), who lost in overtime at Cincinnati last weekend. Kirk Cousins threw for 244 yards and three touchdowns while Dalvin Cook ran for 131 yards on 22 carries.

Minnesota’s Nick Vigil returned an interception 39 yards for a touchdown on the second play of the third quarter, jumping in front of a pass Murray intended for Rondale Moore. It gave the Vikings a 30-24 lead.

Murray shook off the mistake and led the Cardinals on an eight-play, 75-yard drive capped by a 9-yard touchdown pass to veteran A.J. Green. It was Green’s first touchdown for the Cardinals and gave them a 31-30 lead.

The teams traded field goals in the fourth, with Matt Prater’s 27-yard kick giving Arizona a 34-33 lead with 4:25 left.

It looked as if another field goal would decide the game, but Joseph’s kick drifted right as the Cardinals celebrated.

Arizona led 24-23 at the break after Prater booted a franchise-record 62-yard field goal as time expired in an action-packed first half.

Murray scampered out of the pocket late in the second quarter, spinning away from two defenders before finding a wide-open Moore for a 77-yard touchdown pass, giving the Cardinals their first lead at 21-20.

The Vikings’ secondary moved toward the line of scrimmage when Murray started scrambling and didn’t see Moore, who had settled behind the defense and didn’t have a defender within several yards. Moore — a rookie who was a second-round draft pick out of Purdue — finished with 114 yards receiving.

Minnesota responded with a quick drive downfield that was capped by Joseph’s 52-yard field goal.

The Vikings scored on just the second play of the game when Cousins connected with a wide-open K.J. Osborn for a 64-yard touchdown. There appeared to be a miscommunication in the Cardinals secondary on the play: Cornerback Byron Murphy stayed with Osborn for a few moments before stopping, Osborn kept going, and there wasn’t any help from the safeties deep.

DeAndre Hopkins caught a touchdown pass for the Cardinals. Osborn led the Vikings with 91 yards receiving.