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NFL roundup: Patriots begin title defense with rout of Steelers

[September 09, 2019] Seemingly ageless Tom Brady passed for 341 yards and three touchdowns Sunday as the New England Patriots toppled the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers 33-3.

The Patriots (1-0) held a pregame celebration for their Super Bowl championship, then began defense of that title in strong style.

Brady improved to 6-0 at home against Pittsburgh (0-1). The 42-year-old was 24 of 36, hitting Phillip Dorsett for two touchdowns and Josh Gordon for another. Stephen Gostkowski added four field goals.

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was 27 of 47 for 276 passing yards, and he was intercepted once.

Cardinals 27, Lions 27 (OT)

Matt Prater made a 33-yard field goal with 3:48 remaining in overtime to help Detroit salvage a tie with Arizona, which overcame an 18-point fourth-quarter deficit in Glendale, Ariz.

Prater's field goal capped a 60-yard drive after Zane Gonzalez made a 28-yard field goal, his fourth of the game, on the first possession of overtime for a 27-24 lead, capping the Cardinals' run of 21 straight points.

Arizona rookie quarterback Kyler Murray, the No. 1 pick in the 2019 draft, completed 29 of 54 passes for 308 yards and two touchdowns, both in the fourth quarter when the Cardinals overcame a 24-6 deficit. Arizona had 293 of its 387 yards of total offense in the fourth quarter and overtime after a listless first three quarters.

Chiefs 40, Jaguars 26

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the NFL's reigning Most Valuable Player, passed for 378 yards and three touchdowns as Kansas City toppled host Jacksonville.

Playing on a heavily wrapped left ankle he sprained in the first quarter, Mahomes drove Kansas City to scores on each of its first seven possessions while going 25 of 33 with no interceptions.

Jacksonville lost its new quarterback, Nick Foles, to a broken left clavicle in the first quarter. Tyreek Hill, who signed a three-year contract extension with the Chiefs late last week, left in the first quarter with a shoulder injury.

Cowboys 35, Giants 17

Dak Prescott tied a career high with four touchdown passes and threw for 405 yards as Dallas rolled to a season-opening victory over visiting New York.

Prescott completed 25 of 32 passes and produced his second career 400-yard game. Prescott finished 50 yards shy of his career high set against Philadelphia last season.

Prescott also set a Cowboys passing yardage record for a season opener, breaking the mark held by Troy Aikman. Prescott threw touchdowns to tight ends Blake Jarwin and Jason Witten and then connected with Amari Cooper and Randall Cobb.

Chargers 30, Colts 24 (OT)

Austin Ekeler's third touchdown of the day, a 7-yard run with 5:01 left in overtime, lifted Los Angeles to a season-opening win over Indianapolis in Carson, Calif.

Starting in place of holdout Melvin Gordon, Ekeler rushed for 58 yards on 12 carries while catching six passes for 96 yards and two scores. Veteran quarterback Philip Rivers hit on 25 of 34 passes for 333 yards and three touchdowns with one interception.

Indianapolis forced overtime with 38 seconds left on a 19-yard touchdown pass from Jacoby Brissett to T.Y. Hilton, followed by a 2-point conversion run from Marlon Mack.

Ravens 59, Dolphins 10

Lamar Jackson tied a franchise record with five touchdown passes as Baltimore routed host Miami.

Jackson, who led all NFL quarterbacks last year with 695 rushing yards in just seven starts, spent the offseason working on his passing, and it was evident on Sunday. He completed 17 of 20 attempts for 324 yards with no interceptions.

Thanks in part to Jackson, the Ravens also set a franchise record for most points in one game. Baltimore tied for the second-most points ever in an NFL season opener, trailing the 1973 Atlanta Falcons (62).

49ers 31, Buccaneers 17

Visiting San Francisco returned two interceptions for touchdowns, and Jimmy Garoppolo passed for another as the 49ers defeated Tampa Bay.

Richard Sherman and Ahkello Witherspoon scored the Niners' touchdowns on defense after both intercepted Bucs quarterback Jameis Winston. San Francisco recorded two interceptions on defense all of last season, setting a historic NFL low.

Garoppolo completed 18 of 27 passes for 166 yards in his first start since Week 3 of the 2018 campaign, when he sustained a season-ending ACL injury.

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Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) passes the ball against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the first half at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

Eagles 32, Redskins 27

Carson Wentz threw three touchdown passes and rallied host Philadelphia from an early 17-point deficit for a win over Washington.

Wentz was 28 of 39 for 313 yards with a pair of 50-plus touchdown passes to DeSean Jackson. It was Wentz's first game in nine months while he recovered from a stress fracture in his back. Jackson had eight catches for 154 yards.

Case Keenum finished 30 of 44 for 380 yards and three touchdown passes in his first start for the Redskins.

Vikings 28, Falcons 12

Dalvin Cook ran for 111 yards with two touchdowns and safety Anthony Harris recorded two interceptions and recovered a fumble as Minnesota rolled past visiting Atlanta in Minneapolis.

Kirk Cousins (8 for 10, 98 yards) threw for a touchdown and ran for another as the Vikings scored TDs on three of their first four possessions. Minnesota recorded all of its points off three Atlanta turnovers and a blocked punt.

Cook, limited to 15 games over his first two seasons because of injuries, ran the ball 21 times and had 53 yards on his first three carries. The Vikings, who averaged 93.3 rushing yards in 2018, had more than 100 on the ground in the first half and 172 for the game.

Seahawks 21, Bengals 20

Russell Wilson hit Tyler Lockett with a 44-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the fourth quarter and Seattle held on to defeat visiting Cincinnati.

Cincinnati's Andy Dalton completed 35 of 51 passes for 418 yards, a franchise record for a season opener, with two touchdowns. But the Bengals weren't able to get past midfield in their last two possessions.

Wilson completed 14 of 20 passes for 196 yards and two touchdowns as the Seahawks won despite being outgained 429 yards to 233 in total yardage

Rams 30, Panthers 27

Malcolm Brown scored on a pair of short touchdown runs, and the defending NFC champions overcame some missed scoring chances to defeat Carolina in Charlotte, N.C.

Rams quarterback Jared Goff was 23 for 39 for 186 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Panthers quarterback Cam Newton completed 25 of 38 passes for 239 yards and an interception.

Alex Armah's 1-yard plunge allowed the Panthers to pull within 30-27 at the 1:58 mark. But with only one timeout remaining, Carolina didn't get another possession after the Rams recovered an onside kick.

Bills 17, Jets 16

Josh Allen overcame a four-turnover performance to rush for a touchdown and throw for another in the fourth quarter as Buffalo rallied past New York in East Rutherford, N.J.

Allen scored from 3 yards out to trim New York's lead to 16-10 early in the fourth quarter before his underthrown ball was reeled in by John Brown for a 38-yard touchdown with three minutes to play. Allen finished 24 of 37 for 254 yards passing.

In his first game since the 2017 season, Le'Veon Bell reeled in a touchdown pass and a two-point conversion pass for the Jets, who were hurt by kicker Kaare Vedvik misfiring on both an extra-point attempt and a 45-yard field-goal attempt.

Titans 43, Browns 13

Marcus Mariota threw for three touchdowns, Derrick Henry scored twice and visiting Tennessee clamped down on error-prone Cleveland.

Mariota completed 14 of 24 passes for 248 yards, hitting all six of his second half passes for 143 yards. He broke the game open in the fourth quarter with scoring strikes of 11 and 7 yards to tight end Delanie Walker about 3 1/2 minutes apart.

Both of those scores came off short fields after interceptions of Baker Mayfield, temporarily deflating the high hopes of Browns fans looking for the team's first division title since this version of the franchise was founded in 1999. Mayfield hit 25 of 38 throws for 285 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions.

--Field Level Media

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