Maybe all that fanfare over Atlanta's offense was a bit premature. A week after piling up 37 points and over 500 yards against a supposedly stiff New Orleans Saints defense, the Falcons were stifled by the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday in a 24-10 loss. Matt Ryan had three picks and the offense didn't find the end zone until the fourth quarter.
NFL results and scores: Browns, Bears, Chargers pull off Sunday surprises
The Falcons’ offense looked outmatched in an ugly loss to Cincinnati on Sunday, while the Saints lost on a late field goal.
The aforementioned Saints didn't fare much better, losing 26-24 on a late field goal by the Cleveland Browns. Mark Ingram gave the Saints a fourth-quarter lead on a 1-yard touchdown run, but the Browns drove downfield in the final minutes, setting up Billy Cundiff's 29-yard game winner with just three seconds on the clock. Cleveland fans got their first look at Johnny Manziel, who made a brief appearance on three uneventful plays in the third quarter.
Elsewhere around the league, the New York Giants dropped to 0-2 amidst more Eli Manning turnover problems (two picks), the New England Patriots shook off their Week 1 loss by destroying the Minnesota Vikings and the Dallas Cowboys pulled back to .500 on the back of DeMarco Murray, who ran for 167 yards and a touchdown against the Tennessee Titans.
Here are the scores from Sunday’s first round of games:
Cincinnati Bengals 24, Atlanta Falcons 10
This is not how the Falcons wanted to follow up their opening win. The offense picked up just 4.8 yards per play and Matt Ryan faced steady pressure, getting sacked twice. Mohamed Sanu, the top Bengals receiving threat with A.J. Green and Marvin Jones sidelined, broke the game open in the third quarter with a 76-yard touchdown reception from Andy Dalton. Giovani Bernard did most of the ground work (90 yards, one touchdown).
Cleveland Browns 26, New Orleans Saints 24
The Cleveland Browns won a home opener! Since the franchise returned in 1999, the Browns had won just one home opener in 15 tries. Sunday's Week 2 win over the Saints came in dramatic fashion for Mike Pettine's group, as Brian Hoyer led a last-minute drive to set up a game-winning field goal with six seconds left on the clock. The key play was a huge New Orleans breakdown in the secondary that left Andrew Hawkins wide open to set up the chip shot from Billy Cundiff.
Buffalo Bills 29, Miami Dolphins 10
The Buffalo Bills are 2-0! In an early-season AFC clash between two teams that looked much better than predicted in Week 1, the Bills dominated the Dolphins for a 29-10 win at Ralph Wilson Stadium. EJ Manuel connected with Sammy Watkins on his one touchdown pass of the day, with the rookie from Clemson getting his first pro TD by diving for the pylon to give Buffalo a two-possession lead.
Dallas Cowboys 26, Tennessee Titans 10
Dallas picked up its first win of the season, on the road too. Dez Bryant caught 10 throws from Tony Romo, finishing the game with 103 yards and a touchdown, accounting for almost 60 percent of Romo's passing yardage. Romo had a fairly quiet game without an interception. DeMarco Murray also played a big part in the win, running for 167 yards and a touchdown.
The Carolina Panthers got Cam Newton back in Week 2 and improved to 2-0 with a convincing win over the Detroit Lions. Newton completed 22 of 34 for 281 yards and a touchdown, but the story for Carolina continues to be its defense. The Luke Kuechly-led unit harassed the Bucs and Josh McCown last week, and did an impressive job containing a Lions offense that just lit up the Giants on Monday Night Football. Calvin Johnson got his on six catches for 83 yards, but he was kept out of the end zone.
New England Patriots 30, Minnesota Vikings 7
Minnesota's early 7-0 lead was quickly erased, and the Patriots never looked back. Tom Brady was quiet (149 yards, one touchdown) but the defense ensured he didn't need to do much. The unit picked off Matt Cassel four times and held the Vikings to just 217 offensive yards. Matt Asiata, filling in for the deactivated Adrian Peterson, had just 36 yards on 13 carries. Chandler Jones put the Patriots up 24-7 heading into halftime with a 58-yard touchdown return of a blocked field goal.
Arizona Cardinals 25, New York Giants 14
Despite all the offseason changes, this looks a lot like last year’s Giants team. Eli Manning threw two picks, the offensive line allowed him to be sacked twice and the running game managed just 3.0 yards per carry. The Giants actually held a 14-10 lead heading into the fourth quarter, but 15 unanswered Cardinal points shut the door. The game turned on Ted Ginn Jr.‘s 71-yard punt return touchdown, which gave Arizona a five-point lead with just over 10 minutes remaining.
Washington 41, Jacksonville Jaguars 10
Washington bounced back from its Week 1 loss in a big way, but the real story is the loss of Robert Griffin III, who's out indefinitely after going down with a dislocated ankle. Kirk Cousins stepped in and played well in relief, going 22 of 33 for 250 yards and two touchdowns. Alfred Morris shouldered the load on the ground, running for 85 yards and a pair of scores. The Jaguars' lone touchdown came on a 63-yard pass from Chad Henne to Marcedes Lewis in the second quarter.
Reaction: Washington | Jaguars
It was 120 degrees on the field in San Diego. That wasn't the reason the Seahawks lost in and of itself, but it did cause both safeties, Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor, to struggle with cramps. The Chargers took advantage, keeping Russell Wilson and the Seattle offense off the field with a lopsided time of possession ratio. Also working against the champs: Antonio Gates. He finished the game with three touchdowns.
Houston Texans 30, Oakland Raiders 14
The Texans scored on their first drive of the game. Naturally, it was J.J. Watt catching the touchdown pass from Ryan Fitzpatrick, which by our calculations gives Watt an early leg up in the MVP race this season. Arian Foster finished the game with triple-digit yardage -- 138 yards on 28 carries and a touchdown. The Raiders had highlights like fumbling twice on the same play.
Denver Broncos 24, Kansas City Chiefs 17
Peyton Manning was in his usual form on Sunday, throwing a trio of touchdowns against the Chiefs. He finished the game with the kind of stats you're used to seeing from him: three touchdowns and 242 yards. However, the Chiefs did get their first sack on Manning in three years. Kansas City lost Jamaal Charles early in the game with a foot injury, which didn't make things easier for the Chiefs. Still, they managed to pull within a touchdown and were driving, but Alex Smith failed to complete a critical fourth-down pass to Dwayne Bowe from the 2-yard line.
The Rams salvaged what might have been the day's ugliest game with a late scoring drive in the fourth quarter. Third-string quarterback Austin Davis put together a convincing effort against a Bucs team without Gerald McCoy up front, going 22-for-29 passing with 235 yards. Bobby Rainey had a solid outing in relief of an inactive Doug Martin, running for 144 yards on 22 carries. Both defenses struggled with everything from tackling to penalties.
Reaction: Rams | Buccaneers
Green Bay Packers 31, New York Jets 24
The Jets took a 21-16 lead into the locker room at the half. A Packers touchdown in the third quarter gave them the lead, but the Jets tied it again, keeping their upset hopes alive ... and then Aaron Rodgers and Jordy Nelson connected on an 80-yard touchdown pass that gave Green Bay the lead once and for all in the third quarter. The Jets had a chance in the final frame, but an illegal timeout dashed those hopes.
Chicago Bears 28, San Francisco 49ers 20
After opening the season with an embarrassing home loss to the Bills, the Chicago Bears went out on the road a spoiled the San Francisco 49ers opening of their new Santa Clara stadium. The Bears offense, touted as one of the most loaded attacks in the league in the preseason, looked awful throughout the first half. Granted, both stud receivers Alshon Jeffery and Brandon Marshall were dinged up and questionable all week, but Chicago could get nothing moving on the ground with Matt Forte or through the air with Jay Cutler. But the Bears finally ended the shutout with just 13 seconds left in the first half, Marshall hauling in a ridiculous one-handed catch.
After a scoreless third quarter, Chicago exploded for three 4th quarter touchdowns, including two in a 30-second span. Cutler had pretty pedestrian numbers (23 of 34 for 176) but hit Marshall two more times for touchdowns and finished with four on the night. Kyle Fuller, a rookie out of Virginia, made two interceptions that put the offense in good position to make the comeback. But as middling as Cutler’s performance was, it looked great next to Colin Kaepernick’s four-turnover night that enabled a relatively ugly game from Chicago to be good enough for the road win.
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