EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Noah Igbinoghene returned a blocked field goal 58 yards for a touchdown on the opening series, DaRon Bland scored on a pick-6 later in the first quarter and the Dallas Cowboys embarrassed the New York Giants again, posting a season-opening 40-0 victory Sunday night.
Tony Pollard scored on two short touchdown runs and Dallas forced three turnovers and sacked Daniel Jones seven times in shutting down New York's supposedly improved offence and beating the Giants for the fifth straight time and 12th in 13th meetings.
The shutout loss was the largest between the teams, topping the Cowboys' 35-0 win over the Giants in 1995, also in a season-opener in the Meadowlands. It was also the Cowboys' biggest season-opening shutout, topping their 38-0 win over the Baltimore Colts in 1978.
This was supposed to be the game that showed whether the Giants had closed the gap on Dallas and defending NFC champion Philadelphia in the NFC East.
DOLPHINS 36, CHARGERS 34
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Tua Tagovailoa threw for 466 yards and three touchdowns and Tyreek Hill had 215 yards and two scores and the Miami Dolphins rallied for a 36-34 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday.
Hill caught a 4-yard pass in the right corner of the end zone with 1:45 remaining for the clinching touchdown as the Dolphins finished with 536 yards.
Hill had 215 yards — the third-best total in Week 1 in league history — on 11 receptions and had a pair of touchdowns. He also had a 35-yard score on a go-route late in the third quarter to put the Dolphins up 27-24.
Tagovailoa's 466 passing yards are the fourth most in an opener. The fourth-year quarterback completed 28 of 45 for three touchdowns. He also had a 1-yard TD to River Cracraft late in the second quarter.
The Chargers got the ball back with 1:45 remaining, but turned it over on downs. Justin Herbert had an intentional grounding penalty and was sacked twice on the final series. He finished 23 for 33 for 228 yards and a touchdown.
Austin Ekeler rushed for 117 yards and a touchdown and Joshua Kelley added 91 yards and a score as the Chargers lost an opener for the first time since 2018.
EAGLES 25, PATRIOTS 20
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Jalen Hurts threw a touchdown pass and Darius Slay had a 70-yard interception return for a score as the Philadelphia Eagles built a big early lead, then hung on at the finish to beat the New England Patriots 25-20 on Sunday.
The Eagles capitalized on two early turnovers by the Patriots, spoiling a day in which New England honoured former quarterback Tom Brady at halftime.
Hurts was 22-of-33 for 170 yards and the TD but had a costly fumble in fourth quarter that gave the Patriots a chance. Jake Elliott kicked four field goals for Philadelphia, which didn't reach the end zone after the first quarter.
New England's Mac Jones recovered from a rough start to finish 35 of 54 for 316 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. Kendrick Bourne had two TD receptions. Hunter Henry added the other scoring catch for an offence that outgained the NFC champion Eagles 382-251.
Trailing 25-14 late in the fourth quarter, New England got within 25-20 on Jones' 11-yard TD pass to Bourne. But a 2-point conversion run by Jones was nullified by a holding penalty, and a second attempt was no good.
The Patriots got the ball to the 19 on a 17-yard pass from Jones to Mike Gesicki with 1:02 left. But on second down, Jones couldn't avoid Jalen Carter and was dropped for or a sack.
On fourth-and-11, Kayshon Boutte appeared to reel in a catch inside the 10. But a replay review showed he had only one foot inbounds.
49ERS 30, STEELERS 7
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Brock Purdy threw for 220 yards and two touchdowns to Brandon Aiyuk in his return from offseason elbow surgery and the San Francisco 49ers drilled the Pittsburgh Steelers 30-7 on Sunday.
Purdy, who went from the last pick in the 2022 draft to entrenched starter in San Francisco after leading the 49ers to the NFC championship game, was crisp while completing 19 of 29 passes, including scoring strikes of 8 and 19 yards to Aiyuk.
Christian McCaffery ran for 151 yards and caught three passes for 17 more for the 49ers (1-0), who looked every bit the dominant force it was down the stretch last season when Purdy took over at quarterback.
Nick Bosa, a handful of days removed from signing the richest contract ever awarded to a defensive player, had two tackles and a quarterback hit. The 49ers didn't need the reigning AP Defensive Player of the Year to wreak his unique brand of havoc to keep the Steelers and second-year quarterback Kenny Pickett in check.
Pickett completed 31 of 46 for 232 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions as the optimism that followed a preseason in which the first-team offence scored a touchdown in each of the five drives Pickett was on the field faded quickly.
BROWNS 24, BENGALS 3
CLEVELAND (AP) — Deshaun Watson ran for a touchdown and threw for another, and Cleveland's defence bottled up Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow — the NFL's new highest-paid player — as the Browns opened the season with a 24-3 win over the Bengals on Sunday.
Watson bolted for a 13-yard TD late in the first half, making the kind of dynamic play the Browns (1-0) envisioned when they signed him to a $230 million contract in 2022. He missed 11 games last season for violating the league's personal conduct policy.
Watson is in uniform from the start this season, and his presence has Cleveland expecting big things.
He added a 3-yard TD pass in the fourth quarter to tight end Harrison Bryant, and Watson celebrated by skipping down the field in front of Cincinnati's sideline before converting the 2-point try with a run up the middle.
Burrow had a rough opener, two days after signing a five-year, $275 million extension — giving him the highest average annual salary in league history. The Browns held Burrow to a career-worst 82 yards passing (14 of 31) as Cleveland's rebuilt defensive line pressured him all day.
Myles Garrett sacked Burrow on fourth down with 10:27 left to help seal Cleveland's stunningly easy win over the AFC North champions. The Browns forced the Bengals to punt 10 times in 14 possessions.
The Bengals (0-1) pulled Burrow with 5:15 left, and he spent the remainder of the game watching with his arms folded on the bench.
Dustin Hopkins kicked three field goals — from 42, 34 and 43 yards — in his debut for the Browns, who traded for him last month after cutting Cade York.
PACKERS 38, BEARS 20
CHICAGO (AP) — Jordan Love looked like he might be ready to follow in the footsteps of Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers, throwing for three touchdowns to lead the Green Bay Packers to a 38-20 season-opening victory over the Chicago Bears on Sunday.
Aaron Jones ran for a touchdown and caught one, helping the Packers pull away in the second half for their ninth straight win over the Bears. Green Bay was 25-5 against Chicago with Rodgers, counting an NFC championship game win at Soldier Field in the 2010 season, and the Packers were 22-10 in games Favre started.
The Bears came in thinking bigger things are in store for them and quarterback Justin Fields after a busy offseason. But for a team that set a franchise record for losses with 14 last year, this was a discouraging start.
Love completed 15 of 27 passes for 245 yards and posted a 123.2 rating. It was a promising outing for a quarterback whose only other start was a loss at Kansas City in 2021 when Rodgers was sidelined with COVID-19.
Jones caught two passes for 86 yards, including a 51-yarder off a screen that led to a scoring run for him in the third quarter.
Romeo Doubs added two touchdown catches. Quay Walker returned an interception 37 yards for a TD, and the Packers won for the 13th time in 14 games at Soldier Field.
FALCONS 24, PANTHERS 10
ATLANTA (AP) — Bijan Robinson outshined top overall pick Bryce Young in their NFL debuts, leading the Atlanta Falcons to a 24-10 victory over the Carolina Panthers in the season opener Sunday.
Young was intercepted twice by Jessie Bates in a rough start for the former Alabama star who is being counted on to lead a resurgence in Carolina.
Robinson, selected at No. 8 by the Falcons in defiance of those who say running backs shouldn't go that high, showed his versatility by taking a swing pass for an 11-yard touchdown.
He also broke off a 21-yard dash that set up Atlanta's go-ahead TD: Tyler Allgeier's 3-yard run in the opening minute of the fourth quarter.
Allgeier added a clinching touchdown on another 3-yard run with just under five minutes remaining.
It was a rough day for both offences, each of them led by a young quarterback with plenty to prove.
Desmond Ridder, who started the final four games of his rookie season to set up his first full year at the helm in Atlanta, couldn't get much of anything going in the deep passing game. He was sacked four times and finished 15 of 18 for just 116 yards.
It was an even tougher day for Young, whose Heisman Trophy-winning career at Alabama led the Panthers to trade up for the No. 1 pick and select him as the first of three quarterbacks who went in the first four spots of the draft.
One of the few highlights came in the second quarter, when he hooked up with Hayden Hurst for his first career touchdown on a 4-yard scoring play to leave the game knotted 7-7 at halftime.
But Young looked like a rookie on two nearly identical throws across the middle, both times failing to pick up Bates lurking in the vicinity. The rookie also had a fumbled exchange, took a delay of game penalty and was sacked twice.
He finished 20 of 38 for 146 yards and failed to become the first quarterback since David Carr in 2002 to win his starting debut after being selected at the top of the draft. The last 15 quarterbacks with that honour are now 0-14-1 in their first starts.
RAMS 30, SEAHAWKS 13
SEATTLE (AP) — Matthew Stafford threw for 334 yards even without favorite target Cooper Kupp, Kyren Williams and Cam Akers combined for three touchdown runs and the Los Angeles Rams stunned the Seattle Seahawks 30-13 in the season opener Sunday.
Stafford was brilliant in picking apart Seattle's secondary for the 58th 300-yard passing game of his career in the regular season. He did so despite Kupp being sidelined for the first four games of the season while on injured reserve due to a hamstring injury.
Rookie Puka Nacua had 10 catches for 119 yards and was targeted 15 times in the first game of his career. Tutu Atwell had a career-high 119 yards on six catches. And the Rams were at their best on third downs, where they converted 11 of 17 chances leading to long drives and a huge advantage in time of possession.
Los Angeles had 27 first downs, 426 total yards and 39:23 time of possession.
Williams had a 1-yard touchdown run in the first quarter and his 7-yard score on the opening drive of the second half gave Los Angeles a 14-13 lead. Akers added a 1-yard TD with 9:45 remaining on fourth-and-goal and left Seattle's fans booing the performance of the home team.
Geno Smith's second season as a starter got off to a rocky start as he completed 16 of 26 passes for only 112 yards. He had a 10-yard touchdown toss to Metcalf in the first half, but Seattle had only one offensive play of longer than 15 yards.
RAIDERS 17, BRONCOS 16
DENVER (AP) — Jimmy Garoppolo threw two touchdown passes to fellow newcomer Jakobi Meyers in their Las Vegas debut and the Raiders spoiled Sean Payton's first game as Denver's coach with a 17-16 win over the Broncos on Sunday.
The Raiders stretched their winning streak over their AFC West rivals to seven games despite the absence of star pass rusher Chandler Jones, who's involved in a feud with the front office.
Garoppolo, who came to Las Vegas after six seasons in San Francisco, and Meyers, who joined the Raiders after four seasons in New England, connected 10 times for 81 yards, including touchdowns of 3 and 6 yards.
Payton returned to the sideline after a year's sabbatical in the FOX broadcast booth in large part to revive Russell Wilson's career after the quarterback's worst season. Wilson looked much better than he did last year with Nathaniel Hackett at the helm, completing 27 of 34 passes for 177 yards and two touchdowns without an interception.
Payton's special teams were the problem for Denver. There was a costly hold that negated one return, a botched onside kick to open the game and two big misses from kicker Wil Lutz, whom Payton had during his time in New Orleans and was acquired from the Saints following training camp.
Lutz missed his first extra point to the right and also was wide right on a 55-yard field goal.
COMMANDERS 20, CARDINALS 16
LANDOVER, Md. (AP) — Sam Howell threw a touchdown pass and ran for another score to make up for two turnovers and the Washington Commanders came back to beat the Arizona Cardinals 20-16 on Sunday, avoiding what would have been an embarrassing season-opening loss in their first game under new ownership.
In front of a sellout crowd and with several prominent alumni back to celebrate the start of a new era, the Commanders were sloppy with a pair of turnovers and several penalties along the offensive line that allowed Howell to be sacked six times.
Washington’s defence eventually took over and made game-changing plays. Montez Sweat strip-sacked Joshua Dobbs early in the fourth quarter to set up Howell’s go-ahead 6-yard TD run, and Abdullah Anderson recovered another fumble by Arizona with under five minutes left.
Howell had a jittery start in his new role as the Commanders’ starting quarterback, going 19 of 31 for 202 yards with a 7-yard TD pass to Brian Robinson Jr. and an interception. The second-year pro bounced back from the pick and a fumble late in the second quarter that handed the Cardinals a touchdown, completing four of seven passes after halftime.
Arizona, which is expected to be among the worst teams in the NFL this season, lost Jonathan Gannon’s debut as coach. Dobbs, acquired last month in a trade with Cleveland and starting after Gannon refused to name his No. 1 QB leading into the game, was 21 of 33 for 133 yards.
RAVENS 25, TEXANS 9
BALTIMORE -- J.K. Dobbins ran for an early touchdown before leaving with a torn Achilles tendon, Justice Hill scored twice in the second half and the Baltimore Ravens pulled away for a 25-9 victory over the Houston Texans on Sunday.
Ravens coach John Harbaugh announced Dobbins' injury after the game and said he would miss the rest of the season, a significant blow to Baltimore's offence.
Lamar Jackson turned the ball over twice, and Baltimore (1-0) looked out of sync for much of its first game with new offensive coordinator Todd Monken. But the Ravens kept Houston and rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud out of the end zone.
The Texans (0-1) made a game of it for a half under new coach DeMeco Ryans, and Stroud directed a couple of solid drives, but Houston couldn't move the ball consistently enough.
Jackson threw for 169 yards, and rookie receiver Zay Flowers was the main source of excitement for Baltimore's new-look offence. He caught nine passes for 78 yards on a day when the Ravens were without tight end Mark Andrews because of a quad injury.
Odell Beckham Jr., who signed with Baltimore in the offseason, played for the first time since injuring his knee in the Super Bowl two seasons ago. He caught two passes and drew a couple of pass interference calls -- including one that set up Hill's second TD.
Aside from Andrews, the Ravens now have at least two more key players dealing with injuries. Safety Marcus Williams left with a shoulder problem, a blow to a secondary that was already missing cornerback Marlon Humphrey (foot). Then Dobbins caught a pass deep in Houston territory and walked off gingerly.
The Ravens did not pick up the fifth-year option on Dobbins' rookie deal before the season, meaning he could have played his last game for Baltimore. The former Ohio State star missed the 2021 season with a knee injury and played eight games last year.
BUCCANEERS 20, VIKINGS 17
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Baker Mayfield recovered from a rough start to throw two touchdown passes without a turnover in his Tampa Bay debut, and the Buccaneers opened the season by beating Minnesota 20-17 after three first-half turnovers by the Vikings on Sunday.
Chase McLaughlin matched his career long with a 57-yard field goal for the lead with 5:10 left, and the Buccaneers forced a three-and-out on each of Minnesota's last two possessions.
Mayfield, the first overall pick in the 2018 draft who landed with his fourth team in three years to take over for the retired Tom Brady, completed 21 of 34 passes after a 3-for-11 start.
He hit Mike Evans for a score right before halftime and was at his best down the stretch, hustling around right end to convert a third-and-2 around the three-minute mark at the Minnesota 39. Then, Chris Godwin made a stretched-out 11-yard catch on third-and-10 right after the 2-minute warning to clinch it.
Kirk Cousins went 33 for 44 for 344 yards and touchdowns to rookie Jordan Addison and running back Alexander Mattison, and Justin Jefferson had nine catches for 150 yards. But after going an NFL-record 11-0 in one-score games during the 2022 regular season, the Vikings ran out of that late-game mojo.
Rookie Jay Ward was penalized for lining up in the neutral zone on a field goal try by McLaughlin that gave the Buccaneers a fresh set of downs to finish a drive that took almost nine minutes with a touchdown pass to rookie Trey Palmer.
More than half of Cousins' 273 yards passing in the first half went Jefferson, but the Vikings had to settle for a 10-all tie despite three times as much yardage as the Buccaneers.
Antoine Winfield Jr., whose father played nine seasons in Minnesota's secondary, hit Cousins on a front-side blitz and fell on his strip sack at the Vikings 30 to set up an early field goal for the Buccaneers despite a drive that netted zero yards.
The Buccaneers, with seven starters remaining from the 2020 Super Bowl champions and four first-round draft picks and four second-rounders in the lineup, have another stout defence. They sent just enough timely blitzes to keep the potent Minnesota offence from finding a groove.
SAINTS 16, TITANS 15
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Derek Carr passed for 305 yards and a touchdown in a difficult but successful Saints debut, and New Orleans held on to beat the Tennessee Titans 16-15 on Sunday.
The Saints' defence did not allow a touchdown, intercepted Ryan Tannehill three times, sacked him three times, and stopped Tennessee on 10 of 12 third down plays.
Chris Olave caught eight passes for 112 yards for New Orleans, while Rasheed Shaheed had five receptions for 89 yards and the game's lone touchdown. Michael Thomas, who missed the final 14 games last season, returned to catch five passes for 61 yards.
The teams traded field goals for most of the game before New Orleans finally found the end zone with 1:23 left in the third quarter. Carr pump-faked and lofted a pass toward the right side of the end zone an instant before the pocket collapsed. Shaheed was in the clear and hauled in the 19-yard scoring pass to make it 16-9.
After the Titans' Nick Folk hit two more field goals from 45 and 29 yards, Tennessee needed one more third-down stop for a chance to win. That's when Carr, on third and 6, hit Shaheed deep down the left sideline for 41 yards to the Tennessee 26. Jamaal Williams' first-down run allowed New Orleans to run out the clock.
Tannehill finished 16 of 34 for 198 yards and New Orleans limited star running back Derrick Henry to 63 yards rushing. DeAndre Hopkins caught seven passes for 65 yards in his Titans debut.
Carr's first play from scrimmage as a Saint was a 25-yard completion to Thomas along the left sideline.
That was not, however, an auspicious sign of things to come in the first half, which ended with Carr being intercepted by safety Amani Hooker on the Titans' 12.
The turnover preserved Tennessee's 9-6 lead at halftime.
JAGUARS 31, COLTS 21
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Tank Bigsby made up for a big mistake by scoring the go-ahead touchdown Sunday and Travis Etienne Jr. added a 26-yard scoring run to seal Jacksonville's rare 31-21 victory at Indianapolis.
The defending AFC South champs snapped a five-game losing streak at Lucas Oil Stadium.
But Bigsby's miscue — casually allowing the ball to be punched out of his hands after what he thought was an incompletion — nearly extended the Jags' misery.
It started when Colts defensive tackle DeForest Buckner stripped the ball from Trevor Lawrence on a sack and then alertly scooped up Bigsby's subsequent fumble before sprinting 26 yards and stretching the ball across the goal line to give Indy a 21-17 lead late in the third quarter.
Bigsby made sure the lead didn't last long.
Three series later, Jamal Agnew's 48-yard punt return set up a 10-play drive that Bigsby capped with a 1-yard TD plunge to give Jacksonville a 24-21 lead with 5:14 to play.
Colts rookie Anthony Richardson was intercepted on the next series and three plays later, Etienne broke free to put away the victory for the Jaguars (1-0).
The Colts (0-1) extended their opening day winless streak to 10. Richardson became the third-youngest quarterback to start an NFL season opener at age 21, going 24 of 37 with 223 yards, one TD and the interception. He also had 10 carries for 40 yards and one TD while being sacked four times. He also left the game in the final minute after getting shaken up on a run near the goal line.
Lawrence was 24 of 32 with 241 yards and two scores and Calvin Ridley had eight receptions for 101 yards and the Jags' first score. It was Ridley's first game since Oct. 24, 2021, when he left the Atlanta Falcons to deal with mental health before he was suspended all of last season for violating the league's gambling policy.
Etienne had 18 carries for 77 yards while Bigsby ran seven times for 13 yards.
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