NFL week 3 results: Eagles turn Keystone battle into rout; Titans fall
Published 11:16 pm Sunday, September 25, 2016
Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA — Carson Wentz threw for 301 yards and two touchdowns, a fierce defense shut down Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown and the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 34-3 on Sunday to remain unbeaten.
The rookie No. 2 overall pick connected with Darren Sproles on a 73-yard, catch-and-run TD and tossed a 12-yard TD pass to Jordan Matthews.
After beating the Browns and Bears in the first two games, the Eagles (3-0) proved they could compete with the big boys. The Steelers (2-1) averaged 31 points the first two weeks and are considered Super Bowl contenders.
Pittsburgh was 19-2 against rookie quarterbacks since 2004. But Wentz is no ordinary rookie.
Everyone is jumping on the Wentz wagon in Philadelphia. And he was the No. 3 quarterback until Sam Bradford was traded to Minnesota just eight days before the season opener.
Broncos 29, Bengals 17
CINCINNATI — Trevor Siemian threw a career-high four touchdown passes in his first road start and was nearly perfect under fourth-quarter pressure, rallying Denver over Cincinnati.
The defending Super Bowl champions are 3-0 under Siemian, who took over after Peyton Manning retired and Brock Osweiler went to Houston. He completed 11 of 12 passes while rallying the Broncos to a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns.
The previous Bronco to throw for four touchdowns was Manning in 2014 against the Dolphins. Siemian went 23 of 35 for 312 yards and a passer rating of 132.1.
Packers 34, Lions 27
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Aaron Rodgers threw for 205 yards and four touchdowns, including two in the first half to Jordy Nelson, and Green Bay snapped out of its offensive funk before holding off Detroit.
Rodgers was 15 of 24, leading the Packers to touchdowns on their first three series. Nelson had 101 yards on six catches, returning to the form that made him one of the NFL’s best receivers before missing the 2015 season with a knee injury.
The Packers (2-1) led 31-10 at the half before the Lions slowly chipped away.
Cowboys 31, Bears 17
ARLINGTON, Texas — Dak Prescott led scoring drives on all four Dallas possessions in the first half before throwing his first career touchdown pass, and the Cowboys beat Chicago to snap an eight-game home losing streak.
With his second straight win, Prescott doubled the number of victories the Cowboys (2-1) had in 14 games without injured quarterback Tony Romo over three seasons before the rookie fourth-round pick showed up. Prescott was 19 of 24 for 248 yards in Dallas’ first home win since last year’s opener.
Prescott’s first TD pass was a 17-yarder to Dez Bryant for a 31-10 lead in the fourth quarter, and he’s up to 99 throws without an interception to start his career.
Vikings 22, Panthers 10
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Sam Bradford threw a touchdown pass to Kyle Rudolph, Marcus Sherels returned a punt for a score and Minnesota snapped Carolina’s 14-game home winning streak.
The Vikings (3-0) put the clamps on Cam Newton, intercepting the league’s reigning MVP three times and sacking him eight times, one of those resulting in a safety by Danielle Hunter.
The eight sacks were the second-most ever against Newton.
The Panthers (1-2) had come in averaging 42 points per game in their past three home games, but could do little after bolting to a 10-0 lead. The Vikings held Carolina receivers Kelvin Benjamin and Devin Funchess without a catch.
Seahawks 37, 49ers 18
SEATTLE — Russell Wilson threw for 243 yards and a touchdown before suffering a left knee injury and Seattle rolled to a rout of San Francisco.
Wilson was injured with about 10 minutes to go in the third quarter getting pulled down awkwardly on a sack by San Francisco’s Eli Harold. Harold was called for a horse collar penalty, but the bigger concern was how he fell on Wilson’s left leg.
Wilson stayed down on the field for a few moments before walking off.
Colts 26, Chargers 22
INDIANAPOLIS — Andrew Luck shook off a sore throwing shoulder, then watched T.Y. Hilton break a tackle on a 63-yard touchdown pass with 1:17 to play, giving Indianapolis a victory over San Diego.
It’s the second time this season Luck has produced a late score to give Indy a lead in the waning seconds.
But, unlike the season opener two weeks ago, the Colts (1-2) recovered two fumbles in the final 62 seconds to preserve the win.
Redskins 29, Giants 27
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Dustin Hopkins kicked a 37-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter for his fifth of the game and Washington Redskins avoid a near-disastrous 0-3 start with a win over the penalty-and error-prone New York.
Kirk Cousins threw touchdown passes of 44 yards to DeSean Jackson and 55 to Jamison Crowder as the banged-up Redskins (1-2) handed new coach Ben McAdoo his first loss with the Giants (2-1).
Su’a Cravens ended the Giants’ final drive with an interception in New York territory.
Rams 37, Buccaneers 32
TAMPA, Fla. — Case Keenum threw for the Rams’ first touchdown since relocating back to Los Angeles, and Todd Gurley rushed for two more scores in a victory over Tampa Bay.
The Rams (2-1), who did not get into the end zone in the first two games of the season, also scored on Ethan Westbrooks’ 77-yard fumble return and Tavon Austin’s 43-yard reception in the fourth quarter before thunder and lightning caused a 69-minute weather delay with two minutes remaining.
Keenum, who used three field goals to beat Seattle 9-3 in Week 2, completed 14 of 25 passes for 190 yards, two TDs and one interception, which Bucs linebacker Kwon Alexander returned 38 yards for a first-quarter touchdown.
Chiefs 24, Jets 3
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Chiefs returned two turnovers for touchdowns, intercepted three passes in the end zone and forced eight turnovers total in a victory over New York.
Marcus Peters had two of the picks for the Chiefs (2-1), including the first of four off the Jets’ Ryan Fitzpatrick in the fourth quarter. Daniel Sorenson had another, Derrick Johnson returned his 55 yards for a touchdown, and D.J. White snagged his in the end zone with 1:54 left in the game.
The eight turnovers were the most by the Jets (1-2) since they set a franchise record with 10 in a loss to the New England Patriots on Nov. 21, 1976.
Ravens 19, Jaguars 17
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Justin Tucker kicked a 54-yard field goal with 1:02 remaining, lifting Baltimore over Jacksonville.
Tucker raised both arms in celebration as his fourth field goal of the day split the uprights with plenty of distance. The Ravens improved to 3-0 for the third time in franchise history and first since 2009.
The Jaguars fell to 0-3 for the third time in the last four years and surely will hear more talk about coach Gus Bradley’s job security. Bradley is now 12-39 in four seasons, the second-worst winning percentage of any NFL coach with at least 50 games.
Bills 33, Cardinals 18
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — LeSean McCoy scored twice and safety Aaron Williams returned a botched field-goal snap 53 yards for a touchdown in leading Buffalo over Arizona.
Quarterback Tyrod Taylor also scored on a 20-yard run at a time the Rex Ryan-coached Bills spent the past week taking the brunt of criticism after opening the season 0-2.
The win also came on the heels of Ryan firing offensive coordinator Greg Roman and replacing him with running backs coach Anthony Lynn.
Raiders 17, Titans 10
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Derek Carr threw for 249 yards and a touchdown, and Oakland beat Tennessee with its defense finally coming up with some big plays.
The Raiders (2-1) forced three turnovers and had a sack after coming into this game having given up more yards than any team since at least 1940 through the first two games. Coach Jack Del made a couple of lineup changes, starting linebacker Cory James and rookie safety Karl Joseph, their top draft pick.
Oakland never trailed and took control in the second quarter, scoring 10 points and outgaining the Titans 129-40 to take a 17-3 lead into halftime.
Dolphins 3o, Browns 24, OT
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Jay Ajayi scored on an 11-yard run with 8:26 left in overtime, and Miami escaped with a win over Cleveland.
Ajayi’s winner came one play after Miami quarterback Ryan Tannehill found a wide-open Jarvis Landry for a 32-yard gain, as the Dolphins (1-2) avoided what would be their first 0-3 start since 2011.
Tannehill threw for 319 yards and three touchdowns for Miami, and Landry caught seven of those passes for 120 yards.
Cody Parkey missed three field goals for Cleveland, including a 46-yarder as time expired in regulation.