Lions 34 at Cowboys 30
Matthew Stafford saw his defence start wiping out a 24-point deficit with interceptions returned for touchdowns midway through the third quarter, then he and Calvin Johnson took over from there, leading the Detroit Lions to a stunning 34-30 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.
A week after turning a 20-point halftime deficit into an overtime win, the Lions provided further proof they’re a legitimate contender this season.
Detroit is 4-0 and has won an NFL-best eight straight games. This also was its franchise-record fifth straight road win, avenging a loss here last November that had been its NFL-record 26th straight road loss. Tony Romo and the Cowboys (2-2) continued to show there’s no lead and no deficit too big for them. They blew a 14-point fourth-quarter lead for the first time in franchise history in the opener.
Broncos 23 at Packers 49
Aaron Rodgers threw for a career-high 408 yards, tied a personal best with four touchdown passes and ran for two more scores and Green Bay remained unbeaten.
Charles Woodson ran an interception back for a touchdown for the Packers (4-0), who join resurgent NFC North rivals Detroit as the only undefeated teams left in the NFL.
Eric Decker caught a pair of touchdowns from Kyle Orton for Denver (1-3). Orton threw for 273 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions.
Bills 20 at Bengals 23
Rookie quarterback Andy Dalton shook off a horrid first half and led his first comeback victory, culminating in Mike Nugent’s 43-yard field goal as time ran out against previously unbeaten Buffalo.
Dalton threw a touchdown pass and ran three yards on a draw play, tying it with 4:09 to go. He scrambled for a first down on the winning drive and Nugent ended it with his third field goal in front of the smallest crowd of Paul Brown Stadium’s history. The Bengals (2-2) trailed 17-3 at halftime.
49ers 24 at Eagles 23
When Alex Smith began to air it out, he outdid Michael Vick and Philadelphia. Chucking its conservative approach in the second half, the 49ers surged back from a 20-point hole for the victory.
Vick wasn’t hampered by his bruised right hand, throwing for a career-high 416 yards and two touchdowns and rushing for 75 yards. But Philly’s defence fell apart in the final 30 minutes, and Frank Gore capped a 77-yard drive with a 12-yard TD run with three minutes remaining.
Steelers 10 at Texans 17
Arian Foster rushed for 155 yards and the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter as Houston overcame an injury to All-Pro Andre Johnson for the win.
Ben Roethlisberger was under pressure all day and was sacked five times behind an offensive line missing two regular starters. The Steelers lost running back Rashard Mendenhall (hamstring), linebacker James Harrison (eye) and defensive end Aaron Smith (foot) during the game.
Patriots 31 at Raiders 19
Tom Brady bounced back from a four-interception performance by throwing for 226 yards, two touchdowns and committing no turnovers.
Wes Welker caught nine passes for 158 yards and a score, BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Stevan Ridley adding rushing touchdowns and the Patriots (3-1) played a mostly mistake-free game after last week’s surprising loss in Buffalo.
Redskins 17 at Rams 10
Ryan Torain ran for 135 yards and a 20-yard score, and Washington held off a late rally by winless St. Louis.
The Redskins (3-1) dominated on defence and got two of their seven sacks late by Stephen Bowen and Brian Orakpo to knock the Rams (0-4) out of scoring position.
Titans 31 at Browns 13
Matt Hasselbeck’s fresh start in Tennessee has his team off to an unexpected one.
The 13-year veteran quarterback, who left Seattle as a free agent after a playoff-filled decade, threw three TD passes in the first half and safety Jordan Babineaux returned an interception 97 yards for a TD for their third straight win under first-year coach Mike Munchak. The 36-year-old finished 10-of-20 for 220 yards — 26 on two completions after halftime.
Saints 23 at Jaguars 10
Drew Brees threw for 351 yards and a touchdown, Darren Sproles added 188 all-purpose yards and New Orleans improved to 3-1. Jacksonville quarterback Blaine Gabbert completed 16-of-42 passes for 196 yards, with a touchdown and an interception.
Panthers 29 at Bears 34
Devin Hester set an NFL record with his 11th punt return for a touchdown, Matt Forte ran for a career-high 205 yards for Chicago (2-2).
Hester had earlier set up a TD run by Forte with a 73-yard kickoff return before he ran back a punt 69 yards in the second quarter to move ahead of Eric Metcalf on the all-time list.
Rookie Cam Newton threw for 374 yards for the Panthers (1-3) and Steve Smith passed Muhsin Muhammad as the team’s leading receiver, finishing with 181 yards on eight catches. He now has 9,414 in his career.
Dolphins 16 at Chargers 26
Philip Rivers threw for 307 yards and one touchdown, Mike Tolbert ran for another score and San Diego knocked out Miami quarterback Chad Henne.
Rivers threw a 55-yard TD pass to Vincent Jackson to tie the game 7-7 late in the first quarter. Ryan Mathews’ 48-yard gain on a screen pass set up Tolbert’s one-yard leap over the pile for a 20-10 lead for the Chargers (3-1) early in the third quarter.
Falcons 30 at Seahawks 28
Matt Ryan threw for 291 yards, rookie Julio Jones caught 11 passes for 127 yards, and Atlanta held off a second-half rally.
Matt Bryant’s 50-yard field goal early in the third quarter gave Atlanta (2-2) a 27-7 lead. Tarvaris Jackson threw for three TDs, but the Seahawks (1-3) couldn’t complete the comeback.
Giants 31 at Cardinals 27
Eli Manning threw two touchdown passes in a 58-second span late in the game to rally New York.
Manning completed 7-of-8 for 126 yards on the decisive drives as the Giants (3-1) won their third in a row. He finished 27-of-40 for 371 yards. Nicks caught 10 for 162 yards. Wells rushed for a career-best 138 yards.
Vikings 17 at Chiefs 22
Matt Cassel hit Dwayne Bowe for a 52-yard fourth-quarter touchdown pass, Ryan Succop was perfect on five field-goal attempts and the Chiefs are no longer winless.
Minnesota is 0-4.
Jets 17 at Ravens 34
Baltimore scored three touchdowns on defence, all off turnovers by New York quarterback Mark Sanchez, and cruised to a victory in a bizarre game that featured an NFL-record five returns for scores.
Baltimore’s three touchdowns on defence were the most in franchise history. Jameel McClain took a fumble by Sanchez six yards for a score on New York’s first offensive play, Jarret Johnson scored on a 26-yard fumble return and Lardarius Webb put the Ravens up 34-17 in the third quarter by taking an interception 73 yards into the end zone.