Giants 33 at Cowboys 31
Lawrence Tynes sent home the largest crowd in NFL regular season history muttering about what might’ve been.
Tynes kicked a 37-yard field goal as time expired, giving the New York Giants a 33-31 victory over the turnover-prone Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night and ruining the debut of their rival’s US$1.15-billion stadium.
The Cowboys (1-1) went ahead 31-30 on a touchdown run by Felix Jones with 3:40 left. It was the seventh lead change of a game in which neither team led by more than six points and it didn’t last.
Eli Manning drove New York 56 yards in seven plays. He got out of a first-and-20 on his 15 to start it and converted two third downs, including one on a tipped pass caught by Mario Manningham.
Patriots 9 at Jets 16
Mark Sanchez came out throwing in the second half after a quiet first two quarters, connecting with Dustin Keller on a go-ahead touchdown as the New York Jets beat Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.
Sanchez finished 14-of-22 for 163 yards and the touchdown to Keller, while Brady was 23-of-47 for 216 yards and an interception.
Bengals 31 at Packers 24
The Bengals nearly blew a lead in the final minute, before the Packers ran out of time at the Cincinnati 10 yard line.
Defensive end Antwan Odom tied a team high with five sacks and Cedric Benson rushed for 141 yards for the Bengals (1-1), who consistently poked holes in the Green Bay Packers’ new 3-4 defence as they rebounded from a last-minute loss to Denver in Week 1.
Saints 48 at Eagles 22
Drew Brees tossed three more touchdown passes, and the Saints rolled past an Eagles team missing Donovan McNabb because of a cracked rib.
Making his first NFL start, Kevin Kolb threw for 391 yards and two touchdowns, including a 71-yard scoring pass to DeSean Jackson. Kolb also threw three interceptions, though, including one returned 97 yards for a TD by Darren Sharper in the final minute.
Texans 34 at Titans 31
Matt Schaub threw for 357 yards and four touchdowns, and Kris Brown kicked a 23-yard field goal in the closing minutes to help ruin the Titans’ home opener.
After Brown kicked the go-ahead field goal with 2:55 left, the defending AFC South champs had one last chance — until Kerry Collins dropped the ball with 1:32 left and Jeff Zgonina recovered for Houston.
Vikings 27 at Lions 13
Brett Favre set an NFL record with his 271st straight start in the regular season, then threw two touchdown passes to help beat the Lions.
Adrian Peterson’s 27-yard TD run midway through the third quarter gave Minnesota (2-0) its first lead. He finished with 92 yards rushing, helping hand Detroit (0-2) its 19th straight loss to tie the second-longest skid in NFL history. The Chicago Cardinals, in the 1940s, and the Oakland Raiders, in the ’60s, also lost 19 straight.
Panthers 20 Falcons 28
Matt Ryan threw three touchdown passes in the first half and Houston stopped a Jake Delhomme-led rally at the end, intercepting a pass at the Falcons 4 to preserve the win.
Delhomme had accounted for 11 turnovers in his two previous games, including a four-interception, one-fumble fiasco against Philadelphia to open the season. He was much better against the Falcons (2-0), completing 25-of-41 for 308 yards and a touchdown.
But the result was the same for the Panthers (0-2). Another loss.
Rams 7 at Redskins 9
Shaun Suisham of Wallaceburg, Ont., kicked field goals of 21, 28 and 23 yards as the Redskins had four drives of more than 60 yards that faltered inside the 10.
Steven Jackson had 104 yards rushing on 17 carries for the Rams, while Marc Bulger threw for 123 yards. Clinton Portis ran for 79 yards, and Jason Campbell threw for 242 for Washington.
Raiders 13 at Chiefs 10
Darren McFadden answered Kansas City’s go-ahead touchdown with just over a minute left, lifting the Raiders to the lacklustre win.
Matt Cassel, making his Chiefs debut, hit Dwayne Bowe with a 29-yard scoring strike for a 10-6 lead with 2:38 left. But the Raiders (1-1), with barely 100 yards of offence to that point, drove 69 yards to hand KC its second straight loss under first-year head coach Todd Haley.
Cardinals 31 at Jaguars 17
Kurt Warner completed his first 15 passes and broke the NFL’s single-game record for completion percentage, as the Cardinals dominated the Jaguars.
Warner finished 24-of-26 for 243 yards with two touchdowns.
Buccaneers 20 at Bills 33
Donte Whitner returned an interception 76 yards for a touchdown, and Terrell Owens scored on a 43-yard catch in his home debut for the Bills.
Buffalo (1-1) ended a five-game home losing streak. The Buccaneers (0-2) have lost six straight and continue to struggle on defence after allowing 438 yards.
Seahawks 10 at 49ers 23
Frank Gore had touchdown runs of 79 and a career-best 80 yards, and finished with 207 yards on 16 carries to lead the 49ers.
Seattle (1-1) lost quarterback Matt Hasselbeck to a rib injury just before halftime. He didn’t return after completing 10 of 18 passes for 97 yards against the 49ers (2-0).
Steelers 14 at Bears 17
Jay Cutler came through with a big pass to Devin Hester on third down, and Robbie Gould booted a 44-yard field goal with 15 seconds left to lift the Bears.
Cutler finished with 236 yards and two touchdowns against Pittsburgh (1-1), and didn’t throw an interception after being picked off a career-high four times last week against Green Bay.
Ravens 31 at Chargers 26
Ray Lewis met Darren Sproles head-on on fourth-and-2 in the closing seconds, spoiling a monster afternoon by San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers He threw for a career-high 436 yards and two touchdowns, completing 25 of 45 passes, but San Diego still needed a touchdown to win with 33 seconds left. With the ball at the Baltimore 15, Lewis came in unblocked and slammed Sproles to the ground to preserve the win.
Browns 6 at Broncos 27
Elvis Dumervil tied a franchise record with four sacks and linebacker Andra Davis had 10 tackles against his old team to lead the Broncos.