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Cowboys’ Prescott snaps Romo TD record in 37-20 win over Washington

By The Associated Press 12 min read

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) -- Dak Prescott threw four touchdown passes to break Tony Romo's career franchise record, and the Dallas Cowboys beat Washington 37-20 on Sunday after the Commanders' Jayden Daniels went down with another gruesome-looking injury to the left elbow he dislocated last season.

Prescott's record-breaking 249th TD pass was his second TD of the game to CeeDee Lamb, who had 153 yards receiving. Tight end Jake Ferguson had the other two scoring catches.

The Cowboys (1-1) led 17-10 with the Commanders on the Dallas 1-yard line with 3 seconds remaining in the first half. Left guard Chris Paul stepped on Daniels' foot as he backed away from center, and Daniels' left elbow appeared to bend the wrong way as he braced himself and threw a wild pass that was incomplete as time expired.

Daniels stayed down momentarily, then started to walk to the sideline before going to the turf again. Upon seeing a video replay of the injury, Fox NFL analyst Tom Brady uttered a profanity.

VIKINGS 9, BEARS 3

CHICAGO (AP) -- Isaiah Rodgers recovered a fumble and blocked a late field-goal attempt, and Minnesota shut down Caleb Williams and Chicago for the victory.

Aaron Jones rushed for 105 yards as Minnesota improved to 2-0 for the first time since it opened the 2024 season with five consecutive wins. Will Reichard kicked three field goals, including a 39-yarder with 1:09 left.

Williams departed with a right hamstring injury midway through the fourth quarter, silencing a drenched crowd of 58,914 at Soldier Field. The No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft was 15 for 26 for 138 yards, and he also had five carries for 42 yards.

Led by Dallas Turner, Minnesota limited Chicago to 297 yards of offense. Turner had two of the Vikings' four sacks, and Byron Murphy Jr. intercepted an ill-advised throw by Williams in the first quarter.

The Bears (1-1) rolled to 291 yards rushing and 552 yards overall in their 59-37 victory at Carolina in Week 1. It was the highest-scoring season opener in NFL history.

PANTHERS 34, FALCONS 3

ATLANTA (AP) -- Bryce Young threw for 287 yards and three touchdowns, including two to Darren Waller, Carolina's Devin Lloyd returned one of his two interceptions for a touchdown and the Panthers routed short-handed Atlanta.

The Panthers (1-1) earned their fourth straight win in the NFC South rivalry. Young completed 23 of 36 passes as he improved to 5-1 against the Falcons. He set a franchise record with 448 yards passing in a 30-27 overtime win to cap last season's sweep.

With fill-in starter Cooper Rush at quarterback, the Falcons (0-2) had more offensive woes following their 20-13 opening loss at Pittsburgh last week. Michael Penix Jr. (knee) and Tua Tagovailoa (oblique) again were inactive.

Rush completed 10 of 17 passes for 86 yards with two interceptions and also lost a fumble.

Rush's struggles from his very first snap were so dramatic that some Falcons fans were booing six minutes into the game. He lost a fumble on a 9-yard run to open the game. Atlanta's second possession ended when Rush's pass intended for Bijan Robinson was intercepted by linebacker Bobby Okereke.

Rush was replaced by undrafted rookie Jack Strand late in the third quarter, prompting an ovation from Falcons fans. Strand's first possession ended badly as his pass for Jahan Dotson was intercepted by Lloyd and returned 16 yards for a touchdown. Strand lost a fumbled snap on his final possession.

SAINTS 24, RAVENS 17

BALTIMORE (AP) -- Tyler Shough scored on a fourth-down sneak with 1:28 remaining and New Orleans rallied to a win over Baltimore.

New Orleans (1-1) had first down from the 2 before a penalty and a costly incomplete pass allowed Baltimore -- with only two timeouts left -- to stop the clock after the next two plays. On fourth-and-goal, the Saints decided against a short field goal, and Shough was ruled to have scored on a 1-yard sneak. The play was upheld after a review.

The Ravens, who didn't have a first down on either of their previous two drives, made it to the New Orleans 37, but Lamar Jackson's deep pass was intercepted by Julian Blackmon with 13 seconds left.

Baltimore had a 17-9 lead and forced a three-and-out with sacks by Trey Hendrickson and Mike Green. That gave the Ravens the ball at the New Orleans 49 late in the third quarter with a chance to make it a two-score game.

But Baltimore went backwards 16 yards and punted, then the Saints drove to tie it with 9:42 remaining on a 21-yard touchdown pass from Shough to Chris Olave. After a penalty on the Ravens (1-1) moved the 2-point conversion to the 1-yard line, and Travis Etienne Jr. ran the ball in to make it 17-all.

After another Baltimore three-and-out -- Jackson curiously threw long on third-and-1 and his pass to Chris Moore was broken up by Kool-Aid McKinstry -- the Saints took over at their own 32 with 8:06 remaining. They drove about as methodically as possible, converting two third downs and two fourth downs to seize the lead.

EAGLES 24, TITANS 20

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Jalen Hurts threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Darius Cooper with 9 seconds left, and Philadelphia beat Tennessee.

The Eagles (2-0) appeared ready to dominate Tennessee. They opened the game by stringing together three straight drives of at least 11 plays.

The Titans (0-2) sacked Hurts three times and picked him off twice, turning those into 10 points. The second interception set up Joey Slye's 33-yard field goal with 1:56 left, putting Tennessee up 20-17.

Hurts had 1:56 to drive the Eagles 65 yards for the win. He finished with 264 yards passing and two TDs. DeVonta Smith had 10 catches for 117 yards, Tank Bigsby ran for a TD, and Jake Elliott kicked a 58-yard field goal.

Cam Ward got the Titans (0-2) to midfield, but his final pass under pressure hit the turf harmlessly as time expired.

Philadelphia improved to 15-4 in September since 2021 and remained tied with Buffalo for the most wins in the NFL's opening month in that span. The Eagles had plenty of fans in the stands, making it feel more like a home game.

PATRIOTS 20, STEELERS 3

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) -- TreVeyon Henderson ran for a 39-yard touchdown in his season debut, Eli Ponder added a 19-yard fumble recovery for a score and New England’s defense smothered Aaron Rodgers on the way to a victory over Pittsburgh.

With the victory, Patriots coach Mike Vrabel avoided just the second 0-2 start of his eight-year coaching career.

Drake Maye finished 14 of 22 for 208 yards and an interception. Romeo Doubs, who had no catches in his Patriots debut last week, had a 63-yard catch in the third quarter to set up Andy Borregales' second field goal of the game.

But it was the New England defense that set the tone. A year after leading the Steelers to a win in New England, Rodgers struggled to deal with the Patriots' pressure. The 42-year-old quarterback fumbled twice, including the one that led to Ponder's score.

Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez also shadowed Steelers receiver DK Metcalf at times, forcing Rodgers to look for other options in the passing game.

Rodgers finished 23 of 39 for 187 passing yards, an interception and was sacked four times. Metcalf had only four catches for 27 yards.

BENGALS 20, TEXANS 6

HOUSTON (AP) -- Joe Burrow threw two touchdown passes to Ja'Marr Chase to lead Cincinnati to a win over Houston.

The big day by Chase came a week after the five-time Pro Bowler had just two receptions for 12 yards in a win over Tampa Bay. That prompted Burrow, coach Zac Taylor and offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher to say that getting him the ball more had to be a priority against the Texans.

They showed they meant that early as Chase eclipsed last week's performance with 14 yards receiving on Cincinnati's first drive and didn't slow down after that.

He put the Bengals (2-0) on top 7-0 when he managed to drag his toe inbounds on a spectacular 32-yard TD catch over Derek Stingley with about 3 1/2 minutes left in the first half.

The Bengals were up by 7 when Burrow found Chase again. This time, he grabbed an 18-yard pass in the end zone in front of a diving Reed Blankenship to make it 17-3 with about three minutes left in the third.

Chase had seven receptions for 75 yards and Burrow was 20 of 31 for 207 yards despite dealing with back tightness that caused him to miss practice time this week. Tee Higgins added five receptions for 95 yards.

It was another disappointing game for the Texans, who are 0-2 after losing to Buffalo 36-31 in the opener. They'll need to get back on track next week to avoid starting 0-3 for a second year in a row.

C.J. Stroud was 30 of 55 for 353 yards passing on a day the Texans had trouble running the ball. Their backs finished with just 18 yards rushing. They failed to score a touchdown while playing without star receiver Nico Collins after scoring 31 points last week.

BROWNS 23, BUCCANEERS 19

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- Deshaun Watson threw two touchdown passes, including a go-ahead 17-yard toss to Blake Whiteheart in the fourth quarter, leading the Browns to a comeback victory over Tampa Bay in a game that was delayed two hours, 12 minutes because of lightning.

The Buccaneers (0-2) were driving and had a second-and-4 at the Cleveland 28 when the game was suspended at the two-minute warning.

When it finally resumed, heavy rain started falling again.

Bucky Irving ran twice and Baker Mayfield's pass to Ted Hurst got the Bucs to the 13 before a holding penalty set them back. Mayfield's pass on fourth-and-10 from the 20 to Emeka Egbuka in the end zone was out of his reach, sealing the win for the Browns (1-1).

Watson outplayed Mayfield on his home turf in the first meeting between two quarterbacks who are linked together. Watson was 24 of 30 for 238 yards with no turnovers and a 121.9 passer rating in his best game since Sept. 24, 2023 against Tennessee.

SEAHAWKS 31, CARDINALS 7

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) -- Drew Lock threw for 235 yards and three touchdowns to Jaxon Smith-Njigba in a stellar first start subbing for the injured Sam Darnold and Seattle continued its dominance over Arizona with a win.

The defending Super Bowl champions have now won 10 straight over their NFC West rival dating to 2022 and closed this one by scoring the final 24 points. Smith-Njigba finished with nine catches for 155 yards and the career-high three TDs in one of the best performances of his four-year career.

Arizona has lost eight straight games at home in a streak that's lasted 360 days. The Cardinals finished with just 150 total yards.

Lock got off to a good start, taking advantage of a busted coverage by the Cardinals' secondary and hitting a wide open Smith-Njigba in stride for an 82-yard touchdown on the team's second offensive play of the game for a 7-0 lead. Early in the third quarter, he found the reigning AP Offensive Player of the Year on a crossing route for a 7-yard score and a 14-7 advantage.

That Seattle touchdown was set up by some good fortune on the opening kickoff of the second half. Rashid Shaheed fumbled on the return, but teammate Chazz Surratt picked up the ball and ran 35 yards all the way to the Arizona 37.

RAIDERS 26, CHARGERS 14

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) -- Kirk Cousins connected with Cody White for a go-ahead, 13-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter and an 11-yard score in the fourth, and Las Vegas defeated the Chargers to end a four-game skid against Los Angeles in the teams' AFC West opener.

In his 100th NFL game, Jim Harbaugh fell to 0-2 for the first time in his college or pro coaching career, with the heavily favored Chargers also losing to Arizona 26-14 last week.

Las Vegas beat the Chargers on the road for the first time since 2020, a game that was played without fans because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Raiders, who maintain a strong Southern California fan base, had lost four straight by double digits.

Leading 17-14, the Raiders' Jeremy Chinn recovered a fumble and returned it 43 yards with 3:52 remaining in the game. Omarion Hampton had a costly fumble for the second straight week and Chinn recovered, returning it to the Chargers 16-yard line.

Cousins then directed a three-play, 43-second drive that ended with White's second TD catch and a 24-14 lead in front of a raucous, predominantly Raiders-supporting crowd at SoFi Stadium.

BRONCOS 20, JAGUARS 13

DENVER (AP) -- Jaylen Waddle and Jonah Coleman led a big second-half comeback by Denver, who snapped Jacksonville’s nine-game regular-season winning streak with a victory.

After catching just one pass for 2 yards in his Denver debut, Waddle had eight catches for 138 yards and Coleman's 3-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter capped a 17-0 Broncos blitz after they'd fallen behind 13-3 early in the third quarter.

After allowing a field goal to open the second half, the Broncos (1-1) responded with a field goal, a 7-yard touchdown toss from Bo Nix to Nate Adkins and Coleman's first career TD, which came with 7:21 remaining after starter J.K. Dobbins had left with a hamstring injury.

The Jaguars (1-1), who had won their past nine regular-season games and by a combined 177 points, including a 34-20 win in Denver last December, punted on their next possession and the Broncos chewed up final 4:41 of game clock with Coleman running six times for 33 yards.

Trevor Lawrence led Jacksonville on three scoring drives as the Jaguars built a 13-3 lead on Bhayshul Tuten's 1-yard touchdown run and two field goals by Cam Little, from 44 and 23 yards.

49ERS 35, DOLPHINS 13

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) -- Christian McCaffrey became the fourth-fastest player in the Super Bowl era with 100 career touchdowns, Brock Purdy played a near-perfect game and San Francisco overwhelmed Miami.

The 49ers (2-0) showed no signs of fatigue after beating the Los Angeles Rams 27-7 in the opener in Australia and began the season with back-to-back wins of at least 20 points for the first time in franchise history.

They scored touchdowns on their first five drives and dominated the Dolphins (0-2), who spent the week since losing the opener in Las Vegas by practicing in nearby Napa.

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