Chicago’s Nick Foles threw three touchdown passes in the fourth quarter to hand the Atlanta Falcons another humiliating defeat, rallying the Bears from a 16-point deficit for a 30-26 victory in Georgia.
A week ago, Atlanta became a national laughingstock after failing to pounce on an onside kick, allowing the Dallas Cowboys to finish off their comeback from a 39-24 deficit to win 40-39 on a field goal as time expired. This one, which got the Bears to 3-0 for the first time since 2013, could finally spell the end for sixth-year coach Dan Quinn, whose team is 0-3 after two straight losing seasons since their 28-3 Super Bowl collapse to the Patriots.
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This time, it was Foles who guided the improbable comeback after taking over for Mitchell Trubisky in the third quarter. The former Super Bowl MVP had two apparent touchdown passes overturned by official reviews — and still managed to pull out the victory.
Foles threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Jimmy Graham to make it 26-16 with 6:24 remaining. The Falcons still appeared in good shape after the Bears failed on a 2-point attempt, but Chicago got the ball back via the second of three straight Atlanta three-and-outs and moved quickly down the field. Foles connected with Allen Robinson on a short pass that turned into a 37-yard touchdown when Isaiah Oliver and Blidi Wreh-Wilson both missed tackles, allowing the receiver to scoot down the sideline.
After a final three-and-out, Foles connected with Anthony Miller for a 28-yard touchdown with 2 minutes remaining. The Falcons still had a shot, but Matt Ryan was intercepted by Tashaun Gipson to seal it.
Seahawks 38, Cowboys 31 — DK Metcalf made up for a huge first-half blunder by catching a 29-yard touchdown pass from Russell Wilson with 1:47 remaining, and Seattle (3-0) won behind five Wilson TDs; he set a record for most scoring passes in the first three games of a season with 14. Metcalf appeared to have a walk-in touchdown after hauling in a deep pass from Wilson late in the first quarter, but he was careless with the ball and Dallas cornerback Trevon Diggs knocked the ball free for a touchback. Dallas trailed 30-15 after Dak Prescott fumbled on the first play of the second half, but he led a furious comeback with TD passes of 42 yards to Cedrick Wilson and 43 yards to Michael Gallup. Greg Zuerlein’s 42-yard field goal with 4:03 left gave Dallas a 31-30 lead. Prescott finished 37 of 57 for 472 yards, with three touchdowns and two interceptions, the last coming on a desperation throw to the end zone in the final seconds.
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Packers 37, Saints 30 — Aaron Rodgers passed for 283 yards and three touchdowns despite top receiver Davante Adams being unable to play because of a hamstring injury, and Green Bay (3-0) overcame host New Orleans (1-2) and 197 yards from scrimmage by Alvin Kamara. Allen Lazard caught six passes for 146 yards from Rodgers, including gains of 48 and 72 yards on throws deep downfield that each set up touchdowns. The decisive drive got going when Rodgers hit tight end Jace Sternberger for a 23-yard gain and later drew a pass interference call in the end zone on a third-down play, which set up tight end Robert Tonyan’s TD with two minutes left. Drew Brees completed 29 of 36 passes for 288 yards and three TDs, but the Saints' lone turnover — a strip of Taysom Hill on a read-option run early in the fourth quarter — led to a critical Green Bay field goal.
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Titans 31, Vikings 30 — In Minneapolis, Stephen Gostkowski made his career-high sixth field goal of the game, a 55-yarder with 1:48 left that was his third from 50-plus and completed a comeback begun by Derrick Henry and Ryan Tannehill. Henry rushed for 119 yards and two third-quarter touchdowns for the Titans, 3-0 for the first time since 2008 despite trailing for most of the game. Tannehill passed for 321 yards, guiding the Titans on a go-ahead drive in the fourth quarter or overtime for the sixth time in 16 games since becoming the starter. Dalvin Cook rushed for a career-high 181 yards and a score for the Vikings, who are 0-3 for the first time since 2013. Kirk Cousins threw for three touchdowns, but had two more interceptions, and has already matched his 2019 interception total with six.
Buccaneers 28, Broncos 10 — Tom Brady threw three touchdown passes and Shaq Barrett celebrated his homecoming with a pair of sacks, one for a safety, as Tampa Bay (2-1) won by two touchdowns for the second straight week; it’s the first time since Nov. 14-21, 2010 that the Buccaneers won back-to-back games by 14 or more points. Barrett’s second sack of Jeff Driskel, who started in place of Drew Lock (shoulder), came in the end zone for a safety that pushed the Bucs' lead to 25-10. With his full complement of receivers finally available, Brady led Tampa to points on four of five first-half drives. And just days after insisting he was in Tampa to serve as “a blocking tight end,” Rob Gronkowski caught six passes for 48 yards. He was shut out last week.
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Eagles 23, Bengals 23 (ot) — Joe Burrow tossed a pair of touchdown passes to Tee Higgins in regulation, Carson Wentz dove into the end zone for the tying score in the final minute, but neither Cincinnati nor host Philadelphia could break the deadlock in overtime for a win. Philadelphia’s Jake Elliott lined up for a 59-yard field goal with 19 seconds left in overtime, but a false start on Matt Pryor led the Eagles (0-2-1) to punt and take the tie. Burrow, the Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 overall pick, calmly picked apart the secondary in the second half, completing 31 of 44 for 312 yards despite being sacked eight times. Wentz tossed two more interceptions, his third straight game with multiple picks, but drove the Eagles 75 yards in the final three minutes.
Steelers 28, Texans 21 — James Conner ran for 109 yards and the go-ahead touchdown midway through the fourth quarter as host Pittsburgh (3-0) rallied past winless Houston, which managed just 51 yards and two first downs after halftime as the NFL’s 31st-ranked run defense wore down. (The Steelers ran for 169 yards on 38 carries, and controlled the ball for nearly 37 minutes.) Ben Roethlisberger threw for 237 yards and two touchdowns in his franchise-record 221st appearance. Rookie running back Anthony McFarland Jr. added 42 yards rushing in his NFL debut. Deshaun Watson finished 19 of 27 for 264 yards and two scores for the Texans, but threw into double coverage for a fourth-quarter interception that helped finish off an early 11-point lead and was sacked five times.
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Browns 34, Washington 20 — Baker Mayfield threw two touchdown passes, Nick Chubb ran for two more and the Browns (2-1) moved over .500 for the first time since 2014 by beating Washington (1-2), which turned the ball over five times and lost rookie defensive end Chase Young to a groin injury in the second quarter. Led by Myles Garrett, the Browns' defense intercepted Dwayne Haskins three times and forced two fumbles. Garrett’s strip sack and recovery midway through the fourth effectively sealed Cleveland’s win. Mayfield’s 3-yard TD pass to rookie tight end Harrison Bryant with 11:14 left helped the Browns shake off a horrid third quarter, when Washington scored two TDs to take the lead. Chubb then scored on a 20-yard run with 8:40 left; he finished with 108 yards on 19 carries.
Lions 26, Cardinals 23 — Matt Prater made a 39-yard field goal as time expired in Glendale, Ariz., Matthew Stafford threw two touchdown passes, and Detroit (1-2) snapped an 11-game losing streak dating to last season. The Lions looked like they would take the lead with about two minutes left until a 52-yard completion to the Arizona 1-yard line was called back on a holding penalty, but instead won on Prater’s 15th game-winning kick with less than 2 minutes to play in the fourth quarter or overtime. Kyler Murray threw for 270 yards and two touchdowns to UMass product Andy Isabella, plus had another highlight-reel touchdown run for Arizona (2-1), but he also had three interceptions.
Panthers 21, Chargers 16 — Carolina’s defense forced three Los Angeles turnovers in Inglewood, Calif., Joey Slye kicked five field goals, and Carolina (1-2) earned Matt Rhule his first NFL victory. After going sackless and allowing 65 points in their first two games, the Panthers sacked Justin Herbert twice and converted three turnovers into 12 points. Teddy Bridgewater was 22 of 28 for 235 yards and a touchdown as Carolina snapped a 10-game losing streak dating to last season. Herbert did still throw for 330 yards and a touchdown, but had a fumble and an interception. After forcing Carolina to punt, the Chargers (1-2) took over on their 1-yard line with 1:43 remaining. They drove to the Carolina 28, but Tre Boston broke up Herbert’s throw to Keenan Allen (13 receptions for 136 yards and a TD) in the end zone.
Colts 36, Jets 7 — Xavier Rhodes and T.J. Carrie each returned a Sam Darnold interception for a touchdown, and Indianapolis (2-1) recorded its second safety in as many weeks while routing New York, 0-3 for the second consecutive season under coach Adam Gase. Philip Rivers, 38, reached both 400 touchdowns and 60,000 yards in the victory, in which he was 17 of 21 with 217 yards and played his first turnover-free game since joining the Colts. Darnold was 17 of 27 with 168 yards, one TD and three interceptions. New York had 188 yards of offense in the first half against the league’s No. 1 defense, but finished with 260.
49ers 36, Giants 9 — Playing for the second straight week in East Rutherford, N.J., backup Nick Mullens threw for 343 yards and a touchdown to lead San Francisco (2-1) past the error-prone and winless Giants, who were routed despite the 49ers being without quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, tight end George Kittle, defensive linemen Nick Bosa and Solomon Thomas, and running backs Raheem Mostert and Tevin Coleman. Jerick McKinnon, Brandon Aiyuk, and Jeff Wilson scored on runs, more than enough as New York, playing its first full game without running back Saquon Barkley, committed three turnovers and collected just 13 first downs. Mullens (25 for 36, 343 yards) led San Francisco to scores on seven of its first eight possessions.