March 28, 2024

Patriots, Chiefs among winners in NFL Week 1

GLENDALE, Ariz.(AP) — Jimmy Garoppolo, starting in place of suspended Tom Brady, threw for 264 yards and a touchdown, leading the severely depleted New England Patriots to a 23-21 victory over the favored Arizona Cardinals on Sunday night.

Arizona’s Chandler Catanzaro missed a 47-yard field goal with 41 seconds to play.

The miss came after Garoppolo, in his first NFL start, directed the Patriots from their own 19 to the Arizona 15 to set up Stephen Gostkowski’s 23-yard field goal with 3:44 to play.

Garappolo completed 24 of 33 passes with no interceptions. Arizona’s Carson Palmer threw for 271 yards and two touchdowns, both to Larry Fitzgerald.

Not only were the Patriots without Brady, suspended for his role in “deflategate,” but they also didn’t have tight end Rob Gronkowski, defensive end Rob Ninkovich and two starters on the offensive line.

A remarkable 45-yard run by David Johnson set up a 2-yard, over-the-shoulder touchdown catch by Fitzgerald that gave the Cardinals their only lead of the night, 21-20, with 9:46 remaining.

Ex-Patriot Chandler Jones sacked Garoppolo on the first play of New England’s next possession, but the young quarterback still set up the winning kick by Gostkowski, who also booted a 53-yarder.

Chiefs 33, Chargers 27

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Alex Smith dived for a touchdown on the first possession of overtime, completing Kansas City’s frantic rally from a 17-point fourth-quarter deficit against San Diego.

Smith threw for 363 yards and two touchdowns, the second a back-shoulder fade to Jeremy Maclin with just over nine minutes left in the fourth quarter that trimmed the Chiefs’ deficit to 27-17.

Cairo Santos kicked a 33-yard field goal a few minutes later, and after forcing a three-and-out, Spencer Ware finished off a four-play drive with a touchdown plunge to knot it at 27.

Kansas City needed 10 plays to march 75 yards in overtime, and Smith finished off the biggest comeback in franchise history with his keeper from the 2-yard line on third-and-goal.

Raiders 35, Saints 34

NEW ORLEANS — Oakland gambled with a 2-point conversion that Derek Carr converted with a pass to Michael Crabtree for the winning points with 47 seconds left.

Carr hit Seth Roberts for a 10-yard touchdown setting up the gutsy call by second-year Raiders coach Jack Del Rio.

Oakland had to overcome a 14-point second-half deficit and a 424-yard, four-touchdown performance by Drew Brees. It also had to sweat out rookie kicker Wil Lutz’s last-second field goal attempt from 61 yards, which narrowly missed wide left as the Superdome crowd briefly erupted before realizing the kick was no good.

Brees eclipsed 400 yards passing for the 14th time in his career, tying Peyton Manning for the most such performances in NFL history.

Eagles 29, Browns 10

PHILADELPHIA — Carson Wentz had 278 yards passing and two touchdowns in a stellar NFL debut and the Eagles beat Robert Griffin III and the Browns.

Promoted from No. 3 quarterback to starter just eight days ago, the No. 2 overall pick from North Dakota State looked like a franchise player. Wentz played mistake-free football despite missing the last three preseason games with injured ribs. He finished 22 of 37 with a 101.0 passer rating.

A new quarterback (Griffin) and new coach (Hue Jackson) couldn’t help the Browns (0-1) avoid losing their opener for the 12th straight season.

Wentz threw a 19-yard TD pass to Jordan Matthews on the opening drive and tossed a perfect 35-yard TD pass down the right side to Nelson Agholor for a 22-10 lead in the third quarter.

Vikings 25, Titans 16

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Eric Kendricks returned an interception 77 yards for a touchdown late in the third quarter and Danielle Hunter scored a 24-yard TD off a fumble return and the Vikings beat the Titans.

The Vikings wound up forcing three turnovers in the span of just under seven minutes and also had two sacks.

The defending NFC North champs needed the help from their defense in scoring 25 straight points after being shut out in the first half and Adrian Peterson, the NFL’s 2015 rushing leader, being smothered.

Minnesota coach Mike Zimmer did his best to hide his starter at quarterback after the Vikings lost Teddy Bridgewater to a major knee injury Aug. 30, and after they traded their 2017 first-round draft pick to Philadelphia for Sam Bradford .

Packers 27, Jaguars 23

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Aaron Rodgers threw two touchdown passes and ran for another score, leading the Packers to a victory against the Jaguars.

Rodgers looked every bit like, well, a two-time league MVP. He extended plays with his feet, escaped sacks and had precision accuracy all over the field.

He completed 20 of 34 passes for 199 yards, with TD passes to Jordy Nelson and Davante Adams. He was sacked once for no yards and didn’t turn it over.

He helped the Packers win their second opener in the last five years. This one came on a sweltering, late-summer day that left some players cramping and others completely exhausted.