NFL GAME RECAPS

NFL Recaps: Pats win but lose QB, Pitt downs Bengals

The Sports Xchange

September 18, 2016 at 6:09 pm.

Sep 18, 2016; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) throws a pass against the Cincinnati Bengals during the first half at Heinz Field. Photo Credit: Jason Bridge-USA TODAY Sports

Sep 18, 2016; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) throws a pass against the Cincinnati Bengals during the first half at Heinz Field. Photo Credit: Jason Bridge-USA TODAY Sports

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The New England Patriots lost quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, then almost lost the game.

Garoppolo, starting his second straight game during Tom Brady’s Deflategate suspension, had already thrown three touchdown passes when he suffered a right shoulder injury with 4:02 left in the second quarter — and New England almost blew a 31-3 lead but held on for a 31-24 victory over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.

Garoppolo was taken to the turf after a scramble by linebacker Kiko Alonso. The pass was completed for a first down, but Garoppolo, who appeared to have also been limping slightly just before the play, got up slowly. He went to a knee as the training staff worked on him and grimaced when his shoulder was touched inside his shoulder pad.

Garoppolo was 18 of 27 for 234 yards before leaving — 42 of 60 for 498 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions in two games. Rookie Jacoby Brissett made his NFL debut and led the Patriots to a touchdown on the first drive of the second half, with LeGarrette Blount scoring on a 9-yard touchdown run. Brissett finished 6 of 9 for 92 yards.

The Patriots (2-0) have just three days to prepare for Thursday night’s game against the Houston Texans.

Cowboys 27, Redskins 23

WASHINGTON — Alfred Morris scored on a 4-yard run with 4:45 left to help Dallas defeat his former team.

Morris capped an 11-play, 80-yard drive that came after Washington quarterback Kirk Cousins was intercepted throwing into triple coverage in the end zone as the Redskins appeared on the verge of taking a 10-point lead.

Quarterback Dak Prescott hit passes of 12 yards to Cole Beasley and 8 yards to Jason Witten to set up second-and-goal on the 4. The drive was also aided by a roughing the passer penalty.

Texans 19, Chiefs 12

HOUSTON — Carried by another stifling defensive performance, one aided by a staunch commitment to running the football, Houston extended its regular-season winning streak to five games.

The Texans (2-0) limited the Chiefs (1-1) to 291 yards, with Kansas City only eclipsing the 200-yard plateau deep into the fourth quarter. Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith passed for 186 yards, suffered four sacks and averaged 5.0 yards per attempt.

Houston forced three turnovers and possessed the ball for more than 33 minutes. Despite averaging just 2.9 yards per rush, the Texans ran the football 34 times and effectively bled the clock in the fourth quarter to maintain their lead.

Giants 16, Saints 13

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — A year after combining to score 101 points, the MetLife Stadium rematch saw the teams produce 29 as New York defeated New Orleans on Josh Brown’s 23-yard field goal as time expired.

The low-scoring game saw the score tied twice, including with 2:54 minutes left after Saints kicker Wil Lutz made a 45-yard field goal to knot the score at 13.

Both offenses squandered opportunities. The Giants turned the ball over three times in the second quarter on fumbles by running back Shane Vereen, quarterback Eli Manning and receiver Victor Cruz.

Panthers 46, 49ers 27

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Cam Newton threw four touchdown passes, including two in the third quarter to receiver Kelvin Benjamin, as Carolina opened its home schedule by defeating San Francisco.

Newton completed 24 of 40 for 353 yards as the Panthers bumped their franchise-record home winning streak to 14 games.

San Francisco quarterback Blaine Gabbert was 17 of 36 for 243 yards and two touchdowns and two fourth-quarter interceptions. The 49ers didn’t score in the second half until two Panthers turnovers put them in prime position in the fourth quarter.

Steelers 24, Bengals 16

PITTSBURGH — Ben Roethlisberger threw for three touchdowns and the Pittsburgh defense kept Cincinnati out of the end zone until the closing minutes.

On what might have been a game-saving play, James Harrison forced a fumble by Bengals receiver Tyler Boyd, and Robert Golden returned it for the Steelers on the first play after the two-minute warning in the fourth quarter.

The game was devoid of the type of flare-ups between the AFC North rivals that last season led to fines and a suspension that kept linebacker Vontaze Burfict out of this meeting.

The Steelers (2-0) have won 13 of their past 15 home openers. The Bengals, who got three field goals by Mike Nugent, fell to 1-1.

Ravens 25, Browns 20

CLEVELAND — Baltimore fought back from a 20-0 deficit to beat Cleveland and remain undefeated.

The Browns fell to 0-2 in their home opener after jumping to a 20-0 lead a little more than 10 minutes into the first quarter.

Justin Tucker put the Ravens ahead 22-20 on a 49-yard field goal with 11:19 to play after Browns kicker Patrick Murray missed a 52-yard field goal attempt. Tucker added a 41-yard field goal with 2:53 left.

The Browns had a chance to win on their final possession, but a pass from quarterback Josh McCown was intercepted by Ravens linebacker C.J. Mosely at the goal line with 13 seconds to play.

Titans 16, Lions 15

DETROIT — Andre Johnson caught a 9-yard scoring pass from Marcus Mariota on fourth down with 1:13 left, lifting Tennessee to a penalty-filled win over Detroit.

Johnson’s lone catch of the game on fourth-and-4 capped a 13-play, 83-yard drive.

Mariota completed all nine of his passes on the possession. The Titans failed to convert the two-point attempt. Mariota was 25 of 33 for 238 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. DeMarco Murray gained 89 yards on 12 carries and caught seven passes for 56 yards.

Perrish Cox’s interception with 22 seconds left sealed the win for Tennessee (1-1). Matthew Stafford was 22 of 40 for 260 yards with one touchdown and an interception for Detroit (1-1).

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