Kritik und Lob » the third quarter aft

MINNEAPOLIS -- Sam Bradford had a Minnesota debut almost as dazzling as the new $1.1 billion building itself, completing 22 of 30 passes for 286 yards, two touchdowns and no turnovers to lead the Vikings to a 17-14 victory over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night.The defense did the rest, sacking Aaron Rodgers five times and producing two turnovers in the fourth quarter that quashed the comeback and sent the crowd of 66,813 into a deafening frenzy in celebration of first regular-season game at U.S. Bank Stadium.Adrian Peterson limped off in the third quarter with a right knee injury, and only 19 yards on 12 carries, but the Vikings (2-0) proved they still have a lot of options. Stefon Diggs caught nine passes for 182 yards a touchdown. They held the Packers (1-1) to 65 total yards in the first half, withstanding an early touchdown pass by Rodgers to Jordy Nelson on a drive aided by two penalties by cornerback Terence Newman.Trae Waynes, who had two penalties himself, intercepted Rodgers pass in Vikings territory in the closing minutes to seal the victory. The previous drive was killed when Brian Robison knocked the ball out of the hands of Rodgers, who ran for 29 yards and a touchdown. He began to find a groove throwing the ball late, but Bradford was the better quarterback on this night.PATRIOTS 31, DOLPHINS 24FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Jimmy Garoppolo had three, first-half touchdown passes before leaving in the second quarter with a right shoulder injury.It was the Patriots eighth straight home victory over Miami (0-2). It came at a price as New England (2-0) was dealt another blow at quarterback with Tom Brady already out his four-game Deflategate suspension.Garoppolos injury came in a flash. On third down with less than five minutes left in the first half, he was chased out of the pocket and got off a completion to Malcolm Mitchell. Garoppolo was driven into the ground on his shoulder by Miami linebacker Kiko Alonso.Garoppolo initially got up, before going down to one knee and being attended to by the training staff. He ended his day 18 of 27 for 234 yards and the three scores.He was replaced by rookie Jacoby Brissett, who led New England to a touchdown on its first possession of the second half. Brissett was 6 of 9 for 92 yards. LeGarrette Blount rushed 29 times for 123 yards and a touchdown. Martellus Bennett also had five catches 114 and a touchdown.Miami rallied in the second half but couldnt catch up.STEELERS 24, BENGALS 16PITTSBURGH -- Ben Roethlisberger threw for 259 yards and three touchdowns to offset a pair of interceptions.DeAngelo Williams churned out 94 yards on a career-high 32 carries and added a 4-yard touchdown grab. Tight ends Jesse James and Xavier Grimble also caught scoring passes from Roethlisberger as the Steelers (2-0) kept Cincinnati in check at rainy Heinz Field.Andy Dalton passed for 366 yards and a touchdown, but needed 31 completions to reach that total, working almost exclusively on dump offs to running backs and tight ends while Pittsburgh clamped down on star wide receiver A.J. Green, who had just two receptions for 38 yards.The rematch of the Steelers ugly 18-16 win in the wild-card round in January was downright tame. The teams combined for just 10 penalties and only one personal foul.RAMS 9, SEAHAWKS 3LOS ANGELES -- Greg Zuerlein kicked three field goals, the longest a 47-yarder in the fourth quarter, and the Rams marked the return of pro football to Los Angeles for the first time in nearly 22 years with a win.Plenty of penalties slowed down the game for the announced crowd of 91,046 on a searing day at the Memorial Coliseum, where the Rams commemorated the long-awaited occasion by wearing blue-and-gold throwback uniforms.The Rams (1-1) are still without a touchdown after losing 28-0 at San Francisco in their s opener. With field goals accounting for all the offense, it was hardly the high-scoring show Los Angeles sports fans are known to crave.Seattle (1-1) racked up 10 penalties for 114 yards; the Rams had nine penalties for 78 yards.BRONCOS 34, COLTS 20DENVER -- Von Miller gave the Denver fans a reminder of his Super Bowl 50 MVP performance, sweeping in for the sack-strip of Andrew Luck that sealed the win.With the Broncos clinging to a six-point lead with 1:51 remaining, Miller burst past right tackle Joe Reitz and swiped the ball from Lucks grasp. Fellow linebacker Shane Ray scooped up the ball and returned it 15 yards for a touchdown.Miller added a sack on the last play as the Broncos (2-0) sent the banged-up Colts limping to their third consecutive 0-2 start.They did it by rattling Luck, who started 5 for 18 before he engineered a couple of second-half touchdown drives. Luck completed just 21 of 40 passes for 197 yards and was sacked five times.FALCONS 35, RAIDERS 28OAKLAND, Calif. -- Justin Hardy caught a deflected 8-yard touchdown pass to break a tie midway through the fourth quarter.Matt Ryan threw three TD passes, but got lucky on the go-ahead one in the fourth quarter. His third-down throw to Tevin Coleman was broken up, but the ball bounced high in the air and Hardy caught it in the end zone to put Atlanta (1-1) up 28-21.The Raiders (1-1) appeared to tie on the next drive when Amari Cooper caught a 51-yard touchdown pass from Derek Carr. But officials ruled Cooper went out of bounds voluntarily before making the catch, although the Raiders contended he was pushed by Desmond Trufant.Oakland coach Jack Del Rio then went on fourth-and-2, but Jalen Richard was stopped on a 1-yard gain.BUCCANEERS 40, CARDINALS 7GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Carson Palmer threw for 308 yards and three touchdowns and Arizona (1-1) intercepted Jameis Winston four times.Marcus Cooper, acquired off waivers from Kansas City on Sept. 2, had two interceptions, returning the second 60 yards for a score. Winston also fumbled the ball away once.Winston, who had four touchdown passes against Atlanta in the opener and was NFC player of the week, threw 51 passes, the most in his two NFL seasons, completing 27 for 243 yards for the Bucs (1-1).Palmer completed 18 of 31 passes with no interceptions before sitting out most of the fourth quarter. All three of Palmers scoring passes came in the first half,- to Larry Fitzgerald, Michael Floyd and Jaron Brown.CHARGERS 38, JAGUARS 14SAN DIEGO -- Philip Rivers matched his career-high with four touchdown passes, including two to Travis Benjamin and Melvin Gordon ran for one score and had his first 100-yard game.The Chargers (1-1) bounced back from their stunning loss at Kansas City, when they blew a 21-point third-quarter lead and fell 33-27 in overtime.The Jaguars started 0-2 for the fourth time in five seasons. They crossed midfield only six times and committed three turnovers.Casey Hayward led the Chargers defense with two interceptions of Blake Bortles.Gordon, a second-year pro, scored on a 3-yard run on the games opening drive, his first TD at Qualcomm Stadium. Gordon went in standing up, and then right guard D.J. Fluker lifted him off the ground in celebration. He finished with 102 yards on 24 carries.COWBOYS 27, REDSKINS 23LANDOVER, Md. -- Alfred Morris scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 4-yard run with under five minutes left, leading the Cowboys over his former team.Washingtons Kirk Cousins threw an end-zone interception that set up a long Dallas drive to the winning score.With rookie quarterback Dak Prescott looking poised throughout and scrambling for a 6-yard TD run in the second half, Dallas (1-1) won for only the second time in its past 16 games without the injured Tony Romo -- and both of those victories came at Washington (0-2).Prescott finished 22 for 30 for 292 yards.GIANTS 13, SAINTS 10EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Eli Manning hit Victor Cruz on a third-down 34-yard pass to set up Josh Browns winning 23-yard field goal as time expired. The Giants got off to their first 2-0 start since 2009, while New Orleans lost its second straight.Browns third field goal capped an 11-play, 70-yard drive that featured two key third-down passes by Manning and a pass interference call on a throw to Odell Beckham Jr.The game was also redemption for the Giants defense. After allowing Drew Brees to throw for 511 yards and an NFL-tying seven touchdowns, New York limited him to one touchdown, 263 yards passing and 288 yards in total team offense.RAVENS 25, BRONCOS 20CLEVELAND -- Joe Flacco threw two touchdown passes to Mike Wallace and the Ravens rallied from a 20-point first-quarter deficit.Justin Tucker kicked three field goals and the Ravens (2-0) withstood Clevelands final drive to improve to 15-2 against the Browns under coach John Harbaugh.C.J. Mosley intercepted Browns quarterback Josh McCown at the goal line with 13 seconds left to seal the win.Baltimore was a point from trailing by three touchdowns in the opening quarter before blocking an extra point and returning it for two points and igniting the comeback.McCown stayed in despite an injured left shoulder for the Browns (0-2), who were hurt by a missed field goal and three costly penalties in the fourth quarter.PANTHERS 46, 49ERS 27CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Cam Newton threw for 353 yards and four touchdowns, and the Panthers overcame four turnovers.Newton threw two TD passes to Kelvin Benjamin and one each to Greg Olsen and Devin Funchess to pass Jake Delhomme for most TD passes in franchise history with 122.Newton showed no ill effects from the four helmet-to-helmet hits he took in Carolinas season-opening loss to Denver. He took one shot to the head from linebacker Eli Harold late in the game after a pitchout on an option play, but quickly got to his feet.Newtons first pass was tipped and intercepted by Antoine Bethea, leading to a 49ers field goal. But the 2015 league MVP locked in after that, completing 24 of 40 passes while running for 37 yards on six carries.Olsen gave the Panthers the lead for good in the second quarter when he hauled in a career-long 78-yard touchdown pass after the 49ers bit hard on play-action. That left the Pro Bowl tight end wide open on a seam route. Olsen finished with five catches for 122 yards.TITANS 16, LIONS 15DETROIT -- Marcus Mariota converted a fourth down with a perfectly lofted 9-yard pass TD pass to Andre Johnson with 1:13 left.Mariota dropped the pass over linebacker Tahir Whitehead to Johnson just before safety Rafael Bush could get to the veteran receiver.Tennessee went 93 yards on 13 plays over nearly 6 minutes on the game-winning drive.The Titans (1-1) ended a five-game losing streak, dating to last December, when Mariota threw two TD passes in the fourth quarter after trailing 15-3.The Lions (1-1) had an opportunity to drive for a second straight winning field goal, but Matthew Stafford threw an interception to Perrish Cox at midfield in the final minute.TEXANS 19, CHIEFS 12HOUSTON -- DeAndre Hopkins had 113 yards receiving and a touchdown and Nick Novak kicked four field goals. Novak connected from 32, 24, 31 and 43 yards for the Texans (2-0).Cairo Santos made three field goals in the fourth quarter to cut the lead to 19-12, but Houston recovered the onside kick with less than a minute left.The Texans showed that they are a much different team than the one embarrassed in a 30-0 wild-card playoff loss to the Chiefs (1-1) in January.Houstons defense set a franchise record by recovering three fumbles in the first half.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Darius Bazley Thunder Jersey . He was followed closely by David Clarkson, donning red, seconds later. Clarksons actions one night earlier, leaping off the bench in defence of Kessel during a pre-season game against the Buffalo Sabres, will cost him the first 10 games of the regular season. Abdel Nader Thunder Jersey .B. - Sebastien Auger made 44 saves as the Saint John Sea Dogs edged the visiting Acadie-Bathurst Titan 2-1 on Saturday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. https://www.thunderrookiesshop.com/Chris-Paul-City-Edition-Jersey/ . Kyle Denbrook, a soccer player from Saint Marys University, took the CIS male athlete of the week honour. Stanley, a fourth-year business administration student from Charlottetown, scored both goals in a 2-0 win over Dalhousie on Friday and tallied again in a 1-0 win over Saint Marys on Sunday. Andre Roberson Jersey .Y. -- Syracuse has turned up the defence at the right time all season, and when High Point threatened to pull off a monumental upset the second-ranked Orange did what they do best with their quick hands and savvy play. D.J. Augustin Thunder Jersey . -- Matt Ryan needed one of the best games of his career to lead the Falcons and their depleted offence out of their three-game losing streak last week. ALAMEDA, Calif. -- The most daring gambler on the NFLs first weekend turns out not to be much of a betting man at all.Raiders coach Jack Del Rio isnt a big fan of horse racing and probably wont be seen at a poker or craps table any time soon.Im not a gambler, but I do believe in having the courage to do what I think is best for this football team, Del Rio said Monday, one day after the Raiders scored on a two-point conversion with 47 seconds left and held on to beat the New Orleans Saints 35-34.Good or bad, Im willing to do that when Im doing what in my gut I believe is the right thing. Part of that was showing the belief in our football team -- showing the belief in Derek Carr, showing the belief in Michael Crabtree. Showing the belief in our group to go down and do the things we needed to do to win that game.The Raiders trailed 24-10 early in the second half before scoring 22 points over the last 12 minutes of the fourth quarter, including the final two on Oaklands gutsy two-point conversion with the game on the line.Carr had just thrown his only touchdown of the game, a 10-yarder to Seth Roberts, when Carr immediately signaled for the two-point try. In a stroke of confidence and pre-planning, Del Rio had informed his third-year quarterback the team would be going for the win rather than having Sebastian Janikowski attempt a game-tying extra point.Following a quick timeout to discuss things, Carr found Crabtree with a perfectly placed fade pass that Crabtree caught despite tight coverage from Saints cornerback Ken Crawley. Crawley, an undrafted rookie, was in the game because starter Delvin Breaux was out with a broken leg suffered in the third quarter.The Raiders had also successfully gone for two earlier in the game after whiffing on their first try.Del Rio wouldnt say what went into the decision to do it with the game on the line, only that it was not an off-the-cuff move.I preferr to keep strategy inside, in-house, Del Rio said.dddddddddddd A lot of factors went into it. At the end of the day, you have to go with what you believe is right for your football team. I believed that we would come back and win that game. I believed that going for it was the right thing to do.Del Rio also stood by his decision to bench starting cornerback Sean Smith midway through the third quarter after the eighth-year veteran was repeatedly beaten by the Saints receivers, most notably on a 98-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Drew Brees to Brandin Cooks that was the longest in franchise history.Del Rio said that Smith, one of Oaklands top free agent acquisitions this offseason after signing a four-year contract worth nearly $40 million, will start again this week in the Raiders home opener against Atlanta.The Raiders coach also emphasized that he expects much more from Smith and told him so after the game.I said, `Hey, youve got to own up to that, Del Rio said. That certainly wasnt anywhere near where it needed to be and I know youll bounce back. Be ready to face the music because theyre going to be coming at you. Hes a big boy. Hell bounce back. Hes going to be a good player for us. It was not what we need and he knows that.Del Rio also praised Oaklands running game after the Raiders rushed for 167 yards, including a 75-yard touchdown by undrafted rookie Jalen Richard.Oakland also scored on two short touchdown runs, something Del Rio hinted might have factored into the decision to go for the game-winning two-point conversion.Its going to create almost mandatory one-on-one situations, Del Rio said. And a guy like Michael one-on-one is a pretty good bet there.---Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: https://twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '