NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Rob Bironas kicked a 26-yard field goal in overtime, and the Titans stopped backup quarterback Shaun Hill on fourth-and-1 at the Tennessee 7 to pull out a 44-41 win over the Detroit Lions on Sunday.
The Titans (1-2) blew a 20-9 halftime lead in a crazy game featuring big plays, scoring swings and some suspect officiating. Detroit scored 18 straight points, then Tennessee answered with 21 points before the Lions scored the final 14 of regulation. Detroit recovered an onside kick and got an assist from officials who did not review a possible turnover.
In overtime, Bironas’ third field goal put Tennessee ahead to stay.
The Lions (1-2) lost their second straight when coach Jim Schwartz decided not to let Jason Hanson attempt to connect on a fifth field goal. Hill, in for injured Matthew Stafford , was stopped by defensive tackles Jurrell Casey and Sen’Derrick Marks on his sneak, and Tennessee escaped with its first win of the season.
CARDINALS 27, EAGLES 6
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) – Kevin Kolb threw for 222 yards and two touchdowns and James Sanders returned one of Michael Vick’s two fumbles 93 yards for a touchdown, and Arizona is off to its best start in 38 years.Arizona (3-0) sacked Vick five times in winning its seventh straight home game, the second-longest streak in franchise history.
Philadelphia (2-1) became the first NFL team to open a season with two one-point wins. The Eagles didn’t give themselves a chance to rally for another victory, picked apart by the quarterback they cast away and hounded by Arizona’s attacking defense.
JETS 23, DOLPHINS 20 OT
MIAMI (AP) – Nick Folk received a reprieve when his blocked field-goal attempt was negated by a timeout, and his second try was a successful 33-yarder with 6:04 left in overtime.
Mark Sanchez hit Santonio Holmes for a 38-yard gain to set up the kick. Two plays later, Folk’s try was blocked, but officials whistled the play dead as the ball was snapped because the Dolphins had called timeout.
Folk then made the winner.On the previous possession, the Dolphins’ Dan Carpenter was wide left on a 48-yard field-goal attempt that would have given them the victory.
New York improved to 2-1, and Miami dropped to 1-2. The Jets’ Darrelle Revis and Miami’s Reggie Bush left the game with left knee injuries.
JAGUARS 22, COLTS 17
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Blaine Gabbert connected with Cecil Shorts III on an 80-yard touchdown pass with 45 seconds left to lift Jacksonville to its first win of the season.
Maurice Jones-Drew ran for 177 yard, but Jacksonville (2-1) needed Gabbert’s big play. The Colts (1-2) had taken the lead 17-16 after Andrew Luck drove them 48 yards in five plays to set up Adam Vinatieri’s 37-yard field goal with 56 seconds left.
But on the next snap, Shorts got behind Colts safety Sergio Brown and Gabbert hit him in stride. Shorts sprinted free, diving into the end zone for the score.
Indianapolis had a chance to win it at the end, but Luck’s pass into the end zone was broken up by Aaron Ross.
COWBOYS 16, BUCCANEERS 10
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) – DeMarco Murray had an 11-yard touchdown run, Dan Bailey kicked three field goals and Dallas won its home opener.
A week after the Buccaneers’ big push against the Giants in their victory formation, Tampa Bay used a pair of timeouts in the final 40 seconds after a failed onside kick attempt.
The Cowboys (2-1) scored twice in the first half when starting in Tampa Bay territory after turnovers. They overcame three turnovers by Romo – two on plays reversed by replay – with a defense that held Tampa Bay to 166 total yards.
Romo’s interception on the game’s fourth play set up Tampa Bay (1-2) for Josh Freeman’s 1-yard TD to Luke Stocker.
The Cowboys drew even on Murray’s run after Sean Lee’s interception. Bailey had kicks of 32, 26 and 22 yards.
BENGALS 38, REDSKINS 31
LANDOVER, Md. (AP) – Andy Dalton completed 19 of 27 passes for 328 yards and three touchdowns for Cincinnati.
The Bengals blew a 24-7 first-half lead, but two touchdown passes by Dalton in the fourth quarter made the difference.
A 6-yard throw to tight end Jermaine Gresham broke a 24-24 tie, then Dalton hit Andrew Hawkins for a 59-yard score to give the Bengals a two-touchdown cushion with 7:08 left to play.
Robert Griffin III’s 2-yard run cut the lead to seven points with 3:35 remaining, but he threw incomplete on a third-and-50 on the game’s last play.
Cincinnati’s A.J. Green caught nine passes for a career-high 183 yards.
The Bengals improved to 2-1. The Redskins fell to 1-2.
BEARS 23, RAMS 6
CHICAGO (AP) – Major Wright returned an interception 45 yards for a touchdown and Chicago’s defense had six sacks on Sam Bradford and held St. Louis to 160 total yards.
That was enough on a day when Jay Cutler struggled, and the Bears (2-1) came away with the win after an ugly loss to Green Bay the previous week. The Rams fell to 1-2.
The Bears had just kicked a field goal to extend their lead to 13-6 in the fourth quarter when Wright came up with his big return. He caught the ball at the 45 and ran untouched to the end zone, making it a 14-point game and finally giving the Bears some breathing room.
BILLS 24, BROWNS
CLEVELAND (AP) – Ryan Fitzpatrick threw three touchdown passes and Buffalo overcame the loss of running back C.J. Spiller in snapping an eight-game road losing streak.
Fitzpatrick finished 22 of 35 for 208 yards as the Bills (2-1) turned to their passing game after Spiller, the NFL’s leading rusher, was lost in the first quarter with a shoulder injury.
The Bills hadn’t won outside Buffalo since the 2011 season opener at Kansas City.
Before he got hurt, Spiller scored on a 32-yard screen pass from Fitzpatrick, who also threw a 9-yard TD to T.J. Graham in the first quarter and hooked up with Stevie Johnson from 9 yards in the fourth for a 24-14 lead.
The Browns are 0-3.
—
Online: http://pro32.ap.org/poll and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL