SEATTLE - Marshawn Lynch scored on touchdown runs of 14 and two yards and added a seven-yard scoring reception in the second half, Seattle flustered Colin Kaepernick into his worst passing game as a starter and the Seahawks dominated the San Francisco 49ers in a 29-3 victory Sunday night.
The game was delayed 60 minutes late in the first quarter when thunderstorms blew through the area. The highly-anticipated NFC West showdown was sloppy as opposed to sensational, but Lynch more than did his part.
Lynch finished with 135 total yards, including 98 yards rushing, making up for quarterback Russell Wilson hitting on just two of his first 10 passes with Seattle’s receivers struggling to get open. His scoring run on the first drive of the second half gave the Seahawks a 12-0 lead and his touchdown catch pushed the advantage to 19-3 early in the fourth quarter.
TEXANS 30, TITANS 24, OT Rookie DeAndre Hopkins grabbed a 3-yard touchdown pass in overtime and host Houston rallied over Tennessee. With Andre Johnson out after being shaken up in the fourth quarter, Hopkins reached above Jason McCourty and pulled in the pass from Matt Schaub to give Houston the victory. The Texans (2-0) needed a franchise-record 21-point comeback to win their opener Monday at San Diego 31-28.
CHARGERS 33, EAGLES 30 Philip Rivers threw three touchdown passes to Eddie Royal, and Nick Novak kicked a 46-yard field goal with 7 seconds left, spoiling Chip Kelly’s home debut in Philadelphia. Michael Vick threw for a career-best 428 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a score. Rivers finished 36 of 47 for 419 yards, and the Chargers punted only once. They fumbled twice inside Philadelphia’s 10 in the first half.
BEARS 31, VIKINGS 30 Jay Cutler threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Martellus Bennett with 10 seconds left to lift the host Bears. Minnesota’s Blair Walsh had just kicked a 22-yard field goal with 3:15 remaining when Chicago took over at its 34. Cutler, who led the Bears back from an 11-point deficit in a season-opening victory over Cincinnati, struck again. Chicago remained unbeaten under new Coach Marc Trestman despite committing four turnovers.
BILLS 24, PANTHERS 23 Rookie EJ Manuel hit Stevie Johnson for a 2-yard touchdown pass with 2 seconds left to lift host Buffalo. The touchdown capped a nine-play, 80-yard drive in which the first-round draft pick completed 6 of 8 attempts for 51 yards. Manuel also got help on third-and-6 from Carolina’s 29, when Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly was penalized for pass interference with 14 seconds left. Two plays later, Manuel found Johnson alone in the left corner as Buffalo (1-1) bounced back from a 23-21 season-opening loss to New England.
DOLPHINS 24, COLTS 20 Ryan Tannehill threw for 319 yards and one touchdown, and the visiting Dolphins defense held off yet another Colts comeback bid. Charles Clay (Little Rock Central) gave Miami the lead for good with a 1-yard TD run late in the third quarter. The Dolphins are 2-0 for only the second time since 2004. Indianapolis (1-1) lost at home for only the second time in Andrew Luck’s brief NFL career.
FALCONS 31, RAMS 24 Julio Jones hauled in 11 passes for 182yards, including an 81-yard touchdown, and held Atlanta held on for its first victory of the season. Matt Ryan threw for 374 yards and two scores despite taking quite a beating behind the Falcons’ shaky offense line. Jason Snelling clinched it for the Falcons (1-1) with an 11-yard touchdown run with 6:18 remaining - Atlanta’s longest play of the day on the ground. The Rams (1-1) fell behind 21-0 when Osi Umenyiora returned an interception 68 yards for a touchdown early in the second quarter. RAVENS 14, BROWNS 6 Baltimore sacked Brandon Weeden five times before finally knocking him out of the game in the fourth quarter. After yielding 49 points in a season-opening loss at Denver, Baltimore’s defense came up with a redemptive performance against the visiting Browns (0-2). Cleveland failed to score in the second half and managed only 85 yards over the final 30 minutes.
CARDINALS 25, LIONS 21 A pass interference penalty against Bill Bentley set up Rashard Mendenhall’s 1-yard touchdown run with 1:59 to play in Bruce Arians’ home debut as Cardinals coach. Jay Feely kicked four field goals and Carson Palmer threw a 36-yard touchdown pass to rookie Andre Ellington for Arizona (1-1). Ellington also had a 16-yard catch to start the deciding drive.
RAIDERS 19, JAGUARS 9 Darren McFadden (Arkansas Razorbacks, Pulaski Oak Grove) ran for 129 yards and host Oakland’s defense held Jacksonville out of the end zone until the closing minutes, as the Raiders won their home opener. Terrelle Pryor ran for 50 yards and threw for 126 in his first home start for the Raiders (1-1), and Marcel Reece scored on an 11-yard run to help Oakland bounce back from last week’s late loss in Indianapolis. Sebastian Janikowski added four field goals.
SAINTS 16, BUCCANEERS 14 Garrett Hartley kicked a 27-yard field goal as time expired to give the New Orleans Saints a weather-delayed 16-14 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. Drew Brees shrugged off throwing an interception that was returned to touchdown to give Tampa Bay the lead to complete three consecutive passes for 54 yards to lead the Saints (2-0) into position to win. The game was delayed 69 minutes by lightning in the first quarter.
SEPT. 12 New England 13, NY Jets 10 SUNDAY’S GAMES Kansas City 17, Dallas 16 Houston 30, Tennessee 24, OT Green Bay 38, Washington 20 Chicago 31, Minnesota 30 Atlanta 31, St. Louis 24 San Diego 33, Philadelphia 30 Miami 24, Indianapolis 20 Baltimore 14, Cleveland 6 Buffalo 24, Carolina 23 Arizona 25, Detroit 21 New Orleans 16, Tampa Bay 14 Oakland 19, Jacksonville 9 Denver 41, NY Giants 23 Seattle 29, San Francisco 3 TODAY’S GAME - All times Central Pittsburgh at Cincinnati, 7:40 p.m.
THURSDAY’S GAMES Kansas City at Philadelphia, 7:25 p.m.
SUNDAY’S GAMES San Diego at Tennessee, noon Arizona at New Orleans, noon St. Louis at Dallas, noon Cleveland at Minnesota, noon Houston at Baltimore, noon NY Giants at Carolina, noon Detroit at Washington, noon Tampa Bay at New England, noon Green Bay at Cincinnati, 1 p.m.
Atlanta at Miami, 3:05 p.m.
Indianapolis at San Francisco, 3:25 p.m. Jacksonville at Seattle, 3:25 p.m.
Buffalo at NY Jets, 3:25 p.m.
Chicago at Pittsburgh, 7:30 p.m.
MONDAY, SEPT. 23 Oakland at Denver, 7:40 p.m.
Sports, Pages 17 on 09/16/2013