Jags win game, lose Robinson

Jacksonville Jaguars receiver Allen Robinson is out for the season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in the season opener, a source familiar with the situation said.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because the team had not released details of Robinson's injury.

Robinson landed awkwardly on his left knee while making a catch in the first quarter of Sunday's 29-7 victory at Houston and did not return. Tests revealed a season-ending injury, the person said.

It was a huge loss in a big victory for the Jaguars, who hadn't won an opener since 2011.

Robinson, a 2015 Pro Bowl selection after a 1,400-yard, 14-touchdown season, is entering the final year of his rookie contract. He had been hoping to rebound from a disappointing season in which he had 73 passes for 883 yards and six scores.

RB Woodhead hurt

Veteran running back Danny Woodhead accounted for 37 yards on Baltimore's first offensive drive, with 3 catches for 33 yards and 1 reception for 4 yards.

But Woodhead, 32, who has been limited by knee injuries in two of the past three seasons, was then carted to the locker room after grabbing his left hamstring after going to the ground on a 3rd-and-6 play from the Cincinnati Bengals' 7-yard line. Joe Flacco's pass, which was intended for Woodhead, fell incomplete and Justin Tucker put the Ravens on the board with a field goal on the next play. The Ravens won 20,-0.

Bell silenced

Pittsburgh Steelers all-purpose running back Le'Veon Bell ended his contract holdout and came back last week. He was mostly missing from the Steelers' opener.

Bell looked rusty and hardly like one of the NFL's best players on Sunday, gaining 32 yards as Pittsburgh turned to its defense and a late Ben Roethlisberger-to-Antonio Brown connection to hold off the Cleveland Browns 21-18.

Bell, 25, did not report to training camp this summer because of a contract squabble with Pittsburgh's front office. Bell, who became the first player to average 100 yards rushing and 50 receiving per game last season, reported less than a week before the opener and signed his $12.1 million franchise tag after failing to come to agreement on a long-term deal.

Bell gained 17 yards on his first nine carries before ripping off a 15-yarder with 2:28 left, and the Steelers were able to run out the clock after the Browns burned their last timeout challenging Brown's 38-yard reception.

Bell also had a 12-yard run called back by a holding penalty. He had three catches for 15 yards.

Steelers Coach Mike Tomlin defended Bell's lackluster performance, laying the blame on Pittsburgh being in long-yardage situations.

"You can write whatever story you want to write about -- him missing the preseason and all of that," Tomlin said. "The bottom line is that we got highly penalized and it put us behind the chains and minimized the running game. That's what happened."

Beckham inactive

New York Giants star receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who had not practiced since getting hurt in a preseason game against Cleveland on Aug. 21 was inactive for Sunday night's season opener against the Dallas Cowboys.

Beckham had a career-best 101 catches for 1,367 yards and 10 touchdowns last season.

Cowboys running back Darren McFadden (Pulaski Oak Grove, Arkansas Razorbacks) was a surprise choice for the inactive list. He had worked as the backup to Ezekiel Elliott throughout the preseason. Undrafted rookie quarterback Cooper Rush was inactive, meaning Kellen Moore was the backup to Dak Prescott.

Johnson bruised

David Johnson, Arizona's star running back, was stunted and knocked out of the game with a wrist injury in a 35-23 loss at Detroit on Sunday.

Johnson led the league with 2,118 yards from scrimmage and 20 touchdowns last year. In the season-opening game, he lost a fumble and was limited to 23 yards rushing on 11 carries, and had six receptions for 68 yards.

"We knew he was [a]huge target for them, big part of the offense," Lions safety Glover Quin said. "So, we just wanted to make sure we knew where he was at all times and make sure we put bodies on him.

"Hit him, hit him, hit him, continue to hit him and see if he can take it for four quarters. And, we were able to get him out of the game."

Watt a start

Steelers rookie linebacker T.J. Watt, J.J. Watt's younger brother, recorded two sacks and had an interception in his NFL debut, and he wanted more.

"We played well," he said of Pittsburgh's defense, which recorded seven sacks. "We felt like we were in the backfield all the time, but we have to finish plays. We had a few sacks left on the table."

Texans QB shuffle

The Texans already have a quarterback controversy after one game.

Houston Coach Bill O'Brien replaced Tom Savage with rookie Deshaun Watson at halftime of the Texans' 29-7 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, leaving questions about who will start Thursday night against Cincinnati.

"The decision to go with Deshaun had more to do with could we find a spark, could we find somebody that maybe could make a play, that could escape the pocket," O'Brien said. "I thought that Tom hung in there and played very tough. But we had a hard time protecting him so I made the decision to go with Deshaun."

Watson became the ninth quarterback to play for the Texans in the past five seasons. They've struggled to find consistency at the position for years and hoped Savage would be the one to provide that a year after they gave Brock Osweiler a $72 million contract, only to bench him before the season was over.

Sports on 09/11/2017