NFL roundup: Cowboys rally past Rams, Cardinals top 49ers

Tony Romo matched the biggest comeback in Dallas Cowboys history.

Terrance Williams scored the go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter, and Bruce Carter returned an interception 25 yards for a TD on the next snap, capping the Cowboys’ comeback from a 21-0 deficit to stun the St. Louis Rams 34-31 on Sunday at St. Louis.

DeMarco Murray’s 1-yard run late in the first half began the rally for Dallas (2-1). Dez Bryant caught a 68-yard scoring pass in the third quarter, and Carter’s first career interception and touchdown came not long after he was evaluated for concussion-like symptoms on the bench.

Dallas also rallied from a 21-point deficit in overtime in 1984 against New Orleans and 1999 against Washington. It tied the second-largest lead blown by the Rams, who slowed Murray but got burned everywhere else.

St. Louis is 0-2 at home and was whipped 34-6 by Minnesota in the opener.

Murray had 100 yards on 24 carries and lost a fumble for the fourth straight game dating to last season, even after switching from carrying the ball on his left side to the right. He set a franchise record with 253 yards against St. Louis in 2011 and had 175 yards last season.

Janoris Jenkins’ 25-yard interception return, the fifth defensive touchdown in his three seasons, put the Rams (1-2) up 21-0 with 6:06 to go in the first half.

Austin Davis got his second straight start in place of Shaun Hill (quadriceps). He cut the Cowboys’ lead to three points on a 4-yard pass to Austin Pettis with 2:36 to go, but Morris Claiborne’s interception clinched it with 1:02 left.

Romo was 4 for 5 for 40 yards and scrambled 16 yards on third-and-13 on the go-ahead drive. His second-half play overshadowed a third costly INT of the year.

Penalties and a turnover late in the first half helped the Cowboys close the gap.

Murray’s 1-yard run came a play after rookie Lamarcus Joyner’s interference call in the end zone. Henry Melton recovered a fumble on Scott Wells’ flubbed shotgun snap, and a roughing-the-passer call on Eugene Sims got Dallas closer for Dan Bailey’s 29-yard field goal.

Bailey set a franchise record with his 28th in a row on a 40-yarder in the third quarter. Chris Boniol hit 27 straight in 1996.

The biggest deficit overcome by a Rams opponent is 23 points by the Packers in 1982, and Denver had a 21-point rally in 1982.

Seahawks 26, Broncos 20

Marshawn Lynch scored on a 6-yard TD run on the first possession of overtime and the Seattle Seahawks beat the Denver Broncos, 26-20, on Sunday in a Super Bowl rematch that lived up to expectations.

Seattle (2-1) blew a 17-3 fourth-quarter lead, watching Denver tie the game at 20 on Peyton Manning’s 26-yard touchdown pass to Jacob Tamme with 18 seconds left in regulation and his 2-point conversion pass to Demaryius Thomas.

But Manning never saw the ball in overtime thanks to Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson. After nearly getting sacked for a safety and throwing an interception in the fourth quarter, Wilson was brilliant in overtime. Wilson rushed for 21 yards and was 4 of 6 passing in overtime. Lynch went the final 6 yards.

Manning led the rally for Denver (2-1) helped by a number of Seahawks mistakes.

Cardinals 23, 49ers 14

Drew Stanton threw a pair of third-quarter touchdown passes to rookie John Brown and Arizona rallied to beat San Francisco, 23-14, on Sunday, snapping a four-game losing streak to the 49ers.

Tommy Kelly blocked a field goal for the Cardinals (3-0), who outscored San Francisco 17-0 in the second half.

The 49ers (1-2) mounted 80-yard touchdown drives the first two times they had the ball, then didn’t score again, blowing a halftime lead for the second week in a row.

Stanton, starting for injured Carson Palmer for the second straight week, completed 18 of 33 for 244 yards and two scores. Michael Floyd caught five for 114 yards.

The 49ers’ Colin Kaepernick completed 29 of 37 for 245 yards and a touchdown and ran for another 54.

San Diego 22, Buffalo 10

Philip Rivers found a new go-to target in leading the San Diego Chargers to their latest victory.

A week after throwing three touchdown passes to tight end Antonio Gates to knock off the Seattle Seahawks, Rivers hit Eddie Royal for two scores in a 22-10 win over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday at Orchard Park, N.Y.

Royal scored on 3- and 5-yard receptions and finished with four catches 42 yards. Malcom Floyd had two catches for 98 yards in a game the Chargers never trailed.

Rivers finished 18 of 25 for 256 yards and extended his touchdown streak to 23 games to match the team record he set over the 2009-10 seasons.

San Diego beat Buffalo despite a depleted offensive backfield. Already missing starting running back Ryan Mathews (right knee), the Chargers lost backup Danny Woodhead to a right ankle injury. Woodhead did not return after being carted off following a 1-yard run 3-1/2 minutes in.

Donald Brown stepped in and finished with a combined 89 yards offense (62 rushing and 27 receiving), while undrafted rookie Branden Oliver had 11 yards rushing in his NFL debut. It was a homecoming for Oliver, who set several career records at the University at Buffalo.

The Chargers are off to a 2-1 start for the third time in four years. And they built on the momentum generated following a 30-21 home win over the defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks.

Fred Jackson scored on an 11-yard catch and run for Buffalo (2-1), which blew an opportunity to get off to a 3-0 start for only the third time since 1993.

Detroit 19, Green Bay 7

Don Carey returned a fumble 40 yards for a touchdown, and Detroit’s defensive front smothered Green Bay on Sunday, leading the Lions to a 19-7 victory over Aaron Rodgers and the Packers at Detroit.

The Lions (2-1) came into the game with a secondary decimated by injuries, but that didn’t much matter with Rodgers under constant pressure. He was sacked twice and threw for only 162 yards, and Green Bay (1-2) wasn’t any better running the ball.

Reggie Bush added a 26-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter for Detroit, which had never beaten Green Bay with Rodgers healthy for the whole game.

The Packers managed only 223 yards of offense and lost despite forcing three turnovers.

Detroit linebacker Stephen Tulloch left with a knee injury that appeared to occur as he was celebrating a sack.

Baltimore 23, Cleveland 21

With Ray Rice’s distressing situation still hanging over them, the Ravens pulled off a comeback win as Justin Tucker kicked a 32-yard field as time expired to give Baltimore a 23-21 win over the Browns at Cleveland.

Tucker’s boot capped another challenging week for the Ravens (2-1), who continue to be dogged by their handling of Rice’s domestic violence suspension.

Joe Flacco set up Tucker’s game-winner with a 32-yard pass to Steve Smith with 1:28 left. The Ravens then ran the clock down before bringing in Tucker, who split the uprights and sent the Browns (1-2) to another tough loss. Both of Cleveland’s losses have come on last-play field goals.

Flacco finished 19 of 31 for 217 yards with one touchdown.

Cleveland’s Brian Hoyer completed 19 of 25 passes for 290 yards. The Browns failed to capitalize on several chances to put the Ravens away in the second half. Cleveland missed a field goal and had one blocked.

Philadelphia 37, Washington 34

Rookie Jordan Matthews, the receiver who replaced DeSean Jackson in Philadelphia, caught two touchdown passes, and the Eagles beat Jackson and his Washington Redskins, 37-34, at Philadelphia in a nasty game marred by a fourth-quarter brawl.

Jackson had his own big play, an 81-yard TD that tied it at 27. But it was not enough to offset Matthews and Jeremy Maclin, whose 27-yard scoring reception gave Philadelphia (3-0) the lead.

Rookie Cody Parkey’s third field goal, a 51-yarder with 5:55 remaining, put the game out of reach.

Philadelphia’s Chris Polk had a 102-yard kickoff return.

Kirk Cousins threw for three touchdowns for Washington (1-2).

The game was slowed by several injuries and disrupted by a sideline brawl with about 10 minutes remaining. Eagles quarterback Nick Foles was blindsided by Chris Baker during an apparent interception return by Bashaud Breeland. Baker and Philly left tackle Jason Peters were ejected.

New York Giants 30, Houston 17

Rashad Jennings ran for a career-high 176 yards and a touchdown and Eli Manning threw two TD passes as the Giants overcame some early mistakes and beat the suddenly error-prone Houston Texans at East Rutherford, N.J.

The Giants (1-2) got a lot of contributions. Victor Cruz made a 26-yard touchdown catch, his first since Game 4 of last season, and danced the salsa. The defense intercepted three of Ryan Fitzpatrick’s passes, and the special teams blocked a punt, setting up Manning’s second TD.

Fitzpatrick threw a 44-yard scoring pass to Damaris Johnson and ran for another score for the Texans (2-1), who played without halfback Arian Foster (hamstring).

Manning was 21 of 28 for 234 yards and no interceptions.

New Orleans 20, Minnesota 9

Drew Brees passed for 293 yards and two touchdowns at New Orleans as the Saints won for the first time this season.

For the Vikings, the loss capped a week of distractions as the club first announced that Adrian Peterson would play, then later changed course and said the star running back would leave the team indefinitely to deal with child abuse allegations. Minnesota then lost starting quarterback Matt Cassel with a foot injury early in the second quarter. He was replaced by rookie Teddy Bridgewater, who completed 12 of 20 for 150 yards while leading two scoring drives that both ended with field goals.

Brees’ scoring passes went for 34 yards to tight end Josh Hill and 18 yards to receiver Marques Colston.

Cincinnati 33, Tennessee 7

Andy Dalton turned his first career reception into a touchdown as the Bengals stayed undefeated with a victory at Cincinnati.

The Bengals (3-0) head into their bye week with their best start in eight years and a chance to get some of their many injured players healthy. They got a lot of big plays, a few breaks and plenty of help from a team dealing with the death of a long-time player.

A few hours before kickoff, the Titans (1-2) learned that kicker Rob Bironas had died overnight in a one-car crash in Nashville. He’d been released in March after his ninth season with Tennessee.

Indianapolis 44, Jacksonville 17

Andrew Luck threw four touchdown passes -- three of them in a lopsided first half at Jacksonville, Fla.

It was a home opener to forget for the Jaguars (0-3), who trailed 30-0 at the break and benched quarterback Chad Henne.

The only positive for Jacksonville was getting rookie Blake Bortles on the field. The third overall pick in May’s NFL draft played the entire second half, finishing with two touchdown passes and two interceptions. He completed 14 of 24 passes for 223 yards, including fourth-quarter scores to Allen Hurns and Cecil Shorts III.

Indianapolis (1-2) made plays from start to finish, including Greg Toler returning an interception 47 yards for a touchdown with 2:58 to play.

Luck did most of the damage, though. He completed 31 of 39 passes for 370 yards.

New England 16, Oakland 9

The Patriots needed a last-minute defensive play to bail out a sluggish offense and hold on for a victory over the winless Raiders at Foxborough, Mass.

Tom Brady threw a touchdown pass, Stephen Gostkowski kicked three field goals and 325-pound tackle Vince Wilfork intercepted a pass near his goal line to end Oakland’s final chance. That gave the Patriots the ball with 51 seconds left.

The Patriots won their 12th home opener in 13 seasons, while the Raiders (0-3) lost their 15th straight game in the Eastern time zone. They were held to three field goals by Sebastian Janikowski.