NFL round-up: Atlanta Falcons snatch overtime victory; Buffalo Bills upset Chicago Bears; Knowshon Moreno powers Miami Dolphins to win
Elsewhere there was a late victory for the Pittsburgh Steelers while Cincinnati, Denver and Philadelphia all registered winning starts
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Your support makes all the difference.Matt Bryant kicked a 51-yard field goal on the final play of regulation time, then booted a 52-yarder in overtime to give the Atlanta Falcons a 37-34 victory over the New Orleans Saints in the NFL on Sunday.
In another thriller between the National Football Conference South rivals Sunday, Matt Ryan threw for a club-record 448 yards, leading the Falcons to just their fourth victory over the Saints in the last 17 meetings. This one was particularly sweet for Atlanta (1-0) coming off a miserable 4-12 season, its first losing campaign since 2007.
The teams combined for 17 points in the final 2:50 of the fourth quarter to force overtime. The Saints (0-1) got the ball first, but Marques Colston fumbled after catching a pass over the middle. The Falcons recovered at the Saints 38; after three plays gained only 4 yards, Bryant booted through another long field goal.
Buffalo's Fred Jackson set up Dan Carpenter's field goal in overtime with a 38-yard run to the 1 yard line as the Bills stunned the Chicago Bears 23-20.
The Bears (0-1) had just punted to open the extra period and Buffalo took over on its 22. The Bills (1-0) got to the Chicago 39 when Jackson turned toward the left side and broke off his big run, pushing safety Chris Conte out of the way twice inside the 10 before being knocked out of bounds at the 1.
At Pittsburgh, Shaun Suisham drilled a 41-yard field goal as time expired to give the Steelers a 30-27 win over the Cleveland Browns.
The Steelers conceded a 24-point halftime lead as the Browns rallied behind quarterback Brian Hoyer, but escaped thanks to some great plays from Ben Roethlisberger and wide receiver Markus Wheaton.
Hoyer threw for 230 yards and a score and played brilliantly at times in the second half in a performance that should strengthen his grip on the starting job over rookie Johnny Manziel.
The Cincinnati defeated the Baltimore Ravens 23-16 after A.J. Green caught a 77-yard touchdown pass from Andy Dalton as the Bengals came back after blowing a 15-point lead.
Green got behind cornerback Chykie Brown, who was pressed into a starting role for the injured Lardarius Webb. The ball popped from Green's grasp before he gathered it in. That TD, along with the 2-point conversion, came 48 seconds after Baltimore newcomer Steve Smith caught an 80-yard touchdown pass from Joe Flacco.
In other games, Knowshon Moreno rushed for 134 yards and a touchdown, and Ryan Tannehill threw for two scores as the Miami Dolphins overpowered the New England Patriots 33-20, the Denver Broncos downed the Indiana Colts 31-24, the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars 34-17, the Houston Texans ran past the Washington Redskins 17-6 and the Minnesota Vikings trounced the St. Louis Rams 34-6.
Jake Locker threw for 266 yards and two touchdowns in the Tennessee Titans' 26-10 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs, the New York Jets beat the Oakland Raiders 19-14, the Florida Panthers edged the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20-14 and the San Francisco 49ers were 28-17 winners over the Dallas Cowboys.
In the late game, Peyton Manning helped the Denver Broncos overcome a resilient Indianapolis Colts as he through three touchdowns to get last season's Superbowl runners-up off to a winning start. Manning paved the way for the Broncos to take a 24-7 lead into the break, and despite a fourth-quarter fightback led by Andrew Luck's two touchdown passes, the Broncos had enough in the tank to hold on for the win.
Results:
Atlanta Falcons 37 New Orleans Saints 34 (OT)
Baltimore Ravens 16 Cincinnati Bengals 23
Chicago Bears 20 Buffalo Bills 23 (OT)
Dallas Cowboys 17 San Francisco 49ers 28
Denver Broncos 31 Indianapolis Colts 24
Houston Texans 17 Washington Redskins 6
Kansas City Chiefs 10 Tennessee Titans 26
Miami Dolphins 33 New England Patriots 20
New York Jets 19 Oakland Raiders 14
Philadelphia Eagles 34 Jacksonville Jaguars 17
Pittsburgh Steelers 30 Cleveland Browns 27
St Louis Rams 6 Minnesota Vikings 34
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 14 Carolina Panthers 20
AP
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