Bengals lose at Denver, 24-22. Miami, which visits the Browns next Sunday, loses at home to Texas, 23-13.
Denver's Willis Magahee (23) -- who rushed for 101 yards in 28 carries -- lunges ahead as he is tackled by Bengals middle linebacker Rey Maualuga (58). Denver defeated Cincinnati, 24-22.Denver Broncos 24, Cincinnati Bengals 22
DENVER, Colorado -- The Denver Broncos had just enough healthy players left to hold on for the win despite a lineup that was left looking more like the preseason where fans wonder who's that guy?
Willis McGahee ran for a touchdown and Eric Decker caught two touchdown passes from Kyle Orton to lead the Broncos past the Cincinnati Bengals 24-22 for John Fox's first win as Denver's coach.
The Bengals' loss means that all four AFC North teams -- Cincinnati, the Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens -- have 1-1 records.
The Broncos (1-1) lost two more players to injury - giving them nine, including six starters - but still managed to beat the Bengals for the ninth straight time in Denver, where Cincy hasn't won since 1975.
Andy Dalton, who bruised his right wrist and forearm in Cincinnati's win at Cleveland a week earlier, threw for 332 yards for the Bengals, hitting fellow rookie A.J. Green 10 times for 124 yards and Jerome Simpson four times for 136 yards.
But the Broncos' bevy of backups bottled him up on his final two drives as he tried to get into field goal range.
After scoring on four straight possessions, the Bengals looked like they had caught a big break when Britton Colquitt 's 82-yard punt was called back because Broncos gunner Chris Harris didn't get back inbound quickly enough.
On the re-kick, the Bengals got the ball at the Denver 45-yard line instead of their own 11 with 5 1/2 minutes left.
Rather than try a 53-yard field goal, however, the Bengals went for it on fourth-and-1 at the Denver 36 even though they were 1-for-11 on third down conversions.
Green sneaked into the right flat, but Robert Ayers sniffed out the naked bootleg and drove Dalton into the ground as his pass fell incomplete.
Denver was down to just two receivers and had been forced to use backup quarterback Tim Tebow as a slot receiver, and Ryan Clady 's second holding call pushed them back and they were forced to punt.
The Bengals got the ball at their 5 with 2:25 left and no timeouts remaining.
They reached midfield at the minute mark, but nickel back Jonathan Wilhite , playing for Champ Bailey, sacked Dalton, and then another backup, Wesley Woodyard , playing for D.J. Williams, made a diving deflection of a pass to tight end Jermaine Gresham.
That brought up fourth-and-19 from the Bengals 43, and Dalton's desperation pass went out of bounds with 23 seconds left.
The Broncos were missing five starters in Bailey, Williams, wide receiver Brandon Lloyd , defensive end Elvis Dumervil and tailback Knowshon Moreno .
They missed Lloyd the most, especially after Eddie Royal left with a strained left groin in the second quarter. They also lost rookie tight end Julius Thomas to a sprained right ankle on their fifth snap.
The Broncos took a 17-3 lead on Orton's 25-yard TD toss to Decker in the third quarter, but the Bengals scored on their next four possessions. Dalton's 10-yard touchdown throw to Andre Caldwell sandwiched around Mike Nugent 's two short field goals made it 17-15.
The second of those field goals came after defensive end Michael Johnson beat Clady around the edge and knocked the ball out of Orton's arm. Nose tackle Domata Peko recovered at the Denver 14.
On the next drive, Decker hauled in a 52-yard TD pass, stopping along the right sideline to catch the ball at the 25 and leaving defensive backs Nate Clements and Chris Crocker sprawled on the ground as he trotted into the end zone.
Von Miller recorded his first sack as a pro on the game's next snap, and with Mile High rocking, middle linebacker Joe Mays was out of position when Dalton hit Simpson over the middle for an 84-yard gain that set up Green's tiptoe touchdown catch that made it 24-22 with 11:17 left.
McGahee, who hadn't carried the ball more than 20 times in a game since November 2008, rushed 28 times for 101 yards. He leaned over the goal line from a yard out to cap the 15-play, 80-yard drive that lasted 8 1/2 minutes and gave Denver a 7-0 lead it would never relinquish.
The Bengals lost wide receiver Jordan Shipley to a left knee injury in the third quarter.
Houston Texans 23, Miami Dolphins 13
MIAMI, Florida -- Andre Johnson slipped behind the Miami Dolphins ' secondary, then uncharacteristically dropped a deep pass.
So he worked himself open again, and this time held on for a 23-yard score that helped seal the Houston Texans' victory over Miami, 23-13.
Miami's sieve-like pass defense was no match for Johnson and Matt Schaub , who threw for 230 yards and had a quarterback rating of 118.5. Johnson made seven catches for 93 yards.
The Dolphins committed two turnovers, had a 22-yard field-goal attempt blocked and missed a 34-yarder. Daniel Thomas rushed for 107 yards in his NFL debut, but Chad Henne went 12 for 30 and was especially erratic in the red zone.
The Texans improved to 2-0 for the second year in a row. Last season they faded to 6-10, extending their streak of never making the playoffs.
Miami is 0-2 for the fifth time in the past six years. The Dolphins lost for the 11th time in their past 12 home games, and they remained winless against Houston in six meetings.
The Dolphins' defense wasn't as bad as Monday, when Tom Brady riddled Miami for a career-best 517 yards passing. But Schaub was an efficient 21 for 29 and had Houston in front for the final 55 minutes.
Houston's Ben Tate rushed for 103 yards in 23 carries. Teammate Arian Foster , who missed the opener because of a sore left hamstring, aggravated the injury in the first half and carried only 10 times for 33 yards.
Mario Williams forced a turnover to set up the game's first touchdown. The Texans had two sacks and pressured Henne enough to limit him to 170 yards after he threw for 416 in the season opener.
One bright spot for the Dolphins was Thomas, their first 100-yard rusher in the past 21 games. He played well enough to keep Reggie Bush on the bench for much of the game. Bush had only seven touches.
Johnson dropped a deep pass after getting open deep in the third quarter, and Miami then drove for a field goal to cut Houston's lead to 16-13.
But the Texans responded with a 63-yard drive capped by Schaub's scoring pass to Johnson, who beat reserve cornerback Nolan Carroll .
Williams had a hand in the first touchdown. With Henne throwing from his goal line, Williams beat tackle Marc Colombo and reached to hit Henne as he released a pass, which fluttered to cornerback Johnathan Joseph .
Two plays later, Schaub threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Owen Daniels for a 13-3 lead.
Houston's Neil Rackers scored the game's first points with a 23-yard field goal that deflected off the right upright. He also made a 22-yarder, then hit a 36-yarder on the final play of the first half.
Miami twice failed to score after driving inside the Houston 20. Dan Carpenter missed wide left on one field-goal try, and another was a low line drive that rookie J.J. Watt blocked.
On one of those possessions, Brandon Marshall had a shot at a lunging catch in the end zone but failed to hold onto the ball.
The Dolphins trailed 16-3 before Henne led a 62-yard drive capped by his 12-yard touchdown pass to Marshall. Carpenter made field goals of 42 and 34 yards.
Dallas Cowboys 27, San Francisco 49ers 24 in overtime
SAN FRANCISCO, California -- Tony Romo rallied America's Team while playing with a fractured rib.
In a week when Romo vowed to play his best game, he delivered a gutsy comeback that looked unlikely when he briefly came out from halftime and then returned to the locker room.
Just when the Cowboys announced the quarterback was done for the day, there came No. 9 ready to take charge of the huddle once again.
Romo hit Jesse Holley on a 77-yard completion on the Cowboys' first play of overtime that set up Dan Bailey 's winning 19-yard field goal, and Dallas earned an improbable 27-24 overtime win over the 49ers.
It was an exact reverse of what happened a week earlier: a 27-24 road loss to the Jets after Dallas blew a late 14-point lead. Romo's late interception contributed to that Week 1 collapse.
Bailey kicked a tying 48-yard field goal Sunday as time expired in regulation after missing an early 21-yard attempt.
Romo completed five of six passes on the tying drive, connecting on consecutive throws to Holley before finding him again in OT.
Miles Austin made three touchdown receptions among his nine catches for 143 yards, leaping over a defender and diving into the end zone to pull Dallas within 24-21 with 6:55 to play. Austin later hurt his hamstring.
Romo completed 20 of 33 passes for 345 yards and backup Jon Kitna found Austin for a 5-yard TD, but also threw two interceptions during his brief appearance.
Alex Smith threw for 179 yards and two touchdowns, including a 29-yard strike to Delanie Walker in the third. Smith found himself in the familiar predicament of getting hit. He was sacked six times as San Francisco's offensive line often failed to protect him or give him ample time in the pocket to be effective.
Romo returned for the last series of the third quarter, the final 15 minutes and OT.
Dallas had a final chance in regulation, getting the ball back with 4:03 to play starting from its own 26.
Romo, in the shotgun as he'd been most of the day, delivered on third-and-6 from the 43 with a 7-yard completion to Austin. They connected on another 7-yard gain the next play.
Romo played through multiple hits in the first half, when he threw a late 53-yard touchdown pass to Austin to bring Dallas within 14-7. The QB came up slowly after being clobbered on a blindside cornerback blitz by Carlos Rogers as he was throwing in the second quarter.
New England Patriots 35, San Diego Chargers 21
FOXBOROUGH, Massachusetts -- Tom Brady threw for 423 yards six days after setting a single-game team record of 517, leading the New England Patriots over the San Diego Chargers 35-21.
Brady had three touchdown passes and tied for the third most yards passing in club history, going 31 of 40 with no interceptions as the Patriots (2-0) scored on each of their four first-half possessions.
The Chargers (1-1) turned the ball over inside the Patriots 35-yard line three times, leading to 17 points. They also were stopped on a fourth-and-goal at the 1, and the Patriots started a 99-yard drive that ended with one of Brady's two scoring passes to Rob Gronkowski .
Philip Rivers threw for 378 yards for the Chargers. They had four turnovers for the second straight year against New England after losing 23-20 in 2010 when the Patriots gained just 179 yards.
Vince Wilfork , the Patriots' 325-pound defensive tackle, got his first career interception to halt a promising Chargers drive late in the first half, rumbling 28 yards on the return.
For the second straight game, New England had a 99-yard touchdown drive. After Stephen Gostkowski 's 22-yard field goal made it 10-7, the Patriots got the ball back at their 1-yard line when Jerod Mayo stopped Mike Tolbert short of the goal line.
In the 38-24 win over Miami in the opener, the Patriots also took the ball over at the 1, and Brady and Wes Welker hooked up for a 99-yard touchdown on the next play. This time Brady needed 10 plays to score, completing the drive with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Gronkowski for a 17-7 lead.
San Diego wasted an opportunity on its next series when it reached the Patriots 29 before Wilfork made his interception. That set up a 47-yard field goal by Gostkowski on the last play of the first half, putting the Patriots on top 20-7.
After a scoreless third quarter, the Chargers made it 20-14 on a 3-yard scoring pass from Rivers to Vincent Jackson with 13:33 left.
Then the Patriots made a curious - and potentially costly - decision on fourth-and-4 at the San Diego 49. Rather than have Zoltan Mesko , who hurt his knee on his previous punt, kick the ball, the Patriots went for a first down and failed on Brady's incomplete pass to Deion Branch .
But just three plays later, New England's defense came through when Mayo forced a fumble and linebacker Rob Ninkovich recovered at the Patriots 39. Brady needed just four plays to cover 69 yards and throw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Gronkowski. Danny Woodhead ran in for the 2-point conversion and a 28-14 lead.
The Chargers came back, scoring just three minutes later on Rivers' 26-yard pass to Jackson with 5:40 to go. But the Patriots responded with a 16-yard touchdown run by BenJarvus Green-Ellis.
Source: http://www.cleveland.com/ohio-sports-blog/index.ssf/2011/09/cleveland_browns_pittsburgh_st.html
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