Broncos Hold On, Giving Manning a Win Over the Colts

Matt Ryan threw for a franchise-record 448 yards, and Matt Bryant kicked two long field goals, including a 52-yarder in overtime, to give the Atlanta Falcons a 37-34 victory at home over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.

Bryant kicked a 51-yard field goal on the final play of regulation, then came through again with the winning kick in overtime after a Saints turnover, handing the Falcons just their fourth victory over New Orleans in the last 17 meetings. This one was particularly sweet for the Falcons, who are coming off a miserable 4-12 season, their first losing campaign since 2007.

The teams combined for 17 points in the final 2 minutes 50 seconds of the fourth quarter. The Saints got the ball first in overtime, but Marques Colston fumbled a pass over the middle. The Falcons recovered at the Saints' 38 and gained only 4 yards on three plays before Bryant ended the game.

The game fit right in with a divisional series in which nine of the previous 12 meetings were decided by margins of 8 points or fewer.

TEXANS 17, REDSKINS 6 Ryan Fitzpatrick threw a touchdown pass, and the rookie Alfred Blue blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown to help Houston beat visiting Washington.

The victory was Houston's first since last Sept. 15 and ended a 14-game skid.

The Texans led by 7-6 after a 76-yard touchdown reception by DeAndre Hopkins in the second quarter. Blue blocked Washington's punt on the next drive, scooped it up and returned it five yards for a touchdown to push the lead to 14-6.

The dispute over Washington's nickname followed the team to Houston, where a small group of people protested outside the stadium before the game. BILLS 23, BEARS 20 The veteran running back Fred Jackson had a 38-yard run to the 1 to set up Dan Carpenter's field goal in overtime, and Buffalo stunned host Chicago.

The Bills took over on their own 22 after a punt to start the winning possession. The Bills had moved the ball to the Chicago 39 when Jackson, who had 61 total rushing yards, 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.

The Bears got little pressure from a revamped defense despite the addition of the five-time Pro Bowl end Jared Allen, and Jay Cutler was intercepted twice while throwing for 349 yards and two touchdowns.

49ERS 28, COWBOYS 17 Colin Kaepernick threw two touchdown passes to Vernon Davis, one right after the first of three Tony Romo interceptions, and visiting San Francisco opened the season with a win over a sloppy Dallas team.

The 49ers also got a 35-yard fumble return on the second play of the game when Chris Culliver picked up the loose ball.

Coming off a spotty preseason for his offense, Kaepernick was efficient if not prolific, going 16 of 23 for 201 yards without an interception.

VIKINGS 34, RAMS 6 Wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson ran for 102 yards on three carries with a 67-yard scoring run off a simple pitch-out, and visiting Minnesota shut down St. Louis, opening impressively under its new coach, Mike Zimmer.

The Rams handled the All-Pro running back Adrian Peterson, limiting him to 75 yards on 21 carries. They had no such luck with Patterson, who had three rushing touchdowns on 12 carries as a rookie last season.

Patterson had carries of 23 and 12 yards in the first half and added three receptions for 26 yards.

BENGALS 23, RAVENS 16 A. J. Green caught a 77-yard touchdown pass from Andy Dalton with 4:58 left, and Cincinnati blew a 15-point lead before bouncing back to beat host Baltimore.

Green got behind cornerback Chykie Brown, who had been pressed into a starting role for the injured Lardarius Webb.

That touchdown, along with a 2-point conversion, came 48 seconds after the Baltimore newcomer Steve Smith caught an 80-yard touchdown pass from Joe Flacco.

DOLPHINS 33, PATRIOTS 20 Knowshon Moreno rushed for 134 yards and a touchdown, Ryan Tannehill threw for two scores, and Miami overpowered visiting New England after halftime.

The Dolphins outscored New England by 23-0 in the second half.

Tannehill had touchdown throws to Lamar Miller and Mike Wallace as Miami showed off a new, faster-paced offense. The Dolphins' defense recorded four sacks, all in the second half, and recovered two fumbles.

STEELERS 30, BROWNS 27 Shaun Suisham drilled a 41-yard field goal as time expired to lift Pittsburgh at home over Cleveland.

The Steelers blew a 24-point halftime lead as the Browns rallied but escaped thanks to some great plays from quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and wide receiver Markus Wheaton.

Roethlisberger hit Wheaton twice on the winning drive, including a 20-yard completion that put Suisham in range to send the Browns to their 10th straight season-opening loss.

TITANS 26, CHIEFS 10 Jake Locker threw for 266 yards and two touchdowns, Alex Smith was intercepted three times, and visiting Tennessee rolled over Kansas City.

Locker picked apart the Chiefs' defense, going 22 of 33 and finding eight players, including the former Chiefs receiver Dexter McCluster.

Kendall Wright and Delanie Walker had touchdown catches for the Titans. EAGLES 34, JAGUARS 17 Nick Foles threw a 68-yard touchdown pass to Jeremy Maclin in the fourth quarter, and Philadelphia rallied from a 17-0 second-half deficit to beat visiting Jacksonville.

The Jaguars dominated the defending N.F.C. East champion Eagles in the first two quarters, but the Eagles scored touchdowns on their first two possessions in the third quarter.

Then Foles made a perfect deep throw to a wide-open Maclin for the 68-yard pass, the longest of his career, to put the Eagles ahead by 24-17.

PANTHERS 20, BUCCANEERS 14 Derek Anderson filled in nicely for the injured Cam Newton, throwing for 230 yards and 2 touchdowns to lead Carolina over host Tampa Bay.

Despite rallying with two late touchdowns, it was an ugly debut for the Bucs under Coach Lovie Smith. The defense applied little pressure on Anderson, and an offense that was among the worst in the N.F.L. in 2013 showed few signs of improvement until midway through the fourth quarter.

Anderson completed 24 of 34 passes with no interceptions and one sack. He threw touchdown passes of 5 yards to Greg Olsen and 26 yards to the rookie Kelvin Benjamin.

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