GREEN BAY, Wis. – Wide right, times two.
Daniel Carlson missed two field goals in overtime, including one from 35 yards as time expired, and the Minnesota Vikings had to settle for a 29-29 tie with the Green Bay Packers after rallying from a late 13-point deficit on Sunday.
The rookie’s final attempt went to the right of the uprights, just like his kick from 49 earlier in overtime. Carlson also missed from 48 in the second quarter.
Packers kicker Mason Crosby matched a career high with five field goals, but his potential game-winner from 52 went wide left as time expired in regulation.
“It’s disappointing when you’ve got an opportunity to win the football game there at the end and you come up with a tie. It’s better than a loss,” Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said.
It was the second straight week with a tie in the NFL after the Steelers and Browns played to a draw in their opener.
The result at Lambeau Field overshadowed memorable performances from both quarterbacks.
Green Bay star Aaron Rodgers played with a brace on his injured left knee and threw for 281 yards and a 9-yard touchdown pass to Davante Adams.
But a mishandled handoff with 5:17 left in overtime cost the Packers a chance at another long field-goal attempt. Rodgers recovered the fumble on second-and-1 at the 37, and he was sacked on third down to push Green Bay back to the 47.
“Close to an ‘L.’ Doesn’t feel great,” Rodgers said about the tie.
Minnesota’s Kirk Cousins threw for 425 yards and four touchdowns, including three in the fourth quarter. He also threw an interception to Ha Ha Clinton-Dix after the ball bounced off the hands of Laquon Treadwell with 2:13 left.
Everything seemed to go the Vikings’ way in the fourth, when they rallied from a 20-7 deficit. Until that point, the Packers had put together the kind of complete performance needed to support Rodgers, who got hurt in Green Bay’s opening victory against Chicago.
Facing double coverage, Adam Thielen still caught a 22-yard touchdown pass from Cousins with 31 seconds left on a drive that included a roughing-the-passer penalty on Clay Matthews. Stefon Diggs caught a 2-point conversion pass to tie it at 29.
“I don’t know where to start, to be honest with you. I have so many emotions running through as far as what a terrible call it was,” Matthews said. “At the same time, I don’t know what else to do.”
The penalty negated an interception by Jaire Alexander with 1:45 left that would have allowed the Packers to run out the clock. Referee Tony Corrente said the call was not related to the new helmet-to-helmet rule.
“He picked up the quarterback and drove him into the ground,” Corrente told a pool reporter.
Rodgers, who finished 30 of 42, didn’t have his typical mobility that allows him to busy time for receivers.
But he was able to move around enough to scramble out of trouble on occasion. Operating out of shotgun or pistol formations also bought Rodgers more time.
The Packers (1-0-1), though, could have used more touchdowns from the offense.
They did get one on special teams after Geronimo Allison blocked a punt that was recovered by Josh Jackson in the end zone for a touchdown.
Thielen had 12 catches for 131 yards for Minnesota (1-0-1), while Diggs had nine catches for 128 yards and two scores.
Just for kickers
Carlson said he thought it might have been the first time he had missed three field goals in a game.
“I think I went out each time and it was a new kick,” Carlson said. “Went out there confident, but something obviously was off and I’ve got to fix that and help this team.”
The last attempt from 35 was set up with the ball placed between the hash marks, but Carlson still missed.
Saints 21, Browns 18
Wil Lutz kicked a 44-yard field goal for New Orleans with 21 seconds left, Cleveland kicker Zane Gonzalez pushed the second of his two missed field goals wide right in the final seconds, and the Saints held on for a 21-18 victory that extended the Browns’ winless streak to 19 games.
Gonzalez also missed two extra points, one week after his potential winning field goal was blocked in a season-opening tie with Pittsburgh.
Cleveland (0-1-1) carried a two-score lead into the final nine minutes before its latest collapse.
Receiver Michael Thomas had two fourth-quarter touchdowns for the Saints (1-1), who scored 40 points in a Week 1 loss to Tampa Bay, but didn’t find the end zone against Cleveland until 8:41 remained.
Chiefs 42, Steelers 37
PITTSBURGH – Patrick Mahomes tied a franchise record with six touchdown passes. The 22-year-old Mahomes finished 23 of 28 for 326 yards in his third career start as the Chiefs (2-0) won in Pittsburgh for the first time since 1986. Mahomes has 10 touchdown passes through two weeks, the most ever by a quarterback through two games.
Trevor Kelce caught seven passes for 109 yards and two scores. Tyreek Hill, Chris Conley, Kareem Hunt and Demarcus Robinson also hauled in touchdown passes as the Chiefs recovered in the second half after blowing an early 21-pont lead.
Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger shook off an achy right elbow that limited him in practice during the week, completing 39 of 60 passes for 452 yards and three touchdowns.
Buccaneers 27, Eagles 21
TAMPA, Fla. – Ryan Fitzpatrick threw for more than 400 yards and four touchdowns for the second straight week.
Filling in for suspended quarterback Jameis Winston, the 35-year-old Fitzpatrick completed 27 of 32 passes for 402 yards and has the suddenly explosive Bucs off to a 2-0 start for the first time since 2010.
DeSean Jackson scored on a 75-yard reception on the first play of the game. O.J. Howard also had a 75-yard TD catch in the first half for Tampa Bay, which stunned New Orleans 48-40 on the road in its season opener.
Nick Foles threw for 338 yards for the Eagles (1-1), who rallied from a 20-point, third-quarter deficit.
Falcons 31, Panthers 24
ATLANTA – Matt Ryan ran for a pair of scores for the first time in his career and threw a pair of TD passes.
After scoring on a 1-yard sneak that pushed Atlanta (1-1) to a 24-10 lead early in the third quarter, Ryan delivered the biggest blow with a brilliant scamper midway through the fourth quarter. On third-and-5 from the Carolina 8, he looked around futilely for an open receiver, spotted a running lane to the left and took off for the end zone.
Dolphins 20, Jets 12
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Ryan Tannehill threw two touchdown passes, Kenyan Drake ran for a score and the Dolphins took advantage of several mistakes by Sam Darnold and the Jets.
T.J. McDonald and Xavien Howard each intercepted the Jets’ rookie quarterback, helping the Dolphins to their first 2-0 start to a season since 2013.
Tannehill finished 17 of 23 for 168 yards and also ran for 44 yards on eight carries for the Dolphins.
With the Jets (1-1) holding on to hopes for a late comeback, Frank Gore – who passed Curtis Martin for fourth on the NFL’s career rushing list – took a short pass and gained 19 yards on third-and-19 to effectively seal the win.
Darnold was 25 of 41 for 334 yards and a touchdown with the two INTs in his second NFL start, but struggled to get the offense moving throughout the day.
Chargers 31, Bills 20
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – Melvin Gordon matched a career high by scoring three touchdowns, and the Chargers manhandled the anemic Bills during rookie quarterback Josh Allen’s debut as a starter.
Gordon scored on a 20-yard run and added two touchdowns receiving before limping off the field after appearing to hurt his left leg early in the fourth quarter.
Gordon finished with just 28 yards rushing and six catches for 38 yards in his second three-TD game. Philip Rivers finished 23 of 27 for 256 and three touchdowns as the Chargers (1-1) rebounded from a 38-28 loss to Kansas City. The Bills (0-2) also have a concern at running back after LeSean McCoy missed the entire fourth quarter with a rib injury.
Titans 20, Texans 17
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Ryan Succop kicked a 31-yard field goal with 1:00 left, and the battered Titans held off the Texans to give Mike Vrabel his first victory as an NFL head coach.
Succop also kicked a tying 42-yarder in the fourth quarter as Tennessee (1-1) pulled out the win with quarterback Marcus Mariota watching from the sideline. The Titans also were missing their top three offensive tackles.
Colts 21, Redskins 9
LANDOVER, Md. – Andrew Luck threw for two touchdown passes, shook off two interceptions and engineered a game-sealing drive.
Luck was 21 of 31 for 179 yards and had a TD pass in a 25th consecutive game, the longest active streak in the NFL. He was 7 of 8 for 62 yards on a methodical 13-play, 75-yard drive that culminated in a Luck-to-T.Y. Hilton score that put Indianapolis (1-1) up 21-9 early in the fourth quarter.
Broncos 20, Raiders 19
DENVER – Brandon McManus kicked a 36-yard field goal just inside the right upright with six seconds left, pushing the Denver Broncos to a 20-19 win over the hard-luck Oakland Raiders and denying Jon Gruden his first win as a head coach since 2008.
With no timeouts and 18 seconds left, Case Keenum hit Tim Patrick for a 26-yard gain to the Oakland 18. Cornerbacks Gareon Conley and Leon Hall couldn’t tackle him inbounds and McManus came on to give the Broncos (2-0) their first lead.
The Raiders (0-2) lost despite a stellar outing by Derek Carr, who completed 29 of 32 passes for 288 yards and a score four days after Gruden called him out for passing up throws to Amari Cooper in Oakland’s opener.
49ers 30, Lions 27
SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Jimmy Garoppolo threw two touchdown passes, Matt Breida ran for 138 yards and San Francisco’s longest TD run in four seasons , and the 49ers bounced back from a season-opening loss by beating the Detroit Lions, 30-27, on Sunday.
Garoppolo nearly made a costly mistake when he threw a late interception to Tracy Walker that was returned to the San Francisco 7. But Quandre Diggs was called for a defensive holding away from the play to give the 49ers (1-1) a first down.
Garoppolo played turnover-free ball a week after throwing three interceptions in a 24-16 loss at Minnesota that led to his first defeat as a starter following seven straight wins.
Rams 34, Cardinals 0
LOS ANGELES – Todd Gurley ran for three touchdowns, Jared Goff threw for 354 yards and a touchdown and the Los Angeles Rams dominated the Arizona Cardinals, 34-0, on Sunday.
The Rams have won their first two games for the first time since 2001, when they started 6-0 en route to the third Super Bowl appearance in team history.
It was the second time in Gurley’s four-year NFL career that he has three rushing scores in a game. The other time it occurred was Week 15 at Seattle last season. Gurley finished with 42 yards on 19 carries as he played only three quarters due to cramps.
Goff, who has six 300-yard games, completed 24 of 32, marking the third time in 24 starts he has completed more than 70 percent of his passes when making 25 or more attempts. The 354 yards were only a yard off of his career high, set last season against Houston.
Brandin Cooks had seven receptions for 159 yards.