NFL Roundup: Hillis has career day in Browns’ 24-17 loss to Ravens
BALTIMORE (AP) — On an afternoon in which the esteemed Baltimore defense was rather ordinary, Joe Flacco and his retooled receiving corps carried the Ravens to a surprisingly difficult victory.
Flacco threw three touchdown passes to Anquan Boldin, and the Ravens survived an outstanding performance by Cleveland Browns running back Peyton Hillis, a former Conway High and University of Arkansas standout, in a 24-17 win Sunday.
Baltimore allowed its first touchdowns of the season, failed to force a turnover and permitted Hillis to run for a career-high 144 yards.
It didn’t matter because of Flacco, who had come under fire after throwing four interceptions one week earlier in a defeat at Cincinnati.
“Obviously I’m happier this week than I was last week,” he said. “Those games happen, man.”
Boldin made himself right at home in his first game in Baltimore since coming to the Ravens (2-1) in an offseason trade with Arizona. The standout wide receiver caught eight passes for 142 yards and had a potential fourth score wiped out by a defensive play that bordered on interference.
“If we’re not shutting a team down, we have to be able to score some points and keep our defense off the field,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “I thought our offense carried themselves really well.”
Especially Boldin, the featured piece in an upgraded collection of receivers that includes T.J. Houshmandzadeh and a now-injured Donte’ Stallworth.
“I think this week we had a different mentality going into the game. Everybody (was) taking it personal, especially on the offense, with the performance we put out last week,” Boldin said.
Boldin repeatedly victimized cornerback Eric Wright.
“He’s obviously a good player, but I didn’t play up to my ability, anywhere close,” Wright said. “It’s unfortunate because you have 10 other guys on the field that are doing their job and really depending on me to be a certain type of player. I wasn’t that player by a long shot.”
Flacco completed 22 of 31 passes for 262 yards and three touchdowns. He did not throw an interception after committing six turnovers in his first two games.
His last TD, a rainbow toss of 27 yards to Boldin in the middle of the end zone, gave Baltimore a 21-17 lead. Billy Cundiff added a 49-yard field goal with 5:29 to go.
That was enough to offset a Baltimore defense that surrendered 304 yards and made Hillis look like an All-Pro.
“It was pretty streaky and it was pretty disappointing to allow a team to come out and pound the ball like that,” Ravens linebacker Jarret Johnson said.
Browns left tackle Joe Thomas said, “We felt it in their body language. They weren’t jumping and screaming. We were running the ball directly at them.”
Cleveland (0-3) passed the ball pretty well, too. Seneca Wallace went 18 for 24 for 141 yards and a score while subbing a second straight week for injured Jake Delhomme.
The Browns trailed 14-10 in the third quarter when Hillis burst through the left side on a 48-yard run. Tom Zbikowski threw Hillis down while both were out of bounds for a 15-yard penalty.
Josh Cribbs followed with a 19-yard run out of the wildcat formation. On the initial play of the fourth quarter, the Browns got their first points in the second half this season: a 1-yard pass to Benjamin Watson.
But the Ravens rallied behind Flacco, who was coming off the worst game of his three-year NFL career.
“We did a pretty good job of doing what we wanted to do,” Flacco said. “Guys made plays.”
On Flacco’s first throw, Cleveland safety T.J. Ward stepped in front of Derrick Mason on the sideline — and let the ball slip through his fingers.
The Browns then held the ball for 12 plays, the last a 38-yard field goal by Phil Dawson.
Baltimore answered with an 85-yard drive, culminating with an 8-yard touchdown pass to Boldin. It was the 600th career catch for Boldin, who reached the mark quicker than anyone in NFL history (98 games to 102 for Marvin Harrison).
The Ravens moved 93 yards in 10 plays to take a 14-3 lead. Flacco went 5 for 5 for 75 yards on the drive, including a 12-yard TD pass to Boldin.
Hillis scored from the 1 just before halftime to bring Cleveland to 14-10.
“I think we showed today that we can run the ball against one of the best defenses in the league. We played together today,” Hillis said. “I was proud of our guys.”
Falcons 27, Saints 24 OT
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Matt Bryant did what Garrett Hartley could not, drilling a 46-yard field goal with 1:55 left in overtime to lift the Atlanta Falcons to a 27-24 victory over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.
The Saints appeared to have a thrilling victory in hand when Drew Brees drove New Orleans deep into Falcons territory to set up a 29-yard field goal in overtime. Instead, Hartley hooked the kick to the left for his third miss this season.
Matt Ryan passed for 228 yards and touchdowns of 13 yards to Tony Gonzalez and 22 yards to Roddy White to give the Falcons (2-1) their second straight win.
Lance Moore had a pair of TD catches for New Orleans (2-1), including a career-long 80 yarder. He also had a 72-yard punt return to set up Jeremy Shockey’s TD.
Cowboys 27, Texans 13
HOUSTON (AP) — Tony Romo threw two touchdown passes to Roy Williams, Marion Barber ran for another score and Dallas got its first win.
The Cowboys’ defense got its first three takeaways of the season and held Houston’s top-ranked offense to 340 yards. DeMarcus Ware sacked Matt Schaub three times, and the Dallas secondary limited All-Pro receiver Andre Johnson to four catches for 64 yards.
David Buehler kicked two field goals and the Cowboys (1-2) turned in a dominant performance after starting 0-2 for the first time since 2001.
Arian Foster, the NFL’s leading rusher, ran for 106 yards on 17 carries for the Texans (2-1), who were trying for their first 3-0 start.
The announced crowd was 71,456, a record for a Texans game at Reliant Stadium.
Steelers 38, Buccaneers 13
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Ben who? Charlie Batch threw for 186 yards and two long touchdowns to Mike Wallace in his first start in nearly three years, helping the Steelers remain unbeaten.
Wallace scored on catches of 46 and 41 yards during a stretch where Pittsburgh scored on four straight possessions to build a 28-6 halftime lead.
The Steelers improved to 3-0 for the first time since 2007, despite playing without Ben Roethlisberger, who’s serving a four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy.
Vikings 24, Lions 10
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Adrian Peterson sped around the corner for a career-long 80-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter, spurring Minnesota to its first win of the season.
Brett Favre took all kinds of hard hits in the pocket and threw two interceptions while Minnesota’s passing attack frequently misfired, but Peterson picked up the slack with 160 yards on 23 carries. His game-breaking run around right end put Minnesota up 24-10.
Peterson also caught five passes for 30 yards.
The Vikings (1-2) beat the Lions (0-3) at the Metrodome for the 13th straight time. Detroit has lost 22 in a row on the road.
Minnesota’s defense was strong throughout the game, holding Lions rookie Jahvid Best to 26 yards on seven carries before he left with a toe injury. Ben Leber and Antoine Winfield each intercepted a pass by Shaun Hill in the end zone in the closing minutes.
Colts 27, Broncos 13
DENVER (AP) — Peyton Manning threw for three touchdowns even without Anthony Gonzalez and Pierre Garcon to lead Indianapolis over the grieving Denver.
The Broncos (1-2) were playing with heavy hearts following the death of teammate Kenny McKinley.
Kyle Orton threw for a career-best 476 yards on 37-of-57 passing and the Broncos outgained the Colts (2-1) by more than 100 yards. But they failed to get into the end zone on five trips inside the 20, settling for two field goals and turning over the ball on downs three times.
Colts receiver Austin Collie caught 12 passes for 171 yards and two TDs in place of Garcon (hamstring), and Blair White, playing because Gonzalez has a high ankle sprain, caught a TD pass one day after being promoted from the practice squad.
Eagles 28, Jaguars 3
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Michael Vick threw three touchdown passes and ran for another score for Philadelphia.
Vick completed 17 of 31 passes for 291 yards, mostly staying in the pocket and picking apart Jacksonville’s beleaguered secondary. One of the few times he did run, he broke a tackle, juked another defender and scored from 17 yards out.
He made coach Andy Reid’s quarterback decision look like the right one.
Vick found DeSean Jackson for a 61-yard touchdown and hooked up with Jeremy Maclin for two scores. Jackson finished with five catches for 153 yards, Maclin had four receptions for 83 yards, and the Eagles (2-1) improved to 2-0 with Vick as their starter.
The Jaguars are 1-2.
Rams 30, Redskins 16
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Sam Bradford has his first NFL win. The rookie quarterback threw for 235 yards and a touchdown and backup running back Kenneth Darby had the go-ahead score to help St. Louis end a 14-game home losing streak.
Bradford, the No. 1 overall draft pick, was 23 for 37 and completed passes to nine receivers. He had one interception.
The Rams (1-2) won for only the second time in 29 games behind a strong start and even stronger finish with their biggest offensive showing under second-year coach Steve Spagnuolo.
Santana Moss had six catches for 124 yards and a score for Washington (1-2), but also lost a fumble in the first half that led to a St. Louis touchdown. Donovan McNabb was 19 of 32 for 236 yards.
Seahawks 27, Chargers 20
SEATTLE (AP) — Leon Washington returned two second-half kickoffs for touchdowns of 101 and 99 yards, making up for a long list of Seattle mistakes, and giving Seattle the win.
Washington took the opening kickoff of the second half 101 yards to give Seattle a 17-0 lead. Phillip Rivers brought the Chargers (1-2) back, tying the game at 20 on a 12-yard throw to Antonio Gates and a 2-point conversion to Legedu Naanee with 6:39 left.
Fifteen seconds later, Seattle (2-1) was back in front. Washington got lost in a pile, squirted free and raced 99 yards to give Seattle a 27-20 advantage.
Rivers threw for a career-high 455 yards.
Cardinals 24, Raiders 23
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Sebastian Janikowski missed a 32-yard field goal as the game ended to allow Arizona to escape in a game littered with mistakes by both teams.
The wide-left kick came after a pass interference call against Arizona’s Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. Janikowski missed two others in the game, a 41-yarder and a 58-yarder. Both were wide right.
LaRod Stephens-Howling returned the opening kickoff 102 yards for a TD for Arizona (2-1) and Derek Anderson threw for two TDs, including an 8-yarder to Larry Fitzgerald that proved to be the game winner.
Oakland (1-2) committed 11 penalties for 123 yards, Arizona seven for 104.
Bruce Gradkowski, who started in place of Jason Campbell, was 17 of 34 for 255 yards, one TD and one interception.
Patriots 38, Bills 30
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Tom Brady threw three touchdown passes, two to Randy Moss, and New England topped Buffalo for the 14th straight time.
First-round draft pick C.J. Spiller scored his first NFL touchdowns on a 5-yard pass from Ryan Fitzpatrick and a 95-yard kickoff return. But Buffalo’s last chance faded when Fitzpatrick — who started in place of Trent Edwards — threw an interception to Brandon Meriweather with 3 minutes left.
New England (2-1) took a 17-16 lead at intermission on Stephen Gostkowski’s 43-yard field goal on the last play of the half. Buffalo (0-3) had its best offensive day of the season, but still came up short as it settled for three first-half field goals by Rian Lindell instead of touchdowns.
Chiefs 31, 49ers 10
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Matt Cassel’s three touchdown passes included a trick play that caught San Francisco flat-footed and surprising Kansas City remained unbeaten with the win over San Francisco (0-3).
After starting 0-4 a year ago and winning only 10 games the previous three seasons combined, the Chiefs are 3-0 for the first time since 2003.
The 49ers’ offense managed only a field goal until the final play from scrimmage.
Cassel was 16 for 27 for 250 yards. He connected with Dexter McCluster on a 31-yard run-and-catch and fired a perfect 45-yard strike to a wide-open Dwayne Bowe off a fake end-around.
Bengals 20, Panthers 7
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Carson Palmer shook off two interceptions to throw a clinching touchdown pass to Cedric Benson midway through the fourth quarter as Cincinnati spoiled Jimmy Clausen’s first NFL start.
Cincinnati (2-1) snapped a five-game road losing streak despite a rash of turnovers and penalties. But the Panthers (0-3) couldn’t take advantage, with Clausen throwing for 188 yards and Carolina committing four turnovers.
Jonathan Stewart’s lost fumble set up Palmer’s 7-yard TD pass to Benson — the running back’s first career TD receiving — to put the Bengals ahead 20-7.
Benson added a 1-yard TD run in the first quarter in Cincinnati’s second straight win.
Titans 29, Giants 10
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Chris Johnson ran for 125 yards and two touchdowns, Vince Young threw for a TD and the Tennessee defense forced three turnovers by New York.
The victory was the 10th straight against an NFC opponent for the Titans (2-1) and their fifth straight over the Giants (1-2).
The Giants missed two field goals; had two drives inside the Titans 6-yard line end in turnovers; gave Tennessee a safety with a chop block in the end zone; and committed five personal fouls, including two by offensive tackle Kareem McKenzie that led to him being yanked from the game.
