Vikings Open Season With Strong Performance
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Wide receiver Cordarelle Patterson ran for 102 yards on three carries with a 67-yard scoring run off a simple pitchout and the Minnesota Vikings shut down the St. Louis Rams 34-6 on Sunday, opening impressively under new coach Mike Zimmer.
The Rams handled Adrian Peterson, limiting the All-Pro to 75 yards on 21 carries. They had zero luck with Patterson, who had three touchdowns rushing on 12 carries as a rookie last season.
Rams quarterback Shaun Hill lasted one half as the stand-in starter for Sam Bradford, missing the rest of the game with a thigh injury and leaving untested Austin Davis in charge. Hill's last pass was intercepted by Josh Robinson with 1:09 to go in the half, setting up Matt Cassel's 8-yard pass to Greg Jennings for a 13-0 lead.
Zimmer was a defensive coordinator with Dallas, Atlanta and Cincinnati the previous 14 seasons and inherited a team that went 5-10-1 last year. He had a defense that surrendered the most points NFL last year clicking from the start.
Patterson broke at least four tackles on the 67-yarder that put the Vikings up 20-3 late in the third quarter. He had carries of 23 and 12 yards in the first half and added three receptions for 26 yards.
Last year, Patterson returned two kickoffs for touchdowns and led the NFL with a 32.4-yard average.
The Vikings kept the Rams down in the second half with four of their five sacks, and Harrison Smith's 81-yard interception return made it 34-3 late in the fourth quarter. It's the third career interception return for a touchdown by Smith, beginning his third season.
Brian Quick had seven catches for 99 yards for St. Louis. The Rams didn't help themselves with sloppy play and were penalized 13 times for 121 yards.
Robinson intercepted an underthrown pass by Hill looking like the primary receiver, tapping the turf with his right foot before going out of bounds. Cassel needed four plays and 48 seconds, finding Jennings in the back of the end zone.
Cassel needed just 48 seconds to put the Vikings up by 13 with Jennings catching an 8-yard touchdown pass.
The 34-year-old Hill made his first start since 2010 and was 8 for 13 for 81 yards. Davis, who was 16 for 23 for 192 yards and an interception, has been with the Rams at least parts of the last three seasons.
Niners batter mistake-prone Cowboys...Dolphins rally past Pats...Panthers win without Newton
UNDATED (AP) — The Denver Broncos have begun their AFC title defense by jumping out to a 24-0 lead before hanging on for dear life.
Peyton Manning threw three touchdown passes to Julius Thomas in the second quarter of the Broncos' 31-24 triumph over the Indianapolis Colts. Manning was 22 of 36 for 269 yards and no interceptions as the Broncos won their first meaningful game since their Super Bowl loss to Seattle last February.
Montee Ball's three-yard scoring run put Denver ahead 31-10 with about 10 minutes left before Andrew Luck hit Dwayne Allen and Hakeem Nicks for TDs 4:20 apart to make it close. The Colts had a chance to tie the game until Luck threw an incompletion on fourth down in Denver territory with 1:57 left.
Luck had 370 passing yards but was picked off twice.
In other NFL season openers:
— Colin Kaepernick threw a pair of touchdown passes to Vernon Davis while the Niners were building a 28-3 halftime lead in a 28-17 triumph over the mistake-prone Cowboys. One of Davis' TDs was set up by a Tony Romo interception, one of three by the Dallas quarterback in his first meaningful game since undergoing back surgery in December. The 49ers also got a 35-yard fumble return on the second play of the game when Chris Culliver picked up a loose ball stripped from DeMarco Murray.
— New England suffered its first season-opening loss in 11 years as Miami scored 23 unanswered points in the second half of a 33-20 win over The Patriots. Ryan Tannehill completed 18 of 32 passes for 178 yards and two scores, while Tom Brady was 29 of 56 for 249 yards and one touchdown.
— Derek Anderson threw for 230 yards and two touchdowns while starting in place of Cam Newton as Carolina downed Tampa Bay 20-14. Newton fractured his ribs in a preseason game last month and was declared inactive for the game against Tampa Bay. The Bucs were shut out over the first 3 1/2 quarters in their first game under coach Lovie Smith.
— Matt Bryant kicked a 51-yard field goal on the final play of regulation, then booted a 52-yarder in overtime to give the Atlanta Falcons a 37-34 victory over the visiting New Orleans Saints. Matt Ryan threw for a franchise-record 448 yards, leading the Falcons to just their fourth victory over the Saints in the last 17 meetings.
— The Bills stunned the Bears in Chicago 23-20 on Dan Carpenter's 27-yard field goal in overtime. Fred Jackson had just 23 rushing yards before his 38-yard burst set up the winning kick.
— Jake Locker was 22 of 33 for 266 yards and two touchdowns as Tennessee earned a 26-10 win over Kansas City. Locker picked apart a Kansas City defense that lost Pro Bowl linebacker Derrick Johnson and starting defensive tackle Mike DeVito to Achilles injuries.
— Rookie Alfred Blue blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown as Houston beat Washington 17-6 to end a 14-game losing streak. J.J. Watt had a sack, blocked an extra point, recovered a fumble and swatted down a pass just days after signing a six-year, $100 million contract.
— Pittsburgh blew a 27-3 lead in the second half before Shawn Suisham hit a 41-yard field goal as time expired to lift the Steelers past Cleveland 30-27. Ben Roethlisberger passed for 365 yards and a touchdown for the Steelers, while Le'Veon Bell ran for 109 yards and a TD.
— The Bengals got the better of the Ravens 23-16 as A.J. Green caught a 77-yard touchdown pass from Andy Dalton with 4:58 left. That score, along with the 2-point conversion, came just 48 seconds after Baltimore newcomer Steve Smith caught an 80-yard touchdown pass from Joe Flacco.
— Nick Foles threw a 68-yard touchdown pass to Jeremy Maclin in the fourth quarter and the Philadelphia Eagles rallied from a 17-0 second-half deficit to beat Jacksonville 34-17. Foles was 27 of 45 for 322 yards, two TDs and one interception.
— Oakland absorbed its 14th straight loss in the Eastern time zone as Chris Ivory rumbled 71 yards for a game-clinching touchdown midway through the fourth quarter of the New York Jets' 19-14 triumph over the Raiders. Ivory finished with 102 rushing yards and Geno Smith was 23 of 28 for 221 yards and a score.
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