Monday 19 September 2016 13:12, UK
Cam Newton lit up the NFL on week two with a four-touchdown performance as the Carolina Panthers recovered from their opening day defeat to the Denver Broncos to thrash the San Francisco 49ers 46-27.
In truth, it wasn't all smooth sailing for Newton - intercepted in the first quarter - and the Panthers, leading by only one touchdown midway through the fourth quarter.
But Cam's fourth touchdown pass - to cap a 353-yard day passing - plus two further Graham Gano field goals saw them to a comfortable win.
The 49ers can take some comfort from keeping pace with the Panthers for so long, though the defence looked a shadow of the one which shutout the L.A. Rams in their week one win, conceding 529 total yards.
The New England Patriots also earned a comfortable enough 31-24 win over the Miami Dolphins, despite quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo leaving in the second quarter with a right shoulder injury.
Garoppolo had thrown three first half touchdowns up until that point as the Patriots raced out to an early 21-0 lead.
Up against Patriots' third-string QB, rookie Jacoby Brissett, the Dophins rallied but still fell short of their AFC East rivals.
Joe Flacco threw two touchdown passes to wide receiver Mike Wallace as the Baltimore Ravens rallied from a 20-point deficit to beat the Cleveland Browns 25-20.
Josh McCown, filling in for Robert Griffin III who broke a shoulder bone in last week's opener, threw a pair of TDs to rookie receiver Corey Coleman while Isaiah Crowell had an 85-yard touchdown run as the Browns raced out to a 20-0 first quarter lead.
The Ravens earned their first points by blocking Cleveland's extra point attempt and returning it to the endzone for two points.
Flacco's hook-ups with Wallace further aided Baltimore's cause, while Justin Tucker kicked three field goals, the last of which gave the Ravens the lead with just under three minutes left, a lead they wouldn't relinquish.
Alfred Morris scored the go-ahead touchdown on a four-yard run with under five minutes left to lead the Dallas Cowboys to a 27-23 victory over his former team, the Washington Redskins.
Rookie Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott looked poised throughout - finishing 22 for 30 for 292 yards - and scrambled in for a six-yard touchdown run in the second half.
Morris, drafted by Washington in 2012, joined the Cowboys in the offseason, and capped an 80-yard drive that started when Barry Church picked off a pass from Kirk Cousins intended for Pierre Garcon in the endzone to secure the win.
The New York Giants got off to their first 2-0 start since 2009 with a 16-13 win over New Orleans Saints; Eli Manning connecting with Victor Cruz for a 34-yard pass on a crucial third-down to set up Josh Brown's game-winning 23-yard field goal as time expired.
Cruz had earlier fumbled at the end of a 40-yard catch, spoiling his biggest play, until he came through at the end.
The game was also redemption for the Giants' defence. After allowing Drew Brees to throw for 511 yards and an NFL-tying seven touchdowns in their match-up last year, New York limited him to one touchdown, 263 yards passing and 288 yards in total team offense.
The Tennessee Titans ended a five-game losing streak stretching back to December last year, after Marcus Mariota threw two TD passes in the fourth quarter to earn a 16-15 win over the Detroit Lions.
Veteran wide receiver Andre Johnson caught Mariota's perfectly lofted nine-yard pass for the go-ahead score with just over a minute remaining to cap a comeback from 15-3 down.
The Lions had an opportunity to drive for a second straight game-winning field goal after doing so in week one against Indianapolis Colts, but Matthew Stafford threw an interception to Perrish Cox as they pushed down the field.
DeAndre Hopkins had 113 yards receiving and a touchdown and Nick Novak kicked four field goals, to help the Houston Texans to a 19-12 win over the Kansas City Chiefs.
Cairo Santos too made four field goals for the Chiefs but Hopkins' first-quarter score was the difference as the Texans showed that they were a much different team to the one that was embarrassed 30-0 in a wild-card playoff loss to the Chiefs in January.
At 13-3 down going into the fourth quarter, Santos hit three of his four field goals to see the Chiefs rally, but Houston recovered an onside kick with less than a minute left to seal the victory.
Ben Roethlisberger overcame two interceptions in a sloppy first-half performance to throw three touchdowns and lead his team to a second win to start the season.
The third touchdown - and ultimately game-winning score - was a four-yard completion to DeAngelo Williams, to cap a fine day for the Steelers running back, who earned 132 all-purpose yards on the day.
Von Miller gave Denver Broncos fans another reminder of his Super Bowl 50 MVP performance, with a sack-strip of Andrew Luck late in the fourth quarter that sealed a 34-20 win over the Indianapolis Colts.
With the Broncos clinging to a six-point lead with just under two minutes remaining, Miller burst past right tackle Joe Reitz and swiped the ball from Luck's grasp, allowing fellow linebacker Shane Ray to scoop the ball up and returned it 15 yards for a touchdown.
Miller added a sack on the last play to send the banged-up Colts limping to their third consecutive 0-2 start.
Justin Hardy caught a deflected 8-yard touchdown pass to give the Atlanta Falcons the lead over the Oakland Raiders midway through the fourth quarter, before they held on for a 35-28 win.
Matt Ryan threw three TD passes, but got a little lucky on the go-ahead one in the fourth quarter. His third-down throw to Tevin Coleman was broken up, but the ball bounced high in the air and Hardy caught it in the end zone.
The Raiders allowed 528 yards of offense, becoming the first team since the 1967 Falcons to give up at least 500 yards in each of the first two games of the season.
Carson Palmer threw for 308 yards and three touchdowns while Jameis Winston was intercepted four times in Arizona Cardinals' 40-7 rout of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Winston, who had thrown four touchdown passes in the Buccaneers' opener against the Falcons last week had an especially rough first 30 minutes, completing 11 of 20 for 77 yards with two interceptions and a fumble.
Winston's four picks led to 17 Arizona points, with his fourth interception coming on the game's last play.
Philip Rivers matched his career-high of four touchdown passes, including two to Travis Benjamin as the San Diego Chargers overcame the Jacksonville Jaguars 38-14.
Melvin Gordon also ran in for one score and had his first ever 100-yard game as the Chargers bounced back from their opening week loss to Kansas City, when they blew a 21-point third-quarter lead, though there were no such concerns with their 35-0 lead at the same stage over the Jags.
Los Angeles has not had an NFL team since 1994, and with two minutes to go, Seattle threatened to spoil their return.
Russell Wilson threw a 53-yard pass to Tyler Lockett on the Rams 35, but it was Rams fans who were celebrating at the final whistle as Marc Barron caused a Christine Michael fumble and Los Angeles recovered the ball to claim the win.
