Atlanta refuses to lose

By PAUL NEWBERRY

AP Sports Writer

ATLANTA — Matt Ryan took an awful beating.

Another win for the Atlanta Falcons will make the pain a lot easier to take.

Shaking off a career-high seven sacks, Ryan completed a 59-yard pass to Roddy White with about a minute remaining, setting up Matt Bryant’s 40-yard field goal that kept the Falcons perfect on the season with a wild 30-28 victory over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.

After squandering a 24-14 lead in the second half, the Falcons (4-0) needed a crucial fumble by Cam Newton to even have a chance — and they still faced long odds when the Panthers downed a punt at the Atlanta 1 with 1:09 remaining.

Ryan had no timeouts and surely some doubt about how much time his beleaguered offensive line would give him. But he dropped back about as far as he could, threw it about as far as he could, and relied on White to go up and make the catch.

He did, between two defenders.

Bryant’s kick won it with 5 seconds remaining.

“We made the plays when we needed to,” said Ryan, who passed for 369 yards and three touchdowns. “That’s what you need to do week to week in this league.”

The Falcons (4-0) are off to their best start since 2004, when they reached the NFC championship game.

This was their stiffest challenge yet.

“That was exciting. Whew!” said coach Mike Smith, finally able to exhale. “Every time it looked bleak, every time it looked like we didn’t have a chance, we were able to overcome it.”

Newton threw two touchdown passes and ran for another score. But he let the ball slip away when it looked as though he had clinched the victory for the Panthers (1-3).

“You have to protect the football,” Newton said. “That was a key focus going into this game, and I fumbled. There’s a lot of guys that are trusting the ball carrier, and I was the ball carrier that particular play to get the job done. And I dropped the ball.”

On third-and-2 at the Atlanta 46, Newton took the snap and bulled his way over the left side, his body surging across the spot needed for the first down. On the sideline, several of the Panthers broke into a celebration.

But John Abraham knocked it loose, the ball squirting backward. Fullback Mike Tolbert covered it for Carolina at the 45 — 1 yard shy of a first down. After attempting unsuccessfully to draw the Falcons offside, the Panthers punted it away.

Ryan and White took advantage of another chance.

“I threw it high and far to the spot we talk about,” Ryan said. “Roddy went up and made a great catch. When you’re in that situation late in the game, that’s what you have to do.”

White was sandwiched between cornerback Josh Norman and safety Haruki Nakamura, but managed to leap over both of them to bring down the pass at the Carolina 40. A pass interference call and two short completions made things easier for Bryant, who had already connected from 41 and 33 yards to improve to 8 for 8 on the season.

Make it 9 for 9.

The kick was straight down the middle.

With Julio Jones hindered by an injured right hand, White came up with a huge game for the Falcons. He had eight catches for 169 yards, including a pair of touchdowns. But his biggest catch was the final one.

“Matt told me he was going to throw it up there. Just make a play,” White said. “Not for one second did we think we were going to lose the game.”

Ryan credited his offensive line on the final drive, even though they struggled most of the day to keep him upright against Charles Johnson and the rest of the Panthers defense.

Johnson spent so much time in the backfield he should’ve worn an Atlanta jersey, finishing with 3½ sacks. Ryan was hit nine times after throwing and hurried on eight other attempts.

“The offensive line did a great job,” Ryan said, all evidence to the contrary. “If you’re going to throw the football that far down the field, you need some time. The guys did a great job of pass protection, giving us time to throw it down there.”

Newton’s fumble ruined what had been a stellar performance. He threw for 215 yards, including a 17-yard touchdown to Greg Olsen early in the game, then a 36-yard scoring play to Kealoha Pilares that put the Panthers ahead 28-24 with 7:55 remaining.

Newton also ran for 86 yards on nine carries, bulling his way into the end zone from 4 yards late in the third quarter.

The Panthers played much better than they did in their last outing, a 36-7 home loss to the New York Giants, but it wasn’t enough to prevent them from sliding a daunting three games behind Atlanta in the NFC South.

“I want to apologize to my teammates and the fans that were watching out there,” Newton said. “Everybody was doing their job. I clearly had the first down, but I’ve just got to hold onto the football.”

Ryan also connected on a 60-yard touchdown with Michael Turner, who took a screen pass right about the line of scrimmage and zigzagged down the field for the first scoring reception of his nine-year career.

DeAngelo Williams scored Carolina’s other TD on a 13-yard run.

TEXANS 38, TITANS 14

HOUSTON — Danieal Manning and Kareem Jackson returned interceptions for touchdowns and Matt Schaub threw two TD passes.

Arian Foster had a touchdown run for the Texans (4-0), who are off to the best start in club history.

Titans quarterback Jake Locker left in the first quarter and did not return after hurting his left, non-throwing shoulder on a hit by Glover Quin.

Matt Hasselbeck threw two touchdown passes in relief of Locker for the Titans (1-3). Chris Johnson carried 25 times for 141 yards, more than tripling his rushing total through the first three games.

CARDS 24, DOLPHINS 21, OT

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Jay Feely kicked a 46-yard field goal 6:31 into overtime to keep Arizona unbeaten.

The Cardinals (4-0) forced overtime when Kevin Kolb threw a 15-yard touchdown pass on fourth down to Andre Roberts with 22 seconds to play in regulation.

Two big defensive plays set up the final two Arizona scores. First, Daryl Washington sacked rookie Ryan Tannehill, whose fumble was recovered by Vonnie Holliday at the Arizona 49 and the Cardinals moved downfield to score.

The winning field goal came after Tannehill was hit by Paris Lenon as he threw and Kerry Rhodes came up with an interception.

Tannehill threw for 431 yards. Brian Hartline set a Dolphins record with 253 yards receiving on 12 catches.

49ERS 34, JETS 0

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Carlos Rogers returned a fumble 51 yards for a touchdown, and San Francisco ran for more than 200 yards.

Frank Gore, Kendall Hunter and backup quarterback Colin Kaepernick — on a wildcat-style option — all ran for scores as the 49ers (3-1) bounced back from a loss at Minnesota. Rather than head back to the West Coast, coach Jim Harbaugh chose to have his team stay in eastern Ohio — and it apparently helped.

The Jets (2-2) lost top wide receiver Santonio Holmes to what appeared to be a serious foot injury. It was the first time New York was shut out since losing 9-0 to Green Bay in 2010, and the Jets’ biggest shutout home loss since falling 37-0 to Buffalo in 1989.

BRONCOS 37, RAIDERS 6

DENVER — Peyton Manning finished with 338 yards and three touchdown passes.

Manning opened the game by leading the Broncos on an 80-yard touchdown drive — their first opening-quarter touchdown of the season — and Denver never trailed.

The Broncos (2-2) beat the Raiders (1-3) at home for the first time since 2007.

Willis McGahee ran for 112 yards for his 32nd-career 100-yard game.

The Broncos held Darren McFadden to 34 yards on 13 carries and Carson Palmer, who led Oakland to a comeback win last week over Pittsburgh, never got on track. He finished 19 for 34 for 202 yards.

VIKINGS 20, LIONS 13

DETROIT — Percy Harvin returned the opening kickoff 105 yards for a touchdown and Marcus Sherels scored on a punt return early in the third for Minnesota.

Minnesota (3-1), in first place in the NFC North, matched the number of wins it had last season. The Vikings also snapped an 11-game losing streak in the division.

The Lions (1-3) have lost three straight.

They are the first team since at least 1940 to give up a kickoff and a punt return for TDs in consecutive games, according to STATS LLC. They gave up scores on a kickoff and punt in last week’s 44-41 loss in overtime at Tennessee.

RAMS 19, SEAHAWKS 13

ST. LOUIS — Rookie Greg Zuerlein kicked four field goals, including a 58-yarder and a club record 60-yarder, and the Rams also used a fake field goal to score their only TD of the game.

The Rams 2-2) went ahead 10-7 late in the first half when a fake field goal attempt turned into a 2-yard touchdown pass from punter Johnny Hekker to Danny Amendola.

The Seahawks (2-2) lost six days after beating Green Bay when a botched call by replacement officials on the final play gave them the winning touchdown. Regular officials were back this weekend.

Marshawn Lynch led Seattle with 118 yards on 20 carries, including an 18-yard score on the game’s first possession.

The Rams intercepted Russell Wilson three times, with Bradley Fletcher clinching it with a pick at the Rams 25 with a minute to go.

PATRIOTS 52, BILLS 28

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Tom Brady led New England on six consecutive second-half touchdown drives.

Brady finished 22 of 36 for 340 yards and three scores, and also scored on a 4-yard run in helping the Patriots (2-2) avoid their first three-game losing streak in 10 years. Stevan Ridley scored two touchdowns rushing. New England scored 35 straight points and finished with 580 total yards in overcoming a 21-7 third-quarter deficit.

The Patriots forced six turnovers, including four interceptions of Ryan Fitzpatrick passes, and three sacks.

Fitzpatrick finished 22 of 39 for 350 yards and four touchdowns, including two to tight end Scott Chandler.

The Bills (2-2) dropped to 1-17 in their last 18 games against New England.

CHARGERS 37, CHIEFS 20

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Philip Rivers threw for 209 yards and two touchdowns, and San Diego capitalized on six turnovers.

Five of the Chiefs’ turnovers came in the first half, when San Diego (3-1) raced to a 27-6 lead.

Matt Cassel threw for 251 yards and two touchdowns for Kansas City (1-3), but he also had three first-half interceptions. Jamaal Charles, who followed his big game last week at New Orleans with touchdowns rushing and receiving, fumbled twice.

PACKERS 28, SAINTS 27

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Aaron Rodgers threw a go-ahead touchdown to Jordy Nelson in the fourth quarter, and Green Bay shook off a week’s worth of controversy with a rally.

With Packers fans howling about what appeared to be yet another bad call — this time by the regular officials, not the replacements — Garrett Hartley missed a 48-yard field goal attempt with just under three minutes remaining, costing the Saints a shot at the lead.

Rodgers threw for 319 yards with four touchdowns and an interception for the Packers (2-2).

Drew Brees threw for 446 yards with three touchdowns for the winless Saints (0-4). Brees has thrown at least one touchdown in 47 straight regular-season games, tying the NFL’s all-time mark set by Johnny Unitas.

REDSKINS 24, BUCS 22

TAMPA, Fla. — Billy Cundiff redeemed himself for a poor day kicking, booting a 41-yard field goal with 3 seconds remaining.

Cundiff missed three earlier attempts, including a 31-yarder that wound have put the Redskins (2-2) up by two scores early in the fourth quarter. He also missed twice in the first half, but was on the money after Robert Griffin III marched his team into position for the winning score.

Tampa Bay (1-3) wiped out an 18-point deficit to go ahead 22-21 on Connor Barth’s third field goal, a 47-yarder with 1:42 remaining.

BENGALS 27, JAGUARS 10

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Andy Dalton threw two touchdown passes and ran for a score.

Dalton and A.J. Green burned Jacksonville several times, including once to set up a second-quarter touchdown and again for a fourth-quarter score.

The Bengals (3-1) finished with six sacks, putting constant pressure on Blaine Gabbert and overcoming all those defensive injuries. Cincinnati played without starting cornerbacks Nate Clements and Leon Hall as well as backups Jason Allen and Dre Kirkpatrick.

The Jaguars (1-3) failed to take advantage.

Gabbert completed 23 of 34 passes for 186 yards, with a touchdown and an interception. Dalton completed 20 of 31 passes for 244 yards.