NFL Week 2: Giants 2-0 for 1st time in 6 years, beat Panthers
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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — With Brian Daboll as their coach, the New York Giants are doing something they haven’t done for more than five years: They’re finding ways to win consistently.
Graham Gano kicked a 56-yard field goal with 3:34 to play, and the Giants ignored being booed off the field at halftime and beat the Carolina Panthers 19-16 on Sunday.
New York improved to 2-0 for the first time since 2016 and sent the Panthers to their ninth straight loss.
“Whether you score a lot or not, it’s important to figure out ways to win games,” Daboll said. “You can win a game a variety of ways, and also lose it a lot of ways. Again, the object of the game is to have one more point and to give yourself a chance in the fourth quarter.”
That’s what the Giants have done the first two weeks in beating Tennessee and now Carolina.
The Panthers (0-2) are doing the opposite. They dropped a 26-24 decision to Cleveland on a late field goal last week. On Sunday, they spotted the Giants six points early and allowed New York to come through late.
“We prepare our (tails) off,” said Baker Mayfield, who was 14 of 29 for 145 yards and a touchdown. “We work during the week. There’s no question about that. We’re ready to go. We just have to come out and execute.”
Gano also hit from 51, 36 and 33 yards and Daniel Jones found rookie tight end Daniel Bellinger on a 16-yard touchdown pass as the Giants responded in the second half after the game was tied 6-6 at the break.
Mayfield hit DJ Moore for a 16-yard touchdown for a 13-6 lead early in the second half. Eddy Pineiro kicked field goals of 31, 32 and 38 yards for Carolina, the last one tying the game at 16-all with 10:40 to play.
Saquon Barkley, who rushed for 72 yards on 21 carries, had runs of 10 and 8 yards as the Giants responded with an 11-play, 37-yard drive to take the lead. It was much like New York’s late drive against Tennessee, which ended with a TD and 2-point conversion.
“It’s exciting, it’s hard to win in the league, but we got to treat it like a loss when we watch the film,” Barkley said. “We have to be our biggest critics and see what we can do better. These last two wins we didn’t come out fast. We can’t do that but our defense made plays for us.”
The Panthers got the ball back after Gano’s go-ahead kick, gained 12 yards and were forced to punt after Julian Love sacked Mayfield on third down.
The Giants took over and Jones (22 of 34 for 176 yards) closed out the game after he scrambled for a first down on third-and-6.
Christian McCaffrey led the Panthers with 15 carries for 102 yards.
The Panthers’ losing streak is the longest active skid in the NFL. Matt Rhule is 10-25 as Carolina’s coach and fans are losing patience.
“That’s two games in a row where we came down to the end with a chance to win the game and come up short both times,” Rhule said. “I take full responsibility for that. That’s my job. That falls on me. I have to help these guys find a way to make one more play and win the game.”
The Panthers tried to hand the game to the Giants early. Chuba Hubbard, replacing the injured Andre Roberts, fumbled the opening kickoff. Receiver Robbie Anderson coughed up the ball on the next series after a catch at his own 40.
Despite great field position, the Giants were shut down by Carolina’s defense — New York was held to 60 yards in the first half — and settled for two field goals.
49ers 27, Seahawks 7
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Jimmy Garoppolo threw a touchdown pass on his first full drive after replacing an injured Trey Lance and ran for another score to help the San Francisco 49ers beat the Seattle Seahawks 27-7 on Sunday.
Lance broke his right ankle on the second drive of the game, a season-ending injury for the 22-year-old who was given the keys to San Francisco’s offense this season. He was taken off the field on a cart, his injured ankle in an air cast.
That set the stage for Garoppolo to come in and reclaim the job he held for most of the past four seasons as the surprising decision to keep Garoppolo on a reduced contract paid nearly immediate dividends for the Niners.
He completed his first five passes in his first game since last season’s NFC title game, including a 38-yard touchdown pass to Ross Dwelley that put San Francisco (1-1) up 13-0.
The Niners mostly coasted from there as the Seahawks (1-1) looked rather flat six days after their emotional, season-opening victory over former quarterback Russell Wilson and the Broncos.
Geno Smith went 24 for 30 for 198 yards and an interception. Seattle also had a trick play near the goal line backfire for another turnover and rushed for only 35 yards on the day.
Lance took over the starting job this season from Garoppolo after being drafted third overall in 2021. San Francisco traded three first-round picks to move up nine spots to take Lance, making a major investment in him.
Lance spent his rookie season mostly on the bench watching Garoppolo as the Niners went all the way to the NFC title game before losing to the Rams.
San Francisco planned to trade Garoppolo this offseason but was unable to after he underwent shoulder surgery in March.
Lions 36, Commanders 27
DETROIT — The Detroit Lions waited until Week 13 of Dan Campbell’s debut season to win last year.
Desperate to avoid another slow start, Jared Goff threw two of his four touchdown passes to Amon-Ra St. Brown to help Detroit beat the Washington Commanders 36-27 Sunday.
“That was a good win for us,” Campbell said. “We needed that. That was No. 1.”
The No. 2 pick in the NFL draft, Aidan Hutchinson, had three sacks in the first half to help the Lions (1-1) lead 22-0 at halftime. Will Harris had an interception in the second half to stunt the Commanders (1-1) as they tried to rally.
“They were getting a little momentum and to get that, it reset us a little bit and gave us a chance to breathe,” Campbell said. “It proved to be a big play.”
Washington made adjustments to give Carson Wentz more time in the second half. Wentz took advantage, pulling his team within seven points in the third quarter with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Curtis Samuel, a 20-yard pass to Logan Thomas and 2-point conversion to rookie Jahan Dotson.
“I was very proud of the way we responded in the second half, but the first half was horrible,” Wentz said. “This league is too hard to be that inconsistent.”
Detroit restored its cushion when Goff converted a third down by barely getting a pass off under pressure to D’Andre Swift, who slipped to the turf before regaining his footing and cutting across the field for a 22-yard touchdown.
Washington went for it on fourth-and-1 from its 26 on the ensuing possession and Terry McLaurin made the gamble pay off with 7 yards on an end-around. The speedy receiver converted a third down later in the drive with a 17-yard catch that helped set up Antonio Gibson’s 1-yard run.
Commanders coach Ron Rivera went for a 2-point conversion and Wentz was picked off, allowing Detroit to keep an eight-point lead.
Goff threw an 11-yard touchdown to St. Brown on the ensuing drive, giving Detroit a 36-21 lead.
Wentz connected with Dotson for a 1-yard touchdown with 1:56 left and Joey Slye missed the extra point to the right, allowing the Lions to lead by nine and raising more questions about Rivera’s decision to go for a 2-point conversion.
Slye’s onside kick went about 5 yards, ending Washington’s slim chance to come back against a team that was favored to win earlier in the week for the first time since late in the 2020 season.
Jaguars 24, Colts 0
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Rayshawn Jenkins first sensed Jacksonville’s defense would be different — dramatically improved, really — in May.
He saw the talent. He felt the commitment. He even allowed himself to believe the unit could be special.
Now, four months later, Jenkins is more convinced than ever. And he’s hardly alone after the Jaguars dominated Indianapolis for their eighth shutout in franchise history.
Trevor Lawrence threw two touchdown passes to Christian Kirk, and Jacksonville harassed Matt Ryan early and often while handling short-handed Indianapolis 24-0 on Sunday for its eighth consecutive home victory in the series.
“I’m proud,” Jenkins said. “I think we can keep it going. I feel it. This is a whole new team. I can’t even … it’s just completely different. We got the guys in here to do it week in and week out. We got some dogs in here.”
The Jaguars (1-1) sacked Ryan five times, intercepted three of his passes and held reigning NFL rushing champion Jonathan Taylor to 54 yards. Each of Jacksonville’s past three shutouts have come against Indianapolis (0-1-1), which hasn’t won here since 2014.
“I don’t feel it’s a lack of motivation,” Colts coach Frank Reich said. “I just feel it’s a lack of we got outcoached and we got outplayed.”
Indy also failed to score against Jacksonville in 2017 and 2018. It’s the only times the Colts have been shut out in the past six seasons. Equally telling about this series: Jacksonville is 6-30 in its past 36 games, and four of those victories came against the Colts.
The latest one was never in doubt and gave coach Doug Pederson his first win with his new team. Veteran receiver Marvin Jones presented Pederson a game ball in the locker room.
“It’s special,” Pederson said. “It’s my first win, obviously, as the head coach here. But it’s a team win. We celebrate as a team. I appreciate that. It will definitely go on the mantle at the house. But my hat’s off to the guys in the locker room. They’re the ones that did it. I didn’t get hit. I didn’t have to throw any passes or run the ball.”
Lawrence completed 25 of 30 passes for 235 yards, with TD passes of 5 and 10 yards to Kirk. Kirk finished with six catches for 78 yards.
James Robinson ran 23 times for 64 yards, including a 37-yard TD scamper in the first half that showed he’s fully back from a torn Achilles tendon sustained last December.
Jacksonville’s defense was more impressive. Jenkins, a safety, rookie linebacker Devin Lloyd and Andre Cisco picked off Ryan. Josh Allen had two of the unit’s five sacks and also forced a fumble.
“All we want is respect, and that’s that,” Jenkins said.
They should have it now, even though the Colts played without three key starters: All-Pro linebacker Shaquille Leonard and receivers Michael Pittman and rookie Alec Pierce.
Buccaneers 20, Saints 10
NEW ORLEANS — Tom Brady helped incite a skirmish that led to the ejections of Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore and Buccaneers receiver Mike Evans, then threw a go-ahead touchdown pass to Breshad Perriman that helped lift Tampa Bay to a 20-10 victory over New Orleans on Sunday.
Brady, who had lost four straight regular-season meetings with the Saints, again struggled for the first three quarters of this latest, testy encounter between NFC South rivals.
Brady’s frustration was clear when he was caught on camera throwing a tablet in the bench area.
And after his third-down incomplete pass early in the fourth quarter, Brady was shouting at Lattimore when running back Leonard Fournette entered the fray and shoved the Saints’ star cornerback. Lattimore responded by shoving Fournette, and Evans rushed in and flattened Lattimore — much like he did in a 2017 game between these teams.
Evans was ejected, as he was five seasons ago. But this time, so was Lattimore.
With Paulson Adebo sitting out with an ankle injury, Lattimore’s ejection left the Saints without their top two cornerbacks — and Brady took advantage.
On Tampa Bay’s next series, Brady marched the Bucs (2-0) to the New Orleans 28 and then hit Perriman in the back right corner of the end zone to make it 10-3.
The Bucs’ defense then squelched the Saints’ comeback bid by intercepting Jameis Winston three times in the final 12 minutes. Jamel Dean made the first two picks — one on a deep pass intended for rookie Chris Olave at the goal line. Later, safety Mike Edwards returned an interception near the right sideline 68 yards for a touchdown to make it 20-3.
Brady finished 18 of 34 for 190 yards and the lone TD.
Packers 27, Bears 10
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Aaron Jones rushed for 132 yards and a touchdown and caught a scoring pass from Aaron Rodgers, who continued his domination of the Chicago Bears by leading the Green Bay Packers to a 27-10 victory on Monday night.
Green Bay (1-1) bounced back from a season-opening 23-7 loss at Minnesota and beat the Bears (1-1) for a seventh straight time, matching its second-longest win streak in the 205-game history of the NFL’s oldest rivalry. The Packers won 10 straight over the Bears from 1994-98. They have two other seven-game win streaks in this series, from 1928-30 and 2000-03.
The Packers built a 24-7 halftime lead by dominating the second period, then made a goal-line stand in the fourth quarter to thwart a Bears comeback attempt.
Green Bay vowed to get Jones the ball more often after he had five carries for 49 yards and three catches for 27 yards against the Vikings. Jones came through, gaining 8.8 yards per carry and leading the Packers’ 203-yard rushing attack.
A week after he struggled to connect with his new crop of receivers, Rodgers was characteristically efficient, going 19 of 25 for 232 yards and two touchdowns.
Chicago’s David Montgomery rushed for 122 yards on 15 carries. Justin Fields had a touchdown run and was 7 of 11 for 70 yards with an interception.
The Packers outscored the Bears 21-0 in the second quarter. Jones scored twice, both times catching pitches from Rodgers in the backfield and reaching the end zone.
The first was a backward pass that got ruled as a 15-yard carry. On the second touchdown, Jones went in motion, caught a flip pass in the backfield and scored from 8 yards out. Jones benefited from the return of right tackle Elgton Jenkins, playing for the first time since tearing his left anterior cruciate ligament last Nov. 12.
Jones’ second score was Rodgers’ 450th career touchdown pass. The only other players to reach that mark are Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Peyton Manning and Brett Favre.
Rodgers added No. 451 in the final minute of the first half with a 5-yard completion to Allen Lazard, who sat out the Vikings game with an ankle injury.
Rodgers completed passes to eight receivers. None had more than three receptions, but Sammy Watkins turned his trio of catches into 93 yards.
The Bears made the game competitive in the second half by capitalizing on Green Bay’s mistakes.
Cairo Santos’ 40-yard field goal cut Green Bay’s lead to 24-10 after a fumbled exchange between Rodgers and A.J. Dillon gave the Bears the ball at their own 31.
The Packers’ next series got foiled when a snap from Josh Myers hit receiver Christian Watson, who was in motion, and got past Rodgers. Dillon recovered the fumble, but it put the Packers in a third-and-22 situation and led to a punt.
Chicago drove toward Green Bay’s end zone and had an apparent 6-yard touchdown run by Fields overturned when replays determined he was down before stretching his arm across the goal line. On the next play, Fields ran again on fourth-and-goal from inside the 1, and officials ruled that Preston Smith and Jarran Reid stopped him just short of the end zone with a little over eight minutes left in the game.
Rodgers connected with Watkins for 55 yards on the ensuing drive, setting up Mason Crosby’s game-clinching 28-yard field goal with 2:28 left.