NFL:
Sam Darnold is learning it’s a lot easier to win in the NFL when you are surrounded by competent teammates.
Darnold and the Panthers are 2-0 following a 26-7 win over the Saints. Darnold was 26 of 38 for 305 yards, two TDs and one interception as he continues to flourish since leaving the Jets. Christian McCaffrey added 137 yards from scrimmage and scored his first touchdown of the season.
Jameis Winston was held to 111 yards passing, intercepted twice and sacked four times.
Elsewhere during the second Sunday of the NFL season:
Lamar Jackson had been 0-3 versus Patrick Mahomes before the Ravens quarterback ran for 107 yards and two TDs in a 36-35 win over the Chiefs. Jackson also threw for 239 yards and a score for Baltimore, which didn't secure the win until Clyde Edwards-Helaire (eh-LEHR') on a potential game-winning drive. Mahomes completed 24 of his 31 passes for 343 yards, three touchdowns and an interception.
The Buccaneers’ franchise-record winning streak has reached 10 games after Tom Brady threw for 276 yards and five touchdowns in a 48-25 romp over the Falcons. Rob Gronkowski caught a pair of TD passes for the third straight game, including the Super Bowl. Mike Evans also scored on receptions of 3 and 1 yards, the latter set up by Shaquil Barrett’s third-quarter interception of Matt Ryan.
Greg Zuerlein connected on a 56-yard field goal as time expired to give the Cowboys a 20-17 victory over the Chargers. The winning kick came after Tristan Vizcaino tied the game with a 29-yard field goal with 3:58 remaining. Dallas running back Troy Pollard had 109 yards on 13 carries for the third 100-yard game of his career.
Derek Carr threw for 382 yards and two touchdowns as the Raiders toppled Pittsburgh 26-17 Carr completed 28 of 37 passes for the Raiders as Las Vegas improved to 2-0. Carr’s 61-yard rainbow to Henry Ruggs midway through the fourth quarter gave the Raiders the cushion they needed to beat the Steelers for the sixth time in eight meetings.
Matthew Stafford led Los Angeles on two late scoring drives and Matt Gay made a tiebreaking field goal with 2:23 to go to give the Rams a 27-24 victory at Indianapolis. Stafford finished 19 of 30 with 278 yards, two touchdown passes and one interception. Colts quarterback Carson Wentz left with a right ankle injury midway through the fourth quarter and did not return, dooming Indy’s comeback hopes.
Jimmy Garoppolo threw one touchdown pass and ran in for a score, leading the 49ers to a 17-11 victory at Philadelphia. Nick Bosa had two sacks and San Francisco’s stingy defense shut down Jalen Hurts. The Eagles’ quarterback ran for 82 yards but completed just 12 of 23 passes for 190 yards.
Baker Mayfield threw for a touchdown, ran for a score and was 18 of 21 for 213 yards in the Browns’ 31-21 decision over the Texans. Mayfield completed all 10 of his passes after suffering a left shoulder injury while tossing an interception. Nick Chubb ran for 95 yards on 11 carries, including a 26-yard TD.
The Bills rolled to a 35-0 shutout of the Dolphins as Josh Allen threw two touchdown passes and Zach Moss ran for two scores. Devin Singletary rushed for 82 yards and another touchdown in Buffalo’s sixth straight win over Miami. Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa was knocked out early with a rib injury.
Randy Bullock hit a 36-yard field goal midway through overtime to complete the Titans’ comeback from a 14-point deficit in a 33-30 triumph over the Seahawks. Derrick Henry ran for 182 yards and also scored a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns after Tennessee fell behind, 30-16. Ryan Tannehill was 27 for 40 for 347 yards, and Julio Jones had six receptions for 128 yards.
Damien Harris and James White had touchdown runs in the Patriots’ 25-6 win over the Jets. Mac Jones went 22 of 30 for 186 yards as New England bounced back from a season-opening loss. Zach Wilson’s first pass of the afternoon was picked off before he finished 19 of 33 for 210 yards and four interceptions.
The Bears completed a 20-17 win over the Bengals as Justin Fields played the second half after Andy Dalton exited with a knee injury against his former team. Fields completed just 6 of 13 passes for 60 yards and also ran for 31 yards. Roquan Smith returned an interception 53 yards for his first career touchdown, one of three straight picks thrown by Joe Burrow during a decisive stretch in Chicago’s first win of the season.
Courtland Sutton’s career day helped the Denver Broncos beat woeful Jacksonville 23-13, handing the Jaguars their 17th consecutive loss. Sutton finished with nine catches for 159 yards, including a shoe-string grab in the third quarter. Sutton had nearly half of Bridgewater’s 328 yards passing.
Kyler Murray threw for 400 yards and three touchdowns to help the Cardinals eke out a 34-33 win over the Vikings. Murray also ran for a touchdown and threw two costly interceptions, including one that was returned for a touchdown. The outcome was in doubt until Greg Joseph missed a 37-yard field goal wide right in the final seconds.
Hall of Fame quarterback and Denver resident Peyton Manning is among football people closely watching the Broncos' pending sale, with league sources indicating that he has already spoken to at least two potential suitors for the team.
MLB:
The Los Angeles Dodgers are back within one game of the San Francisco Giants for the NL West lead.
Clayton Kershaw picked up his first win since June 27 as the Dodgers knocked off the Reds, 8-5. Kershaw allowed one run and three hits over five innings, striking out eight in the Dodgers’ eighth win in nine games. Gavin Lux and Corey Seager each hit two-run homers for Los Angeles.
The Braves ended a four-game skid as Eddie Rosario became the second Atlanta player in a month to hit for the cycle, leading a 3-0 win at San Francisco. Max Fried allowed just three hits, striking out five and walking one over seven innings to get his 12th win. The outcome trims the Giants’ lead in the NL West to one game over Los Angeles.
The Braves lead the NL East by two games following the Phillies' 3-2 loss to the Mets. New York came back from a two-run deficit and went ahead on Jeff McNeil's homer off Kyle Gibson leading off the seventh. McNeil also singled and scored on Dom Smith's game-tying, two-run double in the sixth.
Bryce Harper drove in a run and scored a run for the Phils.
Checking out Sunday’s other major league action:
San Diego center fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. dropped Nolan Arenado’s bases-loaded popup and heaved the ball home, leading to a five-run first that carried the Cardinals past the Padres, 8-7. Harrison Bader greeted reliever Craig Stammen with a two-run double for a 5-0 lead in the first. The outcome currently leaves the Cardinals three games ahead of the Reds for the second NL wild card.
Patrick Wisdom set a Cubs rookie record with his 27th home run as Chicago downed the Brewers, 6-4. Wisdom’s three-run blast capped a five-run eighth that prevented the Brewers from reducing their magic number to three for winning the NL Central. He broke the previous club mark set by Kris Bryant in 2015.
Kiké Hernández ricocheted an RBI single off the second base bag to ignite a three-run seventh in the Red Sox’s 8-6 verdict over the Orioles. J.D. Martinez had a solo homer and Kevin Plawecki added a two-run single as Boston completed a three-game sweep and notched its fifth win in a row. The Bosox remain one game ahead of Toronto for the first AL wild card and 2 1/2 games in front of the Yankees.
Bo Bichette homered in a five-run first that put the Blue Jays on their way to a 5-3 win over the Twins. José Berríos pitched into the seventh inning to beat his former team. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had three hits and an RBI as the Blue Jays improved to 15-3 this month.
Gerrit Cole was torched for seven runs over 5 2/3 innings as the Yankees were blown out by the Indians for the second straight day, 11-1. Harold Ramirez hit a pair of two-run singles and drove in a career-high four runs before leaving with a right shoulder injury. José Ramírez hit his 35th homer, had four hits and reached five times for Cleveland, which outscored New York 22-4 over the final two games of the series.
The Rays were 2-0 losers to the Tigers on homers by Eric Haase and Dustin Garneau. Wily Peralta gave up three hits and three walks over seven innings of Detroit’s seventh win in 10 games. Tampa Bay’s lead in the AL East is 6 1/2 games over the Red Sox with 12 games to play.
The Athletics overcame a bullpen meltdown as Jed Lowie hit a go-ahead sacrifice fly in the 10th to give Oakland its fifth straight win, 3-2 versus the Angels. Yan Gomes’ second-inning home run and Matt Chapman’s drive in the fourth built a 2-0 lead against Shohei Ohtani. The A’s remain within two games of Toronto for the second AL wild card.
José Abreu matched the major league RBI lead and the White Sox moved closer to the AL Central title with a 7-2 win over the Rangers. Yasmani Grandal homered for the second game in a row, igniting a five-run outburst that Abreu capped with a two-run single to give him 113 RBIs. The magic number is four for Chicago to win the division title over second-place Cleveland.
Jose Siri and Chas McCormick hit back-to-back home runs in the eighth inning, rallying the AL West-leading Astros from a 6-4 deficit in a 7-6 triumph over the Diamondbacks. Carlos Correa smacked a three-run homer in Houston’s fourth win in five games. The Astros won despite Zack Greinke, who was tagged for five runs over four innings.
Rookie Jarred Kelenic homered and doubled twice in sending the Mariners to a 7-1 win against the Royals. Kelenic went 5 for 9 with three home runs, two doubles, three walks and seven RBIs in the three-game series. Logan Gilbert cruised through seven innings, allowing one run on three hits as Seattle stayed four games out of a post-season slot.
Juan Soto homered to back Paolo Espino in the Nationals’ 3-0 shutout of the Rockies, ending Colorado’s five-game road winning streak. Soto is hitting .362 with a 1.178 OPS since the All-Star break.
Lewin Díaz led off the bottom of the 10th with a two-run homer off Chad Kuhl to end the Marlins’ 6-5 comeback over the Pirates. Hoy Park put Pittsburgh ahead with a two-run homer in the ninth off Dylan Floro, and Bryan De La Cruz hit a tying single against Chris Stratton with two outs in the bottom half.
Right-hander Kohei Arihara has been designated for assignment by the Rangers.
Arihara is 2-4 in 10 starts this season. He missed more than three months after surgery for an aneurysm in his throwing shoulder.
PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS:
Darren Clarke won the Stanford International for his third PGA Tour Champions victory of the season, beating K.J. Choi with a birdie on the second hole of a playoff. Clarke closed with a 5-under 65 at Minnehaha Country Club, birdieing the par-4 18th to match Choi and Steve Flesch at 12-under 198.
Flesch was eliminated with a bogey on the first extra trip down 18 following a final-round 66.
T25 COLLEGE FOOTBALL:
Alabama and Georgia remain 1-2 in the latest AP college football poll.
The Crimson Tide took all but three first-place votes after stretching the winning streak to 17 with a 31-29 win at Florida. The Bulldogs claimed the other three No. 1 votes.
Third-ranked Oregon moved up a spot and No. 4 Oklahoma slipped one after a close victory over Nebraska. Iowa is No. 5 for a second straight week.
Penn State climbed four spots to sixth and is followed by Texas A&M, Cincinnati, Clemson and Ohio State.
The last time Clemson and Ohio State were both ranked below No. 8 was Nov. 2, 2014.
WNBA:
The Connecticut Sun bested the Atlanta Dream, 84-64.
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