The New England Patriots' new quarterback had a better day than the old one. Cam Newton rushed for two touchdowns and the Pats held on to beat the Dolphins 21-11. Newton rushed for 15 times for 75 yards and threw for 155 yards. He guided an offensive attack that did most of its damage on the ground in their first game since the departure of Tom Brady this offseason. Sony Michel added a game-clinching TD run for New England.
Brady was intercepted twice in his Tampa Bay debut, a 34-23 loss to the Saints. The first of Brady's interceptions led to Alvin Kamara's 6-yard touchdown run. The second pick thrown by the new, 43-year-old Bucs QB was returned 36 yards for a touchdown by Janoris Jenkins. Kamara scored touchdowns running and receiving, and 41-year-old Drew Brees passed for 160 yards and two TDs with no turnovers.
Elsewhere in the NFL:
Josh Allen led three consecutive first-half touchdown drives and the Bills overcame their own sloppiness and injuries to two starting linebackers in a 27-17 win over the Jets. Allen finished 33 of 46 for 312 yards in becoming Buffalo's first player to top 300 yards since Tyrod Taylor in 2016.
Peyton Barber ran for two touchdowns while quarterback Dwayne Haskins rallied Washington from a 17-point deficit to beat the Eagles 27-17 in coach Ron Rivera's debut. Carson Wentz was sacked eight times and threw two costly interceptions behind an injury-depleted offense line featuring two guys starting their first career games.
The Rams opened their new stadium with a victory as Malcolm Brown rushed for a career-high 79 yards and two touchdowns in a 20-17 win over the Cowboys. Jared Goff passed for 275 yards as the Rams improved to 4-0 in openers under coach Sean McVay. Robert Woods had six catches for 105 yards to help the Rams improve to 4-0 in season openers under coach Sean McVay and spoiled the debut of Mike McCarthy, Dallas' first new head coach in a decade.
DeAndre Hopkins had a career-high 14 catches for 151 yards in his Arizona debut and set up Kenyan Drake's 1-yard TD run with 5:03 to help the Cardinals down the 49ers, 24-20. Kyler Murray threw for 230 yards and a touchdown and ran for 90 yards and another score to help the Cardinals overcome a pair of fourth-quarter deficits.
Heisman winner Joe Burrow ran 23 yards untouched for a touchdown in his NFL debut, but the Bengals were beaten by the Chargers, 16-13. A line anchored by Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram III held the quarterback from national champion LSU to 23 of 36 passing for 192 yards with three sacks and a costly interception.
Lamar Jackson threw for 275 yards and three touchdowns to help the Ravens beat the Browns 38-6, ruining Kevin Stefanski's debut as Cleveland's head coach. Jackson completed 20 of 25 passes and racked up a team-high 45 yards on the ground.
Gardner Minshew threw three touchdown passes, including a 22-yarder to Keelan Cole in the fourth quarter of the Jaguars' 27-20 victory over the Colts. Ninshew completed 19 of 20 passes for 173 yards and no turnovers.
Josh Jacobs ran for 93 yards and three touchdowns, Derek Carr threw for 239 yards and a score as the Raiders hung on to beat the Panthers, 34-30 to spoil Matt Rhule's coaching debut. Jacobs' 6-yard touchdown run around the right end with 4:14 left in the game put the Raiders ahead for good after they'd surrendered a 12-point fourth-quarter lead.
Mitchell Trubisky lofted a 27-yard, go-ahead touchdown pass to Anthony Miller with 1:54 remaining to lift the Bears over the Liongs, 27-23. Detroit drove to the Chicago 16 with a chance to win before rookie running back D'Andre Swift dropped a pass in the end zone and Matthew Stafford threw another incompletion as time expired.
Aaron Rodgers began his 13th season as the Packers' starting quarterback by passing for 364 yards and four touchdowns in a 43-34 win against the Vikings. Davante Adams had a career-high, franchise-record-tying 14 catches for 156 yards and two scores.
Russell Wilson threw for four TDs to lead the Seahawks to a 38-25 victory over the Falcons. Wilson completed 31 of 35 passes for 322 yards, throwing a pair of TD passes in the first quarter and two more in the third. Atlanta's Matt Ryan threw for 450 yards in a losing effort.
NBA
The Denver Nuggets have done it again, climbing back from a 3-1 deficit for the second consecutive NBA playoffs series. It was a comeback within a comeback as the Nuggets turned a 19-point, third-quarter deficit into a 13-point win over the Clippers, 111-98. Denver outscored Los Angeles, 62-27 over a dizzying 20-minute stretch of the second half. Nikola Jokic had 34 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists for Denver, which also faced a 3-1 series deficit before downing Utah. Jamal Murray scored 21 for the Nuggets, who also got 16 from Gary Harris. Paul George had 33 points and Kawhi Leonard scored 25 for the Clippers.
In NBA news, a person with knowledge of the situation says head coach Mike D'Antoni has told the Houston Rockets that he won't be back next season. It was not totally unexpected. The Rockets and D'Antoni couldn't agree on an extension last year, meaning he was coaching this season with no guarantee of his future in Houston.
NHL
The Tampa Bay Lightning used a quick-strike attack to take a three-games-to-one lead in the NHL's Eastern Conference final. The Lightning are one win away from their first trip to the Stanley Cup final since 2015 following a 4-1 win over the Islanders. The Lightning's first two goals came 12 seconds apart midway through the second period. Blake Coleman tied it 15 seconds after Brock Nelson gave the Islanders the lead. Ondrej Palat made it 2-1 at the 11:54 mark. Bayden Point added an insurance goal 3:33 into the third, returning to the ice after a one-game injury absence. Pat Maroon added an empty-netter and Andre Vasilevskiy made 26 saves for Tampa Bay. Isles netminder Semyon Varlamov was brilliant at times while stopping 32 of 35 shots. Game 5 is Tuesday.
MLB
Gleyber Torres delivered a two-run double with two out in the eighth to send the Yankees to their fifth straight win, 3-1 over the Orioles. New York received one-hit, scoreless relief after J.A. Happ worked the first five innings.
Elsewhere in the majors:
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit a home run completely out of Sahlen Field and Hyun Jin Ryu allowed one run over six innings of the Blue Jays' 7-3 verdict over the Mets. Santiago Espinal hit a three-run double in a five-run sixth as Toronto remained a half-game ahead of the Yanks for second place in the AL East.
Christian Vázquez and Christian Arroyo went deep for the Red Sox in a 6-3 win and a four-game split of their series with the Rays. Martín Pérez gave up three runs and five hits over five innings.
Rookie Sixto Sánchez pitched a three-hitter over seven innings for his first complete game in five major league starts, leading the Marlins over the Phillies, 2-1 in a doubleheader opener. Miami went ahead on RBI singles by Corey Dickerson and Starling Marte. Braxton Garrett allowed three hits over five innings to win his major league debut, helping the Marlins crush Philadelphia in the nightcap, 8-1. The Marlins moved a half-game ahead of the Phils for second place in the NL East.
Adam Duvall and Ozzie Albies each hit a two-run homer off a laboring Max Scherzer to power the Braves past the Nationals, 8-4. Kyle Wright pitched six innings for his first major league win, helping the NL East leaders take three of four from Washington.
Second City has become No-Hit Nation. Alec Mills has tossed baseball's second no-hitter of the season, with both coming from Chicago hurlers. He became the 16th Cubs pitcher to toss a no-no by going the distance for the first time in his major league career, beating the Brewers' 12-0. Mills got Jace Peterson to hit a routine grounder to shortstop Javier Baez with two outs in the ninth. The gem comes less than a month after Lucas Giolito threw a no-hitter for the White Sox. David Bote belted a two-run homer and had three RBIs for Chicago.
Albert Pujols tied Willie Mays for fifth place on the career homer list with his 660th, a two-run shot in the eighth inning of the Angels' 5-3 victory against the Rockies. Winning pitcher Andrew Heaney threw seven efficient innings, allowing three runs and no walks while striking out eight.
Mookie Betts' two-run homer highlighted a four-run fifth inning and Chris Taylor added a three-run shot as the Dodgers thumped the Astros, 8-1. Eight relievers combined on a four-hitter, with winning pitcher Victor González working two scoreless frames.
Mike Clevinger threw a two-hitter for his second career shutout, guiding the Padres to a 6-0 stifling of the Giants in Game 1 of a twinbill. Greg Garcia and Wil Myers each had a two-run single off Johnny Cueto.
The Padres completed a sweep as Jurickson Profar hit a go-ahead RBI single in the fifth inning of a 3-1 victory against San Francisco. Wil Myers hit a solo homer in San Diego's seventh win in a row.
Eugenio Suárez hit his team-leading 13th home run in the eighth and Aristides Aquino added a two-run homer in the ninth to complete the Reds' comeback from a 5-3 deficit in a 10-5 win over the Cardinals. Andrew Miller loaded the bases with a hit batter, followed with a tying four-pitch walk and a wild pitch that put the Reds ahead in a three-run seventh.
Eloy Jiménez homered and Yoán Moncada supplied three hits in the White Sox's fourth win in a row, 5-2 versus the Tigers. Jiménez had two hits and two RBIs for the White Sox, who have won eight of nine overall.
Nelson Cruz belted his 16th homer and the Twins completed a weekend sweep by downing the fading Indians, 7-5. Marwin Gonzalez, Ryan Jeffers and Josh Donaldson also connected, helping Minnesota win for the 10th time in 12 games and stay one game behind the AL Central-leading White Sox.
Rougned Odor crushed a tiebreaking, three-run homer and ace Lance Lynn struck out a season-high 10 in seven innings of the Rangers' 6-3 win over the Athletics. Lynn retired 17 straight at one point and Odor homered for the third time in four games.
Brad Keller pitched his first major league shutout, tossing a five-hitter in the Royals' sixth straight win, 11-0 over the Pirates. Salvador Pérez and Hunter Dozier homered for Kansas City, which had seven players with at least one RBI.
The Mariners cruised to a 7-3 win over the Diamondbacks as Donovan Walton drove in three runs. Jose Marmolejos had two hits and drove in a run, helping Seattle take two of three in the series.
In MLB news, Reds pitcher Sonny Gray has been placed on the 10-day injured list because a strain on the right side of his mid-back, a move retroactive to Friday. Gray allowed five runs, six hits and three walks over 3 1/3 innings at the Chicago Cubs on Thursday. He is 5-3 with a 3.94 ERA in nine starts but has allowed 11 runs in his last two outings after giving up just nine earned runs in 41 2/3 innings over his first seven.
TENNIS
Dominic Thiem has earned his first major title while making history at the U.S. Open. The second-seeded Thiem is the first man in 71 years to win tournament after dropping the first two sets of the final, storming back to beat No. 5 Alexander Zverev, 2-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6. It's the first time the men's final has been decided by a fifth-set tiebreak. Thiem entered Sunday with an 0-3 career record in major title matches. This was Zverev's debut in a Grand Slam final.
GOLF
Mirim Lee birdied the first playoff hole to capture the ANA Inspiration. Lee chipped in three times Sunday, the last one for eagle on the final hole that got her into a three-way playoff. She was never in the lead at any point until she calmly holed a 5-foot birdie putt on the 18th to beat Nelly Korda and Brooke Henderson, who each had the lead on the back nine. Lee closed with a 5-under 67 to finish at minus-15.
Stewart Cink has won the season-opening Safeway Open at 47 years old for his seventh PGA Tour victory and first since the 2009 British Open. Cink closed with a 7-under 65, rebounding from a bogey on the 17th with a birdie on the 18th for a two-stroke victory over Harry Higgs. Cink is the oldest PGA Tour winner since Phil Mickelson at 48 at Pebble Beach in February 2019.
Miguel Angel Jimenez has completed a wire-to-wire victory in the Sanford International, the PGA Tour Champions' first event with fans since returning from a break for the coronavirus pandemic. Jimenez closed with a 5-under 65 at Minehaha Country Club to beat Steve Flesch by a stroke. The 56-year-old Spanish star won for the second time this season and 10th on the 50-and -over tour.
F1
Lewis Hamilton won a hectic Tuscan Grand Prix to clinch his 90th Formula One win and move one behind Michael Schumacher's record. The first F1 race on a track with super-fast corners usually used by MotoGP riders was incident-packed throughout. Two crashes on the first seven laps saw six drivers go out and a red flag suspended the race for the first time after the second one. A second red flag late in the race gave Valtteri Bottas another chance to beat race leader Hamilton if he made a strong start from second. But Hamilton held firm to extend his championship leader over Bottas.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Louisiana-Lafayette and Appalachian State are among 10 new teams ranked in first regular-season Associated Press college football poll, which was stripped of the teams not yet scheduled to play a fall season. There was no change at the very top: Preseason No. 1 Clemson received 60 of 61 first place-votes this week. Alabama moved up to No. 2. Oklahoma is No. 3, followed by Georgia and Florida. Defending champion LSU, with one first-place vote, is No. 6. Among the new teams in the rankings were Sun Belt powerhouses Louisiana-Lafayette at No. 19 and Appalachian State at No. 24. Louisiana-Lafayette was last ranked in 1943.
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