Tyler Shough scores on 4th-down sneak as Saints rally past Ravens 24-17

BALTIMORE (AP) — Tyler Shough scored on a fourth-down sneak with 1:28 remaining, and the New Orleans Saints rallied to a 24-17 win over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday.

New Orleans (1-1) had first down from the 2 before a penalty and a costly incomplete pass allowed Baltimore — with only two timeouts left — to stop the clock after the next two plays. On fourth-and-goal, the Saints decided against a short field goal, and Shough was ruled to have scored on a 1-yard sneak. The play was upheld after a review.

The Ravens, who didn’t have a first down on either of their previous two drives, made it to the New Orleans 37, but Lamar Jackson’s deep pass was intercepted by Julian Blackmon with 13 seconds left.

Baltimore had a 17-9 lead and forced a three-and-out with sacks by Trey Hendrickson and Mike Green. That gave the Ravens the ball at the New Orleans 49 late in the third quarter with a chance to make it a two-score game.

But Baltimore went backwards 16 yards and punted, then the Saints drove to tie it with 9:42 remaining on a 21-yard touchdown pass from Shough to Chris Olave. After a penalty on the Ravens (1-1) moved the 2-point conversion to the 1-yard line, and Travis Etienne Jr. ran the ball in to make it 17-all.

After another Baltimore three-and-out — Jackson curiously threw long on third-and-1 and his pass to Chris Moore was broken up by Kool-Aid McKinstry — the Saints took over at their own 32 with 8:06 remaining. They drove about as methodically as possible, converting two third downs and two fourth downs to seize the lead.

PACKERS 20, JETS 17, OT

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Trey Smack kicked a 26-yard field goal in overtime and Green Bay overcame a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit and a sloppy, penalty-filled performance to snap a six-game skid with a victory over New York.

Jordan Love threw two touchdown passes for the Packers (1-1), who had 14 accepted penalties and appeared on their way to another ugly loss after a fourth-quarter collapse at Minnesota last week.

But it was the Jets (1-1) who couldn’t hold on in the end after mostly outplaying the Packers and stifling Love and the offense for much of the game.

The Packers also overcame a scary start when wide receiver Jayden Reed and right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele were carted off the field with injuries on consecutive plays on the opening drive. Reed has a neck injury, while Bako-Bewele hurt a knee.

The Jets won the overtime coin toss and chose to get the ball, but Geno Smith was sacked on consecutive plays by Barryn Sorrell and Lukas Van Ness, and Isaiah Williams was called for a false start, making it third-and-30. Kenyon Sadiq caught a 12-yard pass, but New York was forced to punt.

Kaleb Johnson had runs of 11 and 3 yards, and then Love connected with Chris Brooks for a 15-yard gain — and Jarvis Brownlee Jr. was called for unnecessary roughness for hitting him late. After Matthew Golden’s 14-yard reception put the ball at the 8, Matt LaFleur opted to go for the field goal — and Smack sent the Packers home happy.

Love finished 16 of 29 for 145 yards with TD tosses to Christian Watson and MarShawn Lloyd.

EAGLES 24, TITANS 20

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Jalen Hurts threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Darius Cooper with 9 seconds left, and Philadelphia beat Tennessee.

The Eagles (2-0) appeared ready to dominate Tennessee. They opened the game by stringing together three straight drives of at least 11 plays.

The Titans (0-2) sacked Hurts three times and picked him off twice, turning those into 10 points. The second interception set up Joey Slye’s 33-yard field goal with 1:56 left, putting Tennessee up 20-17.

Hurts had 1:56 to drive the Eagles 65 yards for the win. He finished with 264 yards passing and two TDs. DeVonta Smith had 10 catches for 117 yards, Tank Bigsby ran for a TD, and Jake Elliott kicked a 58-yard field goal.

Cam Ward got the Titans (0-2) to midfield, but his final pass under pressure hit the turf harmlessly as time expired.

Philadelphia improved to 15-4 in September since 2021 and remained tied with Buffalo for the most wins in the NFL’s opening month in that span. The Eagles had plenty of fans in the stands, making it feel more like a home game.

VIKINGS 9, BEARS 3

CHICAGO (AP) — Isaiah Rodgers recovered a fumble and blocked a late field-goal attempt, and Minnesota shut down Caleb Williams and Chicago for the victory.

Aaron Jones rushed for 105 yards as Minnesota improved to 2-0 for the first time since it opened the 2024 season with five consecutive wins. Will Reichard kicked three field goals, including a 39-yarder with 1:09 left.

Williams departed with a right hamstring injury midway through the fourth quarter, silencing a drenched crowd of 58,914 at Soldier Field. The No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft was 15 for 26 for 138 yards, and he also had five carries for 42 yards.

Led by Dallas Turner, Minnesota limited Chicago to 297 yards of offense. Turner had two of the Vikings’ four sacks, and Byron Murphy Jr. intercepted an ill-advised throw by Williams in the first quarter.

The Bears (1-1) rolled to 291 yards rushing and 552 yards overall in their 59-37 victory at Carolina in Week 1. It was the highest-scoring season opener in NFL history.

PANTHERS 34, FALCONS 3

ATLANTA (AP) — Bryce Young threw for 287 yards and three touchdowns, including two to Darren Waller, Carolina’s Devin Lloyd returned one of his two interceptions for a touchdown and the Panthers routed short-handed Atlanta.

The Panthers (1-1) earned their fourth straight win in the NFC South rivalry. Young completed 23 of 36 passes as he improved to 5-1 against the Falcons. He set a franchise record with 448 yards passing in a 30-27 overtime win to cap last season’s sweep.

With fill-in starter Cooper Rush at quarterback, the Falcons (0-2) had more offensive woes following their 20-13 opening loss at Pittsburgh last week. Michael Penix Jr. (knee) and Tua Tagovailoa (oblique) again were inactive.

Rush completed 10 of 17 passes for 86 yards with two interceptions and also lost a fumble.

Rush’s struggles from his very first snap were so dramatic that some Falcons fans were booing six minutes into the game. He lost a fumble on a 9-yard run to open the game. Atlanta’s second possession ended when Rush’s pass intended for Bijan Robinson was intercepted by linebacker Bobby Okereke.

Rush was replaced by undrafted rookie Jack Strand late in the third quarter, prompting an ovation from Falcons fans. Strand’s first possession ended badly as his pass for Jahan Dotson was intercepted by Lloyd and returned 16 yards for a touchdown. Strand lost a fumbled snap on his final possession.

PATRIOTS 20, STEELERS 3

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — TreVeyon Henderson ran for a 39-yard touchdown in his season debut, Eli Ponder added a 19-yard fumble recovery for a score and New England's defense smothered Aaron Rodgers on the way to a victory over Pittsburgh.

With the victory, Patriots coach Mike Vrabel avoided just the second 0-2 start of his eight-year coaching career.

Drake Maye finished 14 of 22 for 208 yards and an interception. Romeo Doubs, who had no catches in his Patriots debut last week, had a 63-yard catch in the third quarter to set up Andy Borregales’ second field goal of the game.

But it was the New England defense that set the tone. A year after leading the Steelers to a win in New England, Rodgers struggled to deal with the Patriots’ pressure. The 42-year-old quarterback fumbled twice, including the one that led to Ponder’s score.

Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez also shadowed Steelers receiver DK Metcalf at times, forcing Rodgers to look for other options in the passing game.

Rodgers finished 23 of 39 for 187 passing yards, an interception and was sacked four times. Metcalf had only four catches for 27 yards.

BENGALS 20, TEXANS 6

HOUSTON (AP) — Joe Burrow threw two touchdown passes to Ja’Marr Chase to lead Cincinnati to a win over Houston.

The big day by Chase came a week after the five-time Pro Bowler had just two receptions for 12 yards in a win over Tampa Bay. That prompted Burrow, coach Zac Taylor and offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher to say that getting him the ball more had to be a priority against the Texans.

They showed they meant that early as Chase eclipsed last week’s performance with 14 yards receiving on Cincinnati’s first drive and didn’t slow down after that.

He put the Bengals (2-0) on top 7-0 when he managed to drag his toe inbounds on a spectacular 32-yard TD catch over Derek Stingley with about 3 1/2 minutes left in the first half.

The Bengals were up by 7 when Burrow found Chase again. This time, he grabbed an 18-yard pass in the end zone in front of a diving Reed Blankenship to make it 17-3 with about three minutes left in the third.

Chase had seven receptions for 75 yards and Burrow was 20 of 31 for 207 yards despite dealing with back tightness that caused him to miss practice time this week. Tee Higgins added five receptions for 95 yards.

It was another disappointing game for the Texans, who are 0-2 after losing to Buffalo 36-31 in the opener. They’ll need to get back on track next week to avoid starting 0-3 for a second year in a row.

C.J. Stroud was 30 of 55 for 353 yards passing on a day the Texans had trouble running the ball. Their backs finished with just 18 yards rushing. They failed to score a touchdown while playing without star receiver Nico Collins after scoring 31 points last week.

New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough (6) reacts after scoring the winning touchdown on fourth down in the second half of an NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens in Baltimore, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

CINCINNATI (AP) — Chicago Cubs third baseman Alex Bregman was taken to the hospital for tests after being struck in the face by a foul ball while standing in the grass several feet in front of the on-deck circle during Sunday’s game against the Cincinnati Reds.

There was no decision yet on whether Bregman, who was going for X-rays and CT scans, would travel with the team back to Chicago following its 9-1 win.

“He got hit in the left cheekbone essentially, under the eye,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “I don’t know anything more than that right now. He was bleeding from his nose a little. There’s some swelling. It’s a terrible, terrible accident. We hope he’s OK.”

In the fourth inning, left-handed batting Michael Busch checked his swing and fouled off a pitch from Reds right-hander Luis Mey that struck Bregman, who immediately jogged toward the Cubs' dugout with his hand covering the left side of his face.

Bregman was escorted by a trainer down the dugout steps and into the clubhouse, with blood visible on his face. Matt Shaw replaced Bregman and drew a walk. He remained in the game to play second base, with Pedro Ramirez shifting to third.

“It just happens so fast,” Busch said. “(Mey)'s throwing the ball hard and it comes off hard. Any time it enters the head area, it's always a scary thing. We try to focus on the game, but it's tough. Hopefully he's OK, first and foremost.”

Bregman went 1 for 1 with a walk, an RBI and a run scored before leaving the game. He is batting .262 with 26 home runs and 89 RBIs after signing a $175 million, five-year free agent deal in January.

“I mean, at the end of the day, you just hope your friend is OK,” Pete Crow-Armstrong said. “That's the news that I'm hoping for. But scary stuff. Such a rarity.”

The Cubs could clinch a postseason berth with a Diamondbacks loss to the Yankees later Sunday.

Counsell said he hasn't thought about how a potential long-term absence for Bregman might impact his postseason roster plans.

“You know, we've got to get good results from the hospital,” Counsell said. “He got hit in the face (so) you're worried just about his general well-being first. I want to get a good report first.”

See AP’s full MLB coverage here

Chicago Cubs' Alex Bregman advances to third base on a double by Ian Happ during the first inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Kareem Elgazzar)

Chicago Cubs' Alex Bregman celebrates after a one-run single during the first inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Kareem Elgazzar)