OAKLAND, Calif. — Sebastian Janikowski kicked a 43-yard field goal as time expired and the Raiders gave Dennis Allen his first win as a head coach in upsetting the visiting Steelers.
Darren McFadden ran for 113 yards and a touchdown for the Raiders (1-2), who scored the final 13 points and redeemed themselves after last week's disheartening 35-13 loss to the rebuilding Dolphins. The win doubled as a nice birthday gift for Allen, who turned 40 on Saturday.
Oakland had to overcome a huge day from Ben Roethlisberger, who was 36-of-49 for 384 yards and four touchdowns. Meanwhile, Carson Palmer threw for 209 yards and three scores against a Pittsburgh (1-2) team missing Troy Polamalu (calf) and James Harrison (knee) for a second straight week.
After Oakland forced Pittsburgh to punt, Palmer guided the Raiders 49 yards in eight plays. He connected with Derek Hagan on a 17-yard pass that moved Oakland into field goal territory. Two plays later, Janikowski split the uprights.
After a Palmer touchdown pass to Denarius Moore cut the Pittsburgh lead to 31-28, Steelers receiver Antonio Brown, who recovered his own fumble in the end zone for a touchdown late in the third quarter, was stripped of the ball after a reception. The resulting turnover led to a 32-yard field goal by Janikowski that tied the game at 31 with just over six minutes to play.
Texans 31, Broncos 25: At Denver, Matt Schaub threw four touchdown passes, all to different receivers, and the visiting Texans held off a late rally from Peyton Manning and the Broncos to start the season 3-0 for the first time in franchise history.
The Texans trailed 5-0 before taking control of the contest with 21 straight points on three Schaub scoring passes, two of them from long range. Schaub sandwiched a 60-yard bomb to Andre Johnson and a 52-yarder to Kevin Walter around a 3-yard scoring pass to tailback Arian Foster in the first half alone.
Schaub (17-for 30 passing, 290 yards) hit tight end Owen Daniels with an 11-yard scoring pass to make it 31-11 late in the third quarter.
Falcons 27, Chargers 3: At San Diego, Matt Ryan threw three first-half touchdown passes and Michael Turner scored against his former team as visiting Atlanta remained one of three undefeated teams in the league with a dominant performance.
Ryan connected for an 8-yard scoring strike to Jacquizz Rodgers, a 7-yard touchdown toss to Tony Gonzalez and a 9-yard strike to Julio Jones to lead the Falcons (3-0) to a 20-0 halftime lead. He finished 30-for-40 for 275 yards and threw one interception.
The Chargers entered the day averaging 30 points in their two victories to start the season, but the offense never clicked Sunday. Philip Rivers was just 21-for-38 for 173 yards and threw two interceptions to safety Thomas DeCoud.
Cardinals 27, Eagles 6: At Glendale, Ariz., Kevin Kolb passed for two touchdowns and James Sanders returned a fumble 93 yards for a score as host Arizona drubbed mistake-prone Philadelphia to improve to 3-0 for the first time since 1974 when the franchise was in St. Louis.
Kolb completed 17 of 24 passes for 222 yards, including scoring strikes of 8 yards to Michael Floyd and 37 yards to Larry Fitzgerald in the first half.
The Eagles (2-1) were looking to get back in the game with a first-and-goal at the 1 before the half but Michael Vick fumbled at the Cardinals' 7 after getting sacked by Kerry Rhodes. Sanders returned it the distance with six seconds left to give the Cardinals a 24-0 halftime lead.
Titans 44, Lions 41 (OT): At Nashville, Rob Bironas kicked a 26-yard field goal in overtime as host Tennessee overcame Shaun Hill's last-second Hail Mary completion by stopping him on an attempted fourth-down conversion in overtime to record its first victory.
After Bironas' third field goal gave his team the lead in overtime, the Lions (1-2) marched down the field and eschewed a potential tying kick on a 4th-and-1 at the 7-yard line. The Titans (1-2) stuffed Hill to finish a wild game that saw them pull out all the stops - including a “Music City Miracle” redux as well as kickoff and fumble returns for touchdowns.
After cornerback Alterraun Verner gave Tennessee a 41-27 lead with a 72-yard fumble recovery for a score, Hill replaced an injured Matthew Stafford (ankle) and sandwiched a pair of touchdown passes around a successful onside kick in an 18-second span. Hill's Hail Mary caromed off a pack of players to Titus Young, who reeled in the ball to tie the game.
Bengals 38, Redskins 31: At Washington, D.C., Andy Dalton threw a pair of touchdown passes in the fourth quarter and rookie receiver Mohamed Sanu tossed a 73-yard scoring strike to A.J. Green on the game's first play from scrimmage as visiting Cincinnati spoiled Robert Griffin III's home debut.
Green made nine catches for 183 yards and Dalton completed 19 of 27 passes for 328 yards and three touchdowns for the Bengals, who have won three straight meetings with the Redskins and are 5-4 in the all-time series.
Chiefs 27, Saints 24: At New Orleans, Ryan Succop booted a franchise-record six field goals, including a 31-yarder 8:33 into overtime, and the visiting Chiefs rallied from 18 points down to defeat the Saints in a matchup of desperate teams.
Succop's field goal came moments after Roman Harper's 57-yard fumble return for a touchdown was reversed by replay.
Jamaal Charles rushed for 233 yards on 33 carries for the Chiefs (1-2), who racked up 510 yards. Charles' 91-yard score began the comeback.
Drew Brees threw three touchdown passes for New Orleans (0-3) but was shut down by the much-maligned Chiefs' defense down the stretch. He finished 20 for 36 for 240 yards.
Vikings 24, 49ers 13: Christian Ponder threw two touchdowns to Kyle Rudolph and ran for another, helping the Vikings to a surprisingly easy upset of the visiting 49ers in a game nearly marred by a mistake by the replacement officials.
Adrian Peterson ran for 86 yards for Minnesota (2-1), which got off to a fast start by scoring on its first offensive drive - a 16-play, 82-yard march - and took a surprising 17-3 halftime lead against the powerhouse 49ers (2-1).
Alex Smith's franchise record of 249 attempts without an interception came to an end and Randy Moss, who starred for seven seasons in Minnesota, had just three catches for 27 yards in his first game against the Vikings. Moss' latest team was seeking its first 3-0 start since 1998, but the 49ers were beaten at their own game.
Bears 23, Rams 6: Michael Bush scored the game's only offensive touchdown after a long drive in the second quarter as the host Bears shut down the Rams.
The former Raider started in place of running back Matt Forte, who was on the inactive list with a sprained ankle. Bush capped a 12-play, 81-yard march that consumed seven minutes with a 3-yard TD run to give the Bears (2-1) a 10-0 lead with two minutes left in the first half.
The Rams (1-2) stayed in the game despite managing only 60 yards in the first half.
Cowboys 16, Buccaneers 10: Tony Romo completed 25 of 39 passes for 283 yards and Dallas' defense dominated visiting Tampa Bay to help overcome three turnovers in its homer opener.
DeMarco Murray rushed for a score and Miles Austin made five catches for 107 yards for the Cowboys (2-1), who allowed only 166 total yards and forced a pair of turnovers on defense. The Buccaneers (1-2) were under 100 yards until opening things up on their final drive.
Dallas limited Tampa Bay quarterback Josh Freeman to 110 yards on 10-of-28 passing and completely took away his favorite target in Vincent Jackson.
Jaguars 22, Colts 17: Maurice Jones-Drew rushed for 177 yards and a touchdown and Blaine Gabbert atoned for an awful day with an 80-yard touchdown pass to Cecil Shorts in the final minute to lift visiting Jacksonville to its first win.
On the first offensive play for the Jaguars (1-2) after the Colts (1-2) took a 17-16 lead on Adam Vinatieri's field goal, Gabbert hit Shorts on a slant up the right side and he broke away from the defense for the score. Gabbert had only 75 passing yards before the big play.
