NFL-Highlights of Sunday's early NFL games

Sept 27 (The Sports Xchange) - Highlights of Sunday's early National Football League games: - - Vikings 31, Chargers 14 Adrian Peterson rushed for 126 yards and two touchdowns as Minnesota rolled to victory over San Diego at TCF Bank Stadium. Peterson's 43-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter broke the game open for Minnesota, which led 10-7 at the half thanks to the veteran running back's 2-yard plunge in the second quarter. After forcing the Chargers into a quick three-and-out to open the second half, Peterson broke free down the right sideline, extending Minnesota's lead to 17-7. Later in the quarter, the Vikings moved down the field largely on Peterson's shoulders before fullback Zach Line scored from 1 yard. - - Falcons 39, Cowboys 28 Wide receiver Julio Jones caught a pair of touchdown passes and backup running back Devonta Freeman scored three times for the Atlanta, who rallied from a 14-point deficit with 25 unanswered points to improve to 3-0 with a win over Dallas. Quarterback Matt Ryan was firmly in command at AT&T Stadium, thanks to the combo of Freeman and Jones, who now leads the NFL with 34 receptions in three games. The Cowboys (2-1) knew what to expect out of Jones, who came in with consecutive 100-yard receiving games. Jones finished with 12 catches for 164 yards and two scores, the second putting the game away with 3:09 left in the fourth quarter. - - Patriots 51, Jaguars 17 It was a milestone day for New England. Tom Brady, tying the franchise record by appearing in his 212th game, became the fourth quarterback to throw 400 touchdown passes and kicker Stephen Gostkowski set an NFL record for consecutive extra points as the unbeaten Patriots routed the Jacksonville Jaguars. Gostkowski, who kicked three field goals, broke Matt Stover's league record when he nailed his 423rd consecutive PAT for New England's 37th point. The Patriots (3-0) tied a franchise record with 35 first downs, scored all nine times they had the ball (before running out the clock late) and registered the most points ever scored against the Jaguars while piling up 471 yards of offense. - - Panthers 27, Saints 22 Cam Newton threw two touchdown passes to tight end Greg Olsen and ran for another score as Carolina defeated winless New Orleans at Bank of America Stadium. Cornerback Josh Norman made a game-saving interception in the end zone with 1:09 remaining after the Saints threatened to pull off a late-game comeback. New Orleans drove to the verge of the red zone before quarterback Luke McCown, starting in place of injured Drew Brees, appeared to have receiver Brandin Cooks open but Norman's leaping snag resulted in the second turnover of the half for New Orleans. - - Eagles 24, Jets 17 Darren Sproles accounted for two touchdowns, including a spectacular 89-yard punt return in the second quarter, and Philadelphia claimed its first win of the season with a victory over New York at MetLife Stadium. The Eagles (1-2) avoided their first 0-3 start since 1999. The Jets (2-1) were trying to go 3-0 for the fifth time in franchise history. Ryan Mathews, who took over featured back duties with struggling running back DeMarco Murray inactive because of a hamstring injury, rushed for 108 yards on 24 carries and also caught a 23-yard touchdown pass. Quarterback Sam Bradford was 14 of 28 for 118 yards and the touchdown to Mathews. - - Steelers 12, Rams 6 Pittsburgh won a game but lost a quarterback, at least for the time being, after defeating St. Louis. Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was knocked out of the game with a left knee injury with 5:35 remaining in third quarter. Rams safety Mark Barron was blocked and rolled into Roethlisberger's leg on a sack. Roethlisberger was on the turf for several minutes before limping off the field. Before leaving the game, Roethlisberger completed 20 of 24 passes for 192 yards with an interception. He had entered the game needing 223 yards to reach 40,000 for his career. - - Colts 35, Titans 33 In a game of momentum swings, the Indianapolis Colts had one more in them than did the Tennessee Titans in a wild win over the home team at Nissan Stadium. The Titans, up 13 midway through the fourth quarter, seemed to be in control after pinning the Colts at their 2 with 12:20 to play. But quarterback Andrew Luck marched the Colts downfield and hit wide receiver Phillip Dorsett with a 35-yard scoring toss, and then after Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota threw an interception, Luck hit wide receiver Donte Moncreif with an 11-yard toss with 5:53 left. - - Raiders 27, Browns 20 Oakland snapped an 11-game road losing streak behind two touchdown passes by quarterback Derek Carr to beat Cleveland. The Browns, down 27-10 in the fourth quarter, rallied to cut the Raiders lead to a touchdown with 6:26 left and forced the Raiders to punt, but Travis Benjamin mishandled the punt with 4:01 left and the Raiders recovered. - - Texans 19, Buccaneers 9 Ryan Mallett threw for 228 yards and a touchdown and Alfred Blue rushed for 139 yards and a score as the Houston Texans beat Tampa Bay to post their first victory of the season. Texans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins caught eight passes for 101 yards and had his third touchdown reception in as many games. Houston's defense held its opponent below 10 points for the first time this season. - - Bengals 28, Ravens 24 Cincinnati quarterback Andy Dalton found wide receiver A.J. Green with a go-ahead 7-yard touchdown in a wild fourth quarter as the Bengals kept Baltimore winless this season. Baltimore lost its distinction as the only existing NFL franchise that has never started 0-3. The undefeated Bengals have won four straight against the Ravens and sit atop the AFC North. Green caught 10 passes for 227 yards with two touchdowns. Dalton shook off a costly turnover and completed 20 of 32 pass attempts for 383 yards with three touchdowns and an interception. - - (Editing by Mark Lamport-Stokes)