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jeff wheeler / minneapolis star tribune Minnesota quarterback Christian Ponder dives in for a TD after a 23-yard rush against the San Francisco 49ers Sunday. Vikings won 24-13. (TRIBUNE MEDIA MCT)

Vikings 24 49ers 13

MINNEAPOLIS -- Christian Ponder threw two touchdown passes to tight end Kyle Rudolph and ran for another score to help the Vikings hand the 49ers their first defeat.

After a dominant start to their NFC North tour by decisively beating playoff teams Green Bay and Detroit, the 49ers (2-1) were beaten in every way by a team least likely to do so.

The Vikings (2-1) began the game boldly with a fourth-and-goal touchdown pass by Ponder to Rudolph. They finished strong by forcing three turnovers and two punts by the 49ers in the fourth quarter.

Playing against his former team in the regular season for the first time, Randy Moss had three catches for 27 yards. Alex Smith's franchise-record interception-free streak ended at 249 straight passes.

Titans 44 Lions 41

NASHVILLE -- Rob Bironas kicked a 26-yard field goal in overtime, and the Titans stopped backup quarterback Shaun Hill on fourth-and-1 at the Tennessee 7 to pull out a 44-41 win over the Detroit Lions on Sunday.

The Titans (1-2) blew a 20-9 halftime lead in a crazy game featuring big plays, scoring swings and some suspect officiating. Detroit scored 18 straight points, then Tennessee answered with 21 points before the Lions scored the final 14 of regulation. Detroit recovered an onside kick and got an assist from officials who did not review a possible turnover.

In overtime, Bironas' third field goal put Tennessee ahead to stay.

The Lions (1-2) lost their second straight when coach Jim Schwartz decided not to let Jason Hanson attempt to connect on a fifth field goal. Hill, in for injured Matthew Stafford , was stopped by defensive tackles Jurrell Casey and Sen'Derrick Marks on his sneak, and Tennessee escaped with its first win of the season.

Falcons 27 Chargers 3

SAN DIEGO -- Matt Ryan threw touchdown passes to three different receivers and safety Thomas DeCoud had two interceptions and a fumble recovery for unbeaten Atlanta.

Ryan completed 30 of 40 passes for 275 yards, with his first interception of the season, and a passer rating of 107.8 for the Falcons (3-0), who improved to 6-0 all-time in San Diego. DeCoud's three takeaways, plus William Moore's fourth-quarter fumble recovery, extended the Falcons' NFL-high turnover differential to plus-10.

San Diego (2-1) was the third straight AFC West team to lose to Atlanta.

Ryan Mathews made his season debut for San Diego and looked good until fumbling inside the Falcons' 5-yard line on a hit by Sean Witherspoon, with DeCoud recovering.

Texans 31 Broncos 25

DENVER -- Matt Schaub outplayed Peyton Manning, throwing four touchdown passes against a confused Denver defence.

Schaub finished 17 for 30 for 290 yards to help Houston move to 3-0 for the first time in franchise history.

Six days after throwing three interceptions in the first quarter of a loss to Atlanta, Manning didn't throw any against the Texans. But just as happened last week, the Broncos fell behind by 20 and lost by six.

Raiders 34 Steelers 31

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Sebastian Janikowski kicked a 43-yard field goal on the last play as Oakland scored the final 13 points after wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey was knocked out and hospitalized by a scary hit.

The game turned sombre early in the fourth quarter when Heyward-Bey was knocked unconscious by a helmet-to-helmet hit in the end zone by Steelers safety Ryan Mundy. The hit was not called a penalty by the replacement officials. Heyward-Bey was taken to the hospital with a neck injury.

Carson Palmer then threw his third touchdown pass for Oakland (1-2) and Janikowski kicked two field goals to beat the Steelers (1-2) and give coach Dennis Allen his first win.

Cardinals 27 Eagles 6

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Kevin Kolb threw for 222 yards and two touchdowns and James Sanders returned one of Michael Vick's two fumbles 93 yards for a touchdown, and Arizona is off to its best start in 38 years.

Arizona (3-0) sacked Vick five times in winning its seventh straight home game, the second-longest streak in franchise history.

Philadelphia (2-1) became the first NFL team to open a season with two one-point wins. The Eagles didn't give themselves a chance to rally for another victory, picked apart by the quarterback they cast away and hounded by Arizona's attacking defence.

Jets 23 Dolphins 20 OT

MIAMI -- Nick Folk received a reprieve when his blocked field-goal attempt was negated by a timeout, and his second try was a successful 33-yarder with 6:04 left in overtime.

Mark Sanchez hit Santonio Holmes for a 38-yard gain to set up the kick. Two plays later, Folk's try was blocked, but officials whistled the play dead as the ball was snapped because the Dolphins had called timeout.

Folk then made the winner.

On the previous possession, the Dolphins' Dan Carpenter was wide left on a 48-yard field-goal attempt that would have given them the victory.

Jaguars 22 Colts 17

INDIANAPOLIS -- Blaine Gabbert connected with Cecil Shorts III on an 80-yard touchdown pass with 45 seconds left to lift Jacksonville to its first win of the season.

Maurice Jones-Drew ran for 177 yard, but Jacksonville (2-1) needed Gabbert's big play. The Colts (1-2) had taken the lead 17-16 after Andrew Luck drove them 48 yards in five plays to set up Adam Vinatieri's 37-yard field goal with 56 seconds left.

But on the next snap, Shorts got behind Colts safety Sergio Brown and Gabbert hit him in stride. Shorts sprinted free, diving into the end zone for the score.

Cowboys 16 Buccaneers 10

ARLINGTON, Texas -- DeMarco Murray had an 11-yard touchdown run, Dan Bailey kicked three field goals and Dallas won its home opener.

A week after the Buccaneers' big push against the Giants in their victory formation, Tampa Bay used a pair of timeouts in the final 40 seconds after a failed onside kick attempt.

The Cowboys (2-1) scored twice in the first half when starting in Tampa Bay territory after turnovers. They overcame three turnovers by Romo -- two on plays reversed by replay -- with a defence that held Tampa Bay to 166 total yards.

Bengals 38 Redskins 31

LANDOVER, Md. -- Andy Dalton completed 19 of 27 passes for 328 yards and three touchdowns for Cincinnati.

The Bengals blew a 24-7 first-half lead, but two touchdown passes by Dalton in the fourth quarter made the difference.

A 6-yard throw to tight end Jermaine Gresham broke a 24-24 tie, then Dalton hit Andrew Hawkins for a 59-yard score to give the Bengals a two-touchdown cushion with 7:08 left to play.

The Bengals improved to 2-1. The Redskins fell to 1-2.

Bears 23 Rams 6

CHICAGO -- Major Wright returned an interception 45 yards for a touchdown and Chicago's defence had six sacks on Sam Bradford and held St. Louis to 160 total yards.

That was enough on a day when Jay Cutler struggled, and the Bears (2-1) came away with the win after an ugly loss to Green Bay the previous week. The Rams fell to 1-2.

Bills 24 Browns 14

CLEVELAND -- Ryan Fitzpatrick threw three touchdown passes and Buffalo overcame the loss of running back C.J. Spiller in snapping an eight-game road losing streak.

Fitzpatrick finished 22 of 35 for 208 yards as the Bills (2-1) turned to their passing game after Spiller, the NFL's leading rusher, was lost in the first quarter with a shoulder injury.

The Bills hadn't won outside Buffalo since the 2011 season opener at Kansas City.

The Browns are 0-3.

Ravens 31 Patriots 30

The New England Patriots let a nine-point lead slip away in the dying minutes Sunday night as they fell 31-30 to the Baltimore Ravens on a no-time-remaining field goal by rookie kicker Justin Tucker.

-- The Associated Press

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition September 24, 2012 C4