Redskins 13 // Cowboys 7 DeAngelo Hall returned a fumble 32 yards for Washington's only touchdown, and Donovan McNabb completed 15 of 32 passes for 171 yards in his Redskins debut in a season-opening, 13-7 win over the Dallas Cowboys yesterday. It was also the Redskins' curtainraiser for Mike Shanahan, and the long-time Denver Broncos coach watched his defence keep the Cowboys at bay when it mattered. With three seconds left, and the ball at the 13-yard line, Tony Romo scrambled to find Roy Williams open in the end zone. But Alex Barron was called for holding, negating the winning touchdown. Romo completed 31 of 41 passes for 282 yards. Miles Austin caught 10 passes for 146 yards and scored the game's only offensive touchdown. Texans 34 // Colts 24 At Houston, Arian Foster ran for a team-record 231 yards and scored three touchdowns to lead Houston over Indianapolis. Foster, an undrafted rookie who spent most of last season on the practice squad, had 33 carries in gaining the most yards by a Colts' opponent. He had the NFL's second-best opening weekend rushing performance since 1933, topped only by Buffalo's OJ Simpson's 250 in 1973 against New England. Foster also surpassed Domanick Davis' team record of 158 yards rushing, set in 2004 at Jacksonville. Packers 27 // Eagles 20 At Philadelphia, Aaron Rodgers threw a pair of touchdown passes and Mason Crosby kicked a team-record 56-yard field goal as Green Bay won despite a vintage performance by Philadelphia's Michael Vick. In their first game since trading Donovan McNabb to Washington, the Eagles started with Kevin Kolb and finished with Vick. Kolb left with a concussion at half-time, so Vick played meaningful snaps for an extended period for the first time in nearly four years. Vick, a three-time Pro Bowl quarterback during six seasons in Atlanta, finished with 175 yards passing and ran for 103, but could not overcome a 20-3 deficit. Bears 19 // Lions 14 At Chicago, Jay Cutler threw for 372 yards, including a 28-yard touchdown pass to Matt Forte with 1:32 left as Chicago held on against Detroit. The Lions, who lost their quarterback Matthew Stafford with a right shoulder injury late in the first half, nearly pulled out the win but Shaun Hill's 25-yard pass to Calvin Johnson in the end zone with 25 seconds left was ruled incomplete after a review. Two incompletions later, the Lions walked off the field with their 21st straight road loss. Seahawks 31 // 49ers 6 At Seattle, Matt Hasselbeck threw for two touchdowns and ran for another as Seattle gave new coach Pete Carroll a winning start. Carroll left USC after last season and is back coaching in the NFL for the first time in 11 years. The Seahawks trailed 6-0 and ran just seven plays for 11 yards in the first one-and-a-half quarters, then outscored San Francisco 31-0 the rest of the way. Cardinals 17 // Rams 13 At St Louis, Larry Fitzgerald caught a 21-yard touchdown pass for the go-ahead score late in the fourth quarter, helping Arizona spoil a solid debut by the No 1 pick Sam Bradford. Derek Anderson hung in the pocket despite taking a pounding from the St Louis pass rush, going 22 for 41 for 297 yards in his first start as the replacement for the retired Kurt Warner. Steve Breaston caught seven passes for 132 yards and Tim Hightower and LaRod Stephens-Howling combined for 103 yards rushing for an offence without Beanie Wells (knee). Buccaneers 17 // Browns 14 At Tampa, Florida, Josh Freeman returned from a three-week lay-off because of a broken thumb on his throwing hand and tossed a pair of touchdowns to help the Bucs overcome an 11-point deficit. Freeman threw a three-yard TD pass to Mike Williams late in the first half. Freeman kept the go-ahead drive alive with a key third-down completion, then found Micheal Spurlock in the end zone for a 33-yard score that put Tampa Bay ahead 17-14 with just under seven minutes to go. Patriots 38 // Bengals 24 At Foxborough, Massachusetts, Tom Brady threw two of his three touchdown passes to Wes Welker to lead New England to victory. The season-opening victory came just three days after Brady was unhurt in a two-car crash then agreed to a contract making him the NFL's highest paid player. Chad Ochocinco and Terrell Owens combined for 19 receptions for 212 yards and a touchdown for the Bengals. Giants 31 // Panthers 18 At East Rutherford, New Jersey, the New York Giants opened their new $1.6 billion home by beating Florida with a big second half. Trailing 16-14 at half-time, the Giants surged behind second-year receiver Hakeem Nicks, who caught his third touchdown pass from Eli Manning. Ahmad Bradshaw set up his own four-yard TD run in the fourth quarter with a 39-yard romp that provided the cushion New York needed to get some revenge on Carolina. Jaguars 24 // Broncos 17 At Jacksonville, Florida, David Garrard threw three touchdown passes and two to tight end Marcedes Lewis as Jacksonville won a game the team called one of the most important in franchise history. Garrard completed 16 of 21 passes for 170 yards. A big chunk of those went to Mike Thomas, who caught six passes for 89 yards. Maurice Jones-Drew ran for 98 yards. Steelers 15 // Falcons 9, OT At Pittsburgh, Rashard Mendenhall ran 50 yards for a touchdown 2:35 into over-time as Pittsburgh overcame a shaky start by replacement quarterback Dennis Dixon and a missed field goal attempt late in regulation. With the Steelers leaning heavily on their running game and defence without suspended star quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, Mendenhall carried 22 times for 120 yards and the game's only touchdown. Hines Ward made six catches for 108 yards in his club record 26th career 100-yard game. Dolphins 15 // Bills 10 At Orchard Park, New York, linebacker Karlos Dansby and Miami's new-look defence provided the Dolphins with the quick start they were looking for. Dansby, Miami's top off-season free-agent addition, had a sack and eight tackles in helping Miami limit Buffalo to 166 yards on offence. Ronnie Brown scored on a one-yard plunge and Dan Carpenter hit field goals from 32 and 43 yards in allowing Miami to open the season with a win for the first time in five years. Chad Henne completed 21 of 34 passes for 182 yards for the Dolphins. Titans 38 / Raiders 13 At Nashville, Tennessee, Chris Johnson ran for 142 yards and two touchdowns, and Vince Young threw for two TDs and Javon Ringer had a TD as Tennessee avoided any comparisons to last year's 0-6 start with a season-opening rout. Oakland led 3-0 early after a Young fumble. Tennessee answered with 24 straight points to take control. The Titans also sacked the new Raiders quarterback Jason Campbell four times and forced two turnovers they turned into 10 points.
* AP