Falcons Hold On To Beat Bears, NFL Scores

By ESPN

Matt Ryan threw an 88-yard touchdown to Austin Hooper and led two fourth-quarter scoring drives, and the NFC champion Atlanta Falcons held on to beat the Chicago Bears 23-17 in the season opener on Sunday.

The butt of jokes following their epic Super Bowl collapse against New England, the Falcons survived as the Bears missed several chances to score a touchdown in the final seconds.

The Bears had a first down at the Atlanta 5 in the closing minute. Glennon's pass to a lunging Josh Bellamy on first down hit off the receiver's hands, and Jordan Howard then dropped a simple catch at the 1.

After another incompletion on third down, Glennon got sacked by Brooks Reed to end the drive.

Atlanta was clinging to a 13-10 lead early in the fourth when a scrambling Ryan fired to a wide-open Hooper near midfield. The second-year tight end from Stanfordraced up the right side and stiff-armed Quintin Demps on the way to the end zone to make it a 10-point game.

The Bears then went 75 yards, with Glennon hitting rookie Tarik Cohen for a 19-yard TD midway through the fourth to cut it to 20-17. Atlanta's Matt Bryant answered with a 37-yard field goal, making it 23-17 with 3:24 left.

Coming off an MVP season, Ryan was 21 of 30 for 321 yards and a touchdown.

Hooper had two catches for 128 yards. Jones added 66 yards receiving and Bryant kicked three field goals.

In his Bears debut, Glennon didn't silence fans who would rather see No. 2 overall draft pick Mitchell Trubisky. He was 26 of 40 for 213 yards and a TD.

Cohen made an impressive debut with 66 yards rushing and 47 receiving. He reversed field on a 46-yard run, helping set up Howard's 4-yard touchdown near the end of the half.

Receiver Kevin White found himself in a familiar position, walking off the field with an injury. He had two catches for six yards before hurting his shoulder. White was limited to four games in his first two seasons after being drafted seventh overall in 2015.

Rams 46, Colts 9

Jared Goff passed for a career-high 306 yards and a touchdown in his first victory as an NFL starter, and the Los Angeles Rams routed the Indianapolis Colts 46-9 Sunday in Sean McVay's impressive debut as the youngest head coach in modern league history.

Todd Gurley had 40 yards rushing and 56 yards receiving while the Rams roared to a 37-3 lead in the third quarter. Los Angeles snapped a six-game skid at the Coliseum with its most impressive performance since returning home from St. Louis last year.

Rams linebacker Alec Ogletree celebrated the win with a Gatorade shower for McVay on the sideline in the final minutes.

Los Angeles' defense also excelled against fill-in Colts quarterback Scott Tolzien. Trumaine Johnson intercepted Tolzien's first pass and returned it 39 yards for a touchdown, while Lamarcus Joyner returned another pick 29 yards for another score in the third quarter.

Tolzien passed for 128 yards in his fourth career NFL start in place of Andrew Luck, who wasn't ready to return from a right shoulder injury.

Indianapolis also played without center Ryan Kelly and top cornerback Vontae Davis, and the Rams thoroughly exploited every absence with an aggressive, exciting performance for a team that finished last season with 11 losses in 12 games.

Goff went 0-7 as a starter last year, but the No. 1 pick in the 2016 draft looked much sharper after an offseason of study under the 31-year-old McVay. Goff went 21 for 29.

The Rams produced their highest-scoring performance since November 2014 in their first game since McVay took over a franchise that went 4-12 in its 13th straight non-winning season and 12th straight non-playoff season.

Rookie Cooper Kupp's first NFL touchdown catch put the Rams up 24-3 in the second quarter. That's a bigger lead than the Rams held at any point over the past two seasons in St. Louis and Los Angeles, when they had the NFL's worst offense.

Sunday, September 10 Scoreboard

Buffalo 21, New York Jets 12

Atlanta 23, Chicago 17

Baltimore 10, Cincinnati 0

Pittsburgh 21, Cleveland 18

Detroit 35,  Arizona 23

Jacksonville 29, Houston 7

Oakland 26, Tennessee 16

Philadelphia 30, Washington 17

Los Angeles  Rams 46, Indianapolis 9

Green Bay 17, Seattle 9

Carolina 23, San Francisco 3

Dallas 19, New York Giants 3

Tampa Bay at Miami, postponed

Monday, September 11 Schedule (All Times Central)

New Orleans at Minnesota, 6:10 p.m.

Los Angeles Chargers at Denver, 9:20 p.m.

Thursday, September 14 Schedule (Time Central)

Houston at Cincinnati, 7:25 p.m.

Sunday, September 17 Schedule (All Times Central)

Cleveland at Baltimore, noon

Buffalo at Carolina, noon

Arizona at Indianapolis, noon

Tennessee at Jacksonville, noon

Philadelphia at Kansas City, noon

New England at New Orleans, noon

Minnesota at PIttsburgh, noon

Chicago at Tampa Bay, noon

Miami at Los Angeles Clippers, 3:05 p.m.

New York Jets at Oakland, 3:05 p.m.

Dallas at Denver, 3:25 p.m.

Washington at Los Angeles Rams, 3:25 p.m.

San Francisco at Seattle, 3:35 p.m.

Green Bay at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m.