Falcons rally with late field goal to beat Saints 26-24

Younghoe Koo kicked a 58-yard field goal with two seconds remaining and the Atlanta Falcons rallied for a 26-24 victory over the New Orleans Saints without scoring an offensive touchdown Sunday.

Koo kicked four field goals in all, also connecting from 53, 44 and 42 yards to give the Falcons (2-2) a desperately needed home victory.

They had lost their first two games at Mercedes-Benz Stadium and seemed on the verge of falling to 0-3 in Atlanta when Alvin Kamara scored on a 1-yard run with a minute remaining to push the Saints (2-2) to a 24-23 lead.

A 30-yard pass interference penalty on Paulson Adebo gave the Falcons hope at the New Orleans 40. Kirk Cousins threw three straight incompletions, but it didn’t matter.

Koo knocked down the longest field goal in the stadium’s seven-year history with plenty to spare, sending the Saints to their second straight close loss after two dominating victories to open the season.

BEARS 24, RAMS 18

Caleb Williams led four scoring drives, D’Andre Swift had 165 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown as Chicago held off Los Angeles.

Jaquan Brisker intercepted Matthew Stafford with about a minute remaining after the Bears punted on the previous play, helping Chicago (2-2) end a two-game skid.

Williams threw for 157 yards and a touchdown after setting a Bears rookie record by passing for 363 yards at Indianapolis last week. The No. 1 overall draft pick and former Heisman Trophy winner out of Southern California was 17 of 23 with a 9-yard TD pass to DJ Moore in the third quarter.

Swift had his best game since signing with the Bears in March. A Pro Bowler with Philadelphia last season, he broke off a 36-yard touchdown run that made it 24-15 in the fourth quarter. He finished with 16 rushes for 93 yards and seven catches for 72 yards.

BUCCANEERS 33, EAGLES 16

Baker Mayfield threw for 347 yards and two touchdowns, while Mike Evans became the Buccaneers’ career scoring leader during Tampa Bay’s victory over Philadelphia.

Mayfield, who completed 30 of 47 passes without an interception, also ran for a TD in helping the Bucs (3-1) dominate the rematch of a lopsided NFC wild-card game they won against the Eagles (2-2) last January.

Rebounding from a poor performance in a loss to Denver the previous week, Mayfield and the offense scored a touchdown on its opening possession for the first time in 21 games. Evans’ 2-yard scoring reception finished a 10-play, 79-yard drive that set the tone for the Bucs, who outgained the Eagles 254 yards to zero in building a 24-0 lead.

COLTS 27, STEELERS 24

Joe Flacco threw two touchdown passes in relief of the injured Anthony Richardson, and Indianapolis came up with a stop in the final minute to beat Pittsburgh.

Indy (2-2) has won two straight since opening the season with back-to-back losses — and two straight against Pittsburgh.

The Steelers (3-1) fought back from a 17-0 deficit but fell just short of extending their six-game regular-season winning streak. Pittsburgh’s top-ranked defense allowed a season-high point total.

Justin Fields ran for two second-half scores and threw for another to cut the deficit to 27-24 with 3:40 to go. But the Steelers turned the ball over on downs when they couldn’t recover from a botched snap that resulted in a 12-yard loss with less than two minutes to play.

Flacco, the 2023 Comeback Player of the Year with Cleveland, played just well enough to preserve the victory after Richardson left for the second time in four plays late in the first quarter with the Colts leading 7-0. Flacco finished 19 of 30 for 166 yards against a team he knew well from his 11 seasons with Baltimore.

TEXANS 24, JAGUARS 20

C.J. Stroud threw for 345 yards and two touchdowns, capped by a 1-yard pass to Dare Ogunbowale with 18 seconds left, to give Houston a win over Jacksonville.

Houston forced a three-and-out to get the ball back with less than three minutes to go.

Stroud then led a nine-play, 69-yard drive to give the Texans (3-1) their first points of the second half and survive a scare by the winless Jaguars (0-4).

The Texans bounced back from a 34-7 rout at Minnesota to get the victory despite fumbling a punt return early and committing 12 penalties to give them 35 combined in their past three games.

The Jaguars fell to 0-4 for the first time since opening the 2021 season with five straight losses.

BRONCOS 10, JETS 9

Bo Nix threw his first NFL touchdown and Denver overcame a miserable first half on offense and held on to beat New York in a defensive standoff.

Rodgers came up limping a bit after a sack late in the fourth quarter and seemed to be favoring his left leg — the same on which his Achilles tendon was surgically repaired last year — and was looked at on the sideline by trainers.

It appeared Rodgers might have also fumbled on the play, but the Broncos were out of challenges so Sean Payton couldn’t ask officials to review.

Rodgers came back on the Jets’ next possession with 2:31 remaining but couldn’t get anything going. Facing fourth-and-10 on New York’s 45, Rodgers was sacked from behind by a blitzing P.J. Locke to give the Broncos the ball at the 35.

VIKINGS 31, PACKERS 29

Sam Darnold threw three touchdown passes and Jordan Addison scored twice as Minnesota built an early 28-point lead and hung on down the stretch to beat Green Bay.

The Vikings (4-0) are off to their best start since 2016, when they won their first five games before slumping to an 8-8 finish. They have trailed for less than 3 1/2 minutes all season.

Minnesota spoiled the return of Packers quarterback Jordan Love, who returned after missing two games with an injured left medial collateral ligament. He threw for 389 yards and four touchdowns, both career highs. But he also matched a career high with three interceptions while going 32 of 54.

Jayden Reed had seven receptions for 139 yards and a touchdown for the Packers (2-2).

Green Bay got within 31-29 on Dontayvion Wicks’ second fourth-quarter touchdown catch — a 17-yarder with 56 seconds left. Minnesota’s Josh Oliver recovered Daniel Whelan’s ensuing onside kick — it actually was a drop kick — to secure the victory.

BENGALS 34, PANTHERS 24

Joe Burrow threw for 232 yards and two touchdowns, Chase Brown ran for 80 yards and two scores and Cincinnati held on to beat Carolina for their first win of the season.

Ja’Marr Chase had three catches for 85 yards, including a 63-yard catch-and-run touchdown as the Bengals avoided a potentially disastrous fourth straight loss to open the season. Of the 155 teams to start 0-4 since the merger, only the 1992 Chargers were able to rebound and make the playoffs.

Zack Moss had 78 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown reception for the Bengals (1-3).

Andy Dalton threw for 220 yards with two touchdowns and one interception against his former team, but couldn’t quite match the magic he displayed in his first start a week ago when he led the Panthers to a 36-22 win over the Las Vegas Raiders.

Chuba Hubbard ran for 104 yards and a touchdown and Diontae Johnson had seven catches for 83 yards and a score for Carolina (1-3), which fell to 0-2 at home.

Atlanta Falcons players celebrate place kicker Younghoe Koo's game-winning 58-yard-field goal against the New Orleans Saints during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

BALTIMORE (AP) — Rookie AP photographer Stephanie Scarbrough joined the company in June, shortly after completing a 10-month photojournalism internship in Washington, D.C. Currently based in Baltimore, Scarbrough covers everything from sports and daily life to breaking news and presidential happenings.

A combination of injuries and a prolonged hitting slump plagued the Baltimore Orioles, who had lost three games in a row before facing the San Francisco Giants on Thursday, Sept. 19.

The game was tied 3-all in the top of the ninth inning after the San Francisco Giants’ Casey Schmitt hit an RBI single. When Orioles designated hitter Anthony Santander stepped into the batter’s box, there were already two outs. With Gunnar Henderson on first base, Santander fell behind 0-2 against Giants reliever Ryan Walker. Tension in the ballpark rose as fans (and I) prepared to go into extra innings. After four more foul tips, Santander finally connected with a slider and it was “going, going... gone!” A home run.

Cheers erupted from the stands as Santander made his way around the bases and the Orioles’ dugout cleared to greet him with plenty of water. His two-run homer gave Baltimore the win and ended its losing streak.

Because this was the last regular-season game with a 1:05 p.m. EDT start time that I was scheduled to cover, I wanted to take advantage of the interesting afternoon light. After shooting from in the photo wells next to the dugouts until the end of the fourth inning, I went all the way up to the 300-level section of Oriole Park at Camden Yards (upper deck) in search of the long shadows cast on the field by the 3 p.m. sun. I brought my Sony A9 III attached to a 400mm lens, supported by a monopod, which allowed me to capture game action despite being so far away from the field.

I had to crop this specific frame very tightly, because in the unedited version, the wire from protective netting slices through the picture and creates an eyesore. It was a bit hard for me to crop everyone out, but once I did I thought that it made the moment feel more like a story than an evanescent second in time.

With its unusual composition, this photo works because the empty center places emphasis on the action that is happening in the corners of the frame. Because we naturally read from left to right, the viewer is guided from seeing Santander, second from left, approaching his excited teammates. The longer stream of water that is being poured directly toward Santander, whose expression is the most visible, provides the context that he is the person being celebrated in the photo. The clean background of grass eliminates any distractions, which further allows the viewer to quickly understand what is happening in the photo.

Baltimore Orioles designated hitter Anthony Santander, second from left, is greeted by teammates after hitting a walk-off home run during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)