Steelers' 53-yard FG in OT cements win in sloppy opener

CINCINNATI (AP) – Chris Boswell kicked a 53-yard field goal as time expired in overtime and the Pittsburgh Steelers overcame T.J. Watt’s injury late in the fourth quarter to beat the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 in a sloppy season opener for both teams Sunday. Watt had one of four interceptions off Joe Burrow, who rebounded from a lousy start and rallied Cincinnati from a 17-6 halftime deficit. His 6-yard touchdown pass to Ja’Marr Chase tied it at 20 with 2 seconds left in regulation, but the game went to overtime after Minkah Fitzpatrick blocked Evan McPherson’s point-after try. McPherson and Boswell missed potential winning field goals in overtime before Steelers quarterback Mitch Trubisky completed passes of 9, 26 and 10 yards in the final 56 seconds. Watt, the Defensive Player of the Year, left the field and headed to the locker room shortly before the game went to overtime with a pectoral injury. Before that, he was his usual disruptive self, with a sack and a pick. Burrow’s four interceptions were a career worst, and he was sacked seven times in front of what was supposed to be an improved offensive line. He was 33 for 53 for 338 yards and two touchdowns. SAINTS 27, FALCONS 26 ATLANTA (AP) – Wil Lutz kicked a 51-yard field goal with 19 seconds remaining to cap a stunning fourth-quarter comeback by New Orleans, which overcame a 16-point deficit to beat Atlanta in coach Dennis Allen’s debut. After struggling offensively through most of the season opener, Jamies Winston guided the Saints to three straight scoring drives. The first two ended with touchdown passes of 3 and 9 yards to Michael Thomas. The Saints converted one 2-point try, but failed on the other. New Orleans got the ball back one more time, taking over at its own 20 with 48 seconds remaining and no timeouts. Winston connected on a 40-yard pass to Jarvis Landry and a 17-yarder to Juwan Johnson to set up Lutz’s winning field goal. A personal foul on the Saints gave the Falcons a chance to pull out the victory, but Younghoe Koo’s 63-yard field goal attempt was blocked as the clock ran out. Atlanta’s Cordarrelle Patterson rushed for a career-high 120 yards, including a 5-yard scoring burst, and Marcus Mariota made threw for 215 yards and added 72 on the ground, highlight by a 2-yard touchdown run. BROWNS 26, PANTHERS 24 CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) – Rookie Cade York kicked a go-ahead 58-yard field goal with 8 seconds left, Kareem Hunt scored two touchdowns and Cleveland spoiled Baker Mayfield’s bid for vengeance by beating Carolina. Nick Chubb ran for 141 yards and Hunt had 70 total yards from scrimmage as the Browns won their season opener for the first time since 2004. Mayfield overcame a slow start by leading the Panthers back from a 13-point fourth quarter deficit by running for a 7-yard touchdown and finding Robbie Anderson for a 75-yard touchdown strike. He then led the Panthers on a 64-yard drive in seven plays to set up Eddy Pineiro’s go-ahead field goal with 1:13 left in the game. Jacoby Brissett, filling in for suspended Browns star Deshaun Watson, completed passes for 13 yards to Donovan Peoples-Jones and 9 yards to Amari Cooper to set up York’s winning kick, the longest for the franchise since 1984. CHARGERS 24, RAIDERS 19 INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) – Justin Herbert threw for 279 yards and three touchdowns, Khalil Mack had three sacks in his Chargers debut and Los Angeles defeated Las Vegas to spoil Josh McDaniels’ first game as head coach. The game was a rematch of last season’s finale, which Las Vegas won on a field goal in the final seconds of overtime to knock the Chargers out of a playoff spot.