NFL Philadelphia Eagles and Cincinnati Bengals remain perfect after contrasting victories

The Dallas Cowboys rallied from a 21-point deficit to beat the St Louis Rams in week three of the NFL regular season.

DeMarco Murray's one-yard run late in the first half began the rally for Dallas; Dez Bryant caught a 68-yarder from Tony Romo and they went ahead for the first time on Terrance Williams’ touchdown with just over six minutes to play.

They are now 2-1 in the NFC East but sit behind unbeaten Philadelphia after the Eagles retained their perfect record with a 37-34 win in a see-saw and at times bad-tempered clash with divisional rivals Washington.

Former Philadelphia receiver DeSean Jackson caught an 81-yard touchdown for the Redskins against his old employers but two touchdowns from rookie Jordan Matthews, the man the Eagles drafted to replace Jackson, helped the hosts come out on top at Lincoln Financial Field.

Baltimore left it late against Cleveland, Justin Tucker settling a fiercely-competitive AFC North battle in favour of the Ravens with a 32-yard field goal as time expired.

Joe Flacco set up the opportunity for Tucker with a crucial 32-yard pass to Steve Smith and then watched on as his kicker converted to secure a 23-21 triumph.  It meant for the second time this season the Browns were beaten by a successful field goal in the closing seconds.

Bengals unbeaten

Yet despite Baltimore’s success it is the Cincinnati Bengals who lead the division after they recorded an emphatic 33-7 triumph over the Tennessee Titans.

Quarterback Andy Dalton didn’t manage to throw a touchdown pass but did manage to catch one, hauling in an 18-yarder from wide receiver Mohamed Sanu. Giovani Bernard also found the end zone twice on two short runs, sending the Bengals into their bye week with a 3-0 record.

The New York Giants registered their first win of the season, putting an end to Houston’s perfect start in the process as they beat the Texans 30-17 at MetLife Stadium. Victor Cruz caught his first touchdown pass since week four of last season while Rashad Jennings rushed for a career-high 176 yards and a score for the Giants.

The New England Patriots made heavy weather of seeing off the Oakland Raiders - whose next game is live on Sky Sports when they play Miami at Wembley on Sunday - eventually coming out on top 16-9 to win their 12th home opener in 13 seasons.

In New Orleans, the Saints not only won their opening home fixture but also got off the mark for the campaign with a 20-9 success over the Minnesota Vikings.

Drew Brees passed for 293 yards and two touchdowns against a Vikings team without the services of suspended running back Adrian Peterson. They also lost starting quarterback Matt Cassel, rookie Teddy Bridgewater taking his place under centre and completing 12 of 20 for 150 yards.

The Indianapolis Colts are also now up and running, defeating the winless Jacksonville Jaguars 44-17 thanks mainly to four touchdown passes by quarterback Andrew Luck.

Philip Rivers threw two touchdown passes to Eddie Royal in leading the San Diego Chargers to a 22-10 win over the Buffalo Bills, though the result came at a cost as they lost running back Danny Woodhead to injury. The Bills were denied a 3-0 start for only the third time since 1993.

Sacked

Alex Smith threw three touchdown passes as the Kansas City Chiefs opened their account for the season with a 34-15 win over the Miami Dolphins.

Smith, who was sacked five times, connected with Joe McKnight (11 and 4 yards) and Travis Kelce (20 yards) as the Chiefs registered only their third win in 11 attempts.

The Pittsburgh Steelers (2-1) ended their eight-quarter run without a touchdown before Ben Roethlisberger helped them to a 37-19 victory over the Carolina Panthers.

Roethlisberger, who finished 22 of 30 for 196 yards, threw two seven-yard touchdown passes to Antonio Brown, while Le'Veon Bell and LaGarrette Blount ran for 147 and 118 yards respectively. 

The Arizona Cardinals moved to 3-0 for the season after they rallied to beat the San Francisco 49ers 23-14.

The Cardinals scored 17 unanswered points in the second half as the 49ers threw away a half-time lead for the second successive week.