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Comeback day in NFL

Dallas Cowboys linebacker Bruce Carter celebrates as he returns an interception 25 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter of his team's come-from-behind 34-31 victory over St. Louis Rams.
Cowboys, Eagles, Ravens all rally to pull out victories

Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys were big-time comeback kids in Week 3 of the NFL season.

So were Nick Foles and the Philadelphia Eagles. The Baltimore Ravens, too.

Peyton Manning rallied the Denver Broncos back in a Super Bowl rematch, but Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks came up with the victory — as they did seven months ago on football’s biggest stage.

“I can’t wait for those moments, those big-time moments and have guys to continue to believe in what we do,” Wilson said after the Seahawks’ 26-20 victory Sunday. “That was a great experience tonight.”

The Cowboys had the biggest comeback of all.

Terrance Williams scored the go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter, Bruce Carter returned an interception 25 yards for a TD on the next snap, and the Cowboys matched the largest comeback in team history to stun the St. Louis Rams 34-31.

DeMarco Murray’s 1-yard run late in the first half began the rally for Dallas (2-1), which trailed 21-0. Dez Bryant caught a 68-yard scoring pass in the third quarter, and Carter’s first career interception and touchdown came not long after he was evaluated for concussion-like symptoms on the bench.

“We never blinked, I can honestly say that,” Bryant said.

This marked the fourth time this season a team has overcome a deficit of at least 17 points to win, tied for the most through the first three weeks of a season since the 1970 merger (2011). It was also the first time since 1982 that each of the first three weeks had at least 17 points.

Romo has 21 comeback victories in the fourth quarter or overtime, a franchise best.

“Tony went out there and did what Tony do,” Bryant said.

Janoris Jenkins’ 25-yard interception return, the fifth defensive touchdown in his three seasons, put the Rams (1-2) up 21-0 with 6:06 to go in the first half.

At Philadelphia, Jordan Matthews, the draft pick who replaced DeSean Jackson, and veteran Jeremy Maclin lifted the Eagles past the star receiver’s new team. Philadelphia again stormed from behind to win, beating the Washington Redskins 37-34 as Matthews caught two touchdown passes and Maclin had one.

The Eagles are the first NFL team to start a season 3-0 after trailing by 10-plus points in each game.

“Man, that was an emotional one,” said Matthews, who scored his first NFL touchdowns. “They are close (games), so I know that coach (Chip) Kelly is losing some hair.”

The nasty game was marred by a fourth-quarter brawl near the Washington sideline after Eagles quarterback Nick Foles was blindsided by defensive lineman Chris Baker during an apparent interception return. Baker and Eagles left tackle Jason Peters were ejected — and then the INT was overturned by video replay. That led to Maclin’s 27-yard touchdown to break a 27-27 tie.

At Cleveland, the Ravens pulled off a victory as Justin Tucker kicked a 32-yard field goal as time expired to give Baltimore a 23-21 win over Cleveland.

Tucker’s boot capped another challenging week for the Ravens (2-1), who continue to be dogged by their handling of Rice’s domestic violence suspension.

Following the game, Baltimore coach John Harbaugh addressed an ESPN report that claims he wanted the team to immediately release Rice after he was arrested for punching his then-fiancee. The report says Harbaugh was overruled by owner Steve Bisciotti and general manager Ozzie Newsome.

At Seattle, Wilson kept Manning and the Broncos from seeing the ball in overtime. He led Seattle on an 80-yard drive on the first possession of the extra session, capped by Marshawn Lynch’s 6-yard touchdown run for the victory.

“We almost overcame them,” Manning said, “but didn’t quite do it today.”

The Super Bowl rematch lived up to the billing of what everyone expected in February and never transpired. The 43-8 blowout by Seattle (2-1) was replaced this time by Denver (2-1) rallying from a 17-3 fourth-quarter deficit to force overtime by going 80 yards against the best defense in the NFL in the final minute of regulation.

And then Wilson upstaged Manning. After nearly getting sacked for a safety and throwing an interception in the fourth quarter, Wilson was brilliant in overtime rushing for 21 yards and completing four of six passes. Lynch went the final 6 yards for the win.

Cardinals 23, 49ers 14At Glendale, Arizona, Drew Stanton threw a pair of third-quarter touchdown passes to rookie John Brown and the Cardinals rallied to beat San Francisco, snapping a four-game losing streak to the 49ers.

Colts 44, Jaguars 17At Jacksonville, Florida, Andrew Luck threw four touchdown passes — three in a lopsided first half — and the Indianapolis Colts dominated the Jaguars for their first win.

Saints 20, Vikings 9Drew Brees passed for 293 yards and two touchdowns, and the New Orleans Saints won for the first time this season, taking their home opener against the Minnesota Vikings.For the Vikings (1-2), the loss capped a week of distractions.

Chargers 22, Bills 10At Orchard Park, New York, Philip Rivers hit Eddie Royal for two scores in the San Diego Chargers’ win over the Buffalo Bills.

Giants 30, Texans 17At East Rutherford, New Jersey, Rashad Jennings ran for a career-high 176 yards and a touchdown and Eli Manning threw two TD passes as the New York Giants overcame some early mistakes and beat the suddenly error-prone Houston Texans.

Bengals 33, Titans 7Andy Dalton caught a touchdown pass — the first Bengals quarterback to pull off that feat — on a pass from wide receiver Mohamed Sanu and Cincinnati stayed undefeated with a victory at home over the Tennessee Titans.

Patriots 16, Raiders 9At Foxborough, Massachusetts, Tom Brady threw a touchdown pass, Stephen Gostkowski kicked three field goals and the sluggish New England Patriots held on to beat the Oakland Raiders when defensive tackle Vince Wilfork intercepted a pass near his goal line.

Lions 19, Packers 7Don Carey returned a fumble 40 yards for a touchdown, and Detroit’s defensive front stuffed Green Bay, leading the Lions over Aaron Rodgers and the Packers at home.

Chiefs 34, Dolphins 15At Miami Gardens, Fla., Alex Smith shook off five sacks to throw three touchdown passes and help the Kansas City Chiefs earn their first victory by beating the Miami Dolphins.

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