Patriots stunned at home

FOXBOROUGH, Massachusetts (AP) ― The New England Patriots lost for the first time in 11 home openers at Gillette Stadium. They may have also lost one of their most dynamic and dangerous offensive weapons for a while.

Tight end Aaron Hernandez injured his right ankle midway through the first quarter of New England’s 20-18 loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday and did not return.

He left the stadium after the game wearing a walking boot.

“Hopefully, he’s fine,” said fellow tight end Rob Gronkowski, who caught a 5-yard touchdown pass from Tom Brady with 2:06 remaining before the Patriots failed on the 2-point conversion pass to Gronkowski that would have tied the game. “He’s a great player and we need him.”

After a sluggish start, New England (1-1) made it 20-12 on Stephen Gostkowski’s fourth field goal of the game, a 53-yarder, with 6:45 to play. Following a punt by Arizona (2-0), Brady capped an 11-play, 82-yard drive with the touchdown pass to Gronkowski.

The Patriots got the ball back with 1:01 to play, though, after Arizona running back Ryan Williams fumbled and Vince Wilfork recovered. But Gronkowski stalled any momentum New England may have mounted when he was whistled for holding, a call that nullified a 30-yard run into the end zone by Danny Woodhead, and a false start two plays later.

“It felt like it was a clean block, like my hands were inside,” Gronkowski said of the holding call. “The penalty (flag) was thrown, you guys saw it too. You probably saw the replay, so you can tell me if my hands were outside or not.”

Instead of trying to move closer, New England was content to try and win the game on a 42-yard field goal with 6 seconds left, but Gostkowski missed it wide left.

Panthers pound Saints CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (AP) ― Cam Newton talked all week about how much better the Carolina Panthers were on offense then they showed in their season opener. He proved it on Sunday.

The second-year quarterback threw for 253 yards and ran for a career-high 71 yards and led the Panthers to a 35-27 win over New Orleans and leaving the NFC South champion Saints 0-2 for the first time since 2007.

“Times change,” wide receiver Steve Smith said of Carolina’s first win over New Orleans since 2009.

Coach Ron Rivera said a loss to Drew Brees and the Saints would have been tough to take especially with a tough game coming up Thursday night against the Super Bowl champion New York Giants.

“The way we responded as a team this week was outstanding,” Rivera said. “I think the attitude, the effort was great.”

The Panthers tied a club record last week with 10 yards rushing in a loss to Tampa Bay.

They had no such problems moving the ball against the Saints. They got the running game going in the second quarter and rolled up 219 yards on the ground and 463 overall,

Newton, DeAngelo Williams and Mike Tolbert all scored on short touchdown runs and Steve Smith overcame a sore knee to finish with 104 yards receiving ― the 39th 100-yard receiving game of his career.

Jonathan Stewart hauled in a 17-yard touchdown catch for the Panthers (1-1) and Brandon LaFell had six catches for 90 yards.

Vick, Eagles clip Ravens

PHILADELPHIA (AP) ― With the game on the line, Michael Vick made all the right decisions ― again.

Vick scored on a 1-yard TD run with 1:55 left, helping the Philadelphia Eagles overcome a slew of turnovers to beat the Baltimore Ravens 24-23 on Sunday for their second straight comeback win.

The Eagles are 2-0 for the first time since Donovan McNabb and Terrell Owens led them to the Super Bowl in 2004.

“In the moment, you have to be at your best,” Vick said. “It’s got to be an any-means-necessary mentality.”

Rookie kicker Justin Tucker made field goals of 56, 51 and 48 yards for the Ravens, but Joe Flacco couldn’t get Baltimore (1-1) in his range in the final minute.

Flacco overthrew Ray Rice on fourth-and-1 from the Ravens 46, and the Eagles ran out the clock.

Vick threw four interceptions at Cleveland last week, but rallied the Eagles to a 17-16 win.

He did it again, though the replacement officials almost made a costly mistake.

Buffalo 35, Kansas City 17

Cincinnati 34, Cleveland 27

Indianapolis 23, Minnesota 20

Houston 27, Jacksonville 7

Miami 35, Oakland 13

NY Giants 41, Tampa Bay 34

St. Louis 31, Washington 28

Seattle 27, Dallas 7

Pittsburgh 27, NY Jets 10