Falcons soar to franchise best 7-0

Matt Ryan connected on three first-half touchdown passes to lead Atlanta to a 30-17 victory over Philadelphia Sunday that saw the Falcons remain the NFL’s only unbeaten team. Ryan connected on 17 of 20 passes for 197 yards in the first half and finished the day with 262 yards as the Falcons improved to 7-0 — the best start in franchise history. Julio Jones had five receptions for 123 yards and a touchdown in the win, in which the Falcons scored on their first six possessions. Michael Vick, once the face of the Falcons franchise and now the Eagles’ star signal-caller, completed 21 of 35 passing attempts for 191 yards and a touchdown. Asante Samuel, who recorded 25 interceptions and went to three Pro Bowls as an Eagle before he was traded to the Falcons for a draft selection in April, couldn’t resist crowing after the victory over his former team. “We’re 7-0 over here baby,” Samuel said. “If I was over there now, they have to go to work.” The Eagles, who were coming off a bye week, fell to 3-4. “That was an embarrassing performance,” said Eagles coach Andy Reid, whose team lost coming off a bye week for the first time in his tenure. “I’m stating the obvious. We need to get better. I need to do a better job. This is fixable. We have the talent.” The New York Giants won a wild one in Dallas, forcing six turnovers and fending off a fierce Cowboys rally for a 29-24 victory. Lawrence Tynes booted five field goals for the Giants, who took a 23-0 lead with the aid of Dallas mistakes. New York’s Jason Pierre-Paul intercepted Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo and ran 28 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter and Stevie Brown came up with two interceptions and a fumble recovery for the Giants, who improved to 6-2. The Cowboys battled back in the second half, but had the final heartbreak of seeing a 37-yard catch in the end zone by Dez Bryant that looked like a touchdown disallowed because his hand touched the end line out of bounds as he came down. New England gave British NFL fans a sight of Tom Brady at his dominant best, steamrolling St. Louis 45-7 at Wembley Stadium. The Patriots reached the end zone on each of their first five possessions and set an NFL record by accumulating more than 350 yards of offense for the 17th successive contest. Brady passed for 305 yards. Rob Gronkowski was a favorite target, catching eight passes for 146 yards and two touchdowns. In Chicago, Robbie Gould booted a 41-yard field goal as time expired to lift the Bears to a 23-22 victory in a thriller over Carolina. The Panthers led 19-14 with just under seven minutes to play, but Cam Newton’s pass was intercepted by Tim Jennings and the cornerback took it 25 yards back for a touchdown that put Chicago up 20-19. Newton calmly guided the Panthers back into field goal range, and Justin Medlock’s 43-yarder was good despite a brush with the right upright to put Carolina back up 22-20. Bears quarterback Jay Cutler guided a nine-play drive capped by Gould’s game-winner. In other games, Miami posted a convincing 30-9 victory over the New York Jets, Pittsburgh beat Washington 27-12, Green Bay defeated Jacksonville 24-15, Cleveland edged San Diego 7-6, Detroit beat Seattle 28-24, Oakland beat Kansas City 26-16, Denver downed New Orleans 34-14 and Indianapolis beat Tennessee 19-13 in overtime.