NFL

The New York Giants gave one away by throwing the ball, the Seattle Seahawks gave one away by running the ball and the NFL’s first Sunday produced some flashy highlights and interesting turns.

The Giants lost 27-26 in Arlington, Texas on Sunday night. By throwing an incomplete pass from the goal line in the final two minutes, the Giants stopped the clock when the Cowboys had no times-out left. Critical error. Tony Romo led the Cowboys down the field for the winning touchdown with seven seconds left. The Cowboys lost star receiver Dez Bryant for four to six weeks with a broken foot.

The Seahawks, who never should have thrown the ball at the end of the Super Bowl, ran it in overtime and got stopped on a fourth down in losing 34-31 to the St. Louis Rams.

Also of note: The Buffalo Bills scooted out to a 24-0 lead and drubbed the Indianapolis Colts 27-14. … The top two picks in the NFL draft squared off in Tampa and Marcus Mariota won the battle with Jameis Winston. Mariota threw four touchdown passes for the Tennessee Titans in a 42-14 win. Winston’s first NFL pass was intercepted and returned for a touchdown.

TENNIS

Novak Djokovic collected his 10^th Grand Slam victory at the U.S. Open, beating Roger Federer in four sets on Sunday. In Saturday’s women’s final, Flavia Pennetta of Italy beat her childhood friend Roberta Vinci in straight sets for her first Grand Slam win, and likely her last. She announced that she will retire at the end of his season with her 34^th birthday approaching in February. Vinci had stopped Serena Williams’ pursuit of a calendar year Grand Slam.

BOXING

Floyd Mayweather Jr. announced that he will retire after his unanimous decision win over Andre Berto on Saturday night in Las Vegas. If he does truly exit the sport, he’ll end his career unbeaten (49-0). “My career’s over. It’s official,” Mayweather said.

ELSEWHERE

The New York Mets’ winning streak reached seven games and they lead the National League East by 9 ½ games over the Washington Nationals after rallying for a 10-7 win on the road against the Atlanta Braves, who have lost 24 of 27 games. … Matt Kenseth won the rainy Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway. Kenseth led for 352 laps. … Moses Malone, the three-time NBA MVP, died Sunday. He was 60. Malone was the first player to go pro right out of high school.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman .