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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Colin Kaepernick, 49ers top rusty Tony Romo, Cowboys

San Francisco’s Justin Smith sacks Cowboys’ Tony Romo during the second half in Dallas. (Associated Press)
Associated Press

Colin Kaepernick and the San Francisco 49ers can put a tumultuous offseason behind them. They have a rusty Tony Romo to thank for making the opener a little easier.

Kaepernick threw two touchdown passes to Vernon Davis, one after the first of three interceptions from Romo, and the 49ers cruised to a 28-17 win over the sloppy Cowboys on Sunday in Arlington, Texas.

The 49ers came in with questions about their defense, missing key players because of injuries or suspensions. Defensive tackle Ray McDonald got the start just a week after his arrest in a domestic violence case.

The secondary put all those issues to rest, getting Chris Culliver’s 35-yard fumble return for a touchdown on the second play of the game and two of the Romo picks on their way to a 28-3 halftime lead.

“There’s been a lot of rhetoric,” said coach Jim Harbaugh, who improved to 4-0 in season openers. “This game was about steel in the spine. When it comes to 49er players, that’s where they excel.”

For one game, it didn’t matter that linebacker Aldon Smith will miss the first nine games on a suspension over off-the-field issues and fellow linebacker NaVorro Bowman is out until midseason because of a knee injury.

After Culliver picked up a loose ball stripped from DeMarco Murray and ran untouched for a score, safety Eric Reid returned Romo’s first interception 48 yards to the Dallas 2, setting up Kaepernick’s second scoring toss to Davis.

Romo looked like a quarterback who was limited in the offseason and training camp, not a good start for a team trying to avoid tying a franchise record with a fifth straight year of missing the playoffs.

“I felt comfortable,” said Romo, who threw for 281 yards and a late touchdown. “Just couple poor decisions that I made tonight.”

It didn’t take Kaepernick long to put that rough preseason behind him, leading the 49ers 80 yards in just three plays on their first possession. The 49ers also had an efficient drive in their 2-minute offense to finish the first half.

“Everyone was ready to get to the season, ready to play and ready to start putting these wins together,” said Kaepernick, who was 16 of 23 for 201 yards without an interception.

Broncos 31, Colts 24: Peyton Manning threw three touchdown passes to tight end Julius Thomas in the first half and Denver held on to beat visiting Indianapolis.

In his second try, Manning beat his old team and joined Brett Favre as the only quarterbacks to beat each of the current 32 NFL franchises.

The Broncos raced out to a 24-0 lead thanks to Thomas, then turned to their revamped defense to fend off a furious comeback attempt by Andrew Luck, who was working wonders behind a patchwork offensive line.

Luck brought the Colts within a touchdown when he found Hakeem Nicks for a 9-yard scoring strike with 3:26 remaining. But Indy’s last drive stalled at midfield when rookie Bradley Roby broke up a fourth-and-6 pass to Reggie Wayne.

Falcons 37, Saints 34 (OT): Matt Bryant kicked a 51-yarder field goal on the final play of regulation, then booted a 52-yarder in overtime to give host Atlanta a victory over New Orleans.

Matt Ryan threw for a franchise-record 448 yards, leading the Falcons to just their fourth victory over the Saints in the last 17 meetings. This one was particularly sweet for Atlanta coming off a miserable 4-12 season.

The teams combined for 17 points in the final 2:50 of the fourth quarter to force overtime. The Saints got the ball first, but Marques Colston fumbled after catching a pass over the middle. The Falcons recovered at the Saints 38; after three plays gained only 4 yards, Bryant booted through another long field goal.

Bengals 23, Ravens 16: A.J. Green caught a 77-yard touchdown pass from Andy Dalton with 4:58 left, and visiting Cincinnati blew a 15-point lead before bouncing back to beat Baltimore.

That TD, along with the 2-pont conversion, came just 48 seconds after Baltimore newcomer Steve Smith caught an 80-yard touchdown pass from Joe Flacco.

Following Green’s score, Flacco took the Ravens to the Cincinnati 16 before he was sacked on a fourth-down play with 55 seconds left.

Mike Nugent kicked five field goals to give the Bengals a 15-0 halftime lead.

Dalton went 25 for 38 for 301 yards for the Bengals, who ended a four-game losing streak in Baltimore.

Flacco overcame a poor first half to finish 35 for 62 for 345 yards and an interception.