INDIANAPOLIS -- It was another perfect day for the
Indianapolis Colts.
The triplets achieved milestones Sunday, their methodical
offense shredded the Titans' young defense and Indy became the
first NFL team to clinch a playoff spot by rolling to its 12th
consecutive victory, 35-3.
Indianapolis is now the fifth team in league history to start
12-0, the first since Denver in 1998, and again looked impressive
as its historic quest for an undefeated season continued.
Tennessee (3-9) has lost six straight to Indianapolis. The Colts
followed a physically dominant game against the Pittsburgh Steelers
with a second straight overwhelming performance. The Colts rushed
for 105 yards, while allowing only 40 yards on the ground.
Of course, it didn't take long for Peyton Manning, Marvin
Harrison and Edgerrin James to produce their usual show.
Manning completed 13 of 17 passes for 187 yards and three
touchdowns, giving him 25 this season. That extended his NFL record
to eight straight seasons with at least 25 touchdown passes.
James carried 28 times for 107 yards and one touchdown, becoming
the third-fastest player in league history to 9,000 yards. He now
has 9,067 yards in 93 games. Eric Dickerson reached the milestone
in 82 games and Jim Brown in 88.
Harrison also joined the milestone club by becoming the 12th
player in league history to top 12,000 yards receiving. He did that
with his first reception, a 36-yarder on the Colts' opening drive,
which also ended with Harrison's 10-yard TD reception -- extending
the NFL record between the duo to 92.<
^Redskins 24, Rams 9=
ST. LOUIS -- Clinton Portis ran for 136 yards on 27 carries
with a pair of touchdowns and the Redskins made Ryan Fitzpatrick
run for his life as they snapped a three-game losing streak.
The Redskins (6-6) didn't have an abundance of success on
offense, either, except for five well-timed gains of 28 yards or
more. Portis ran in untouched from 47 yards for the game's first
score and Santana Moss' 30-yard catch from Mark Brunell set up
Portis' second touchdown on a 1-yarder.
Seattle clinched the NFC West thanks to the Rams' loss.
Washington held the Rams (5-7) to a season-worst 210 total yards.
Fitzpatrick, who threw for 310 yards in three quarters last week,
was 21-for-36 for 163 yards, got sacked three times and was
routinely flushed out of the pocket by the Redskins' rush.<
^Bengals 38, Steelers 31=
PITTSBURGH -- Cincinnati went into Pittsburgh in December,
stood up to the team it rarely beats and all but secured their
first division championship in 15 years, riding Carson Palmer's
three touchdown passes and a defense that forced four turnovers.
Rudi Johnson ran for Cincinnati's final two scores as the
Bengals (9-3) seized a two-game lead in the AFC North. The Steelers
(7-5) got a gutty effort from Ben Roethlisberger (29-of-41, 386
yards, three touchdowns, three interceptions) despite a right thumb
injury, but dropped their third in a row.
Palmer threw scoring passes of 43 and 6 yards to T.J.
Houshmandzadeh and 1 yard to Reggie Kelly. The 6-yarder to
Houshmandzadeh put the Bengals up 21-14 midway through the second
quarter and followed linebacker Brian Simmons' interception of a
wobbly Roethlisberger pass.<
^Chiefs 31, Broncos 27=
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Chiefs received a favorable replay
ruling when they challenged the spot on a run that appeared to give
Denver a first down near midfield on fourth-and-1 with 2:01 left.
Then the Chiefs (8-4) ran the clock down to 3 seconds and moved
within one game of the Broncos (9-3), who had won four in a row.
Jake Plummer was 18-of-29 for 276 with two costly interceptions,
including one on fourth-and-goal from the 4. Mike Anderson was held
to 37 yards on 13 carries with a touchdown.<
^Chargers 34, Raiders 10=
SAN DIEGO -- Drew Brees threw two touchdown passes for the
Chargers (8-4), who won their fifth straight game to pull within
one victory of the AFC West-leading Denver Broncos.
The Broncos lost 31-27 at Kansas City, which is tied for second
place -- as well as the last wild-card spot -- with the Chargers. The
defending division champion Chargers beat the Chiefs 28-20 on Oct.
30, and the teams will play again in Kansas City on Dec. 24. The
Chargers will host Denver in the season finale on Dec. 31.
Of course, San Diego must still play at undefeated Indianapolis,
on Dec. 18.
The Raiders (4-8) lost their fifth straight to the Chargers.<
^Giants 17, Cowboys 10=
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- A week after blowing three
potential game-winning kicks against Seattle, Jay Feely clanged a
33-yard attempt off the crossbar with 5:18 left. But New York's
defense held on, and the Giants beat the Cowboys to take sole
possession of first place in the NFC East.
The Giants (8-4) had four sacks, forced two fumbles -- including
one returned for a touchdown by linebacker Antonio Pierce -- and
intercepted Drew Bledsoe twice. The second interception, by Brent
Alexander, came with 1:47 left in the game. Dallas (7-5) got the
ball back one more time at its 4-yard line, but lost the ball on
downs.
Tiki Barber gained 115 yards on 30 carries for the Giants.<
^Dolphins 24, Bills 23=
MIAMI -- Chris Chambers outjumped cornerback Jabari Greer
for his 15th reception of the game, a 4-yard score on fourth down
with 6 seconds left to help the Dolphins rally for the victory.
Lee Evans caught three touchdown passes to put the Bills ahead
21-0 less than 13 minutes into the game, and they led 23-3 with 12
minutes left. Struggling Miami quarterback Gus Frerotte was forced
to the bench with a concussion in the third quarter, and
replacement Sage Rosenfels directed fourth-quarter touchdown drives
of 70, 49 and 73 yards.
Chambers set Miami records for catches and yards receiving with
238. Miami (5-7) beat a division rival for the first time in four
tries to remain in playoff contention in the woeful AFC East. The
stunned Bills (4-8) were all but eliminated from the postseason
race.<
^Panthers 24, Falcons 6=
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- DeShaun Foster scored two touchdowns and
became the first Carolina back to go over 100 yards this season
while helping the Panthers (9-3) snap a three-game losing streak
against Atlanta (7-5).
It also gave Carolina a two-game NFC South lead over the
Falcons, and a one-game advantage over Tampa Bay -- setting up
another huge division showdown next week against the Bucs.
Michael Vick finished 17-of-35 for 171 yards in the air. He was
sacked five times, and intercepted twice. Foster finished with 131
yards on 24 carries, and another 49 yards on three catches.<
^Bears 19, Packers 7=
CHICAGO -- Charles Tillman returned one interception of
Brett Favre 95 yards to set up a field goal, and Nathan Vasher
carried a fourth-quarter pick 45 yards for a clinching touchdown as
the Bears ended Green Bay's domination at Soldier Field.
On a day when their offense relied on four field goals by Robbie
Gould, Chicago prevented Favre from throwing a TD pass against them
-- he'd done so in an NFL-record 26 straight games.
The Bears (9-3) got their first home victory against the Packers
since 1993 and extended their winning streak to eight -- their
longest since the 1985 Super Bowl team started 12-0. Favre finished
31-of-58 for 277 yards for the Packers (2-10).<
^Jaguars 20, Browns 14=
CLEVELAND -- David Garrard threw two touchdown passes in the
second half and made a crucial scramble for a first down in the
final minutes as the Jaguars rallied for their fifth straight win.
With Byron Leftwich out at least four weeks with a broken ankle,
the Jaguars (9-3) have put their playoff hopes in the hands of
Garrard, a four-year veteran with no big-game experience in the
pros. But he came through in the clutch against the Browns (4-8),
tossing two TDs as Jacksonville overcame a 14-3 halftime deficit.
He finished 11-of-20 for 116 yards and one interception.
Browns rookie quarterback Charlie Frye, making his first career
start in place of injured Trent Dilfer, threw two touchdown passes
in the first half to Braylon Edwards. But Frye was sacked five
times after halftime, and Edwards was helped off the field in the
fourth period with a right knee injury.
^Vikings 21, Lions 16=
DETROIT -- Brad Johnson threw two touchdown passes, Michael
Bennett scored twice and the Vikings (7-5) won their fifth
straight.
Detroit (4-8) has lost five of six and didn't seem to be sparked
by Dick Jauron in his debut as interim coach.
The Vikings appeared to be in control leading by 15 early in the
third quarter, but the Lions rallied as Artose Pinner scored on a
6-yard run to make it 21-16 with 7:38 left. The Lions got the ball
back at their 7 with 2:46 left and drove to midfield before Jeff
Garcia's heave was intercepted by leaping safety Corey Chavous at
Minnesota's 2 with 52 seconds left.<
^Buccaneers 10, Saints 3=
BATON ROUGE, La. -- Ronde Barber intercepted Aaron Brooks
three times and Chris Simms hit Joey Galloway for the only
touchdown Tampa Bay (8-4) needed.
On New Orleans' final drive, Brooks threw for the end zone on
what could have been a tying score when Barber picked off the pass.
Coming off one of his best outings of the season in a victory
over the Jets a week earlier, Brooks threw four interceptions, all
in Tampa Bay territory. The Saints (3-9) gained 65 yards on the
ground. Brooks finished 18-of-34 for 215 yards.<
^Ravens 16, Texans 15=
BALTIMORE -- Matt Stover kicked a 38-yard field goal with 6
seconds left.
Kris Brown's fifth field goal with 1:08 to go to put Houston in
position for its second win of the season. But for the second
straight week, the Texans (1-11) let a seemingly certain victory
get away.
Starting at his 13, Baltimore quarterback Kyle Boller completed
a 24-yard pass to Todd Heap on third down. Boller then completed an
11-yarder to rookie Mark Clayton, and got the Ravens (4-8) in
field-goal position with a 35-yard pass to Clayton. Boller went
17-for-33 for 198 yards and ran for a score.
^Patriots 16, Jets 3=
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Corey Dillon scored on a 1-yard run and
Kevin Faulk made three big third-down catches, keeping the
Patriots' AFC East lead at two games.
Adam Vinatieri kicked field goals of 21, 34 and 22 yards to set
a club record for points. He has 1,134 points, four more than Gino
Cappelletti.
Dillon missed the previous two games with a calf injury, and
Faulk, his backup, sat out eight straight with a broken foot. They
helped the Patriots (7-5) take control in a light snow that fell
for much of the game. The Jets (2-10) managed only 164 yards
against a team that allowed at least 400 in seven of its previous
eight games.<
^Cardinals 17, 49ers 10=
SAN FRANCISCO -- Kurt Warner was 29-of-45 for 354 yards, and
Anquan Boldin somehow turned one of his 11 catches for 156 yards
into the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald, who had eight receptions for 129
yards, ran wild and free against San Francisco's inexperienced
secondary. But the Cardinals (4-8) couldn't take control until
Boldin turned a short catch on third-and-20 into a 54-yard,
broken-field TD rumble, avoiding five tackles and eventually diving
into the end zone.
No. 1 draft pick Alex Smith was outstanding before halftime and
dismal afterward in his third NFL start for the 49ers (2-10),
remaining winless -- and without a touchdown pass -- in his pro
career. He was 11-of-12 for 138 yards in the first half, but
5-of-12 with three interceptions after halftime.<