Bengals and Saints win again
UNDATED (AP) — The New Orleans Saints remain undefeated and the Cincinnati Bengals took control of their division with a huge win over the Steelers. Those are just two of the early results from Sunday's play in the NFL:
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Cincinnati picked up a key win in Pittsburgh and in doing so took charge in the AFC North. The Bengals beat the Steelers at their own game in their own stadium, relying on a defense that smothered Ben Roethlisberger (RAWTH'-lihs-bur-gur) and the Super Bowl champions by holding them to four field goals.
Shayne Graham kicked four field goals in the second half, even as the Bengals (7-2) failed to convert opportunity after opportunity to take control. Bernard Scott's 96-yard kickoff return in the first quarter proved pivotal as Cincinnati, despite playing the second half without ace running back Cedric Benson, followed up a 23-20 win over the Steelers (6-3) on Sept. 27.
Pittsburgh safety Troy Polamalu (pohl-uh-MAH'-loo) left the game after reinjuring his left knee early in the contest. Polamalu missed four games earlier in the season with a torn medial collateral ligament in his left knee before returning Oct. 18 against Cleveland.
Polamalu, a five-time Pro Bowl player and one of the NFL's top defensive players, was escorted to the locker room by team physician James Bradley, rather than a team trainer -- as might be the case with a less-serious problem.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — The New Orleans Saints upped their record to 9-0 with a 28-23 victory over the Rams in St. Louis. Reggie Bush helped the Saints overcome another bundle of mistakes and get off to the best start in team history.
Bush scored twice for the first time in more than a year and Drew Brees compensated for two interceptions with two touchdown passes in the win.
Courtney Roby opened the second half with a 97-yard kickoff return and Robert Meachem's 27-yard grab early in the fourth quarter gave New Orleans just enough breathing room to tie the franchise record with nine straight wins. The loss dropped the Rams to 1-8.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Brett Favre (farv) passed for a season-high 344 yards, 201 to Sidney Rice, and the Minnesota Vikings beat the Detroit Lions 27-10. The Lions (1-8) joined the Houston Oilers, from Nov. 21, 1982 through Nov. 4, 1984, as the only NFL teams to lose 31 games in a 33-game stretch, according to STATS.
Adrian Peterson lost a fumble, one of three turnovers (one on downs) by the Vikings inside the Detroit 20, but he turned 18 carries into 133 yards and two touchdowns for Minnesota (8-1).
LANDOVER, Md. (AP) — The sinking Denver Broncos dropped their third straight game with a 27-17 loss at Washington. For the Redskins the game marked a breakthrough, as they reached the 17-point barrier for the first time this season. The win snapped a four game losing skid.
The Broncos had to play the second half with Chris Simms at quarterback after Kyle Orton left with an ankle injury.
Denver (6-3) has struggled since opening the season with six wins.
Ladell Betts scored on a 1-yard run with 2:44 to play for the Redskins. With Clinton Portis sidelined after suffering a concussion in last week's loss at Atlanta, Betts made his first start since 2006 and ran for 114 yards on 26 carries.
Jason Campbell completed 17 of 26 passes for 193 yards for the Redskins (3-6). The 27-point outburst was their greatest since Week 2 of last season.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Chris Johnson ran for 132 yards and two touchdowns, and he caught nine passes for 100 yards as the Tennessee Titans beat the Buffalo Bills 41-17 for their third straight victory. The Titans (3-6) are on a roll since opening the season 0-6, and they can thank Johnson, the NFL's leading rusher and the league's first back to top 1,000 yards this season.
Johnson quickly is becoming Vince Young's favorite target whether he's tossing Johnson short passes or pitching to him off the option. Young also threw for a touchdown and finished with 210 yards passing in winning his seventh straight start. He also ran five times for 29 yards.
Buffalo is now 3-6.
MIAMI (AP) — Chad Henne directed a 77-yard scoring drive in the final 70 seconds, and Dan Carpenter kicked a 25-yard field goal with 10 seconds left to give Miami a wild 25-23 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The comeback came after an ill-advised pass by Henne was intercepted to set up the Bucs' go-ahead score with 1:14 left.
The Dolphins (4-5) won despite losing running back Ronnie Brown to a right ankle injury in the third quarter. The Bucs (1-8) were unable to build any momentum after beating Green Bay a week earlier.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Jake Delhomme (del-OHM') went turnover-free for the third straight game as Carolina came up with a 28-19 win over Atlanta. Delhomme connected on two scores to Steve Smith as the Panthers upped their record to 4-5.
Matt Ryan twice seemed poised to lead Atlanta to the winning drive, but it wasn't meant to be.
The win wasn't sealed until Carolina's Richard Marshall picked off Ryan, setting up Jonathan Stewart's 45-yard touchdown run with 2:07 left.
Earlier, Jason Elam missed a 34-yard field goal that would have given Atlanta (5-4) the lead.
The Falcons lost Michael Turner to a sprained right ankle in the second quarter after he had rushed for 111 yards.
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Josh Scobee kicked a 21-yard field goal as time expired to give the Jacksonville Jaguars a 24-22 victory over the New York Jets. The loss dropped the Jets to 4-5 and came after a bye-week break. New York has lost five of its last six games. The Jags are 5-4.
