PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The streaking Dallas Cowboys have taken over first place in the NFC East by beating Philadelphia 20-16 for their fourth straight victory. Tony Romo completed 24 of 31 for 307 yards and one TD. Romo hit Miles Austin with a 49-yard TD pass midway through the fourth quarter for the go-ahead score. This victory partially avenged a 44-6 loss to Philadelphia on the final day of last season which cost the Cowboys a playoff berth.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — One half a season down, one to go. The New Orleans Saints are 8-and-0 for the first time in club history when Drew Brees overcame two early turnovers to pass for 330 yards and a touchdown in a comeback 30-20 victory over Carolina. The Saints' defense did not intercept a pass for the first time all season, but forced three turnovers on fumbles. The last produced New Orleans' seventh defensive touchdown of the season on Anthony Hargrove's strip, recovery and 1-yard return late in the fourth quarter. This was Carolina's first loss in Louisiana since 2001 and quarterback Jake Delhomme's (deh-LOHMZ') first loss in the Louisiana Superdome. The Panthers blew a 17-3 lead.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indianapolis is the NFL's other undefeated team after surviving a close call in a 20-17 victory over Houston.
Colts running back Joseph Addai (uh-DY') scored the go-ahead touchdown from two yards out with 7:11 left and Houston's Kris Brown missed a 42-yard field goal as time expired, keeping the Colts' winning streak intact. Indy is the fourth team in league history with 17 straight regular-season wins. And Jim Caldwell became the first rookie coach to go 8-and-0 since Potsy Clark in 1930.
Peyton Manning went 34 for 50 for 318 yards and a touchdown and became the first quarterback in league history to throw for 40,000 yards within a decade.
The Texans fall to 1-and-14 all-time against the Colts, including 0-8 in Indianapolis.
The Colts now have a commanding 3 1-2-game lead over the 5-and-4 Texans in the AFC South.
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — The New York Giants, two seasons removed from winning the Super Bowl, are on a four-game losing streak. Philip Rivers capped an 80-yard drive with an 18-yard pass to Vincent Jackson with 21 seconds left and the San Diego Chargers stunned the Giants 21-20. Rivers was 24 of 36 for 209 yards and three touchdowns, including two to Jackson. The 5-and-3 Chargers have won three in a row. The Giants are 5-and-4 heading into a bye week and not looking very much like a playoff team.
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Tom Brady went 25 for 37 for 332 yards and Randy Moss caught six passes for 147 yards and a TD and the New England Patriots beat the Miami Dolphins 27-17.
It's Brady's third straight game with more than 300 yards and team-record 27th of his career.
Moss set up the Patriots' first touchdown with a one-handed, 36-yard grab at the Dolphins 1-yard line, then scored on a 71-yard play after catching the ball about 10 yards beyond the line of scrimmage.
The 6-and-2 Patriots open up a two-game lead over the idle New York Jets atop the AFC East. Miami and idle Buffalo are two games back at 3-and-5. The win was especially important since Miami had been 3-0 in division games and New England only 1-1. Last season, both finished at 11-and-5 and had the same record in AFC East games, but the Dolphins made the playoffs with a better conference record, and the Patriots went home.
CINCINNATI (AP) — Cincinnati is in position to take control of the AFC North with a win next week at Pittsburgh. The Bengals scored on their first three possessions and then held on to defeat Baltimore 17-7. Cedric Benson ran for 117 yards and a TD for the winners.
Cincinnati is 6-and-2 and has won all four of its games against division rivals, including a two-game season sweep of the 4-and-4 Ravens.
The 5-and-2 Steelers play at Denver on Monday night
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Tampa Bay outscored Green Bay 38-28 to notch its first victory of the season, ending the league's longest losing streak at 11 games.
Rookie Josh Freeman passed for 205 yards and three touchdowns in his first pro start.
The 17th overall pick in the draft out of Kansas State completed 14 of 31 passes with just one interception. A critical second pick was wiped out by a Green Bay penalty during the go-ahead drive.
Packers QB Aaron Rodgers threw for 266 yards and two touchdowns, but also threw three interceptions and had one returned for a TD that put the game out of reach in the final minute.
Rodgers was also sacked six times, hiking Green Bay's NFL-worst total to 37 takedowns in eight games.
The 1-and-7 Bucs are the last team in the NFL to win this season. It was also the first victory for the league's youngest head coach, Raheem Morris, who replaced Jon Gruden after Tampa Bay went 0-4 in December and missed the playoffs last year.
The Packers are 4-and-4.
CHICAGO (AP) — One week after throwing five interceptions in a loss to Carolina, Kurt Warner tied a career high by throwing five touchdown passes in Arizona's 41-21 win over the Chicago Bears. The veteran quarterback clicked on 22 of 31 pass attempts for 261 yards and no picks.
Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald caught nine balls good for 123 yards and two TDs.
The Bears wasted a good effort by Jay Cutler, who threw for 369 yards while completing 29 of 47 passes. But he got sacked four times for the second straight week.
Arizona tops the NFC West with a 5-and-3 record. The Bears fall to 4-and-4 and are in danger of missing the playoffs for a third straight year.
ATLANTA (AP) — Michael Turner ran for a season-high 166 yards and the Falcons got the last laugh on D'Angelo Hall, snapping a two-game losing streak by beating the Redskins 31-17.
Turner broke away from former teammate Hall on a 58-yard touchdown scamper that finished off Washington early in the fourth quarter. Hall made two Pro Bowls playing for the Falcons from 2004-07 and yapped away all week about how Atlanta treated him unfairly before a trade to Oakland. He didn't even make it through one season with the Raiders before landing in Washington.
Turner had a 30-yard TD run earlier in the victory that gets the Falcons to 5-and-3 on the season. The Redskins drop to 2-and-6.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Jacksonville bounced back from another tough loss to record a win. After getting hammered by Tennessee last time out, the Jaguars rebounded with a 24-21 victory against Kansas City.
The Jags responded in similar fashion following losses to Arizona and Seattle earlier this season and are now 4-and-4.
David Garrard threw for 264 yards, including a 61-yard scoring pass Mike Sims-Walker.
Playing without suspended running back Larry Johnson, the Chiefs managed little offense until late in the fourth quarter and fall to 1-and-7.
SEATTLE (AP) — Matt Hasselbeck rallied the Seattle Seahawks from a 17-0 deficit with a franchise-record 39 completions, and Seattle held off Detroit 32-20. The Seahawks avoided the embarrassment of being the first home team to lose to the Lions in 25 months. Hasselbeck threw an interception on his first play but finished with the first 300-yard passing game in two seasons for the 3-and-5 Seahawks. He was 39 of 51 for 329 yards. Detroit is 1-and-7.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — After losing their first six games, the Tennessee Titans have won two in a row under new quarterback Vince Young. Chris Johnson scored on a two-yard run for the go-ahead on a fourth-down play and the Titans rallied past San Francisco 34-27. Young was 12 of 19 for 172 yards. Niners QB Alex Smith tossed two TDs but also kept the Titans in the game with three interceptions.
The Monday night game is in Denver where the 6-and-1 Broncos will host the 5-and-2 Steelers at Mile High.
