Broncos 20, Patriots 17 OT
DENVER (AP) - Kyle Orton moved Denver from its 2 to the end zone to tie it Sunday, then Matt Prater kicked a 41-yard field goal in overtime for a 20-17 victory over New England that made rookie Broncos coach Josh McDaniels a winner over his old boss, Bill Belichick.
On a day when they wore mustard-yellow jerseys and vertically striped socks to celebrate their 50th anniversary, the Broncos improved to 5-0 for the first time since 1998 - the last time they went to the Super Bowl.
Orton threw for 330 yards and two scores and did his best John Elway impression. After a quick wave to Belichick near midfield, McDaniels ran to the corner of the stadium near where his family sits and pumped his fist repeatedly before sharing bear hugs with his players. And the defense held New England (3-2) scoreless in the second half and looked a lot like the Orange Crush of yore.
Denver's fourth-quarter drive certainly wasn't "The Drive" - Elway's classic, 98-yard march that helped beat the Browns 23-20 back in 1987 - but it will go down as one of the best in this franchise's history.
Cowboys 26, Chiefs 20 OT
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Miles Austin scored the winning touchdown in overtime on a 60-yard catch-and-run to cap a huge game in place of the injured Roy Williams. Austin had 10 catches for 250 yards as the Cowboys survived numerous mistakes against the winless Chiefs.
Austin also had a tackle-breaking 59-yard touchdown catch to give the Cowboys (3-2) a 20-13 lead with 2:16 left in the fourth quarter. On both plays, he slipped the grasp of cornerback Maurice Leggett and then made safety Mike Brown miss.
The loss dropped the Chiefs (0-5) to 2-28 in their last 30 games. Kansas City, winless for 315 days, tied it 20-20 on Matt Cassel's 16-yard touchdown pass to Dwayne Bowe with 24 seconds left.
But Austin was unstoppable, rescuing Dallas, which was penalized 13 times for 90 yards. He erased the team record of 246 yards that Hall of Famer Bob Hayes set on Nov. 13, 1966 against Washington.
Chiefs linebacker Mike Vrabel made his 11th career touchdown catch to give Kansas City a 10-0 lead.
Falcons 45, 49ers 10
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Roddy White had a 90-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown and a 31-yard TD reception, and Michael Turner ran for three scores to end San Francisco's five-game home winning streak.
White finished with eight catches for a career-high 210 yards against the 49ers' usually stingy defense. Six of those receptions were in the first half for 185 yards, as Atlanta (3-1) came out of its bye week sharp in all phases and finished with a 477-279 advantage in total yards. Matt Ryan completed 22 of 32 passes for 329 yards and two TDs and also ran for a late score.
San Francisco (3-2) flopped in its biggest test yet, falling to its worst defeat since a 41-0 loss at Kansas City on Oct. 1, 2006, under former coach Mike Nolan.
San Francisco's three turnovers were one more than the team had in its first four games combined.
Cardinals 28, Texans 21
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) - Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie returned an interception 49 yards for a touchdown with 2:20 to go and the Arizona defense stopped the Texans three times at the 1-yard line in the final minute.
Matt Schaub brought the Texans back from a 21-0 halftime deficit to tie the game and had completed 11 straight when Rodgers-Cromartie, playing with a fractured right index finger, stepped in front of intended receiver Kevin Walter.
The young cornerback raced down the sideline, then high-stepped the final 20 yards for the score for the Cardinals (2-2).
A 60-yard kickoff return by Andre' Davis helped set up the final Houston threat. Schaub quickly moved the team to the 1, but Chris Brown was stopped on second down, there was an incomplete pass on third and Brown was stopped again on fourth down with 40 seconds left.
Kurt Warner topped 300 yards passing for the 50th time in his career: Warner completed 26 of 38 passes for 302 yards, but almost all of them came in the first half.
Seahawks 41, Jaguars 0
SEATTLE (AP) - Matt Hasselbeck returned from being sidelined two games with broken ribs to throw four touchdown passes, and the Seahawks rolled to their biggest home shutout in 25 years.
The Seahawks (2-3) were still missing seven starters, including three-fifths of their starting offensive line. Didn't matter: Hasselbeck was back.
The three-time Pro Bowl quarterback was in what coach Jim Mora called excruciating pain Monday, after overdoing rehabilitation work in his urgency to return and end Seattle's three-game losing streak. Yet he finished three consecutive practices. Then he emphatically finished off the Jaguars (2-3) and that skid.
He completed 18 of 30 throws for 241 yards before resting in the fourth quarter. He last threw four against Arizona on Dec. 9, 2007.
Hasselbeck has seven touchdown passes in the two games in which he's been completely healthy this season. Those are the only two games Seattle has won.
Bengals 17, Ravens 14
BALTIMORE (AP) - Carson Palmer threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Andre Caldwell with 22 seconds left to cap an 80-yard drive fueled by Baltimore penalties.
All five of Cincinnati's games this season have been decided by seven points for fewer. It appeared the Bengals (4-1) were destined to come out on the short end of this one until Palmer masterfully directed the final drive - with the help of three yellow flags.
An illegal contact penalty against Chris Carr and an unnecessary roughness call against Ray Lewis preceded the topper, a pass interference penalty against Frank Walker on third-and-16 from the Baltimore 30 - although the infraction was called by the officials against Ed Reed.
On the next play, Palmer found Caldwell over the middle for the winning score.
After the following kickoff, thousands of fans directed a derisive chant toward the referee crew.
Baltimore (3-2) has lost two straight. The Ravens were limited to one offensive touchdown after averaging 32.5 points in their first four games. A 52-yard interception return for a touchdown by Reed gave the Ravens a 7-0 lead in the second quarter.
Eagles 33, Buccaneers 14
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Donovan McNabb showed he was fine after missing two games with a broken rib, throwing for 264 yards and three touchdowns.
Rookie Jeremy Maclin had two TD catches and the lopsided score allowed Michael Vick to take extra snaps at quarterback in the fourth quarter. He completed his first pass in 33 months and had an 11-yard run.
The Eagles (3-1) improved to 11-0 after a bye week under coach Andy Reid.
The Buccaneers (0-5) remain winless under new coach Raheem Morris and extended their losing to streak to nine games, dating to an 0-4 December that cost them a playoff spot.
McNabb was injured running for a score in the season opener at Carolina. He sat out the next two games while Kevin Kolb became the first quarterback to throw for 300 yards in his first two career starts.
McNabb didn't hesitate to run, scrambling for 13 yards on his first play from scrimmage. On the next one, he fired a perfect 51-yard TD pass to Maclin to give the Eagles a 7-0 lead.
Steelers 28, Lions 20
DETROIT (AP) - Ben Roethlisberger had a season-high three touchdowns passes for the Steelers (3-2), supported by thousands of black-and-gold clad fans. They went ahead on Rashard Mendenhall's TD run midway through the first quarter and took a 15-point lead in the third on Roethlisberger's 47-yard pass to rookie Mike Wallace.
Detroit (1-4) drove into Pittsburgh territory on the ensuing series, but Daunte Culpepper's up-for-grabs pass was intercepted by Ryan Clark. Culpepper bounced back with a 25-yard TD to Dennis Northcutt to pull within eight with 4:57 to go.
The Steelers' three-and-out drive gave Detroit the ball back at its 29 with 3:07 to go and two timeouts, but it got to the Pittsburgh 21 before stalling.
Steelers linebacker James Harrison had three sacks, matching the total he had entering the game, and forced a fumble, much to the delight of folks who filled Ford Field. The game drew 59,333 fans and at least half looked and sounded like they were rooting for the visitors.
Colts 31, Titans 9
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Peyton Manning's near-perfect start to the season continued as he had 309 yards and three touchdown passes, and the Colts never trailed in beating their AFC South rivals for their NFL-best 14th straight regular-season win.
Manning joined Kurt Warner and Steve Young as the only NFL quarterbacks to open a season by throwing for at least 300 yards in the first five games. He will have to wait out a bye week to try and match them with a sixth such game.
Indianapolis (5-0) has not lost since its last visit to Nashville and leaves now with a firm grip on the AFC South. The Titans (0-5) have matched their 0-5 start in 2006.
Panthers 20, Redskins 17
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - Aided by a disputed call and Jake Delhomme's bold third-down run, the Panthers (1-3) jump-started a sagging season at the expense of embattled Washington coach Jim Zorn.
The Panthers scored the game's final 18 points, with Jonathan Stewart's 8-yard run with 9:21 left the go-ahead touchdown. The TD was set up when the Panthers recovered a muffed punt at the Washington 12. The maligned Delhomme later ran a bootleg for a first down with just under 2 minutes left to give the Panthers their first win.
The Redskins (2-3) and Zorn took another defeat against a previously winless team despite leading 17-2 early in the third quarter.
Giants 44, Raiders 7
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) - After a week of concern over whether Eli Manning would make his 83rd straight start, he threw two scoring passes and led the Giants on touchdown drives on their first four series. Then Manning rested his sore heel.
Manning tossed touchdown passes of 30 yards to Mario Manningham and 9 yards to first-round draft pick Hakeem Nicks. He finished 8 of 10 for 173 yards on a day the Giants gained 483 yards. New York (5-0) is off to its best start since winning the Super Bowl in 1990.
Backup halfback Ahmad Bradshaw ran for 110 yards and scored on runs of 1 and 9 yards.
Oakland quarterback JaMarcus Russell lost three fumbles and was sacked six times as the Raiders' league-worst offense was limited to 124 yards. Russell was 8 of 13 for 100 yards.
Vikings 38, Rams 10
ST. LOUIS (AP) - Brett Favre threw for 232 yards and a touchdown a day after his 40th birthday. Spry and efficient, Favre showed no signs of a letdown after beating the Packers, his former team, last week, dodging defenders and winging passes in every direction to give Minnesota its first 5-0 start in six years.
Jared Allen returned one of his two fumble recoveries 52 yards for a touchdown and Adrian Peterson rumbled in for a pair of touchdowns, helping the Vikings to their 400th win (400-322-9).
St. Louis (0-5) wore throwback uniforms from 1999, a nod to the team's only Super Bowl victory. The Rams looked nothing like the Greatest Show on Turf, bumbling their way to four turnovers and an NFL-worst 15th straight loss.
Browns 6, Bills 3
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) - Backup kicker Billy Cundiff hit an 18-yard field goal with 23 seconds remaining. Cundiff's kick ended a display of offensive ineptitude between the Browns and Bills in a how-bad-was-it game.
Cundiff also made a 24-yard field goal in the second quarter, while punter Dave Zastudil was the Browns' MVP. Zastudil downed seven of nine punts inside the Bills 20, including three inside the 5. Zastudil also provided the game-turning play when Roscoe Parrish muffed a rolling punt. The Browns (1-4) recovered at the Bills 16 to set up the winning score.
The Bills (1-4) have lost to winless teams in consecutive weeks following a 38-10 defeat at Miami. They've dropped 12 of their past 15, and coach Dick Jauron's seat keeps getting hotter after the Bills had their third straight 7-9 finish last season.
The Browns ended a 10-game losing streak, one short of matching a franchise worst.