AROUND THE NFL \ Sunday's other games

AFC Chargers 28, Chiefs 20 SAN DIEGO -- Drew Brees threw three touchdown passes to Antonio Gates and finished with 324 yards passing to lift the Chargers (4-4). LaDainian Tomlinson, slowed again on the ground, threw his third TD pass of the season, a 17-yarder to Eric Parker. Brees completed 25 of 43 passes, with TD throws of 19, 20 and 35 yards to Gates. Gates had 10 catches for 145 yards, both career highs, and the three TD catches tied his career best. Tomlinson gained 69 yards on 17 carries a week after being held to a career-low 7 yards in a loss at Philadelphia. Raiders 34, Titans 25 NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Kerry Collins threw for three touchdowns, and the Raiders got for their third victory in the last four games. The Raiders (3-4) came up with six sacks, including 21/2 by Warren Sapp, and two turnovers they converted into 10 points. They also won their first road game this season, and they did it with their first victory in Tennessee against a team that had won the first three in this series. The Titans (2-6) again blew a game they had a chance to win with the league's youngest team making repeated mistakes. They had a punt return for a TD wiped out by a roughness penalty, dropped passes, a botched extra point and a rookie who never looked for a ball thrown his way: A wide-open Bo Scaife was too busy running upfield and apparently forgot the ball might be thrown to him. NFC 49ers 15, Buccaneers 10 SAN FRANCISCO -- Joe Nedney kicked five field goals, including a 28-yarder with 1:56 to play on the first scoring drive ever led by former fourth-string quarterback Cody Pickett, to help the 49ers snap a five-game slide. Pickett emerged as an improbable hero for the 49ers (2-5), performing admirably in the final 11 minutes while Ken Dorsey and Alex Smith were out with injuries. After Dorsey sprained his left ankle, Pickett marched the Niners 42 yards in 11 plays to Nedney's last field goal, and the defense shut down Tampa two more times to clinch it. San Francisco won with just 208 yards of offense. Joey Galloway caught eight passes for 149 yards for the Buccaneers (5-2), who began the day with the NFC's best record. Chris Simms was 21-of-34 for 264 yards in his first start of the season, but his numbers didn't reflect an inconsistent, tentative performance that included two interceptions -- one bouncing off the head of umpire Darrell Jenkins -- and a key fumble. Cowboys 34, Cardinals 13 IRVING, Texas -- Rookie Marion Barber ran for 127 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries in his first start and new kicker Shaun Suisham made two short field goals. With the victory, the Cowboys (5-3) stayed on pace in the jammed NFC East. They also had a good performance going into their bye week, which comes before they have to play three games in 11 days. Arizona (2-5) lost its 14th straight game at Texas Stadium since 1989. Josh McCown, still starting for Kurt Warner, completed 16 of 33 passes for 161 yards, with a 44-yard touchdown pass to Anquan Boldin. Panthers 38, Vikings 13 CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Stephen Davis ran for two touchdowns and Steve Smith terrorized Minnesota's defense for a franchise-record 201 yards and a score. Jake Delhomme was on-target for the Panthers (5-2), passing for 341 yards and three touchdowns while stretching Carolina's winning streak to four games. The Vikings (2-5) dropped to 0-4 on the road this season, continuing a five-year trend for futility: Minnesota is 9-32 away from the Metrodome since October 2000. They had no leadership after Daunte Culpepper left with a sprained right knee on the final play of the first quarter. Bears 19, Lions 13 (OT) DETROIT -- The Detroit Lions were bailed out after one ill-advised Jeff Garcia play in the fourth quarter, then the Chicago Bears burned them on another in overtime. Garcia's across-the-body pass was picked off by Charles Tillman and returned 22 yards for a touchdown with 8:43 left in overtime, lifting Chicago atop the NFC North. The 35-year-old quarterback, making his second start in place of Joey Harrington, rolled right and tried to throw back across the field to Mike Williams. Tillman stepped in front of the throw and raced untouched to the end zone, where he was mobbed by teammates. It was a big win for Chicago (4-3) not only because the Bears broke a first-place tie with Detroit (3-4), but also because they secured a head-to-head tiebreaker over the Lions, whom they beat 38-6 in an earlier meeting. The Lions caught a huge break in the fourth quarter. With Brian Urlacher draped on him, Garcia was flagged for intentional grounding when the Bears thought he threw a lateral that linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer picked up and returned for a score. The Bears challenged, but the play stood after review. Chicago overcame the call and won its third straight, becoming the first NFL team with 650 victories. Rookie quarterback Kyle Orton was 17-for-31 for a career-high 230 yards with a TD for the Bears. Garcia was 23-of-35 for 197 yards. Giants 36, Redskins 0 EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The Giants paid tribute to late owner Wellington Mara in the best possible way, blowing out an archrival to remain on top of their division. Tiki Barber ran for a career-high 206 yards and a touchdown and the Giants (5-2) held Washington (4-3) to 34 yards from scrimmage in the first half. In the team's first game since Mara died Tuesday at 89, the Giants had five sacks, forced four turnovers and shut down a Washington offense that scored 52 points a week earlier against San Francisco. The shutout was New York's first since a 20-0 home win over Philadelphia on Nov. 22, 1998. Mark Brunell entered the game with the fourth-highest quarterback rating in the NFL, but finished 11-for-28 for 65 yards. INTERCONFERENCE Bengals 21, Packers 14 CINCINNATI -- Brett Favre threw five interceptions and came up short on a game-ending drive, preserving the Bengals' victory. The Packers (1-6) feel they're never out of it as long as Favre is throwing. Favre drove them to the 28, where a fan ran out of the stands and plucked the ball from the quarterback's passing hand after a play. Guards needed several minutes to run down the fan, giving both teams a much-needed breather. It finally ended with Favre throwing an underhand pass from behind the line of scrimmage, then falling on his back at the 13-yard line in exhaustion. He finished 26-of-39 for 279 yards. He had never thrown five interceptions during a regular-season game; he had six in a playoff loss to St. Louis during the 2001 season. His off-day let the Bengals (6-2) take control. Carson Palmer threw three touchdown passes, the last a 27-yarder to Jeremi Johnson that made it 21-7 early in the fourth quarter. Favre's fifth interception set it up. Broncos 49, Eagles 21 DENVER -- Little-known receiver Todd Devoe caught a 43-yard touchdown pass from Jake Plummer and Tatum Bell ran for 67- and 6-yard touchdowns in the fourth quarter to help the Broncos hold off, then run away from the Eagles. Plummer, who finished with a season-high 309 yards, threw three of his four touchdown passes over the first 23 minutes to give Denver a 28-0 lead, but the Broncos (6-2) allowed Philly (4-3) within seven points and 24 yards of the tying score early in the fourth period. Donovan McNabb was intercepted in the end zone by rookie Domonique Foxworth, and the Broncos cruised from there. McNabb was 12-for-34 for 283 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. Terrell Owens finished with three catches for 154 yards and a 91-yard TD reception, the longest of his career. Bell finished with 107 yards and Mike Anderson had 126. Dolphins 21, Saints 6 BATON ROUGE, La. -- Gus Frerotte had a touchdown pass to Chris Chambers and the Dolphins' defense recorded a safety, spoiling the Saints' return to Louisiana. Miami allowed two field goals and kept Saints quarterback Aaron Brooks off-balance throughout in snapping a three-game losing streak. Ricky Williams also showed signs of a return to form for the first time in his NFL comeback, battering tacklers as he gained 82 yards on 17 carries. Ronnie Brown rushed for 106 yards for the Dolphins (3-4). While Paul Tagliabue offered hope to those in Louisiana who'd like to keep the state's NFL franchise, the Saints (2-6), losers of four straight, did little to leave their fans hopeful about this season. Brooks was intercepted once, sacked six times and fumbled twice without being touched -- though he recovered both. Rams 24, Jaguars 21 ST. LOUIS -- Steven Jackson had 179 yards on 25 carries and scored the winning touchdown, Mike Furrey's 37-yard interception return led to the go-ahead score and the Rams stuffed the Jaguars' attack most of the second half. Fred Taylor, who was questionable with a bruised right ankle, had 165 yards on 23 carries for the Jaguars (4-3). That included a 71-yard scoring run in the first quarter. But the Jaguars were hurt by missed field goals by Josh Scobee from 44 and 48 yards. The Rams (4-4) have won two of three since losing coach Mike Martz for the season due to a heart illness and with interim coach Joe Vitt in charge. They expect to get back QB Marc Bulger (shoulder) and wide receivers Torry Holt (knee) and Isaac Bruce (turf toe) after their bye week next week. Associated Press Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.