Monday, October 29, 2007
INTERCONFERENCE
Patriots 52, Redskins 7
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Tom Brady threw for three touchdowns and ran for two more to help New England in an easy tuneup for its battle of unbeatens at Indianapolis. Linebacker Mike Vrabel was a force on both sides of the ball in the biggest rout in a season filled with them. He caught a touchdown pass and forced three fumbles by quarterback Jason Campbell that led to 17 points. The Patriots (8-0) and the Colts (7-0) both have perfect records going into next Sunday’s game. That’s where New England lost last, more than nine months ago in the AFC championship game. Halfway into the season, Brady already has a career-high 30 scoring passes. He extended his NFL record to eight games at the start of a season with at least three touchdown passes.
Colts 31, Panthers 7
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Peyton Manning threw for 254 yards and two touchdowns and broke Johnny Unitas’ team record for career scoring passes as the Colts dominated the second half against Carolina. Joseph Addai rushed for 100 yards and two touchdowns and caught a TD pass from Manning, who was outplayed early by 43-year-old Vinny Testaverde. But when Testaverde was lost at halftime with an ankle injury, the defense shut down David Carr the rest of the way as the Colts became the first team since the 1929-31 Green Bay Packers to win their first seven games three straight seasons. Manning completed just 14 of 30 passes, but shook off early problems to eclipse another one of Unitas’ records. His second TD, a perfectly thrown 59-yard pass to Reggie Wayne late in the third quarter was the 288th of his career, one more than Unitas.
Jaguars 24, Buccaneers 23
TAMPA, Fla. — Backup quarterback Quinn Gray threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Matt Jones that put the Jaguars ahead for good with 11:37 to go. Gray completed 7 of 16 passes for 100 yards, without an interception. One of his biggest plays came in the third quarter when he fumbled in his own end zone, but recovered and crawled out to the 1-yard line to avoid a safety. Garcia threw a 58-yard TD pass to Joey Galloway to help Tampa Bay (4-4) overcome a 17-3 deficit and Michael Bennett’s 19-yard TD run put the Bucs ahead 20-17. After Matt Bryant’s third field goal, Gray led an eight-play, 53-yard drive that Jones finished with a one-handed catch in the corner of the end zone. Garcia, who had not thrown an interception in Tampa Bay’s first seven games, had a streak of 217 consecutive passes without a pick stopped when Aaron Glenn returned one 28 yards for a TD. Garcia finished with three interceptions.
NFC
Lions 16, Bears 7
CHICAGO — Jon Kitna passed for 268 yards and Kevin Jones ran for 105 yards and a touchdown. Kitna completed 24-of-35 without an interception. Roy Williams caught eight passes for 77 yards, and Shaun McDonald added six catches for 64 yards. Greg Olsen’s 20-yard touchdown catch with 5:26 left in the third quarter pulled the Bears (3-5) within six.
Eagles 23, Vikings 16
MINNEAPOLIS — Donovan McNabb threw for 333 yards and a touchdown and showed plenty of the mobility he appeared to have lost after major knee surgery. The five-time Pro Bowler looked more like the guy who led the Eagles to the Super Bowl three years ago than the tentative veteran who had been hearing calls from those notoriously restless Philly fans to start Kevin Kolb. McNabb took advantage of the league’s worst pass defense, completing 23 of 36 passes and buying plenty of time with his legs to get his Eagles (3-5) back on track. Adrian Peterson gained 70 yards on 20 carries for the Vikings (2-5), but was bottled up for most of the day by Philadelphia’s sure-tackling, hard-charging defense.
Saints 31, 49ers 10
SAN FRANCISCO — Drew Brees passed for 336 yards and hit Marques Colston with three of his four touchdown throws in the Saints’ third consecutive win. It was the fifth straight loss for San Francisco. Reggie Bush had 113 total yards for the Saints (3-4), who jumped to a 24-point halftime lead with a steady offensive effort including catches by nine receivers and four scoring drives longer than 72 yards. Brees was on target, going 31-of-39 and avoiding any sacks for the fourth consecutive game. Bush had 64 yards on 10 carries and added seven catches for 49 yards. Terrance Copper also caught a TD pass, and David Patten had five catches for 109 yards. Alex Smith went 22-of-43 for 190 yards with several noticeably bad throws and Frank Gore twisted his ankle again in the second half, finishing with just 41 yards rushing.
AFC
Titans 13, Raiders 9
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — LenDale White ran for a career-high 133 yards, Rob Bironas added two field goals and Chris Henry scored a touchdown. The Titans (5-2), starting a three-game homestand, saw their defense carry most of the load. Tennessee came up with five sacks and two turnovers, the last an interception by Chris Hope with 2:35 left. Oakland (2-5) lost its third consecutive game despite getting to the Titans 26 in the final minutes. Albert Haynesworth sacked Daunte Culpepper, who threw wide on third down and watched Mike Williams drop his pass on fourth-and-14.
Chargers 35, Texans 10
SAN DIEGO — Philip Rivers threw three touchdown passes — two to All-Pro tight end Antonio Gates — cornerback Antonio Cromartie had a monster game for the Chargers. Cromartie recovered a fumble for a touchdown and had two interceptions, one of which he returned 70 yards for another TD. Houston lost its third straight and had quarterback Matt Schaub knocked out of the game when he was hit after throwing his second interception.
Bills 13, Jets 3
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — J.P. Losman came on in relief of an injured Trent Edwards and connected with Lee Evans on an 85-yard touchdown pass with 3:38 remaining. Rian Lindell kicked two field goals, including a 40-yarder with 10:06 left that gave Buffalo a 6-3 lead.
Associated Press