NFL ROUNDUP

NFL ROUNDUP

Sunday’s other games

Broncos 34, Jets 17

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Jay Cutler and the Broncos stopped the surging Jets, and showed they might be a team to reckon with in the wide-open AFC. Cutler passed for 357 yards and two touchdowns and rookie Peyton Hillis ran for 129 yards and a score at a wet and windy Meadowlands. The Broncos (7-5) washed away the sting of a 31-10 loss to Oakland at home last weekend by stopping the Jets’ five-game winning streak. Denver leads the AFC West by three games with four weeks left. It was a disappointing loss for New York (8-4), coming off emotional victories at New England and Tennessee and making a claim as the conference’s top team. Cutler finished 27-of-43, and Hillis became the first to rush for 100 or more yards against the Jets’ third-ranked run defense. Brandon Stokley and Eddie Royal each had touchdown catches, and tight ends Tony Scheffler and Daniel Graham combined for 13 catches and 149 yards. Thomas Jones had 138 yards rushing and two touchdowns for New York, but Brett Favre struggled in the sloppy conditions. He finished 23-of-43 for 247 yards and an interception.

Falcons 22, Chargers 16

SAN DIEGO — Matt Ryan, the rookie from Boston College, threw two touchdown passes and Michael Turner, LaDainian Tomlinson’s former understudy, ran for 120 yards against his former team. Ryan completed 17 of 23 passes for 207 yards. Turner carried 31 times in his sixth 100-yard game of the season. He was allowed to leave San Diego as an unrestricted free agent after last season. Tomlinson, the two-time defending NFL rushing champion, was held to 24 yards on 14 carries.

Chiefs 20, Raiders 13

OAKLAND, Calif. — Tyler Thigpen put together one effective drive to beat the Raiders in a matchup between two of the NFL’s worst teams. Thigpen engineered a 91-yard drive capped by Larry Johnson’s 2-yard tiebreaking run early in the fourth quarter to lead the Chiefs to just their second win in their last 21 games. Kansas City had lost seven in a row. Kansas City (2-10) scored its first touchdown on Maurice Leggett’s 67-yard fumble return on a botched fake field goal by Oakland (3-9).

Giants 23, Redskins 7

LANDOVER, Md. — Eli Manning had his first 300-yard game of the season, Clinton Portis was held to 22 yards rushing, and the Giants put aside the Plaxico Burress mess with another dominating performance. The Giants (11-1) have won seven straight, including six in a row against teams with winning records. They completed a sweep of the Redskins by manhandling them in the major statistical categories, including total yards (404-320) and time of possession (35:44-24:16). The Redskins’ Sean Taylor was inducted into the team’s Ring of Fame to mark the first anniversary of his death, and Portis honored his fallen friend by running onto the field with a No. 21 flag during the pregame tribute.

Panthers 35, Packers 31

GREEN BAY, Wis. — DeAngelo Williams scored his fourth touchdown of the game with 1:30 left on the clock, giving the Panthers a stunning come-from-behind victory in wintry conditions. The Packers appeared headed for a comeback win of their own after breaking a 28-28 tie on Mason Crosby’s 19-yard field goal with 1:57 remaining. But Green Bay immediately gave up a 45-yard kickoff return to Mark Jones and a 54-yard heave from Jake Delhomme to Steve Smith to set up first-and-goal on the Green Bay 1.

Buccaneers 23, Saints 20

TAMPA, Fla. — Jermaine Phillips and Phillip Buchanon intercepted Drew Brees, the NFL’s leading passer, in the closing minutes and Matt Bryant kicked a 37-yard field goal with 1:55 remaining. Brees, on pace to break Dan Marino’s single-season yardage record, threw for 296 yards and two touchdowns on a rainy day, but also was picked off three times — once in the end zone — and bothered by the Bucs’ pass rush all afternoon.

Dolphins 16, Rams 12

ST. LOUIS — The Dolphins (7-5) made it into the end zone only once, but relied on stingy play from a defense that got routed last week by the Patriots to secure their fifth victory in six games. Miami and St. Louis had the top two picks of the draft and the Rams (2-10) are likely to get another real early pick next April after losing their sixth in a row. They ended a string of blowout losses the previous four games behind Steven Jackson, who had 94 yards on 21 carries, but were undone by mistakes in the second half against a franchise that’s quickly become competitive after going 1-15 last season. Marc Bulger, sidelined by a concussion last week against the Bears, threw three interceptions in the second half — the clincher by Andre’ Goodman at the Dolphins 5 with 35 seconds to go. Renaldo Hill’s second pick of the season, and second in two games, set up Dan Carpenter’s third field goal for the final score with 6:39 to go. The Rams Josh Brown made all four of his field goal attempts.

Associated Press