Associated Press
The NFL roundup …
MIAMI — Tim Tebow rallied the Broncos for two touchdowns in the final 2:44 of the fourth quarter to force overtime, and Matt Prater’s 52-yard field goal gave Denver an improbable 18-15 victory Sunday over the stunned Miami Dolphins.
The Broncos appeared beaten when they trailed 15-0 with 5:23 left and took over at their 20. At that point Tebow was 4 for 14 for 40 yards.
But he threw two TD passes sandwiched around a successful onside kick, and scored a 2-point conversion standing up with 17 seconds left to tie the game.
Bears 24, Bucs 18
WEMBLEY, England — Matt Forte ran for 145 yards and a touchdown and Chicago held on at Wembley Stadium.
Jay Cutler threw for 226 yards and a touchdown and the Bears (4-3) intercepted Josh Freeman four times to win their second game in a row.
The Buccaneers (4-3) lost for the second time in three years in London.
Chiefs 28, Raiders 0
OAKLAND, Calif. — Kendrick Lewis and Brandon Flowers returned interceptions for touchdowns and Kansas City took advantage of rusty quarterback play from Kyle Boller and Carson Palmer.
Boller became the first Raiders quarterback in 13 years to throw three interceptions in the first half, including Lewis’ 59-yard score on the first drive of the game for Oakland (4-3). Palmer relieved in the second half and threw three more interceptions, including one that Flowers returned 58 yards to give the Chiefs a 28-0 lead early in the fourth quarter.
Packers 33, Vikings 27
MINNEAPOLIS — Aaron Rodgers kept Green Bay unbeaten with three touchdowns and 335 yards passing, holding off plucky Christian Ponder in the rookie’s first start.
Rodgers finished 24 for 30, another near-unstoppable afternoon for him. Ponder was picked off twice in the third quarter by Charles Woodson, who almost grabbed a couple more, but he kept the Vikings in it the whole game after a 71-yard completion on his first play.
Adrian Peterson rushed 24 times for 175 yards and a touchdown for the Vikings (1-6), but James Starks put the game away with two big gains for first downs before the 2-minute warning and finished with 75 yards on 13 carries.
Cowboys 34, Rams 7
ARLINGTON, Texas — DeMarco Murray ran for a franchise-record 253 yards, including a 91-yard touchdown that’s the second-longest in club history, to lead Dallas.
In the start of a football-baseball doubleheader between teams from Dallas-Fort Worth and St. Louis, the Cowboys (3-3) emphatically ended their stretch of 11 straight games decided by four points or less.
The Rams (0-6) were without quarterback Sam Bradford and were averaging the fewest points in the league even with him. They also had by far the worst run defense in the NFL, allowing 163 yards per game.
Steelers 32, Cardinals 20
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Ben Roethlisberger threw 95 yards to Mike Wallace for the longest pass play in Steelers history and Pittsburgh handed Arizona its fifth consecutive loss.
Roethlisberger, 26 of 39 for 361 yards, also had TD passes of 12 yards to Heath Miller and 4 yards to Emmanuel Sanders in the first game between the teams since Pittsburgh’s 27-23 thriller over the Cardinals in the 2009 Super Bowl.
Kevin Kolb threw a pair of touchdown passes for the Cardinals (1-5), his first in three games, but he missed several open receivers and, with a blitzing LaMarr Woodley in his face, drew an intentional grounding call in the Cardinals’ end zone for a safety.
Browns 6, Seahawks 3
CLEVELAND — Phil Dawson converted two field goals over 50 yards and had two others blocked, but it was enough for Cleveland.
Seattle came in missing starting quarterback Tarvaris Jackson and lost running back Marshawn Lynch to a back injury during pregame warmups.
The Browns (3-3) didn’t reach the end zone, but Dawson bailed them out with kicks of 52 and 53 yards, his first career game with two makes over 50.
Jets 27, Chargers 21
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Plaxico Burress caught three touchdown passes, including the go-ahead score that was set up by an interception by Darrelle Revis, and the Jets stormed back for the win.
Leading 21-17, the Chargers (4-2) appeared to be driving for a possible game-sealing score when Philip Rivers threw toward Vincent Jackson. The ball tipped off the receiver’s hands and right to Revis, who returned the interception 64 yards to the Chargers 19.
After a few runs by Shonn Greene and a defensive holding call — the Chargers’ 11th penalty in the game — Mark Sanchez found Burress on a slant for a 3-yard touchdown to give the Jets (4-3) their first lead midway through the fourth quarter. It was the second time in his career Burress caught three touchdowns, and first since 2007 while with the Giants.
Texans 41, Titans 7
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Arian Foster ran for 115 yards and two touchdowns and added 119 more receiving with a 78-yard TD as Houston moved back into first place in the AFC South.
The Texans (4-3) snapped a two-game skid even with Pro Bowl receiver Andre Johnson missing his third straight game and fullback James Casey his second due to injuries. Matt Schaub threw for 296 yards and two TDs.
Falcons 23, Lions 16
DETROIT — Matt Ryan ran and threw for touchdowns to give Atlanta a double-digit lead in the first half, and the Falcons held on for the win.
On Detroit’s final drive, a pass-interference penalty against Atlanta was overturned because instant replay showed defensive tackle Corey Peters had tipped the ball. Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford appeared to injure his right ankle on the play.
He then throw incomplete on fourth down from the Atlanta 41 and limped off the field.
Saints 62, Colts 7
NEW ORLEANS — Drew Brees completed 31 of 35 passes for 325 yards and five touchdowns, and the New Orleans Saints set a franchise record for points and victory margin in a 62-7 demolition of the hapless Indianapolis Colts on Sunday night.
For the first time as a head coach, Sean Payton spent the game up in the coaches’ booth, where he could sit comfortably with his broken left leg propped up. He called the plays from there and he had to like what he saw from his new vantage point.
Brees had two touchdown passes to Marques Colston and one to Darren Sproles in the first quarter. His fourth and fifth touchdown tosses went to second-year tight end Jimmy Graham in the third quarter.
It seemed the Saints could do whatever they wanted, also rushing for 236 yards.
The Associated Press
10/23/11 23:22