Associated Press
The NFL roundup …
ATLANTA ó Matt Ryan tossed three touchdown passes and Atlanta held on to beat Minnesota 24-14.
The Falcons (7-4) were up 17-0 at halftime after allowing just 97 yards. But, mimicking the previous weekís closer-than-necessary victory over Tennessee, they let Minnesota (2-9) back in the game.
Toby Gerhart, filling in for injured Adrian Peterson, scored from the 1 late in the third quarter. Then, after Dominique Franks inadvertently touched a punt the Falcons were trying to avoid to set up a Vikings recovery, Christian Ponder went to Percy Harvin for a 39-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-13 to make it 17-14.
But Ryan responded with a 3-yard scoring pass to backup Michael Palmer, and the Falcons held on downs after Harvinís 104-yard kickoff return to the Atlanta 3.
Texans 20, Jaguars 13
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. ó Matt Leinart injured his throwing shoulder, overshadowing Houstonís victory against the offensively inept Jaguars.
Arian Foster ran for 65 yards and a score, Leinart delivered a perfect touchdown pass to Joel Dreessen before leaving the game and the Texans (8-3) sacked Blaine Gabbert six times. It was good enough for their fifth consecutive win.
The Texans already lost starter Matt Schaub for the season with a right foot injury. Now, they are down to T.J. Yates and newly signed Kellen Clemens.
Jets 28, Bills 24
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. ó Mark Sanchez threw four touchdown passes, including the winning score to Santonio Holmes with just over a minute remaining.
With the Jets trailing 24-21 and facing a third-and-11 from the Bills 36, Sanchez connected with Plaxico Burress, who made an impressive one-handed grab for the first down. Sanchez quickly ran a quarterback sneak and then, on the next play, rolled out to his right to buy some time and found Holmes alone in the right corner of the end zone to give the Jets the lead with 1:01 left.Cardinals 23, Rams 20
ST. LOUIS ó Patrick Peterson tied the NFL record with his fourth punt return for a touchdown this season, Beanie Wells set a franchise mark with 228 yards rushing, and Arizona won its seventh in a row in St. Louis.
Wells averaged 8.4 yards per carry on a career day that included gains of 71 and 53 yards. The latter set up Jay Feelyís go-ahead 22-yard field goal with 4:12 remaining.
Titans 23, Bucs 17
NASHVILLE, Tenn. ó Chris Johnson ran for a season-high 190 yards, and Matt Hasselbeck threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Damian Williams on fourth-and-2 with 3:01 left.
The Titans (6-5) forced five turnovers and overcame four turnovers of their own. Bengals 23, Browns 20
CINCINNATI ó A.J. Green made a leaping catch for a 51-yard gain in the final minute, setting up a field goal that rallied Cincinnati.
The surprising Bengals (7-4) stayed right behind Baltimore and Pittsburgh in the AFC North with another second-half comeback forged by their rookie big-play combination.Broncos 16, Chargers 13
SAN DIEGO ó Matt Prater kicked a 37-yard field goal with 29 seconds left in overtime to lift Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos to a 16-13 victory Sunday over the San Diego Chargers, whoíve lost six straight games for the first time in 10 years.
The Broncos narrowly avoided the first NFL tie since Cincinnati and Philadelphia ended deadlocked at 13 on Nov. 16, 2008.
Tebow, now 5-1 as the Broncosí starter, led Denver from its 43 after San Diegoís Nick Novak was wide right on a 53-yard field goal attempt with 2:31 left in overtime. Novak made a 53-yarder in the first quarter, a career-best, and was wide right on a 48-yard try early in the fourth quarter.
Raiders 25, Bears 20
OAKLAND, Calif. ó Sebastian Janikowski kicked a team-record six field goals and Oakland took advantage of three interceptions from Chicagoís fill-in starter Caleb Hanie.
Carson Palmer threw for 301 yards and Michael Bush iced the game with a touchdown run in the fourth quarter to lead the Raiders (7-4) to their third straight win against a Bears team missing starting quarterback Jay Cutler.
Patriots 38, Eagles 20
PHILADELPHIA ó Tom Brady threw for 361 yards and three touchdowns in a game that all but ended the Eaglesí playoff hopes.
Filling in for the injured Michael Vick for the second straight game, Vince Young couldnít keep the Eagles in contention despite a career-best 400 yards passing. The Eagles fell to 4-7 in a season that began with Super Bowl expectations.Redskins 23, Seahawks 17
SEATTLE ó Rex Grossman found Anthony Armstrong for a 50-yard touchdown and Washington rallied for 16 fourth-quarter points to end a six-game losing streak.
One play after committing a grounding penalty, Grossman stepped up in the pocket on third-and-19 and found Armstrong in the corner of the end zone.
The touchdown pass was Grossmanís second of the game and followed rookie Roy Heluís leaping 28-yard TD run that pulled the Redskins (4-7) within 17-14.
Grossman finished 26 of 35 for 314 yards.
Steelers 13, Chiefs 9
KANSAS CITY, Mo. ó Ben Roethlisberger threw a short touchdown pass to Weslye Saunders in the first half, and the Steelers took advantage of four turnovers by Chiefs quarterback Tyler Palker to keep pace with Baltimore atop their loaded division.
Roethlisberger was 21 of 31 for 193 yards and an interception for the Steelers (8-3), whose defense lost All-Pro safety Troy Polamalu to a head injury in the first quarter yet still kept the bumbling Chiefs (4-7) from scoring a touchdown.