Eagles lose to Arizona Cardinals, 21-17. Browns' next opponent, Jacksonville Jaguars, top winless Indianapolis Colts, 17-3.
Associated PressSteelers wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery (89) is congratulated after catching a 16-yard touchdown pass from Ben Roethlisberger during Pittsburgh's 24-17 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
Roundup of early afternoon NFL games
Pittsburgh Steelers 24, Cincinnati Bengals 17
CINCINNATI, Ohio -- With the game on the line, rookie Andy Dalton couldn't handle a little old-fashioned Pittsburgh defense.
Rashard Mendenhall ran for a pair of touchdowns, and the Steelers intercepted Dalton twice in the fourth quarter, holding on for a 24-17 victory over the upstart Cincinnati Bengals.
Pittsburgh (7-3) ended the Bengals' five-game winning streak and got a needed victory. Ben Roethlisberger led long, balanced drives while thousands of Steelers fans waved Terrible Towels in the first sellout crowd of the season at Paul Brown Stadium.
Mendenhall's 9-yard run put the Steelers' up 24-17 late in the third quarter. Cincinnati (6-3) had a couple of late chances behind its impressive young quarterback, who handled most of what Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau threw at him.
Dalton had two more touchdown passes, giving him 14 overall -- the most by a rookie quarterback in his first nine games since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970. He wasn't sacked even though the Steelers blitzed him every way they could.
Near the end, a Steelers defense that's starting to get healthy and force turnovers finally thwarted him.
Pittsburgh came in with only two interceptions all season. Cornerback William Gay anticipated Dalton's throw and stepped in front of Jerome Simpson for a clinching interception inside the Pittsburgh 20-yard line with 2:27 left.
Dalton was 15 of 30 for 170 yards and touchdown passes of 36 yards to fellow rookie A.J. Green and 1 yard to Jermaine Gresham. Green twisted his right knee on his first-quarter catch and was limited the rest of the way, relegated to standing on the sideline for the decisive moments of the fourth quarter.
Once the Steelers stopped their self-destruction, they put it away.
The defending AFC champions needed this one. The Steelers already have been swept by Baltimore, and a loss in Cincinnati would have left them 0-3 in division games -- a bad mark in a big tiebreaker.
They got off to another fast start, then held on in a gusty wind that made the goal posts shimmy and passes float.
Roethlisberger was 21 of 33 for 245 yards with one touchdown and an interception. He was sacked five times, matching his season high.
Roethlisberger found Jerricho Cotchery uncovered in the end zone for a 16-yard score that got thousands of Terrible Towels waving. It was the fifth time in the last six games that the Steelers reached the end zone on their opening possession.
Mendenhall ran 2 yards for a 14-0 lead on the Steelers' next possession. At that point, Pittsburgh had a 132-8 advantage in yards.
Dalton got the Bengals back in it by doing what he does best -- throw the ball Green's way so he can make a game-changing play. After running away from the pass rush, Dalton threw 36 yards to Green, who went up between safeties Troy Polamalu and Ryan Clark to make the catch in the end zone.
Green, the NFL's top rookie receiver, landed awkwardly on his right leg on the play. He lay on the field for a couple of minutes and limped off with a sore right knee, but returned for the next series. He was on the sideline during the second half.
The Steelers helped the Bengals keep it close.
Tight end Heath Miller bobbled a pass directly to cornerback Leon Hall for an interception that set up Mike Nugent's 43-yard field goal, cutting it to 14-10. Miller had another bad moment late in the first half, wiping out an apparent touchdown with an interference penalty. Shaun Suisham's 39-yard field goal gave Pittsburgh a 17-10 halftime lead.
Hall, the Bengals' top cornerback, hurt his left Achilles tendon on that drive and didn't return.
Dalton pulled the Bengals even with a 1-yard touchdown pass to Gresham on their first drive of the second half. Pittsburgh then pulled off a tone-setting drive, covering 81 yards in 11 plays. Mendenhall's 9-yard run put the Steelers up 24-17 late in the third quarter.
Jacksonville Jaguars 17, Indianapolis Colts 3
INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana -- Blaine Gabbert and Maurice Jones-Drew finally got Jacksonville moving against the winless Colts.
Somebody had to.
The rookie quarterback threw for a touchdown, while Jones-Drew ran for another, leading the Jaguars (3-6) to their first road victory of the season, 17-3 in Indianapolis.
Jacksonville plays at Cleveland against the Browns next Sunday. The Browns are 3-6 after their 13-12 loss to the St. Louis Rams.
For Jones-Drew, it was another banner day against his old nemesis. He carried 25 times for 114 yards, becoming the second player in franchise history to rush for 6,000 career yards -- more than 1,000 of that coming against the Colts. His game-sealing 3-yard TD run capped an 8-yard scoring drive that was set up by Dan Orlovsky's fumble.
For the Colts, it was another dismal performance that had fans booing and leaving early. Indy, the NFL's last winless team, is 0-10 for the first time since 1997. The Colts have now lost as many regular-season home games this year as they did in the previous three seasons combined and were eliminated from the AFC South title chase when Houston beat Tampa Bay 37-9.
With two of the league's worst offenses on the field, the game lived up to its inept billing.
How bad was it?
Curtis Painter and Gabbert each threw interceptions in the first five plays.
Indy finished with 212 total yards; Jacksonville had 251. After rushing for 58 yards in the first quarter, the Colts finished with only 84. And of the combined 61 first-half plays, 35 went for 2 or fewer yards. Even when Painter picked up a rare first down after Jacksonville was called for a face mask penalty, he tossed his helmet to the equipment guys because it malfunctioned.
So did the offenses on a brutal day under the roof in Indy.
Gabbert was 14 of 21 for 118 yards with the 11-yard TD pass to Jarrett Dillard that broke a 3-3 tie late in the third quarter.
Painter finished 13 of 19 for 94 yards with two interceptions before getting yanked early for the second straight week. Donald Brown led the Colts with 14 carries for 53 yards.
There's more.
Josh Scobee's 45-yard field goal attempt just before halftime started right and never had a chance, and the only first-half scores came on consecutive eight-play drives -- ending with Scobee's 44-yard field goal late in the first quarter and Adam Vinatieri's 42-yarder early in the second quarter.
The Jags finally broke through in the second half thanks to, of course, a Colts mistake.
Indy appeared to have Jacksonville stopped midway through the third quarter when Robert Mathis sacked Gabbert on third-and-11, but Tyler Brayton was called for illegal hands to the face, giving the Jaguars an automatic first down. Eight plays later, Gabbert hooked up with Dillard to make it 10-3.
The Colts never got into serious position to tie the score again, and Orlovsky's fumble and Jones-Drew's scoring run wrapped it up.
Broncos 17, Chiefs 10
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Tim Tebow only threw eight passes and completed two against the Chiefs.
It turned out one completion was all he really needed.
The former Heisman Trophy winner connected with Eric Decker on a 56-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter, helping the Denver Broncos beat the Kansas City Chiefs 17-10 despite playing almost the entire game without their top two running backs.
Willis McGahee went down with a hamstring injury on the Broncos' first offensive series, and Knowshon Moreno left later in the first quarter with a knee injury. That left journeyman Lance Ball to tote the ball 30 times for 96 yards, churning up a defense that had to know what was coming.
Since taking over for Kyle Orton, Tebow has led the ground-based Broncos (4-5) to victory in three of their last four games. They moved into a tie with Kansas City and San Diego behind the AFC West-leading Oakland Raiders (5-4), who beat the Chargers on Thursday night.
Associated PressDenver's Tim Tebow scores on a seven-yard touchdown run during the Broncos' 17-10 win over the Kansas City Chiefs.
Denver coach John Fox scrapped a large chunk of his playbook when he made Tebow the starter, trying to cater to his deft ability to run the read-option. And despite losing his best two running backs, Fox stuck with the ground game, content to wear down the Kansas City defense.
Tebow finished 2 of 8 for 69 yards, but added 44 yards and a score on the ground.
Kansas City's offense made those meager numbers look good.
Matt Cassel was 13 of 28 for 93 yards and a touchdown, and the Chiefs only managed 258 yards of total offense, a performance every bit as just as ugly as last week's 31-1 loss to Miami.
The Chiefs' four wins have been by 40 points; their five losses are by 120.
The Broncos made it clear that they weren't going to throw the ball a whole lot on their first possession, when Broncos offensive coordinator Mike McCoy called eight consecutive runs.
Moreno had the highlight carry when he hurdled the Chiefs' Brandon Flowers on a 24-yard scamper, and Tebow finished off the drive when he went straight up the middle from 7 yards out, bouncing around like a pinball before plowing over the goal line to give Denver a 7-0 lead.
McGahee was hurt on the seventh play of the drive when he ran up the legs of one of his offensive linemen. He remained down until trainers could help him off the field.
He didn't return to the game, though it didn't matter the way Kansas City was executing.
The Chiefs' offensive line was called for holding, a false start and gave up a sack to rookie Von Miller on their opening drive. Cassel was 4 of 9 for 29 yards and Kansas City had five first downs and 72 yards of total offense in the entire first half.
Rookie wide receiver Jon Baldwin tried to give Kansas City a spark when he hauled in an acrobatic 58-yard pass in the second quarter, reaching around safety Brian Dawkins to make the grab. Baldwin held onto the ball, still behind Dawkins' back, as both players fell to the ground, but the play was called back because wide receiver Steve Breaston had lined up illegally.
Matt Prater's 38-yard field goal gave Denver a 10-0 lead at halftime.
Tebow wound up missing all four of his pass attempts in the half, making Denver the first team to lead at the break without a completion since the Green Bay Packers led the Chicago Bears 14-0 on Oct. 31, 1994, according to STATS LLC. Brett Favre was 0 for 6 at halftime of that game.
Kansas City finally scored when Cassel hit Le'Ron McClain on a play-action pass from just outside the goal line midway through the third quarter. It was the first points scored by the Chiefs' offense since 12:01 left in the fourth quarter against San Diego two weeks ago.
The Broncos snuffed out the comeback bid with 6:44 left in the game, when Decker ran past Flowers and safety Reshard Langford. Tebow hit him in stride for the touchdown.
Ryan Succop kicked a field goal with 7 seconds left for Kansas City, but the Broncos recovered the onside kick to seal the win.
Cardinals 21, Eagles 17
PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania -- With John Skelton leading the way, the Arizona Cardinals sure look like a different team.
Skelton threw a 5-yard TD pass to Early Doucet with 1:53 left and the Cardinals rallied for a 21-17 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles.
Michael Vick had another so-so performance and the Eagles (3-6) blew a fourth-quarter lead for the fifth time this season.
Starting for the injured Kevin Kolb, Skelton threw three touchdown passes to lead the Cardinals (3-6) to their second straight win. He threw a tying TD pass to Larry Fitzgerald in the fourth quarter of a 19-13 overtime win against St. Louis last week that snapped a six-game losing streak.
Fitzgerald had two TD catches and made a sensational, over-the-shoulder diving catch to set up the go-ahead score on Sunday.
The defending NFC East champion Eagles were expected to be Super Bowl contenders after a slew of big-name acquisitions in the offseason. Instead, they've struggled miserably and have lost seven of their past eight home games.
Alex Henery kicked a 36-yard field goal with 5:06 remaining after Nnamdi Asomugha's interception to put the Eagles up 17-14.
But the Cardinals answered.
Skelton completed a 30-yard pass to LaRod Stephens-Howling on fourth-and-2 from the Cardinals 32 to keep the winning drive going. On third-and-10 from the Eagles 38, Fitzgerald made an incredible catch to the 1.
Beanie Wells was stopped for no gain and lost 4 yards on the next run. But Skelton hit Doucet coming out of the backfield for a go-ahead TD to cap an 87-yard drive and give the Cardinals a 21-17 lead.
Associated PressArizona's Early Doucet scores on a five-yard touchdown pass from John Skelton with 1:53 left in the game, the final and decisive score in the Cardinals' 21-17 win over the Philadelphia Eagles.
Vick's desperation deep pass on third-and-20 was intercepted by A.J. Jefferson to seal Arizona's win.
Asante Samuel returned an interception 20 yards for a touchdown and LeSean McCoy had a 1-yard TD run to give the Eagles a 14-7 lead.
Vick was 16 of 34 for 128 yards and two interceptions. He's hardly resembled the guy who was an MVP candidate and Pro Bowl starter last season.
Skelton completed 21 of 40 for 315 yards, three TDs and two picks.
Asomugha made up for a costly penalty by intercepting Skelton at the Cardinals 30 and returning it to the 26. Vick left the game after taking a hard hit to the side on a 7-yard run. Vince Young handed off on third down, setting up Henery's field goal.
Cardinals kicker Jay Feely missed two field goals in the first quarter, hooking a 35-yard attempt wide left and a 43-yarder wide right.
The Eagles played without three starters, including two-time Pro Bowl wideout DeSean Jackson. He was inactive after missing a team meeting Saturday morning, two people familiar with the situation said.
Helped by a crucial penalty, the Cardinals tied it at 14 on Skelton's 7-yard TD pass to Fitzgerald in the fourth quarter. An offside call on Asomugha allowed Arizona to extend the drive after an incomplete pass on third-and-10.
A few plays later, Fitzgerald caught a pass that was tipped by Joselio Hanson and scampered into the end zone for his franchise-record 70th career TD. Roy Green had 69 TDs for the Cardinals from 1979-90.
Vick made another poor pass that was intercepted by Richard Marshall at the Eagles 44 on the following series. But Philadelphia coach Andy Reid challenged after seeing several replays on the stadium's video board and the play was overturned because the ball hit the ground.
The Eagles went ahead 14-7 late in the second quarter after a holding penalty on Marshall negated Adrian Wilson's interception in the end zone. Vick scrambled 14 yards to the Cardinals 3 one play after his pass into triple coverage was picked.
A play later, McCoy scored for the ninth straight game, setting a team record.
Dallas Cowboys 44, Buffalo Bills 7
ARLINGTON, Texas -- Facing the best team they'll see for a month, Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys looked pretty good themselves.
Romo guided touchdown drives on his first four series and Terence Newman returned one of his two interceptions for a touchdown, leading the Cowboys to a 44-7 victory over the Buffalo Bills.
The Cowboys (5-4) won their second straight and could be starting a big surge considering their next three foes went into this weekend a combined 6-18. The really exciting part for coach Jason Garrett is how thorough this victory was. The offense was efficient, the defense protected an early lead and the special teams came through as well. The result: Dallas' most points since Sept. 9, 2007, and its most lopsided win since Oct. 22, 2000.
Romo completed his first 13 passes, including touchdown throws of 34 yards to Dez Bryant and 58 and 5 yards to Laurent Robinson. He finished 23 of 26, setting the franchise record for single-game accuracy by hitting 88.5 percent of his passes. They covered 270 yards.
Although Romo didn't lead any more touchdown drives after that opening stretch, he avoided the mistakes that have doomed him in other games this season. That's especially noteworthy because they were facing the team that leads the NFL in takeaways and had the second-most interceptions.
Buffalo (5-4) lost its second straight and third in four games. It also was a rude homecoming for coach Chan Gailey and running back Fred Jackson. Gailey coached the Cowboys to the playoffs in 1998-99, his only two years on the job, and Jackson grew up in this suburb, at one time living on the property that's now Cowboys Stadium.
The Bills trailed 21-0 before they got their lone touchdown, a 3-yard pass to David Nelson. Perhaps their most memorable moment of the afternoon was Nelson presenting the TD ball to his girlfriend -- a Cowboys cheerleader.
Ryan Fitzpatrick was 20 of 31 for 146 yards and that touchdown. He also threw three interceptions, the two to Newman and another to Frank Walker at the 1-yard line on Buffalo's final snap.
Dallas' defense was opportunistic from the start, with DeMarcus Ware sacking Fitzpatrick on their first snap. The Cowboys racked up four turnovers, including safety Gerald Sensabaugh forcing and recovering a fumble by Jackson. The local product still had a productive day, gaining 114 yards on 13 carries.
While the Cowboys were bolstered by the performance of Rob Ryan's defense, it was Romo and the offense that have folks thinking big.
Romo is clearly benefiting from the rapid development of rookie running back DeMarco Murray. He turned 20 carries into 135 yards and a touchdown, and had 35 yards on six receptions. He was a concern of the defense all day, drawing enough attention to help open space for Romo to throw toward in the secondary.
Murray also continued to show it's going to take a lot of guys to stop him as he made several highlight-worthy moves, such as hurdling safety Jairus Byrd and, on another play, cutting back across the field to turn a likely loss into a 25-yard gain.
Another reason for Romo's crisp performance: He's finally over the broken rib he suffered in Week 2. This was the first game he played since then without a special vest for protection.
Bryant caught six passes for 74 yards, Robinson had three catches for 73 yards and tight end Jason Witten caught five passes for 37 yards. Witten also passed Hall of Famer Ozzie Newsome for the third-most catches by a tight end in NFL history.
Rookie kicker Dan Bailey made field goals of 31, 36 and 45 yards. He's made 21 straight, the third-best streak in franchise history.
New Orleans Saints 26, Atlanta Falcons 23 (Overtime)
ATLANTA -- Mike Smith sent out the punting team for the Atlanta Falcons, then changed his mind.
Boy, did that turn out to be a mistake.
The Falcons were stuffed on fourth down deep in their own territory after the coach decided to go for it in overtime, setting up John Kasay to kick a 26-yard field goal that handed the New Orleans Saints a 26-23 victory.
The Falcons (5-4) rallied from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter, tying it on Matt Bryant's 27-yard field goal on the final play of regulation.
In overtime, Atlanta appeared to pick up a first down on a pass to Mike Cox, but he was ruled just short after referee Terry McAuley looked at the replay. Then, stunningly, Smith decided to go for it on fourth down from his own 29.
Michael Turner was stuffed, and Kasay made the winning kick for the Saints (7-3), his fourth field goal of the game.
New Orleans took control of the NFC South race, snapping Atlanta's three-game winning streak. But this one will be long remembered for Smith's gutsy call that backfired horribly.
After each offense went three-and-out on its first possession of overtime, Atlanta faced third-and-1 from the 29. Matt Ryan flipped a pass to Cox, the backup fullback, who was met short of the 30 but stretched out the ball with his right arm, appearing to get it across the line. It was initially ruled a first down, but the replay showed he was bobbling the ball as he was going down along the sideline, and the spot was moved back.
The Falcons initially sent on the punting team, then called timeout. After thinking it over, Smith decided to go for it, figuring his team could pick up the foot or so needed to keep the drive going.
Ryan handed off to Turner, but the bruising runner never had a chance. He actually lost a couple of feet, and the jubilant Saints took over. Four plays later, Kasay ended the game.
A disconsolate Smith walked slowly across the field to shake hands with his New Orleans counterpart, Sean Payton, who coached the game on crutches in his return to the sideline after a collision with one of his players left him with a broken left leg and severe knee injuries nearly a month ago.
Drew Brees went 30 of 43 for 322 yards, including a pair of touchdowns. Ryan threw a staggering 52 passes, completing 29 for 351 yards and two touchdowns. Turner rushed for 96 yards, but couldn't get the one yard that mattered most.
In regulation, Atlanta was down to its last chance, facing fourth-and-3 at the New Orleans 45 with about 4 1/2 minutes remaining. Ryan kept the drive going by hitting Roddy White on a 6-yard completion, then struck quickly with two more passes to make a game of it. A 19-yarder to White was followed by a 20-yard touchdown to Tony Gonzalez with 4:13 to go, bringing the Falcons to 23-20.
With only one timeout remaining -- Smith lost one early in the half by losing a challenge of a Saints completion -- the Falcons felt compelled to try an onside kick. It didn't work.
The Saints converted one third down, but failed on their next attempt and sent out Kasay for a 45-yard try. He drilled it right down the middle, but Jimmy Graham was called for holding and New Orleans decided to back up the Falcons with a punt.
After Eric Weems made a fair catch at the Atlanta 5, the Falcons put together a clutch drive that forced OT. Ryan hooked up three times with Harry Douglas on completions totaling 66 yards, and Atlanta actually had plenty of time to take three shots at the end zone for a winning touchdown.
They caught a break on Ryan's first throw over the middle, which was right in the hands of New Orleans safety Roman Harper. He couldn't hang on. Ryan then looked for White, but Jabari Greer got a hand on the ball to knock it away. With 10 seconds left, Ryan dropped back one more time, saw no one open and just threw it over the end zone. Bryant trotted on to make his third field goal.
Tennessee Titans 30, Carolina Panthers 3
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina -- Chris Johnson, not Cam Newton, made the big plays.
Johnson ran for a season-high 130 yards and a touchdown, and the Tennessee Titans used a stifling defense to frustrate the rookie quarterback in a 30-3 rout of the Carolina Panthers.
The Titans (5-4) sacked Newton five times and took away Carolina's vertical passing game. Carolina came in ranked fifth in the league on offense and first in plays of 20-plus yards, but the Titans limited Newton to 209 yards passing and held Steve Smith's, the NFC's leading receiver, to 33 yards.
Johnson had 174 yards from scrimmage and eclipsed 100 yards rushing for the first time since Oct. 2. Marc Mariani returned a punt 79 yards for a touchdown, and Matt Hasselbeck threw a 43-yard touchdown pass to Damian Williams, who finished with 107 yards receiving.
The Panthers (2-7) came in averaging 415 yards and more than 23 points behind a big-play offense, but Tennessee's defense completely took away their downfield passing game -- and just about everything else.
Carolina's longest pass play went for 19 yards, and DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart were limited to 58 yards rushing as the Titans continuously put the Panthers in third-and-long situations.
Five of Carolina's eight first-half drives ended in three-and-outs. Two others were halted by costly mistakes by tight end Greg Olsen. Olsen fumbled in the red zone early on then dropped an easy 16-yard reception late in the first half that would have made for a short field goal attempt by Olindo Mare. Instead, Mare missed the ensuing 50-yard kick on the final play of the first half, and the Titans took a 17-0 lead into the locker room.
Johnson took over from there.
He had 104 yards rushing in the second half and scored for just the second time this season on the ground.
The Panthers were coming off a bye week and appeared stuck in their slumber on Sunday.
After Carolina went three-and-out on its first possession, Mariani returned Jason Baker's punt 79 yards for a 7-0 lead. It was the third long punt return for a touchdown allowed by the Panthers this season and the 11th against Baker, the most of any active punter in the NFL.
Tennessee made it 14-0 on its first possession when Williams turned a short pass from Hasselbeck into a 43-yard scoring play after Panthers defensive backs Sherrod Martin and Darius Butler missed tackles.
Hasselbeck finished 15 of 27 for 219 yards with his only mistake, a third-quarter interception, leading to a Carolina field goal. Even then, the Tennessee defense held after the Panthers took over deep in Titans territory.
The Panthers' previous low scoring output this season was 16 points.
Rob Bironas added three field goals, and Johnson closed out the game late in the fourth quarter with a 1-yard TD run.
The teams combined for 21 penalties for 191 yards.