NFL Roundup
Published Monday October 13th, 2008
LANDOVER, Md. - Josh Brown kicked a 49-yard field goal on the last play of the game Sunday, giving the Rams a 19-17 upset of the Washington Redskins to end an eight-game losing streak over two seasons.
Jim Haslett was a winner in his St. Louis head coaching debut.
It took a fluke play for the two-touchdown underdog to pull off the stunner. The Rams (1-4) got one at the perfect time in the first half.
The Redskins (4-2) overcame a nine-point fourth-quarter deficit and appeared set to win their fifth straight game when Clinton Portis' two-yard run with 3:47 left gave Washington a 17-16 lead. But Marc Bulger hit Donnie Avery down the right sideline for a 43-yard gain on third-and-13 to move into field goal territory.
In other NFL action Sunday, it was: Atlanta 22, Chicago 20; Houston 29, Miami 28; Minnesota 12, Detroit 10; New Orleans 34, Oakland 3; N.Y. Jets 26, Cincinnati 14; Indianapolis 31, Baltimore 3; Tampa Bay 27, Carolina 3; Cardinals 30, Cowboys 24 (OT); Eagles 40, 49ers 26; Packers 27, Seahawks 17; Jaguars 24, Broncos 17; and Chargers 30, Patriots 10.
At Landover, Md., the Rams nearly botched it. While St. Louis was trying to kill the clock to set up for an easy field goal attempt, offensive lineman Richie Incognito was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for aiming some choice words at an official. The 15-yard infraction made Brown's kick longer, but he still managed to nail his fourth field goal of the game.
Two weeks ago, the Rams (1-4) looked like a team in need of a massive federal bailout. Instead, they fired coach Scott Linehan, reinstalled Bulger as the starting quarterback and used their bye week to get out of the dumps.
Texans 29, Dolphins 28
At Houston, Matt Schaub threw interceptions on Houston's first two possessions, but ran for a three-yard touchdown with three seconds left.
The Dolphins (2-3) had knocked down consecutive passes in the end zone before Schaub ran for the score. The two-point conversion failed, but Houston (1-4) had enough points.
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Falcons 22, Bears 20
At Atlanta, Jason Elam made the most of his second chance, kicking a 48-yard field goal on the final play.
Elam appeared to be the goat after hooking a 33-yard attempt wide left with less than three minutes left. The Bears took advantage of Elam's first miss in 31 attempts, quickly driving downfield and going ahead for the first time when Kyle Orton hit Rashied Davis on a 17-yard touchdown with 11 seconds remaining. Robbie Gould booted through the extra point that gave Chicago a 20-19 lead.
But the surprising Falcons, coming off an upset of the Packers in Green Bay, weren't done. Gould pooched the ensuing kickoff and Harry Douglas managed a 10-yard return to the Atlanta 44. Rookie Matt Ryan calmly threw a 26-yard pass to Michael Jenkins along the left sideline with one second left to set up the winning kick.
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Vikings 12, Lions 10
At Minneapolis, a questionable pass interference penalty on Leigh Bodden put Minnesota's woeful offence in position for a 26-yard field goal by Ryan Longwell with nine seconds to go.
Detroit (0-5) outplayed the Vikings for the entire game in a spirited effort, but the Vikings (3-3) got a boost from a call by field judge Mike Weir. Trailing 10-9 in the final three minutes, Gus Frerotte threw deep down the sideline for Aundrae Allison, and the ball fell incomplete. But Weir whistled cornerback Bodden for pass interference despite what appeared to be minimal contact.
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Buccaneers 27, Panthers 3
At Tampa, Fla., former C-F-L star Jeff Garcia, starting for the first time since the season opener because Brian Griese is injured, threw for 173 yards and a touchdown.
Warrick Dunn had his most productive day running the ball since rejoining the Bucs with 115 yards on 22 carries.
The victory, Tampa Bay's first at home against the division rival Panthers since 2002, gave the Bucs (4-2) a share of first place in the NFC South with Carolina (4-2).
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Colts 31, Ravens 3
At Indianapolis, Peyton Manning threw two touchdown passes to Marvin Harrison, a third to Reggie Wayne, and the sputtering Colts offence finally got itself righted, against the Ravens' top-ranked defence.
The Colts (3-2) played with the precision, efficiency and passion coach Tony Dungy had been seeking. Baltimore (2-3) was simply overwhelmed, as rookie QB Joe Flacco had three interceptions, lost a fumble, was sacked four times and botched a handoff.
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Saints 34, Raiders 3
At New Orleans, Drew Brees passed for 320 yards and three touchdowns.
Oakland's Tom Cable spent his NFL head coaching debut watching in frustration as JaMarcus Russell completed only 13 of 35 passes for 159 yards, while throwing an interception and fumbling.
The Raiders (1-4) finished with 226 total yards and had a tough time running as well. After holding Minnesota's Adrian Peterson to 1.5 yards per carry a week ago, the Saints (3-3) contained the Oakland trio of Darren McFadden, Justin Fargas and Michael Bush to only 74 yards.
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Jets 26, Bengals 14
At East Rutherford, N.J., Thomas Jones ran for two touchdowns, including a one-yarder late in the game, and caught a pass from Brett Favre for a score.
The Jets (3-2) improved to 3-0 in games immediately following a bye under coach Eric Mangini, but this one was far from easy. With New York holding a 20-14 lead late in the game, the Jets needed a 10-play, 41-yard drive by Favre that ate up the clock and sealed the victory over the Bengals (0-6).
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Cardinals 30, Cowboys 24 (OT)
At Glendale, Ariz., Sean Morey blocked Mat McBriar's punt and Monty Beisel scooped up the ball and scored from three yards. Morey rushed untouched off the left side of the Dallas line to block the kick. Beisel, a backup linebacker, picked up the ball and bowled over the goal line.
McBriar had to be carted off the field in the din of a crowd that included the usual large portion of Dallas fans.
The stunning play by two of Arizona's most unheralded players brought a conclusion to a game loaded with confusion, controversy and clutch performances.
Dallas scored 10 points in the final two minutes of regulation, sending the game into overtime when Nick Folk's 52-yard field goal barely cleared the crossbar as the fourth quarter ended.
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Eagles 40, 49ers 26
At San Francisco, Donovan McNabb passed for 280 yards and two touchdowns without his top two receivers and his best running back, and the Eagles' aggressive defenders forced three turnovers during a 23-point fourth quarter.
Donald Strickland returned a blocked field goal 41 yards for a touchdown on the final play of the first half for the 49ers (2-4), who went ahead 26-17 in the third quarter. They couldn't sustain that momentum in their third straight loss against a Philadelphia (3-3) defence that repeatedly made stunning plays in the final minutes.
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Packers 27, Seahawks 17
At Seattle, Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay's ailing quarterback, ran for a touchdown early, then threw two scoring passes in the second half to perhaps save the Packers' season.
Seattle paid for having to start No. 3 quarterback Charlie Frye. It looked inept on offence while dropping to 1-4 - the equal of the St. Louis Rams at the bottom of the NFC West the Seahawks have ruled the last four seasons. Seattle was last 1-4 in 2002, its most recent losing season.
Rodgers, again starting despite a sprained throwing shoulder, was 21-for-30 with 208 yards as Green Bay (3-3) won for the 10th time in 13 road games.
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Jaguars 24, Broncos 17
At Denver, playing their best all-around game of the season, the Jaguars got superb performances from quarterback David Garrard and running back Maurice Jones-Drew, plus three takeaways by their defence.
Garrard completed 25 of 34 passes for 276 yards, one TD and no interceptions and Jones-Drew rumbled for 125 yards and two TDs on 22 carries.
The Jaguars (3-3) also won at Invesco Field last year, thanks to a franchise-record 18-play, 80-yard drive that chewed up nearly 12 minutes. This time, they wasted no time in sending the Broncos (4-2) to their first home loss since last Oct. 29 against Green Bay.
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Chargers 30, Patriots 10
At San Diego, Philip Rivers threw three touchdown passes and the Chargers' defence stuffed quarterback Matt Cassel on fourth-and-goal from the one-yard line.
It was a measure of payback against a team that had beaten the Chargers three straight times, including in the playoffs the last two seasons.
Rivers drew raves for his toughness by playing the AFC championship game with a shredded ligament in his right knee, but he couldn't get the Chargers into the end zone that day and they lost 21-12 to the Patriots at Foxborough.
He had no trouble Sunday night, when he threw touchdown passes of 49 yards to Malcom Floyd, four yards to Vincent Jackson and one yard to Antonio Gates. It was the fourth time this season that Rivers threw three TD passes. Rivers completed 18 of 27 passes for 306 yards.
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