Pittsburgh ? No Pittsburgh quarterback ever played a better game than Tommy Maddox did Sunday. And no Atlanta quarterback ever played a better fourth quarter that Michael Vick.

Neither team knew how to react to a game so exciting, so stirring, so dramatic – and in the end, one that felt so empty.

Vick rallied Atlanta from 17 points in the fourth quarter, and the Falcons withstood Maddox’s franchise-record 473 yards passing and tied Pittsburgh 34-34 on Sunday. It was the NFL’s first tie in five years, and only the 16th in league history.

The Steelers, traditionally a blue-collar team that wins with defense and the running game, piled up a Rams-like 645 yards as Maddox and receiver Plaxico Burress each set club yardage records, yet still couldn’t help their team win.

“I can’t believe it. For us to do the things we did – I mean, Tommy almost threw for 500 yards – and to fall short, it’s unbelievable,” wide receiver Hines Ward said.

Maddox was 28-of-41 and easily broke Bobby Layne’s 1958 team record of 409 yards. Burress made nine catches for 253 yards and two touchdowns, but Pittsburgh couldn’t hold a 34-17 lead.

Maddox’s career game came in only his sixth start for the Steelers, and it happened against the coach who drafted him, Atlanta’s Dan Reeves. Maddox was selected by Denver and went to the Giants when Reeves coached there, but Maddox’s career faded until this season.

“They talk about how a tie is like kissing your sister?” said Maddox, who went 10 years without starting before this season. “Well, I love him to death, but I still wanted to beat him. Man, I wanted that game.”

Even after Pittsburgh’s Todd Peterson and Atlanta’s Jay Feely had overtime field goal attempts blocked, the Steelers nearly won. With only 1 second on the clock, Maddox lofted a 50-yard pass that Burress caught at the Falcons 1-yard line. Half of Burress’ body was in the end zone but the ball wasn’t, and the Steelers didn’t have enough time to run another play.

“We didn’t win but, we didn’t lose,” Burress said. “It’s so disappointing. You have this uneasy feeling that you lost, but you know you really didn’t.”

It was the NFL’s first tie since the Giants and Redskins played to a 7-all stalemate on Nov. 23, 1997. Since the NFL implemented overtime in 1974, there have been 332 games go the extra period, but only 16 of those ended without either team scoring.

Pittsburgh wide receiver Hines Ward (86) tries to break away from Atlanta's Patrick Kerney (97) and John Holecek (59). Ward caught 11 passes for 139 yards and a touchdown in the Steelers' 34-34 tie with the Falcons on Sunday in Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh’s last tie was 35-all against Denver with Joe Gilliam at quarterback in 1974, the first NFL overtime game. Atlanta hadn’t tied since a 10-all deadlock with the 49ers in 1986.

Both teams remained unbeaten in their last five games and are 5-3-1.

“That’s too much football,” Falcons defensive back Ashley Ambrose said. “When you get through, you’re not sure if you’re happy or not. It’s an empty kind of feeling, because you had an opportunity and a chance to win.”

Vick pulled off the comeback despite being forced into being one-dimensional. The Steelers’ ever-changing blitzes limited him to 52 yards rushing, but one of his few successful scrambles was an 11-yard touchdown on a broken play in the final minute of regulation that sent the game to overtime.

Despite the constant pressure, Vick dodged and weaved his way to a 294-yard passing day, going 24-of-46 – all while being sacked four times and being called twice for intentional grounding.

“I felt like they could only contain us for so long, and we would find a way to make some plays,” Vick said. “It speaks for how we stick together, how we made some plays in key situations.”

Rams 28, Chargers 24

St. Louis – The Rams lost four fumbles – two of which were returned for touchdowns – but used two late touchdowns and a successful onside kick in winning their fourth straight game.

St. Louis (4-5) was led by Marc Bulger’s 453 yards passing – the fourth-most in franchise history – and Isaac Bruce, who lost two of the fumbles but caught three touchdown passes, including the 7-yard game-winner with 1:14 to play.

Bulger and Pittsburgh’s Tommy Maddox became the first pair of NFL quarterbacks to throw for 450 yards in the league on the same day.

Bruce also caught TD passes of 27 and 34 yards, the latter an acrobatic grab that cut the Chargers’ lead to 24-21 with 3:06 to go. He finished with 10 catches for 163 yards.

The Rams staged their frenzied comeback without Marshall Faulk, who left with an injured left ankle during the fourth quarter. He was held to 36 yards rushing on 13 carries and caught six passes for another 36 yards.

Bulger was 36-of-48 with four touchdowns in perhaps his last game before Kurt Warner comes back. Warner’s broken pinkie on his throwing hand appears to have healed, and he threw some 40-yard passes during warmups.

LaDainian Tomlinson had 120 yards on 24 carries for the Chargers (6-3).

Giants 27, Vikings 20

Minneapolis – Kerry Collins threw for 300 yards and two touchdowns and Tiki Barber ran for 127 yards on 24 carries.

New York (5-4) moved within a game of first-place Philadelphia in the NFC East. The Vikings are 2-7 for the first time since 1984.

Daunte Culpepper was pulled for Todd Bouman in the third quarter, and Bouman nearly rallied the Vikings. Culpepper was just 9-for-20 for 91 yards.

Michael Bennett rushed 15 times for a career-high 167 yards, his third straight 100-yard game. He scored on a 78-yard burst through the line that gave Minnesota its first lead, 20-19 with 8:36 remaining.

Colts 35, Eagles 13

Philadelphia – Peyton Manning threw for 319 yards and three touchdowns, and James Mungro ran for 114 yards and two TDs.

The Colts (5-4) snapped a three-game losing streak. Philadelphia (6-3) had won three straight.

Indianapolis coach Tony Dungy, in his first season with the Colts after six in Tampa Bay, lost playoff games to the Eagles at the Vet the last two seasons. He was fired two days after Philadelphia beat the Buccaneers 31-9 in an NFC wild-card game last January.

Mungro, making his first career start because Edgerrin James and Ricky Williams are out with hamstring injuries, had TD runs of six and 10 yards.

Marvin Harrison finished with six catches for 137 yards.

Donovan McNabb threw for 281 yards and one TD and ran for 62 yards, but he dropped a pass on a critical fourth-and-1 in the third quarter and also lost a fumble.

Packers 40, Lions 14

Green Bay, Wis. – Brett Favre’s sprained left knee gave him no problems in his second start since getting hurt, as he threw for 351 yards and two touchdowns.

The Packers improved their NFL-best record to 8-1 while taking a five-game lead over second-place Detroit (3-6) in the NFC North.

Ahman Green (12 carries for 50 yards) didn’t play after halftime with a mild concussion. Najeh Davenport gained 73 yards in 10 carries before hurting his ankle in the third quarter.

Saints 34, Panthers 24

Charlotte, N.C. – Aaron Brooks threw a seven-yard touchdown pass to Donte Stallworth with 31 seconds to play, and Charles Grant returned Rodney Peete’s fumble 34 yards on the final play to preserve the Saints’ victory.

The Saints are 7-2, their best start since 1992, and have won five straight against Carolina.

The Panthers (3-6) dropped their sixth straight game. Five of the losses have come in the final four minutes.

Deuce McAllister had 71 yards rushing and two touchdown runs. Brooks threw for 259 yards and one touchdown.

Titans 17, Texans 10

Nashville, Tenn. – Steve McNair threw for two touchdowns, and Eddie George rushed for 86 yards as Tennessee defeated the Texans in the first meeting between Houston’s current and former teams.

At least the Texans (2-7) signaled that this might soon become an interesting rivalry, as David Carr threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Jarrod Baxter with 3:05 left. The Titans (5-4) didn’t seal the victory until Lance Schulters intercepted Carr’s pass at the Tennessee 46 with 1:11 left.

Ravens 38, Bengals 27

Baltimore – Adalius Thomas returned an interception 25 yards for a touchdown, and rookie Lamont Brightful scored on a 95-yard punt return.

Brightful also returned a kickoff 54 yards that helped the Ravens boost their lead to 24-14 at halftime.

Jamal Lewis ran for 135 yards and two touchdowns as the Ravens (4-5) ended a two-game losing streak and denied the Bengals a second straight victory.

Patriots 33, Bears 30

Champaign, Ill. – Tom Brady hit David Patten on a 20-yard TD pass with 21 seconds left :quot; on a play that was upheld by video review – as the Patriots overcame a 27-6 second-half deficit.

Chicago (2-7) took a 30-19 lead with 5:22 left on Paul Edinger’s 32-yard field goal, and the Bears thought they had stopped New England’s final drive when defensive lineman Brian Robinson stepped in front of Brady’s pass with just under a minute left for an apparent interception.

But Robinson juggled the ball as he was going down before losing it. Officials reviewed the play and said Robinson never had possession, resulting in an incomplete pass. That gave the Patriots one final chance with a fourth down at the Bears 30 with 54 seconds left.

Jaguars 26, Redskins 7

Jacksonville, Fla. – Outplayed on the field, the Washington Redskins lost Steve Spurrier’s homecoming.

Mark Brunell threw for 194 yards, and Fred Taylor ran for 82 yards and a touchdown to help the Jaguars (4-5) snap a four-game losing streak.

The Redskins (4-5) saw their two-game winning streak snapped. Shane Matthews directed a 77-yard touchdown drive early, but Washington didn’t score again. Matthews finished 27-for-51 for 256 yards with two interceptions.

Seahawks 27, Cardinals 6

Tempe, Ariz. – Matt Hasselbeck completed 23 of 31 passes for 260 yards :quot; 4 yards shy of the career best he set a week ago against Washington :quot; and the Seahawks (3-6) scored on all five of their first-half possessions.

Neither team scored in the second half, when Arizona fumbled the ball away three times inside the Seattle 10.

The Cardinals (4-5) lost their third straight, all to NFC West opponents. Thomas Jones, who rushed for 173 yards in Arizona’s victory in Seattle, had just 24 yards on 11 carries.

Jets 13, Dolphins 10

East Rutherford, N.J. – The New York Jets further scrambled the AFC East race, handing the Miami Dolphins their third straight loss on John Hall’s 28-yard field goal with 2:17 remaining.

With their third victory in the last four games, the Jets moved within a game of the other three division teams: Miami, New England and Buffalo all are 5-4.

New York’s maligned defense had another strong effort against a quality runner, holding Ricky Williams to 53 yards on 20 carries. Last week, the Jets shut down San Diego’s LaDainian Tomlinson.