St. Louis ? One quick possession was all Marc Bulger needed to calm his frayed nerves and give the St. Louis Rams a lead they’d never relinquish.

The third-string quarterback, who came into the league two years ago as an obscure sixth-round draft choice, threw three touchdown passes and ran for another in his first NFL action Sunday as the Rams won their first game, 28-13, against previously unbeaten Oakland.

“If you know you can play, you don’t have to worry about it,” Bugler said. “You’ll get your chance.”

Marshall Faulk, who was slowed by back spasms against the 49ers last week, showed his familiar form by running for a season-high 158 yards. His darting 32-yard run, which followed Damione Lewis’ interception of Rich Gannon’s pass, put the ball at the Oakland 1 with 11:20 left.

Bulger, who started in place of injured second-stringer Jamie Martin, scored on the next play to give the defending NFC champions (1-5) a 28-6 lead. The touchdown triggered thunderous cheers from a crowd that hadn’t seen its team win a home game since last Jan. 6.

Kurt Warner, the NFL MVP in 1999 and 2001, is out with a broken finger, but he was the first person to hug Bulger as he trotted off the field.

“You can’t say enough about a guy who comes in in such a big game and plays with such poise,” Warner said. “He played the way he had to play to win this football game.”

Bulger finished 14-of-21 for 186 yards and three touchdowns, with no interceptions.

The Raiders (4-1), who entered the game leading the NFL at 40.5 points and 461.5 yards a game, had only two field goals and 229 yards through the first three quarters.

The dismal performance didn’t stop Jerry Rice, who caught seven passes for 133 yards on his 40th birthday.

“That is amazing for a guy who has done it as long as he has,” said Rams cornerback Dre’ Bly. “For him to be 40 years old and still be out there playing every snap and not coming out of the game and just doing what’s done since he’s 23 is just unbelievable.”

Oakland quarterback Rich Gannon (12) is sacked by the Rams' Damione Lewis in the fourth quarter. St. Louis beat the Raiders, 28-13, on Sunday in St. Louis.

Rice’s caught a 53-yard pass on the game’s first play, which actually led to a momentum-turning defensive stop by St. Louis.

On fourth-and-1 from the St. Louis 3, Zack Crockett was stopped for no gain by linebacker Tommy Polley, who had missed the two previous games because of an injury.

Bulger then guided the Rams 97 yards in just nine plays. He hit Isaac Bruce for 17 yards with his first NFL pass, then connected with Torry Holt for 50 yards on his second. On his third pass Bulger found Bruce in the corner of the end zone for a 7-yard TD.

Bulger, a star at West Virginia who was originally drafted by the Saints, said the deep pass to Holt did wonders for his confidence.

“Torry’s so fast, I think he outran my arm,” he said. “Just being able to let all that energy out and complete it, I think guys could sense we can get on a roll here.”

Gannon threw for 332 yards, falling short of becoming the first NFL player to have at least 350 in four straight games. He connected with Terry Kirby for a 2-yard TD to get the Raiders to 28-13 with 8:05 to go.

Oakland coach Bill Callahan denied that the Raiders overlooked the Rams, or Bulger.

“He did get significant playing time in the preseason, and he understands the system,” Callahan said. “I think they were intelligent with their approach. We were very diligent about how we prepared for this team. My hat’s off to them.”

Packers 28, Patriots 10

Foxboro, Mass. Brett Favre outplayed New England’s Tom Brady, throwing three touchdown passes to lead the Packers to their fourth straight victory.

Favre now has 301 TD passes for his career, moving him past John Elway into third place on the career list. Only Dan Marino (420) and Fran Tarkenton (342) have more.

Favre also made his 163rd straight start, a record for NFL quarterbacks.

The Packers (5-1) became the fourth straight team to have a player run for at least 100 yards against the Patriots (3-3), as Ahman Green gained 136 yards. He also scored his first two TDs of the season on an 8-yard reception and a 1-yard run.

Colts 22, Ravens 20

Indianapolis Mike Vanderjagt kicked his fifth field goal from 38 yards out with 4 seconds left, but the Colts’ defense did much of the heavy lifting.

The unit held Jamal Lewis to 75 yards rushing, forced three turnovers and sacked Baltimore quarterback Chris Redman five times to help Indianapolis (4-1) win its third straight.

The Ravens (2-3) committed a pass-interference penalty that allowed Peyton Manning to rally the Colts on the game’s final drive.

With a little more than a minute left and the Colts facing fourth-and-10, Baltimore cornerback Gary Baxter plowed into Qadry Ismail, putting the ball at the Ravens 42.

The Ravens protested that Ismail flopped, but Manning needed just five more plays to put Vanderjagt in position for the game-winner.

Cowboys 14, Panthers 13

Irving, Texas Quincy Carter turned a broken play into an 80-yard touchdown pass to Joey Galloway with 3:55 left, then threw a 24-yard TD pass to rookie Antonio Bryant with 56 seconds to go as Dallas rallied from a 13-0 deficit.

On his 25th birthday, Carter recovered from two early turnovers by hitting Galloway on third-and-14, then converting two fourth-down plays on the winning drive, including the TD throw.

Dallas (3-3) let the Panthers (3-3) get to the Cowboys 41 with 11 seconds left, but Chris Weinke filling in for Rodney Peete, who had a concussion completed a 9-yard pass to Muhsin Muhammad in bounds, and time ran out.

Emmitt Smith had 59 yards, leaving him 175 yards from passing Walter Payton on the career rushing list.

Vikings 31, Lions 24

Minneapolis Moe Williams clinched Minnesota’s first victory of the season on a 2-yard run with 2:12 to play, and Daunte Culpepper turned the Metrodome boos to cheers with 295 yards and two TDs.

Culpepper also ran for a score, and the Vikings (1-4) got in position for Williams’ TD when Culpepper and Randy Moss hooked up for a 25-yard gain.

After trailing for three quarters, Minnesota tied it in the fourth on Culpepper’s 45-yard TD pass to Michael Bennett.

The Lions (1-4) got another strong game from rookie quarterback Joey Harrington, who went 25-of-41 for 309 yards.

Saints 43, Redskins 27

Landover, Md. Michael Lewis, a former beer delivery truck driver who finally made the NFL last year at age 29, returned a punt and a kickoff for touchdowns for the Saints.

The Saints (5-1), off to their best start since 1993, scored their most points since 1987. They took a 20-0 lead after rookie Patrick Ramsey, making his first NFL start, threw three interceptions in his first five passes for the Redskins (2-3).

Lewis’ kickoff return went for 90 yards in the second quarter. His punt return in the third quarter tied the franchise record at 83 yards. Lewis, who never went to college and played in the Arena League, also had a 58-yard catch to set up a field goal.

Buccaneers 17, Browns 3

Tampa, Fla. The Buccaneers’ defense extended its streak of consecutive games without allowing a touchdown to three, limiting Cleveland to just one fourth-quarter field goal.

Mike Alstott ran for 126 yards and two touchdowns, and Warren Sapp led a relentless pass rush that frustrated Tim Couch as Tampa Bay (5-1) won its fifth straight game.

The loss ended a tumultuous week for the Browns (2-4) and Couch, who lashed out at Cleveland fans for cheering when he was knocked out of last Sunday night’s loss to Baltimore. He was 19-of-39 for 141 yards with one interception and two sacks.

Falcons 17, Giants 10

East Rutherford, N.J. Starting in place of the injured Michael Vick, Doug Johnson ran for a touchdown and threw a 14-yard TD pass to Brian Finneran with 8:06 left.

Atlanta cornerback Juran Bolden prevented New York from taking the lead early in the fourth quarter with an interception at the Falcons 6. Henry Jones forced a late fumble that Kevin Mathis recovered at the Atlanta 15 with 3:22 to play with New York (3-3) threatening to tie.

Titans 23, Jaguars 14

Nashville, Tenn. Eddie George ran for 113 yards for his first 100-yard game of the season and scored two touchdowns as the Titans (2-4) snapped a four-game losing streak.

Jacksonville quarterback Mark Brunell left in the first quarter because of a concussion. Rookie David Garrard came in and threw two interceptions and got sacked three times.

The Jags (3-2), who had won three straight, managed only 68 yards passing.

Bills 31, Texans 24

Houston Drew Bledsoe led another Buffalo comeback, throwing two TD passes in the final 10:39, and Travis Henry ran for 159 yards and two scores.

Houston (1-4) dueled with Buffalo (3-3) into the fourth quarter, taking a 24-17 lead on a halfback pass from James Allen to Billy Miller.

Bledsoe, who had his lowest output of the season with 254 yards, hit Eric Moulds with a 23-yard touchdown pass to end a drive that was aided by two 15-yard penalties against Texans linebacker Jay Foreman. Bledsoe broke the tie with 3:55 left on a 26-yard pass to Peerless Price.

Steelers 34, Bengals 7

Cincinnati The Steelers exposed Cincinnati’s many flaws, forcing four turnovers from Jon Kitna.

Pittsburgh (2-3) got a 99-yard kickoff return from rookie Antwaan Randle El, the second-longest in team history, to put the Steelers ahead 31-0.

The hapless Bengals are 0-6 for the fifth time since 1991.

Dolphins 24, Broncos 22

Denver Olindo Mare kicked a 53-yard field goal with six seconds left to cap a thrilling finish as Miami beat Denver.

The Broncos’ Jason Elam made a 55-yard field goal his fifth of the game that curled just inside the right upright with 45 seconds left to put the Broncos up 22-21, but Miami returned the kickoff to its own 26 and went to work with 40 seconds left.

Jay Fielder set up the winning field goal with a 23-yard completion to Dedric Ward, who grabbed the ball after it went right through the outstretched hands of Denver linebacker John Mobley.