Cincinnati ? Kelly Holcomb threw for 400 yards and five touchdowns — and lost.

Strange? Not as strange as those other numbers glowing on the scoreboard as Holcomb trudged off the field with his head down and more misery ahead.

Cincinnati 58, Cleveland 48.

The intrastate rivals played the wildest game in their history Sunday, one that defied logic and wound up as the second-highest scoring game in NFL history.

“You just can’t explain the second half, and there’s no need to try to,” Bengals linebacker Brian Simmons said. “It was a great game for the fans, I guess.”

It started as a referendum on the two head coaches, and quickly turned into a rewrite of the record books. The points came so fast that it seemed a recount might be needed to determine who won Ohio’s bragging rights.

“It was crazy,” said the Bengals’ Rudi Johnson, who ran for 202 yards and two touchdowns. “Just crazy.”

The 106 combined points were the second most in an NFL game, trailing only the Redskins’ 72-41 victory over the Giants on Nov. 27, 1966. Until Sunday, the most points in a game since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970 was 99 — Seattle beat Kansas City 51-48 in overtime on Nov. 27, 1983.

In the end, the Browns (3-8) had the ball and a chance to send this one to overtime, as well. Deltha O’Neal’s interception and 31-yard return for a touchdown finally decided it with 1:43 left.

“We kept putting them away, and they kept coming back,” said Cincinnati’s Carson Palmer, who threw a career-high four touchdown passes. “We kept expecting them to slacken up, but they never did.”

No one expected anything like it.

Cincinnati defensive back Deltha O'Neal celebrates after returning an interception for a touchdown in the fourth quarter against the Cleveland Browns. The Bengals won, 58-48, in the second highest scoring game in league history.

The Browns’ defense has been the only dependable thing during their losing streak, now up to five. The Bengals (4-5) have been watching their young defense grow up fast, allowing only two touchdowns in the three previous games.

On Sunday, it looked like they were playing two-hand touch. Two previously struggling offenses combined for 49 first downs and 966 yards, gaudy numbers set up by innumerable missed tackles and broken coverages.

The first five possessions of the second half resulted in touchdowns.

Eagles 27, Giants 6

East Rutherford, N.J. — Philadelphia won a fourth consecutive NFC East title as Brian Westbrook scored two touchdowns.

The Eagles (10-1) scored 20 second-half points and limited the Giants (5-6) to 47 yards in the final half in reaching the playoffs for the fifth consecutive year.

Patriots 24, Ravens 3

Foxboro, Mass. — The Patriots scored on a fumble recovery and held the Ravens to 124 yards. Adam Vinatieri kicked three field goals, stretching his streak to 21 straight successful kicks. Corey Dillon rushed for 123 yards and a touchdown.

Falcons 24, Saints 21

Atlanta — Michael Vick threw a 20-yard scoring pass to Alge Crumpler with 1:22 remaining. Vick accounted for all three Atlanta touchdowns. He passed for two, going 16-of-29 for 212 yards. He also ran for a touchdown.

Steelers 16, Redskins 7

Pittsburgh — Antwaan Randle El and Jerome Bettis gave the Steelers just enough offense to keep their longest winning streak in 28 years going.

The Steelers’ nine-game winning streak is their longest since they won their final nine in 1976.

Randle El scampered through the Redskins’ coverage team on punt returns of 60 and 43 yards to set up two first-half scores. Bettis gained 100 yards on 31 carries. Bettis’ 47th career 100-yard game matched Franco Harris’ team record.

Vikings 27, Jaguars 16

Minneapolis — Randy Moss caught a go-ahead touchdown pass in the third quarter, then Kevin Williams returned Byron Leftwich’s fumble 77 yards for the clinching score after rookie Kenechi Udeze sacked Leftwich from behind.

Daunte Culpepper completed 19 of 27 passes for 235 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

Bills 38, Seahawks 9

Seattle — Willis McGahee had 116 yards rushing and four touchdowns.

Drew Bledsoe offset his three interceptions by completing two-thirds of his passes for 275 yards and a touchdown, and the Bills (5-6) snapped a six-game road slide dating to last season.

Jets 13, Cardinals 3

Tempe, Ariz. — Quincy Carter left with a head injury after the third play, but returned to throw a 69-yard touchdown pass to Santana Moss. Curtis Martin carried 24 times for 99 yards and Doug Brien kicked field goals of 28 and 46 yards for the Jets (8-3).

Arizona (4-7) managed only a 20-yard field goal by Neil Rackers as the first half ended.

Texans 31, Titans 21

Houston — David Carr threw for 201 yards and two touchdowns and Domanick Davis rushed for a season-high 129 yards and a score.

Steve McNair completed his first seven passes for 80 yards, including a couple of touchdowns to Erron Kinney for a 14-0 lead.

Panthers 21, Bucs 14

Charlotte, N.C. — Keary Colbert caught a 40-yard touchdown pass, his second of the game, with 20 seconds to play to lift Carolina to its third straight win.

Colbert, a rookie receiver, had 72 yards on three catches, two for touchdowns. Julius Peppers ran an interception 46 yards for a score, blocked a field goal and had a sack.

Dolphins 24, 49ers 17

San Francisco — Randy McMichael caught a 15-yard touchdown pass with 10:35 to play, and the 49ers fumbled five times in the fourth quarter, leaving San Francisco (1-10) as the league’s only one-win team.

Raiders 25, Broncos 24

Denver — Kerry Collins threw for 339 yards and four touchdowns. Collins hit Jerry Porter for three of the scores, including the winner on fourth-and-goal from the 5 with 1:49 remaining. After Oakland took the lead, Jake Plummer drove the Broncos (7-4) 49 yards to the Raiders 25 to set up Jason Elam’s field goal attempt. But the snap was high, and Langston Walker blocked the kick.