Chicago ? Bracy Walker got one of the game balls, and rightfully so.

Needing intravenous fluids to fight off dehydration, Walker rescued the Detroit Lions from the NFL’s longest road losing streak Sunday.

He rambled 92 yards for a TD after teammate Shaun Rogers blocked a third-quarter field-goal attempt. And later he preserved Detroit’s 20-16 victory over the Chicago Bears, intercepting Rex Grossman’s pass in the end zone with 18 second left.

“It’s important to end the streak for all the obvious reasons,” Lions coach Steve Mariucci said after his team’s 24-game stretch of road losses ended. “We are glad it’s over, believe me.”

Detroit’s victory spoiled the coaching debut of the Bears’ Lovie Smith, whose team was bogged down by penalties and mistakes.

The victory was a costly one for the Lions. They lost wide receiver Charles Rogers because of a broken collarbone for the second straight year, and he could miss most of the season. He got hurt going for a first-quarter pass. Rogers, the second overall pick in the 2003 draft, played only five games last season.

Pro Bowl cornerback Dre’ Bly will have an MRI today after spraining a knee ligament in the first quarter.

Joey Harrington tossed a four-yard, go-ahead TD pass to Az-Zahir Hakim in the fourth quarter, and Detroit held on for its first road victory since beating the Jets on Dec. 17, 2000.

With 1:54 left, facing a difficult punt out of their own end zone, the Lions chose to have punter Nick Harris run out of the end zone for a safety. It cut the lead to 20-16, but gave the Lions a free kick — a strategy that nearly backfired.

Detroit linebacker Teddy Lehman (54) forces Chicago Bears tight end Desmond Clark (88) to fumble after gaining 28 yards on a pass play as Lions defenders Terrence Holt (42) and Earl Holmes close in. The Lions recovered the fumble and beat the Bears, 20-16, to snap a 24-game road losing streak Sunday in Chicago.

R.W. McQuarters returned the free kick 37 yards to the Detroit’s 47, and Grossman’s 19-yard pass to David Terrell and a 15-yard run by Thomas Jones got the Bears to the Lions’ nine.

With no timeouts, Grossman was sacked and then had to spike the ball on second down. Scrambling on third down, he threw the ball to the corner for Terrell, but Walker made the pick.

“Grossman started to scramble, and I thought he was going to try and run it into the end zone,” Walker said. “He just so happened to throw the ball, and I looked, and it fell into my hands.”

Grossman, who lost a fumble and had two interceptions, took the blame.

“I was trying to throw it up for a jump-ball situation for David in the back of the end zone. I threw it a little short,” Grossman said. “I should have thrown it away. I didn’t.”

Thomas Jones’ second two-yard TD run, this one with 12:40 left , put the Bears up 14-13, a score set up by a roughing-the-passer penalty.

Trailing at the half 7-3, Detroit took the lead when Rogers blocked Paul Edinger’s 27-yard field goal attempt, and Walker grabbed the ball, picked up some blockers and cut back across the field on the 92-yard return.

“I heard that dreaded sound, ‘the thump,’ and the ball just happened to roll my way. My first instinct was to run,” Walker said.

“It was all discombobulated, and I thought about pitching it to Andre’ Goodman, but he was running so fast it would have been a forward lateral. I didn’t have any legs.”

The Bears had three second-half turnovers and three big penalties.

Redskins 16, Buccaneers 10

Landover, Md. — Clinton Portis ran for 149 yards and a touchdown, and Washington welcomed coach Joe Gibbs back to the NFL with a victory. Gibbs led the Redskins to three Super Bowl titles in his first stint with the team from 1981-92, and it appeared the old magic was still there when his team dominated the first half.

Portis went 64 yards for a touchdown on Washington’s first series. But Washington’s offense began to sputter, and it took John Hall’s 30-yard field goal with 8:55 left to break a 10-all tie. Hall added a 34-yard field goal with 16 seconds to play. Gibbs earned his 125th career regular-season win and the 500th regular-season victory in Redskins franchise history.

Vikings 35, Cowboys 17

Minneapolis — Daunte Culpepper threw a career-high five touchdown passes, two to Randy Moss, to lead Minnesota. Against a depleted Dallas defense, Culpepper was both sensational and efficient, going 17-for-23 for 242 yards with no turnovers.

Forty-year-old Vinny Testaverde was 29-for-50 for 355 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions for the Cowboys. His favorite target, Keyshawn Johnson, caught nine balls for 111 yards in his first game with Dallas.

Moss only 27 yards on four catches.

Eagles 31, Giants 17

Philadelphia — Terrell Owens had three touchdown catches, Donovan McNabb threw for 330 yards and tied a career high with four TD passes, and Brian Westbrook ran for 119 yards for Philadelphia. The Eagles, runners-up in the NFC championship the last three years, won their season opener for just the second time in coach Andy Reid’s six seasons.

Two-time NFL MVP Kurt Warner had a lackluster debut for the Giants, who lost their ninth straight game and first under new coach Tom Coughlin. Heralded rookie Eli Manning made his NFL debut in the final minutes, handing off to Tiki Barber for a 72-yard TD run on his first play.

Owens, playing his first game with the Eagles after eight seasons in San Francisco, made an immediate impact, scoring on his first two receptions in the first quarter. He finished with eight catches for 68 yards.

Falcons 21, 49ers 19

San Francisco — Aaron Beasley returned a goal-line interception 85 yards in the fourth quarter, and Rod Coleman batted down Tim Rattay’s pass on a two-point conversion attempt with 40 seconds left to secure a win for Atlanta.

Warrick Dunn rushed for two touchdowns, and Michael Vick was 13-of-22 for 163 yards in an uninspiring debut under coach Jim Mora, the longtime San Francisco defensive coordinator who took over the Falcons last January.

Niners quarterback Tim Rattay left his fourth career start in the second quarter with a shoulder injury, but returned to lead two fourth-quarter touchdown drives. He finished 18-of-31 for 175 yards.

Steelers 24, Raiders 21

Pittsburgh — Jerome Bettis ran for three touchdowns, Duce Staley had 91 yards, and Jeff Reed’s 42-yard field goal with seven seconds remaining won it for Pittsburgh. The Raiders showed off plenty of new, including coach Norv Turner, big defensive linemen Warren Sapp and Ted Washington and an offensive scheme redesigned to cover up their lack of playmakers. But the Steelers won the traditional AFC rivalry.

Bettis was used only in goal-line situations, but tied his career high in touchdowns.

Browns 20, Ravens 3

Cleveland — For the first time since their NFL rebirth in 1999, the Cleveland Browns opened the season as winners.

Jeff Garcia threw a 46-yard touchdown pass and ran for another TD in his Cleveland debut.

Cleveland stole the spotlight from Deion Sanders, who came out of retirement for a chance to win another Super Bowl ring, and NFL rushing leader Jamal Lewis.

Lewis, who ran for 500 yards, including an NFL single-game record 295 last season against Cleveland, got just 57 yards on 20 carries as the Browns’ defense dominated.

Jets 31, Bengals 24

East Rutherford, N.J. — Curtis Martin ran for 196 yards and a touchdown, and added another score on a three-yard TD reception to help New York ruin the regular-season debut of Carson Palmer.

Palmer, the No. 1 overall pick in 2003, commanded the offense well and made very few mistakes, going 18-of-27 for 248 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.

But Palmer could not do anything about Martin. The 31-year-old finished with 29 carries for the third-highest total of his NFL career.

Seahawks 21, Saints 7

New Orleans — Shaun Alexander scored three touchdowns to get the Seahawks off to a good start on the road. Seattle was 2-6 on the road last season, but used its first trip this year to start working on expectations the Seahawks will be strong contenders for the NFC title.

Playing behind one of the best offensive lines in the NFL, Alexander rushed for 135 yards on 28 carries. He ran for two touchdowns and caught another.

Rams 17, Cardinals 10

St. Louis — Marshall Faulk ran for 128 yards on 22 carries while sharing time with first-round pick Steven Jackson in the Rams’ victory.

Faulk, who has missed 11 games due to injuries the last two seasons, helped the Rams overcome three costly turnovers that kept the margin from being very comfortable. Jackson also played well, running for 50 yards on seven carries.

The Rams beat the Cardinals for the fifth straight time and sent Arizona to its 14th straight road loss.

Chargers 27, Texans 20

Houston — LaDainian Tomlinson ran for 121 yards and a touchdown, and the Chargers used a mistake-free passing game and an opportunistic defense to beat Houston.

It marked the first time the third-year Texans lost a season opener.

Drew Brees, who might not have started if prized rookie Philip Rivers hadn’t held out for most of training camp, was 17-of-24 for 209 yards and two touchdowns.

Jaguars 13, Bills 10

Buffalo, N.Y. — Byron Leftwich threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Ernest Wilford as time expired to lift Jacksonville.

Leftwich finished 18-of-36 for 147 yards passing. He also threw two interceptions, both of which led to Buffalo scores. Jimmy Smith had four catches for 83 yards, and Fred Taylor had 61 yards rushing for Jacksonville.