Colts run past Titans

Indy rallies for 31-17 victory; Bears pop Packers

? Peyton Manning had plenty of help from the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. Steve McNair didn’t get the same treatment from his Tennessee Titans in the first game between the NFL’s reigning co-MVP quarterbacks.

Manning threw for 254 yards and two touchdowns, and Nick Harper intercepted McNair’s pass in the end zone in helping Indianapolis rally for a 31-17 victory over Tennessee.

Edgerrin James also ran for two touchdowns and 124 yards as the Colts (1-1) avoided losing consecutive games in the regular season for the first time since the middle of the 2002 season — now a span of 26 games.

“Anytime you win down here, it’s a good win,” Colts coach Tony Dungy said.

The Colts outscored Tennessee 28-7 in the second half, forced two turnovers and sacked McNair three times in winning their third straight game in this series.

The Titans had plenty of chances to bury the Colts in a deep hole before a record crowd of 68,932 in this early AFC South showdown between the only teams to win this division since realignment.

“We never talked about 0-2,” Manning said. “Tony never said, ‘We can’t be 0-2.’ It never came up. We just said it’s an AFC South game. It’s a double-dipper. We have a chance to get up in the division and give the Titans a loss.”

Bears 21, Packers 10

Green Bay, Wis. — Mike Brown’s 95-yard fumble return for a touchdown sparked the Bears to only the third win over their longtime rivals in their last 21 meetings.

Tennessee linebacker Keith Bulluck grabs Indianapolis running back Edgerrin James by the facemask as James runs for an 11-yard gain in the fourth quarter. James had 124 yards rushing and two touchdowns in the Colts' 31-17 victory Sunday in Nashville, Tenn.

It was Brown’s fifth defensive score, a team record, and the second-longest fumble return in Bears history, surpassed only by team founder George Halas’ 98-yard return in 1923. It also was the second-longest fumble return for a score ever given up by Green Bay.

When Lovie Smith was hired as Bears coach Jan. 15, he declared his top priority was knocking off the Packers — and that he knew just how to do it. The last two times he’d faced Green Bay was as the St. Louis Rams’ defensive coordinator, and the Packers committed a combined 10 turnovers in those games.

Brett Favre threw two interceptions Sunday, and the killer was Ahman Green’s fumble just before halftime that Brown returned for the touchdown.

Jaguars 7, Broncos 6

Jacksonville, Fla. — Quentin Griffin fumbled on the 23-yard line with about a minute to play, allowing the Jaguars to escape with the victory.

Jake Plummer drove Denver into field-goal range, thanks partly to defensive end Lionel Barnes’ personal-foul penalty. The Broncos had a third-and-10 on the 23 — what would have been a 40-yard field goal for Jason Elam. But Griffin bobbled the handoff, Akin Ayodele recovered, and the Jaguars ran out the remaining 31 seconds to improve to 2-0 behind a suffocating defense.

Atlanta quarterback Michael Vick (7) goes airborne over St. Louis cornerback Jerametrius Butler. Vick finished with 109 yards rushing in the Falcons' 34-17 victory Sunday in Atlanta.

The Jaguars held Griffin to 66 yards, extending their streak of not allowing a 100-yard rusher to an NFL-best 17 games. Griffin had 156 yards last week against Kansas City.

Falcons 34, Rams 17

Atlanta — Michael Vick brought his running shoes to the Falcons’ home opener, but it was the Atlanta defense that saved the game.

Defensive end Brady Smith scored a fourth-quarter touchdown when he stripped the ball from Marc Bulger in the end zone and caught the fumble in the air. Aaron Beasley ended the Rams’ next drive with an interception.

Warrick Dunn ran for two touchdowns for Atlanta before leaving because of a sprained left knee.

Vick had 12 carries for 109 yards, the third 100-yard rushing game of his career, and Atlanta (2-0) beat the Rams (1-1) for the first time since Atlanta’s 1998 Super Bowl season. Vick was 14-of-19 for 179 yards and a touchdown.

Ravens 30, Steelers 13

Baltimore — The Ravens ran over the hated Steelers in a performance that belatedly justified their stature as the team to beat in the AFC North.

Jamal Lewis rushed for 62 yards and two touchdowns, and Chester Taylor added a career-high 76 yards on the ground to lead Baltimore.

Steelers quarterback Tommy Maddox went 4-for-13 for 67 yards before being forced out in the third quarter because of an elbow injury. He was replaced by first-round draft pick Ben Roethlisberger, who threw fourth-quarter touchdown passes to Antwaan Randle El and Hines Ward for the Steelers.

Lions 28, Texans 16

Detroit — Joey Harrington beat David Carr in the first matchup of the top two quarterbacks from the 2002 draft.

Harrington threw three touchdown passes, two thanks to rookie Roy Williams’ spectacular catches, to lead the Lions to their first 2-0 start since 2000. The Texans are 0-2 for the first time in their three seasons.

Harrington, the No. 3 pick two years ago, was 18-of-25 for 176 yards with one interception in Detroit’s home opener.

Giants 20, Redskins 14

East Rutherford, N.J. — Linebacker Barrett Green scored on a 16-yard fumble return, and New York forced seven turnovers to hand Joe Gibbs his first loss in his second stint with Washington.

Kurt Warner threw a 38-yard touchdown pass to Tim Carter, and Steve Christie kicked two field goals in a game the Giants had to sweat out despite having a plus-6 edge in turnovers.

Patrick Ramsey, who took over in the third quarter when Mark Brunell went out because of a hamstring injury, threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Clinton Portis with 12:01 to play. But he had two other drives in New York territory stopped on interceptions by Gibril Wilson and Brent Alexander.

Saints 30, 49ers 27

New Orleans — Aaron Brooks rallied New Orleans in the final two minutes, taking the Saints 59 yards and hitting Donte’ Stallworth for a 16-yard touchdown. Ashley Ambrose intercepted Ken Dorsey’s pass with :04 left to preserve the victory.

The 49ers got to the Saints’ one when Terry Jackson pulled in a pass, but offensive pass interference against Brian Jennings nullified the play. On the next play, Ambrose grabbed Dorsey’s pass.

The Saints lost running back Deuce McAllister for at least this game. The team’s biggest offensive weapon sprained his right ankle on the third play and spent the rest of the day on the sideline wearing an orthopedic boot.

Raiders 13, Bills 10

Oakland, Calif. — Jerry Rice’s streak of 274 games with a catch ended, while Ronald Curry caught five passes for 89 yards and a touchdown in the Raiders’ victory.

Rice still is a starter, but has said he would accept a lesser role for the Raiders if it helped the team rebound from last season’s 4-12 debacle. He didn’t get a pass thrown his way until 21/2 minutes before halftime — and that was the only one.

The last time Rice didn’t catch a pass was Dec. 1, 1985. Rice was substituted almost every other play during Oakland’s second-to-last drive.

Patriots 23, Cardinals 12

Tempe, Ariz. — Corey Dillon gained 158 yards on 32 carries, and Tom Brady threw two first-half touchdown passes to Daniel Graham for New England.

Eugene Wilson intercepted Josh McCown twice, leading to 10 New England points.

After a bye next week, the Patriots can tie the NFL record of 18 straight victories with a win Oct. 3 at Buffalo.

Former Cardinals safety Pat Tillman, killed in combat in Afghanistan, was honored in an emotional halftime ceremony in Arizona’s home opener.

Jets 34, Chargers 28

San Diego — Curtis Martin scored on the Jets’ first two possessions and became the team’s all-time rushing leader. He scored on runs of one and two yards and finished with 119 yards on 32 carries. With 8,185 yards in seven seasons with the Jets, he broke Freeman McNeil’s old team record of 8,074. Chad Pennington threw two touchdown passes for the Jets, and safety Erik Coleman had an interception and a fumble recovery.

Cowboys 19, Browns 12

Irving, Texas — Vinny Testaverde threw for 322 yards, and Eddie George ran for 61 yards and a touchdown in a victory that had all the makings of a blowout — if not for mistake after mistake by the Cowboys. Dallas reached at least the Cleveland 43-yard line on 10 of its 11 drives, but turned that into only two touchdowns and a field goal. The rest of the drives were squandered by four turnovers (including three late interceptions of Testaverde), a missed field goal and two punts.

Seahawks 10, Bucs 6

Tampa, Fla. — With Shaun Alexander running at less than full speed, Seattle’s defense had to make sure the Seahawks had another successful road trip. Marcus Trufant returned an interception 41 yards to set up Matt Hasselbeck’s second-quarter touchdown pass to Koren Robinson, and the Seahawks opened a season with consecutive road wins for the first time in 10 years. Alexander, playing despite a bruised bone in his right knee, was limited to 45 yards on 17 carries after rushing for 135 and scoring three TDs against the Saints.

Bengals 16, Dolphins 13

Cincinnati — Until the closing minutes, Carson Palmer and A.J. Feeley played like rookies, letting a ragged game come down to one play. Chad Johnson made it.

Johnson wriggled open for a 20-yard catch that put Cincinnati in range for Shayne Graham’s 39-yard field goal.

Graham’s kick with two seconds left completed Palmer’s first game-winning drive, a modest achievement on a night in which neither inexperienced quarterback did much.

Palmer led the Bengals 59 yards to the winning kick, completing seven of his eight throws.

All but the one to Johnson were short, low-risk tosses, the perfect conclusion for two rickety offenses.