Cincinnati – With one wobbly pass, Philip Rivers completed one of the San Diego Chargers’ greatest comebacks – the kind that defines a young quarterback.

And, maybe, a season as well.

Rivers’ shovel pass under pressure finished a 42-point second half by the Chargers on Sunday, setting up a 49-41 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals that left everyone at a loss for words.

Where to begin?

“Being involved in that game, it was about like it was a cartoon or something,” said LaDainian Tomlinson, who tied his career high with four touchdowns. “Exhausting. I can’t wait until I get on the bus, where I can think and wonder what happened today.”

Here’s what happened: San Diego overcame a 21-point halftime deficit, matching the biggest comeback in franchise history, behind a first-year starting quarterback who kept reminding his teammates that anything was possible.

San Diego running back Ladainian tomlinson (21) breaks a tackle by Cincinnati safety Madieu Williams on his way to a two-yard touchdown. Tomlinson rushed for four touchdowns in the Chargers' 49-41 victory Sunday in Cincinnati.

From now on, they’ll believe him.

The Chargers played as poorly as they have all season, allowing the Bengals to score touchdowns on their first three possessions. Cincinnati led 28-7 at halftime, but Rivers was unconvinced.

“As he grows as a player, he’s unbelievable,” tight end Antonio Gates said. “He’s doing a tremendous job leading this team.”

Bears 38, Giants 20

East Rutherford, N.J. – Just call the Bears the best team in the NFC – and the Giants red-faced for falling asleep on a record-tying 108-yard missed field goal return by Devin Hester.

Hester fooled the Giants by standing in the back of the end zone for several seconds, then ran down the right sideline on his knockout-blow return as the Bears rallied for a victory over the injury-ravaged Giants in their NFC showdown.

Rex Grossman threw for three touchdowns, and Thomas Jones scored on a short run.

Colts 17, Bills 16

Indianapolis – The Bills slowed down Indianapolis’ fast-track offense, but not enough to stop the NFL’s last unbeaten team from making NFL history.

A restrained Peyton Manning repeatedly threw the ball underneath, used his ground game effectively and delivered a time-consuming final drive as the Colts became the first team ever with back-to-back 9-0 starts.

Manning was masterful when he needed to be on a day the Bills simply refused to let the Colts play their game.

Texans 13, Jaguars 10

Jacksonville, Fla. – The Texans might struggle against the rest of the league, but they sure match up well against Jacksonville.

David Carr threw for 167 yards and ran for 48 more before leaving the game with a shoulder injury, and the Texans snapped a 12-game road losing streak.

The Texans upset their AFC South rivals for the second time in four weeks and won on the road for the first time since December 2004. Houston’s last road victory also came at Jacksonville, a 21-0 shocker that essentially knocked the Jaguars out of playoff contention.

Packers 23, Vikings 17

Minneapolis – Brett Favre avoided those infamously big mistakes at the Metrodome, and – surprise, surprise – Green Bay emerged with a victory over struggling Minnesota.

Favre threw two touchdown passes without a turnover, and Donald Driver had 191 yards receiving.

Green Bay (4-5) was boosted by a strong pass rush, and Favre completed 24 of 42 passes for 347 yards and no interceptions.

Ravens 27, Titans 26

Nashville, Tenn. – Steve McNair showed the Titans what they gave up by not wanting to pay him. It was an expensive lesson.

McNair threw his third touchdown with 3:35 left, and the Ravens rallied from a 26-7 deficit for the win and their best start ever.

The Titans had a last chance to send McNair back to Maryland a loser. But Trevor Pryce blocked a 43-yard field-goal attempt by Rob Bironas with 33 seconds left, allowing McNair to celebrate on the field where he had won so many games before.

Baltimore needed McNair because a defense that came in as one of the NFL’s stingiest overall and against the run gave up 162 yards rushing with Ray Lewis sidelined by a sore back.

Eagles 27, Redskins 3

Philadelphia – After plenty of tough breaks during a three-game losing streak, the Eagles finally got a big play and a lucky bounce.

Donovan McNabb threw an 84-yard touchdown pass to Donte’ Stallworth, and Sheldon Brown returned an interception 70 yards for a score.

The Eagles (5-4) improved to 8-0 following a bye under coach Andy Reid while earning their first win since beating Dallas, 38-24, on Oct. 8.

Philadelphia got a fortunate bounce to take a 17-0 lead in the second quarter. On third-and-15 from the Eagles 45, McNabb completed a 20-yard pass to Reggie Brown near the right sideline. Brown appeared to try to lateral the ball as he was being hit by Shawn Springs.

The ball popped straight into the arms of a streaking Correll Buckhalter, who scored the 37-yard touchdown.

The Redskins lost Clinton Portis to a broken right hand in the first quarter.

Jets 17, Patriots 14

Foxborough, Mass. – Chad Pennington marched the New York Jets through the mist and tightened the AFC East race.

Relying on short gains and long drives on a rainy day, the Jets ending the Patriots’ streak of 57 games without consecutive losses.

Preseason favorites to win their fourth straight division title, the Patriots lead the Jets (5-4) by just one game.

49ers 19, Lions 13

Detroit – Frank Gore set a franchise record with 148 yards rushing in the first half and scored on a 61-yard run before leaving due to a concussion, and Joe Nedney made all four of his field-goal attempts for San Francisco.

Keith Lewis intercepted Jon Kitna’s pass at the 49ers two with 21â2 minutes left, and San Francisco picked up the one first down it needed to seal the game, winning consecutive games for the second time since 2003.

Gore finished with career-high 159 yards rushing.

Broncos 17, Raiders 13

Oakland, Calif. – Jake Plummer capitalized on Denver’s one big break to overcome an otherwise poor performance. Plummer threw a one-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Johnson early in the fourth quarter after a fumble by the Broncos was negated by a penalty.

Plummer threw three interceptions, but he led the key drive that helped the Broncos win a fourth straight in Oakland and remained tied with San Diego atop the AFC West.

The Raiders appeared in control when they recovered a fumbled punt by David Kircus at the Denver 20. But instead of adding to a 13-7 lead, Oakland was forced to punt again when Chris Carr was called for a personal foul for running out of bounds on the coverage.

Steelers 38, Saints 31

Pittsburgh – Willie Parker broke free on runs of 72 and 76 yards to set up his own two short scoring runs in the second half, and Ben Roethlisberger threw three touchdown passes.

Parker had 213 yards on 22 carries, with scoring runs of three and four yards in the second half. He finished five yards short of the team record 218 yards rushing by John “Frenchy” Fuqua against Philadelphia in 1970.

The Saints rallied to lead 17-14 on first-round draft pick Reggie Bush’s 15-yard touchdown run on a double reverse, with Bush tumbling over safety Ryan Clark to reach the end zone. They led again 24-17 on Deuce McAllister’s four-yard run during a 72-yard drive that Brees needed only one minute to execute late in the first half.

Browns 17, Falcons 13

Atlanta – For the second week in a row, Atlanta lost to one of the NFL’s worst teams.

Michael Vick threw two interceptions and carelessly fumbled the ball away with 2:18 remaining, allowing the Browns to escape with the win.

Vick completed only 16 of 40 passes for 197 yards, but had the Falcons in position to pull off a comeback with a 55-yard pass to Roddy White, who made a tumbling catch at the Cleveland 17.

The Falcons quarterback took off running on the next play, getting inside the 10, but a holding penalty negated the play. Faced with second-and-20, Vick tried to run again on a draw up the middle, but the Browns forced him to the outside.

Vick began stumbling after making his cut and dropped the ball, which was dangling loosely in his left hand. Jereme Perry, who was burned on White’s long catch, swooped in to make the recovery. Vick, whose helmet had been knocked off by a Browns’ player, sat on the field in disbelief while the home crowd booed him lustily.

Seahawks 24, Rams 22

Seattle – Josh Brown, the Seahawks’ unflappable kicker, calmly made a 38-yard field goal with nine seconds left as Seattle rallied and seized control of the NFC West. It was Brown’s fifth game-winning field goal since Oct. 2, 2005, when he clanged a potential winner from 47 yards off the left upright at the end of regulation in an overtime loss at Washington.

After this one – his second to beat the Rams in less than a month – Brown simply bowed his head into holder Ryan Plackemeier while the rest of the Seahawks jumped and ran in jubilation on the sideline.

Cowboys 27, Cardinals 10

Glendale, Ariz. – Tony Romo threw for 308 yards and two touchdowns, including a 51-yarder to Terrell Owens.

The Cowboys, showing no signs of a hangover from their heartbreaking loss to Washington the previous week, turned two interceptions by Matt Leinart into second-half touchdowns and sent the Cardinals to their eighth straight loss.