Packers leap to 8-1

Green Bay pounds Minnesota, increases lead in NFC North

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Ruvell Martin (82) celebrates with fans after catching a 17-yard touchdown pass. Martin caught his touchdown during the second half of the Packers' 34-0 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday in Green Bay, Wis.

? Brett Favre passed another milestone, and the Packers roughed up rookie running back Adrian Peterson.

Favre joined Dan Marino as the only quarterbacks in NFL history to throw for 60,000 career yards as the Packers (8-1) went back to their short passing game after winning their last two games on a pair of deep passes from Favre.

The Packers were leading 27-0 late in the third quarter when Peterson caught a pass from Brooks Bollinger and was tackled low by cornerback Al Harris, injuring his knee.

It was another tough blow for the Vikings (3-6), who hoped to carry over some momentum from Peterson’s NFL-record 296-yard rushing performance in a victory over San Diego last Sunday.

But the Packers ganged up on Peterson and held him to 45 yards on 11 carries.

Favre was 33-of-46 for 351 yards and three touchdowns before he was relieved by backup Aaron Rodgers. Favre broke Marino’s record for career touchdown passes against the Vikings earlier this year and now trails Marino’s all-time passing yardage mark by 1,105 yards.

Ryan Grant finished with 119 yards against a tough Vikings defense.

Bills 13, Dolphins 10

Miami – Winless Miami controlled the ball for nearly 37 minutes and led most of the game, but Rian Lindell kicked a 34-yard field goal with 46 seconds left, and the Bills earned their fourth consecutive victory.

Buffalo scored 11 points in the final 9:46 to improve to 5-4. The Bills’ winning streak is their longest since 2004.

The Dolphins fell to 0-9, extending the worst start in franchise history. Five defeats have been by three points, none more wrenching than the latest.

Buffalo’s only touchdown came after a long drive by the Dolphins put them ahead 10-2. The Bills capped a 66-yard march with a three-yard run by Marshawn Lynch, who then ran for the two-point conversion, spinning across the goal after he was hit.

Rams 37, Saints 29

New Orleans – Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce found the old magic, teaming with Marc Bulger to give perviously winless St. Louis a surprising victory over a New Orleans squad that hadn’t lost in a month.

Bulger finished with 302 yards and short touchdown passes to Bruce and Drew Bennett. Steven Jackson, recovering from a back injury, rushed for a short touchdown and even threw a two-yard halfback pass to Randy McMichael for a score.

It was a demoralizing loss for New Orleans (4-5), which could have climbed into a first-place tie in the NFC South with a victory.

Cowboys 31, Giants 20

East Rutherford, N.J. – Tony Romo hit Terrell Owens on two of his four touchdown passes, and Dallas opened a three-game lead in the NFC East by ending the Giants’ six-game winning streak. Romo and Owens broke it open in the second half by combining on scoring passes of 25 and 50 yards to help Dallas (8-1) match its best start since 1995, the last time it won the Super Bowl.

Romo, who was 20-of-28 for 247 yards, also threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Tony Curtis and a 20-yarder to Patrick Crayton in helping the Cowboys sweep the season-series with the Giants (6-3). Nick Folk added a 44-yard field goal.

Eli Manning threw an eight-yard touchdown pass to Jeremy Shockey, who tied his career high with 12 catches for 129 yards. Reuben Droughns scored on a one-yard run, and Lawrence Tynes kicked field goals of 40 and 26 yards.

Steelers 31, Browns 28

Pittsburgh – Ben Roethlisberger scrambled 30 yards for a key touchdown during Pittsburgh’s second-half comeback, then set up his own go-ahead two-yard TD pass to Heath Miller with an important third-down run as the Steelers rallied.

In a game that meant a two-game swing in the AFC North – the Browns (5-4) would have tied the Steelers (7-2) by winning – Roethlisberger’s big second half overcame Cleveland quarterback Derek Anderson’s huge first half.

Pittsburgh beat Cleveland for the ninth consecutive time.

Cleveland opened a 21-6 lead in the first half with the help of Joshua Cribbs’ 90-yard kickoff return that led to one of Anderson’s three touchdown passes before halftime. After Roethlisberger’s long scramble put the Steelers in the lead for the first time early in the fourth quarter, Cribbs fumbled a kickoff inside his own five. He picked it up mostly out of desperation and somehow wedged his way down Pittsburgh’s sideline for a 100-yard scoring return and an improbable 28-24 lead.

Jaguars 28, Titans 13

Nashville, Tenn. – Quinn Gray threw for a touchdown, and Maurice Jones-Drew and Fred Taylor ran for one each.

The Jaguars (6-3) came in having lost two of three. They also wanted to amend for a season-opening loss to Tennessee in which they gave up 282 yards rushing.

Jacksonville snapped the Titans’ three-game winning streak; the Titans (6-3) struggled with defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth and defensive end Travis LaBoy sitting out due to injuries.

The Titans also played without Chris Brown, who ran for a career-high 175 yards in the opener, but missed his fourth game with a sprained ankle.

That put pressure on Vince Young, who threw for a career-high 257 yards and his first TD pass since Sept. 24. But the Jaguars sacked him four times, recovered a botch snap and picked Young off twice, the last with 1:14 left at the Jacksonville one.

Jones-Drew ran for 101 yards on 19 carries, and Taylor added 45 more as the Jaguars rolled up 166 yards against the NFL’s stingiest run defense, which had been giving up 66 yards a game.

Eagles 33, Redskins 25

Landover, Md. – With the Eagles trailing by five and three rushers closing in, Donovan McNabb threw a screen pass to Brian Westbrook over the middle. Sprung by four solid downfield blocks, Westbrook scampered for a 57-yard touchdown with 3:16 remaining.

McNabb completed 20 of 28 passes for 251 yards and four touchdowns. Westbrook caught two touchdown passes and ran for another, finishing with 20 carries for 100 yards and five receptions for 83 yards.

The Eagles (4-5), who have been alternating wins and losses since Week 2, remained in last place in the NFC East, but moved within striking distance of the Redskins (5-4), who let a struggling Philadelphia team reel off 20 points in the fourth quarter.

Westbrook’s catch-and-run TD gave the Eagles a 26-25 lead. He added one more score, a 10-yard run, with 2:18 to play after the Eagles recovered Washington quarterback Jason Campbell’s fumble on a fourth-and-long deep in Redskins territory.

Campbell completed 23 of 34 passes for 215 yards and a career-high three touchdowns, including the first three touchdown passes to wide receivers for the Redskins all season.

Falcons 20, Panthers 13

Charlotte, N.C. – Just before he was drilled to the turf, Joey Harrington found Alge Crumpler over the middle for a 30-yard touchdown with 20 seconds left.

Crumpler, who returned after missing the previous two games with ankle and knee injuries, caught the short pass and sliced between safeties Chris Harris and Quinton Teal for the score. Harrington watched from his back after being hit by Thomas Davis, then limped off the field as the Falcons (3-6) won their second straight game.

The late score ruined the return of 43-year-old Vinny Testaverde, who limped around despite a sore right Achilles’ tendon, but couldn’t lead the Panthers (4-5) to the end zone. Their lone touchdown came on Ken Lucas’ 27-yard fumble return as they lost their third straight and their sixth straight at home.

The win was especially sweet for DeAngelo Hall. The cornerback who was called for 63 yards worth of penalties, including two personal fouls while jawing with Steve Smith when they played earlier in the season, prevented a TD on Carolina’s best scoring chance.

Bears 17, Raiders 6

Oakland, Calif. – With one perfect deep pass, Rex Grossman might have won back his starting quarterback job and saved the Bears’ season.

Grossman replaced an injured Brian Griese and threw a 59-yard pass to Bernard Berrian for the go-ahead score with 3:11 remaining.

Sebastian Janikowski’s 52-yard field goal with 4:04 remaining gave Oakland (2-7) a 6-3 lead that looked as if it could be enough on a day when neither offense could move the ball.

Then Grossman, who had struggled in his first game since Sept. 23, turned back into Good Rex, the quarterback who helped lead the Bears (4-5) to the Super Bowl last season instead of the one whose turnovers cost him his job.

Cardinals 31, Lions 21

Glendale, Ariz. – Karlos Dansby intercepted two passes and forced a fumble to help Arizona’s defense make mistake-prone Detroit look like the lowly Lions of old.

Two of Dansby’s plays led to Arizona touchdowns in his first game since getting hurt against Carolina on Oct. 14.

Kurt Warner, playing with a torn ligament in his left (non-throwing) shoulder, shook off an early interception to complete 26-of-36 for 259 yards and three touchdowns, two to Larry Fitzgerald. Backup Tim Rattay also had a TD pass as Arizona (4-5) snapped a three-game skid and improved to 3-1 at home.

Tight end Leonard Pope caught two touchdown passes for the Cardinals.

The loss dropped the Lions (6-3) two games behind first-place Green Bay in the NFC North. The Cardinals are just a half-game behind first-place Seattle in the weak NFC West.

Bengals 21, Ravens 7

Baltimore – Shayne Graham kicked a team-record seven field goals, and the Bengals completed a season sweep of the Ravens.

Cincinnati (3-6) owned the league’s 31st-ranked defense, was tied with winless Miami for most points allowed and had not yielded fewer than 20 points in any game this season. All that changed against the Ravens (4-5), who committed six turnovers. Steve McNair struggled in a second straight start, throwing for only 128 yards, losing two fumbles and throwing an interception before being replaced by Kyle Boller.

Graham connected from 34, 19, 22, 35, 35, 21 and 33 yards. He has made 19 straight field goal tries, a team record. The seven field goals were one short of the NFL record set earlier this season by Tennessee’s Rob Bironas.

Chargers 23, Colts 21

San Diego – Peyton Manning was poised to turn one of his worst games into one of his most memorable.

Then Adam Vinatieri missed a 29-yard field goal attempt with 1:31 left, and the San Diego Chargers held on for a wild 23-21 win over the defending Super Bowl champion Colts on Sunday night.

Manning, who set a Colts franchise record with six interceptions, had driven the Colts to the Chargers’ 12. Vinatieri, who had won two Super Bowls for New England with last-second kicks, pushed his kick just wide right.

The Chargers led 23-7 going into the fourth quarter even though their offense was as waterlogged as the field on a rainy night. Had Vinatieri’s kick gone through, it would have been the 29th time that Manning rallied the Colts (7-2) from either a fourth-quarter deficit or tie to win.

Darren Sproles, San Diego’s speedy little return man, brought back the opening kickoff 89 yards for his first NFL touchdown, then ran back a punt 45 yards for his second score later in the first quarter.