Chicago ? What the heck? Nathan Vasher caught the missed field goal deep in the end zone on the final play of the first half and decided to bring it out.

Seconds later, he was in the NFL record books with the longest play in league history – an almost unimaginable rambling 108-yard TD return that stunned the San Francisco 49ers and propelled the Chicago Bears to a blustery 17-9 victory Sunday.

“I’ve never really seen it work, but we always feel like we can get big plays like that,” Vasher said. “I’m still speechless.”

When Joe Nedney’s 52-yard attempt was short and wide, Vasher caught the ball over his shoulder, then after a brief hesitation sprinted to the 15, reversed his field with a spin move and picked up a convoy of blockers.

“All the guys start out left. If there’s nothing to the left, we always have a lot of field to the right. I just felt like I could outrun a lot of guys at that angle,” Vasher said.

Getting blocks down the sideline from Lance Briggs, Chris Harris and Brian Urlacher, Vasher weaved past and through the huffing and puffing 49ers for a 7-3 halftime lead.

Chicago's Nathan Vasher (31) takes off on a 108-yard touchdown - the longest play in NFL history - as teammates Charles Tillman (33), Brian Urlacher (54) and Israel Idonije (71) and San Francisco's Billy Bajema (47) give chase. The record run came in the Bears' 17-9 victory Sunday in Chicago.

“With the field-goal team out there, there were no defensive backs or wide receivers,” Vasher said. “You’re out there with the big boys. I picked up some great blocks from everybody out there.”

The previous longest play was Baltimore’s Chris McAlister’s 107-yarder with a missed field goal in 2002.

Leading 3-0 on a day when wind gusts reaching 47 mph made every flight of the football problematic, why even try a 52-yarder?

“Joe is the strength of our football team. I have a tremendous amount of confidence in him,” 49ers coach Mike Nolan said. “Joe felt he had the distance, but that time it came a little short.”

Vasher returned an interception 71 yards for a TD last season to seal a victory over the 49ers. This one he had trouble believing.

“I was feeling like I was running the 400 meters out there. I just fell into the end zone,” Vasher said. “The NFL has been around a long time. For my name to be at the top of that is truly an honor.”

Nedney was in no position to make the tackle as a swarm of Bears jerseys – they wore orange Sunday – were rolling down the sideline.

“I saw six orange jerseys in front of him, and there is not much I can do in that situation,” Nedney said.

Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning throws a pass against the Texans. Manning threw for 297 yards and three touchdowns in the Colts' 31-17 victory Sunday in Indianapolis.

The Bears (6-3) have their longest winning streak in a single season since 2001, when they won six in a row en route to a division title.

First-round pick Cedric Benson, making his first NFL start in place of Thomas Jones (ribs), was wheeled off the field in the second quarter because of a sprained right knee. He was hit by Isaac Sopoaga, and his right knee twisted grotesquely as he went down.

Benson was standing after the game, wearing a brace and awaiting an MRI today.

That left the Bears with one tailback, and Adrian Peterson responded with 120 yards on 24 carries. Peterson’s 34-yard run and two penalties on the 49ers – for pass interference and roughing the passer – set up Peterson’s seven-yard TD run early in the fourth period that made it 14-6.

Buccaneers 36, Redskins 35

Tampa, Fla. – Somehow, Mike Alstott found a way into the end zone on a gutsy two-point conversion call by coach Jon Gruden.

Alstott’s run with 58 seconds remaining came after the Redskins (5-4) blocked a potential game-tying extra point, only to be penalized for being offside on the previous play. Alstott was hit at the line and appeared stopped before twisting and keeping his legs moving to get into the end zone. The conversion stood after the replay official’s review.

Chris Simms threw for 279 yards and two touchdowns for the Bucs (6-3).

Colts 31, Texans 17

Indianapolis – Peyton Manning is back to throwing touchdowns, and Indianapolis again is achieving offensive milestones. The NFL’s two-time MVP carved up Houston for 297 yards and three touchdowns, keeping Indianapolis as the NFL’s only unbeaten team.

Manning completed 26 of 35 passes, while Marvin Harrison had seven catches for 108 yards and one TD, making Manning and Harrison the only tandem to top 10,000 career yards. The duo has hooked up for 755 completions, 10,034 yards and 90 TDs – all NFL records.

Edgerrin James ran 26 times for 122 yards and one touchdown, his 47th career 100-yard game. James is tied with Franco Harris for eighth in NFL history and topped the 1,000-yard mark for the fifth time.

Seahawks 31, Rams 16

Seattle – Shaun Alexander ran for 165 yards on a season-high 33 carries and three touchdowns, and the Seahawks took a three-game division lead on second-place St. Louis.

Seattle (7-2) turned St. Louis’ botched fake field-goal attempt in the second quarter into a 24-3 scoring run and has won five straight overall for the first time since 1999. The Seahawks swept St. Louis after losing the previous four to the Rams (4-5).

Packers 33, Falcons 25

Atlanta – Nigerian-born Samkon Gado ran for 103 yards and scored three touchdowns as the Packers (2-7) won for the second time this season. Brett Favre threw for 252 yards and came up with a great escape on a drive that led to Ryan Longwell’s fourth field goal, a 51-yarder with 4:01 remaining that restored Green Bay’s nine-point lead.

Broncos 31, Raiders 17

Oakland, Calif. – Jake Plummer passed for 205 yards and a touchdown, had no interceptions and wasn’t sacked all day, and Jason Elam kicked three field goals for Denver.

Darrent Williams returned an interception 80 yards for a fourth-quarter score that ended Oakland’s chance at a comeback. The Broncos (7-2) took a two-game division lead after Kansas City lost at Buffalo.

Panthers 30, Jets 3

Charlotte, N.C. – Will Witherspoon returned an interception 35 yards for a touchdown, and Ken Lucas grabbed two of Carolina’s four interceptions.

Vikings 24, Giants 21

East Rutherford, N.J. – The Vikings became the first team in NFL history to get touchdown returns on a punt, a kickoff and an interception.

Then quarterback Brad Johnson finally put together a drive, setting up Paul Edinger’s 48-yard field goal with 10 seconds remaining.

Safety Darren Sharper had three interceptions for the Vikings (4-5), one he returned for a 92-yard touchdown on the first play of the second quarter. Eli Manning finished 23-of-48 for 291 yards for the Giants (6-3) and threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Amani Toomer to give him 10 straight games with a touchdown pass.

Patriots 23, Dolphins 16

Miami – Tom Brady brought New England from behind twice in the second half, throwing a 17-yard TD pass to Benjamin Watson for the winning score with 2:16 left. Gus Frerotte drove the Dolphins 70 yards to the five with a minute left, but his fourth-down pass was incomplete with 36 seconds to go.

Jaguars 30, Ravens 3

Jacksonville, Fla. – Greg Jones ran for a career-high 106 yards and a touchdown, Matt Jones had a career-high 117 yards receiving and a score, and the Jaguars reached 30 points for the first time since 2001.

Jacksonville (6-3) snapped its NFL-record 58-game streak of not scoring at least 30 points. The Jaguars tied Cleveland’s mark last week.

Lions 29, Cardinals 21

Detroit – Roy Williams caught a career-high three touchdown passes from Joey Harrington as Detroit (4-5) ended a two-game losing streak, and Arizona (2-7) lost its third straight.

The Lions led 19-3 at halftime and by 15 with 8:35 left before Arizona came back.

Steelers 34, Browns 21

Pittsburgh – Charlie Batch improvised a one-yard touchdown run late in the second quarter, and his passing led to another score before he left because of a broken right hand.

Tommy Maddox replaced Batch to run an efficient and time-consuming offense in the second half, and college QB-turned-wide receiver Antwaan Randle El threw a 51-yard scoring pass to Hines Ward on a reverse early in the third quarter to put the Steelers (7-2) up 24-7.