Ravens hand Steelers 1st loss: NFL roundup
Scobee stuns Colts with 59-yard winning kick
The Baltimore Ravens made certain the Pittsburgh Steelers wouldn't go unbeaten without Ben Roethlisberger at quarterback.
Joe Flacco withstood Pittsburgh's goal-line stand and go-ahead touchdown in the closing minutes to throw an 18-yard scoring pass to T.J. Houshmandzadeh with 32 seconds remaining for a 17-14 victory on Sunday.
The Steelers (3-1) took a 14-10 lead on Rashard Mendenhall's seven-yard run midway through the fourth quarter, and appeared ready to win after turning away Baltimore on third- and fourth-down plays from the two with over two minutes remaining.
But a holding call on a punt gave Baltimore (3-1) the ball at Pittsburgh's 40 with 55 seconds remaining, and Flacco found Anquan Boldin on two passes for 12 yards and Houshmandzadeh for 10 to set up the winning score.
Saints 16, Panthers 14
Only days after rejoining the New Orleans Saints at age 46, John Carney hit three field goals to help New Orleans edge the Carolina Panthers 16-14 on Sunday.
The Saints signed Carney last Tuesday, two days after Garrett Hartley had missed a 29-yard field goal in overtime in a 27-24 loss to Atlanta.
While the Saints were able to manage only one touchdown on a screen pass to Lance Moore, Carney hit twice from 32 yards and again from 25 with 3:55 to go to put New Orleans (3-1) ahead to stay.
Drew Brees had 275 yards passing and the TD to Moore.
Carolina rookie quarterback Jimmy Clausen had a 55-yard TD pass to Jonathan Stewart, and DeAngelo Williams had a 39-yard TD run that gave Carolina a 14-10 lead in the third quarter.
The Panthers fell to 0-4.
Falcons 16, 49ers 14
Matt Bryant kicked a 42-yard field goal with two seconds left to lift the Atlanta Falcons to a 16-14 victory over the winless San Francisco 49ers.
The Falcons (3-1) got a big break to set up the winning points when receiver Roddy White forced the 49ers' Nate Clements to fumble away an interception and keep Atlanta's drive alive.
San Francisco (0-4) blew a 14-0 first-quarter lead due in part due to a pair of interceptions by Alex Smith.
Jets 38, Bills 14
LaDainian Tomlinson had his best game in nearly two years, rushing for 133 yards and two touchdowns to lead the New York Jets to a 38-14 victory over the winless Buffalo Bills.
Tomlinson had the 47th 100-yard game of his 10-year career – and first since he had 105 on Oct. 26, 2008, when he was with San Diego.
With 12,831 yards rushing, Tomlinson also passed Tony Dorsett to move into seventh place on the NFL's career list.
Dustin Keller had two touchdown catches 1:33 apart to put the Jets (3-1) up 31-7 with 4:36 left in the third quarter.
The Bills (0-4) allowed 30 points for the third straight game.
Packers 28, Lions 26
Charles Woodson returned an interception 48 yards for a touchdown and the Green Bay Packers narrowly held off a comeback by the Detroit Lions for a 28-26 victory.
The Packers (3-1) led 28-14 after Woodson scored early in the third quarter, but the Lions rallied for four straight Jason Hanson field goals to cut the lead to two points in the fourth quarter. A final drive by the Packers ran out the clock.
Aaron Rodgers threw for 181 yards with three touchdowns but also had a pair of interceptions.
Shaun Hill threw for 331 yards and two touchdowns to Calvin Johnson for the Lions (0-4), who made the game close despite 13 penalties.
Texans 31, Raiders 24
Arian Foster returned from an early game benching to score on a 74-yard run and an 10-yard catch in the second half to lead the Houston Texans to a 31-24 victory over the Oakland Raiders on Sunday.
Despite entering the game as the league's leading rusher, Foster was held out until midway through the second quarter in what the Texans (3-1) said was a "coach's decision."
Foster's second touchdown, a short pass from Matt Schaub gave Houston a 31-14 lead. Troy Nolan's second interception iced the game after the Raiders (1-3) had cut the lead to seven.
Bruce Gradkowski, who took over as starter from Jason Campbell, threw two interceptions in addition to touchdowns to Zach Miller and Marcel Reece.
Jaguars 31, Colts 28
Josh Scobee's 59-yard field goal on the final play gave the Jaguars (2-2) a much-needed victory.
Scobee watched it clear the crossbar, then ripped off his helmet and started running toward the opposite end zone. His teammates finally caught up with him on the sideline, setting off a raucous celebration for a team desperate for a victory against its biggest rival.
David Garrard, coming off two miserable outings, completed 17 of 22 passes. He threw TD's to Mercedes Lewis and Maurice Jones-Drew and ran for another. Jones-Drew also had a rushing major.
The six-time defending AFC South champion Colts are 2-2, but have lost both games to division foes.
Peyton Manning and Reggie Wayne connected 15 times for 196 yards. Manning threw scoring passes to Austin Collie and Dallas Clark, while Joseph Addai ran two into the end zone.
Broncos 26, Titans 20
Kyle Orton threw a six-yard touchdown pass to Correll Buckhalter with 1:33 left, and the Denver Broncos rallied and beat the Tennessee Titans 26-20 on Sunday.
The Broncos (2-2) clinched the victory when they kicked short on the ensuing kickoff, trying to avoid rookie Marc Mariani who already had a 98-yard return for a touchdown.
The Titans (2-2) let the ball bounce, and Mariani tried to jump up and catch it only to be hit by David Bruton.
Chargers 41, Cardinals 10
Philip Rivers threw a pair of touchdowns and Ryan Mathews and Mike Tolbert rushed for one each for San Diego (2-2).
It was the first NFL touchdown for Mathews, while tight end Antonio Gates became the seventh tight end in league history with 500 catches,
Arizona (2-2), who opted to release quarterback Matt Leinart before the season, benched starter Derek Anderson after he threw two interceptions and couldn't move the offence. Max Hall replaced Anderson, but Arizona had no more success.
Rams 20, Seahawks 3
Sam Bradford threw for 289 yards and two touchdowns and Steve Jackson became the Rams' second leading rusher as St. Louis defeated Seattle Seahawks 20-3.
The rookie quarterback completed 23 of 41 passes with one interception as the Rams (2-2) ended a 10-game losing streak against Seattle and topped their win total from last year.
The Rams defense sacked Matt Hasselbeck four times, had one interception and forced a fumble. Special teams bottled up returner Leon Washington, who had two touchdown returns last week.
Browns 23, Bengals 20
Peyton Hillis rumbled for 102 yards and a touchdown, Phil Dawson kicked three field goals and the Cleveland Browns survived a big day by Terrell Owens for their first win, 23-20 over the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Browns (1-3) had lost their first three games by a total of 12 points, failing to finish down the stretch.
But this time, they overcame a costly penalty, made a crucial sack of Carson Palmer in the closing minutes and withstood a 10-catch, 220-yard performance by Owens, who also moved into second place on the NFL career list in receiving yards.
The Bengals (2-2) had their eight-game winning streak in the AFC North snapped.