NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Peyton Manning threw for 254 yards and two touchdowns to win the first game between the NFL's defending co-MVP quarterbacks, leading Indianapolis to a 31-17 victory Sunday over Tennessee.\nSteve McNair was 25-of-39 for 273 yards and ran for a touchdown, but was intercepted in the end zone, sacked three times and had his final drive ended when he was sacked and fumbled in the last minute.\nEdgerrin James 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.\nThe 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.\nBut they couldn't finish what they started. They turned the ball over on downs at the Indianapolis 4, and settled for a field goal on another deep drive into Colts territory after two dropped passes in the end zone.\nThe worst came when Nick Harper took the ball away from Pro Bowl receiver Derrick Mason in the end zone to end another possession in the fourth quarter. Manning took advantage by leading the Colts 80 yards in 11 plays, and James finished it with a 4-yard run for a 24-17 lead that was Indianapolis' first in the game.
Bears 21, Packers 10\nGREEN 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.\nIt 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 was also the second-longest fumble return for a score ever given up by Green Bay.\nWhen Lovie Smith was hired as Bears coach on 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.\nBrett Favre threw two interceptions Sunday, and the killer was Ahman Green's fumble just before halftime that Brown returned for the touchdown.
Raiders 13, Bills 10\nOAKLAND, 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.\nRice is still a starter, but has said he's willing to accept a lesser role for the Raiders (1-1) if it helps the team rebound from last season's 4-12 debacle. He didn't get a pass thrown his way until 2 1/2 minutes before halftime -- and that was the only one.\nThe 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. He came out with 2:37 left during a Buffalo (0-2) timeout and threw his helmet to the ground, causing it to bounce over a metal bench. He appeared to yell in frustration and paced the sideline for several minutes.
Patriots 23, Cardinals 12\nTEMPE, Ariz. -- Make it 17 victories in a row and counting for the Patriots.\nA sometimes sloppy performance by the Super Bowl champions still was enough to defeat the sputtering Cardinals. Corey Dillon gained 158 yards on 32 carries and Tom Brady threw two first-half touchdown passes to Daniel Graham for New England (2-0).\nEugene Wilson intercepted Josh McCown twice, leading to 10 New England points.\nAfter a bye next week, the Patriots can tie the NFL record of 18 straight victories with a win at Buffalo on Oct. 3.\nFormer Cardinals safety Pat Tillman, killed in combat in Afghanistan, was honored in an emotional halftime ceremony in Arizona's home opener.
Jaguars 7, Broncos 6\nJACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Quentin Griffin was a surprise last week. He was a disappointment Sunday.\nGriffin fumbled on the 23-yard line with about a minute to play, allowing the Jaguars to escape with the victory.\nJake Plummer drove Denver into field goal range with less than a minute to play, thanks partly to defensive end Lionel Barnes' personal foul penalty. The Broncos (1-1) 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.\nThe 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\nATLANTA -- Michael Vick brought his running shoes to the Falcons' home opener, but it was the Atlanta defense that saved the game.\nDefensive 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.\nWarrick Dunn ran for two touchdowns for Atlanta before leaving with a sprained left knee.\nVick 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.\nBulger completed 24 of 31 passes for 285 yards with a touchdown and an interception, but he was sacked five times. The Rams were held to 30 yards rushing.
Jets 34, Chargers 28\nSAN DIEGO -- It didn't take Curtis Martin and the Jets long to knock the Chargers back to reality.\nMartin scored on the Jets' first two possessions and became the team's all-time rushing leader. He scored on runs of 1 and 2 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.\nMartin has 11,984 yards in 10 NFL seasons, good for 11th on the career list. Next up is Thurman Thomas with 12,074.\nChad Pennington threw two touchdown passes for the Jets (2-0), and safety Erik Coleman had an interception and a fumble recovery.\nThe Chargers (1-1), booed often during their home opener, are back to playing musical quarterbacks. Drew Brees, plagued by overthrows and dropped passes, was pulled for 41-year-old Doug Flutie with less than four minutes to play.
Cowboys 19, Browns 12\nIRVING, 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.\nDallas (1-1) 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.\nAdd in some silly and ill-timed penalties and the Browns (1-1) were in the game to the end. Yet quarterback Jeff Garcia couldn't muster the spark he showed in winning his Cleveland debut, throwing three interceptions and going just 8-of-28 for 71 yards and a quarterback rating of 0.0.
Ravens 30, Steelers 13\nBALTIMORE -- The Ravens ran over the hated Steelers in a performance that belatedly justified their stature as the team to beat in the AFC North.\nJamal Lewis rushed for 62 yards and two touchdowns and Chester Taylor added a career-high 76 yards on the ground to lead Baltimore (1-1).\nSteelers quarterback Tommy Maddox went 4-for-13 for 67 yards before being forced out in the third quarter with 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.\nBut those scores came after the Steelers (1-1) had fallen into a 20-0 hole, and the rookie's second interception was returned 51 yards for a touchdown by Chris McAlister with 2:56 remaining.
Lions 28, Texans 16\nDETROIT -- Joey Harrington beat David Carr in the first matchup of the top two quarterbacks from the 2002 draft.\nHarrington 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.\nHarrington, the No. 3 pick two years ago, was 18-of-25 for 176 yards with one interception in Detroit's home opener.\nCarr, taken No. 1 overall in Houston's first draft, overcame an awful start to complete 23 of 34 passes for 313 yards with two TDs and one interception.
Giants 20, Redskins 14\nEAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The Washington Redskins gift-wrapped Tom Coughlin's first win as Giants coach.\nLinebacker 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.\nKurt Warner threw a 38-yard touchdown pass to Tim Carter and Steve Christie kicked two field goals in a game the Giants (1-1) had to sweat out despite having a plus-6 edge in turnovers.\nPatrick Ramsey, who took over in the third quarter when Mark Brunell went out with 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.\nThe win snapped a franchise record-tying nine-game losing streak for the Giants, who closed last season with eight straight losses under Jim Fassel.
Seahawks 10, Buccaneers 6\nTAMPA, Fla. -- With Shaun Alexander running at less than full speed, Seattle's defense had to make sure the Seahawks had another successful road trip.\nMarcus 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.\nBuilding on a solid performance in a 21-7 win over New Orleans, the Seahawks (2-0) forced the sputtering Tampa Bay (0-2) offense to settle for field goals on two drives that ended near the Seattle goal line.\nAlexander, playing with 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.
Panthers 28, Chiefs 17\nKANSAS CITY, Mo. -- DeShaun Foster did more than just sub for the injured Stephen Davis, he came within 4 yards of erasing Davis' team record for yards rushing in a game.\nRunning around and through Kansas City's soft defense, Foster carried 32 times for 174 yards, including a team-record 71-yard burst, in leading the defending NFC champion Panthers.\nDavis is out indefinitely with a knee sprain.\nThe Panthers (1-1) came in missing their top two offensive threats -- Davis and wide receiver Steve Smith -- but had little trouble with Kansas City's poor-tackling and mistake-prone defense.\nThe Chiefs, who won the AFC West last year and finished 13-3, are 0-2 and show little sign of improving one of the league's sorriest defenses.
Saints 30, 49ers 27\nNEW ORLEANS -- The Saints survived it all: Hurricane Ivan, the loss of Deuce McAllister, and the 49ers.\nAaron Brooks rallied the Saints in the final two minutes, taking them 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.\nThe 49ers got to the Saints 1 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.\nThe 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 in an orthopedic boot.
