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Wednesday, Nov. 27
The Indiana Daily Student

sports

Steelers beat Patriots; Chiefs corral Colts

PITTSBURGH -- So much for the longest winning streaks in NFL history.\nBen Roethlisberger drove the Steelers to four scores following uncharacteristic New England turnovers and Pittsburgh ended the Patriots' two long winning streaks with a remarkably easy 34-20 victory Sunday.\nThe Patriots had won 21 straight counting the playoffs and a league-record 18 in a row in the regular season, but were all but out of this one after Roethlisberger -- still unbeaten as an NFL starter -- threw two touchdown passes to Plaxico Burress in the first quarter.\nMaybe all this winning was too much to ask of Boston-area teams. With running back Corey Dillon (knee) sitting out and Pro Bowl cornerback Ty Law (foot) sidelined for all but a few plays, the Patriots' winning streaks ended only four days after the Boston Red Sox won their first World Series in 86 years.\nTom Brady threw two interceptions and lost a fumble, and New England lost its first game since a 20-17 defeat to Washington on Sept. 28, 2003. Roethlisberger upped his personal winning streak to 18. He won his final 13 at Miami of Ohio last season following an opening-game loss, and now is only the second rookie quarterback since the 1970 merger to win his first NFL five starts.

Eagles 15, Ravens 10\nPHILADELPHIA -- Terrell Owens had an 11-yard TD catch and David Akers kicked three field goals helping Philadelphia reach 7-0 for the first time in franchise history.\nOwens, who made a few enemies in Baltimore after he spurned the Ravens and forced a trade to the Eagles in March, had eight catches for 101 yards. After breaking several tackles to score in the fourth quarter, Owens, known for his innovative celebrations, imitated the dance Baltimore's Ray Lewis does when he's introduced before home games.\nBaltimore (4-3) drove to Philadelphia's 48 in the final two minutes, but Boller's fourth-down pass was incomplete.

Chiefs 45, Colts 35\nKANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Trent Green threw for 389 yards and three scores, two to tight end Tony Gonzalez, and Priest Holmes finished with 143 yards rushing and three touchdowns to help the Chiefs break a seven-game losing streak to the Colts.\nPeyton Manning passed for 472 yards and five touchdowns. But with his team trying frantically to come back from a 10-point deficit, Manning's pass was intercepted by Greg Wesley in the end zone and returned 65 yards to seal the win.\nBefore Sunday, Kansas City (3-4) hadn't beaten Indianapolis since 1985. Kansas City won back-to-back games for the first time this year, while Indianapolis (4-3) lost its second straight. The Chiefs finished with 590 yards, the Colts with 505.

Falcons 41, Broncos 28\nDENVER -- Michael Vick threw two touchdown passes to Peerless Price and accounted for 367 yards of offense to help the Falcons set aside their 56-10 embarrassment at Kansas City last week.\nJake Plummer threw for a Denver record 499 yards -- a career high and the best mark in the league this year -- but also had three interceptions as the Broncos (5-3) added this upset to last week's 23-10 loss to Cincinnati.\nAfter playing a terrible game last week, just like the rest of the Falcons (6-2), Vick finished with season highs of 115 yards rushing and 252 passing.

Chargers 42, Raiders 14\nSAN DIEGO -- Drew Brees threw a career-high five touchdown passes and set the team single-game record for pass efficiency in leading the surprising Chargers (5-3). Brees completed his first eight passes and was 22-of-25 overall _ 88 percent _ for 281 yards. He had no interceptions for the fifth time in six games.\nThe previous team record was 81.8 percent by Rick Neuheisel, the replacement quarterback during the 1987 strike. Brees completed 80 percent of his passes, 16 of 20, against Tennessee on Oct. 3 to tie Hall of Famer Dan Fouts for second on the team's all-time list.\nThe Raiders (2-6) lost their fifth straight. Kerry Collins was intercepted twice and went 24-of-39 for 263 yards.

Seahawks 23, Panthers 17\nSEATTLE -- Shaun Alexander gained 195 yards on 32 carries and Matt Hasselbeck recovered from a dismal performance last weekend, throwing for 201 yards to help the Seahawks (4-3) break a three-game losing streak.\nThe Panthers (1-6) lost their fifth straight.

Giants 34, Vikings 13\nMINNEAPOLIS -- Tiki Barber ran 24 times for 101 yards and two short touchdowns to give the Giants their third straight win over the Vikings.\nNew York (5-2) finally solved its red zone struggles by scoring all five times it reached the Minnesota 20, including four TDs.

Packers 28, Redskins 14\nLANDOVER, Md. -- Brett Favre and the Packers won their third straight game to pull back to .500 after a 1-4 start.\nThe Redskins (2-5), trailing 20-14, thought they scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 43-yard reception by Clinton Portis with 2:35 to play. But the celebrations died quickly when the play was called back for an illegal motion penalty on receiver James Thrash.\nOn the next play, Al Harris intercepted Mark Brunell's pass and Ahman Green scored on an 11-yard run four plays later to seal the victory. Favre grimaced at times as he grabbed the throwing hand he sprained last week. But he persevered to complete 20 of 33 passes for 289 yards and a touchdown for Green Bay (4-4), extending his streak to 33 games with at least one TD pass in his 199th consecutive regular-season game.

Texans 20, Jaguars 6\nHOUSTON -- Demarcus Faggins returned Byron Leftwich's errant pass 43 yards for a score with 42 seconds left, sending the Texans to a victory.\nDavid Carr went 26-of-34 for 276 yards and a touchdown, the Texans held Jacksonville (5-3) to 39 yards rushing and the Jaguars did almost nothing on offense until the fourth quarter in the latest edition of this burgeoning AFC South rivalry.

Cowboys 31, Lions 21\nIRVING, Texas -- Vinny Testaverde stunned everyone with a 7-yard run on fourth-and-3 to set up a tying touchdown, then scrambled 3 yards for the go-ahead score to help the Cowboys (3-4) end a three-game losing streak.\nWith Keyshawn Johnson the only receiver in the lineup who'd ever caught a pass, the Cowboys ran 41 times -- 11 more than in any game this season -- for 127 yards. Eddie George had season-bests of 31 carries and 99 yards.\nTestaverde also came through with his arm when needed, throwing a 38-yard touchdown pass to Johnson with 1:54 left to seal the victory.

Titans 27, Bengals 20\nNASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Titans rested Steve McNair and his aching chest, and backup Billy Volek responded by throwing for two touchdowns and 210 yards for their first victory at home this season.\nGary Anderson kicked two field goals, and Chris Brown also ran for a touchdown and for 147 yards, his fifth 100-yard performance this season. The Titans snapped a two-game skid with their ninth victory in 10 games against their old AFC Central foe Cincinnati (2-5).

Bills 38, Cardinals 14\nORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Willis McGahee provided the spark the Bills needed offensively, running for 102 yards and two touchdowns.\nIn two starts this season, McGahee has two 100-yard games and has led the Bills (2-5) to both of their victories.

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