Adrian Peterson and Cedric Benson combined for 137 yards on 20 carries and a touchdown in place of the injured Thomas Jones, and Robbie Gould hit the winning field goal with 6 seconds to go for Chicago.\nKyle Orton set up the clincher with a 22-yard, third-down completion on a sideline route to Muhsin Muhammad at the 10-yard line. That allowed Chicago (5-3) to run the clock down to 10 seconds before lining up for the winning kick.\nSaints owner Tom Benson stayed away from Baton Rouge as promised after complaining that security was inadequate to protect him from angry fans. A number of fans stayed away, too. The crowd was announced at 32,637, dwarfed by LSU's 93,000-seat Tiger Stadium. The no-shows were probably glad they didn't come as the Saints (2-7) lost their fifth straight despite playing well in stints.\nChicago, meanwhile, won its fourth straight for the first time since 2001-02, the last time the Bears were playoff bound.\n
Chiefs 27, Raiders 23
\nDick Vermeil was going to be the biggest fool or the shrewdest gambler in the NFL.\nCall this man shrewd.\nWith 5 seconds left Sunday, the Chiefs trailed by three and the ball was on the Oakland 1 yard line. Kick a field goal to force overtime, or go for the touchdown and risk losing? Vermeil went for the TD, and Larry Johnson dived over the pile for a memorable 27-23 victory over the Raiders.\nPlacekicker Lawrence Tynes, who already had two field goals and hasn't missed in 13 straight attempts, was warmed up and ready. But in one of the toughest decisions of his career, Vermeil opted to go for the win.\nRandy Moss, who hadn't caught a pass all day, beat Dewayne Washington in the corner of the end zone for a 7-yard reception with 1:45 left, giving the Raiders (3-5) the lead. Then Trent Green, playing through the pain of his father's funeral just four days earlier, whipped the Chiefs (5-3) downfield 72 yards.\nThe Chiefs, who have beaten the Raiders six in a row, were missing their best running back (Priest Holmes), best offensive lineman (Willie Roaf) and best cornerback (Patrick Surtain), as well as two of their top backups in the secondary.\n
Panthers 34,Buccaneers 14
\nStephen Davis ran for two touchdowns, Steve Smith caught his ninth TD pass of the season and Chris Gamble scored on a 61-yard interception return to lead surging Carolina over Tampa Bay for its fifth straight victory.\nThe Panthers (6-2) also have won five in a row in their bitter NFC South rivalry with Tampa Bay (5-3), which fell out of a first-place tie with Carolina and Atlanta after losing for the third time in four games.\nCarolina's defense forced four turnovers and sacked Chris Simms five times to ruin the young quarterback's second start of the season for Tampa Bay.\nSmith, coming off an 11-catch, 201-yard performance against Minnesota, finished with five receptions for 106 yards.\nSimms completed 25 of 41 passes for 259 yards and two interceptions. Carnell "Cadillac" Williams was held to 29 yards on 11 carries in his second game since returning from foot and hamstring injuries that kept him out of two games. Since becoming the first player in NFL history to begin his career with three consecutive 100-yard days rushing, the rookie has been limited to 62 yards on 35 attempts in his last three games.\n
Steelers 20, Packers 10
\nTroy Polamalu returned Brett Favre's fumble 77 yards for a touchdown, and Tyrone Carter's interception set up the offense's only touchdown in Pittsburgh's win over Green Bay.\nThe Steelers (6-2) became the first team since the 1989-90 San Francisco 49ers and the fourth team overall to win 11 straight road games. And they did it without quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (knee) and running back Jerome Bettis (thigh), who were joined on the sideline in the second half by starting tailback Willie Parker, who turned his left ankle.\nDuce Staley, who replaced Bettis and had his first carries since the AFC championship in January, ran for 76 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries.\nFavre was 20-of-35 for 214 yards and an interception.The Packers fell to 1-7 at the halfway point for the first time since 1986 under Forrest Gregg.\n
Giants 24, 49ers 6
\nEli Manning passed for 251 yards and a touchdown, Brandon Jacobs rushed for two short fourth-quarter scores and New York yielded just 138 total yards to beat San Francisco.\nPlaxico Burress had five catches for 79 yards in the third straight victory for the Giants (6-2), who maintained their lead in the NFC East by suffocating the 49ers' offense, which hasn't scored a touchdown in its last 13 quarters at home.\nCody Pickett, the 49ers' fourth starting quarterback in five games, made few mistakes in his first NFL start. But he couldn't spark anything behind San Francisco's comically inept offensive line, which committed several penalties and rarely allowed Pickett a moment's peace.\nJoe Nedney kicked two field goals for the Niners (2-6), who lost for the sixth time in seven games.\n
Seahawks 33, Cardinals 19
\nShaun Alexander gained 173 yards on 23 carries, including touchdown runs of 88 and 14 yards, and Seattle won its fourth in a row by beating Arizona.\nThe 88-yard run, on the first play of the second half, tied the franchise record Alexander set against Oakland on Nov. 11, 2001. In the last three games against Arizona, Alexander gained 467 yards and scored nine touchdowns.\nNeil Rackers kicked field goals of 23, 31, 50 and 44 for the Cardinals (2-6) and is 26-for-26 this season.\nKurt Warner, replacing Josh McCown as starting quarterback, completed 29 of 48 passes for 334 yards and a touchdown. He threw three interceptions and was sacked four times.\n
Falcons 17, Dolphins 10
\nMichael Vick led four drives of more than 70 yards, and Keion Carpenter's interception stopped a scoring threat with less than three minutes left to help Atlanta beat Miami for its third win a row.\nVick went 22-for-31 for a season-high 228 yards and added 38 yards on eight rushes. The Falcons (6-2) converted 11 of 17 third-down situations, while the Dolphins (3-5) were 0-for-9.\nBut Miami had a chance at overtime until Carpenter made a diving interception of a third-down pass by Gus Frerotte after the Dolphins had reached the Falcons 8-yard line.\nRonnie Brown rushed for 67 yards for Miami, and Ricky Williams added 52 and a touchdown. But the Dolphins had a ball for less than 24 minutes, and they were shut out in the second half.\n
Chargers 31, Jets 26
\nLaDainian Tomlinson scored a career-high four touchdowns -- three rushing, one receiving -- and San Diego needed every one of them to hold off pesky Brooks Bollinger and New York.\nHeading into the game, Tomlinson had the same number of touchdown passes (three) as Jets quarterbacks. Bollinger changed all that with a furious charge. Replacing an ineffective Vinny Testaverde late in the third quarter, Bollinger threw two touchdown passes to make it a game.\nThe scoring passes were the first through the air for the Jets (2-6) since Week 2 against the Dolphins.\nTomlinson had 25 carries for 107 yards for the Chargers (5-4), while Drew Brees was 20-of-27 for 270 yards, one touchdown and one interception, and Antonio Gates added eight catches for 132 yards.\nBollinger was 11-of-20 for 106 yards, and Testaverde was 6-of-11 for 98 yards when he left. Curtis Martin had 21 carries for 72 yards and became the 16th player in NFL history to score 100 touchdowns, when he reached the mark with a 1-yard scoring run early in the second quarter.\n
Jaguars 21, Texans 14
\nByron Leftwich directed two long scoring drives in the fourth quarter to rally Jacksonville over injury-riddled Houston.\nJacksonville (5-3) also tied the NFL record for consecutive games played without scoring 30 or more points. The Jags matched Cleveland's mark of 58 games set between 1995 and 2002 (the Browns didn't field a team in 1996-98).\nJacksonville trailed 7-0 at halftime and 14-7 in the fourth quarter before waking up from a first-half stupor. Leftwich directed scoring drives of 80 and 82 yards in the final quarter.\nFred Taylor sprained his right ankle in the third quarter and did not return. It was the same injury that kept Taylor from playing against Pittsburgh three weeks ago.\nThe Texans (1-7) had their own injury woes. Running back Domanick Davis and kick returner Jerome Mathis missed the game. Then starting center Drew Hodgdon and backup Todd Washington were injured against the Jags and did not return.\n
Bengals 21, Ravens 9
\nCarson Palmer threw two touchdown passes, Rudi Johnson ran for 97 yards and a score, and Cincinnati kept Baltimore out of the end zone.\nThe Bengals (7-2) were nursing a 14-6 lead before Palmer capped a 91-yard drive with a 3-yard TD pass to Chris Henry with 6:05 to go. That was enough of a cushion to dispatch the Ravens, whose lone points came on three field goals by Matt Stover.\nThe Bengals had lost seven straight in Baltimore until last year, when Palmer brought Cincinnati back from a 17-point deficit in the fourth quarter. This time, the Bengals held the lead over the final 36 minutes, thanks to a defense that limited Baltimore to 240 yards.\nAnthony Wright went 19-for-30 for 153 yards for the Ravens, whose flickering playoff hopes took another hit. Baltimore's 2-6 start equals the worst in franchise history, matching the mark of the 1998 team.\n
Vikings 27, Lions 14
\nBrad Johnson took over at quarterback and helped jump-start the Minnesota offense. Joey Harrington returned as Detroit's starter to far less favorable results.\nJohnson passed for 136 yards and two touchdowns in relief of the injured Daunte Culpepper, Michael Bennett rushed 18 times for 106 yards and the Vikings beat the Lions to create a tie for second place in the punchless NFC North.\nBennett and Nate Burleson caught second-quarter scores from Johnson, sandwiched around rookie Ciatrick Fason's first career TD on a 3-yard run.\nThe Vikings' 21 points on seven offensive plays in a span of less than 4 minutes were courtesy of a fumble and an interception by Harrington deep in Detroit's territory.\nMinnesota (3-5) beat the Lions (3-5) for the eighth straight time, seven under beleaguered coach Mike Tice.\n
Browns 20, Titans 14
\nReuben Droughns, arrested earlier in the week on a drunken driving charge, rushed for 116 yards and caught a crucial third-down pass for 51 yards, powering Cleveland over Tennessee.\nFollowing his arrest, the 27-year-old Droughns expressed deep regret for his mistake and letting down his teammates and Cleveland's fans, who by the fourth quarter were chanting "Reu-ben, Reu-ben" with the Browns comfortably ahead.\nDroughns added four receptions for 73 yards, but he spent most of the final six minutes in the locker room being treated for leg cramps.\nDennis Northcutt caught a 58-yard TD pass and Phil Dawson kicked field goals of 37 and 19 yards as the Browns (3-5) held off a late rally by the Titans to snap a three-game losing streak.\nSteve McNair went 18-for-41 for 235 yards for the young Titans (2-7), who have lost four in a row.
