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Thursday, Nov. 28
The Indiana Daily Student

sports

Bears go the distance on 49ers

Bears 17, 49ers 9

\nNathan Vasher returned a missed field goal 108 yards for a TD, the longest play in NFL history, and the Chicago Bears won their fifth straight game.\nWhen Joe Nedney's 52-yard attempt went wide right in a stiff wind on the final play of the first half, Vasher caught the ball over his shoulder, hesitated momentarily on whether to come out of the end zone, sprinted to the 15, then reversed his field, picking up a convoy of blockers.\nThe previous longest play was Baltimore's Chris McAlister's 107-yarder with a missed field goal in 2002. The Bears (6-3) have their longest winning streak since 2001, when they won six in a row en route to a division title.\nWith wind gusts up to 38 mph shaking the goalposts, neither team could muster much offense and stuck\n mainly with the run. Cody Pickett, at one time a fourth stringer, attempted just two first-half passes for the 49ers (2-7) -- both were incomplete -- and finished 1-for-13.\n

Vikings 24, Giants 21

\nThe Vikings became the first team in NFL history to get touchdown returns on a punt, a kickoff and an interception.\nThen quarterback Brad Johnson finally put together a drive, setting up Paul Edinger's 48-yard field goal with 10 seconds remaining.\nSafety 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, the longest active streak in the NFL. But he threw four interceptions and had two others that were dropped by Minnesota defenders.\n

Patriots 23, Dolphins 16

\nTom 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 5 with a minute left, but his fourth-down pass was incomplete with 36 seconds to go.\nTwo-time defending Super Bowl champion New England (5-4) remained alone atop the AFC East. The Patriots have won 21 of their last 25 division games. Miami (3-6) missed a chance to tie for the division lead, instead losing for the fifth time in six games.\nFour offensive starters were inactive for New England, and a fifth -- running back Corey Dillon -- played briefly because of a leg injury. Brady went 21-for-36 for 275 yards and a pair of touchdown passes to Watson.\n

Bills 14, Chiefs 3

\nJ.P. Losman, taking over after Kelly Holcomb hurt his head in the second quarter, led Bills touchdown drives on two of his first four possessions and showed he deserved his starting job back.\nLosman finished 9-of-16 for 137 yards, hitting Lee Evans for both touchdowns. Losman was focused and efficient, looking nothing like the hesitant first-year starter who went 1-3 before being replaced by Holcomb following a 19-7 loss to New Orleans on Oct. 2.\nThe Bills (4-5), coming off their bye week, limited the Chiefs (5-4) to 316 yards while generating three interceptions, a fumble and six sacks. Trent Green was uncharacteristically sloppy, going 23-of-40 for 220 yards and three interceptions -- after throwing three in his previous eight games. His first interception ended Green's streak at 159 attempts without an interception.\n

Jaguars 30, Ravens 3

\nGreg 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.\nJacksonville (6-3) snapped its NFL-record 58-game streak of not scoring at least 30 points. The Jaguars tied Cleveland's mark last week.\nMike Peterson's 26-yard interception return for a score put the Jaguars at the 30-point mark for the first time since Dec. 23, 2001, a 33-3 victory over Minnesota. The Ravens (2-7) lost their fourth consecutive game and eighth in a row on the road. The Ravens also extended their streak of not scoring a touchdown to 11 quarters.\n

Lions 29, Cardinals 21

\nRoy 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.\nThe Lions led 19-3 at halftime and by 15 with 8:35 left before Arizona came back.\nThe Cardinals pulled to 29-21 with 2:24 left on Kurt Warner's 8-yard pass to Larry Fitzgerald. After not recovering the onside kick, Arizona got the ball back at its 18 with 1:01 left. The Cardinals' comeback hopes ended at their 39 with a deflected pass on fourth down.\nWilliams, playing an entire game for the first time since Oct. 2, had seven receptions for 117 yards and caught TD passes of 7, 21 and 29 yards. The last Lion to catch three TDs in a game was Herman Moore in 1995.

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