Pats Overcome Bills Bledsoe Rallies Patriots To 4th-Quarter Triumph

Every time it appears the New England Patriots are through for the season, they give people a reason to wonder why they haven’t been winning every week.

New England scored 15 points in the final 1:23 and came from behind to beat the Buffalo Bills 35-25 on Sunday at Orchard Park, N.Y. The Patriots further baffled those who first picked them to win the division, then counted them out.

“You never know what you’re going to get with this team,” said former Washington State quarterback Drew Bledsoe, who threw three touchdown passes to Ben Coates. “When we run the ball, we win. When we don’t, we have trouble. We have to have consistency.”

New England established a running game and blew a lead before scoring 22 points in the fourth quarter for the victory. The Patriots swept the Bills this season and stopped Buffalo’s three-game winning streak.

“Everyone had written us off already,” Patriots linebacker Vincent Brown said. “We still have some games to play. This was a big win for us. We have to put it behind us and get ready for the next game.”

Cardinals 40, Falcons 37, OT

Arizona’s Greg Davis kicked a 28-yard field goal, his fourth of the game, 1:43 into overtime to beat Atlanta and knock the Falcons into second place in the NFC West, at Tempe, Ariz.

Davis’ kick came on the Cardinals’ first possession of an NFL-record 20th overtime this year. It was the Cardinals’ third consecutive home overtime and their fourth in the last seven games.

Colts 36, Dolphins 28

Jim Harbaugh overshadowed Dan Marino’s record-setting day with three touchdown passes and one scoring run to lead Indianapolis to a victory over visiting Miami.

Marino, already the NFL career leader in passing yardage and completions, passed for four touchdowns to break the career record of 342 he shared with Fran Tarkenton.

Oilers 42, Broncos 33

Chris Chandler outdueled John Elway with three touchdown passes and one of the NFL’s worst offenses outproduced one of the best as Houston crammed a season’s worth of big plays into one game for a victory over Denver at Houston.

Elway completed 27 of 41 passes for 332 yards and two touchdowns and gave Denver hope of another miracle comeback with a 35-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Miller with 4:50 left.

Saints 34, Panthers 26

Mario Bates ran for two touchdowns and Derek Brown had one as New Orleans found its ground game against one of the NFL’s toughest defenses in a victory over Carolina.

The Saints ran for 180 yards against the Panthers, who had limited five of the last six opponents to less than 100 yards rushing. Bates gained 71 yards on 19 carries against Carolina, ranked sixth in defense going into the game. It’s the first time this season New Orleans has scored three rushing touchdowns.

Bears 27, Giants 24

At East Rutherford, N.J., Kevin Butler kicked a 37-yard field goal with seven seconds to play to give Chicago a 27-24 win over New York, snapping the Bears three-game losing streak.

The setback assured Giants coach Dan Reeves of only his third losing season in 15 years as an NFL head coach.

Packers 35, Buccaneers 13

Brett Favre threw three touchdowns, two of them to Robert Brooks, and guided Green Bay on five TD drives as the Packers beat Tampa Bay at Green Bay.

Errict Rhett, the NFC’s third-leading rusher, was held to minus-1 yard on 13 carries and the Bucs lost for the fourth time in five games.

49ers 41, Rams 13

At San Francisco, Steve Young made a successful return from a shoulder injury, throwing three touchdown passes in his first game in six weeks, and San Francisco ran off 35 straight points going on to a rout of St. Louis.

Young’s first pass was intercepted by Anthony Parker, but he came back to put San Francisco in front with touchdown passes of 16 and 18 yards to J.J. Stokes, the 49ers’ top draft pick who missed the first five games with a broken hand.

Young, who completed 21 of 32 for 226 yards, also had a 2-yard scoring pass to Rice before leaving for Elvis Grbac with 14:56 remaining and San Francisco in command by 22 points.

Steelers 20, Browns 17

Behind Neil O’Donnell’s 251 yards passing, Pittsburgh edged Cleveland in what was probably the last game in Cleveland for one of the NFL’s most heated rivalries.

Browns owner Art Modell has announced plans to move the franchise to Baltimore next season, although politicians in Ohio are fighting the move in court.

The Steelers took a 20-17 lead on Norm Johnson’s 27-yard field goal at the start of the fourth quarter, and Pittsburgh’s defense, ranked first in the league, made it stand up. O’Donnell contributed mightily at the end, directing a 16-play drive that consumed the last 8:52 and ended inside the Cleveland 10.

Bengals 17, Jaguars 13

Jeff Blake threw a 5-yard scoring pass to Carl Pickens with 17 seconds remaining as visiting Cincinnati rallied for a victory over Jacksonville. It was the 19th straight game with a TD pass for Blake, who entered the game with an AFC-leading 23 for the season.

The Jaguars went ahead on a 39-yard field goal by former Central Valley High School and University of Idaho kicker Mike Hollis with 3:19 left and were in position to preserve the lead with the Bengals facing a third-and-15 at their 47.

But Travis Davis, who two plays earlier made a great play to break up a long pass, got tangled up with Darnay Scott at the Jaguars’ 19 and was called for interference with 37 seconds remaining, keeping the drive alive.

Eagles 14, Redskins 7

At Washington, Ricky Watters ran 9 yards for one touchdown, used a few creative moves to set up his 1-yard score and went over the 1,000-yard mark as Philadelphia beat Washington.

Watters ran for 124 yards on 25 carries to break the 1,000-yard barrier for the second time in his career. Of his three 100-yard games this season, two have come against the Redskins.

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: SUNDAY’S BEST Quarterbacks Dave Krieg, Ariz. 27-43-413 Kerry Collins, Car. 17-46-335 John Elway, Den. 27-41-332

Running backs Curtis Martin, N.E. 27-148-0 Ricky Watters, Phil. 25-124-2 Adrian Murrell, Jets 24-116-1

Receivers Chris Sanders, Hou. 5-147-2 Mark Carrier, Car. 6-132-2 Jackie Harris, T.B. 10-122-0