Aikman Throws One Away

Troy Aikman made two uncharacteristic mistakes Sunday, and the Philadelphia Eagles made him pay by collecting their first victory in Texas Stadium at Irving, Texas, in five years.

Aikman threw an interception to set up the Eagles’ go-ahead field goal, then served up a second interception trying to throw the ball away from the 3-yard-line. The second mistake was returned for the clinching touchdown in the Eagles’ 31-21 victory over the Dallas Cowboys.

“I wasn’t trying to complete the pass,” said the veteran Aikman, who has three Super Bowl rings. “I was trying to get rid of it. I should have taken the sack or thrown it out of the end zone. It was a bad play.”

Linebacker James Willis intercepted Aikman’s last-minute pass four yards into the end zone, ran to the 10 and lateraled to Troy Vincent, who went 90 yards for a touchdown with 12 seconds left, shocking the defending Super Bowl champions as they appeared to be going for the game-winner.

The Eagles are now 7-2 in the NFC East, and the eight-point favorite Cowboys dropped to 5-4 and in danger of missing the playoffs. Philadelphia had lost nine of its last 10 games against Dallas and hadn’t won in Texas Stadium since a 24-0 shutout in 1991.

“I told Troy I wouldn’t trade him for any other quarterback in America,” Dallas coach Barry Switzer said. “He’s a champion, but this will hurt him for a long time.”

Bills 38, Redskins 13

Thurman Thomas and backup Darick Holmes combined for 229 yards rushing and four touchdowns at Orchard Park, N.Y., in Buffalo’s victory that snapped Washington’s seven-game winning streak.

The Bills, running from the K-Gun offense, looked like their teams of old rather than an old team. Buffalo rushed for 266 yards and held Washington to 75 yards on the ground in the Bills’ best performance by far this season.

Holmes actually had a bigger day than Thomas. He finished with 122 yards on 22 carries and three TDs, the second of which gave Buffalo a 24-7 lead with 8:40 left in the third quarter. He added a 13-yard TD run with 8:22 left in the game.

Thomas finished with 107 yards on 23 carries and scored Buffalo’s first touchdown. The Bills had two backs top the 100-yard mark in the same game for the first time since 1992.

Steelers 42, Rams 6

Jerome Bettis, shooting cross-field glares on every carry at the coach who gave him away, had 100 yards and two touchdowns by early in the second quarter as Pittsburgh routed visiting St. Louis.

Bettis, traded away on draft day at coach Rich Brooks’ urging after the Rams drafted Nebraska’s Lawrence Phillips, outrushed Phillips 129-6 for his seventh 100-yard game in eight games. Bettis needs 47 yards for his third 1,000-yard season in four years.

Erric Pegram, Bettis’ backup, added a 91-yard kickoff return touchdown - Pittsburgh’s first in nearly seven years - and a 17-yard TD run.

Despite resting quarterback Mike Tomczak with a mild concussion over the final three quarters, the Steelers won their seventh in eight games and are 7-2 for the first time since 1979, the last time they won the Super Bowl.

49ers 24, Saints 17

Jerry Rice became the first player with 1,000 career receptions, caught a 36-yard touchdown pass, set up another TD with his milestone catch and recovered an onside kick that sealed San Francisco’s victory at New Orleans.

The 49ers receiver, who entered the game three catches shy of his 1,000th catch, made the milestone reception when he grabbed a 9-yarder from Steve Young with 11:47 left.

Packers 28, Lions 18

Without his two best receivers, Brett Favre still threw four touchdowns as Green Bay beat Detroit for its 12th straight victory at Lambeau Field.

Favre, who had just one TD pass in his last two games, completed 24 of 35 passes for 281 yards and just one interception as the Packers won their fifth straight game.

Don Beebe caught four passes for 106 yards, including a 65-yard touchdown that made it 28-10 in the third period.

Barry Sanders broke out of his six-week slump for the Lions, rushing for 152 yards on 20 carries.

Patriots 42, Dolphins 23

Ben Coates scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 23-yard completion, then stormed down the sidelines for an 84-yard score at Foxboro, Mass., as resurgent New England rolled over Miami.

Drew Bledsoe completed 30 of 41 passes for 419 yards and three touchdowns one week after going 32 of 45 for 373 yards and two touchdowns in a 28-25 win over Buffalo.

Coates, the Patriots’ leading receiver the past three years, was just one of 10 players who caught Bledsoe’s passes Sunday. Rookie Terry Glenn led the team with 10 for 112 yards. Curtis Martin ran for three touchdowns.

The Patriots’ sixth win in seven games left them tied with Buffalo for the AFC East lead at 6-3.

Chiefs 21, Vikings 6

Kansas City got its ground game in gear with the help of a record-tying touchdown by Marcus Allen, and Greg Hill ran for two late touchdowns as the Chiefs defeated Minnesota at Minneapolis.

Allen tied Walter Payton’s career record with his 110th scoring run.

Chargers 26, Colts 19

San Diego intercepted four of Jim Harbaugh’s passes, sacked him six times and forced a big fumble in its victory at Indianapolis.

Four of the Indianapolis turnovers led to 20 San Diego points, including touchdown passes by Sean Salisbury of 41 yards to Charlie Jones in the first quarter and a game-clinching 22-yarder to Tony Martin in the fourth.

Giants 16, Cardinals 8

With Dave Brown and Kent Graham sidelined early in an injury-filled game, the New York-Arizona game finished with an interesting quarterback showdown - rookie Danny Kanell against veteran Boomer Esiason.

The kid from Florida State and the Giants defense prevailed as Kanell threw a 24-yard fourth-quarter touchdown pass and Jesse Campbell had interceptions to set up two of Brad Daluiso’s three field goals in New York’s win at East Rutherford, N.J.

Falcons 20, Panthers 17

Jamal Anderson rushed for a career-high 109 yards and the maligned Atlanta defense shut down Carolina after Kerry Collins went out with an injured knee as the host Falcons posted their first victory of the season.

Bengals 24, Ravens 21

With a good deal of help from Baltimore’s Vinny Testaverde, who threw four interceptions, visiting Cincinnati got its second straight win under new coach Bruce Coslet and put together its first winning streak in 14 months.

Bears 13, Buccaneers 10

Bryan Cox, playing with a broken thumb that will be surgically repaired today, led an inspired defense as Chicago held on to defeat Tampa Bay at Chicago.

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: Sunday’s best Quarterbacks Drew Bledsoe 30-42-419-3-2 John Friesz 24-38-323-1-1 Brett Favre 24-35-281-4-1 Running backs Barry Sanders 20-152-1 Jerome Bettis 19-129-2 Darick Holmes 22-122-3 Receivers Ben Coates 5-135-2 Tony Martin 6-128-1 Irving Fryar 9-120-1