Broncos Win Ninth Straight

Ed McCaffrey’s first thought was that he should tackle the Minnesota defender who seemed to have grabbed John Elway’s tipped pass near the Viking goal line. But the Broncos receiver kept watching the ball and it just stayed in the air.

It was tipped by a second Vikings defender, and McCaffrey had another thought. Maybe he should catch the ball. So as Minnesota safeties Harlon Barnett and Orlando Thomas batted the ball in vain, McCaffrey stepped in, grabbed it and fell into the end zone for a touchdown with 19 seconds to play, giving Denver an improbable 21-17 victory Sunday at Minneapolis over the stunned Vikings.

The Broncos have won nine consecutive games and they are three games ahead in the American Football Conference West division with four games to play. The Vikings are limping along and distracted by talk that coach Dennis Green will be replaced by Lou Holtz, the Notre Dame coach who resigned last week.

McCaffrey’s touchdown catch, on a third-and-two at the Vikings’ 5, was the climax. But the setup came on a fourth-and-1 at the 14, on the first play after the two-minute warning. Coach Mike Shanahan called a play-action by Elway.

Elway faked the handoff to Davis, rolled to his right and threw to fullback Aaron Craver, who was pushed back by linebacker Jeff Brady. Craver got the first down, but not by much.

“It’s a game of inches, maybe in this case a sixteenth of an inch,” Craver said, holding his thumb and forefinger slightly apart. “I had enough depth on the route going up the field when I made the catch. I was just hoping the official would spot it where I caught it. I knew if we were going to win the game, we had to have that first down.”

Trailing by 17-14, and with the ball at the 14, it showed supreme confidence in the Broncos’ offense on the part of Shanahan to go for it on fourth down.

And what did Elway think of the call?

“He’s a hero as long as it works,” Elway said. “It worked today.”

49ers 19, Redskins 16 (OT)

After overtime losses to Green Bay and Dallas, the San Francisco 49ers proved they could beat a good team in a close game. After suffering concussions against Houston and Dallas, Steve Young proved he still has no fear in the pocket.

Young, who sat out last week’s game to clear the cobwebs, completed 33 of 41 passes for 295 yards, and scrambled for 25 yards as the 49ers beat the host Washington Redskins in overtime.

At one point, Young completed 20 straight passes, including 7 for 7 for 68 yards on the 73-yard touchdown drive that tied the game with 1:57 remaining in regulation.

The Redskins suffered their second consecutive home overtime defeat. Now they have to travel to Dallas for a Thanksgiving Day game.

“We are at their level now, but we didn’t pull it out today,” linebacker Ken Harvey said. “Now we just have to get mad about it and use that to focus on Dallas.”

The 49ers took the overtime kickoff and moved the ball to the Redskins’ 20 in seven plays. Jeff Wilkins won it with a 38-yard field goal 3:24 into overtime.

Cardinals 36, Eagles 30

At Tempe, Ariz., Boomer Esiason threw for three TDs in the fourth quarter, including a 24-yarder to Marcus Dowdell with 14 seconds left, as Arizona won a wild one.

After Arizona took a 29-20 lead on Larry Centers’ 2-yard TD catch with 2:45 left, Derrick Witherspoon returned the kickoff 95 yards for a Philadelphia score. Johnny Thomas then recovered an onside kick for the Eagles, who took the lead on Gary Anderson’s 32-yard field goal with 52 seconds remaining.

Bengals 41, Falcons 31

At Cincinnati, Jeff Blake threw two of his four touchdown passes in a 17-point first quarter as the Bengals beat Atlanta with their highest scoring output in six years. The Falcons have lost 10 games for the first time since 1993.

Panthers 31, Oilers 6

At Houston, Steve Beuerlein hit Willie Green with two TD passes, and Carolina’s defense shut down the fading Oilers. It was the third straight win for the Panthers, while the Oilers lost for the fourth time in five games. The Panthers held the Oilers scoreless until Al Del Greco’s 45-yard field goal on the second play of the fourth quarter.

Bears 31, Lions 14

At Chicago, Dave Krieg threw for three TDs and the Bears spoiled two more rushing milestones for Barry Sanders. Sanders gained 107 yards to become the first player in NFL history to rush for 1,000 yards in eight straight seasons. He also moved past O.J. Simpson into eighth place on the NFL career rushing list. Raymont Harris rushed for 122 yards, including a 3-yard run that put Chicago ahead 31-14 in the third period.

Patriots 27, Colts 13

At Foxboro, Mass., Curtis Martin gained 141 yards on a season-high 35 carries for the Patriots, who entered the game with the NFL’s third-worst rushing attack. New England stayed within one game of AFC East leader Buffalo, while Indianapolis now has a tough road to the playoffs.

Buccaneers 13, Saints 7

At Tampa, Fla., Trent Dilfer threw for 253 yards and one touchdown, and Tampa Bay’s defense held the opposition under 18 points for the seventh straight time. The Bucs have have won four of seven after an 0-5 start. New Orleans has lost five in a row, four under interim coach Rick Venturi.

Bills 35, Jets 10

At Orchard Park, N.Y., the Bills won their fourth straight game despite first-half injuries to Jim Kelly and Thurman Thomas.

Kelly threw three TD passes before reinjuring his right hamstring late in the first half. Thomas injured his left leg with 4:40 left in the first quarter, and didn’t return.

Buffalo’s Steve Tasker had six catches for 160 yards and two TDs, and rookie Eric Moulds scored on a 97-yard kickoff return.

Chargers 28, Chiefs 14

At Kansas City, Mo., the Chargers shredded the Chiefs’ proud defense for 350 yards in the first three periods and opened a 28-0 lead before KC backup Rich Gannon threw two late TD passes.

Tony Martin beat Pro Bowl defensive back Dale Carter for scoring catches of 20 and 10 yards for San Diego, which had TD drives of 97, 79 and 74 yards.

Jaguars 28, Ravens 25 (OT)

At Baltimore, Jacksonville fought back from a 15-point deficit in the final 13 minutes of regulation, and Mike Hollis kicked a 34-yard field goal with 5:57 left in overtime.

Baltimore has lost seven of eight, with five losses coming after the Ravens blew a fourth-quarter lead.

Packers 24, Rams 9

At St. Louis, Doug Evans had a 33-yard interception return for a TD as Green Bay rallied from a 9-0 deficit.

Brett Favre threw two touchdown passes for the Packers, but he was intercepted twice in the end zone and was sacked for a safety.

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: Sunday’s best Quarterbacks Boomer Esiason 24-43-367-3-0 Vinny Testaverde 31-50-366-0-0 Jeff Blake 21-36-349-4-0

Running backs Curtis Martin 35-141-1 Barry Sanders 21-107-1 Adrian Murrell 19-103-0

Receivers Carl Pickens 11-176-3 Steve Tasker 6-160-2 Tony Martin 5-148-2