Sanders Carries Detroit

Patience paid huge dividends for Barry Sanders and the Detroit Lions.

Held to 20 yards in a loss to Tampa Bay earlier this season, Sanders broke through for 215 and scored his first rushing touchdowns of the year Sunday to help the Lions end the Buccaneers’ eight-game home winning streak with a 27-9 victory.

The three-time NFL rushing champion scored on runs of 80 and 82 yards - the longest TD bursts of his career - and also caught a 7-yard touchdown pass from Scott Mitchell.

It was the fifth consecutive 100-yard-plus game for Sanders since being held to a combined 53 yards rushing in his first two games in the two-back offense coach Bobby Ross brought to Detroit this season.

Although he had scored two touchdowns before Sunday, neither had come on the ground, where he has gained more yards against Tampa Bay than any other opponent.

“That didn’t bother me,” Sanders said. “The last five weeks we’ve been averaging huge chunks of yards rushing the ball. I wasn’t worried about scoring touchdowns. Our offense was doing that. I knew I’d have mine in time.”

Sanders, who carried 24 times, has gained 1,998 yards in 17 games against Tampa Bay. He gained a career-high 237 against the Bucs in 1994 and needed just 15 Sunday to move ahead of Jim Brown into fourth place on the league’s career rushing list.

“I have to get my father to explain that to me,” he said of climbing past Brown with 12,513 yards. “He says I’ll never have the talent or skill to pass Jim Brown. It’s just good to know that I’ve succeeded with my team. That’s all … I need.”

Steelers 24, Colts 22

In Pittsburgh, Mike Tomczak, who replaced injured Kordell Stewart near the end of the first half, hit Courtney Hawkins on a 28-yard scoring pass as Pittsburgh (4-2) withstood six turnovers to beat winless Indianapolis.

The Colts (0-6) blew a 10-0 lead, then nearly pulled off a comeback of their own as Jim Harbaugh threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Brian Stablein with 3:35 remaining.

But Chris Oldham batted away the potential tying 2-point conversion pass to Stablein, and Cary Blanchard, who had made 13 consecutive field-goal attempts, badly pulled a potential game-winning 42-yard attempt wide left with 2:44 remaining.

Patriots 33, Bills 6

At Foxboro, Mass., Drew Bledsoe threw two touchdown passes and Curtis Martin ran for 99 yards as New England (5-1) maintained its hold on the AFC East lead.

The Patriots intercepted four passes from Buffalo backups Billy Joe Hobert and Alex Van Pelt, who replaced the Todd Collins, who left with a bruised left shoulder on the second possession for Buffalo (3-3).

Packers 24, Bears 23

At Chicago, Brett Favre passed for three touchdowns and Green Bay (5-2) took advantage of Chicago’s unsuccessful gamble.

The Bears pulled within a point with 1:54 to go on Erik Kramer’s 22-yard touchdown pass to Chris Penn. Coach Dave Wannstedt went for the lead, but Kramer’s short pass sailed over Raymont Harris.

Chicago (0-7) has matched the worst start in its 78-year history. The Bears lost their first seven games in 1969, when they finished 1-13.

Falcons 23, Saints 17

At New Orleans, Chuck Smith had five sacks and Morten Andersen booted three field goals to lead Atlanta to its first win under coach Dan Reeves.

Atlanta (1-5) set a team record with 10 sacks.

Andersen, a former Saint, hasn’t missed a field goal in the Superdome against New Orleans (2-5) in eight tries. Sunday, he connected from 25, 32 and 55 yards.

Dolphins 31, Jets 20

At East Rutherford, N.J., Dan Marino threw for 372 yards and two touchdowns to snap New York’s three-game winning streak.

Marino hit 27 of 38 passes for his most yardage against the Jets since 1989. He has thrown for more yards and TD passes against New York than any other opponent.

Miami (4-2) had five sacks of Neil O’Donnell and shut out the Jets (4-3) in the second half until 1:03 remained.

Oilers 30, Bengals 7

At Memphis, Tenn., Steve McNair threw for 199 yards and three touchdowns as Tennessee broke its four-game losing streak by beating Cincinnati (1-5) before 17,071 fans in the Liberty Bowl.

The Oilers (2-4), who came in with the NFL’s worst pass defense, sacked Jeff Blake six times.

49ers 30, Rams 10

Steve Young threw three touchdown passes and host San Francisco forced three fumbles and blocked a punt in winning its fifth straight game.

The 49ers (5-1) scored 20 points off the miscues en route to their 15th consecutive win against the Rams (2-4), who haven’t beaten San Francisco since 1990.

Young, who was 19 of 30 for 223 yards, completed his first 10 throws, including touchdown passes of 5 and 10 yards. His 11th attempt was intercepted by Ryan McNeil and returned 75 yards for a touchdown.

Vikings 21, Panthers 14

At Minneapolis, Minnesota’s Brad Johnson threw two TD passes including one to himself.

Johnson’s pass and catch came at the end of a 17-play, 91-yard drive. His throw was batted down by Greg Kragen, but it bounced back to Johnson, who dodged Michael Barrow and scrambled 3 yards for the score.

Giants 27, Cardinals 13

At Tempe, Ariz., Danny Kanell got a big assist from Tyrone Wheatley, who ran for 103 yards and scored a touchdown for New York.

The last time a Giants runner had 100 yards was Dec. 17, 1995, when Rodney Hampton ran for 187 against Dallas. Kanell, starting for injured Dave Brown, finished 13 of 28 for 198 yards and a touchdown.

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: SUNDAY’S BEST

Quarterbacks Dan Marino 27-38-372-2-0 Neil O’Donnell 24-37-319-2-0 Steve Young 19-30-223-3-1

Running backs James Stewart 15-102-5 Barry Sanders 24-215-2 Robert Smith 23-120-1

Receivers Irving Fryar 10-124-3 Wesley Walls 6-107-1 Herman Moore 5-120-1