No ‘W’ for Manning

The day belonged to Michael Vick and the Atlanta Falcons. The New York Giants have every right to believe the future belongs to Eli Manning.

Vick ran for 104 yards and threw two first-half touchdown passes to Alge Crumpler to lead the Falcons to a 14-10 win over the Giants on Sunday in East Rutherford, N.J., spoiling Manning’s first start.

Manning did not put up big numbers like his older brother, Peyton, of the Indianapolis Colts. However, he overcame a shaky first half and showed why the Giants mortgaged their future on draft day, leading two second-half drives that turned a one-sided game into a thriller.

“I was disappointed the way I started the game,” said Manning, who finished 17 of 37 for 162 yards in a performance that included several drops by Giants receivers. “I was better in the second half.”

A lot better.

A 6-yard touchdown pass to Jeremy Shockey got New York within 14-7 in the third quarter and another long drive set up a 24-yard field goal by Steve Christie with 6:29 to play.

Manning had one final shot to stage a remarkable comeback after the Giants took over at their 25 with 1:52 to play. Passes to Shockey and Ike Hilliard and a 13-yard run by Tiki Barber got the Giants to the Atlanta 42, but linebacker Keith Brooking broke up a fourth-down pass to seal the win.

Steelers 19, Bengals 14

Jerome Bettis ran for 129 yards, and Pittsburgh’s blitzing defense created havoc in the second half, setting up a road victory over Cincinnati.

Pittsburgh overcame an out-of-sync first half and extended its winning streak to eight games. It’s the Steelers’ best start since 1978, when they had an identical mark en route to their third Super Bowl win in five years.

Packers 16, Texans 13

Brett Favre brought the Pack all the way back, even without buddy Ahman Green, who was held to five carries because of a rib injury.

Favre moved Green Bay into scoring position with a flawless 2-minute drill and Ryan Longwell kicked a 45-yard field goal as time expired, sending the visiting Packers past Houston for their fifth straight win.

Favre completed 6 of 7 passes for 42 yards on the final drive to complete Green Bay’s rally from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter.

He finished 33 of 50 for 383 yards with two interceptions and a touchdown to Houston native Donald Driver in the fourth period. Driver had quite a homecoming, catching 10 passes for 148 yards.

Colts 41, Bears 10

Edgerrin James punished the Chicago defense with 204 yards and a TD on 23 carries and Peyton Manning threw four more TD passes as the Colts rolled to a victory over the Bears in Chicago.

The Colts feasted on five Chicago turnovers, four by shaky rookie quarterback Craig Krenzel, who lost two fumbles and threw two interceptions as the Bears’ three-game winning streak ended.

Manning, who sat out the fourth quarter, now has 35 TD passes this season, 13 shy of Dan Marino’s NFL record set in 1984.

Chargers 23, Raiders 17

Antonio Gates had eight receptions for 101 yards and a touchdown, LaDainian Tomlinson ran for 164 yards and a score on 37 carries, and San Diego won its fourth straight game, beating the Raiders in Oakland, Calif.

Drew Brees passed for 226 yards and also ran for a touchdown to help the Chargers beat the Raiders for the second time in three weeks after their 42-14 win on Halloween.

Vikings 22, Lions 19

Minnesota shut out Detroit in the second half and overcame a 12-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat the visiting Lions, ending its three-game skid.

Daunte Culpepper completed 22 of 32 passes for 233 yards and two touchdowns for Minnesota.

Detroit’s Eddie Drummond ran the opening kickoff back for a 92-yard touchdown, his third score in a five-return span after setting an NFL record with two punt returns for TDs in the fourth quarter last week at Jacksonville.

Broncos 34, Saints 13

Reuben Droughns ran for 166 yards and a score and Jake Plummer threw for 224 yards and two TDs as Denver beat host New Orleans.

The Broncos had 389 yards in total offense and held the Saints to one TD.

Jets 10, Browns 7

Quincy Carter threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Justin McCareins with 5:32 remaining as visiting New York rallied to beat Cleveland.

Curtis Martin rushed for 88 yards on 17 carries for the Jets. In the first quarter, he went over 1,000 this season and joined Hall of Famer Barry Sanders as the only players in NFL history to begin their careers with 10 straight 1,000-yard seasons.

Eagles 28, Redskins 6

Donovan McNabb tied a career high with four touchdown passes, leading Philadelphia to a victory over visiting Washington.

The Eagles are 9-1 for the first time since the 1980 season.

Ravens 30, Cowboys 10

Kyle Boller threw two TD passes in the third quarter, and Baltimore rolled to a victory over visiting Dallas.

Quarterback Drew Henson made his debut for the Cowboys and finished 6 for 6 for 47 yards, including a 1-yard TD pass to Jeff Robinson with 40 seconds left.

Titans 18, Jaguars 15

Steve McNair returned to the lineup, and Tennessee returned to form.

McNair threw a touchdown pass, directed two other scoring drives and the Titans beat host Jacksonville.