Raiders shock Broncos
The Silver and Black looked right at home in the white stuff.
Kerry Collins threw for 339 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Oakland Raiders to an upset in the snow Sunday night, 25-24 over the Denver Broncos in Denver.
Collins hit Jerry Porter for three of the scores, including the winner on fourth-and-goal from the 5 with 1:49 remaining.
After Oakland took the lead, Jake Plummer drove the Broncos 49 yards to the Raiders 25 to set up Jason Elam’s field goal attempt. But the snap was high, Elam kicked the lace-side of the ball and Langston Walker blocked the kick to preserve the win for Oakland, which will surely count this as a major highlight of a difficult year.
The Broncos, meanwhile, were 11-point favorites, but lost at home for the second time in three games. The loss puts them one game behind the Chargers in the AFC West with a game at San Diego coming next week.
Oakland’s winning touchdown was set up by a 63-yard completion from Collins to Ronald Curry, who a few minutes earlier made a spectacular one-handed grab in the back of the end zone to cut his team’s deficit to 24-19.
Collins finished 26 for 45 and showed no fear of Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey. In fact, his first two touchdown throws — both to Porter — came at Bailey’s expense.
Plummer threw for 245 yards, including an 85-yard touchdown to Rod Smith that went down as the longest play in either player’s career. Plummer also hit Ashley Lelie for 57 yards to set up a touchdown that gave Denver a 17-13 lead early in the third quarter.
Elam’s miss was only his third of the season.
Chargers 34, Chiefs 31
Nate Kaeding booted a tiebreaking 43-yarder with 2:24 left, lifting San Diego past Kansas City in Kansas City, Mo., after a wild second half that saw Dante Hall drop the ball during a 77-yard kickoff return and then hold onto it during an electrifying 96-yard touchdown runback.
Kaeding’s kick gave the Chargers their first win in Kansas City in eight tries.
Hall, who took the NFL by storm last year when he returned five kicks for touchdowns, was just a few steps away from turning the second-half kickoff into a TD when he dropped the ball. The Chargers recovered on the 5, and a few minutes later tied it at 17 on Kaeding’s 25-yard field goal.
Eagles 27, Giants 6
Brian Westbrook scored two touchdowns and the Eagles’ defense made life miserable for New York rookie quarterback Eli Manning en route to a victory in East Rutherford, N.J.
The win gives the Eagles their fourth straight NFC East title.
The Eagles scored 20 second-half points and limited the Giants to 47 yards in the final half in reaching the playoffs for the fifth consecutive year. The Eagles are the third team since the 16-game schedule began in 1978 to win a division title by its 11th game, joining the Bears in 1985 and the 49ers in 1997.
Manning finished 6 of 21 for 148 yards and two critical interceptions.
Patriots 24, Ravens 3
New England shut down Baltimore in Foxboro, Mass., scoring on a fumble recovery by Jarvis Green and holding the Ravens to 124 yards. On three series when the Ravens stopped New England from scoring touchdowns, Adam Vinatieri kicked field goals, stretching his streak to 21 straight successful kicks.
Corey Dillon rushed for 123 yards and a touchdown for New England.
Vikings 27, Jaguars 16
Randy Moss caught a go-ahead touchdown pass in the third quarter, Kevin Williams returned Byron Leftwich’s fumble 77 yards for the clinching score and Minnesota beat Jacksonville in Minneapolis.
His hamstring finally healed, Moss had four receptions — his first in six weeks — for 40 yards. Daunte Culpepper completed 19 of 27 passes for 235 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He scored on a 1-yard run in the first half.
Falcons 24, Saints 21
Michael Vick threw a 27-yard scoring pass to Alge Crumpler with 1:22 remaining and Atlanta, after fumbling away one chance, rallied to beat visiting New Orleans.
James Allen appeared to save the Saints when he stripped the ball from Warrick Dunn at the New Orleans 6 with 3:11 to go. But Vick still had to time to bail out the Falcons (9-2).
Steelers 16, Redskins 7
Antwaan Randle El, making only his second NFL start at receiver, took care of the big plays and Jerome Bettis again handled the short yardage in his fourth consecutive 100-yard game to lead Pittsburgh past visiting Washington.
The Steelers’ nine-game winning streak is their longest since they won their final nine in 1976. They are 10-1 for the first time since 1975, the second of their four Super Bowl championship seasons.
Texans 31, Titans 21
David Carr threw for 201 yards and two touchdowns and Domanick Davis rushed for a season-high 129 yards and a score to help Houston rally from an 18-point deficit in a win over visiting Tennessee.
The Texans ended a three-game losing streak and, perhaps most importantly to their fans, swept the season series from the team they replaced in Houston.
Jets 13, Cardinals 3
Quincy Carter left with a head injury after the third play of the game, but returned to throw a 69-yard touchdown pass to Santana Moss as New York beat Arizona in Tempe, Ariz.
Curtis Martin carried 24 times for 99 yards and Doug Brien kicked field goals of 28 and 46 yards for the Jets (8-3).
Martin and Emmitt Smith brought 30,817 career yards rushing into the game — the most by two backs playing in the same contest in NFL history. But Smith wasn’t around long, injuring a toe on his left foot late in the first quarter. He played in the next series, then left the game for good.
Panthers 21, Buccaneers 14
Keary Colbert caught a 40-yard touchdown pass, his second of the game, with 20 seconds to play to lift Carolina to a victory over Tampa Bay in Charlotte, N.C.
Dolphins 24, 49ers 17
Randy McMichael caught a 15-yard touchdown pass with 10:35 to play, and the 49ers fumbled five times in the fourth quarter as Miami won at San Francisco.