Bush tops Gore as Saints roll

Reggie Bush had the breakout game New Orleans was waiting for, and the Saints maintained their hold on first place in the NFL South.

Bush tied Joe Horn’s franchise record by scoring all four of the Saints’ touchdowns and gained 168 total yards Sunday as New Orleans beat the San Francisco 49ers 34-10 in New Orleans.

Most of Bush’s gains were modest, but his stunning acceleration, fancy footwork and leaping ability were evident in all of his touchdowns and numerous drive-sustaining plays. He finished with 131 yards on nine receptions and 37 yards on 10 rushes.

Missing leading receiver Marques Colston, who was inactive with a sprained ankle, and Joe Horn, who aggravated his previously injured groin on his first catch of the first quarter, Drew Brees failed to reach 300 yards passing for the first time in six games. He finished 17 of 28 for 186 yards.

Alex Smith, who was sacked four times, finished 14 of 28 for 171 yards. The Saints held Frank Gore to only 40 yards rushing and 28 yards receiving.

Cardinals 34, Rams 20: At St. Louis, Marcell Shipp scored three touchdowns, Edgerrin James had 115 yards rushing, and Matt Leinart won for the second time in seven pro starts, as Arizona beat St. Louis.

Marc Bulger of the Rams threw for 314 yards and two touchdowns, but also had three interceptions.

Jets 38, Packers 10: At Green Bay, Wis., Chad Pennington put together three touchdown drives of 70 yards or more in the second quarter and New York cruised to a victory over Green Bay.

Pennington was 25 of 35 for 263 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.

Falcons 24, Redskins 14: At Landover, Md., the Falcons, the NFL’s leading rushing team, ran for 256 yards, led by Jerious Norwood (107), Warrick Dunn (87) and Michael Vick (59). Vick also threw two touchdown passes and went 8 for 16 for 122 yards.

Patriots 28, Lions 21: At Foxborough, Mass., Corey Dillon’s three short touchdown runs overcame 10 penalties, four turnovers and a safety and New England edged Detroit. The Patriots didn’t lead in the second half until Dillon scored on a 4-yard run with 2:33 left.

Mike Vrabel’s interception, his second of the game, sealed the victory.

Browns 31, Chiefs 28 (OT): At Cleveland, Derek Anderson, Cleveland’s backup quarterback, threw two touchdown passes in the final nine minutes of regulation and ran 33 yards in overtime to set up Phil Dawson’s 33-yard field goal, giving Cleveland an improbable win over Kansas City.

Trent Green threw four TD passes for the Chiefs.

Chargers 24, Bills 21: At Orchard Park, N.Y., LaDainian Tomlinson had 178 yards rushing and scored two touchdowns in San Diego’s victory over Buffalo.

The Chargers’ defense then did the rest. Linebacker Shawne Merriman finished with six tackles and two sacks, while the defense forced three turnovers in the first half and four overall.

Bears 23, Vikings 13: At Chicago, Devin Hester tied an NFL record with his fourth touchdown return, and Ricky Manning Jr. ran back an interception 54 yards to lead Chicago to a win over Minnesota.

The Bears overcame another shaky performance by quarterback Rex Grossman, going 6 of 19 for 34 yards and throwing three interceptions.

Jaguars 24, Dolphins 10: At Miami, David Garrard threw for 229 yards and two scores to help Jacksonville beat Miami.

Garrard led Jacksonville on touchdown drives of 95 and 91 yards, while Miami’s Joey Harrington threw two costly interceptions and was sacked four times.

Miami also sacked Garrard four times, but he completed 16 of 22 attempts and ran for three first downs. Texans 23, Raiders 14: At Oakland, Calif., Demarcus Faggins scored on a 58-yard fumble return and Houston used two long returns and a pair of fumbles by Randal Williams to set up 16 more points in the second half of a victory over Oakland.

David Carr finished 7 of 14 for 32 yards, failing to complete a pass in the final 32 minutes. He was sacked five times for 37 yards, leaving Houston with negative-5 yards passing – their fewest ever and the fewest allowed by the Raiders.

Steelers 20, Buccanneers 3: At Pittsburgh, in a matchup of two of the league’s most disappointing teams, Ben Roethlisberger threw touchdown passes to two tight ends – both times after the Bucs turned the ball over.

The Steelers began the game with a league-high 30 turnovers, but this time limited themselves to one turnover while Tampa Bay gave away the ball four times.