Lelie gets even with Broncos
Ashley Lelie and the Oakland Raiders both got even with the Denver Broncos.
The deep-threat receiver who forced a trade out of Denver in 2006 after a bitter holdout returned to Invesco Field on Sunday and helped lead the Raiders to a stunning 31-10 win over the Broncos at Denver with his best game in years.
“I’ve been dreaming for this moment ever since I left here,” Lelie said after catching a touchdown pass and setting up another TD with a spectacular 51-yard catch. “It feels good that it was with the Raiders.”
Lelie languished in Atlanta, San Francisco and even Oakland before he returned to rock the Broncos with four catches for 92 yards, nearly doubling his season totals.
Rookie Darren McFadden ran for two 1-yard touchdowns and the Raiders, who hadn’t scored an offensive touchdown in 15 quarters, scored three TDs in an 18-play span to snap a four-game losing streak.
Buccaneers 38, Lions 20: Tampa Bay fell behind the winless Lions in Detroit by 17 points, then scored five unanswered touchdowns. Tampa Bay earned its third straight victory. Detroit moved a step closer toward becoming the NFL’s first 0-16 team.
Bears 27, Rams 3: Matt Forte scored on two long runs and Marc Bulger lasted only five plays against a defense that had three of a season-best five sacks by the break, helping Chicago build a 21-point cushion in a victory at St. Louis. Kyle Orton set a franchise record with 185 consecutive passes without an interception, helping the Bears keep a share of first place in the balanced NFC North.
Cowboys 35, 49ers 22: Terrell Owens broke out with 213 yards receiving to help Dallas beat San Francisco at Irving, Texas. Owens’ total was behind only the 283 yards he had in a 2000 game in which he caught an NFL-record 20 passes. It was the most in the NFL since Philadelphia’s Kevin Curtis had 221 in September 2007 and the most by a Dallas player since Tony Hill had 213 against Philadelphia in 1979.
Bills 54, Chiefs 31: Trent Edwards threw for two touchdowns, ran for two and the Bills scored more points than had ever been scored against the Chiefs, swamping them in Kansas City, Mo. The Bills pounced on five Kansas City turnovers and came within four points of matching their 42-year-old record for most points in a game.
Texans 16, Browns 6: Sage Rosenfels passed for 275 yards and a touchdown, and Kris Brown kicked three field goals as Houston snapped an eight-game losing streak outside Texas with a win over the bumbling Browns at Cleveland. The Texans had lost five straight road games.
Falcons 45, Panthers 28: Michael Turner scored four touchdowns and rookie receiver Harry Douglas scored on a 7-yard end around, caught a 69-yard pass that set up a touchdown, then finished off Carolina with a 61-yard punt return that carried the Falcons to a win at Atlanta and within a game of the lead in the NFC South.
Vikings 30, Jaguars 12: Adrian Peterson ran for 80 yards and a touchdown, Minnesota’s defense harassed the Jaguars in all sorts of ways and the Vikings used two scores in the first 1:41 to win at Jacksonville, Fla. With their second road win of the season, the Vikings kept pace with Chicago in the NFC North.
Giants 37, Cardinals 29: Eli Manning threw for three touchdowns and New York snapped the Cardinals’ seven-game home winning streak at Glendale, Ariz. Manning completed 26 of 33 for 240 yards with no interceptions. Kurt Warner, under fierce pressure most of the afternoon, was 32-for-52 for 351 yards and a touchdown for Arizona.
Colts 23, Chargers 20: Adam Vinatieri made a 51-yard field goal as time expired to lift Indianapolis to a heart-stopping win at San Diego. Peyton Manning threw two touchdown passes for the Colts, who won their fourth straight game to remain in wild-card contention. San Diego has lost four of five and remains two games behind Denver.