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Detroit changes course in Chicago

Joe Odom, Brian Urlacher and Alex Brown of the Bears combine to tackle Kevin Jones of the Lions at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois, Sunday. The Lions won 20-16. PHOTO: AFP

The Detroit Lions ended its NFL-record 24-game streak of futility away from home Sunday, rallying to beat the mistake-prone Chicago Bears 20-16 in Lovie Smith's debut as head coach.

Bracy Walker, who earlier returned a blocked field goal 92 yards for a third-quarter TD, intercepted a third-down pass in the end zone by Rex Grossman with 18 seconds to go, preserving the win.

Joey Harrington tossed a 4-yard go-ahead pass to Az-Zahir Hakim in the fourth quarter and Detroit held on for its first road victory since beating the Jets on Dec. 17, 2000.

Eddie Drummond's 41-yard kickoff return and Harrington's 30-yard pass to Corey Schlesinger set up the touchdown pass to Hakim with 9:54 to go, putting Detroit ahead 20-14.

Redskins 16, Buccaneers 10

In Landover, Maryland, Clinton Portis ran for 149 yards and a touchdown, and Washington welcomed coach Joe Gibbs back to the NFL with a victory.

Gibbs led the Redskins to three Super Bowl titles in his first stint with the team from 1981-1992, and it appeared the old magic was still there when his team dominated the first half.

Portis went 64 yards for a touchdown on Washington's first series. But Washington's offense began to sputter, and it took John Hall's 30-yard field goal with 8:55 left to break a 10-10 tie. Hall added a 34-yard field goal with 16 seconds to play.

Gibbs earned his 125th career regular-season win and the 500th regular-season victory in Redskins franchise history.

Steelers 24, Raiders 21

In Pittsburgh, Jerome Bettis ran for three touchdowns, Duce Staley had 91 yards and Jeff Reed's 42-yard field goal with seven seconds remaining won it for Pittsburgh.

The Raiders showed off plenty of new, including coach Norv Turner, big defensive linemen Warren Sapp and Ted Washington and an offensive scheme redesigned to cover up their lack of playmakers. But the Steelers won the traditional AFC rivalry.

Browns 20, Ravens 3

In Cleveland, for the first time since their NFL rebirth in 1999, the Cleveland Browns opened the season as winners.

Jeff Garcia threw a 46-yard touchdown pass and ran for another TD in his Cleveland debut.

Cleveland stole the spotlight from Deion Sanders, who came out of retirement for a chance to win another Super Bowl ring, and NFL rushing leader Jamal Lewis.

Jets 31, Bengals 24

In East Rutherford, New Jersey, Curtis Martin ran for 196 yards and a touchdown, and added another score on a 3-yard TD reception to help New York ruin the regular-season debut of Carson Palmer.

Palmer, the No. 1 overall pick in 2003, commanded the offense well, going 18-of-27 for 248 yards with two touchdowns.

But Martin finished with 29 carries for the third-highest total of his NFL career. He needs 9 yards to surpass Freeman McNeil as the Jets' career leading rusher.

Seahawks 21, Saints 7

In New Orleans, Shaun Alexander scored three touchdowns to get the Seahawks off to a good start on the road.

Seattle was 2-6 on the road last season, but used its first trip this year to start working on expectations the Seahawks will be strong contenders for the NFC title.

Alexander rushed for 135 yards on 28 carries. He ran for two touchdowns and caught another.

Rams 17, Cardinals 10

In St. Louis, Marshall Faulk ran for 128 yards on 22 carries while sharing time with first-round pick Steven Jackson in the Rams' victory.

Faulk, who has missed 11 games due to injuries the last two seasons, helped the Rams overcome three costly turnovers that kept the margin from being very comfortable. Jackson also played well, running for 50 yards on seven carries.

Chargers 27, Texans 20

In Houston, LaDainian Tomlinson ran for 121 yards and a touchdown and the Chargers used a mistake-free passing game and an opportunistic defense to beat Houston.

It marked the first time the third-year Texans lost a season opener.

Jaguars 13, Bills 10

In Orchard Park, New York, Ernest Wilford came down in traffic with Byron Leftwich's 7-yard toss to cap an 80-yard drive in the final 2:07 and lift the Jacksonville Jaguars over the Buffalo Bills.

The touchdown ruined coach Mike Mularkey's debut with Buffalo, and placed the blame squarely on a Drew Bledsoe-led offense that bumbled, coming away with 10 points despite three trips into the red zone.

Vikings 35, Cowboys 17

In Minneapolis, Daunte Culpepper threw a career-high five touchdown passes, two to Randy Moss, to lead Minnesota.

Against a depleted Dallas defense, Culpepper was both sensational and efficient, going 17-for-23 for 242 yards with no turnovers.

Eagles 31, Giants 17

In Philadelphia, Terrell Owens had three touchdown catches, Donovan McNabb threw for 330 yards and tied a career high with four TD passes and Brian Westbrook ran for 119 yards for Philadelphia.

The Eagles, runners-up in the NFC championship the last three years, won their season opener for just the second time in coach Andy Reid's six seasons.

Falcons 21, 49ers 19

In San Francisco, Aaron Beasley returned a goal-line interception 85 yards in the fourth quarter, and Rod Coleman batted down Tim Rattay's pass on a 2-point conversion attempt with 40 seconds left to secure a win for Atlanta.

Warrick Dunn rushed for two touchdowns and Michael Vick was 13-of-22 for 163 yards in an uninspiring debut under coach Jim Mora, the longtime San Francisco defensive coordinator who took over the Falcons last January.

Broncos 34, Chiefs 24

In Denver, Quentin Griffin ran for 156 yards and scored three touchdowns in his first game as Clinton Portis' replacement. Denver traded Portis to Washington to get cornerback Champ Bailey.

But Griffin dashed and dived his way to touchdown runs of 25 and 47 yards and caught a 1-yard touchdown pass from Jake Plummer.
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