Kerry Collins threw for 289 yards and two touchdowns as the Tennessee Titans beat the Chicago Bears 21-14 on Sunday to remain undefeated despite rushing for just 20 yards.
That was just one more than their franchise-low, a stunning performance for a team that was third in the league entering the game.
Even so, the Titans (9-0) set a franchise record with their 12th straight regular-season win thanks to Collins and a defense that shut down Rex Grossman and the Bears.
PHOTO: AP
GIANTS 36, EAGLES 31
At Philadelphia, Eli Manning threw two touchdown passes and Brandon Jacobs had two TD runs as New York held on to beat Philadelphia.
The Eagles had the ball at their own 45 with 1:55 left, but Brian Westbrook was stopped on fourth-and-1.
The Giants (8-1) are two games ahead of the Washington Redskins and three in front of the Eagles (5-4) and Dallas Cowboys in the National Football Conference East. New York is 3-0 against its division rivals.
CHARGERS 20, CHIEFS 19
At San Diego, Clinton Hart knocked down Tyler Thigpen’s 2-point conversion pass with 23 seconds left as the Chargers held on to beat the scrappy Chiefs.
The Chiefs pulled within one on Thigpen’s 3-yard pass to tight end Tony Gonzalez. The Chiefs (1-9) went for the win, but Thigpen’s pass to Gonzalez was deflected by Hart to cornerback Quentin Jammer, who made the interception while on the ground.
PANTHERS 17, RAIDERS 6
At Oakland, California, Delhomme threw a touchdown pass on the opening drive before matching his career-worst performance with four interceptions in a win over the lowly Raiders.
DeAngelo Williams ran for 140 yards and scored on a 69-yard run for the only touchdown after the opening drive for the Panthers (7-2). But against a Raiders team that hasn’t reached the end zone in nine quarters, that was more than enough to keep Carolina in first place in the NFC South.
VIKINGS 28, PACKERS 27
At Minneapolis, Minnesota, Adrian Peterson rushed for 192 yards and reached across the end zone with 2:22 left for the winning TD to end Minnesota’s five-game losing streak to Green Bay.
Mason Crosby’s 52-yard field goal attempt in the closing seconds was just wide, helping the Vikings (5-4) pull into a first-place tie with the Chicago Bears. Green Bay (4-5) is one game back in the NFC North.
DOLPHINS 21, SEAHAWKS 19
At Miami, the Dolphins withstood a frantic rally by injury-riddled Seattle to secure a winning record.
Surprising Miami (5-4) won its third in a row and remained in the thick of the American Football Conference East race.
After going 1-15 last season, the Dolphins are above .500 for the first time since the end of the 2005 season.
The Dolphins’ Wildcat formation, shut out in the past three games, produced scores on a 51-yard run by Ricky Williams and a 16-yard run by Ronnie Brown.
Ted Ginn Jr. scored his first touchdown this season when he made a fingertip catch in the end zone of a 39-yard pass from Chad Pennington on a flea-flicker.
FALCONS 34, SAINTS 20
At Atlanta, Drew Brees, the NFL’s most prolific passer, threw a season-high three interceptions, the last returned 95 yards for a touchdown by Chevis Jackson.
Matt Ryan threw two touchdown passes for the Falcons (6-3), who won for the fourth time in five games to remain in the thick of the playoff race. The Saints (4-5) again failed to put together their first winning streak of the season.
PATRIOTS 20, BILLS 10
At Foxborough, Massachussets, Patriots rookie runner BenJarvus Green-Ellis had his best game as a pro, Matt Cassel had a solid one and the free-falling Bills had another bad one.
Add a dominating performance by New England’s defense, and Buffalo’s hopes in the tight AFC East race suffered a serious blow.
Green-Ellis, an undrafted rookie from Mississippi playing because three running backs are hurt, rushed for 105 yards on 26 carries and scored on a 1-yard run, his fourth straight game with a touchdown.
JETS 47, RAMS 3
At East Rutherford, New Jersey, Thomas Jones had three touchdown runs, Jay Feely kicked four field goals — including a franchise record-tying 55-yarder — and the Jets converted five turnovers into 27 points for the largest margin of victory in team history.
The Jets’ previous biggest win was 45-3 over Houston in 1988.
Jones had 29 carries for 149 yards, and Brett Favre was 14-of-19 for 167 yards and a touchdown to Dustin Keller before calling it a day early in the fourth quarter.
It was the Jets’ first win over the Rams since 1983.
JAGUARS 38, LIONS 14
At Detroit, Maurice Jones-Drew ran for a career-high three touchdowns in the second quarter alone after Detroit took the lead and David Garrard threw two touchdown passes in the second half.
Fred Taylor ran for 80 yards after having 25 yards rushing or fewer in the previous five games. Jones-Drew finished with 70 yards rushing after combining for just 62 in the last two losses.
RAVENS 41, TEXANS 13
At Houston, rookie Joe Flacco threw for two touchdowns and Ray Lewis had a pair of interceptions to lead the Ravens to their fourth straight win.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
HSIEH MAKES QUARTERS: Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens of Belgium won in the women’s doubles and face Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sofia Kenin of the US Top-ranked Iga Swiatek and US Open champion Coco Gauff were knocked out of the women’s singles at the Miami Open on Monday, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced in the women’s doubles. Swiatek lost to Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-2, hours after third seed Gauff fell in three sets to No. 23 Caroline Garcia 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. Alexandrova beat a top-ranked player for the first time and advanced to face Jessica Pegula, a 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 winner over Emma Navarro, in the quarter-finals. Alexandrova recorded her second win over Swiatek, following a 2021 victory in Melbourne. Swiatek had won their three matches since. “We played quite