Jerome "The Bus" Bettis ran for 129 yards and Pittsburgh's blitzing defense created havoc in the second half in a 19-14 win over Cincinnati on Sunday.
Pittsburgh (9-1) overcame an out-of-sync first half and extended its winning streak to eight. It's the best start for the Steelers since 1978, when they had an identical mark en route to their third Super Bowl win in five years.
PHOTO: AFP
Ben Roethlisberger, who has earned comparisons to Terry Bradshaw during his remarkable streak of eight straight wins to start his NFL career, looked much more like a green rookie than a black-and-gold legend.
PHOTO: AFP
The Bengals (4-6) came at him from all sides, had a season-high seven sacks and forced him to make poor decisions. Three times he scuttled scoring chances by taking sacks, grounding the ball or fumbling.
It was up to a revitalized Bettis and one of the league's nastiest defenses to pull it out.
With Duce Staley (hamstring) sidelined a third straight game, Bettis came through with his third straight 100-yard game. He repeatedly bowled over tacklers during his 11th 100-yard performance against the Bengals, and he moved ahead of Tony Dorsett for fifth place on the NFL's career rushing list.
Bills 37, Rams 17
In Orchard Park, New York, Drew Bledsoe answered his critics by hitting tight end Mark Campbell for three touchdowns, and Nate Clements returned a punt 86 yards for a score.
It was a dominating effort by a Buffalo team (4-6) that has won four straight at home, but was coming off its worst outing of the season, a 29-6 loss at New England.
Bledsoe answered those calling for rookie J.P. Losman to take over as starter, going 15-of-24 for 185 yards. His only blemish was an interception off Lee Evans' hand in the first quarter.
Vikings 22, Lions 19
In Minneapolis, Daunte Culpepper guided the Vikings on another second-half comeback, and this time the defense was good enough to make the rally count.
The Vikings, ending a three-game losing streak, shut out Detroit in the second half and overcame a 12-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat the sliding Lions.
Culpepper completed 22 of 32 passes for 233 yards, two touchdowns and an interception for Minnesota (6-4), which hounded Joey Harrington in the second half. The Vikings again played without Randy Moss (right hamstring).
Titans 18, Jaguars 15
In Jacksonville, Florida, Steve McNair returned to the lineup for the first time in a month, throwing a touchdown pass and directing two other scoring drives.
McNair finished 18-of-30 for 209 yards despite showing signs of rust. The reigning league co-MVP bruised his chest Sept. 26 against Jacksonville and aggravated the injury a month later against Minnesota.
McNair underthrew was picked off twice and was sacked three times -- including once for a safety with about 9 minutes to play.
Ravens 30, Cowboys 10
In Baltimore, down at halftime and playing without injured running back Jamal Lewis, the Ravens turned to Kyle Boller to ruin an inspired performance by the Dallas defense.
Showing the poise and confidence of a rapidly maturing quarterback, Boller threw two touchdown passes in the third quarter. Boller went 23-for-34 for 232 yards in his third straight game without an interception. The Ravens (7-3) have five wins in their last six games.
Broncos 34, Saints 13
In New Orleans, Reuben Droughns ran for 166 yards and a score, Jake Plummer threw for 224 yards and the Broncos stayed atop the AFC West.
The Broncos (7-3) have gone 12-12 to close out the last three seasons, but looked strong coming off their bye week. Denver had 389 yards in offense and held the Saints to one touchdown.
Jets 10, Browns 7
In Cleveland, Quincy Carter threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Justin McCareins with 5:32 remaining to give the Jets (7-3) an ugly win.
New York's LaMont Jordan, filling in for a banged-up Curtis Martin, rushed for 61 yards in the fourth quarter. He ground out 34 yards as the Jets ran out the final 3:55 to hand the Browns (3-7) their fourth straight loss.
Colts 41, Bears 10
In Chicago, Edgerrin James punished the Bears' defense with 204 yards on 23 carries, and Peyton Manning threw four more touchdown passes.
The Colts (7-3) feasted on five Chicago turnovers, four by shaky rookie quarterback Craig Krenzel, who lost two fumbles and threw two interceptions as the Bears' three-game winning streak ended with a thud.
Buccaneers 35, 49ers 3
In Tampa, Florida, Joe Jurevicius scored his first touchdowns since last year's season opener, getting into the end zone twice on passes from Brian Griese.
The victory was the fourth in six games after an 0-4 start for Tampa Bay (4-6). The 49ers (1-9) have lost five straight and were held to just 197 yards offense, with Tim Rattay being sacked five times and turning the ball over twice.
Panthers 35, Cardinals 10
In Charlotte, North Carolina, Nick Goings ran for 121 yards and three first-half scores and the Panthers jumped to a 28-point halftime lead.
Muhsin Muhammad added two TD catches, the first with just 2 seconds left before halftime, for the Panthers (3-7) -- who won their first home game of the season.
Eagles 28, Redskins 6
In Philadelphia, Donovan McNabb tied a career high with four touchdown passes, and the Eagles improved to 9-1 for the first time since the 1980 season, when they opened 11-1 and went to the Super Bowl.
McNabb threw two TD passes to Brian Westbrook and one each to Terrell Owens and Chad Lewis. It was his second straight four-TD performance, fourth of the season and sixth in his six-year career.
Falcons 14, Giants 10
In East Rutherford, New Jersey, Michael Vick ran for 104 yards and threw two first-half touchdown passes to Alge Crumpler to lead the Falcons (8-2), spoiling Eli Manning's first start.
After a shaky first half, Manning showed why the Giants (5-5) mortgaged their future on draft day. He led New York on two second-half drives that turned a one-sided game into a thriller. A 6-yard touchdown pass to Jeremy Shockey got New York within 14-7 in the third quarter and another long drive set up a 24-yard field goal by Steve Christie with 6:29 to play.
Seahawks 24, Dolphins 17
In Seattle, Michael Boulware intercepted a pass by A.J. Feeley and returned it 63 yards for a touchdown with 56 seconds remaining.
It was the fourth time this season Feeley has had an interception returned for a TD, and his mistake spoiled the debut of interim coach Jim Bates. Seattle (6-4) reclaimed first place in the NFC West.
Packers 16, Texans 13
In Houston, Brett Favre moved Green Bay into scoring position with a flawless 2-minute drill and Ryan Longwell kicked a 46-yard field goal as time expired. Favre completed 6 of 7 passes for 42 yards on the final drive -- the only incompletion came when he spiked the ball to stop the clock -- to complete Green Bay's rally from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter.
He finished 33-of-50 for 383 yards with two interceptions and a touchdown to Houston native Donald Driver in the fourth period. Driver had quite a homecoming, catching 10 passes for 148 yards.
Star running back Ahman Green was knocked out of the game with a rib injury in the second quarter, finishing with 15 yards on only five carries for the Packers (6-4). The Texans are 4-6.
Quarterback Troy Smith ran for 145 yards, Ted Ginn Jr. set school and Big Ten records with his fourth punt return touchdown of the season and the Ohio State Buckeyes upset No. 7 Michigan 37-21 on Saturday.
The loss kept the Wolverines (9-2, 7-1) from clinching an outright Big Ten title and ended their 13-game conference winning streak.
Ohio State's win was a rare bright spot in a tough fourth season for coach Jim Tressel. The Buckeyes started the Big Ten season with three straight losses, and two weeks ago former Ohio State star Maurice Clarett accused Tressel, his staff and Buckeyes boosters of giving him and other players improper benefits.
But it's never a bad day in Columbus when Ohio State (7-4, 4-4) beats Michigan.
Ginn, the freshman with a sprinter's speed, gathered a punt at his own 18 midway through the third quarter with the Buckeyes up 20-14. He broke a tackle and went into overdrive for an 82-yard touchdown.
No. 2 Auburn 21, Alabama 13
In Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Jason Campbell passed for 224 yards and Ronnie Brown and Carnell Williams ran for second-half touchdowns for the Tigers.
Now the question is whether an impressive final 30 minutes will be enough to cancel out a 6-0 halftime deficit and lackluster start when this game is figured into the Bowl Championship Series standings.
The Tigers (11-0, 8-0 Southeastern Conference) are third in the BCS behind second-place Oklahoma -- which beat Baylor 35-0 -- and Southern California.
No. 2 Oklahoma 35, Baylor 0
In Waco, Texas, Adrian Peterson ran for 240 yards, including three second-half touchdowns, and Oklahoma got the lopsided win it needed for the BCS standings.
After a slow start, the Sooners (11-0, 8-0 Big 12) scored on four straight possessions. Jason White threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Travis Wilson just before halftime to make it 14-0, and Peterson had short TD runs on the first three drives of the second half.
No. 4 California 41, Stanford 6
In Berkeley, J.J. Arrington ran for 169 yards to set California's season rushing record and the Golden Bears recorded their biggest victory in the Big Game since 1930.
Freshman Marshawn Lynch added 122 yards on just nine carries, including a spectacular 55-yard touchdown run. Lynch also threw a TD pass as the Bears racked up 474 total yards in coach Jeff Tedford's third straight victory over Stanford in the 107th edition of the rivalry.
No. 8 Louisville 65, Houston 27
In Houston, Stefan LeFors threw for 317 yards and three touchdowns, and Eric Shelton rushed for three more scores.
The Cardinals (8-1, 6-0 Conference USA) scored the final 30 points of the game -- in a little more than 10 minutes -- to turn a close game into a rout. Perhaps trying to impress poll voters and improve its Bowl Championship Series standings grade, Louisville added a final touchdown on Deriontae Taylor's 6-yard run with 1:47 left.
Ranked 10th in this week's BCS standings, Louisville has only a slim chance of getting an invite to one of the four big-money bowls.
Florida 20, No. 10 Florida St. 13
In Tallahassee, Florida, Chris Leak threw a touchdown, Ciatrick Fason ran for a score and Florida upset No. 10 Florida State for the Gators first win in Tallahassee since 1986.
It also gave fired coach Ron Zook a victory in his final regular-season game.
Condemned since the day he replaced Steve Spurrier, Zook finally did something Spurrier never did in his 12 glorious seasons with the Gators -- he won at Florida State.
The Gators (7-4) ended any legitimate chance the Seminoles had of earning a third straight Bowl Championship Series berth. Florida State (8-3) still could finish tied for the Atlantic Coast Conference title but would likely lose all tiebreaker scenarios because of their BCS ranking, which is expected to drop Monday.
No. 17 Iowa 30, No. 9 Wisconsin 7
In Iowa City, Iowa, Drew Tate threw three touchdown passes and Iowa's defense forced four turnovers and earned a share of the Big Ten title.
The Hawkeyes (9-2, 7-1) won their second league title in three years, splitting it this time with Michigan. But the Wolverines claimed the invitation to the Rose Bowl thanks to their 30-17 victory over Iowa earlier this season.
For the Badgers (9-2, 6-2), a promising season crumbled the last two weeks with losses by a combined 79-21.
After a rocky start, Tate settled down and finished 15-of-24 for 186 yards. He threw two TD passes to Clinton Solomon, including a 51-yarder late in the first half, and another to Scott Chandler late in the third quarter.
No. 12 Miami 52, Wake Forest 7
In Miami, Brock Berlin threw for a career-best 361 yards and four touchdowns in just over a half and Miami stayed in contention for the Atlantic Coast Conference title.
Berlin threw scoring passes to four different receivers, completed 13 of 19 passes and continued his push for ACC player of the year honors. In his last seven games, Berlin has completed 55.9 percent of his passes for 1,894 yards with 19 touchdowns and only two interceptions -- none in his last 153 attempts.
No. 18 Virginia 30, Georgia Tech 10
In Atlanta, Alvin Pearman scored two touchdowns and Virginia came up with four key turnovers.
Virginia kept alive its hopes of at least sharing the Atlantic Coast Conference title, though the Cavaliers (8-2, 5-2) are still a longshot to claim the league's spot in the Bowl Championship Series.
No. 19 Boston College 34,
Temple 17
In Philadelphia, L.V. Whitworth ran for 151 yards and two touchdowns, and Boston College took another step closer to its first BCS berth in Temple's final game before being booted from the Big East.
The 19th-ranked Eagles (8-2, 4-1) pulled into a first-place tie in the conference with No. 21 West Virginia (8-2, 4-1). The Eagles are bolting for the Atlantic Coast Conference next year.
No. 24 Texas-El Paso 57, SMU 27
In El Paso, Texas, Jordan Palmer threw for 339 yards and five touchdowns and Texas-El Paso clinched a bowl berth in coach Mike Price's first season running the formerly downtrodden program.
UTEP secured second place in its conference, which has two guaranteed bowl spots. The Miners had to rally against SMU (3-8, 3-5), which came in on a three-game winning streak. UTEP took a 24-20 halftime lead, then scored three touchdowns in the first 4:35 of the second half.
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