Lamarr Woodley and Keyaron Fox returned Brett Favre turnovers for late touchdowns on Sunday and Pittsburgh beat previously undefeated Minnesota 27-17.
The reigning National Football League’s Super Bowl champions had not scored two defensive touchdowns in the same quarter since 1995, but the Steelers shut down late Viking marches by forcing mistakes from veteran Favre.
“There were a lot of what ifs, a lot of reasons we didn’t win,” Favre said. “The red zone was one of them. They’re physical, and they were as good as we thought they’d be ... When I came here and looked at our schedule [and saw the Steelers game], I went, ‘Oh-h-h.’”
PHOTO: REUTERS
Two other NFL unbeatens in action on Sunday stayed perfect. Indianapolis improved to 6-0 with a 42-6 rout at winless St Louis as Peyton Manning threw three touchdown passes and New Orleans came from behind to topple Miami 46-34.
Pittsburgh improved to 5-2 with a fifth consecutive triumph with some help from fourth quarter blunders by the once-perfect Vikings.
A tripping penalty on Minnesota blocker Jeff Dugan wiped out a touchdown for the Vikings and just two plays later, Steelers defensive end Brett Keisel knocked the ball from Favre’s grasp.
Woodley grabbed the fumble and raced 77 yards for a touchdown, teammates blocking out tackle attempts on the runback to give Pittsburgh a 20-10 lead with 6:42 to play.
Minnesota’s Percy Harvin answered on the ensuing kickoff with an 88-yard touchdown return that pulled the Vikings back within 20-17 with 6:23 to play before Favre marched Minnesota downfield once again in the final seconds.
Minnesota seized a 7-3 lead on Adrian Peterson’s two-yard touchdown run with 5:12 remaining in the second quarter, the 13-play march equaling their longest of the season.
At St Louis, Manning threw touchdown tosses of 27 yards to Dallas Clark and six yards to Reggie Wayne in the first quarter and another of eight yards to Austin Collie with 3:42 remaining. Joseph Addai scored on a six-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, Jacob Lacey returned an interception 35 yards for a touchdown late in the third and Chad Simpson ran 31 yards for another touchdown to complete the rout.
Drew Brees ran for the go-ahead score in the fourth quarter, as the New Orleans Saints rallied from a huge first-half hole to grind out a victory over the Dolphins and remain unbeaten.
The Saints (6-0) trailed 24-3 with just under nine minutes left in the first half and appeared to be in line for a loss but changed their fortunes by scoring 36 points in the second half.
Star quarterback Tom Brady said playing at London’s Wembley Stadium reminded him of the Super Bowl after he led the New England Patriots to a 35-7 thrashing of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
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