In only the fourth meeting of teams 6-0 or better, Peyton Manning tied Brett Favre’s NFL record with his 186th regular-season win as Denver rattled Aaron Rodgers into one of the worst games of his career in the Broncos’ 29-10 victory over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night.
Wearing the blue jerseys they did in beating the Packers for their first Super Bowl win in 1997, the Broncos piled it on in the fourth quarter, when DeMarcus Ware sacked Rodgers and the ball ended up in the end zone for a safety.
The Broncos improved to 7-0 for the first time since 1998, when they won the Super Bowl after finishing 14-2.
Photo: AFP
Rodgers was 14 of 22 for just 77 yards for the Packers (6-1) — the lowest of his career in a game where he was not knocked out by injury.
Although neither quarterback threw for a touchdown, Manning was 21 of 29 for 340 yards. The Packers had only 140 yards of total offense to Denver’s 500.
BENGALS 16, STEELERS 10
In Pittsburgh, Ben Roethlisberger’s return wasn’t enough to prevent the Bengals from getting off to their best start in franchise history.
Andy Dalton threw a touchdown pass with 2 minutes, 57 seconds to go, and the Bengals picked off Roethlisberger twice in the fourth quarter.
The Bengals are 7-0 for the first time and have a comfortable lead in their division.
The defending AFC North champion Steelers (4-4) hoped Roethlisberger’s return after missing four games with a sprained knee would kick-start them. After leading most of the game, they fall apart in the closing minutes.
Shawn Williams’ diving sideline interception at the Pittsburgh 45-yard line set up Dalton’s 9-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Green, who had another big game against the Steelers. He finished with 11 catches for 118 yards.
Reggie Nelson’s second interception set up Mike Nugent’s 44-yard field goal with 1:47 to go. The Steelers drove to the Cincinnati 16-yard line with 4 seconds left, but Roethlisberger’s pass went out of the end zone to finish it.
SAINTS 52, GIANTS 49
In New Orleans, Drew Brees passed for career highs of 511 yards and seven touchdowns, while recently signed Kai Forbath kicked a 50-yard field goal as time ran out, giving New Orleans the victory in a game with a record 13 scoring passes.
Eli Manning connected on a career-high six touchdown passes, three to fellow New Orleans native Odell Beckham Jr, but New York (4-4) fell for the second time in three games.
The 101 points tied for third most in NFL history. The teams combined for 1,030 yards.
In other NFL action, it was:
‧ Seahawks 13, Cowboys 12
‧ Buccaneers 23, Falcons 20
‧ Cardinals 34, Browns 20
‧ Vikings 23, Bears 20
‧ Ravens 29, Chargers 26
‧ Rams 27, 49ers 6
‧ Raiders 34, Jets 20
‧ Texans 20, Titans 6
‧ Chiefs 45, Lions 10
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