By The Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS — Upon arriving in the end zone for the first time all season, Joe Horn was in the mood to celebrate.
After a legitimizing win over the Philadelphia Eagles, so are the surprising New Orleans Saints.
Shut out of the end zone through the first five games of the season, Horn did two shoulder-shaking end zone dances after catches of 14 and 48 yards, then John Carney hit a 31-yard field goal as time expired for the Saints.
New Orleans (5-1) now enters its bye week in first place in the NFC South. Horn finished with 110 yards on six catches, including a key 20-yard gain on the winning drive.
Saints quarterback Drew Brees completed 27 of 37 passes for 275 yards and three touchdowns and did not take a sack against a defense that has 23 already this season. He led a final drive that went 72 yards on 16 plays and chewed up the final 8:26. Deuce McAllister, who missed much of the first half after tweaking his hamstring, made a key first-down run at the 2-minute warning that allowed Brees to kneel three times to run down the clock before the game-ending field goal.
Donovan McNabb, off to a torrid start this season, was 19-of-32 for 247 yards and two touchdowns for the Eagles (4-2). But the Saints defense threw him off his rhythm intermittently, sacking him three times.
Cowboys 34, Texans 6
IRVING, Texas — Enough with all the headaches T.O. causes. Now the Dallas Cowboys know how much fun it can be to have Terrell Owens around.
Owens caught two third-quarter touchdown passes and another in the fourth, turning a tight game against the Houston Texans into an easy 34-6 victory Sunday — helping the Cowboys (3-2) avenge an embarrassing loss to their in-state rivals four years ago and reminding everyone why owner Jerry Jones signed the volatile receiver.
Houston (1-4) led 6-3 at halftime, reviving visions of a stunning 19-10 victory over Dallas in the first game in Texans history back in 2002.
But they didn’t have it in them again, with turnovers on three straight drives dooming the upset bid.
Panthers 23, Ravens 21
BALTIMORE — It would have been a wonderful story of redemption: Kyle Boller taking over for an injured Steve McNair and leading the Baltimore Ravens to victory.
Jake Delhomme would have none of it.
Delhomme threw for a career-high 365 yards and two touchdowns, and Carolina slipped past the Ravens for its fourth straight win.
Steve Smith had eight catches for 189 yards and a touchdown, and John Kasay kicked three field goals for Carolina (4-2). The Panthers limited Baltimore (4-2) to 80 yards rushing — the fourth straight game they held the opposition under 100 yards on the ground.
Lions 20, Bills 17
DETROIT — The Detroit Lions finally survived the fourth quarter.
Roy Williams had 10 receptions for 161 yards — both career highs — and scored a touchdown while Kevin Jones ran for a season-high 127 yards and a score to lead the Lions.
Instead of the usual late mistakes that have cost the Lions in four of five opening losses, Detroit made the clutch plays it needed on both sides of the ball, ending Rod Marinelli’s long wait for his first win as a head coach.
The Lions (1-5) outscored the Bills (2-4) by four points in the fourth — just enough to win.
Seahawks 30, Rams 28
ST. LOUIS — Josh Brown’s 54-yard field goal as time expired helped Seattle regain first place from its NFC West rival.
The winning kick came after a 5-yard penalty that briefly had the Rams (4-2) thinking they’d pulled off another improbable win. What happened was a simple illegal formation penalty against the Seahawks (4-1) as they spiked the ball to give Brown a chance for the long field goal. The Rams began to celebrate, believing a 10-second clock runoff would give them the win. But officials ruled that because the ball had been spotted and snapped properly, there was no runoff.
Bucs 14, Bengals 13
TAMPA, Fla. — Michael Clayton extended his arms and lunged toward the end zone, with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ first victory literally at his fingertips.
Clayton’s 8-yard dive was a touchdown — barely — lifting the previously winless Bucs over the Cincinnati Bengals with 35 seconds remaining. The reception was initially ruled incomplete but was overturned after a replay, which showed the ball firmly in Clayton’s hands as he flew through the air.
The Bengals (3-2) thought they had won when the receiver put the nose of the ball over the goal line on the fourth-down play, then lost control when he landed on the ground. Referee Mike Carey reversed the call, setting off a wild celebration on the Bucs’ (1-4) sideline.
Titans 25, Redskins 22
LANDOVER, Md. — Vince Young has his first NFL victory, with big assists from a Tennessee Titans running back, a kicker and a tight end who blocked a punt.
Young rallied the Titans from an 11-point first-half deficit, leading his previously winless team to an upset of the Washington Redskins (2-4).
Rob Bironas kicked three field goals, including a 30-yarder with 5:11 to play that decided the game. Travis Henry ran for a career-high 178 yards on 32 carries with one touchdown, his second consecutive 100-yard game. Casey Cramer blocked a punt in the second half to give his team a safety, providing a vital extra two points.
Steelers 45, Chiefs 7
PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers gave the Kansas City Chiefs and the rest of the NFL a not very subtle reminder that Super Bowls aren’t won, or lost, in the first few weeks of a season.
The Steelers (2-3) revived everything they displayed in winning the championship as Ben Roethlisberger threw his first two touchdown passes since the AFC championship game in a rout of the Chiefs (2-3) that snapped a three-game losing streak.
Roethlisberger went 16 of 19 for 238 yards and TDs of 47 yards to Nate Washington and 13 yards to Hines Ward.
Chargers 48, 49ers 19
SAN FRANCISCO — The San Diego Chargers’ vaunted defense finally got a challenge. Philip Rivers and LaDainian Tomlinson couldn’t say the same.
Tomlinson set a franchise scoring record with a career-best four touchdowns rushing, and Rivers passed for a career-high 334 yards and two more scores in the Chargers’ (4-1) victory over San Francisco. (2-4)
Jets 20, Dolphins 17
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The New York Jets turned on the offense and woke up the crowd with a second-half scoring burst. Then they did all they could to let the Miami Dolphins back in it.
Laveranues Coles caught two touchdown passes and Mike Nugent kicked a pair of 33-yard field goals, and the Jets barely held on. Miami had a chance to tie, but Olindo Mare came up short on a 51-yarder.
Top Performers
Passing
- Jake Delhomme, Panthers, threw for a career-high 365 yards and two touchdowns, completing 24 of 39 passes in a 23-21 win at Baltimore.
- Matt Hasselbeck, Seahawks, connected for three touchdowns and 268 yards with no interceptions, leading Seattle to a 30-28 comeback victory at St. Louis. The Rams’ Marc Bulger was 26-of-39 for 360 yards and three touchdowns, all to Torry Holt.
Rushing
- Tiki Barber, Giants, outplayed the NFL’s best ground team by running for 185 yards, breaking off nine runs of at least 12 yards against a defense that was allowing just 69.3 yards per game, second best in the league.
- Warrick Dunn rushed for 146 yards, stunned the Giants with a 90-yard TD sprint.
Receiving
- Steve Smith, Panthers, had eight catches for 189 yards and a touchdown in a 23-21 win at Baltimore.
- Roy Williams, Lions, had 10 receptions for 161 yards — both career highs — and scored a touchdown in a 20-17 victory over Buffalo.
NEW ORLEANS — Upon arriving in the end zone for the first time all season, Joe Horn was in the mood to celebrate.
After a legitimizing win over the Philadelphia Eagles, so are the surprising New Orleans Saints.
Shut out of the end zone through the first five games of the season, Horn did two shoulder-shaking end zone dances after catches of 14 and 48 yards, then John Carney hit a 31-yard field goal as time expired for the Saints.
New Orleans (5-1) now enters its bye week in first place in the NFC South. Horn finished with 110 yards on six catches, including a key 20-yard gain on the winning drive.
Saints quarterback Drew Brees completed 27 of 37 passes for 275 yards and three touchdowns and did not take a sack against a defense that has 23 already this season. He led a final drive that went 72 yards on 16 plays and chewed up the final 8:26. Deuce McAllister, who missed much of the first half after tweaking his hamstring, made a key first-down run at the 2-minute warning that allowed Brees to kneel three times to run down the clock before the game-ending field goal.
Donovan McNabb, off to a torrid start this season, was 19-of-32 for 247 yards and two touchdowns for the Eagles (4-2). But the Saints defense threw him off his rhythm intermittently, sacking him three times.
Cowboys 34, Texans 6
IRVING, Texas — Enough with all the headaches T.O. causes. Now the Dallas Cowboys know how much fun it can be to have Terrell Owens around.
Owens caught two third-quarter touchdown passes and another in the fourth, turning a tight game against the Houston Texans into an easy 34-6 victory Sunday — helping the Cowboys (3-2) avenge an embarrassing loss to their in-state rivals four years ago and reminding everyone why owner Jerry Jones signed the volatile receiver.
Houston (1-4) led 6-3 at halftime, reviving visions of a stunning 19-10 victory over Dallas in the first game in Texans history back in 2002.
But they didn’t have it in them again, with turnovers on three straight drives dooming the upset bid.
Panthers 23, Ravens 21
BALTIMORE — It would have been a wonderful story of redemption: Kyle Boller taking over for an injured Steve McNair and leading the Baltimore Ravens to victory.
Jake Delhomme would have none of it.
Delhomme threw for a career-high 365 yards and two touchdowns, and Carolina slipped past the Ravens for its fourth straight win.
Steve Smith had eight catches for 189 yards and a touchdown, and John Kasay kicked three field goals for Carolina (4-2). The Panthers limited Baltimore (4-2) to 80 yards rushing — the fourth straight game they held the opposition under 100 yards on the ground.
Lions 20, Bills 17
DETROIT — The Detroit Lions finally survived the fourth quarter.
Roy Williams had 10 receptions for 161 yards — both career highs — and scored a touchdown while Kevin Jones ran for a season-high 127 yards and a score to lead the Lions.
Instead of the usual late mistakes that have cost the Lions in four of five opening losses, Detroit made the clutch plays it needed on both sides of the ball, ending Rod Marinelli’s long wait for his first win as a head coach.
The Lions (1-5) outscored the Bills (2-4) by four points in the fourth — just enough to win.
Seahawks 30, Rams 28
ST. LOUIS — Josh Brown’s 54-yard field goal as time expired helped Seattle regain first place from its NFC West rival.
The winning kick came after a 5-yard penalty that briefly had the Rams (4-2) thinking they’d pulled off another improbable win. What happened was a simple illegal formation penalty against the Seahawks (4-1) as they spiked the ball to give Brown a chance for the long field goal. The Rams began to celebrate, believing a 10-second clock runoff would give them the win. But officials ruled that because the ball had been spotted and snapped properly, there was no runoff.
Bucs 14, Bengals 13
TAMPA, Fla. — Michael Clayton extended his arms and lunged toward the end zone, with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ first victory literally at his fingertips.
Clayton’s 8-yard dive was a touchdown — barely — lifting the previously winless Bucs over the Cincinnati Bengals with 35 seconds remaining. The reception was initially ruled incomplete but was overturned after a replay, which showed the ball firmly in Clayton’s hands as he flew through the air.
The Bengals (3-2) thought they had won when the receiver put the nose of the ball over the goal line on the fourth-down play, then lost control when he landed on the ground. Referee Mike Carey reversed the call, setting off a wild celebration on the Bucs’ (1-4) sideline.
Titans 25, Redskins 22
LANDOVER, Md. — Vince Young has his first NFL victory, with big assists from a Tennessee Titans running back, a kicker and a tight end who blocked a punt.
Young rallied the Titans from an 11-point first-half deficit, leading his previously winless team to an upset of the Washington Redskins (2-4).
Rob Bironas kicked three field goals, including a 30-yarder with 5:11 to play that decided the game. Travis Henry ran for a career-high 178 yards on 32 carries with one touchdown, his second consecutive 100-yard game. Casey Cramer blocked a punt in the second half to give his team a safety, providing a vital extra two points.
Steelers 45, Chiefs 7
PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers gave the Kansas City Chiefs and the rest of the NFL a not very subtle reminder that Super Bowls aren’t won, or lost, in the first few weeks of a season.
The Steelers (2-3) revived everything they displayed in winning the championship as Ben Roethlisberger threw his first two touchdown passes since the AFC championship game in a rout of the Chiefs (2-3) that snapped a three-game losing streak.
Roethlisberger went 16 of 19 for 238 yards and TDs of 47 yards to Nate Washington and 13 yards to Hines Ward.
Chargers 48, 49ers 19
SAN FRANCISCO — The San Diego Chargers’ vaunted defense finally got a challenge. Philip Rivers and LaDainian Tomlinson couldn’t say the same.
Tomlinson set a franchise scoring record with a career-best four touchdowns rushing, and Rivers passed for a career-high 334 yards and two more scores in the Chargers’ (4-1) victory over San Francisco. (2-4)
Jets 20, Dolphins 17
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The New York Jets turned on the offense and woke up the crowd with a second-half scoring burst. Then they did all they could to let the Miami Dolphins back in it.
Laveranues Coles caught two touchdown passes and Mike Nugent kicked a pair of 33-yard field goals, and the Jets barely held on. Miami had a chance to tie, but Olindo Mare came up short on a 51-yarder.
Top Performers
Passing
- Jake Delhomme, Panthers, threw for a career-high 365 yards and two touchdowns, completing 24 of 39 passes in a 23-21 win at Baltimore.
- Matt Hasselbeck, Seahawks, connected for three touchdowns and 268 yards with no interceptions, leading Seattle to a 30-28 comeback victory at St. Louis. The Rams’ Marc Bulger was 26-of-39 for 360 yards and three touchdowns, all to Torry Holt.
Rushing
- Tiki Barber, Giants, outplayed the NFL’s best ground team by running for 185 yards, breaking off nine runs of at least 12 yards against a defense that was allowing just 69.3 yards per game, second best in the league.
- Warrick Dunn rushed for 146 yards, stunned the Giants with a 90-yard TD sprint.
Receiving
- Steve Smith, Panthers, had eight catches for 189 yards and a touchdown in a 23-21 win at Baltimore.
- Roy Williams, Lions, had 10 receptions for 161 yards — both career highs — and scored a touchdown in a 20-17 victory over Buffalo.
