Tulsa World: Around the NFL: Showdown, too

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Around the NFL: Showdown, too

AJ MAST / Associated Press

By Associated Press
Published: 11/16/2009 2:21 AM
Last Modified: 11/16/2009 1:04 PM

While Indianapolis-New England was the biggest game Sunday, the Cincinnati-Pittsburgh game had huge implications in the AFC.

The Bengals came into the season under low expectations, but took control of the AFC North with a bruising 18-12 win over the defending Super Bowl champion Steelers on the road.

"They're clearly the best team in the division," Pittsburgh safety Ryan Clark said about the Bengals. "I'd give my left arm to play them again."

The Bengals (7-2) pulled it off by beating the Steelers (6-3) at their own game. They smothered Ben Roethlisberger and Pittsburgh's running game, yielded only four field goals by Jeff Reed and converted a tight-as-it-gets game's only big play, Bernard Scott's 96-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.

"That's probably the most grinding game I ever experienced," Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said.

By sweeping the season series for the first time since 1998, the Bengals effectively lead Pittsburgh by two games because they own the tiebreaker and, for the first time in their history, a 5-0 division record.

Saints still marching

New Orleans nearly became the last unbeaten standing Sunday before Indianapolis' fourth-quarter rally.

The Saints struggled to keep their winning streak alive, edging the suddenly salty St. Louis Rams 28-23.

"You're not going to blow everyone out," said New Orleans cornerback Randall Gay, who played on the Patriots' 16-0 team in 2007. "It's a lot harder to blow teams out when for a lot of teams, this is like their playoff game."

Reggie Bush gave New Orleans a big lift, scoring twice for the first time in more than a year. Drew Brees wasn't on fire, throwing a pair of picks, but he did throw a couple of touchdown passes.

Courtney Roby opened the second half with a 97-yard kickoff return for a score, and Booker T. Washington product Robert Meachem's 27-yard touchdown grab was just enough.

"It would have been really nice to pull it off," St. Louis quarterback Marc Bulger said. "There's a reason they're unbeaten. They made plays when they had to."

Cards in control again

Kurt Warner and his arsenal of weapons are beginning to pull away from the rest of the NFC West again.

The Cardinals dominated the second half against Seattle, outscoring the Seahawks 21-3 to wipe out a 17-10 deficit in a 31-20 win.

With the win, Arizona (6-3) has a two-game lead over San Francisco (4-5).

"Parts of the first half seemed so difficult for us to do anything," Warner said, 'then we came back in the second half and sometimes it seemed almost easy."

Warner threw for 340 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and rookie Beanie Wells rushed for 85 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries.

Anquan Boldin added 105 yards on eight receptions.

The trouble with fumbles

Former Oklahoma star Adrian Peterson had another big day for the Vikings with 133 yards and two touchdowns, but a couple of lost fumbles took away from an otherwise solid day in Minnesota's lackluster 27-10 win over Detroit.

"In the NFL when you are playing good teams you definitely know there are going to be ups and downs so you can't be caught up and still be looking behind you," Peterson said. "You have to play the next play."

Peterson was involved in a handful of big plays, including his 22-yard TD run in the second quarter.

Peterson looked like he would add an even more spectacular touchdown run later in the quarter when he broke four tackles near the line and headed for what would have been a 61-yard touchdown run.

But cornerback Phillip Buchanon chased Peterson down and caught him at the 18. Buchanon grabbed the back of Peterson's shoulder pads with his left hand and punched the ball out with his right hand.

Streaking

The Titans have won three straight games after starting 0-6. ... The Broncos have lost three straight after opening 6-0. ... The Saints, the only unbeaten team in the NFC, tied the franchise record with nine straight wins. ... The Lions (1-8) joined the Houston Oilers, from Nov. 21, 1982, through Nov. 4, 1984, as the only NFL teams to lose 31 games in a 33-game stretch, according to STATS. ... The Kansas City Chiefs have won seven straight road games against the Oakland Raiders.

Milestones

LaDainian Tomlinson passed Thurman Thomas and Franco Harris and moved into 12th place all-time with 12,145 yards. His two touchdowns gave him 146 and moved him past Marcus Allen and into third place on the all-time list. ... Kurt Warner became the 29th player in NFL history to throw 200 touchdown passes. He had his 51st 300-yard passing game, tying Dan Fouts for fourth on the NFL career list. ... The Bucs' Connor Barth tied an NFL record held by three other kickers when he made three field goals of 50 yards or more. They covered 51, 50 and 54 yards — the three longest kicks of his career. ... Titans running back Chris Johnson became only the second player in franchise history to have 100 yards rushing and receiving in the same game. He joined Billy Cannon, who did it Dec. 10, 1961, against the New York Titans. Cannon had 216 yards rushing and 114 receiving.

Speaking

"Well, it's a great win. It's just one win. We're still in the regular season. It tells us about our team. As much adversity as we've faced in a couple years. Defense finally made some stops. Offense finally got some touchdowns."

Quarterback stars

Brett Favre, Vikings: Finished 20 of 29 for 344 yards and a TD.

Kurt Warner, Cardinals: Was 29 of 38 for 340 yards and two touchdowns.

Matt Hasselbeck, Seahawks: Was 26 of 52 for 315 yards, TD.

Marc Bulger, Rams: Was 26 of 40 for 298 yards and two touchdowns .

Running backs stars

Maurice Jones-Drew, Jaguars: Had 24 carries for 123 yards and a TD.

Steven Jackson, Rams: Had 26 carries for 131 yards, TD.

Justin Forsett, Seahawks: Had 17 carries for 123 yards, TD.

Michael Bush, Raiders: Had 14 carries for 119 yards.

Ladell Betts, Redskins: Had 26 carries for 114 yards and a touchdown.

Receiving stars

Brandon Marshall, Broncos: Had five catches for 134 yards and two touchdowns in Denver's 27-17 loss to Washington.

T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Seahawks: Had nine catches for 165 yards in Seattle's 31-20 loss to Arizona.

Jason Avant, Eagles: Had eight catches for 156 yards in Philadelphia's 31-23 loss to San Diego.

Defense and special teams stars

Bernard Scott, Bengals: Returned a kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown.

Courtney Roby, Saints: Returned a kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown.

Dan Carpenter, Dolphins: Made four field goals, including the go-ahead 25-yarder.

Shayne Graham, Bengals: Made four field goals in Cincinnati's 18-12 win over Pittsburgh.

Jeff Reed, Steelers: Made four field goals.

SUNDAY SHOWDOWN: COLTS SHOCK PATS

Some say Bill Belichick is a genius. But the world’s most famous hoodie may not be called that today after he gambled on fourth-and-short at his own 28 late in the fourth quarter with a 34-28 lead. Indianapolis got the stop, Peyton Manning hit Reggie Wayne on a 1-yard touchdown pass, and the Colts rallied from a 31-14 deficit to win 35-34 and go to 9-0. Manning (right) threw for 327 yards and 4 TDs and Tom Brady (left) 375 yards and 3 TDs.

By Associated Press

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forkandknife, Tulsa (11/16/2009 10:38:03 AM)

I watched every bit of this game. I loved it. Very close. And they played until it was over. Great job to both teams for playing with heart and never giving up!

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