NFL Sidelines: November 11, 2008

Titans remain perfect…Vikes catch Bears…Manning rallies Colts

Tennessee Titans 21, Chicago Bears 14

UNDATED (AP) - The Tennessee Titans gained just 20 rushing yards on 29 carries against the Chicago Bears Sunday afternoon. That didn’t stop the Titans from improving to 9-and-0.

Kerry Collins completed 30 of his 41 passes for 289 yards and two touchdowns as the Titans knocked off the Bears 21-14. Tennessee trailed 7-0 until Collins hit Bo Scaife (skayf) and Justin Gage for short TD’s. LenDale White ran for a fourth-quarter touchdown to put the Titans ahead 21-7.

Chicago’s Rex Grossman threw for a touchdown and ran for another but passed for only 173 yards with one interception.

The Bears are now 5-and-4, tied with Minnesota for the NFC Central lead.

Minnesota Vikings 28, Green Bay Packers 27

Adrian Peterson had a productive afternoon in the Vikings’ 28-27 win against Green Bay. Peterson carried 30 times for 192 yards, including a 29-yard scoring run that put the Vikes ahead with 2:22 remaining. Gus Frerotte threw for two touchdowns but was picked off three times, including one that Nick Collins returned 59 yards for a TD.

Minnesota’s defense chipped in with a pair of safeties in the first half and held the Packers to 184 net yards.

Aaron Rodgers passed for only 142 yards but engineered a late scoring drive to put the Packers in position to win. But Mason Crosby missed a 52-yard field goal attempt, leaving the Pack at 4-and-5.

Indianapolis Colts 24, Pittsburgh Steelers 20

Indianapolis bolstered its playoff hopes while dropping Pittsburgh into a tie with Baltimore for the AFC North lead.

Peyton Manning threw for 240 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Colts’ offense in a 24-20 win at Pittsburgh. The Steelers led 20-17 until Tom Jennings intercepted Ben Roethlisberger with 6:13 left, setting up Manning’s 17-yard scoring pass to Dominic Rhodes.

Roethlisberger drove the Steelers to the Indianapolis 27 before being intercepted in the end zone on the game’s final play.

The Colts upped their record to 5-and-4 and dropped the Steelers to 6-3.

Baltimore Ravens 41, Houston Texans 13

The Ravens won their fourth in a row, beating Houston 41-13 as Joe Flacco threw for two touchdowns and Ray Lewis had a pair of interceptions. Willis McGahee returned to action after missing last week with an ankle injury, running for 112 yards and two scores for the 6-and-3 Ravens.

The Texans sit at 3-and-6.

Atlanta Falcons 34, New Orleans Saints 20

Atlanta remains a-half game behind first-place Carolina in the NFC South.

Rookie quarterback Matt Ryan had another steady game, throwing for 248 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions in the Falcons’ 34-20 win over New Orleans.

Chevis Jackson clinched the victory by returning an interception 95 yards for a score with 1:17 remaining. It was one of three picks thrown by Drew Brees, who passed for 422 yards and two TD’s.

The Falcons improved to 6-and-3 with their fourth victory in five games. The Saints dropped to 4-and-5 despite gaining 521 total net yards.

Carolina Panthers 17, Oakland Raiders 6

DeAngelo Williams had a big hand in the Panthers’ 17-6 win at Oakland, rushing for 140 yards and a touchdown. Williams scored on a 69-yard scamper to put Carolina ahead 14-0 in the second quarter.

Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme completed just seven of his 27 passes for 72 yards, one touchdown and four interceptions. But the 2-and-7 Raiders couldn’t generate much offense under Andrew Walter, who was just 14 of 32 for 143 yards and two interceptions.

Carolina is 6-and-2.

New York Jets 47, St. Louis Rams 3

The New York Jets and New England Patriots share first place in the AFC East after both won Sunday.

Thomas Jones ran for 149 yards and three scores to lead the Jets to a 47-3 rout of St. Louis. Jay Feely drilled four field goals in the first half, including a 55-yard kick just before intermission. The Jets scored 27 points off four turnovers and allowed only 11 first downs while improving to 6-and-3.

New England Patriots 20, Buffalo Bills 10

The Patriots kept pace with a 20-10 win over Buffalo, which drops the Bills a game behind the Pats and Jets at 5-and-4. Undrafted rookie BenJarvus Green-Ellis ran for a career-high 105 yards and scored a touchdown for the fourth straight game. His one-yard TD run put the Patriots ahead 20-3 with 1:57 left, 15 seconds before the Bills scored their lone touchdown.

Buffalo managed just 58 yards in the second half en route to its fourth loss in five games since a 4-and-0 start.

The Bills are tied with Miami, which is above .500 for the first time since the end of the 2005 campaign.

Miami Dolphins 21, Seattle Seahawks 19

The Dolphins batted down a two-point conversion attempt with 2:57 remaining to secure a 21-19 win over Seattle. Ricky Williams rushed for a season-high 105 yards, including a 16-yard TD burst that put the Dolphins ahead 21-13.

Seneca Williams hit Koren Robinson for a three-yard TD with under three minutes remaining, but Yeremiah Bell knocked down Wallace’s two-point try after the Seahawks were penalized for a false start.

San Diego Chargers 20, Kansas City Chiefs 19

Kansas City coach Herman Edwards rolled the dice and lost in a 20-19 victory for San Diego. The Chiefs were in line to either tie or win after Tyler Thigpen tossed his third touchdown of the game, a three-yard pass to Tony Gonzalez with 29 seconds left. Edwards went for the win, but Thigpen missed Gonzalez on the conversion attempt.

Philip Rivers passed for 316 yards and two touchdowns as the Chargers improved to 4-and-5, a game behind first-place Denver in the AFC West.

Jacksonville Jaguars 38, Detroit Lions 14

Jacksonville is back in the winner’s circle after a 38-14 win over Detroit. Maurice Jones-Drew ran for a career-high three touchdowns in the second quarter alone. David Garrard threw for two scores in the second half as the Jags upped their record to 4-and-5.

The hapless Lions are 0-and-9 despite Daunte Culpepper, who played less than a week after signing with Detroit. He was 5-for-10 for 104 yards.

New York Giants 36, Philadelphia Eagles 31

The New York Giants took control of the tough NFC East with Sunday night’s 36-31 victory at Philadelphia. The defending Super Bowl champs are 8-and-1, including a 3-0 mark against division opponents.

The second-place Washington Redskins had a bye and slip two games off the pace, while the Eagles and Cowboys are three games back at 5-and-4. Dallas also was off this week.

Brandon Jacobs ran for 126 yards and scored the Giants’ final two touchdowns after the Eagles took a 24-20 lead in the third quarter.

Eli Manning passed for 191 yards and two touchdowns.

Philly QB Donovan McNabb threw for three scores but was just 17-of-36 for 194 yards.

Arizona Cardinals 29, San Francisco 49ers 24

The Arizona Cardinals have their first Monday night victory since moving to the desert 20 years ago.

Clark Haggans stopped Michael Robinson at the one yard line as time expired as the Cardinals held on to beat San Francisco 29-24 in Glendale.

Kurt Warner threw three touchdown passes for the 6-and-3 Cardinals including the go-ahead 5-yard scoring toss to Anquan Boldin with 4:16 remaining.

The 49ers grabbed the early lead when Allen Rossum returned the opening kickoff 104 yards for a touchdown. Sean Hill threw a pair of touchdown passes for the Niners who never trailed until Boldin’s go-ahead score.

Warner completed 32-of-42 for 328 yards and three TDs. Arizona improves to 6-and-3 and opens a four-game lead in the NFC West. It was the Cardinals’ sixth consecutive home victory and fourth this season.

Hill started for the benched J.T. O’Sullivan and completed 19-of-40 passes for 217 yards and two touchdowns. But he was picked off twice and lost a fumble.

The 49ers lose their sixth straight and fall to 2-and-7.

Cincinnati, Dallas, Washington and Tampa Bay all had bye weeks.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)