NEW YORK, 21 October 2003 — Daunte Culpepper threw for 277 yards and two touchdowns in the Minnesota Vikings’ 28-20 win over the Denver Broncos in Minneapolis on Sunday.

Culpepper showed no signs of rustiness after sitting out three Sundays with a bad back as the win saw the surprising Vikings, who were just 6-10 in 2002, improve to 6-0.

Culpepper connected with Kelly Campbell for an early 47-yard score, then found Randy Moss deep in Denver territory with time running out in the first half.

As Moss was going down, he flipped without looking to Moe Williams, who finished the 59-yard play.

Danny Kanell took over for error-prone Broncos starter Steve Beuerlein and rallied Denver with 10 fourth-quarter points.

“We said before the game this (Denver) is a character team,” said Vikings coach Mike Tice. “It takes 60 minutes to beat a character team.”

Cowboys 38 Lions 7

In Detroit, Quincy Carter found Terry Glenn three times for touchdowns as the Dallas Cowboys thumped the Lions 38-7 to improve to 5-1 after winning only five times last season.

Carter and Glenn hooked up for 20, 19 and eight-yard scores.

The Lions were held to a mere 74 pass yards, with Joey Harrington and Mike McMahon sharing time at quarterback.

Titans 37 Panthers 17

In Charlotte, North Carolina, the Tennessee Titans put up 17 first quarter points and coasted from there, downing the previously unbeaten Carolina Panthers (5-1) 37-17.

Quarterback Steve McNair got them going with a seven-yard touchdown run just over two minutes into the game and later threw for another score.

“We haven’t played well on the road,” said McNair. “Today was a big test for us.”

Jake Delhomme passed for two late Carolina touchdowns to make the score respectable.

Rams 34 Packers 24

In St. Louis, Marc Bulger hooked up with Torry Holt for 39 and nine-yard touchdowns and found Dane Looker for a third as the Rams led almost all the way to victory over the Packers.

Brett Favre threw for two Green Bay scores, finding Ahman Green and William Henderson.

Patriots 19 Dolphins 13 (OT)

In Miami, Tom Brady hooked up with Troy Brown for an 82-yard touchdown 5:45 into overtime to give the never-say-die New England Patriots a win over the Dolphins.

Brady, who is 6-0 in extra time, connected with David Givens late in the third period to tie the score at 13-13.

“That was unbelievable,” he said. “We were down and out a few times. What a great win.”

Eagles 14 Giants 10

In East Rutherford, New Jersey, Brian Westbrook returned a punt 84 yards with 1:16 on the clock to give the Philadelphia Eagles a 14-10 win over the New York Giants. He also got the Eagles’ first touchdown on a six-yard scamper. The hard-luck Giants had much the better of the play, outgaining the Eagles 339 yards to just 134.

Chargers 26 Browns 20

In Cleveland, LaDainian Tomlinson picked up 70 of his 200 rush yards on a third-quarter touchdown run as San Diego won for the first time this season, hanging on to beat the Browns.

Kelly Holcomb relieved the ineffective Tim Couch and threw for two fourth quarterback touchdowns to bring Cleveland close.

Bengals 34 Ravens 26

In Cincinnati, Jon Kitna threw for 45, 82 and 21-yard touchdowns as the Bengals outlasted Baltimore to give coach Marvin Lewis an emotional victory over his former team.

Rookie Kyle Boller threw for two Ravens scores, both times finding Travis Taylor. Baltimore rallied with 16 fourth-quarter points to make things interesting.

Saints 45 Falcons 17

In Atlanta, Aaron Brooks threw for three touchdowns and Deuce McAllister added two more on four and 10-yard runs as New Orleans sent the Falcons to their sixth straight loss.

Brooks completed all but seven of his 30 tosses for 352 yards, easily outdoing Kurt Kittner, who tossed for only 115 yards in his first start for the Falcons.

49ers 24 Buccaneers 7

In San Francisco, Jeff Garcia threw for two touchdowns and Garrison Hearst raced seven yards for another as the 49ers upset the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24-7.

Garcia hooked up with Tai Streets from 14 yards and Terrell Owens from 75. Hearst wound up with 117 yards on 20 carries. Brad Johnson found Keenan McCardell for Tampa’s only touchdown.

The Bucs are 3-3 in the season.

Bills 24 Redskins 7

In Buffalo, Travis Henry ran for a career-high 167 yards, including four and 14-yard touchdowns. Drew Bledsoe threw for another touchdown as the Bills thumped the Washington Redskins 24-7.

Patrick Ramsey found Rod Gardner for the Redskins’ lone score before leaving with a bruised right hand. He was replaced by ex-Bill Rob Johnson, who was jeered loudly.

Seahawks 24 Bears 17

In Seattle, Shaun Alexander scampered 25 yards with a minute to play to give the surprising Seahawks (5-1) a 24-17 win over the Chicago Bears.

Alexander put Seattle on the board with a one-yard run early in the second quarter.

The Bears came from 11 down in the last period to knot the score at 17-17 on Paul Edinger’s third field goal and Stanley Pritchett’s one-yard scoring run.

Jets 19 Texans 14

In Houston, the New York Jets rallied from an early 14-0 deficit to down the second-year Texans 19-14, giving the slow-starting Jets their second straight victory.

Stacey Mack scored twice for Houston before Vinny Testaverde found Santana Moss from 18 yards to get the Jets going.

New York took its first lead just 1:21 from the end, when LaMont Jordan burst up the middle from eight yards out.