ORCHARD PARK, N.Y., 9 November 2004 — Willis McGahee ran for 132 yards and a touchdown to lead the Buffalo Bills to a 22-17 victory over the New York Jets at Ralph Wilson Stadium. McGahee now has reached the 100-yard mark in all three of his starts, all won by the Bills (3-5). Drew Bledsoe completed 18-of-30 attempts for 184 yards and a score to rookie Lee Evans. Eric Moulds had seven catches for 85 yards for Buffalo, winners in three of their last four overall. Santana Moss caught six balls for 157 yards, including a 51-yard touchdown from Quincy Carter, for the Jets (6-2), who mustered just 84 yards in the second half. Carter was in for Chad Pennington, who hurt his throwing shoulder after getting sacked in the fourth quarter. Pennington was 7-of-15 for 141 yards with a touchdown and an interception, also losing a fumble. Curtis Martin was held to a season-low 67 yards on the ground on 19 carries.
In Cincinnati, Carson Palmer threw for 212 yards and a touchdown to lead the Bengals to a 26-3 win over the Dallas Cowboys at Paul Brown Stadium. In a battle of one-time Heisman Trophy winners and former first-overall draft picks, Palmer outplayed veteran Vinny Testaverde of the Cowboys. Palmer, in his second season and first as a starter, completed 21-of-32 passes and rushed for another score for the Bengals (3-5), who have won two of three. Testaverde, the 1986 winner of the Heisman, finished 18-of-30 for 207 yards with three interceptions for the Cowboys (3-5), who have lost four of five and fell into a tie with the Washington Redskins for last place in the NFC East. Chad Johnson seemed to win his family battle with cousin Keyshawn Johnson. Chad Johnson finished with eight catches for 74 yards, while Keyshawn had four catches for 58 yards, but fumbled once and had two passes thrown his way intercepted.
In Miami, Larry Fitzgerald caught a 48-yard pass to set up his two-yard touchdown reception with 19 seconds remaining, as the Arizona Cardinals rallied for a 24-23 victory over the Miami Dolphins in a wild finish between two of the NFL’s worst teams at Pro Player Stadium. The Cardinals (3-5) scored 21 second-half points to end a 17-game road-losing streak, also beating the Dolphins for the first time in nine all-time meetings.
In Tampa, Florida, Michael Pittman ran for 128 yards and a career-high three touchdowns as Tampa Bay came away with a wild 34-31 victory over Kansas City at Raymond James Stadium. Brian Griese completed 22-of-34 pass attempts for 296 yards and two scores to help the Buccaneers (3-5) record their third triumph in four games. Mark Clayton had five catches for 90 yards, while Ken Dilger had 47 yards receiving on five grabs, including a touchdown. Trent Green threw for 369 yards on 32-of-42 passing along with three touchdowns but was intercepted twice as the Chiefs (3-5) saw a two-game win streak come to an end.
In Charlotte, N.C., Sebastian Janikowski’s 19-yard field goal with six seconds remaining lifted the Oakland Raiders over the Carolina Panthers, 27-24, in a wild match-up between two struggling teams at Bank of America Stadium. Janikowski also kicked a 26-yard field goal, Tyrone Wheatley rushed for two scores and Amos Zereoue added a seven-yard touchdown run for Oakland (3-6), which snapped a five-game slide and a 14-game road losing streak. Kerry Collins completed 20-of-32 passes for 231 yards with one interception, while Wheatley carried the ball 19 times for 54 yards in the win.
In Detroit, Clinton Portis threw a touchdown pass to Laveranues Coles and Walt Harris returned a blocked punt for a score in the third quarter to lead Washington to a 17-10 win over Detroit at Ford Field. Portis also ran for 147 yards on 34 carries for the Redskins (3-5), while Mark Brunell completed just 6-of-17 passes for 58 yards. Joey Harrington completed 26-of-52 passes for 269 yards and a touchdown for the Lions (4-4), who have lost two straight and three of their last four.
In Pittsburgh, Ben Roethlisberger passed for 183 yards and two touchdowns, Hines Ward scored twice and the Pittsburgh Steelers rolled to a convincing 27-3 victory over Philadelphia for their second straight win against an undefeated opponent. Fresh off their streak-stopping victory over New England last week, the Steelers (7-1) avoided the dreaded letdown and led wire-to-wire in this one. Their offense and defense clicked, and there was little the Eagles (7-1) could do about it. Pittsburgh out-gained the Eagles 252-23 on the ground and 420-113 overall while holding the ball for 41 minutes and 49 seconds on offense.
In East Rutherford, New Jersey, Anthony Thomas ran for 110 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Chicago Bears to a come-from-behind 28-21 win over the New York Giants at Giants Stadium. Thomas carried the ball 28 times and capped a string of 28 consecutive points with a 41-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter that secured Chicago’s second straight win. Craig Krenzel, making just his second career start, finished 8-of-21 for 144 yards and a touchdown for the Bears (3-5), who fell behind 14-0 before rallying for the victory. Kurt Warner, a former two-time league MVP, went 18-of-36 for 195 yards with a touchdown, two interceptions and two fumbles for the Giants (5-3).
In San Francisco, Matt Hasselbeck threw for 285 yards and three touchdowns while Shaun Alexander rushed for 160 yards and two more scores as Seattle blasted struggling San Francisco, 42-27, in an NFC West battle at Monster Park. Darrell Jackson also recorded a pair of touchdowns for the Seahawks (5-3), who have won two in a row following a three-game slide. Hasselbeck finished 17- of-28 through the air, while Jackson snared five passes for 114 yards as Seattle rolled up 453 total yards. Tim Rattay completed 23-of-35 passes for 259 yards and a pair of scores for the 49ers (1-7), who have dropped four in a row.
Drew Brees threw four touchdown passes, including three to Antonio Gates, to lead San Diego to a 43-17 win over New Orleans at Qualcomm Stadium. Brees completed 22-of-36 passes for 257 yards for the Chargers (6-3), who have won three straight and five of their last six games, recording their highest point total since a 45-point performance against Miami in 1993. Gates finished with five catches for 56 yards. Aaron Brooks threw for 173 yards and one touchdown on 16-of-29 passing for the Saints (3-5), who have lost four of their last five.
In Denver, Jake Plummer threw for 234 yards and four touchdowns, as the Broncos pounded the Houston Texans, 31-13. Reuben Droughns added 120 yards on 29 carries for the Broncos (6-3), who snapped a two-game skid with the victory and remained tied with the San Diego Chargers atop the AFC West. The Chargers won big against the Saints on Sunday. The Texans (4-4) lost for just the second time in six games and fell back to .500. A victory for Houston would have tied its franchise record for wins in a season.
In St. Louis, Adam Vinatieri booted four goals and also threw a touchdown pass to lead the New England Patriots to a 40-22 victory over the St. Louis Rams at the Edward Jones Dome. Tom Brady completed 18-of-31 passes for 234 yards and two touchdowns for the Patriots (7-1), who rebounded from last week’s loss at Pittsburgh that snapped their NFL-record, 21-game winning streak. Corey Dillon returned to the lineup and rushed for 112 yards and a score on 25 carries. Mike Vrabel, Troy Brown and Bethel Johnson caught TD passes for the Patriots, who halted a four-game, regular-season losing streak against the Rams. David Givens had five receptions for 100 yards in the win. St. Louis quarterback Marc Bulger finished 23-of-33 for 285 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.
In Baltimore, Jamal Lewis returned from a two-game suspension and rushed for 81 yards and the go-ahead touchdown, as the Ravens topped the Cleveland Browns, 27-13. The Ravens’ dominant defense came up big as well in the waning seconds. With the Browns at Baltimore’s five-yard line hoping to score the game-tying touchdown, Ed Reed intercepted a tipped pass in the end zone and returned it an NFL-record 106 yards for a touchdown to seal the win. Lewis finished with 22 carries and scored on a two-yard run with just over seven minutes left in the game. The Ravens (5-3) rebounded from a loss at Philadelphia last week and gained some revenge against the Browns, who posted a 20-3 victory over Baltimore in Week 1. Cleveland (3-5) came off a bye week following an overtime loss to the Eagles.
