Michael Vick was forced out in the first quarter with chest and rib injuries in his first start in front of the hometown crowd. Kevin Kolb, who was supposed to be McNabb’s successor all along, replaced Vick after losing his starting job because he got hurt in Week 1.
So, the McNabb-Vick showdown turned into the McNabb-Kolb matchup everyone originally anticipated. But this one didn’t live up to the hype.
Washington had 169 yards rushing, including 55 by Clinton Portis before he left with a groin injury. Ryan Torain had 70 yards rushing and one TD. McNabb threw just 19 passes, completing eight and getting intercepted once.
At Jacksonville, Florida, Josh Scobee’s 59-yard field goal on the final play gave Jacksonville a surprise win.
Scobee watched his kick clear the crossbar, then ripped off his helmet and started running toward the opposite end zone. His teammates finally caught up with him on the sideline, setting off a raucous celebration for a team desperate for a victory against its biggest rival.
It was the longest field goal in franchise history.
At Pittsburgh, Joe Flacco withstood Pittsburgh’s goal-line stand and go-ahead touchdown in the closing minutes to throw an 18-yard scoring pass to T.J. Houshmandzadeh with 32 seconds remaining to make certain the Steelers wouldn’t go unbeaten without Ben Roethlisberger.
The Steelers (3-1) took a 14-10 lead on Rashard Mendenhall’s 7-yard run midway through the fourth quarter, and appeared ready to win after turning away Baltimore on third- and fourth-down plays from the 2 with over two minutes remaining.
At St. Louis, Sam Bradford threw for 289 yards and two touchdowns, and Steven Jackson became the Rams’ second leading rusher as St. Louis won for the second week in a row — its first two-game winning streak in two years.
The rookie quarterback completed 23 of 41 passes with one interception as the Rams (2-2) ended a 10-game losing streak against Seattle (2-2) and topped their win total from last year.
At East Rutherford, New Jersey, the Giants knocked out Jay Cutler with a nine-sack first half, sent his replacement to the sideline late in the fourth quarter and limited the previously unbeaten Chicago to 110 total yards.
Ahmad Bradshaw rushed for 129 yards and a touchdown against a defense that had allowed 119 yards on the ground in its first three games and Lawrence Tynes kicked a 22-yard field goal as the Giants (2-2) snapped a two-game losing streak and beat the Bears (3-1), who had come into the game as the NFC’s last unbeaten team.
At Oakland, California, Arian Foster returned from an early game benching to score on a 74-yard run and a 10-yard catch in the second half to lead Houston.
Foster, a former practice squad player, has emerged as one of the biggest surprises of the NFL so far this season.
Despite entering the game as the league’s leading rusher, Foster was held out until midway through the second quarter in what the Texans (3-1) said was a “coach’s decision.”
At San Diego, Antonio Gates became the seventh tight end in NFL history with 500 catches, including touchdown receptions of 33 and 26 yards from Philip Rivers, to lead San Diego over the out manned Arizona.
It was a big day all around for San Diego (2-2). Rookie running back Ryan Mathews scored his first NFL touchdown on a 15-yard run late in the third quarter. Fullback Mike Tolbert ran 16 times for 100 yards — his first 100-yard game in three seasons — and one score. Gates had seven catches for 144 yards.
At Cleveland, Peyton Hillis rumbled for 102 yards and a touchdown, and Phil Dawson kicked three field goals as Cleveland finally held a fourth-quarter lead, surviving a big day by Terrell Owens for their first win.
The Browns (1-3) had lost their first three games by a total of 12 points, failing to finish down the stretch.
At New Orleans, John Carney hit three field goals to help New Orleans keep Carolina winless, just days after rejoining the Saints at age 46.
New Orleans (3-1) signed Carney last Tuesday, two days after Garrett Hartley had missed a 29-yard field goal in overtime in a 27-24 loss to Atlanta.
At Green Bay, Wisconsin, Charles Woodson returned an interception 48 yards for a touchdown as Green Bay narrowly held off a comeback by Detroit.
The Packers (3-1) led 28-14 after Woodson scored early in the third quarter, but the Lions rallied for four straight Jason Hanson field goals to cut the lead to two points in the fourth quarter. A final drive by the Packers ran out the clock.
At Atlanta, Matt Bryant kicked a 42-yard field goal with 2 seconds left to lift Atlanta over winless San Francisco.
The Falcons (3-1) got a big break to set up the winning points when receiver Roddy White forced the 49ers’ Nate Clements to fumble away an interception and keep Atlanta’s drive alive.
At Nashville, Tennessee, Kyle Orton threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Correll Buckhalter with 1:33 left as Denver rallied for the win.
The Broncos (2-2) clinched the game when they recovered a fumble by rookie Marc Mariani on the an ensuing short kickoff, and Matt Prater kicked his fourth field goal of the game to pad the lead.
At Orchard Park, New York, LaDainian Tomlinson had his best game in nearly two years, rushing for 133 yards and two touchdowns to lead New York over winless Buffalo.
Tomlinson had the 47th 100-yard game of his 10-year career — and first since he had 105 on Oct. 26, 2008, when he was with San Diego. With 12,831 yards rushing, Tomlinson also passed Tony Dorsett to move into seventh place on the NFL’s career list.
