Favre's first game against his former team was all fun for the Minnesota Vikings and all frustration for the Packers, as the graying quarterback kept his cool and connected for three touchdown passes and 271 yards in a 30-23 victory on Monday night.

Favre went 24 for 31, without a turnover. He celebrated his first scoring toss with an awkward body bump with kicker Ryan Longwell, also a former Packers teammate, and showed plenty of emotion -- but also stayed poised in the pocket all night and mostly avoided risk.

"I don't know how to explain it. I felt right, but I guess I never thought I'd be in that situation," Favre said.

The Vikings (4-0) sacked Favre's replacement, Aaron Rodgers, eight times. Jared Allen was credited with 4½ of them, a career high, including a safety in the fourth quarter that stretched the lead to 16. Rodgers had his first two turnovers of the season, and Favre turned both of them into vintage touchdown passes in the first half.

"I definitely wanted to get this win for Brett," teammate Adrian Peterson said. "He downplayed it all week, but I just knew it meant a lot to him. I could see it in his eyes."

Favre hugged Rodgers, Donald Driver and several other Packers once the game was over. Rodgers tried to engineer the kind of drive his predecessor is famous for, but he came up short.

Favre also had plenty of time to throw throughout the game.

Rodgers had the exact opposite experience. He finished 26 for 37 for a career-high 384 yards, many of them in desperation down the stretch, and two touchdown passes.

The Vikings were relentless in their rush, particularly Allen on left tackle Daryn Colledge, who left in the third quarter with a right knee injury. Colledge moved from left guard two weeks ago when Chad Clifton got hurt.

Rodgers's receivers let him down, too, though. On fourth-and-goal at the 1 in the third quarter, Rodgers found tight end Donald Lee open in the end zone. But the ball bounced off Lee's chest and onto the turf, as Rodgers snapped his head back with his hands on the sides of his helmet.

Pink wristbands, cleats and sideline caps for breast cancer awareness gave the game a different look, but nothing altered the color scheme as much as Favre in purple. This was his sixth game with Minnesota, counting the preseason, but the sight of the guy who led Green Bay to a Super Bowl trophy and took only one losing record in 16 years there wearing the rival team's jersey was still strange.

This was a highly anticipated and heavily hyped game. Everybody in the stadium stood all the way through the Vikings' first possession, instead of sitting after the first few snaps like usual. Cameras flashed constantly.

Favre was clearly uncomfortable this week with all the attention on this reunion, trying to downplay the significance and stumbling through denials that his main motivation to unretire last year was revenge on general manager Ted Thompson for not letting him come back and compete for his old job with Rodgers.

"My statement has been what I've done over my career," Favre said. "One game does not define my career good or bad. I know what I've done. I'm proud of what I've done. I know I can play. I wanted to do what it takes to win."

One of the most excitable players football has ever seen, Favre's history in emotional games has been mixed. In 2003, on Monday night against Oakland after the death of his father, Favre threw for 399 yards and four touchdowns. In 1999, though, he went 14 for 35 with four interceptions in his first game against Mike Holmgren after the head coach took over in Seattle.

Favre said he felt on this night a lot like he did in that game after his dad died. He said he was as nervous as he could remember, once it dawned on him in the afternoon the significance of this matchup.

"It's why I play the game. It was fun. It never gets told to me, even though I do," he said.

The Packers (2-2) stuffed Peterson with their new 3-4 defense, holding him to 55 yards on 25 attempts and even turning one short gain directly into points. Rookie Clay Matthews joined a gang tackle and ripped the ball out, returning it 42 yards to tie the score at 14.

Favre trotted right out and took the Vikings down the field, though. He fired a 43-yard pass to Percy Harvin to give the Vikings first-and-goal at the 3, then caught a break when Charles Woodson's interception in the end zone was wiped out by a pass interference penalty. Replays showed Woodson making minimal, if any, contact with Sidney Rice, but Peterson plunged in for a touchdown on the next play to make it 21-14.

Then came an eight-play, 80-yard drive that stretched the lead to 14. Favre found Bernard Berrian wide open from 31 yards for the score, but the setup was more impressive. Favre had six or seven seconds to throw, and found backup tight end Jeff Dugan for a 25-yarder.

He popped up after that landing, and the Chicago Bears eventually took off, too. They weren't about to let a Lions win streak get off the ground.

Cutler threw two touchdown passes and ran for another, and the Bears pulled away in the second half to beat the Lions 48-24 on Sunday a week after Detroit snapped its 19-game slide.

His 5-yard dash early on sparked images of Elway's highlight reel run against Green Bay in the Super Bowl, yet Cutler dismissed the comparison to a legendary predecessor in Denver.

"If I could have just dove in there nice and quietly, I would have," Cutler said.

Instead, he had to earn it. So did the Bears.

Matt Forte ran for 121 yards, rookie Johnny Knox returned a kickoff 102 yards and Chicago headed into its bye with its third straight win.

The Lions were celebrating a victory over Washington that snapped a slide that matched the second-longest in league history a week earlier. This time, they were holding their breath after watching quarterback Matthew Stafford, the No. 1 draft pick, twist his right knee while being sacked in the fourth quarter.

"It just kind of slid out," said Stafford.

The Lions had a third down on the Bears 6 when Stafford was sacked by Adewale Ogunleye, forcing Detroit to kick a field goal that cut Chicago's lead to 34-24. Stafford had his leg wrapped and Daunte Culpepper replaced him on Detroit's next drive, a sobering sight for a team that has taken its share of blows over the years.

Stafford suffered a subluxation of his right knee in which his knee cap popped out of its normal position but popped back in, a Lions source told ESPN's Chris Mortensen. A series of X-rays and MRIs will determine if Stafford damaged any cartilage around the knee cap, but sources said such an injury is not normally a season-ender.

One medical source even suggested that Stafford could play next week with a brace, but that will be determined by the pain and stability of the knee. He also could miss a week or longer, pending more comprehensive tests.

Detroit's Calvin Johnson caught eight passes for 133 yards -- all but 14 of them in the first half, when he ran by Zack Bowman. The Bears put Charles Tillman on him in the second half and that helped before Johnson left late in the game with a leg injury but the nature and severity wasn't immediately known.

With a chance to put together consecutive wins for the first time since 2007, the Lions hung in for a half before Chicago (3-1) pulled away.

"I guess we've got to get punched in the face a couple times to realize we're in a fight," defensive end Ogunleye said.

A punch in the face was how the second half felt to the Lions. Coach Jim Schwartz called it "one of the worst" he's seen.

"We were poor on special teams, we were poor on offense, we were poor on defense, we were outcoached, we were outplayed, their trainers were probably better than ours in the second half," he said. "So credit goes to them."

Not that the Bears didn't also absorb some pain.

Devin Hester left with a shoulder injury in the second quarter and Knox injured his right shin in the second half, leaving them thin at wide receiver. Before he left the game, Knox did a spot-on impression of Hester when he ran 102 yards untouched up the right side to open the third quarter for the second-longest kickoff return in franchise history.

Forte broke off a 61-yard run that set up Chicago's first touchdown and added a 37-yard TD in the fourth quarter.

Robbie Gould kicked two field goals, including a career-high 52-yarder in the third quarter, and Tommie Harris set up an early touchdown with his first career interception and his first since "1982," he joked.

Stafford threw for 296 yards, but Detroit still hasn't put together consecutive wins since a 6-2 start in 2007.

Coach Rod Marinelli was let go at the end of last season after going 0-16. He's now the Bears' defensive line coach, and with 31 new players, he could be excused if he didn't recognize the team on the other side of the field.

What happened early had a familiar feel, though.

The Bears got off to another slow start, just as they did the first three games.

Cutler's wild flight to the end zone after a 61-yard dash by Forte was one bright -- and a little scary -- spot.

Hester was apparently injured after catching a short pass on second down with just under 12 minutes left. He tried to juke the Lions' Louis Delmas and William James, but instead took a hard hit. He quickly got up showing no obvious signs of an injury, and it wasn't clear which shoulder he hurt.

"We know how to finish a game. We need to start stronger and faster and all of that," coach Lovie Smith said. "But I'm proud of how the guys finished the game."

Game notes
Knox's kickoff return was second to Gale Sayers' 103-yarder at Pittsburgh on Sept. 17, 1967. ... Bears RB and special teams player Adrian Peterson left in the first quarter with a right knee injury. ... The Bears were without LBs Hunter Hillenmeyer (rib) and Pisa Tinoisamoa (knee). ... The Lions held out defensive tackle Sammie Lee Hill because of an ankle injury and defensive end Dewayne White with a hamstring injury.

Joe Flacco reached his target inside the Patriots 10-yard line and beyond the first-down marker, but Clayton didn't hold on with 28 seconds left. New England did -- eking out a 27-21 win over Baltimore on Sunday.

"Flat out drop," Clayton said. "It was a perfect ball. Joe put it on the money. To not come up with it is tough. It cost us the game."

The Ravens lost left tackle Jared Gaither after a collision that put him on his back for about 10 minutes before he was taken off the field on a stretcher midway through the second quarter. X-rays at Massachusetts General Hospital, where he had tests on his neck and shoulder, were negative.

Flacco fell onto Gaither's back as the quarterback was shoved by defensive end Ty Warren.

"We knew it wasn't serious," Baltimore coach John Harbaugh said. "We'll see how long he'll be out."

The Ravens failed on another fourth-down play on their next-to-last series as they tried to overcome the first scoring pass of the season from Tom Brady to Randy Moss and a 1-yard touchdown sneak by the quarterback.

On that fourth-and-1 at the Ravens 45-yard line, Warren stopped Willis McGahee for no gain with 5:09 remaining.

"That was quite a finish," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. "Stop them on fourth down twice in the fourth quarter, that's when you've got to be there. Luckily, we were."

But Ravens players thought McGahee had made the first down.

"The spots were terrible," Baltimore safety Ed Reed said.

Moss' touchdown made it 24-14 late in the third quarter, but Flacco's 13-yard scoring pass to McGahee cut that to 24-21. Stephen Gostkowski's 33-yard field goal gave the Patriots (3-1) a six-point lead midway through the fourth quarter.

After McGahee came up short, the Patriots punted and the Ravens (3-1) got the ball back with 5:09 left then moved to a fourth-and-4 at the 14.

"We thought we had them down, but they started coming back," Patriots running back Sammy Morris said. "It was just one of those tough slugfests."

The game was decided when Clayton dropped the ball and the Patriots ran out the clock as they kept their unbeaten record against the Ravens with their fifth win.

"We were confident," Baltimore wide receiver Derrick Mason said. "The defense did a great job of holding them and giving us the opportunity to put some points on the board."

Trailing 17-7 at halftime, the Ravens made it 17-14 when Terrell Suggs hit Brady for a sack and knocked the ball out of his right hand. Dwan Edwards recovered in the end zone for a touchdown with 6:19 left in the third quarter.

"We kind of had control of the game and then Suggs turned it around," Belichick said.

But Brady led the Patriots on their next possession, a 79-yard drive ending with his 14-yard touchdown pass to Moss.

Moss caught 23 scoring passes in 2007, his first season with Brady, who was sidelined for all of last season except for the first half of the first quarter of the opener.

The Ravens responded with an 80-yard drive, 50 on a run by Ray Rice, who finished with 103 yards on 11 carries, and the final 13 on the pass to McGahee.

"We gave up too many big plays and couldn't get off the field on third down," Patriots safety Brandon Meriweather said. "We did a lot of things that good defenses don't do."

The Patriots struck quickly after Brandon McGowan recovered Chris Carr's fumble as he returned the opening kickoff. That led to a 32-yard field goal by Gostkowski.

Flacco then led the Ravens on a 15-play, 81-yard drive capped by a 20-yard scoring pass to Mason, who had six catches for 77 yards on the series.

The Patriots went ahead 10-7 on the next series with a 1-yard sneak by Brady.

"Head-to-head with Ray Lewis, I certainly wasn't thinking of that one going to bed last night," he said.

The Patriots made it 17-7 with 3:57 left in the half on Morris' 12-yard run.

Lewis complained about rushing the passer penalties that helped the drives on which Brady and Morris scored.

"Without totally going off the wall here, it is embarrassing to the game," Lewis said. "Brady is good enough to make his own plays, let him make the play."

The Ravens then drove from their 20 to the Patriots 17 with a chance to cut the deficit to 17-14 at halftime. But Leigh Bodden intercepted Flacco's pass at the 9.

Game notes
Brady completed 21-of-32 passes for 258 yards, one TD and no interceptions. Flacco went 27-for-47 for 264 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. ... Moss' touchdown was his 137th, breaking a tie with Marshall Faulk and moving into sixth place in NFL history. ... Suggs set a club record with 437 sack yards on the sack that resulted in a touchdown. ... Baltimore held its 39th straight opponent without a 100-yard rusher, the longest current streak in the NFL. ... Patriots WR Wes Welker returned after missing two games with a knee injury and had five catches.

"We came here to play for a win," Carson Palmer said. "Nothing else."

These Bengals have lost long enough.

After Palmer and his teammates convinced their coach to gamble on fourth-and-11 with just over one minute left, Palmer scrambled for 15 yards to set up Shayne Graham's 31-yard field goal on the final play of overtime, giving Cincinnati a 23-20 victory over the winless Cleveland Browns on Sunday.

The last-minute Bengals (3-1), whose four games have all gone down to the wire, faced a fourth-and 11 at Cleveland's 41 with 1:04 left. Lewis was content to play for the tie, but when the Browns called a timeout, it gave the Bengals a chance to lobby their coach.

They made a persuasive argument.

Palmer dropped back to pass, and seeing his receivers were covered downfield, tucked it away and ran up the middle for the first down. Cincinnati then ran two plays to get Graham in position, and the kicker, who had an extra point and field goal blocked by nose tackle Shaun Rogers, booted the winner.

"Marvin was saying we're going to punt," Palmer said of his sideline negotiation with Lewis. "I said I think we can get this. That's why Marvin's great. He listens to people around him. Most coaches, once they make up their mind, they make up their mind.

"That's why you love playing for a guy like Marvin. Your opinion does matter."

Defensive end Robert Geathers returned a fumble 75 yards for a TD for Cincinnati, which is tied with Baltimore for first in the AFC North. The Bengals visit the Ravens next Sunday.

After three lopsided losses under first-year coach Eric Mangini, the Browns (0-4) came in hoping to be competitive and were that and more. They outplayed the Bengals for three quarters but came up short and had their losing streak extended to 10 games dating to last season.

"Nobody's happy," said quarterback Derek Anderson, who provided a huge spark in his first start this season. "We lost. Nobody's happy we went to overtime and played it to the last 10 seconds. That's not what we're here for."

Palmer, who rallied the Bengals to a comeback win over the Super Bowl champion Steelers last week, finished 23 of 44 for 230 yards. He threw two TD passes to Chad Ochocinco, who only had three catches but made the most of them.

"The whole thing keeping me going is No. 9," Ochocinco said of Palmer, who missed 12 games last season with an elbow injury. "He's so confident in the huddle. The way he has been the last two weeks is unbelievable. Especially the situations we've been in."

Browns running back Jerome Harrison, filling in for the injured Jamal Lewis, had 121 yards on 29 tries. Josh Cribbs had 223 return yards, but couldn't do enough to end Cleveland's losing slide.

"There's no sugarcoating it," wide receiver Braylon Edwards said. "You can say it's something to build on, but it hurts. To have the wind knocked out of you at the end, it definitely hurts."

Just like last week, Palmer was at his best with the stakes at their highest.

He completed two third-and-10 passes on Cincinnati's final drive, hooking up on a 20-yarder to Chris Henry over the middle and then another one to Laveranues Coles. But it was his decision to take off and run for the game's biggest first down that will be remembered.

If that play had backfired, the Browns would have gotten the ball back near midfield with a chance to win and Lewis, who has the Bengals off to their best start since 2006, would have been second-guessed for weeks.

"It's a great call because we had nothing to lose," running back Cedric Benson said. "It's either a tie or a loss, and a tie is pretty much a loss anyway."

On his clutch run, Palmer ran as far as he needed and plopped down.

"I don't want to do that anymore," he joked. "Let Cedric do that."

Anderson, making his first start since Mangini benched Brady Quinn, completed 26 of 48 passes for 269 yards, threw a 2-yard TD pass to Steve Heiden and ran for a score. Rookie Mohamed Massaquoi had eight catches for 148 yards.

As usual Anderson had some bad moments. He threw an interception in the end zone with the Browns down 14-7, but later atoned for it with his TD run that tied it 14-all.

"I was really happy with him," Mangini said of Anderson. "He made a lot of nice throws."

The Bengals did nothing on offense for three quarters and then suddenly awakened with a possible loss looming.

After gaining 156 yards in the first quarter, Cincinnati went seven straight possessions without picking up a first down and the Bengals found themselves trailing 20-14. Palmer then drove for what looked to be a go-ahead score when he hit Ochocinco from 2 yards with 1:55 left to tie it 20-20.

The Bengals were seemingly on the verge of another dramatic win, but Graham's extra point was blocked by Rogers, who deflected a 23-yard field goal attempt in the first.

Cincinnati was forced into overtime, continuing a run of nail-biters Palmer would like to see end soon.

"It'd be nice to go up by a couple scores and drink some Gatorade as we take a knee at the end," he said.

Game notes
Browns WR Mike Furrey played both ways, including safety in certain defensive packages. ... Edwards did not have a reception for the first time in 62 career games. ... The Bengals narrowly avoided their second tie in two seasons. They played Philadelphia to a 13-13 draw on Nov. 16. ... Rogers has 13 career blocked field goals and two blocked PATs.

Instead, the defense got to celebrate its best performance since 2004 as the Texans beat the struggling Oakland Raiders 29-6 on Sunday. The 165 yards Houston allowed was the second fewest in team history and the fewest since giving up 126 in a win over Jacksonville almost five years ago.

"Everybody was having fun," defensive end Antonio Smith said. "When you're having fun you have confidence in what you do. You don't second-guess. You don't pull up when you can [go full speed] and that's when you make big plays."

Steve Slaton scored two touchdowns and Jacoby Jones returned a kickoff for a score to help out in the win.

The Texans (2-2) finally found their running game and figured out a way to shut down someone else's as Houston's NFL-worst defense held the Raiders (1-3) to 45 yards rushing. The Texans were allowing 205 yards rushing entering the game.

Houston also forced three turnovers and got its first safety in almost seven years.

The Texans got the win despite struggling with some illnesses. They had the NFL's first confirmed case of swine flu earlier this week in tight end Anthony Hill. Houston had some other players get sick on Saturday night and Sunday morning, but did not confirm any other cases of swine flu.

Safety Eugene Wilson sat out with an illness and running back Chris Brown was available but not feeling well and didn't play. Linebacker Xavier Adibi was also ill but played on special teams.

"Eugene got very sick last night, it continued through this morning, so there was no way he could play," coach Gary Kubiak said. "We're monitoring the situation. It's something that's hit us in the past four days and we just have to work through it."

Offense lineman Eric Winston said Wilson was so sick he "could barely walk."

When asked if the illnesses were more cases of swine flu, Kubiak said: "I don't want to speculate on any of that ... but it was kind of scary this morning, to be honest with you."

The Raiders continued to struggle, with JaMarcus Russell completing 12 of 33 passes for 128 yards and Darren McFadden finishing with six carries for minus-3 yards rushing.

"We could not run the football and that really disrupted our offense," Raiders coach Tom Cable said. "We are really killing ourselves -- we're shooting ourselves in the foot all over the place."

Slaton's first score came on a 32-yard run in the second quarter that pushed Houston's lead to 13-3. It was the Texans' first rushing score this season. Slaton finished with 65 yards rushing and Ryan Moats added 56.

Slaton scored again on an 18-yard catch-and-run that made it 20-3 later in the second quarter. That score was set up by a career-long 44-yard reception by Owen Daniels.

Oakland's first turnover came when DeMeco Ryans stripped the ball from Michael Bush and it was recovered by Antonio Smith in the third quarter. The Texans couldn't capitalize.

But Andre' Davis downed the punt at the 1 and rookie Brian Cushing tackled Justin Fargas in the end zone for a safety to make it 22-6. It was Houston's first safety since the inaugural season of 2002.

Jones ran 95 yards untouched on the ensuing kickoff for his first career kickoff return touchdown. He's returned two punts for scores in his career.

Mario Williams got to Russell in the fourth quarter and forced a fumble that Houston recovered on the 20. The Texans came away empty when Kris Brown's 33-yard field goal attempt sailed wide left.

The Raiders were upset about several dropped passes.

"We kept ourselves in third-and-long situations," Russell said. "We keep harping on that it's a must that we stay in manageable downs."

Houston had a chance for another score near the end of the first half, but Matt Schaub was intercepted by Chris Johnson in the end zone. Schaub was 11 of 22 for 224 yards and a touchdown.

The Raiders added a field goal late in the second quarter to cut the lead to 20-6. That drive was kept alive when Russell found Louis Murphy for a 19-yard reception on fourth-and-9.

A 62-yard reception by Andre Johnson got Houston to the 7 in the first quarter and Brown's 26-yard field goal made it 3-0. Oakland tied it with a 46-yard field goal by Sebastian Janikowski after a fumble by Slaton in the first quarter.

Brown added a 34-yard field goal in the second quarter.

Game notes
Johnnie Lee Higgins muffed a punt late in the fourth quarter that the Texans recovered and then ran out the clock. ... Raiders T Cornell Green has a calf injury, S Tyvon Branch has a groin injury and TE Zach Miller has a concussion. Cable didn't provide any more information on the injuries.

The clock-beating drives, the milestones, the victories are all part of his weekly routine again. Not even those opponents trying to play keep-away can foil the three-time MVP these days.

Manning led the Colts to touchdowns on four of their first five drives Sunday, tied league marks established by Fran Tarkenton and Dan Marino and extended Indianapolis' regular-season winning streak to 13 with a 34-17 victory over Seattle.

"We played greatness today," Seattle coach Jim Mora said. "He's one of the finest of all times."

For Manning, whose trophy case already includes three MVP awards and a Super Bowl ring, it's been possibly his most impressive start in 12 NFL seasons.

On Sunday, he was 31 of 41 for 353 yards, marking the first time Manning has topped 300 yards in four consecutive games. It's also a franchise record.

By that point, Manning had already reached two other milestones. His first TD pass went to Reggie Wayne for a 5-yard score, making Manning and Marino the only quarterbacks in league history to throw 55 TD passes to two different receivers. Manning threw 112 TDs to Marvin Harrison.

The second TD pass, a 21-yarder to rookie Austin Collie after a brilliant audible, put Manning alongside Tarkenton for No. 3 on the NFL's career list. Both have 342, trailing only Marino (420) and Brett Favre (469).

That accomplishment came with a personal touch.

"Fran and my dad are friends and my dad has told me great stories about Fran Tarkenton," Manning said. "He was a unique player."

Manning's amazing efficiency is his signature trait.

In the first half, only three of Manning's 20 passes hit the ground -- one was a throwaway, one was batted at the line and one was overthrown.

Seattle (1-3), which was again missing quarterback Matt Hasselbeck (rib) and left tackle Walter Jones (knee), didn't have the firepower to avoid losing its third straight -- or keeping up with Manning's efficiency.

"With our situation being what it is, it's going to be tough until we get back to full strength," Seahawks coach Jim Mora said. "We have a small margin for error, and we made some errors."

Manning wasted no time in taking advantage.

He gave the ball to rookie Donald Brown for a 1-yard scoring run to make it 7-0. Two series later, Manning hooked up with Wayne for a 14-0 lead with 5:29 left in the half.

Seattle got on the scoreboard with a 38-yard field goal, but left Manning with 1 minute, 22 seconds to go -- too much time to score. Manning took the Colts 78 yards in 79 seconds, with a nifty throw-and-catch to Collie with 3 seconds left.

"With 9 seconds left, you look at some things and you may not try that with a more inexperienced quarterback," Colts coach Jim Caldwell said. "But this guy has been around a long time and he knows how to take care of the ball."

The Colts sealed the outcome with Joseph Addai's 12-yard run midway through the fourth quarter, two field goals from Adam Vinatieri and a solid defensive performance that limited Seattle to just 49 yards rushing.

Seneca Wallace, Hasselbeck's replacement, got Seattle into the end zone twice in the final three minutes and was 33 of 45 for 257 yards with one TD, two lost fumbles and five sacks -- one by Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney who wasn't even expected to play Sunday.

Manning made sure they never had a chance.

"Our guys are doing a great job of catching that ball and getting yards after the catch," he said. "I'd say as a group, we might be doing that as well as we've done. That sure does make drives a lot more efficient when you're throwing 7 yards and getting 20 yards out of it."

Game notes
Seahawks guard Rob Sims sprained his left ankle and defensive end Patrick Kerney pulled his groin and will be evaluated Monday. ... Colts left tackle Charlie Johnson hurt his knee during the game and did not return. ... Edgerrin James had four carries for 16 yards in his return to Indy, where fans applauded loudly the first time he touched the ball and again when a video tribute was shown between the third and fourth quarters. Afterward he and his ex-teammates took pictures together.

David Garrard threw for 323 yards and three touchdowns, two to Mike Sims-Walker, and the Jaguars dismantled the Tennessee Titans 37-17 on Sunday.

Garrard shredded Tennessee's injury depleted secondary, often picking on rookie cornerback Jason McCourty, and Jacksonville's defense forced four punts and three turnovers in Tennessee's first eight possessions. The result was a 30-3 lead in the third quarter that had the Titans (0-4) searching for answers.

"Being at a loss for words is a good way to put it," linebacker Keith Bulluck said. "We're obviously not playing good football. This is the fourth week, and the last three I used up my excuses for what's going on?"

Announced attendance was 49,014 at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium, the second straight home game blacked on local television. Owner Wayne Weaver said earlier in the week he would consider playing some future games in nearby Orlando -- a wake-up call to fans.

Weaver can only hope his team's performance will spark ticket sales. The Jaguars (2-2) certainly put on an offensive show for the second time in as many games. Jacksonville beat Houston 31-24 a week ago.

Garrard and Sims-Walker starred in this one.

Garrard completed 27 of 37 passes, the latest quarterback to burn the NFL's 29th-ranked pass defense. The Titans had an excuse in this one: They played without cornerback Cortland Finnegan (hamstring) and nickel back Vincent Fuller (forearm). Clearly, the Jaguars took notice.

A team built to run the ball, Jacksonville threw early and often -- even without starting tackles Eugene Monroe (illness) and Eben Britton (knee). Garrard dropped back to pass 27 times in the first half, and the Jags called seven running plays.

"We knew they were going to stack the box and try to stop Maurice [Jones-Drew]," Sims-Walker said. "We just took advantage of that. It's about time. We knew we were capable of doing it. It's just time we did it."

Sims-Walker finished with seven catches for 91 yards. He had a 9-yard TD reception in the second quarter and a 15-yarder with 27 seconds remaining in the half that made it 27-3.

It could have been worse for Tennessee, too.

Kerry Collins threw an interception on the ensuing possession, and Gerald Alexander returned it to the 26-yard line -- well inside Josh Scobee's field-goal range. But Garrard was sacked for an 11-yard loss, and Scobee missed a 55-yarder as time expired.

Collins completed 29 of 48 passes for 284 yards, with a touchdown and two interceptions. He hooked up with Nate Washington for a 14-yard score late in the third quarter, cutting the lead to 30-9, but it was too little, too late.

"When you're in a situation like this, every man has to take it upon himself to figure out what he needs to do," Collins said. "As a team, collectively, we need to come together and not listen to the criticism from the outside and keep believing in what we're doing."

That might be tough, even though coach Jeff Fisher surely will remind everyone about the 2002 team that started 1-4 and still made the AFC title game.

Tennessee, which has as many losses (four) as it had all of last season, looks to be headed in the wrong direction. It's quite a turnaround for a franchise that started 10-0 in 2008 and earned home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs.

"We can't put a finger on what's wrong and we don't want to point fingers at each other," defensive end Jevon Kearse said. "Whatever we're doing, we're doing as a team. We've been losing together, but we've been doing it as a team. There's a lot of stuff we need to do that we haven't been doing yet."

Just about everything went Jacksonville's way Sunday.

Marcedes Lewis caught four passes for 76 yards, including a 33-yard TD reception in the fourth. Rookie Mike Thomas picked up first downs running and receiving, and set up two touchdowns with long returns. His 34-yard punt return set up Jones-Drew's 9-yard TD run in the first quarter, and his 42-yard kickoff return set up Garrard's first TD pass to Sims-Walker.

Jacksonville's defense came up big, too. The unit held Chris Johnson to 83 yards on 16 carries, kept steady pressure on Collins and finished with three turnovers. The Titans have 11 turnovers in four games, the main reason they're still winless.

"This was a big step for us," Jaguars defensive tackle John Henderson said. "We grew. We trusted in each other and played good football."

Henderson also had a message for fans.

"Just believe in us," he said. "Come on out and get some tickets and just believe in us."

Game notes
Jags WR Torry Holt caught three passes for 42 yards, giving him 884 career receptions and moving him into 10th place on the NFL's all-time list. ... Collins has 38,307 yards passing for his career, placing him 12th on the NFL's all-time list. ... Jags CB Scott Starks strained a groin muscle early and didn't return.

 All the New York Giants quarterback did was drop back to pass, something he's done how many thousands of times?

Suddenly, he felt pain in his right heel. He stayed in for one more play, a short pass to Hakeem Nicks which the rookie turned into a beauty of a 54-yard touchdown play in a 27-16 victory over Kansas City.

But now Manning and the Giants will have to wait and see if a worrisome bruised right heel will let him play next Sunday against Oakland.

"It was a noncontact. It just happened into the drop," said Manning, who threw for 292 yards and three touchdowns as the Giants (4-0) won their third road game in a row. "It was the play before the touchdown, where I had Steve Smith deep and threw it a little short."

Manning was replaced by David Carr, but said he expects to be ready for the next game.

"I always assume I'm going to play, that I'm going to be out there," he said. "I've always been a pretty quick healer. I'll be doing everything I can possibly do this week to get healthy and prepared to play Oakland. We'll find out more tomorrow. I can walk around and move around, but there is some discomfort."

Manning threw threw two scoring passes to Smith, who totaled 134 yards on 11 catches, as the Chiefs (0-4) lost for the 27th time in 29 games.

"We've got to stick together as a team, which I think our guys are doing very well," said Chiefs coach Todd Haley. "We've got to pull together and start becoming a team much like that team across the field from us today."

In the final minutes, Matt Cassel threw two short scoring passes that made the final score unreflective of how badly the Giants outplayed their hapless hosts.

From the first quarter, when Jamaal Charles fumbled the opening kickoff and Manning converted it into a quick TD, this battle between occupants of opposite ends of the NFL standings never seemed in doubt. After going 0-for-11 in third-down conversions the week before against Philadelphia, the Chiefs were 2-for-15.

"Change is not fun," said Haley. "We've got to be better in all areas."

The Chiefs have lost their first four games for the first time since 1980.

A 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty on safety Jarrad Page for a hit on Smith helped put the Giants in position for their second TD, Manning's 25-yard pass to Smith.

Lawrence Tynes, a former Chief, kicked field goals of 25 and 40 yards for New York.

Bryan Kehl, who recovered Charles' fumble of the opening kickoff, was again in the right spot when the Chiefs tried an onside kick to open the second half. He pounced on the ball and a few minutes later, Tynes' 40-yarder put the Giants on top 20-3 with 10:22 left in the third quarter.

Ryan Succop kicked a 33-yard field goal in the first quarter for the Chiefs, but that was the end of their scoring until Cassel's 1-yard scoring pass to Sean Ryan late in the fourth quarter. With 4:54 left, Cassel tossed a 2-yard TD pass to Bobby Wade.

Brandon Jacobs had 92 yards on 21 carries for the Giants, who rolled up 429 yards while holding the Chiefs to 193.

Giants coach Tom Coughlin said Manning could not have stayed in the game.

"Not at that point. He didn't leave the bench, so I'm sure whatever is going to be done is going to be here from here on out," Coughlin said. "I think he's going to be sore. I really don't know a whole more than that."

Game notes
Chiefs are in the middle of a four-week section through the NFC East, with Dallas and Washington to go. ... Giants' two first-quarter turnovers were their first in three games. ... Giants and Seattle are the only teams to play three straight on the road this year.

LANDOVER, Md. -- Within the first two minutes, the Washington Redskins had given up two sacks and lost a fumble.

They had also allowed a quarterback making his first NFL start to throw for a touchdown on his first pass of the game. By halftime, they were down 10 to a winless team, and Jason Campbell had thrown two interceptions.

Forget all that talk about whether Jim Zorn would last the season. For a while, one had to wonder whether the booing fans would allow the coach, his quarterback and the rest of the team back on the field for the start of the second half.

Spurred by an interception by DeAngelo Hall, the Redskins found some of the energy, life and momentum that had been missing all season. They rallied to score on three straight possessions in the third quarter Sunday and beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 16-13.

"At halftime, I was like, if we don't pull this one out, I don't know what I'm going to do on Monday," Campbell said. "I might as well hibernate."

It was another narrow win over a bad team, much like the 9-7 ugly result against the St. Louis Rams that felt more like a loss two weeks ago. But Washington (2-2) nevertheless has a .500 record, and that doesn't look so bad in print -- especially after last week's sky-is-falling loss to the Detroit Lions.

"It's a good feeling because of what we had to go though all week, hearing all those things about losing to Detroit and all that stuff," defensive end Phillip Daniels said. "So it's a great feeling just to be 2-2."

The loss left Buccaneers rookie coach Raheem Morris still seeking his first NFL victory, but it's not as if Tampa Bay (0-4) didn't finally have its chance after three double-digit losses to start the season.

Mike Nugent missed two first-half field goals and was 0 for 4 on the season until making a 37-yarder on the final play of the half, and Aqib Talib's three interceptions lose some of their glow because he was beaten down the right sideline on the 59-yard pass from Campbell to Santana Moss that gave the Redskins the lead for good.

"I bet he'd give the other three back for that one," Morris said.

Campbell finished 12 for 22 for 170 yards with two touchdown passes and three interceptions. He claimed it was the first three-interception game of his entire football life -- including Pee-Wee ball.

"It was really frustrating for us all. I started looking at the game plan, wondering: What else could go wrong?" Zorn said. "It was, offensively, like two different halves."

Nimble second-year quarterback Josh Johnson went 13-for-22 for 106 yards with one touchdown and one interception for the Bucs. He also ran seven times for 41 yards.

"The young kid didn't do a bad job at all for it being a hostile environment like this," said Cadillac Williams, who ran for 77 yards on 16 carries. "We can't do nothing but go up from here; we're 0-4. That's how we've got to look at it."

Johnson threw an 8-yard scoring pass to Antonio Bryant just 120 seconds into the game, but that was Tampa Bay's only touchdown. The Redskins, who entered the game last in the NFL in third-down defense, allowed the Bucs to convert just 2-of-13 on Sunday.

"I mean, it was just one of those things: Look, we're at a point in the season where ... we had to stand up," said defensive coordinator Greg Blache, who gave his players an unusually emotional Saturday night speech. "We had to change. We had to draw a line in the dirt."

Publicly, Blache had promised a "riverboat gambler" and "maverick" approach to the defense this week, but he said he didn't blitz or take any more chances than usual.

"Sometimes," he said, "you just make 'em think it. You put the clothes on and look the part."

Game notes
The Redskins had to use place-kicker Shaun Suisham as their punter after Hunter Smith injured his groin on the first punt of the game. Suisham, who hadn't punted since high school, had three punts for a 26.7-yard average. Smith said he's not sure if he'll be able to play next week. ... Tampa Bay's Ronde Barber blocked an extra point. ... Bucs DE Gaines Adams had an impressive stat line: five tackles, one sack, two thrown-for-loss tackles, one quarterback hurry, one deflected pass and one fumble recovery. ... Nugent hit the right upright with his first attempt, a 49-yarder, and was also wide right from 48 yards. "I'm here to do one thing," Nugent said, "and I just clearly and obviously didn't do it today."

The Miami Dolphins finally won at keepaway, rushing for 250 yards and controlling the ball for 37 minutes to earn their first victory by beating hapless Buffalo 38-10.

One week after being held without a catch, Owens was limited to 60 yards receiving. That was far from the only problem for the Bills (1-3), who struggled to block and tackle as they lost their third game in a row.

"We just have to go back to the drawing board," a subdued Owens said. "We're a couple of plays from being 3-1 or 4-0. We just have to execute as a team, and obviously we haven't done that."

Miami came into the game 0-3 despite a strong running attack and an 11-minute edge per game in time of possession, and the grinding ground game finally paid off.

With quarterback Chad Henne making his first NFL start, the Dolphins mounted scoring drives of 65, 66 and 65 yards. They were 11-for-19 on third- and fourth-down conversions -- a category in which they already led the league.

"That's what we want to do -- pound the ball and wear guys down," tackle Jake Long said. "It starts up front, and our running backs were relentless and bulling through people."

Henne, a second-year pro, shook off six sacks and managed the game well in his first start replacing Chad Pennington, sidelined by a season-ending shoulder injury. Henne finished 14-for-22 for 115 yards and no turnovers, and he threw his first NFL touchdown pass, a 5-yarder to rookie Brian Hartline.

"It's definitely a great feeling," Henne said. "Overall we did a wonderful job. Everybody deserves credit for this win."

Wildcat success helped Henne. The Dolphins used the formation nine times for 58 yards, including a 38-yard run by Ronnie Brown, their longest gain this season. Brown ran for 115 yards and two touchdowns, and Ricky Williams added 85 and one score.

"Those 30- and 40-yard runs add up quickly," Bills defensive end Ryan Denney said.

They added up to a 28-point margin of victory, Miami's largest since Sept. 8, 2002.

The injury-plagued Bills gave up 31 points in a 24-minute span while their offense sputtered throughout. Trent Edwards was sacked six times and intercepted three times, with rookie Vontae Davis scoring on a 23-yard return.

The Bills have lost eight consecutive games against AFC East opponents. Of more immediate concern, they have been outscored 65-17 in the past two games.

"This is an embarrassing day," defensive end Chris Kelsay said.

Owens had a 4-yard reception on the first play from scrimmage and caught a long pass for a 39-yard gain to set up a field goal. But for the most part Buffalo struggled to exploit a Miami secondary that had given up big plays in bunches.

Cornerback Will Allen intercepted a pass intended for Owens to set up a touchdown. With Joey Porter out because of a hamstring injury, Dolphins newcomer Cameron Wake picked up the pass-rushing slack and had his first three NFL sacks.

"Winning feels good whether I get two sacks, 25 sacks or zero sacks," Wake said.

The Bills were 1-for-11 on third-down conversions. Marshawn Lynch, playing for the first time this season following a suspension, was held to 4 yards rushing in eight carries.

The Dolphins, who totaled 43 points in their three losses, took control by scoring five times in the second and third quarters. The Bills hardly had the ball during that stretch -- even a 27-yard TD drive by the Dolphins took five minutes.

Miami's first touchdown came quickly, though. On the first play following a field goal, Davis stepped in front of a pass intended for Josh Reed to make the interception and score untouched.

"I was surprised," Davis said. "I saw the football and went, 'wow.' I just knew I had to catch it."

It was Miami's first interception this season.

"That throw shouldn't have been made, to be honest," Edwards said. "If I was able to see, him I wouldn't throw it again."

Game notes
Dolphins LB Jason Taylor hurt his right shoulder in the first quarter but returned to the game and had two sacks. ... Miami had 17 first downs rushing to none for the Bills. ... Buffalo has given up 472 yards rushing in the past two games. ... Hartline's first career TD reception was the first scoring catch by a Miami wideout this season. ... Edwards threw to Owens seven times.

The NFL's active leader in career interceptions added two more against rookie Mark Sanchez, returning one a club-record 99 yards for a touchdown to help the unbeaten Saints hand the New York Jets their first loss of the season, 24-10 on Sunday.

Sharper's trademark shoulder-shaking celebrations are becoming a symbol of a defense that can now take credit for leading New Orleans to victory after taking the blame for the Saints' failure to make the playoffs the past two seasons.

The 12-year veteran's five interceptions -- two of which he has returned for scores -- have helped the Saints start 4-0 for the first time since 1993.

"Sharp's been a great addition," Saints quarterback Drew Brees said. "You look at his productivity here over the first four games ... that's pretty impressive."

Brees added: "The defense played outstanding once again."

The victory ensured the Saints, who have a bye week coming up, would still be unbeaten when they host the New York Giants on Oct. 18. The Giants (4-0) host struggling Oakland next weekend, giving them a good shot at remaining undefeated as well.

The Jets-Saints matchup drew a lot of attention not only because it was the weekend's only game between unbeaten teams, but also because it pitted a fearsome defense designed by Jets coach Rex Ryan against the Saints' league-leading offense, driven by Brees' prolific passing and the creative playcalling of coach Sean Payton.

New York (3-1) stopped the Saints twice on fourth-and-short and held Brees to 190 yards passing and no touchdowns. After averaging 40 points through their first three games, the Saints didn't score an offensive touchdown until Pierre Thomas barreled in from a yard out with 6:07 left. Yet that was enough for two-touchdown win.

"It's not about one side of the ball versus the other," Payton said, seemingly annoyed by all the attention given to the matchup of his offense and Ryan's defense. "All three phases are needed to win football games and I thought we did that today."

One week after rushing for 126 yards and two scores in a victory at Buffalo, Thomas was the Saints' offensive leader again. He rushed for 86 yards and caught four short passes for 46 yards. The Saints rushed for 153 yards as a team.

"The Saints outplayed us today," Ryan said. "They forced a lot of turnovers and scored with them. You've got to give them a lot of credit. They ran the ball pretty effectively against us as well."

In his first loss as a pro, the Jets' Sanchez completed 14 of 27 passes for 138 yards and was sacked four times. That still might have been good enough if not for his four turnovers. Saints cornerback Randall Gay also intercepted Sanchez inside the final two minutes, allowing New Orleans to run out the clock.

"My mistakes killed us. They absolutely killed us," Sanchez said. "The defense played well enough to win. That whole game is 10-10 without three interceptions and a fumble. You turn the ball over like that in this league, and you can't win."

While Brees and the Saints' league-leading offense were held to only three points through the first three quarters, the big plays by New Orleans' less-heralded defense gave the Saints an early lead.

Sanchez had driven the Jets impressively to the Saints' 15 early in the second quarter when Sharper anticipated an attempted touchdown pass, picking it off at the 1 and easily running it back for his second long touchdown return of the season to make it 10-0.

"When I caught it, I kind of stopped and just started running real slow because I wanted to see what was around me," Sharper said. "Then I said, 'Why don't I turn on the speed a little bit to show people I can still run.'"

Only two weeks earlier, Sharper had a 97-yard interception for a score at Philadelphia to tie the club record. Sharper now has 10 career TDs on interception returns, leaving him second all-time in that category, two behind retired former Pittsburgh star Rod Woodson.

New Orleans' next big defensive play came from end Will Smith only moments after the Jets celebrated a remarkable defensive stand of their own that stopped the Saints on four plays from within 2 yards of the goal line. Smith sacked Sanchez in the end zone, forcing a fumble that Remi Ayodele recovered for a touchdown to make it 17-0.

Sanchez may have been to blame for his team's early deficit, but he returned to march New York 60 yards in 14 plays, setting up Jay Feely's 38-yard field goal to make it 17-3.

New York pulled to 17-10 on Thomas Jones' 15-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, capping a drive set up by Reggie Bush's fumble on the Saints 34.

The Saints' defense held from there, however, allowing New Orleans to take control with an 11-play, 74-yard touchdown drive.

Game notes
Sharper has 59 career interceptions, ninth most all-time. ... Although the Jets got pressure on Brees, they didn't sack him. ... Jets right tackle Damien Woody left in the third quarter with what the team said was a right ankle injury.

Why not? Tony Romo had been testing him all afternoon, even though he kept acing every exam.

"I welcome it. Please do. That's the only way I get a chance to make plays," said Bailey, who had eight tackles, broke up four passes and made one key interception in Denver's 17-10 win over Dallas on Sunday.

His biggest play came with a second left when he knocked away the potential tying touchdown pass from Romo to Sam Hurd on fourth-and-goal from the 2.

With the blitz coming, Romo quickly fired toward Hurd cutting across the middle. Bailey reached around and swatted the pass away with his left hand at the last second, giving the Broncos their first 4-0 start since 2003.

"Maybe they thought they could catch Champ sleeping," teammate D.J. Williams surmised. "One of the top corners in the league, my last play, I wouldn't go toward him."

Romo would. Again.

"They're good all over," Romo insisted of Denver's top-ranked defense. "I understand Champ's good. It's questionable. I think you could go either way on that call. It's a bang-bang play and the corner's always driving on the ball. If he gets to the ball early, that's part of the game. ... Those are always going to be contested throws."

The Broncos had taken the lead on Brandon Marshall's 51-yard touchdown catch from Kyle Orton with 1:46 remaining, providing some vindication for the Pro Bowl receiver whose temper tantrum during training camp earned him a nine-day suspension from coach Josh McDaniels.

By the look of their emotional embrace on the sideline after he zigzagged his way into the end zone, Marshall and McDaniels have reconciled.

On the other sideline, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, coach Wade Phillips and cornerback Terence Newman were swearing a flag should have been thrown on Marshall for offensive pass interference.

"I couldn't have played that play any better," Newman said. "I could have sworn it was going to be a penalty. He grabbed my jersey and threw me to the side. If that wasn't a hold, I don't know what is. I tried to grab him back. I figured either way, we were both going to be called for holding. But the refs didn't see it."

Marshall grabbed the ball off the top of Newman's helmet at the 25-yard line, then avoided three more tacklers on his way for the score.

Even then, Marshall was nervous.

"Going back to Pop Warner I've made a bunch of plays like that really didn't mean anything because we end up losing the game," Marshall said. "We knew their 2-minute offense is one of the best in the business."

Sure enough, Romo, ineffective in the second half when the Cowboys' first five drives ended in four punts and an interception by Bailey, found Hurd for a 53-yard gain on fourth-and-3 to the Broncos 20-yard line with a minute left.

The Cowboys reached the 2 with 9 seconds left. Romo spiked the ball on second-and-goal, then Bailey knocked away a high pass intended for Hurd before swatting away the last one that was right on the money.

"That surprised me," Broncos safety Brian Dawkins said. "Both times that surprised me. To challenge a Hall of Famer, still doing what he does? You saw what he did on that beautiful pick on the sideline. So that surprised me that they continued to go at Champ. I'm glad they did."

Bailey, who picked off a pass from Romo at his 6 in the third quarter, wasn't surprised Romo would test him one final time because the blitz was designed to coerce a quick pass to his man.

"If you want to keep testing me, putting the pressure on me, I'm with you," Bailey said.

Denver held the league's best rushing attack to just 74 yards on 25 carries, a 3-yard clip.

In the second half, Romo was 11 for 24 for 201 yards, no touchdowns and one interception.

"It happens, it happens," Dallas receiver Roy Williams said. "Michael Jordan scores nine points. Tiger can't come back on the final day. It happens. It happens."

Especially when Elvis Dumervil is breathing down his neck all game.

Romo was sacked five times, twice by Dumervil, who has eight in his last three games.

Denver's defenders filed into the locker room afterward crowing about having proved the critics wrong for blasting them this offseason and then dismissing their 3-0 start against bad offenses.

"To come out and do it against a great team shows we are great," D.J. Williams proclaimed.

Game notes
Orton improved to 17-2 at home as a starter since joining the league in 2005. ... Broncos RB Correll Buckhalter sprained his left ankle after gaining 55 yards on five receptions and 37 yards on six carries. He walked out of the stadium on crutches.

And in all phases, no less.

"It was just a matter of reminding them what was at stake," Singletary said.

Like first place in the NFC West.

Tight end Vernon Davis caught a 13-yard pass for his third touchdown in two weeks, Patrick Willis returned an interception 23 yards for a score and the 49ers overcame the absence of star running back Frank Gore with a 35-0 rout of the winless St. Louis Rams on Sunday.

The 49ers (3-1) scored in every way to take command of the NFC West after already beating reigning division champion Arizona and Seattle, recording their first shutout in 119 games since a 38-0 win at New Orleans on Jan. 6, 2002.

"Any day you look up and see a goose egg it's great," Willis said. "We made a step today. People are going to say it's only St. Louis. That doesn't matter."

The Rams (0-4) lost their 14th straight, the longest skid in the NFL. St. Louis was blanked for the second time after losing 28-0 to the Seahawks in the season opener.

San Francisco scored touchdowns via special teams, offense and defense for the first time since Nov. 10, 1997, in a 24-12 win at Philadelphia. This also marked the 49ers' largest margin of victory since a 50-14 win over Arizona on Dec. 7, 2003.

"This is our house," Singletary quoted from his halftime message. "We want to set the tempo. We don't want any team coming in here and setting the tempo. I felt like they were taking a fight to us."

Josh Morgan caught a 24-yard touchdown pass from Shaun Hill early in the fourth quarter, then Ray McDonald scooped up a fumble by Rams quarterback Kyle Boller and ran 11 yards for another TD 14 seconds later.

San Francisco found a fortunate, wacky way to finally get on the board late in the first half. Rookie fifth-round draft pick Scott McKillop recovered a botched punt return by St. Louis in the end zone. And a lackluster first half by the Niners' offense turned lively in the last 30 minutes.

"That's huge that every unit is pitching in," Hill said. "We're on top of the division. That's right where we need to be at the quarter mark."

McKillop capitalized when St. Louis' Danny Amendola let Andy Lee's punt go and teammate Quincy Butler tried to pick up the ball but couldn't gain control. The 49ers swarmed and McKillop came up with the ball at the bottom of the pile.

"You have to communicate to the guys that are blocking for you that the ball's on the ground," Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo said. "I don't know if it was the noise or if Danny didn't get out. But it hit Quincy and at that point Quincy knew he had to get on the ball. That's what he tried to do."

Boller had a tough return to the Bay Area in his first start for St. Louis. A former college star at Cal , he went 13 for 24 for 108 yards and was sacked five times in place of injured starter Marc Bulger (bruised rotator cuff).

Willis wreaked havoc, often blitzing untouched and coming at the Rams' offense from every angle to finish with eight tackles -- five solo, three for loss -- and 2½ sacks to go with three other hits on Boller.

Boller was clearly frustrated.

"It's hard to explain. It's just one of those deals where we can't have it happen," he said. "We can't hit big plays and then all of a sudden there's something that brings us back. That just kills your drives, kills all your rhythm and momentum."

Without Gore, who injured his ankle during a last-second loss at Minnesota in Week 3, the 49ers struggled to move in their power run offense. Rookie Glen Coffee took on a bigger role, but finished with 74 yards on 24 carries.

Hill improved his career record at Candlestick Park to 7-0. He was 14 of 24 for 152 yards and four sacks.

There's some concern he's taking too many hits. How did he feel?

"I feel like I played in an NFL football game," he said with a chuckle.

Rams kicker Josh Brown missed a 51-yard field goal in the opening quarter and St. Louis had few other opportunities. The Rams were 5 of 16 on third down and had only 177 total yards.

Game notes
Niners LB Jeff Ulbrich sustained a concussion late in the fourth quarter. ... St. Louis S Craig Dahl suffered a head injury but it was yet to be determined whether he had a concussion. ... 49ers WR Brandon Jones was active for the first time, making his debut for San Francisco after he injured his shoulder early in training camp. ... San Francisco has an interception in each game so far. ... The 49ers were held scoreless in the first quarter for the second straight week. ... Backup QB Alex Smith was the lone 49ers player not to get in the game.

PITTSBURGH -- There is a home-field advantage in the NFL playoffs after all, and it belongs to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Now they've got to prove it means something against the team they despise like no other, and in the game they lose at home like no one else.

The Steelers, owners of the NFL's best home-field record since the 1970 NFL merger, shook off a 7-0 deficit barely two minutes into the game, controlled pint-sized playmaker Darren Sproles and returned some normalcy to the postseason by beating the San Diego Chargers 35-24 in an AFC divisional game Sunday.

With a now-healthy Willie Parker running for 146 yards and two touchdowns, Ben Roethlisberger ignoring his late-season concussion to throw for a score and lead an efficient offense, the Steelers did what the favored Titans, Panthers and Giants couldn't do by winning at home. It was the first time since 1971 that three road teams won during a single playoff weekend, and the Steelers made certain that road teams didn't go 4-for-4.

"We talked about that, all the home teams -- the No. 1 and 2 seeds -- weren't playing as well," said Santonio Holmes, who got Pittsburgh going with a 67-yard punt return touchdown in the first quarter. "But we knew the road to the Super Bowl can run through Pittsburgh when we saw Baltimore won [at Tennessee]. It was time to turn it on."

This will be the Steelers' seventh AFC title game, and sixth in Pittsburgh, in 15 seasons. They were 2-4 in the previous six, with an unprecedented four losses in five tries at home during the 1994-2004 seasons.

The Steelers had the worst offense of any playoff team coming in, only to put up 35 points to support the NFL's top-ranked defense. Now, it's time for Ravens vs. Steelers Part III next Sunday -- the third and most intriguing matchup this season between the can't-stand-each other AFC North rivals.

"What else would you expect, us and the Ravens," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. "It would be big if it was a scrimmage. This is for the AFC championship."

Pittsburgh won the earlier two games, 23-20 in overtime in Pittsburgh -- when the Ravens supposedly put bounties on several Steelers players -- and 13-9 during the Dec. 14 rematch in Baltimore that secured the divisional title.

"We have a tough, tough, tough team coming in here," Brett Keisel said.

Home Cooking

The Steelers have won 11 of their 12 divisional playoff games played in Pittsburgh since the merger in 1970, and most of them haven't been close. The average margin of victory is nearly two touchdowns and eight of the 11 wins have been by double-digits.
Steelers at Home in Divisional Playoffs, Since Merger W-L 11-1
PPG 25.2
Opp PPG 13.8
Wins by 10+ pts 8

The Ravens-Steelers games were two of the NFL's most physical this season, with injuries all around, and playing to go to the Super Bowl will only ratchet up the intensity, physicality and, no doubt, the dislike.

There was much to like for the Steelers in this one as they made certain that the Chargers' stars from their 23-17 wild-card upset of the Colts didn't repeat their performances and allow San Diego to become the first team to go .500 during the season and then win twice in the postseason.

The Steelers spotted San Diego a 7-0 lead on Vincent Jackson's acrobatic 41-yard catch of Philip Rivers' pass four plays into the game, but, like San Diego's 7-0 lead in its bizarre 11-10 loss in Pittsburgh on Nov. 16, the Chargers couldn't make it stand up as 1,100-yard rusher LaDainian Tomlinson sat out with a groin injury.

Sproles, coming off his all-around 328-yard game against the Colts, wasn't much of a factor despite a 63-yard kickoff return and a 62-yard TD catch in the game's final two minutes after Pittsburgh had opened a 35-17 lead.

Sproles was held to 15 yards on 11 carries after rushing for 105 the week before and. He had 91 yards on five catches and 164 yards on five kickoff returns.

"I don't think he ever broke one [run]. We contained him pretty good," the Steelers' LaMarr Woodley said.

Of course, it's tough to score when a team doesn't have the ball.

The Chargers had the ball for only 17 seconds of the third quarter to the Steelers' 14:43, thanks to a nearly eight-minute scoring drive that ended with Roethlisberger's 8-yard TD pass to Heath Miller. Rivers also threw an interception on a first down from the Pittsburgh 23, and a Steelers punt bounced off Eric Weddle's helmet, with Pittsburgh recovering.

"We were standing on the sideline and it was like, 'We were in for one play in the quarter and it was an interception," Rivers said. "There was a little bit of disbelief. ... You can't call it a fluke, those guys made plays, but that was crazy."

Given the 11-10 game, it's hardly unusual this game was ... well, a little unusual. The Steelers, one of the NFL's worst return teams, scored on their first punt return score since Holmes' 65-yarder against Carolina on Dec. 17, 2006.

After that, keeping Rivers and Sproles off the field so long allowed Pittsburgh to stretch its lead from 14-10 late in the second quarter on Parker's 3-yard run to 28-10 early in the fourth on Gary Russell's 1-yard run. Weddle was flagged for a 44-yard interference penalty before Russell scored.

Rivers went 21-of-35 for 308 yards and three touchdowns on a 25-dgreee day as snow flurries briefly coated the field -- hey, this isn't southern California -- but the Chargers failed to improve on one of the NFL's most curious records. They're 0-13 in Pittsburgh during the regular season, but previously were 2-0 there in the playoffs.

The Steelers weren't as dominant defensively as they were while holding eight teams to 10 or fewer points during the season, but they also weren't as rusty as the other three home teams this weekend and now are 13-4. The Chargers ended 9-9, following an unlikely five-game winning streak that came after they looked to be out of playoff contention at 4-8.

Roethlisberger, again looking like the can't-shake-me quarterback who led three road playoff wins in three weeks as the Steelers won the Super Bowl three years ago, converted three times on third down plays of 8 yards to go or longer ahead of his TD pass to Miller. He went 17-of-26 for 181 yards as the Steelers outgained the Chargers 342-290.

That scary concussion Roethlisberger sustained against Cleveland?

"It was a non-issue for us," said Tomlin, who won his first playoff game as Pittsburgh's coach.

And for the supposed difficulty of beating a team three times in a season, as the Steelers will attempt to do against Baltimore, Tomlin said, "I personally don't subscribe to that hocus-pocus."

For all of Roethlisberger's playmaking -- on one play, he even threw a block to help Holmes pick up extra yardage -- it was a healthy Parker who made the major difference in a Steelers offense that was the worst statistically of the 12 playoff teams.

Parker, who fought through knee and shoulder injuries during his first sub-1,000-yard season as a starter, had his most productive game since running for 138 yards and three TDs against Houston in the Sept. 7 opener.

"We knew we could do that," Holmes said. "That's Steelers football, run the ball. Pound them down, once we get them down we can do whatever we want to do with them."