BUCCANEERS 16, COWBOYS 0
Story: The defending Super Bowl champion Bucs (4-3) have yet to win consecutive games this season, but Sunday’s domination of the Cowboys (5-2) was particularly sweet. Dallas has been one of the NFL’s biggest surprises in its first season under coach Bill Parcells, the two-time Super Bowl-winning coach who walked away from agreements to take over the Bucs twice in the last 12 years.
Star: The Bucs’ defense, which forced three turnovers, sacked Quincy Carter four times and limited Dallas to a season-low 178 yards in stopping the Cowboys’ five-game winning streak. “We play lights-out defense. We make you earn every yard you get against us,” Warren Sapp said.
Extra points: Tampa Bay has at least one sack in 67 straight games, one shy of the NFL record set by Dallas from 1976-80. … Troy Hambrick’s 25 yards rushing led the Cowboys.
Quote: “This is a pretty good beating. The score wasn’t as bad, really, as I thought it was. Had we not held them a few times on defense, this could have gotten out of control.”
–Parcells.
RAMS 33, STEELERS 21
Story: The Rams (5-2) won their fourth in a row and won on the road for only the second time in 11 games–in a city where they were 0-4 since 1971. The Steelers (2-5) wasted two big plays by Antwaan Randle El, including an 84-yard punt-return touchdown, to drop their fourth straight.
Stars: Rams quarterback Marc Bulger, who played at the same Pittsburgh high school that produced Dan Marino, threw for 375 yards and a touchdown. . . . Third-string running back Arlen Harris ran for three TDs in his first NFL start.
Extra points: Steelers’ Tommy Maddox threw two touchdown passes after going 15 quarters without one, but also was intercepted three times. . . . The Steelers’ start is their worst since they were 1-6 in 1988.
Quote: “We could probably run our routes with our eyes closed, the way we’re clicking.”–Rams receiver Torry Holt, who made seven catches for 174 yards and a touchdown.
TITANS 30, JAGUARS 17
Story: The only suspense in this game came at the end, with Tennessee holding a 27-10 lead and trying to hit the 30-point mark again. In winning for the eighth time in their last 10 games against Jacksonville (1-6), the Titans (6-2) reached the 30-point mark for the fifth straight game, matching a franchise mark set in 1961 when they were the AFL Oilers.
Stars: Steve McNair, who came in as the AFC’s top-rated passer, was 21-of-27 for 187 yards with a touchdown pass. . . . Eddie George ran for 88 yards, including a pair of 1-yard TDs.
Extra points: Titans CB Andre Woolfolk sprained his ankle, an injury coach Jeff Fisher labeled “severe.” . . . Jaguars DE Tony Brackens had an interception and tied Aaron Beasley for the franchise record for most career takeaways with 18.
Quote: “What I saw, I won’t stand for here.”
–Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio.
CARDINALS 16, 49ERS 13 (OT)
Story: A woeful day for kickers. Arizona’s Tim Duncan missed 3-of-5 attempts in regulation, including a 50-yarder as the fourth quarter ended. But his 39-yarder in overtime gave Arizona (2-5) its first victory over the 49ers (3-5) in 10 years. San Francisco’s Owen Pochman missed two field goals, including a go-ahead attempt from 35 yards with 2:25 left in regulation. He added to his troubles by knocking the overtime kickoff out of bounds to give Arizona the ball on its 40.
Star: The Cardinals entered the game as NFL’s worst rushing team, but Marcel Shipp carried 35 times–one shy of the franchise record–for 165 yards.
Extra point: Arizona’s defensive line had two sacks, after totaling one the first six games.
Quote: “I put the team in a bad situation in the first place, so it was nice to go out there and kind of make up for it.”
–Duncan.
COLTS 30, TEXANS 21
Story: As usual, Peyton Manning delivered. After the Texans (2-5) took a 14-3 lead in the second quarter, Manning fired a TD pass to Marcus Pollard and hit Reggie Wayne in the end zone twice, just before half and at the start of the third, to put the Colts (6-1) up for good.
Star: Manning was 22-of-30 for 269 yards and three TDs, good for a 133.9 rating.
Extra point: The Colts’ Marvin Harrison caught eight passes for 100 yards, his fourth straight 100-yard game.
Quote: “Everything worked like clockwork.”–Colts running back Edgerrin James, who ran for 104 yards on 23 carries.
RAVENS 26, BRONCOS 6
Story: The Lewis & Lewis show put on a stellar performance as the Ravens (4-3) beat Denver (5-3) for a fourth straight season, including the 2000 playoffs. Ray Lewis rambled 37 yards with a key interception in the fourth quarter, and Jamal Lewis topped 100 yards rushing for a sixth straight game
Stars: Jamal Lewis ran a career-high 32 times for 134 yards and a TD. He is the first back to run for 100 yards against Denver this season. . . . Matt Stover booted four field goals.
Extra points: The game drew 69,721 fans, the largest crowd ever to see a pro football game in Baltimore. . . . Rod Smith extended his streak of consecutive games with a reception to 69, surpassing the Denver franchise mark set by Ed McCaffrey.
Quote: “Obviously, it was not the kind of comeback I wanted. Bottom line, it’s a loss. I’m bummed about it right now.”–Broncos quarterback Danny Kanell, starting for the first time since 2000, threw for 114 yards and two INTs.
PATRIOTS 9, BROWNS 3
Story: The game didn’t provide much excitement, but linebacker Mike Vrabel was energized. He recorded three sacks for the Patriots (6-2) as their defense baffled Cleveland’s quarterbacks. Browns QB Tim Couch left with a sprained thumb in the second quarter and was replaced by injured Kelly Holcomb. They combined for 155 yards passing.
Star: Adam Vinatieri provided all of the Pats’ scoring, kicking field goals of 27, 28 and 38 yards.
Extra points: One bright spot for Cleveland (3-5) was the 18 tackles, 16 unassisted, by linebacker Ben Taylor. . . . The Browns reached New England territory just once.
CHIEFS 38, BILLS 5
Story: Dante Hall’s 67-yard catch for a TD got things rolling late in the first quarter as Kansas City played like a team that can’t lose. The Chiefs (8-0) are now the league’s only unbeaten team.
Star: Priest Holmes ran for three touchdowns.
Extra point: Only 11 other teams since 1972 reached the midway point of the season without a loss. Eight advanced to the Super Bowl and six hoisted the Lombardi Trophy.
Monday matchup
Dolphins vs. Chargers
Time: 8 p.m. Monday at Tempe, Ariz., WLS-Ch. 7, WSCR-AM 670.
Line: Dolphins by 3.
Last meeting: Dolphins won 30-3 on Nov. 24, 2002 at Miami.
Key stat: Dolphins have a league-high 37 victories (30 losses) on “Monday Night Football.”
Terry Bannon’s pick: Dolphins 24, Chargers 20.
