BALTIMORE (AP) -No one could have imagined Cleveland would end up winning the way it did in overtime Sunday.
Phil Dawson’s tying 51-yard field goal at the end of regulation hit the upright, then tapped the crossbar before bouncing back onto the field. As the stadium emptied and the Ravens pumped their fists in the air, several of the Browns insisted Dawson’s kick hit the curved center support behind the crossbar, making the field goal good.
They were right. After a long discussion, the officials ruled the kick went through the uprights and called the teams back onto the field.
The Browns took the kickoff in overtime and drove 43 yards in nine plays before Dawson kicked a 33-yard field goal to give Cleveland (6-4) a 33-30 win and a rare season sweep of the Ravens.
Baltimore (4-6) rallied from a 13-point deficit for a 30-27 lead on a 47-yard field goal by Matt Stover with 26 seconds left in regulation. But Derek Anderson drove the Browns into position for Dawson’s redemptive attempt.
One week earlier, Dawson missed a 52-yarder that would have forced overtime against Pittsburgh. This time, he made the kick – even if the officials needed almost five minutes to confirm that it went through.
Ravens QB Kyle Boller was sacked six times and committed three turnovers. But he went 22-for-41 for 279 yards, passing Vinny Testaverde as the Ravens’ career leader in passing yardage.
Brodney Pool had a 100-yard interception return for a touchdown for Cleveland. Derek Anderson went 24-for-38 for 274 yards and a touchdown. Another former Raven, Jamal Lewis, ran for 92 yards and a touchdown.
Eagles 17, Dolphins 7
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Backup quarterback A.J. Feeley led a pair of second-half scoring drives in place of injured Donovan McNabb, and Brian Westbrook had a career-best 148 yards rushing, dropping the Dolphins to 0-10.
No NFL team has finished 0-16. Tampa Bay went 0-14 in 1976.
McNabb left with a sprained right ankle in the second quarter, nearly a full year after his season ended with a torn knee ligament. X-rays were negative, but McNabb spent the second half watching from the sideline.
The Eagles (5-5) improved to .500 for the first time this season by winning consecutive games for the first time.
John Beck made his NFL debut for Miami, throwing for 109 yards. The 26-year-old rookie from BYU didn’t commit any turnovers. Ted Ginn Jr. returned a punt 87 yards for the Dolphins’ only score.
Colts 13, Chiefs 10
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Booed by the crowd after missing his first two field goals against Kansas City and the subject of criticism all week after missing a chip shot that would have beaten San Diego a week earlier, Adam Vinatieri made a 24-yard field goal with 4 seconds left. The win ended Indy’s two-game losing streak and kept the Colts (8-2) atop the AFC South.
Kansas City (4-6) lost its third straight game in Brodie Croyle’s first career start.
Vinatieri was booed mildly when he tried a 49-yard field goal, a chorus that grew louder when he missed it to the right. The boobirds were even louder after Vinatieri pulled a 38-yarder wide left.
But when the Colts really needed Vinatieri, he connected on a 27-yarder just before halftime, which drew mocking cheers, and then brought the crowd to its feet with the winner.
Manning, the Super Bowl MVP, spent 3 1/2 quarters trying to find something that would work, struggling with a lineup decimated by injuries. He finished 16-of-32 for 163 yards with one interception and his lowest passer rating (52.0) in a regular-season game since September 2005.
Packers 31, Panthers 17
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) – Brett Favre won the senior bowl, throwing three touchdowns in the duel with fellow passing patriarch Vinny Testaverde. It was Favre’s 62nd career game with at least three touchdown passes, tying yet another of Dan Marino’s records.
The 44-year-old Testaverde and 38-year-old Favre formed the oldest starting quarterbacks duo in NFL history. But Favre is playing like he’s in his prime these days, completing 22-of-30 passes for 218 yards.
Testaverde was out of the league a little more than a month ago, and played Sunday’s game without injured receiver Steve Smith. He threw two second-half touchdowns after the Panthers fell behind 28-3, but was intercepted twice.
It was the first of three games in 12 days for the Packers (9-1), who play at Detroit on Thanksgiving and at Dallas the following Thursday. It was only the second road loss of the season for the Panthers (4-6), who are winless at home.
Green Bay has a three-game lead on Detroit and can virtually wrap up the NFC North with a win Thursday.
Giants 16, Lions 10
DETROIT (AP) – Michael Strahan had a season-high three sacks, while James Butler and Sam Madison both made victory-sealing interceptions.
Eli Manning threw a touchdown pass to Brandon Jacobs, who later left the game with a hamstring injury, and Lawrence Tynes kicked three field goals.
Detroit (6-4) finally put together a strong drive, ending with Calvin Johnson’s 35-yard TD catch to pull within six with 4:34 left.
New York (7-3) broke a third-place tie with Detroit in the conference and improved its chances of making the playoffs. In the Super Bowl era, 78.4 percent of teams that won seven of their first 10 games ended up in the postseason.
The win came at a price: Jacobs was sidelined in the third quarter and linebacker Mathias Kiwanuka broke his left leg early in the game.
Texans 23, Saints 10
HOUSTON (AP) – Andre Johnson was back, Mario Williams was solid and Reggie Bush was an afterthought.
Johnson had 120 yards receiving and a touchdown and Williams harassed Drew Brees all day. The Texans (5-5) scored 17 points before halftime and stayed on top with tough defense in the second half against the Saints (4-6), who had five turnovers.
Johnson missed the last seven games with a knee sprain, but was back to form on Sunday. He got in front of Jason David for a 73-yard touchdown pass early in the first quarter to put Houston ahead 7-3.
Bush, the 2005 Heisman Trophy winner virtually everyone thought the Texans should draft first in 2006, had 15 carries for 34 yards, 12 catches for 70 yards and two fumbles. Houston’s Heisman Trophy-winning running back Ron Dayne, who won the award in 1999, had 21 carries for 89 yards.
Williams sacked Brees, had a forced fumble, several hurries and finished with six tackles.
Buccaneers 31, Falcons 7
ATLANTA (AP) – Jeff Garcia threw for two touchdowns, Ronde Barber returned a fumble for another score and the Buccaneers’ defense completely stifled the Byron Leftwich-led Falcons.
Atlanta (3-7) had won two straight with Joey Harrington at quarterback and actually had a chance to pull within one game of first place in a division where Tampa Bay (6-4) is the only team with a winning record.
In a highly debatable move, first-year Falcons coach Bobby Petrino started Leftwich over Harrington, saying he was still the No. 1 quarterback after missing the last two games recovering from ankle surgery.
Playing behind a short-handed offensive line, Leftwich had one of the worst games in his career, completing 15-of-28 for 106 yards with two interceptions and two fumbles.
Earnest Graham ran for 102 yards, including a 26-yard touchdown for Tampa Bay.
Jaguars 24, Chargers 17
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) – Playing for the first time in nearly a month, David Garrard threw two touchdown passes.
Jacksonville (7-3) scored on its first three possessions and the Chargers (5-5) self-destructed on nearly every drive.
San Diego ended three consecutive fourth-quarter possessions in questionable fashion before making a game of it late. Philip Rivers connected with All-Pro tight end Antonio Gates for a 24-yard touchdown that made it 24-17 with 5:06 to play.
The score followed a 15-yard penalty on rookie safety Reggie Nelson for leading with his helmet. Replays, though, showed Nelson actually tackled Chris Chambers with his right shoulder. Nonetheless, the result was a 35-yard gain that set up Rivers’ TD pass.
The Chargers got the ball back with 2:13 remaining. But Rivers’ second pass was intercepted by Sammy Knight near midfield.
LaDainian Tomlinson needed 91 yards rushing to becoming the 22nd player in NFL history with 10,000, but finished with 62 yards and a touchdown. The league’s reigning MVP also caught five passes for 93 yards.
Cardinals 35, Bengals 27
CINCINNATI (AP) – Antrel Rolle did a cartwheel and a backflip after his second interception return for a touchdown. He still had one more play and one more celebration left.
He returned interceptions 55 and 54 yards for touchdowns. Rolle finished it off with his third interception in the closing minutes. He ran Carson Palmer’s career-high fourth interception back 71 yards, but the apparent touchdown was nullified by a blocking penalty on the return.
Rolle did a chest dive in the end zone anyway to finish off his career day against Cincinnati (3-7).
After going through a three-game fade, Arizona (5-5) has rebounded by winning two in a row, matching its win total for each of the last two seasons.
Even Kurt Warner, playing despite a torn ligament in his non-throwing elbow, found a way to amaze. He went 16-of-28 for 211 yards and two touchdowns, making one of the completions with his injured left arm.
Larry Fitzgerald had eight catches for 93 yards and another touchdown. He reached the 4,000-yard career mark.
Vikings 29, Raiders 22
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Chester Taylor had 202 total yards and three touchdowns in place of injured rookie star Adrian Peterson. Peterson was out with a minor knee injury, so Taylor did his best impression. He rushed 22 times for 164 yards, and Minnesota (4-6) pressured Daunte Culpepper into a costly turnover and four sacks.
The Vikings turned the ball over four times in the first half, and Sebastian Janikowski followed their fumbles with three of his five field goals. He couldn’t prevent Oakland (2-8) from losing its sixth straight game.
Culpepper completed 23 of 39 passes for 344 yards, one touchdown and one interception. His last-second heave into the end zone was batted down by Minnesota.
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