Chargers own first place

Philip Rivers and a dominant defense led the San Diego Chargers into sole possession of first place in the AFC West on Sunday, drubbing the Denver Broncos 32-3.

The Chargers (7-3) have won five straight, and the host Broncos (6-4) have lost four in a row, turning the division race upside down. Just five weeks ago, the Chargers trailed the Broncos by 31/2 games.

Rivers was 17-for-22 and led San Diego to points on seven of 10 drives.

Also Sunday

Raiders 20, Bengals 17: Bruce Gradkowski threw a 29-yard tying touchdown pass to Louis Murphy with 33 seconds left, and Sebastian Janikowski kicked a 33-yard field goal after Andre Caldwell fumbled the ensuing kickoff.

The Bengals (7-3) have lost all 10 games in Oakland, including one playoff game.

Oakland (3-7) rallied from an early 14-point deficit and trailed 17-10 with 2:06 left.

Patriots 31, Jets 14: The defense Bill Belichick didn't want to put on the field against the Colts kept the offense of the Jets off it.

Leigh Bodden had three of the four interceptions thrown by Mark Sanchez, and the Patriots' defense gave up just one touchdown and 226 yards. The Jets (4-6) took their sixth loss in seven games.

Tom Brady was 28-of-41 passing for 310 yards, his fifth straight game over 300. Wes Welker set career highs with 15 catches for 192 yards for New England (7-3).

Chiefs 27, Steelers 24 (OT): Ryan Succop kicked a 22-yard field goal with 8:28 left in overtime after Chris Chambers' 61-yard catch-and-run, and Kansas City snapped a team-record 10-game home losing streak.

Pittsburgh, with Charlie Batch replacing a shaken-up Ben Roethlisberger in overtime, had to punt on their first possession.

It was the second loss in a row for the Steelers (6-4), who had the ball for almost 19 minutes longer than the Chiefs (3-7) and outgained them 463-206. The Chiefs stayed in it with a 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Jamaal Charles and a 94-yard interception return by Andy Studebaker.

Lions 38, Browns 37: Ailing Matthew Stafford threw his fifth touchdown pass from 1 yard to Brandon Pettigrew, and Jason Hanson's extra point with no time left gave host Detroit a win.

Detroit (2-8) was given the untimed play because safety Hank Poteat was called for pass interference in the end zone when Stafford heaved a desperation attempt. Stafford was hit after his throw to the end zone and appeared to hurt his left shoulder or chest area. He was replaced by Daunte Culpepper.

The Browns (1-9), though, gave Stafford a chance to get back in the game by calling a timeout with the ball at the 1-yard line. Stafford returned and connected with fellow rookie Pettigrew to snap a six-game losing streak.

Packers 30, 49ers 24: Aaron Rodgers threw touchdowns to Greg Jennings and Jordy Nelson, and Ryan Grant rushed for 129 yards and a score.

Rodgers was 32-of-45 for 344 yards, including 274 in the first half as Green Bay (6-4) took a 23-3 lead.

Alex Smith recovered from a rough start to make things interesting with three second-half touchdowns, including rookie Michael Crabtree's first career TD for the 49ers (4-6).

Jaguars 18, Bills 15: David Garrard's second winning drive in as many weeks gave host Jacksonville its first three-game winning streak in nearly two years. Garrard threw a touchdown pass to Mike Sims-Walker with 56 seconds remaining, spoiling Perry Fewell's debut as interim coach of Buffalo.

The Bills (3-7) bottled up Maurice Jones-Drew, but Garrard directed a 68-yard scoring drive when it mattered for the Jaguars (6-4).

Terrell Owens caught nine passes for 197 yards, including a team-record 98-yarder for a score for the Bills (3-7).

Cardinals 21, Rams 13: Arizona quarterback Kurt Warner spent the second half pacing the sideline after taking a blow to the head, still in uniform but shut down for the day. Warner threw for 203 yards and two touchdowns while building a 21-3 cushion.

Tim Hightower had 110 yards on 14 carries, the first 100-yard game of the season for a team ranked next to last in the NFL in rushing, helping the Cardinals (7-3) win for the sixth time in seven games and go 5-0 on the road.

The Rams (1-9) are 0-4 at home after losing to Arizona for the sixth straight time.

Eagles 24, Bears 20: Donovan McNabb threw for 244 yards against his hometown team, LeSean McCoy scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 10-yard run following Antonio Dixon's blocked field goal, and Philadelphia came away with a victory over struggling Chicago after back-to-back close losses.

The Bears (4-6) were leading 20-17 when Dixon blocked a 48-yard field goal by Robbie Gould with 11 minutes left. McNabb then led the Eagles (6-4) on a 62-yard touchdown drive that McCoy capped with his run, sending Chicago to its fifth loss in six games.

Latest Comment View all comments