Brady leads Patriots to sixth win
IRVING, Texas (AP) — Tom Brady threw a career-high five touchdown passes, with Donte Stallworth taking the final one 69 yards to break open a tight game in the fourth quarter as the New England Patriots defeated Dallas Cowboys 48-27 yesterday in a rare battle of teams with 5-0 records.
The Patriots (6-0) started strong and finished stronger, their sixth straight blowout win and their highest point total this season. New England also gave up their highest number of points of the season and trailed in the second half for the first time this year. Brady was sacked three times, as many as he'd been all season.
Experience in big games had to be part of the difference. Consider what the Patriots did on their final five drives after the Cowboys went ahead 24-21 early in the third quarter: touchdown, field goal, touchdown, field goal, touchdown.
Brady went 31-of-46 for 388 yards. His five TDs tied a franchise record and gave him an NFL mark with at least three in each of the first six games of the season. He has an NFL-best 21 this year; the league record is 49 by Peyton Manning.
SAN DIEGO — LaDainian Tomlinson matched his career high with four touchdowns, rushing for 198 yards on 24 carries and leading the Chargers to their eighth straight win over the Raiders (2-3).
Tomlinson scored on runs of three, 27, 13 and 41 yards to vault past John Riggins for fifth on the all-time TDs rushing list with 106.
L.T. scored for the final time with 2:43 left, much to the delight of the Raiders-hating crowd. It was a simple off-tackle play that Tomlinson broke to the outside. After racing into the end zone, he dropped the ball and raised both arms in the air.
It was the third time the reigning NFL MVP rushed for four touchdowns in a game, and the fifth time overall he's scored four times. It was the first time he scored four TDs at home.
GLENDALE, Arizona — Vinny Testaverde hit Steve Smith for a 65-yard touchdown pass, DeAngelo Williams ran for 121 yards and a touchdown in a game featuring third-string quarterbacks. John Kasay kicked four field goals for Carolina.
Testaverde, 43, threw a touchdown pass for the 21st straight season, extending his own NFL record. He signed with Carolina earlier this week when first-stringer Jake Delhomme went on injured reserve and backup David Carr hurt his back.
Williams helped ice the game with a late 75-yard run, and he scored on a 13-yard run for the Panthers (4-2), who are 4-0 on the road this year.
GREEN BAY, Wisconsin — Charles Woodson returned a fumble 57 yards for the go-ahead touchdown in soggy conditions at Lambeau Field.
Corey Williams stripped Santana Moss on an end-around late in the third quarter. Woodson picked up the ball and ran to the end zone.
Green Bay won despite an off day from the league's top passing offence and Brett Favre, who became the NFL's career interception king with an errant pass picked off by Redskins safety Sean Taylor in the third quarter.
On the Packers' first possession after half-time, Favre's pass hung in the air, and Taylor recovered to make a leaping catch near the sideline. It was the 278th interception of Favre's career, breaking a tie with George Blanda for the NFL record. The dubious mark comes two weeks after Favre surpassed Dan Marino's career record for touchdown passes and a month after Favre broke John Elway's record for most career victories for a starting quarterback.
CHICAGO — Adrian Peterson showed the Bears why he was the first running back taken in this year's draft with an electrifying, record-setting rushing performance and three touchdowns. Still, the Vikings needed a 55-yard field goal from Ryan Longwell on the final play.
After Chicago's Brian Griese hit Devin Hester for an 81-yard TD pass to tie the game with 1:38 left, Peterson came through again. He returned the ensuing kick-off 53 yards to the Bears' 38. Then Longwell floated a kick that just cleared the crossbar for his longest pro field goal.
TAMPA, Florida — Tennessee lost Vince Young, then watched the game slip away, too. Matt Bryant's 43-yard field goal with 11 seconds remaining won it. Tennessee had a five-game road winning streak halted after the 2006 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year limped off the field in the third quarter.
Jeff Garcia threw a 69-yard touchdown pass to Joey Galloway less than five minutes after Young left the game. Garcia then led the Bucs (4-2) on the winning drive after the Titans (3-2) tied the score on LenDale White's 2-yard run with 1:17 left.
KANSAS CITY — Tony Gonzalez set the NFL record for touchdown catches by a tight end and the Chiefs rolled up an impressive — for them — 354 total yards.
The first sign that things would improve on offence for the Chiefs (3-3) came on their first play from scrimmage. Frustrated Pro Bowler Larry Johnson gained nine yards, just one short of the team's entire embarrassing rushing total the week before.
Gonzalez, the eight-time Pro Bowler, caught Damon Huard's 3-yard pass in the first quarter and broke Shannon Sharpe's NFL record of 62 touchdown catches for tight ends. Then Gonzalez snared a 26-yard scoring pass from Huard in the fourth period and wound up with 102 yards receiving.
JACKSONVILLE, Florida — David Garrard threw two touchdown passes and Maurice Jones-Drew had 260 all-purpose yards, as the Jaguars won their fourth straight.
Jacksonville (4-1) got a rare rout against the team that has caused it the most headaches in recent years. Houston, which had won four of the previous six meetings between the AFC South clubs, essentially knocked the Jaguars out of play-off contention in 2004 and 2006.
The Jaguars dominated this one, and it could have been worse had they not fumbled three times. The turnovers kept it close until the final quarter. Jones-Drew had a 7-yard TD run early in the fourth period, making it 23-9. Paul Spicer sacked Matt Schaub on the ensuing possession, causing a fumble that Daryl Smith picked up and ran 77 yards to seal it.
BALTIMORE — The Ravens forced Rams QB Gus Frerotte into six turnovers and Matt Stover kicked five field goals. Willis McGahee had a six-yard touchdown run for the Ravens, who built a 13-0 lead at half-time and coasted. It was the first time this season Baltimore (4-2) won by more than seven points.
Kyle Boller went 17-for-29 for 185 yards as a replacement for an injured Steve McNair. Boller was operating behind an offensive line that started three rookies because of injuries to Jonathan Ogden, Mike Flynn and Adam Terry.
EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey — Donovan McNabb threw for 278 yards, including a 75-yard touchdown pass to Kevin Curtis. Brian Westbrook ran for 120 yards, and David Akers kicked three field goals as the Eagles (2-3) improved to 8-0 all-time against the Jets (1-5). The Eagles are 9-0 in games after the bye under coach Andy Reid.
After having a week off following their loss to the Giants in which McNabb was sacked 12 times, the Eagles protected their quarterback and allowed three sacks. McNabb finished 22-of-35, and Curtis caught five passes for 121 yards.
CLEVELAND — The Browns handed the Dolphins a franchise-record ninth consecutive loss. The Browns (3-3) scored on three of their first four possessions to go up 17-3 before Leigh Bodden intercepted Cleo Lemon's pass. Derek Anderson turned it into a 24-yard touchdown throw to Braylon Edwards on the next play.
After the Dolphins (0-6) pulled within 27-24 in the third quarter, Anderson threw his second and third TD passes of the game to Edwards to put it out of reach.